The daily business briefing: October 11, 2016

1. Samsung scraps Galaxy Note 7 after continuing fire reports

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it was permanently ending production of the Galaxy Note 7 and told consumers to stop using the smartphones because some of them — even replacements that were supposed to be safe — have overheated and caught fire. The problem continued with replacement phones after the South Korean electronics giant recalled more than two million of the latest version of its large-screen smartphone. The company also has asked carriers to stop selling and exchanging Note 7s. Samsung shares dropped by more than 7 percent in Seoul on Tuesday.

MarketWatch USA Today

2. Buffett releases tax information to refute Trump claim

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday released personal federal tax return information to refute Donald Trump's claim that he and Buffett use the same deductions to avoid paying federal income taxes. Buffett said he had paid federal taxes every year since 1944, and that in 2015 he paid $1,845,577 in federal income tax on $11,563,931 in adjusted gross income, donating more than $2.8 billion to charity without taking deductions. Buffett also said he was releasing the information even though he is under audit. Trump has said he is under audit and won't release his returns until the audit is finished.

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3. Oil prices pull back from one-year high, weighing down stocks

Oil prices eased back from one-year highs early Tuesday after an energy watchdog reported that supplies rose in September. Global stocks struggled and U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on the news. On Monday, oil prices jumped as Russia indicated it was ready to join an OPEC deal to cap output in an effort to end a glut that has dragged down prices for two years. The news helped U.S. stocks start the week with solid gains of about 0.5 percent. Another factor boosting stocks was an opinion poll showing Democrat Hillary Clinton extending her lead over Republican Donald Trump after a video surfaced in which he made lewd remarks about women. Investors see Trump as "a great unknown," one market strategist said.

MarketWatch

4. Turkey and Russia sign pipeline deal in push to normalize relations

Turkey and Russia on Monday signed an agreement on building an undersea gas pipeline, a project that had been frozen since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane operating out of a Syrian base nearly a year ago. The two countries pledged to accelerate efforts to normalize relations and find common ground regarding the war in Syria. The TurkStream natural gas pipeline under the Black Sea will have branches to carry Russian natural gas to Turkey and Western Europe.

Reuters

5. Trump Taj Mahal closes

The Trump Taj Mahal officially ceased operations on Monday. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, owner of the iconic casino hotel on the Atlantic City boardwalk, said the shutdown came after negotiations with an employee union broke down. The resort had lost "almost $350 million over just a few short years," Icahn said in a statement. The shutdown leaves 3,000 people out of work. About 1,000 cooks, bartenders, housekeepers, and other workers went on strike July 1 demanding health care and pension benefits. Management in August announced that they planned to close.

USA Today