The daily business briefing: April 8, 2019

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1. Nissan shareholders oust Ghosn from board
2. Shazam! leads weekend box office
3. U.S. stocks get boost from strong jobs report
4. Duke 'looking into' Michael Avenatti allegation
5. Boeing cuts 737 MAX production as airlines extend flight cancellations

published 8 April 2019

1. Nissan shareholders oust Ghosn from board

Nissan shareholders on Monday approved removing the Japanese automaker's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, from the board as he faces allegations of underreporting his income and enriching himself at the company's expense. The vote, which was expected, was met with applause in an emergency shareholder meeting held in a Tokyo hotel. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa and other top executives bowed deeply in apology before the vote. Shareholders also approved appointing Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of Nissan's French alliance partner Renault, to replace Ghosn. "I will dedicate my energy to enhance the future of Nissan," Senard said. Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan.

Shazam! led the weekend box office, bringing in $53 million in 4,217 theaters. Warner Bros.' latest DC superhero adventure beat expectations of a $40 million to $45 million debut weekend, boosted by positive reviews. The film also earned $3 million in advance screenings, bringing its domestic total to $56 million. Shazam! made $102 million overseas in 79 international markets. Despite its dominance, the film's opening weekend haul was on the low end for comic-book blockbusters, but it cost much less to make than other films in the genre that have been loaded with special effects. Shazam! cost $98 million to produce, while other DC films have cost more than $300 million. Paramount's horror remake Pet Sematary also had a strong debut, bringing in $25 million.

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U.S. stock-index futures rose early Monday but fell into negative territory ahead of the open, after investors turned their attention from Friday's better-than-expected jobs report to concerns about the coming corporate earnings season. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by about 0.2 percent, while those of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down by less than 0.1 percent. The loss of momentum came after analysts downgraded several major companies, including GE, Boeing, and Starbucks. All three of the main U.S. indexes gained on Friday after the federal government reported that the U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs in March, bouncing back from paltry February gains of 33,000, revised up from an initially reported 20,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a March gain of 175,000.

Duke University's athletic director, Kevin White, said over the weekend that the school is "looking into" allegations by attorney Michael Avenatti that Nike paid the mother of freshman basketball star Zion Williamson for consulting services while Duke was recruiting him. Avenatti, who was charged last week with trying to extort $20 million from Nike, tweeted that Nike paid Williamson's mother, Sharonda Sampson, for "bogus" services "as part of a Nike bribe to get Zion to go to Duke." White said: "Duke is fully committed to compliance with all NCAA rules and regulations." Nike, which has sponsored Duke athletics since 1992, said it believes in "fair play" but declined further comment. Williamson is expected to link up with a major shoe company after declaring for June's NBA draft.

American Airlines is canceling flights into June as the nationwide grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes continues. American has canceled 90 daily flights due to the temporary loss of its 24 737 MAX 8s, which have been grounded since March 13 following two deadly overseas crashes of the Boeing model in five months. Southwest Airlines took a similar step on March 29, when it decided to keep its 34 MAX 8s off its flight schedule through May, possibly beyond. Boeing said Friday that it would cut production of the 737 MAX from 52 planes per month to 42 as it focuses on fixing flight-control software suspected of contributing to the crashes. Last month, the company suspended deliveries of the MAX line after regulators around the world grounded the plane.

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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.