The daily business briefing: November 8, 2016
Markets cautious on Election Day, prosecutors raid Samsung headquarters, and more


1. Stocks surge, then simmer down as Election Day arrives
U.S. stocks surged by more than 2 percent on Monday — the eve of Tuesday's presidential election — as investors reacted to the FBI's announcement that it had found no grounds for filing charges against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over newly discovered emails linked to the server she used as secretary of state. The gains snapped a nine-day losing streak, Wall Street's longest slide since December 1980. The market had priced in a victory for Clinton, who is seen as likely to stay the course on financial matters, and stocks started losing ground after the FBI announced it was looking at the new emails and Clinton's polling lead over Republican rival Donald Trump narrowed. Global stocks edged up cautiously on Tuesday as voting started.
2. Samsung offices raided as South Korean political scandal grows
South Korean prosecutors raided Samsung Electronics headquarters on Tuesday as the technology giant faced suspicions that it provided favors to Choi Soon-sil, a friend of President Park Geun-hye who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal. Investigators seized documents related to business with the Korea Equestrian Federation, which allegedly improperly gave financial assistance to Choi's daughter. The scandal has rocked Park's presidency. Samsung's alleged involvement comes as the company struggles to recover from its disastrous recall of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7.
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3. Report: Britain faces post-Brexit drop in tax revenue
The U.K. faces a $31 billion budget hole due to lost taxes in the wake of this summer's vote to exit the European Union, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned in a report released Tuesday. The reduction in tax receipts will total $38.4 billion, but that will be partially offset by a $7.4 billion reduction in spending if Britain stops contributing to the European Union budget. The report came as U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond prepares to announce his new plans for taxes and spending on Nov. 23.
4. News Corp. reports losses as newspaper ad revenue drops
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. reported a quarterly loss on Monday as a newspaper advertising sales decline continued. The company, which owns The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, has been cutting staff and other costs, but its revenue from its news and information division still fell by 5.3 percent to $1.22 billion. Ad revenue dropped by 11 percent. Other newspapers have fared no better — The New York Times' print ad revenue fell by nearly 20 percent in the latest quarter.
5. Hyperloop reaches deal to explore Dubai-Abu Dhabi line
Dubai on Tuesday announced a deal with Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One to study the possibility of using its technology to build a line linking it to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. A hyperloop, which hurtles levitating pods at top speeds of 760 miles per hour using electricity and magnetism, could zip travelers across the Dubai-Abu Dhabi route in 12 minutes — a 99-mile trip that now takes more than an hour by car. The country already as a driverless metro that is the longest in the world. "In the Emirates, we believe everything is possible," Hyperloop CEO Rob Lloyd said.
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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.
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