Market Talks covering the impact of U.S. Politics and White House policies on companies and markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1354 ET - Canada's minister for cultural policy, Marc Miller, says in a post on social-media platform X he's reviewing the Canadian broadcasting regulator's decision regarding online streaming, which incorporates a significant jump in the level of cash U.S. streamers must set aside for domestic programming. Michael Geist, an internet law expert at the University of Ottawa, says Miller's statement is ambiguous, and he wonders whether the Canadian government recognizes the possible fallout on U.S.-Canada trade relations. The post "has the look of a government preparing to distance itself from what it set in motion," says Geist, noting the Liberal government pushed for a new regime regarding online streamers. A representative from Miller's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)
1303 ET - On the surface, it appears Canada's broadcast regulator is tripling the levy, from 5% to 15%, that U.S. streamers face on their Canadian revenue that needs to be spent on Canadian programming. Michael Geist, an internet law expert at the University of Ottawa, says the spending obligations are actually much worse, according to the fine print. The regulator, known as the CRTC, is compelling streamers like Netflix to spend about a third of that 15% on projects in which the Canadian partner owns the copyright. "That isn't the model for Netflix et al, who want to control the copyright on a global basis," Geist tells WSJ. This is why the Motion Picture Association and other digital lobby groups want the Trump administration to apply pressure on Canada PM Mark Carney to repeal the online streaming rules. (paul.vieira@wsj.com, @paulvieira)
1154 ET - The Trump administration's plans to give $1 billion in grants to International Business Machines for quantum computing initiatives won't necessarily change the company's timeline for developing and commercializing the technology, but it does reinforce IBM's position as a leader in the field, according to Wedbush in a note. The grants, part of a $2 billion quantum initiative from the Commerce Department, comes as IBM makes progress toward important quantum milestones in 2028 and 2029. "We believe that the US administration's funding of quantum computing initiatives will act as a new catalyst to the industry with IBM at the helm," the analysts write. "We believe IBM's positioning at the forefront of AI and quantum remains underappreciated." IBM is up 1.6%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
0911 ET - A coalition of US digital companies asks the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee to aggressively champion a proposed bill in Congress that compels the USTR to investigate Canada's online streaming rules, and if required, respond with retaliatory tariffs. The group, known as the Streaming Innovation Alliance, says the decision by Canadian regulators to sharply raise a levy on U.S. streamers' domestic revenue to fund local programming represents "regressive, unaffordable and discriminatory" policy. "Coordinated, unified legislative and executive branch activity is needed to stop Canada from furthering this harmful, costly attack on US innovators... and to deter other nations from following suit," the alliance says in a letter to House and Ways committee chairman Jason Smith (R-MO). (paul.vieira@wsj.com, @paulvieira)
0844 ET - The National Foreign Trade Council follows in the footsteps of the powerful Hollywood lobby group, Motion Picture Association, in condemning Canada's decision to roughly triple the financial contributions that US streaming firms are obligated to make to fund local programming. At the same time, Canada's broadcast regulator is scaling back contributions from domestic broadcasters. The council says a hike to 15% of Canadian revenue is "based on extremely prescriptive and onerous criteria, [and] is incendiary." The DC-based council urges the Trump administration to take action to get Canada to repeal its policy. "Canada risks exacerbating the strains in our bilateral relationship. It is the wrong policy at the wrong time." (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)
0502 ET - The European Union needs to ensure it has a degree of predictability in its trade deal with the U.S., Michal Baranowski, undersecretary of state in Poland's Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, says ahead of a meeting of trade ministers in Brussels on Friday. His comments come after the EU reached a provisional agreement on the U.S. trade deal earlier this week, adding safeguards in an effort to protect European manufacturers. "They do provide tools for us to react in case there are any changes coming from our partner in the U.S.," he says. "We need...predictability in this relationship." (edith.hancock@wsj.com)
0244 ET - The dollar trades steady as investors await more clarity over the Middle East conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Marc Rubio said there were some "good signs" that the U.S. could reach a peace deal with Iran but he doesn't want to be "overly optimistic." Meanwhile, President Trump will host the swearing-in of new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Friday. Warsh is unlikely to deliver Trump's desired rate cuts if not warranted by data but he could limit or delay any rate rises, Standard Chartered analysts say in a note. The DXY dollar index trades flat at 99.289. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
2325 ET - The markets are caught between U.S.-Iran deal hopes and long weekend risks, OCBC Group Research's Christopher Wong says in a research report. "Softer oil and a modest pullback in UST yields helped ease the defensive tone, but investors remain wary of overpricing U.S.-Iran deal optimism before there is confirmation," the foreign-exchange strategist says. With the U.S. and the U.K. both having holidays on Monday, there is also "less appetite to add risk aggressively into the long weekend," Wong says. "The near-term setup is therefore less about a decisive directional break and more about positioning risk around the next headline." (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
1840 ET - US-Canada trade tensions are likely to escalate after Canada's decision to increase the share of revenue big US online streamers have to contribute to the production of Canadian programming. Mark Warner, a Toronto trade lawyer who practices in both the US and Canada, says Canadian regulators are pushing for higher contributions from US streamers even though Ottawa's cultural rules have angered USTR and face bipartisan criticism in Congress. Canada argues USMCA provides cultural exemptions. Warner, however, says USMCA also allows the US to retaliate on matters related to cultural industries. "Neither side has left itself much room to back down and so its hard to see how this ends amicably," Warner says. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 22, 2026 13:54 ET (17:54 GMT)
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