The daily business briefing: January 2, 2018

1. U.S. stock futures fall ahead of first day of trading in 2019

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped sharply early Wednesday after a private sector survey, China's Caixan/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, showed that manufacturing activity in the world's second largest economy fell to 49.7 in December from 50.2 the month before, the first such contraction in 19 months. "That showed external demand remained subdued due to the trade frictions between China and the U.S., while domestic demand weakened more notably," wrote Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, a subsidiary of Caixin. The news sent Dow futures falling by more than 1 percent. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also fell by more than 1 percent.

CNBC

2. Netflix pulls comedy show episode in Saudi Arabia after complaint

Netflix confirmed Wednesday that it has pulled the second episode of Daily Show alumnus Hasan Minhaj's new topical comedy show, Patriot Act, from its streaming service in Saudi Arabia following complaints from the kingdom's Communications and Information Technology Commission. "We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request — and to comply with local law," Netflix said in a statement, referring to Saudi Arabia's cyber-crime statute. In the episode, Minhaj criticizes Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, among other things. The episode is still available on YouTube in Saudi Arabia.

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3. Trump invites lawmakers to White House meeting as shutdown continues

President Trump on Tuesday denounced a proposal by House Democrats to end the partial government shutdown without allocating the $5 billion he is demanding for a wall on the Mexican border. "The problem is, without a Wall there can be no real Border Security," Trump tweeted, "and our Country must finally have a Strong and Secure Southern Border!" Trump invited a bipartisan group of congressional leaders to the White House to discuss border security, tweeting, "Let's make a deal!" House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the impasse gave Democrats, who take control of the House in the new Congress, "a great opportunity to show how we will govern responsibly & quickly pass our plan to end the irresponsible #TrumpShutdown."

USA Today NPR

4. Oil prices fall on growing oversupply, economic worries

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as major OPEC and non-OPEC producers raised output and weak manufacturing data from China stoked fears of a global economic slowdown that could weaken demand. Brent crude fell by 33 cents to $53.47 a barrel. "The omens are far from encouraging," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. "The current bearish bias will therefore continue in the near term and it stands to reason that oil will struggle to break out from its current trough." Other analysts were less gloomy, saying prices could rebound when an OPEC-led supply cut starts this month. Oil prices dropped in 2018 for the first year since 2015 on mounting concerns over excess supply and slowing global economic growth.

Reuters

5. Drugmakers ring in the new year with higher drug prices

Pharmaceutical companies started the new year by raising prices on hundreds of drugs in the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions. Allergan led the way with a nearly 10 percent increase on 27 medicines. More than three dozen drugmakers hiked prices on hundreds of products. The average increase in drug list prices was 6.3 percent, and both brand-name drugmakers like Allergan and generics makers like Hikma Pharmaceuticals raised prices well above inflation. Allergan raised prices on about half its drugs, including the Alzheimer's medication Namenda, and Hikma increased prices for morphine, the anesthetic ketamine, and enalaprilat, a blood-pressure drug, the Journal notes.

The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch