The daily business briefing: June 18, 2018

1. Audi CEO arrested in widening VW diesel scandal

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested in Germany on Monday in the latest fallout from the diesel-emissions cheating scandal at the automaker's parent company, Volkswagen. "We confirm that Mr. Stadler was arrested this morning," a VW spokesman said Monday, noting that Stadler was presumed innocent like any suspect. Audi made no immediate comment. The arrest came a week after investigators raided Stadler's private apartment, as Munich prosecutors expand their investigation into the scandal to look at possible fraud and false advertising at Audi, VW's luxury brand. VW shares were down early Monday by about 1.6 percent from Friday's closing price.

Reuters The Street

2. Incredibles 2 has best animated film opening ever

Incredibles 2 raced to the top of the box office in its opening weekend, bringing in $180 million domestically in a record debut for an animated film. It brought in another $51.5 million overseas. The Disney-Pixar sequel trounced the previous record of $135 million set by 2016's Finding Dory, another Pixar sequel. Incredibles 2 had the eighth-biggest domestic opening ever. It also beat out 2017's Beauty and the Beast's $174.6 million to set a record for the best debut for a PG-rated film. Incredibles 2 trounced the weekend competition, leaving Tag and Superfly in the dust. They debuted with $14.6 million and $8.4 million, respectively.

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Variety

3. Fears of a trade war continue to weigh on stocks

U.S. stock futures fell early Monday as fears of a trade war continued to drag down global markets. Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq-100 futures fell by 0.6 percent, while those of the S&P 500 dropped by 0.5 percent. On Friday, the Dow fell by 0.3 percent, its fourth straight day of losses, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq dropped by 0.2 percent. The declines came after President Trump on Friday announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, and Beijing retaliated with levies on high-value American exports. "The tit-for-tat response is putting the two powers a step closer to an all-out global trade war," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a note. Oil prices also continued to slide early Monday.

MarketWatch

4. Google invests $550 million in Chinese retailer JD.com

Google said Monday that it would invest $550 million in JD.com, the main rival of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The partnership marks the latest attempt by U.S. tech giants to expand in Asia's fast-growing online markets. Google said Southeast Asian consumers will be spending $88.1 billion online by 2025. Under the deal, items from JD.com will be accessible through Google's shopping service, giving Google access to JD.com's supply chain and providing the Chinese e-commerce company with access to customers outside Asia.

The Associated Press

5. New U.K. company capitalizes on plastic straw ban

Transcend Packaging is ramping up to become the first company to produce biodegradable paper straws in the U.K. in several decades, so it can help McDonald's switch from plastic straws, which the British government is banning for environmental reasons. Transcend last week signed a deal to start supplying straws to 1,361 McDonald's outlets from September, and it plans to make hundreds of millions of straws per year. McDonald's uses 1.8 million straws per day in Britain. "We spotted a huge opportunity, and we went for it," said Mark Varney, sales and marketing director of the newly created Transcend.

The Guardian