April 27 update

Meta’s share price soared in post-session trading after the tech firm reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2023. Revenues grew by 3% year over year, to $28.7bn—a reversal from the past three consecutive quarters of declines. The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has sacked thousands of workers in recent months to cut costs. Still, net income fell by 24%, to $5.7bn, partly because of investments in AI.

America’s House of Representatives approved a Republican plan to raise the government’s debt ceiling. The legislation—which also proposes budget cuts and rolling back several of President Joe Biden’s policies—is unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate. Mr Biden has urged Republicans to raise the ceiling without conditions. Failure to reach an agreement could push America into default by June this year.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, spoke for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. During the phone call Mr Xi said that negotiation was the “only way out” of the war. Mr Zelensky tweeted afterwards that it was a “long and meaningful” conversation. China has yet to condemn Russia for its aggression and the two countries have maintained friendly relations.

While on a state visit to America Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s president, and Joe Biden issued the “Washington Declaration”, a joint statement on America’s nuclear deterrent. Its purpose was mutual reassurance: America agreed to beef up consultation with South Korea, while South Korea reaffirmed its commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, despite growing calls for it to get its own nukes.

Quarterly profits at Samsung Electronics plunged to their lowest level in 14 years. The world’s largest memory-chip maker said the 95% year-on-year drop was due to “weak demand” and “inventory adjustments from customers”. Earlier this month the South Korean firm announced a “meaningful” cut in its memory-chip production, amid an industry-wide slump.

Disney sued Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and other state officials for “weaponising the power of government” to punish the company. Earlier a board appointed by Mr DeSantis nullified development contracts at Disney’s Orlando-area resort. The firm calls that a violation of its property rights, intended as punishment for having criticised Mr DeSantis’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

For the first time in the Vatican’s history women will vote in the Synod of Bishops, a periodical gathering of church leaders, which will be held in October. Pope Francis requested the appointment of 70 non-bishop members of the meeting, half of which are to be women. A leader of the Women’s Ordination Conference, an activist group, called the decision “a significant crack in the stained-glass ceiling”.

Fact of the day: 70%, the proportion of Americans who do not want Joe Biden to run for re-election. Read the full story.

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PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

America’s growth stays strong, for now

Before 2023 began many forecasters thought the American economy would enter a recession at the start of the year. It has fared quite a bit better than that. GDP figures for the first quarter, released on Thursday, are now expected to show growth at an annual pace of about 2%. That is largely because of a tight labour market, which has pushed up wages and helped to sustain consumption.

Continued predictions of recession may sound too gloomy given America’s better-than-expected performance to date. But it will struggle to avoid a sharp slowdown. Turmoil in the banking sector threatens the wider economy. The labour market is starting to weaken, with more people collecting unemployment insurance. Meanwhile, inflation is still high, forcing the Federal Reserve to maintain a tight monetary policy. The first quarter may be the high-water mark for American growth this year.

PHOTO: DAVE SIMONDS

Meloni and Sunak on common ground

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, comes to London on Thursday to meet her British counterpart, Rishi Sunak. Co-operation between their countries has been blossoming. Last December, Britain and Italy joined Japan in a project to develop next-generation fighter aircraft. In February, the two countries signed Britain’s first trade agreement with an EU state since Brexit.

Ms Meloni, a populist, and Mr Sunak, who styles himself as more of a technocrat, in fact, have plenty in common. Each is tackling seaborne irregular migration (even if the roughly 5,000 migrants crossing the Channel to Britain this year are dwarfed by the almost 37,000 who have landed in Italy). Both leaders came into office last October. Both are conservatives, though Ms Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy, has a more radical tradition with roots in neo-fascism—leading to a colder shoulder from French and German counterparts compared with the reception of her moderate predecessor, Mario Draghi. She could do with a friend in London.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

America's dead banks walking

On Monday First Republic Bank revealed that it had lost more than $100bn of its deposits in the first quarter. After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March, well-heeled customers, who held balances too large to be insured by regulators, had fled the mid-sized American bank. With depositors gone its alternatives are recapitalisation by investors or the government. But investors are fleeing too, with the bank’s share price plunging by 50% on Tuesday. The firm is reported to be in talks with regulators, who have repeatedly promised deposits in the banking system are safe.

How many more banks are at risk? One study found that if half of uninsured depositors—the type that felled SVB and may soon fell First Republic—pulled their money out, some 190 American banks, with combined assets of $300bn, would be left with negative equity capital. If this figure included First Republic it suggests any other lurking zombies would be much smaller. Still, another scare hardly seems out of the question.

PHOTO: AP

Missouri goes after adult gender medicine

In the name of protecting children, more than a dozen American states restrict access to gender medicine for minors. But few have sought to ban such treatments for adults. Grown-ups should, the argument goes, be free to do with their bodies what they wish. Yet if Missouri has its way, treatment will be severely restricted for adults too. An emergency law, due to take effect on Thursday, would have banned doctors from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery to new patients before high bars are met. These include evidence of three consecutive years of “medically documented” gender dysphoria, hours of therapy, resolution of any mental-health conditions, and screening for autism and “social-media addiction”. On Wednesday, however, a judge put the new regime on pause while a legal challenge to it plays out.

The state’s Republican attorney-general, Andrew Bailey, says that such measures will help those struggling with their gender identity “make good decisions”. But the litigation will be a test case for other states. Conservative politicians and advocates of trans rights elsewhere will be watching closely.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Last Late, Late Show

On Thursday James Corden will sit under Studio 56’s neon purple lights for the last time. After eight years of hosting “The Late Late Show” in Los Angeles, the British comedian is returning to London to spend more time with his family.

He won’t be short of things to do. Mr Corden has continued to act in films and television shows during his tenure; he has said he hopes to return to theatre, too. Other talk-show hosts, such as David Letterman and Jon Stewart, landed deals with streaming services after stepping away from their duties.

But CBS, the network which airs the programme, will feel Mr Corden’s absence. Clips of his show are watched online by hundreds of millions of people. (Its YouTube channel has 28.3m subscribers; by comparison, the rival “The Daily Show” has 10.4m.) According to Deadline, an entertainment website, the lights will go off on the “Late Late Show” franchise when Mr Corden, its fourth host, departs. Talk about being irreplaceable.