The daily business briefing: October 14, 2016

1. Verizon reviews Yahoo purchase after data breach

Verizon on Thursday revealed that it was having second thoughts about its purchase of Yahoo's core business due to the huge data breach Yahoo disclosed three weeks ago. Verizon agreed to acquire Yahoo assets, including its high-traffic websites, for $4.8 billion, but Verizon General Counsel Craig Sillman said the breach gave Verizon "a reasonable basis" to expect a "material" impact on Yahoo's financial value. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, but Verizon said Yahoo must first prove the breach did not reduce its value.

Reuters

2. China inflation data, JP Morgan lift global stocks

Global stocks and the dollar on Friday recovered some of their Thursday losses as better-than-expected inflation data from China soothed worries about the state of the world's second largest economy. China's September producer prices rose unexpectedly, something that had not happened since January 2012. Producer prices rose by 0.1 percent, while analysts had predicted a 0.3 percent drop. Consumer prices rose by 1.9 percent over a year earlier, more than expected, after falling for four straight months. U.S. stock futures also got a boost when JP Morgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, kicked off the industry's earnings season by reporting better than expected earnings.

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3. Uber drivers win 'historic victory' in New York

The New York State Labor Department has ruled that two former Uber drivers were employees rather than independent contractors, making them eligible for unemployment benefits, an advocacy group announced Thursday. "This is a historic victory," New York Taxi Workers Alliance executive director Bhairavi Desai said at a news conference. Uber had argued it didn't have to contribute to unemployment or worker-compensation funds because the drivers were contractors, who can't collect benefits. Uber is appealing. It says drivers enjoy the flexible hours that independent contractors get.

The Associated Press

4. HP to cut up to 4,000 jobs under restructuring plan

HP Inc. is slashing as many as 4,000 jobs worldwide over the next three years, the PC and printer firm said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The cuts are part of a restructuring plan aiming to generate annual savings of up to $300 million by 2020, although the cuts will cost up to $500 million in charges. HP said the employees would leave between 2017 and 2019. HP Inc. was created a year ago when Hewlett-Packard split into two companies. Its printer business is facing challenges, said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst of Moor Insights & Strategy, but "the PC group is gaining market share, increasing profits and innovating more than I have seen in years."

PC World

5. Tesco and Unilever settle pricing dispute

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, confirmed Thursday that it had settled a pricing dispute with Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever. Earlier in the day, Tesco had suspended online sales of top-selling Unilever brands, such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream and yeast extract spread Marmite due to a price dispute that erupted after the British pound plunged due to the U.K. vote to exit the European Union.

Reuters