The daily business briefing: May 11, 2018

U.S. imposes sanctions against Iranian currency exchange.

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1. U.S. imposes sanctions against Iranian currency exchange
2. Spotify removes R. Kelly from playlists
3. Stocks gain as inflation data cools down
4. Dropbox beats expectations in first quarterly report since IPO
5. Musk posts video of LA tunnel promising rides in a few months

published 11 May 2018

1. U.S. imposes sanctions against Iranian currency exchange

The U.S. imposed new sanctions Thursday on an Iranian currency exchange Washington accuses of funneling money to the blacklisted elite Quds Force military unit. Acting jointly with the United Arab Emirates, the Treasury Department targeted several Iranian firms and individuals it said were involved in the financing operation. The sanctions marked the first concrete step against Tehran since President Trump announced this week that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 deal with world powers calling for Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the suspension of punishing sanctions. The Trump administration is using new sanctions as leverage to pressure Iran and other nations to produce a new deal that restricts Iran's missile program and its support for militants across the region in addition to its nuclear program.

Spotify announced Thursday that it was removing R. Kelly's music from its playlists as the singer's critics call for him to face repercussions for alleged sexual misconduct. Kelly has been accused of sexually abusing and assaulting several women and teenage girls over the span of decades. A campaign called #MuteRKelly urges people to stop listening to the singer's music. Spotify has removed Kelly's songs from its curated and algorithmic playlists, although his songs will still be available generally on the service. Spotify said in a statement that the move was intended to "reflect our values." Kelly has denied all allegations against him.

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Tech and health care stocks led a broad rally that gave the U.S. market its second straight day of solid gains on Thursday. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 0.9 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8 percent. U.S. stock index futures edged higher early Friday, with the Dow edging up by 0.2 percent and looking for a seventh straight day of gains that would be its longest winning streak since last year. Cooler inflation data helped lift stocks on Thursday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is scheduled to speak on economic and monetary policy in Springfield, Missouri, on Friday morning, and investors will be looking for hints on how slowing inflation will affect the Fed's plans for raising interest rates.

Dropbox Inc. on Thursday reported revenue, profit, and subscriber growth that beat analysts' estimates in its first quarterly report since its stock made its market debut in March. The file-sharing and storage company said it had 11.5 million paying subscribers at the end of March, a 23.7 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had estimated 11.3 million. Dropbox, which competes with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Box, said it had revenue of $114.3 per user, beating estimates of $110. Its quarterly loss widened to $465.5 million, mostly due to expenses for its IPO, but on an adjusted basis it earned 8 cents per share, exceeding estimates of 5 cents.

Elon Musk posted a video Thursday showing his Boring Company's first traffic-dodging tunnel under Los Angeles, promising locals they will soon be able to try it out. "First Boring Company tunnel under LA almost done!" the entrepreneur wrote in an Instagram post showing video of the tunnel. "Pending final regulatory approvals, we will be offering free rides to the public in a few months." The City Council's public works committee last month approved an environmental review exemption for a 2.7-mile tunnel under West Los Angeles. Musk also said on Twitter that the company has started boring a tunnel between Washington, D.C., and New York.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.