The daily business briefing: November 16, 2018

1. Apple signs deal with studio behind Moonlight, Lady Bird

Apple has signed a multi-year deal for original movies with hit indie studio A24, Variety reported Thursday. The iPhone maker previously set aside $1 billion to start producing original TV shows and films. A24's films include Moonlight, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017, as well as Room, Lady Bird, The Florida Project, The Disaster Artist, and The Witch. Founded in 2012, the studio has had at least one film nominated at the Oscars for the past three years, and in 2019, its movies Eighth Grade, Hereditary, and Mid90s are among those in contention for top awards. Apple did not buy A24 completely as had been rumored. The deal with Apple is not exclusive. A24 will make an unspecified number of movies for Apple and other movies elsewhere.

Variety

2. FDA proposes restrictions on e-cigarette, menthol sales

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced proposals to restrict the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and outlaw menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The limit on e-cigarettes would require stores to keep the products in restricted areas inaccessible to minors; the effort to roll back access comes days after e-cigarette company Juul announced it would stop selling flavored nicotine pods in stores in an attempt to curb teen use. A ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, which account for 35 percent of cigarette sales, will likely require a lengthy legal process. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the proposed restrictions on flavored smoking and vaping products "significantly advance our efforts to combat youth access and appeal."

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The Washington Post The New York Times

3. Nvidia shares dive, dragging down chipmakers and Nasdaq futures

Nvidia shares were down 17.3 percent in pre-market trading early Friday after the chipmaker's earnings and outlook fell short of analysts' expectations on disappointing gaming revenue. The company said its quarterly gaming revenue was up by 13 percent over a year ago at $1.76 billion, but that was short of the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Nvidia also said it had a surplus of its older-generation Pascal chips, whose architecture is being replaced by Nvidia's recently released Turing chip architecture for professionals and gamers. Nvidia cut its forecast for the fourth quarter due to the need to reduce that inventory. Nvidia's plunge hurt other chipmakers, dragging down Nasdaq futures by 1.3 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures also fell, pointing to a lower open.

MarketWatch

4. PG&E shares rebound after regulator cools wildfire liability concerns

PG&E Corp. shares shot up by 37 percent in after-hours trade on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that a California official had told investors that state regulators do not want the utility to go into bankruptcy. The California Public Utilities Commission official reportedly made the statement on a call hosted by Bank of America Corp., although a CPUC spokesman could not confirm what the official said. PG&E shares had plunged by 31 percent in regular trading Thursday after the company warned that its insurance might not be enough to cover its liabilities if its utility equipment was found to have caused the Camp Fire in Northern California, which has killed at least 63 people and destroyed 11,862 structures.

Reuters

5. Trump Jr.'s India business trip reportedly cost taxpayers $100,000

Donald Trump Jr.'s February trip to sell luxury condos in India resulted in a $97,805 bill paid with taxpayer money, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing documents obtained through a public records request. Trump Jr. took the trip as the executive vice president of his family's real estate company. The Secret Service accompanied him, accounting for some the cost. Other expenses included hotel rooms, airfare, and car rentals. During his trip, Trump Jr. met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hosted champagne dinners for prospective buyers. Watchdog organizations criticized the spending. "Essentially the government is spending money for the president's private businesses," said Jordan Libowitz of the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.

The Washington Post