The daily business briefing: July 18, 2023

1. Russia seizes local operations of Carlsberg, Danone

Russia escalated its clash with the West by seizing the local operations of global consumer-goods giants Carlsberg and Danone, without warning. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Sunday putting the two companies' operations in Russia under the temporary control of Rosimushchestvo, the federal state property management agency. It was the second time since April that the Kremlin has taken over companies from countries Moscow has deemed "unfriendly." Putin also set up new obstacles to companies trying to leave Russia, as many have done since Russia invaded Ukraine. "Western assets in Russia aren't safe anymore," said former Russia central-bank official Alexandra Prokopenko, a nonresident scholar at the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

The Wall Street Journal

2. Ford cuts F-150 Lightning electric pickup prices

Ford Motor on Monday slashed the price of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck by as much as $10,000, or up to 17% on some versions of the vehicle. Automakers spent years rushing to find enough EV batteries to meet demand, but now they have more than 90,000 battery-powered cars and trucks — four times the inventory they had a year ago — with not enough buyers. Tesla also has made several rounds of price cuts. Manufacturers "are having a 'Field of Dreams' moment," Jonathan Gregory, a senior manager of economic and industry insight at Cox, told The New York Times. "They have built EV inventory, but now they wait for buyers to come."

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The New York Times

3. UN, US denounce Russia for halting Ukraine grain export deal

World leaders reacted harshly on Monday to Russia's decision to end a United Nations-brokered deal that let Ukraine export its grain through the Black Sea. "Today's decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, indicating that Russia's decision would force the suspension of a parallel pact to help Moscow export its grain and fertilizer. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia's move unconscionable, and the White House said it "will worsen food security and harm millions." Moscow, which said it might revive the deal if it gets concessions to protect Russian interests, hit the Ukrainian grain port of Odesa with missiles on Tuesday.

Reuters The Associated Press

4. Stock futures flat ahead of earnings reports

U.S. stock futures were little changed early Tuesday following Monday's gains as investors braced for more corporate earnings reports. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat at 6:45 a.m. ET. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up by about 0.1%. The Dow rose 0.2% to its highest close of 2023, extending a winning streak to six days. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively, as recession fears eased. On Tuesday, several financial companies, including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, report earnings, as do aerospace firm Lockheed Martin and trucking company J.B. Hunt.

CNBC

5. Goldman Sachs says recession slightly less likely

Goldman Sachs on Monday cut its estimate of the probability of a recession in the next 12 months to 20% from its earlier 25% prediction. "The main reason for our cut is that the recent data have reinforced our confidence that bringing inflation down to an acceptable level will not require a recession," Jan Hatzius, the investment bank's chief economist, said in a research note, according to Reuters. Recent data showing that inflation fell in June eased fears that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, intended to slow the economy and reduce inflation, could tip the economy into a recession.

Reuters