The daily business briefing: June 10, 2016

1. European bonds hit all-time lows as Brexit fears rise

Bond yields in Europe and Japan hit all-time lows on Friday as investors sold stocks and sought safer investments. Europe's benchmark government bond, the 10-year German Bund, hit 0.023 percent, below the previous all-time low of 0.025 percent it reached on Thursday. Analysts said the main reasons for the wave of risk aversion were nervousness over the June 23 Brexit referendum and signs that the Federal Reserve might delay raising interest rates due in part to weak recent jobs data. Fed policy makers meet next week.

The Wall Street Journal Reuters

2. French court fines Uber for using non-professional drivers

A French court on Thursday fined Uber $907,000 for operating an illegal taxi service with non-professional drivers. The court also imposed smaller fines on two Uber executives. A spokesman for the ride-hailing service said the company and the two managers would appeal the case, the first such criminal charge against Uber in Europe. The low-cost UberPOP service let users connect through their smartphone app with drivers using their own cars. The government banned the service last year after strikes by licensed taxi drivers.

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Reuters

3. Jobless claims edge downward

The number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Forecasters had expected 270,000. The data suggest that layoffs are still low despite last week's disappointing report that employers added just 38,000 jobs in May — far fewer than expected and the weakest gain since September 2010. The new numbers suggest "some cooling" in the labor market, said J.P. Morgan economist Daniel Silver, "but that conditions still remain healthy."

Bloomberg The Wall Street Journal

4. Ratings firms downgrade Illinois

Illinois' credit rating, already the worst in the nation, was downgraded further on Thursday. Moody's Investors Service knocked down about $26 million in general obligation bonds by one notch, and Standard & Poor's dropped the state's credit rating by a notch to BBB+, three levels above junk status. Among the big credit rating agencies, only Fitch held the state steady. The changes, which came in response to the state's record budget impasse, mean Illinois now will have to pay more to borrow money.

Chicago Tribune

5. House approves Puerto Rico debt-relief legislation

The House on Thursday passed a bill that would create a financial control board to help Puerto Rico handle its finances, and let the island restructure some of its $70 billion in debt. The bipartisan 297-127 vote marked a victory for House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had urged conservative fellow Republicans to help pass the bill to keep the crisis from deepening. Puerto Rico is due to make a $2 billion debt payment in three weeks. "The Puerto Rican people are our fellow Americans," Ryan said. "They pay our taxes, they fight in our wars. We cannot allow this to happen."

The Associated Press