The daily business briefing: June 7, 2023

1. PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and DP World Tour announce merger

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf League announced unexpectedly on Tuesday that they had agreed to join forces and form a unified golf league, ending a legal fight that has lasted more than a year and split some of the sport's top players. The tour called the deal "a landmark agreement ... on a global basis." PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the tours realized that their fight was helping no one, and "we can have a far greater impact on this game" working together than apart. The tours made the deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which financed LIV Golf, without telling players.

ESPN

2. SEC sues Coinbase as crypto-exchange crackdown continues

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Coinbase on Tuesday, a day after it sued the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. The SEC says Coinbase, the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, failed to register as an exchange and submit to federal regulation. The actions against Coinbase and Binance stepped up efforts by the SEC and its chair, Gary Gensler, to tighten oversight of the industry. Both companies vowed to fight the suits and tried to reassure customers that their assets were secure. Coinbase accused the SEC of failing to provide clear rules for crypto firms and taking an "enforcement-only approach" to the industry.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. China exports fell sharply in May

Chinese exports fell by 7.5% in May compared to a year earlier to $284 billion. The decline, the first in three months, was worse than the 1.8% drop economists had forecast. The dwindling overseas shipments increased the risk of a downturn in the world's second largest economy due to weakening global demand. Shipments to most countries fell, but exports to the United States, Japan, Southeast Asia, France, and Italy fell by double digits. Imports also fell 4.5%, less than the expected 8% drop. China saw an export surge earlier this year after the government abruptly lifted its strict "zero Covid" rules, but the recovery has sputtered recently, with manufacturing activity contracting last month.

Bloomberg

4. Stock futures little changed after S&P 500 hits 2023 high mark

U.S. stock futures were little changed early Wednesday after Tuesday's modest gains lifted the S&P 500 to its highest close of 2023. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq were up 0.1% at 6:30 a.m. ET. S&P 500 futures were flat. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to close at its highest level since August 2022. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4%. The Dow was little changed. The modest gains, coming instead of a sharp retreat after last week's big rally, could signal good news, said 50 Park Investments CEO Adam Sarhan. "Normally, after a big run up, you see a market pullback, and when the market doesn't pull back and goes sideways, that to me is very bullish," he told CNBC.

CNBC

5. Ford issues new recall due to fire risk

Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it was recalling 125,000 sport utility vehicles and trucks due to the risk that engine failures could result in a fire. The recall covers 2020-2023 Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs and Maverick compact pickup trucks with 2.5L hybrid or plug-in hybrid engines, the automaker said in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recalled vehicles have similar engines with an electric motor that can continue running if a fluid leak stops its conventional engine, increasing the risk of fire. Ford recalled 100,000 of the vehicles last year for a similar problem, and issued the new recall after three vehicles that had undergone last year's fix caught fire.

Reuters