The daily business briefing: March 22, 2016

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1. European markets fall in wake of deadly Brussels explosions
2. Apple launches smaller iPhone and iPad Pro
3. Gas prices almost hit 2016 high
4. American Express cuts CEO's pay after rough year
5. PetroBras posts its biggest quarterly loss ever

published 22 March 2016

1. European markets fall in wake of deadly Brussels explosions

European stocks dropped on Tuesday after at least 26 people were killed in several explosions at the Brussels airport and a subway station. Airline, hotel, and other travel stocks were among the hardest hit. Analysts said the terrorist attacks overshadowed economic data and reduced investors' "risk appetite," pulling stock indices down from multi-week highs. Belgian leaders blamed terrorists for the blasts in the de facto European Union capital, which came four days after authorities in Brussels arrested a suspected participant in the November Paris terror attacks, which killed 130.

Apple on Monday unveiled the iPhone SE, billing it as the "most powerful four-inch iPhone ever." The company's latest smartphone is aimed at customers who like the size of the older iPhone 5 but want the upgrades of the larger iPhone 6 family. Apple also used the event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters to launch a 9.7-inch iPad Pro with the same features of its 12.9-inch cousin along with some upgrades, such as better front- and back-facing cameras.

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Gasoline prices reached $1.98 on Monday, less than two cents short of their highest level of the year, set on Jan. 1, AAA reported. Prices have jumped by 28 cents a gallon in the past month, rising on 25 of the last 27 days. Prices rose 13 cents a gallon in the seven days ending last Wednesday alone, the biggest one-week jump in nearly three years. "Fuel demand is at record highs for this time of year, which shows that cheaper gas prices are motivating millions of Americans to hit the roads,” said Michael Green, an AAA spokesman.

American Express Co. CEO Kenneth Chenault will have to tighten his belt this year. The company's board cut his pay by 26 percent, to the lowest level since 2008, after the credit-card company's stock and profit dropped last year, according to a Monday filing. Chenault, 64, was one of the financial industry's highest paid CEOs in 2014, when he received a $25.1 million compensation package. Last year he got $18.5 million.

Brazilian energy giant Petróleo Brasileiro, or PetroBras, on Monday reported its biggest quarterly loss ever. The consolidated net loss of $10.2 billion in the fourth quarter was larger than analysts expected, and 48 percent larger than its loss a year earlier. It also gave the company a loss for 2015 — it had been in positive territory through September. PetroBras is contending with a corruption scandal and the global oil glut at the same time.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.