Ticker: DeSantis seeks review of Florida’s holdings in Bud Light; the Boss and more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Presidential candidate and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis wants Florida to investigate its investments in the company that makes Bud Light because of conservative backlash over a transgender social media influencer marketing the beverage.

DeSantis said Thursday in a letter to the State Board of Administration that “all options are on the table” in its response to Dylan Mulvaney’s Instagram post of a video of her opening a Bud Light with her face on the can.

The governor said that due to the backlash over the post, Anheuser-Busch InBev has suffered sales losses that could affect state investments. He added that the beer manufacturer’s “radical social ideologies” have turned Bud Light into a “social pariah” and losses have been “staggering.”

DeSantis has previously made headlines by battling Walt Disney World over its opposition to a Florida law banning discussion of gender identity and sexuality orientation in schools, and has targeted other companies that promote social issues that don’t match his beliefs.

The Gaslight Anthem were labeled ‘Bruce Springsteen copycats.’ Now the Boss is on their new single

For years, a common critique of the beloved New Jersey rock band The Gaslight Anthem was to label them “Bruce Springsteen” copycats. Now they’ve released a song with the Boss.

“History Books,” the title track from the band’s first album in nine years, is big-hearted freeway rock, made ascendent by frontman Brian Fallon and Springsteen’s tremulous harmonies.

“There’s a definitely a little wink in there,” Fallon tells The Associated Press about the song and his band’s long-held comparisons to the Boss, which once escalated to the point where he wrote to his fans, “My name isn’t Bruce.”

“Some people kind of wrote us off. It’s like ‘Now write this off,’” he says. “We’ve got the approval of the guy! What are you going to say? You can’t say anything!”

Wall Street closes another winning week by barely moving

Wall Street closed out another winning week with a quiet Friday, as stocks found some stability after sliding the day before.

The S&P 500 edged up by 1.47, or less than 0.1%, to 4,536.34 to cap its eighth winning week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2.51 points, or less than 0.1%, to 35,227.69, its 10th gain in a row. The Nasdaq composite slipped 30.50, or 0.2%, to 14,032.81 a day after tumbling to its worst loss in more than four months.

Roper Technologies rallied 3.7% for one of the larger gains in the S&P 500 after it reported better profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. The company, which looks to dominate niche tech markets, also raised its financial forecasts for the full year.

The earnings reporting season is gaining momentum, and a majority of companies are reporting better results than expected. They’re doing so by a bit less than usual, though, according to FactSet.

On the losing side of Wall Street was American Express, which fell 3.9%. It reported stronger profit for the spring than expected, but its revenue fell short of forecasts.

Comerica swung from an initial gain to a loss of 4.1% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. The regional bank also reported a decline in average customer deposits, though it said the levels stabilized in the second half of the quarter. Deposits have been under heavy scrutiny since several banks failed in March after customers suddenly yanked out their cash.

Prosecutors say FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is harassing a key witness at his upcoming trial

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is harassing a key witness against him at his upcoming trial by giving a newspaper personal things she wrote while she was the chief executive of his cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm, prosecutors say.

They asked a judge late Thursday to order trial participants not to make statements that might taint the yet-to-be-chosen jury in a criminal case over allegations that Bankman-Fried and other top executives cheated investors and looted FTX customer deposits, in part to fund lavish lifestyles.

In a letter to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, prosecutors said Bankman-Fried gave some of Caroline Ellison’s personal correspondence to The New York Times. They said that had the effect of harassing her and seemed designed to deter other potential trial witnesses from testifying.

They called it an effort to “publicly discredit a government witness” and interfere with an Oct. 2 trial.

Ellison, 28, was CEO of Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm that was an offshoot of FTX.

FTX entered bankruptcy in November when the global exchange ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run.

Ellison pleaded guilty in December to criminal charges that carry a potential penalty of 110 years in prison. She has agreed to testify against Bankman-Fried, 31, as part of a deal that could result in leniency.

Correction

Yesterday’s Ticker was corrupted due to an editing error. The Herald apologizes for the mistake.