The daily business briefing: June 8, 2016
Oil prices hit another 2016 high, leading House Republican unveils plan to replace Dodd-Frank, and more
- 1. Oil prices rise to a 2016 high as U.S. stockpiles shrink
- 2. Republican unveils proposal to replace Dodd-Frank financial reforms
- 3. Oklahoma police find no evidence oilman Aubrey McClendon's death was suicide
- 4. Amazon announces $3 billion additional investment in India
- 5. Hacker briefly takes over NFL Twitter account
1. Oil prices rise to a 2016 high as U.S. stockpiles shrink
Oil prices jumped by more than 1 percent to hit 2016 highs above $50 a barrel on Tuesday on anticipated reductions in domestic stockpiles, and pushed a bit higher still early Wednesday. Concerns over possible supply cuts due to attacks on Nigeria's production facilities also helped push up prices. U.S. crude stocks probably dropped by 2.7 million barrels last week, the third straight weekly drop. The news helped the S&P 500 Index rise Tuesday to its highest level since last July, with U.S. stock futures inching up again early Wednesday.
2. Republican unveils proposal to replace Dodd-Frank financial reforms
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) on Tuesday unveiled a Republican proposal to replace President Obama's Wall Street reform law, Dodd-Frank. "Simply put, Dodd-Frank has failed," he said. "It's time for a new legislative paradigm in banking and capital markets." Democrats called the GOP plan a giveaway to big banks. "We cannot allow Republicans to take us back to the depths of the financial crisis by weakening regulatory oversight and giving banks the tools to game the system once again," said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).
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3. Oklahoma police find no evidence oilman Aubrey McClendon's death was suicide
Oklahoma City police said Tuesday they had completed an investigation into the death of pioneering oilman Aubrey McClendon without finding any evidence he intended to commit suicide. McClendon died when he slammed his Chevy Tahoe into a bridge abutment on March 2. He was indicted a day earlier on charges of rigging bids for oil lands, which he denied. Police Captain Paco Balderrama said investigators had no reason to "believe this was anything other than a car accident," although "we will never know what his state of mind was."
4. Amazon announces $3 billion additional investment in India
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced Tuesday that the e-commerce giant plans to invest an additional $3 billion in India. Bezos announced the move in a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business leaders in Washington. He said Amazon sees "huge potential" in the economy of the world's second most populous country after China, where Amazon has struggled to gain market share. The infusion will bring Amazon's total investment in India to $5 billion.
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5. Hacker briefly takes over NFL Twitter account
The NFL said Tuesday that somebody had hacked its Twitter account and falsely posted that commissioner Roger Goodell had died. The tweet said, "We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP." It was deleted after just minutes. "We have engaged law enforcement to look into the matter," said Brian McCarthy, NFL vice president of communications. "We are reviewing and strengthening our cyber-security measures."
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.
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