The daily business briefing: July 22, 2016

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1. Roger Ailes resigns as Fox News chief
2. NBA moves All Star game from Charlotte over N.C. bathroom law
3. GM might have to recall 4.3 million more vehicles over Takata airbags
4. U.S. stocks futures rise again after nine-day winning streak ends
5. Brexit recession risk rises

published 22 July 2016

1. Roger Ailes resigns as Fox News chief

Roger Ailes resigned on Thursday as head of Fox News after former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment. Ailes led the conservative cable news channel for 20 years, building it from scratch into a money-making ratings juggernaut. He reportedly stands to get a $40 million exit package. Rupert Murdoch, the 85-year-old executive co-chairman of the news channel's parent — 21st Century Fox — will take over as acting CEO until a permanent replacement is hired.

The NBA announced Thursday that it is moving the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte in the latest backlash over a state law barring local governments from enacting anti-discrimination ordinances. The state's Republican-led legislature passed the law, House Bill 2, to block a Charlotte move to let people use public bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The NBA said it could not respect "the values for which we stand" in a city affected by "the climate created by HB2." Gov. Pat McCrory said liberal "elites" were misrepresenting a law meant to protect children.

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General Motors said Thursday that it might have to recall another 4.3 million vehicles due to possibly defective Takata airbag inflators. GM already recalled 1.9 million vehicles in May, then added another 600,000 in June. Replacing the inflators in the new recall, if regulators insist on it, could cost the automaker $550 million. GM says its version of the inflators is safe, but regulators say the devices can become dangerous over time. Worldwide, more than 100 million vehicles have been recalled over Takata airbag inflators, which have been linked to 13 deaths.

U.S. stock futures gained early Friday, pointing to a higher open as more major companies are posting quarterly earnings. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 0.2 percent, after the Dow snapped a nine-day rally and dropped by 0.4 percent on Thursday. General Electric got the day's earnings reports started, posting a 15 percent rise in revenue as it shifted focus from banking to industrial businesses. GE shares edged down by 0.6 percent as it reported a 2 percent drop in orders in what it called "a volatile and slow-growth economy."

In the latest sign of Brexit-induced economic trouble in the U.K., Markit Economics on Friday reported "dramatic deterioration" in a gauge of services and manufacturing. The composite Purchasing Managers' Index estimate dropped to 47.7 for July — its lowest level since April 2009. The report provided fresh evidence that the U.K.'s June vote to exit the European Union was pushing the world's fifth largest economy toward recession — an index of 50 is seen as the mark dividing expansion from contraction.

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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.