The daily business briefing: October 10, 2016

1. Harvard, MIT professors win economics Nobel for work on contracts

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday awarded Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstroem the 2016 Nobel Prize in Economics for their contributions regarding how best to write the contracts that tie companies to their workers and customers. The British-born Hart, a professor at Harvard, and the Finland-born Holmstroem, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have provided "a comprehensive framework for analyzing many diverse issues in contractual design, like performance-based pay for top executives, deductibles and co-pays in insurance, and the privatization of public-sector activities," the academy said.

Bloomberg

2. Samsung temporarily halts Galaxy Note 7 production

Samsung has suspended production of its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after a fifth replacement Note 7 caught fire, according to news reports. The phone made its debut in mid-August to positive reviews, but Samsung announced a global recall last month after some of the handsets had battery problems that caused them to overheat and, in some cases, catch fire. The major U.S. carriers, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all have announced that they are suspending Note 7 sales. Some news outlets reported Samsung was scrapping production of the phone outright, but Samsung spokeswoman Jee Hye-ryong said the company was "temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters."

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Yonhap The Washington Post

3. Mexican peso gains as markets bet against Trump's struggling campaign

The Mexican peso surged against the dollar on Monday in what analysts said was an indication that markets judged Donald Trump's chance of winning the presidential election to be dropping due to a recently surfaced 2005 video in which the Republican nominee made lewd remarks about women. The peso jumped 1.5 percent to 19.0150 per U.S. dollar shortly after markets opened in Asia on Monday. Markets generally see Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as a known leader with centrist policies. Trump, the Republican nominee, represents uncertainty about foreign policy, and his plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is seen as negative for Mexico and Canada.

Reuters Bloomberg

4. Mylan stock soars after EpiPen settlement

Mylan shares shot up by 12 percent in pre-market trading on Monday, adding to 8-percent gains the drug maker saw on Friday. The surge came after the maker of anti-allergy device EpiPen said its subsidiary Mylan Inc. has agreed to a $465 million settlement with the Justice Department and other government agencies over the classification of EpiPen for Medicaid rebates. Mylan, which has faced harsh criticism from lawmakers and others over EpiPen price hikes, said in a statement that the settlement does not include "any finding of wrongdoing."

MarketWatch

5. Deutsche Bank stock falls after failure to reach quick deal with Justice Department

Deutsche Bank shares resumed their slide on Monday, falling by more than 3 percent after CEO John Cryan failed over the weekend to reach a quick deal with the Justice Department. Cryan was in Washington for International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, and investors had hoped he would be able to negotiate a reduction in the $14 billion fine demanded by the Justice Department over alleged misselling of mortgage-backed securities. "One had hoped that a quick agreement was possible," a German trader said.

Reuters CNBC