The daily business briefing: February 4, 2019

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1. Nissan scraps plans to build an SUV in England, citing Brexit uncertainty
2. Super Bowl ads rely on surprises, robots
3. U.S. stocks flat ahead of fresh corporate results
4. Investigation uncovers misconduct at Australia banks
5. Papa John's shares jump after report of Starboard investment

published 4 February 2019

1. Nissan scraps plans to build an SUV in England, citing Brexit uncertainty

Nissan on Sunday canceled plans to make a new SUV in northern England, partly due to the uncertainty surrounding Britain's exit from the European Union. Nissan announced two years ago that it would build the X-Trail model at its U.K. plant, after British Prime Minister Theresa May's government offered undisclosed concessions. But Sunday, in the latest in a series of blows against May's government over its plan for leaving the European Union, Nissan said it would consolidate production of the SUV at its Kyushu, Japan, plant. "While we have taken this decision for business reasons, the continued uncertainty around the U.K.'s future relationship with the EU is not helping companies like ours to plan for the future," Nissan Europe Chairman Gianluca de Ficchy said.

The closely-watched commercials in Sunday's Super Bowl, in which the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3, relied heavily on humor and surprises, including a Hyundai ad with Jason Bateman as an elevator operator deadpanning unpleasant stops on every floor. There also was a surprise Game of Thrones tie-in with Bud Light's mascot in a jousting tournament, and a Hulu ad for the new season of The Handmaid's Tale that began as a spoof of Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign "Morning in America" ad. Several ads included jokes about robots and our growing dependence on artificial intelligence, including a commercial by TurboTax with a "Robochild" and another by Michelob Ultra featuring an super-athletic robot lamenting his inability to enjoy a beer.

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U.S. stock index futures were mostly flat early Monday in a sign of caution ahead of fresh quarterly corporate results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq-100 inched up, all by less than 0.1 percent ahead of the start of the week's trading. The Dow and the S&P 500 made minor gains on Friday after the Labor Department reported that the economy added 304,000 non-farm jobs in January, smashing expectations. The jobs report, along with stronger-than-expected manufacturing data, provided the latest in a serious of indications of the underlying strength of the economy.

Three of Australia's biggest banks — Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking Group, and National Australian Bank — could face prosecution after a year-long investigation found evidence of widespread misbehavior in the banking and financial services industry. The misconduct included fees charged for services that weren't provided, some of them charged to dead customers. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne referred 24 incidents of misconduct to regulators for further investigation that could lead to civil or criminal charges. Hayne submitted the report to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who said the findings indicated the financial sector must change. "It's a scathing assessment of conduct driven by greed and behavior that was in breach of existing law and fell well below community expectations," Frydenberg said.

Papa John's shares soared 11 percent higher in pre-market trading on Monday after The Wall Street Journal reported that investment firm Starboard Value is investing $200 million in the struggling pizza company. The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, also reported that Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith is becoming chairman of Papa John's International Inc. The news came after more than a year of turmoil at the company. The deal reportedly will be announced as soon as Monday.

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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.