The daily business briefing: November 15, 2021

1. Trump to sell controversial D.C. hotel for $375 million

Former President Donald Trump's family real estate company has reached a deal to sell the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., for at least $375 million. CGI Merchant Group of Miami is buying the hotel and plans to have it branded and managed by Hilton's Waldorf Astoria group. The sale could be finalized in early 2022. The hotel is operated in the leased former Old Post Office building, which is owned by the federal government. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform plans to continue investigating "conflicts of interest and potential constitutional violations raised by Donald Trump's lease of this hotel from the federal government while he was President," adding that the matter "won't be fully resolved by selling off this hotel."

The Wall Street Journal

2. Global media critical of COP26 climate deal

Global media gave mixed reviews Sunday to the COP26 summit climate deal reached in Glasgow, CNBC reported. The Scottish Mail praised the "ambitious" agreement, but Scotland on Sunday was among those disappointed about the watering down of language on coal insisted on by India and China — both major coal burners. "We are still on the road to hell," Scotland on Sunday said. The New York Times and The Washington Post noted that the summit failed to produce enough commitments necessary to limit global temperature from rising to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, a key goal. In China, the world's biggest carbon polluter, the state-backed Xinhua news agency noted the deal called for doubling support to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

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CNBC

3. Southwest employee hospitalized after alleged assault by passenger

A Southwest Airlines employee was hospitalized after a passenger assaulted her during boarding in Dallas, airline officials said Sunday. Dallas police said 32-year-old Arielle Jean Jackson boarded the New York-bound flight and started a "verbal altercation" with a flight attendant in the rear of the plane. The flight attendant told Jackson to get off the plane, and as she was leaving she allegedly punched an airline operations agent in the head. Police arrested her on an aggravated assault charge, a Dallas police spokesperson, Juan Fernandez, said Sunday. The operations agent was taken to a hospital in stable condition. "Southwest Airlines maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding any type of harassment or assault and fully supports our Employee as we cooperate with local authorities regarding this unacceptable incident," the airline said in a statement.

The Washington Post

4. Stock futures rise slightly after major averages break winning streak

U.S. stock index futures edged higher early Monday, signaling a positive start to the week's trading after the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped five-week winning streaks. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up by about 0.2 percent several hours before the opening bell. Futures for the Dow rose by 0.3 percent. Last week, stocks were dragged lower after a government report showing that inflation reached a three-decade high in October. Investors this week will be watching retail sales data due out on Tuesday for signs of whether consumers are ramping up spending in a rebound after the summer coronavirus surge. Housing construction data due on Wednesday also could provide clues on how the recovery is going.

CNBC

5. Biden picks former New Orleans mayor to supervise infrastructure plan

President Biden has chosen former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to supervise the work to be done under the more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan Biden is expected to sign Monday, the White House said Sunday. Landrieu helped guide his city's recovery after the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. He took office in 2010, when recovery efforts had stalled five years after the storm. He secured billions in federal funding for roads, schools parks, and infrastructure, and turned New Orleans "into one of America's great comeback stories," the White House said. His job now is to coordinate federal agencies' work on roads, ports, bridges, airports, and broadband infrastructure.

The Associated Press