The daily business briefing: January 24, 2019

1. Trump adviser warns shutdown could stall economy

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett told CNN on Wednesday that the economy could stall in the first quarter of 2019 if the partial government shutdown doesn't end. "If it extended for the whole quarter, and given the fact that the first quarter [growth rate] tends to be low because of residual seasonality, then you could end up with a number very close to zero in the first quarter," said Hassett, the White House's top economist. President Trump has painted a brighter economic picture, and has advised his aides to aim for 3 percent to 4 percent growth this year. Other White House officials say economic growth, already projected to be under 2 percent, is falling 0.1 percent each week the shutdown drags on. The shutdown is now in its fifth week.

CNN The Washington Post

2. Jailed Ghosn resigns as head of French automaker Renault

Carlos Ghosn, who was jailed in Japan two months ago, has resigned as chairman and chief executive of leading French car-maker Renault, France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. "Carlos Ghosn just resigned, last night, and now it is time to define and to put a new governance in place," Le Maire said. Renault had stood by Ghosn since his arrest for alleged financial misdeeds, which he denies, but now is shifting to focus on preserving its alliance with Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi. Renault's board will receive Ghosn's letter of resignation on Thursday, and is expected to replace him as chairman with Michelin chief Jean-Dominique Senard, and as CEO by Thierry Bollore, who has served as his interim replacement.

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The New York Times Bloomberg

3. Hulu cuts price of basic streaming video plan

Hulu said Wednesday that it was dropping the price of its basic streaming video plan with ads by $2 a month to $6, starting Feb. 26. The move came a week after streaming rival Netflix raised the prices on all of its plans, none of which have ads, by $1 to $2 a month. Its basic plan will cost $9. Hulu will raise its Live TV plan by $5 to $45 per month. The price of Hulu's on-demand plan without ads will remain unchanged at $12 a month. Hulu is in the middle of a push to boost domestic subscriber growth. It added eight million subscribers in 2018, reaching 25 million.

CNN

4. Stock futures edge higher ahead of earnings, economic data

U.S. stock-index futures edged higher early Thursday, pointing to a muted open ahead of a flurry of corporate earnings reports and economic data. Major companies releasing earnings include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Union Pacific, American Airlines Group, Southwest Air, Intel, Starbucks, Alaska Air, Discover Financial, and Western Digital. The new data starts with jobless claims, followed by purchasing managers' index figures, and the Kansas City Fed survey. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent, while the broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

CNBC

5. Southwest reports strong profit, but says shutdown is hurting revenue

Southwest Airlines on Thursday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, but said the partial federal government shutdown had reduced its January revenue by $10 million to $15 million so far. Earlier this month, the Dallas-based carrier said the shutdown was delaying the federal revenue necessary for it to launch service to Hawaii that had been planned for early this year. Federal workers who oversee route authorizations and aircraft certifications are among those furloughed under the five-week-old shutdown. "We are anxious for the government to resolve this shutdown so we can bring low fares and a boost to Hawaii's travel and tourism industry," Southwest chairman Gary Kelly said. American Airlines also reported quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations, sending its stock surging by 5.7 percent in pre-market trade.

Reuters MarketWatch