The daily business briefing: May 30, 2018

1. White House confirms tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods

The White House said Tuesday that it would go ahead with imposing a 25 percent tariff on certain Chinese goods next month following weeks of concern that the move could fuel a trade war. Some $50 billion worth of annual imports would be targeted. A final list of goods covered by the tariff is expected by June 15. The Trump administration said it also plans to restrict China's access to American technology due to national security concerns. Trade negotiations between the nations are ongoing, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said less than two weeks ago that the trade war was "on hold" as the discussions progressed. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will travel to China to continue talks in early June.

The New York Times CNN Money

2. Stocks struggle as Italy crisis raises fear of Brexit-like election

U.S. stock futures edged higher early Wednesday as markets struggled to recover from a Tuesday plunge attributed largely to political chaos in Italy. The tensions sparked fears of an early election that could turn into a retreat from the Eurozone similar to the Brexit vote in the U.K. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.6 percent on Tuesday, closing down by 392 points after falling by as much as 505 points. The S&P 500 closed 1.2 percent lower, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.5 percent. In Europe, Italian and Spanish markets were hit hardest, plunging by about 2.5 percent. European currencies also fell, as did major stock indexes in the U.K. and Germany. "We got a lot going on," said Chris Gaffney, president of EverBank world markets. "The fear is that the next Italian election will strengthen the 'euroskeptics' and lead to a call for Italy to exit the European Union."

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MarketWatch The Washington Post

3. Starbucks briefly closes 8,000 stores for anti-bias training

Starbucks closed 8,000 U.S. stores on Tuesday afternoon to provide anti-bias training for up to 180,000 employees. The coffee chain said its workers would get information from a "tool kit" focusing on "understanding prejudice and the history of public accommodations in the United States." The company committed to the anti-racism training after coming under heavy criticism and protests over an April incident at a Philadelphia store, where a manager called police on two black men who were waiting for a friend for a business meeting. The men were denied access to the restroom because they hadn't bought anything, and police arrested them for trespassing, although they were not charged. Starbucks and the police apologized.

USA Today

4. Bayer to sell $9 billion in assets to win approval for Monsanto acquisition

Drug-maker Bayer has agreed to sell agricultural assets worth about $9 billion to chemical producer BASF in a deal to get approval for its $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto, the Justice Department said Tuesday. Under the largest divestiture in American antitrust enforcement history, Bayer will sell off businesses that compete with Roundup-maker Monsanto, including its canola, soybean, and vegetable seed businesses, and Liberty herbicide. German-based Bayer still is waiting for approval from regulators in Canada and Mexico. It has until June 14 to close the acquisition, otherwise Monsanto will be able to back out or demand more money.

CNBC

5. Papua New Guinea to bar Facebook for a month to battle fake news, phony accounts

Papua New Guinea's communications minister, Sam Basil, said the Oceanian nation would ban Facebook for four weeks to provide time for the government to identify phony profiles and work on keeping pornography and fake news off the social network. "The time will allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed," Basil told the country's Post-Courier newspaper. Basil also suggested that the country should research whether it could launch a rival service. "If need be, then we can gather our local applications developers to create a site that is more conducive for Papua New Guineans to communicate within the country and abroad as well," he said.

CNET Post-Courier