The daily business briefing: May 26, 2016

1. Crude futures hit $50 a barrel for first time in 7 months

Brent crude oil futures hit $50 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in seven months after U.S. government data showed that crude stocks fell by 4.2 million barrels last week, steeper than the 2.5 million barrel decline expected. July West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, gained 94 cents, or 1.9 percent, on Wednesday, then climbed another 29 cents on Thursday to $49.85, after hitting a seven-month high of $49.97 a barrel. Supply disruptions in Canada, Libya, and Nigeria have helped ease a global glut and push prices higher.

Reuters MarketWatch

2. UAW endorses Hillary Clinton

The United Auto Workers union on Wednesday endorsed Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton for president, citing her "lifelong commitment to the job security of American families, and her ability to unify and win in November." Despite backing Clinton, the union said her rival, Bernie Sanders, "has been, and remains, a great friend of the UAW, and of working men and women in this country."

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

Bloomberg

3. Japanese leader urges united G-7 response to global economic troubles

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday urged fellow Group of Seven leaders to make a more united response to setbacks in the global economic recovery. Abe and his counterparts from the world's advanced economies were meeting for the first working sessions of their annual summit. Abe met with President Obama on Wednesday. Obama plans to visit Hiroshima, which the U.S. hit with an atomic bomb at the end of World War II, after the summit ends on Friday. He will be the first sitting U.S. president to do so.

The Associated Press

4. Foxconn replaces 60,000 workers with robots

Apple supplier Foxconn has replaced 60,000 workers in a single Chinese factory with robots, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. The massive staff cuts are part of an effort by 600 companies to reduce workforces by introducing more robots in the Kunshan region in China's Jiangsu province, where the China operations of many Taiwanese manufacturers are based. Last year, 35 Taiwanese companies, including Foxconn, invested $610 million on artificial intelligence in the region's factories.

MarketWatchh South China Morning Post

5. McDonald's sends HQ employees home as protesters rally

McDonald's closed its Illinois headquarters and told employees to work from home on Wednesday as protesters rallied outside to demand higher wages ahead of the fast-food giant's annual shareholders' meeting on Thursday. The world's biggest burger chain also closed its main offices during the meeting last year as demonstrators gathered outside to call for minimum pay of $15 an hour. A former McDonald's chief executive, Edward Rensi, said such a wage hike would result in "a job loss like you can't believe."

The Associated Press The Washington Post