California wildfire law spikes liability risk for utilities, triggering major stock drops.

California lawmakers are set to vote on Senate Bill 492, which increases liability for utilities like PG&E and Edison International over wildfire damages. The bill includes executive pay limits, a fast-pay program for victims, and bans selling wildfire claims to private equity. This legislation has caused PG&E and Edison shares to plunge over 20%, as it removes protections that would shield utilities from wildfire-related lawsuits and forces them to cover large costs without passing them to customers. The bill's impact is significant due to recent costly fires linked to utility equipment, and analysts have downgraded these stocks citing increased financial risks. Meanwhile, Shein's IPO in Hong Kong saw shares fall below the initial price, and Airbnb is testing a new program offering select U.S. hosts lower fees to attract more bookings.