The daily business briefing: August 29, 2018
Canada rushes to rejoin NAFTA talks after U.S.-Mexico deal, consumer confidence jumps to 18-year high, and more


1. Canadian minister rushes to U.S. to resume NAFTA talks
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland returned early from a Europe trip to fly to Washington for an urgent meeting with President Trump's top trade advisers after they suggested that the U.S. was prepared to leave Canada out of a trade deal with Mexico intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. "The president, as he's indicated, is fully prepared to go ahead with or without Canada," Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, said on Fox Business. A spokesman for Freeland said ahead of her meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that the Canadian government "will only sign a new NAFTA that is good for Canada and good for the middle class." U.S. stock futures inched further into record territory on the apparent easing of trade tensions.
The New York Times MarketWatch
2. Consumer confidence jumps to highest level in nearly 18 years
U.S. consumer confidence rose in August to its highest level since October 2000, suggesting that strong consumer spending could continue lifting the economy through the rest of the year. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped 5.5 points to 133.4 this month. The brightening mood indicated that the increasingly strong job market is largely overshadowing concerns about tensions between the Trump administration and key trade partners. "That suggests a degree of skepticism about trade, inflation, or anything else knocking the economy off track," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan. "For now, consumers remain resiliently positive, which bodes well for household spending in the coming months."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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. Trump accuses Google of search-result bias
President Trump on Tuesday accused Google of promoting negative news from the "Fake News Media" and liberal outlets, saying a Google search for "Trump news" yields mostly negative stories from news sources critical of him. Trump called the trend "very dangerous," saying, "they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal?" Trump's economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the White House is "taking a look" at Google, although he did not provide further details. Trump later said Twitter and Facebook also were "not fair" to conservatives, warning them to "be careful." Google denied Trump's allegation, saying its search engine is "not used to set a political agenda and we don't bias our results toward any political ideology."
4. Game-maker cancels Madden tournaments after Florida shooting
The CEO of game-maker Electronic Arts announced Tuesday that the company was canceling three upcoming video game tournaments in the wake of Sunday's shooting at a Madden gaming event in Jacksonville, Florida, that left two players and the suspected attacker dead. Investigators could not immediately determine a motive for the attack, but said the two young men who were murdered, Madden players Taylor Robertson, 28, and Elijah Clayton, 22, appear to have been targeted. Several others were wounded. The suspect, 24-year-old David Katz, also participated in the tournament. Clayton had scored a touchdown just before the shooting.
5. Texan defies court order by putting 3D-printed gun plans online
Cody Wilson, the owner of a Texas company that makes untraceable 3D-printed guns, said Tuesday that he has started selling blueprints for the weapons online, despite a federal court ban. He said he had received nearly 400 orders and would sell the plans for as little as one cent. "Anyone who wants to get these files is going to get them," he said. "They can name their own price." Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had asked a court to block a settlement the State Department reached with Wilson's Texas company, Defense Distributed, after the plans were removed from a list of weapons and data that can't be exported. The states argued that online access would let criminals and terrorists acquire the undetectable plastic guns.
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.
-
From Hilde, With Love – the 'moving' story of an accidental revolutionary
The Week Recommends Liv Lisa Fries gives a 'compelling' performance as the soft-spoken heroine.
-
Grenfell: Uncovered – a searing account of an avoidable tragedy
The Week Recommends Netflix's feature-length documentary brings together an array of witnesses whose grief 'bleeds off the screen'
-
The rise of performative reading
In The Spotlight Why Gen Z may only be pretending to read those clever books
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos