The daily business briefing: July 17, 2023

1. Russia halts Ukraine grain deal

Russia said Monday it was ending its deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain. The announcement came after the Kremlin blamed Ukraine for an attack that forced the closure of a key bridge Russia uses to resupply its troops in Crimea. But Moscow said its decision on the grain deal had nothing to do with the explosions reported on the bridge. Russia says conditions concerning Russia's interests, including the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the international SWIFT payment system, haven't been fulfilled. "As soon as the Russian part of the agreements is fulfilled, the Russian side will return to the implementation of this deal immediately," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters.

Reuters The Washington Post

2. China's economic growth slows

China's economy grew just 0.8% in the second quarter compared with the previous three-month period, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported Monday. That's a significant slowdown from a 2.2% January-to-March pace. Beijing is facing increasing pressure to revive the country's economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Youth unemployment surged to a record high 21.3% in June, with more than a fifth of people from 16 to 24 out of work. "The Chinese economy is clearly sputtering," said Eswar Prasad, a former head of the International Monetary Fund's China division who is now a Cornell professor of trade policy and economics.

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The Wall Street Journal Bloomberg

3. Tesla builds 1st Cybertruck, 2 years late

Tesla produced its first Cybertruck over the weekend, two years behind schedule. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the futuristic electric pickup truck in 2019, but the company has repeatedly pushed back mass production of the vehicle. Last year, Musk announced another delay, blaming supply chain shortages. In May, Musk told shareholders the company hoped to produce 250,000 of the vehicles annually, if there's enough demand. Reuters reported last year that Tesla was aiming to start mass producing Cybertrucks by the end of 2023.

Fox Business

4. Stock futures struggle after last week's gains

U.S. stock futures were little changed early Monday as investors braced for a week full of corporate earnings reports. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were flat. The Dow rose 2.3 percent last week, its best week since March. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.4% and 3.3%, respectively, on the week after the latest data showed slower than expected inflation, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve might be able to bring down inflation without triggering a recession.

CNBC

5. Latest 'Mission: Impossible' film leads weekend box office

"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" led the weekend box office with a solid $56.2 million, giving it $80 million in the United States and Canada since its Wednesday opening. The seventh of Tom Cruise' "Mission: Impossible" movies also brought in $155 million overseas. But Hollywood had been expecting the film to be an even bigger box office draw, so its opening failed to ease concerns about a lackluster summer box office. Paramount and Skydance had been expecting their film to set a franchise record with an opening weekend domestic haul of more than $60 million.

Variety The New York Times