The daily business briefing: December 29, 2016

1. Trump touts Sprint plan to bring 5,000 jobs to U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Softbank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son had promised to move 5,000 jobs at Softbank's telecom Sprint from other countries to the U.S. Trump also noted that Sofbank-backed satellite startup OneWeb would create 3,000 jobs. Sprint clarified that the jobs were part of Softbank's previously announced plan to create jobs, and that only some of its new jobs would be moved from abroad, while the rest would be newly created positions. Trump's announcement came after the latest in a series of direct talks he has had with corporate CEOs on boosting U.S. employment.

The Washington Post Bloomberg

2. Stocks struggle after biggest drop in months

U.S. stocks had their worst drop in two months on Wednesday after new housing data showed sales of previously owned homes falling in November to their lowest level in nearly a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 111 points, or 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 19 points (0.8 percent), its biggest drop in two months, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 49 points, or 0.9 percent. Boeing stock dropped by 0.9 percent after Delta Air Lines canceled a $4 billion order for 18 Dreamliner jets. The benchmark U.S. indexes edged still lower before the opening bell on Thursday.

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Reuters MarketWatch

3. Obama creates two new national monuments in Utah and Nevada

President Obama on Wednesday designated two new national monuments in Utah and Nevada, protecting 1.65 million acres of federal land. Most of it, 1.35 million acres, surrounds the Bears Ears Buttes in southeastern Utah. The rest is northeast of Las Vegas around Nevada's Gold Butte. The moves were the latest in a series of actions Obama has made to protect public lands and waters from development as time runs out for him to seal his environmental legacy before leaving office in January. Native American tribes and others have been pushing to protect the areas for years, but some locals and Republican lawmakers have called Obama's efforts to protect parts of the West a federal land grab.

The New York Times

4. Takata stock soars after report of settlement with Justice Department

Takata Corp. shares surged by as much as 16 percent on Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Japanese automotive supplier was nearing a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its faulty airbags. Under the deal, Takata reportedly would plead guilty to misconduct and pay penalties as high as $1 billion. The settlement could be finalized as early as next month. Takata said it was not the source of the newspaper's report. Justice Department officials declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal Bloomberg

5. Cempra shares plunge after FDA balks over new drug application

Shares of pharmaceutical company Cempra dropped by 28 percent in pre-market trading Thursday after the company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had rejected its antibiotic for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. The FDA said it could approve new applications for the drug, solithromycin, until the company resolved manufacturing issues and provided more safety data. An independent panel narrowly recommended FDA approval of the drug in November, but FDA scientists in a staff review highlighted a potentially concerning rise in liver enzymes from the drug's use.

MarketWatch