The daily business briefing: August 20, 2018

1. Greece exits bailout but faces lingering problems

Greece on Monday officially emerges from $360 billion in bailout loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund. The conclusion of Greece's third bailout in eight years ends a debt crisis that included intense loan negotiations, austerity programs, and suspense over whether Greece would exit the euro. Greece's economy is slowly returning to growth after one of Europe's most brutal financial crises, and European leaders say the debt crisis that nearly broke up the euro is over. Greece still has a long way to go, however. The crisis has left a third of the country's population of 10 million near poverty, and reduced household incomes by 30 percent, leaving more than a fifth of people unable to pay rent or other basic expenses.

The Wall Street Journal The New York Times

2. Michael Cohen is being investigated for bank fraud exceeding $20 million

Federal investigators are looking into whether Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer and fixer, committed bank and tax fraud when securing more than $20 million in loans and if he violated campaign finance laws when arranging financial deals with women who said they had affairs with Trump, several people familiar with the matter told The New York Times. Two people said the probe is in its end stages, and prosecutors are mulling filing charges by the end of August. Investigators are trying to figure out if Cohen misrepresented the value of his assets in order to obtain loans from two banks for his taxi business, and if he failed to report income from that same business to the IRS, the Times reports.

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The New York Times

3. PepsiCo buying SodaStream for $3.2 billion

PepsiCo announced Monday that it plans to acquire at-home carbonated drink-maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion. The deal will extend the soda and snack giant's access to more health-conscious consumers. PepsiCo's purchase of the Israeli company marks one of the final big moves by outgoing CEO Indra Nooyi, who has diversified the company by steering it more toward healthy products to restore growth as demand for traditional sugary sodas weakens. PepsiCo is paying $144 per share for the company, an 11 percent premium over its Friday closing price and a 32 percent premium on its 30-day volume weighted average price.

CNBC Bloomberg

4. Report: U.S. drops demand for agriculture restrictions in NAFTA talks

The Trump administration has dropped its demand to restrict Mexican agricultural exports as part of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico's main farm lobby said Sunday. "Our U.S. counterparts tell us that [...] the United States has decided to withdraw (the proposal) from the table," said Mario Andrade, vice president for foreign trade at Mexico's National Agricultural Council (CNA). The report came as discussions to revamp the 24-year-old trade pact involving the U.S., Mexico, and Canada enter a critical phase. Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said key issues between the U.S. and Mexico could be worked out this week.

Reuters

5. U.S. stock futures inch up on hopes of easing trade tensions

U.S. stock-index futures edged higher on Monday on optimism stemming from signs of progress toward easing trade tensions between the Trump administration and China. Negotiators are working on fresh talks aimed at ending the dispute by November, although the Trump administration this week is scheduled to impose 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose by 0.2 percent, while those of the Nasdaq-100 gained 0.3 percent. U.S. stocks jumped last week as Turkey's currency market showed signs of stabilizing. Greek stocks led European stocks higher on Monday as the country emerged from eight years of bailouts, ending one of Europe's most intense debt crises.

MarketWatch