The Fed Signals Urgency

The stakes are high. In September, John Gibson, the chief executive of Tripwire Interactive, a gaming company in Georgia, tweeted that he was “proud” of the Supreme Court for “affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat.” He was replaced within days. Pushback goes both ways: In Florida, Disney’s run-in with the governor, Ron DeSantis, underlines the backlash companies can face for publicly criticizing state legislation.

The labor market is a factor. Some executives say restrictive laws have negatively affected recruiting.

• Vivek Bhaskaran, the chief executive of QuestionPro, a technology services company that in recent years moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, said the state’s restrictive laws had hampered the company’s ability to recruit talent. “I’ve done tons of interviews, and in almost all of these conversations, we end up talking about the abortion law in one way, shape or form,” he said. “One lady said, ‘My personal values are not really tied to Texas — are you going to force me to move to Texas?’”

• Solugen, a Houston-based chemicals company, said it would open a second office in Boston to accommodate recruits who didn’t want to move to Texas.

“If oil is available and at a discount, why shouldn’t I buy it? I need it for my people.”

— Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister. India has found substantially discounted Russian oil to be an irresistible deal, no matter the diplomatic pressure.

At Milken, fears of rising corporate debt

The annual Milken Institute Global Conference hosted by the financier Michael Milken concluded yesterday. It drew some 3,500 academics, deal makers, politicians and celebrities this week to the Beverly Hilton, and closed with a Beach Boys concert that included the band’s 1964 hit “Don’t Worry Baby.” Few, though, seemed to be taking the advice. The conference, in which billionaires usually come to exchange outlooks for their portfolios and the economy, had a more downbeat tone than usual.

The Goldman Sachs chief executive, David Solomon, said he was worried about what the Fed’s rate increases would do to markets and the economy. “Facebook broke democracy,” Danielle Allen, a Harvard political theorist, said during a panel discussion on how to heal the political divide in America.

Separately, according to a new report published this morning by Johnson Associates, a compensation consulting firm, most year-end bonuses on Wall Street are likely to drop because the volume of deals so far this year is significantly down from 2021. The firm also expects hiring to slow as asset managers try to rein in spending. Last year, the average bonus paid to employees in New York City’s securities industries rose to $257,500, which is 20 percent higher than the record high in 2020, according to estimates published in March by New York State.