The daily business briefing: August 2, 2023

1. Fitch downgrades U.S. credit rating, stock futures fall

U.S. stock futures fell early Wednesday after Fitch downgraded the long-term U.S.credit rating from AAA, the highest tier, to AA+ on Tuesday evening, saying repeated partisan debt-limit standoffs have shaken confidence in the nation's fiscal management. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively, at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were down 1%. The Dow gained 0.2% on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. The lackluster day came in a busy week for corporate earnings. With earnings season more than halfway over, 82% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported second-quarter earnings have beaten Wall Street's expectations.

CNBC

2. Overstock rebrands online as Bed Bath & Beyond

Overstock officially rebranded itself as Bed Bath & Beyond online Tuesday, less than two days after the home goods retailer closed its last brick-and-mortar stores. Overstock's takeover was among the fastest relaunches of a bankrupt brand and website ever. GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders said Overstock was making a "big bet" that could generate more traffic and online sales. "Bed Bath & Beyond is a much more powerful, much better-known brand than Overstock and, despite recent problems, it retains a lot of customer goodwill," he wrote in a note.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Axios

3. DeSantis-stacked Disney board scraps diversity programs

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which serves as the local authority for Walt Disney World, announced Tuesday that it was abolishing diversity and equity programs. "Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal," District Administrator Glen Gilzean said. The board is filled with appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has clashed with Disney over numerous social issues since the entertainment giant criticized his Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics call the "don't say gay law." The district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was created in 1967 to support economic development and tourism around the theme park.

Orlando Sentinel

4. Job openings inch down to lowest since 2021

U.S. job openings edged down in June to their lowest level in more than two years in the latest sign that the labor market remains strong despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to raise borrowing costs to slow the economy and bring down inflation. "While today's report discusses data from June, this continued strength in the labor market is likely to keep Fed officials hawkish," said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James. Job openings dropped 34,000 to 9.6 million. That amounted to 1.6 job openings per unemployed person, little changed from May. The Labor Department also reported that layoffs fell for the third straight month as employers try to hold onto workers after struggling to keep staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Reuters

5. U.S. starts enforcing ban on most incandescent light bulbs

A Biden administration's ban on most incandescent light bulbs took effect on Tuesday. The rule — which was finalized last year and assures the switch to LED lights — bars the sale of most types of incandescent light bulbs in U.S. stores under an energy efficiency standard set in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, signed by former President George W. Bush, that requires light bulbs to produce at least 45 lumens per watt. Traditional incandescent lights produce 15 lumens per watt, CNN reports, citing light bulb maker Philips. Most LED bulbs get you at least 75 lumens per watt. LED bulbs also last much longer — 30,000 to 50,000 hours of useful life, versus 1,000 hours for incandescent bulbs, according to the Energy Department.

The Hill CNN