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Stocks rallied yesterday with Nvidia bouncing back to end a three-day decline. Investors are now focused on its upcoming annual shareholder meeting to gauge whether the AI chipmaker can sustain its regained momentum.

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Finance

Credit Card Fee Battles

A long-running lawsuit, nearly old enough for legal drinking age, will continue after a New York federal judge formally rejected a contentious settlement between retailers and credit card giants Visa and Mastercard.

Back in 2005, the same year Google Maps and Wedding Crashers debuted, four merchant associations initiated an antitrust class action against Visa, Mastercard, and affiliated banks, alleging excessive control over swipe fees—charges retailers must pay for credit card transactions. This March, a settlement was reached:

Visa and Mastercard agreed to gradually reduce swipe fees, which typically range from 2% to 4% on consumer transactions, by 0.04 percentage points over three years, with an average reduction of 0.07 points over five years.

However, many major retailers expressed outrage, arguing that the estimated $30 billion savings over five years was insufficient.

Swipe fees are substantial: Last year, financial institutions issuing Visa and Mastercard cards collected $172 billion in these fees, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.

Merchants particularly seek to eliminate the "honor all cards" rule, unaddressed in the settlement, which mandates accepting all cards under Visa or Mastercard, regardless of issuer or higher swipe fees.

Judge Margo Brodie had previously signaled her reluctance to approve the deal, indicating that the survival of the "honor all cards" rule played a role. While she didn't disclose her reasons in yesterday's decision, her detailed opinion is anticipated around June 29.

Next steps could involve renegotiating a more favorable settlement for merchants or proceeding to trial.

Space

NASA will pay for Rogue Space

In an unusual twist, Alejandro Otero and his family are requesting compensation from NASA after a piece of space debris crashed into their home in Naples, Florida earlier this year.

NASA acknowledged that the 1.6-pound metal fragment, which caused roof damage but fortunately harmed no one, originated from equipment discarded from the International Space Station. NASA had anticipated the fragment would burn up upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, but this did not occur.

This legal dispute could establish a precedent regarding liability for human-made space objects causing damage on U.S. soil.

Seeking restitution for the damaged roof

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the family is seeking damages exceeding $80,000, according to their attorney Mica Nguyen Worthy, as reported by the Washington Post. They claim losses for property damage not covered by insurance, business interruption, and emotional distress.

Worthy emphasizes that the Otero family aims to create a streamlined process for Americans to receive compensation in cases involving space debris originating from NASA.

Currently, governments are responsible for compensating for space debris incidents, but only when they occur on foreign soil under the Space Liability Convention.

The incidence of space debris falling to Earth is expected to increase due to more frequent launches, as evidenced by recent events such as the piece of a SpaceX Dragon trunk landing near Asheville, North Carolina.

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