The daily business briefing: April 4, 2017
Car sales sink, two advertisers ditch The O'Reilly Factor, and more
![Bill O'Reilly on his Fox show](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GyaSdHeeAbtPaXNpNojMYQ-415-80.jpg)
1. Car sales fall, weighing on stocks
U.S. passenger vehicle sales dropped by 11 percent in March, the third straight monthly decline for domestic auto sales, Autodata reported on Monday. The industry sold 1.56 million vehicles last month, a 1.6 percent drop from last year. Analysts had expected a slight increase. Sales incentives rose by 13.4 percent to an average $3,511 per vehicle as automakers tried to move unsold inventory. "Going forward we'll see automakers likely cut production to manage inventories and to not go out of control with incentives," Autotrader analyst Michelle Krebs said. The news weighed on stocks. Electric car maker Tesla was an exception, rising and pushing its market value above No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford's for the first time.
2. Two advertisers pull commercials from The O'Reilly Factor
Mercedes Benz said Monday that it was moving its ads from Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's show to another cable program. The move came after The New York Times reported over the weekend that Fox News parent company 21st Century Fox had paid $13 million to five women since 2002 to settle allegations of inappropriate behavior. O'Reilly denies the accusations. "The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don't feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now," said Donna Boland, Mercedes' manager of corporate communications. An attorney for former Fox News guest Wendy Walsh is calling for an independent sexual harassment investigation against host O'Reilly, whose show, The O'Reilly Factor, has been the top cable news program for 14 straight years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. White House offers Freedom Caucus compromise on health care
White House officials met with members of the conservative Freedom Caucus on Monday in a bid to jumpstart stalled talks on replacing ObamaCare. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the Freedom Caucus' chairman, said the Trump administration had offered a "solid idea" that could lead to a compromise to get past GOP infighting that caused the bill to fail last month. The plan would effectively end the guarantee of coverage even for those with preexisting conditions by offering states the right to opt out of some of the Affordable Care Act's health insurance mandates, including "essential health benefits" such as required coverage for mental-health care, maternity care, prescription drugs, and more, as well as a provision preventing insurers from charging sick customers more than healthy ones.
The New York Times The Washington Post
4. Trump administration cracks down on H1B visa fraud
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced steps to crack down on fraudulent use of H1B visas. Tech companies and other employers use the program to bring in specialized foreign workers. President Trump promised to end a lottery system that is used to distribute the visas, giving all applicants an equal shot at the 65,000 H1B visas issued each year. Instead, the Trump administration is requiring more information from computer programmers to prove they have expertise needed to fill complicated jobs others can't handle. The changes take effect immediately, affecting employers and candidates in the annual lottery now getting underway.
5. Kansas House fails to override veto on Medicaid expansion
The Kansas House of Representatives on Monday failed to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of lawmakers' proposed expansion of Medicaid for the poor in the state. The vote came in 81-44 in favor of the expansion, but 84 were needed to override the veto, which Brownback issued on Thursday. Kansas was among several Republican-led states that explored Medicaid expansion after the GOP's legislation seeking to replace ObamaCare failed last month. David Jordan, the executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, said it was "disappointing" that "a small group of representatives chose to side with the governor instead of the 82 percent of Kansans who support expanding KanCare." A Brownback spokesperson said it would be irresponsible to "expand ObamaCare when the program is in a death spiral."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Today's political cartoons - September 7, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - football widows, meddling kids, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Smoking ban: the return of the nanny state?
Talking Point Starmer's plan to revive Sunak-era war on tobacco has struck an unsettling chord even with some non-smokers
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: September 7, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Barcelona's Airbnb ban: a sign of things to come?
Talking Point Crackdown on short-term lets to combat unaffordable housing echoes similar moves elsewhere, but anti-tourism protests could prove self-defeating
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 24, 2024
Business Briefing The S&P 500 sets a third straight record, Netflix adds more subscribers than expected, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 23, 2024
Business Briefing The Dow and S&P 500 set fresh records, Bitcoin falls as ETF enthusiasm fades, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 22, 2024
Business Briefing FAA recommends inspections of a second Boeing 737 model, Macy's rejects Arkhouse bid, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Geopolitics and the economy in 2024
Talking Point The West is banking on a year of falling inflation. Don't rule out a shock
By The Week UK Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 19, 2024
Business Briefing Macy's to cut 2,350 jobs, Congress averts a government shutdown, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 18, 2024
Business Briefing Shell suspends shipments in the Red Sea, December retail sales beat expectations, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 17, 2024
Business Briefing Judge blocks JetBlue-Spirit merger plan, Goldman Sachs beats expectations with wealth-management boost, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published