The daily business briefing: July 12, 2016

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1. Benchmark U.S. stock index hits record
2. Tribunal backs Philippines over China in South China Sea dispute
3. Amazon holds Prime Day sale to boost subscriptions
4. Starbucks announces wage hike
5. SEC reportedly investigating Tesla autopilot crash

published 12 July 2016

1. Benchmark U.S. stock index hits record

The S&P 500 index closed at a record high on Monday, rising 7.26 points, or 0.34 percent to 2,137.16, in part due to renewed optimism about the U.S. economy stoked by Friday's strong jobs report. The mood also got a lift from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who ordered new stimulus measures after his ruling coalition dominated upper house elections. Another factor boosting global stocks was Theresa May's win in the race to succeed David Cameron as British prime minister, which helped ease uncertainty following the U.K. vote to leave the European Union.

An international tribunal in the Hague sided with the Philippines and ruled on Tuesday that China has no legal or historical right to claim resources in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Philippines government praised the court for what it called a "milestone decision" to help settle conflicting claims in the region. China's official Xinhua news agency said Beijing "doesn't accept nor acknowledge the ruling," which involves rights to such resources as fish, oil, and gas within the "nine-dash line" extending 200 miles south and east of China's island province of Hainan.

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Amazon is holding its Prime Day sale on Tuesday. The sale, Amazon's biggest ever, is part of an effort to lure in more subscribers to the online retail giant's Prime service, which offers free two-day shipping, streaming video and music, and other services for an annual membership fee of $99. Amazon has added 19 million Prime members since its first Prime Day sale last year, and roughly half its shoppers are now members. Walmart is countering the one-day sale by offering its customers free shipping with no minimum purchase requirement all week.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said Monday in a letter to employees that the company would raise pay for baristas and managers at company-owned coffee outlets by at least 5 percent starting Oct. 3. The company also will double its annual stock reward for hourly employees who have been on the job at least two years, boosting the wage hike to as much as 15 percent. The moves came after Starbucks, which recently announced price hikes on some drinks, faced worker complaints that "extreme" cuts in work hours were hurting morale.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Tesla Motor Co. to determine whether the electric car maker violated securities law by delaying disclosure of an accident that killed a driver who was using the company's Autopilot semi-autonomous software, The Wall Street Journal reports. Tesla immediately reported the May 7 crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but not to the SEC. The SEC declined to comment on the report, and Tesla said it had "not received any communication from the SEC" on an investigation.

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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.