The daily business briefing: November 2, 2016

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1. Markets spooked by uncertainty ahead of presidential election
2. Open enrollment begins as ObamaCare's fate faces election test
3. Hulu adds Disney and Fox programming to coming streaming service
4. Gannett drops $680 million Tronc bid
5. Fed expected to leave rates unchanged after meeting

published 2 November 2016

1. Markets spooked by uncertainty ahead of presidential election

Global stocks and oil prices fell early Wednesday, after U.S. stocks lost ground on Tuesday as uncertainty increased ahead of next week's presidential election. Democrat Hillary Clinton's lead has narrowed in the final days of campaigning, with her Republican rival, Donald Trump, even edging narrowly ahead in one national poll. Clinton would be expected to largely stay the course on the economy, while Trump has spoken out against existing trade deals. "There is concern over Trump being unexpected, because the market has really priced in a Clinton win and it hasn't priced in a Trump win at all," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil Securities.

Open enrollment began on Tuesday for 2017 ObamaCare. Despite increasing prices and decreasing choices on the marketplace, an estimated 11.4 million are expected to re-enroll or sign up for ObamaCare policies between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31. The Obama administration hopes to hit closer to 13.8 million enrollees for the year. ObamaCare has become a big focus of the presidential election, now just days away. Democrat Hillary Clinton vows to improve the existing law, and Republican nominee Donald Trump promises to swiftly repeal and replace it.

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Hulu said Tuesday that it had signed on Disney and 21st Century Fox to provide programming for its live TV streaming service scheduled to launch in 2017. Fox will provide its news, entertainment, sports, and other channels. Disney will kick in ABC shows, ESPN, and more. The deal brings the number of channels on Hulu's service to 35. Hulu earlier signed agreements to carry Time Warner content, including TNT, TBS, CNN, and Cartoon Network live and on-demand.

Gannett CEO Robert Dickey said Tuesday his company had dropped its $680 million bid to take over fellow newspaper publisher Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing. Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper chain, had agreed on a price with Tronc just weeks ago, but the banks that were to finance the deal balked. Gannett had hoped that buying Tronc and growing still larger would create opportunities to cut costs in an industry long squeezed by falling advertising revenue and circulation.

Federal Reserve policy makers are expected to hold interest rates steady when they wrap up a two-day meeting Wednesday with a statement at 2 p.m. Upbeat recent economic data have strengthened the case for the Fed to gradually nudge rates higher. Most analysts, however, expect that to happen at the next meeting, in December. Traders have placed the odds of a November hike at just 15 percent, judging by fed funds futures pricing, due to such factors as growing risk from political uncertainty, and room for improvement on the jobs front.

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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.