The daily business briefing: November 20, 2018

1. Stocks dive in tech-led selloff

The main U.S. stock indexes plunged on Monday, weighed down by negative news about Apple and Facebook. Facebook shares fell by nearly 6 percent in continued fallout from a New York Times report on the social network's aggressive response to criticism over its handling of fake news and other efforts to influence public opinion. Apple shares fell by 5 percent after a Wall Street Journal report that disappointing sales had prompted the company to cut orders for its latest iPhones. Shares of Google-parent Alphabet also fell by 4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 1.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 3 percent and the S&P 500 dropped by 1.7 percent. Stock futures fell further early Tuesday, suggesting more tech-fueled selling.

CNN Fox Business

2. France pushes for interim Renault leader after Carlos Ghosn's arrest

France moved Tuesday to temporarily replace Carlos Ghosn as leader of Renault, a day after Nissan proposed removing him as its chairman and he was arrested in Japan on financial misconduct allegations. "Carlos Ghosn is no longer in a position where he is capable of leading Renault," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Info radio. Le Maire called on Renault's board to immediately put interim management in place. The scandal dragged down shares of Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, the third member of the auto makers' partnership. France, which owns 15 percent of Renault, still said that Renault's partnership with Nissan was good for the companies, and for both France and Japan.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Reuters

3. Airbnb announces removal of home listings in Israeli West Bank settlements

Airbnb announced on Monday that it planned to remove its home-rental listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The decision affects about 200 listings. Airbnb said it was shutting down in areas "that are at the core of the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians." Israel expressed outrage over the move. Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, who oversees Israel's fight against Palestinian-led boycotts, urged affected Airbnb hosts to sue the company under Israel's anti-boycott law. "National conflicts exist all over the world," Erdan said. "The senior management of Airbnb will have to explain why they specifically, and uniquely, chose to implement this political and discriminatory decision in the case of citizens of the state of Israel."

The Associated Press

4. Victoria's Secret CEO out as sales slump continues

Victoria's Secret CEO Jan Singer has resigned as the company struggles with falling sales and the erosion of its dominance in the lingerie industry. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Singer's looming departure last week, but parent company L Brands officially confirmed the news Monday in its quarterly earnings release. John Mehas, president of Tory Burch, will take over as CEO of Victoria's Secret Lingerie in early 2019, the company said. Victoria's Secret reported that sales at stores open at least a year fell by 6 percent in the last quarter. Last year, same-store sales in North America fell by 8 percent, partly due to a decision to stop selling swimwear and clothing and focus on selling more Victoria's Secret Lingerie and PINK items.

CNN

5. Senators criticize drug company for overdose antidote's price hike

A private drug company, Kaléo, raised the price of an overdose antidote by more than 600 percent, a Senate subcommittee says in a new report. The price hike for the auto-injectable overdose-reversal drug EVZIO, from $575 to $4,100, has cost Medicare and Medicaid more than $142 million since 2014. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who chairs the subcommittee, said the sharp price hike and federal health program costs, "all during a national opioid crisis, is simply outrageous." Kaléo defended the pricing on Monday, saying it had donated kits that saved thousands of lives, and never turned a profit. It said patients suffer unintended difficulties due to "the complexity of our health-care system," and it sought to "make EVZIO available to patients in a responsible, meaningful, and affordable way."

USA Today