Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Cash flow: The US House of Representatives has passed a USD95 billion ($148 billion) legislative package which provides support to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The bills, which will go before the Senate on Tuesday, provide USD60 billion in support for Ukraine to replenish its arsenal in its war with Russia, USD26 billion for Israel — including $9.1 billion set aside for humanitarian aid, including in Gaza — and USD8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific region including Taiwan. The package has been controversial in the House, with its constituent bills strongly opposed by some Republicans and Democrats both in the media and the final vote tally. It passed on a bipartisan basis through a strong appeal to centrist factions in both parties, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson muscling through tough opposition in his party to the Ukraine bill in particular. The Senate is expected to pass the bill sometime this week and send it to President Biden to sign. (Reuters)
2.
TikTok woes: The House also once again passed a bill that could ban TikTok from the US unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests its US assets. The 21st Century Peace through Strength Act was included in the foreign aid package to sweeten the overall deal for conservatives and to ease the passage of a potential TikTok ban through the Senate. The bill would give ByteDance up to a year to divest, an increase from the six months mandated by the previous bill. "It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans," TikTok said in a statement. The company is also set to remove Erich Andersen, the general counsel it tasked with fending off US government action, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
