The daily business briefing: December 24, 2018

Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney visits Congress.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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1. Mulvaney says it's 'very possible' shutdown will continue into 2019
2. U.S. stocks struggle, trying to rebound from huge losses
3. Tesla cuts Model 3 prices in China
4. Top aide says Trump knows he can't fire Fed chief
5. Aquaman leads pre-Christmas weekend box office

published 24 December 2018

1. Mulvaney says it's 'very possible' shutdown will continue into 2019

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that it's "very possible" that the partial government shutdown that started over the weekend could last into the new year. "The ball is in the Senate's court," said Mulvaney, who also serves as White House budget director. President Trump has vowed to veto any plan that does not include the $5.7 billion he wants to help build his promised border wall. Democrats have offered just $1.3 billion for border security. Mulvaney said the Trump administration had sent Congress a counteroffer somewhere between the two numbers. The shutdown is expected to last at least through most of the coming week, because the House and the Senate have adjourned until Thursday, and Monday and Tuesday — Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — are federal holidays.

U.S. stock-index futures turned positive late Sunday, then fell early Monday as they struggled to bounce back after last week's disastrous plunge. Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq-100 futures were all up by about 0.6 percent overnight before dropping as the opening bell neared. The Dow lost 6.8 percent last week, its worst week since October 2008 in the financial crisis. The S&P 500 lost 7 percent last week. It is now down 17.8 percent since a record set earlier this year. The Nasdaq Composite is down 22 percent from its record, set in August. Analysts say the Federal Reserve's decision last week to raise interest rates and aim for more hikes next year fueled the stock turmoil. Bond and equity markets will have a short trading day on Monday, Christmas Eve, then close on Christmas.

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Tesla has started cutting the price of some of its Model 3 electric cars in China by up to 7.6 percent. Tesla has reduced the prices of its vehicles in China three times in two months as it adjusts to tariffs in the U.S.-China trade war. The current starting price is $72,000. Tesla in November reduced prices of its Model X and Model S cars by 12 to 26 percent, saying it was "absorbing a significant part of the tariff to help make cars more affordable for customers in China." Earlier this month, Tesla cut prices on the vehicles after China's finance ministry said it would halt additional tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts for three months from January as Washington and Beijing sought ways to ease trade tensions.

White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday that Trump knows he "doesn't have the ability" to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, even though the president has harshly criticized Powell and the Fed for continuing to raise interest rates. Trump has blamed the rate hikes for falling stock prices and signs of slowing economic growth. In a Sunday interview on This Week, Mulvaney told ABC News' chief White House correspondent, Jonathan Karl, that he had spoken with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and that Mnuchin had told him Trump would not try to get rid of Powell. Several media outlets reported last week that Trump was considering firing Powell.

Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and directed by James Wan, led the domestic box office over the busy pre-Christmas weekend, bringing in about $70 million, beating the $65 million forecast, according to Sunday studio estimates. The DC Comics superhero movie, which cost $200 million to make, has already grossed more than $400 million overseas in three weeks. Another big new release, Mary Poppins Returns, brought in $22.2 million over the weekend, and $31 million since it opened on Wednesday. The film, starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, did not do quite as well as expected, but still narrowly beat out Transformers prequel Bumblebee, opened with $21 million.

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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.