The daily business briefing: June 6, 2019
The U.S. and Mexico fail to reach a tariff deal as migrant surge continues, YouTube vows to remove hateful and hoax videos, and more
1. U.S, Mexico fail to reach tariff deal as migrant surge continues
Central American migrants were detained at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers last month, the Trump administration announced Wednesday. More than 144,278 migrants were arrested on the southwest border in May, the biggest monthly total in seven years and 32 percent more than in April. President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all imports from Mexico unless it helps stop the flow of undocumented immigrants. Mexico's top diplomat met with Vice President Mike Pence and other U.S. officials on Wednesday to try to convince them Mexico is doing its best to stop illegal immigration. The two sides failed to reach a deal Wednesday, and will continue talks Thursday. Senate Republicans have threatened to block Trump's tariffs, due to start at 5 percent and increase monthly to a maximum of 25 percent. Critics say the tariffs could kill hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs.
2. YouTube to remove hateful, hoax videos
YouTube said Wednesday that it would take down videos advocating Nazi or other hateful ideologies, or denying major events such as the Holocaust or the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The video site, which is owned by Google, has faced criticism for failing to do enough to block the spread of videos promoting hate or distorting world events. For videos that come "close" to violating these policies, YouTube says its system will "include more videos from authoritative sources" in the "watch next" panel. The new policies are expected to result in the removal of thousands of videos.
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The Washington Post The New York Times
3. Fiat Chrysler withdraws Renault merger offer
Fiat Chrysler late Wednesday unexpectedly announced that it was withdrawing its offer to merge with French automaker Renault. Talks on merger terms between Fiat Chrysler and the French government collapsed earlier in the day. "It has become clear that the political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully," Fiat Chrysler said in its statement. "FCA will continue to deliver on its commitments through the implementation of its independent strategy." Fiat Chrysler shares dropped by more than 3 percent in after-hours trading following the news. France reportedly was hesitant partly because Nissan, Renault's coalition partner, did not support the tie-up.
The Associated Press The Wall Street Journal
4. U.S. stock futures rise, extending gains fueled by rate-cut hopes
U.S. stock index futures rose early Thursday, extending this week's gains on rising hope among investors that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to boost the economy if trade tensions drag down growth. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all were up by roughly 0.3 percent. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed up by 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq gained 0.6 percent on Wednesday, coming off even bigger gains on Tuesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would do what it had to in order to "sustain the expansion." Persistent low inflation and rising trade tensions with China and Mexico have fueled concerns about the economy. Trump on Wednesday threatened to hit China with higher tariffs on "at least" $300 billion worth of its goods.
5. Peloton files for IPO
Fitness company Peloton announced Wednesday that it had filed for an initial public offering of stock, making it the latest well-known company to go public this year. Peloton is best known for its luxury indoor exercise bikes, but it also has other fitness, technology, and media operations. The company did not immediately decide how many shares it would sell, or at what price. Peloton was founded in 2012 and aimed to use "technology to bring group exercise" into users' homes. It offers packages to customers who buy bicycles or treadmills, and monthly subscriptions for classes designed to be taken using the equipment. The company was valued at $4 billion in a $550 million fundraising round last year.
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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.
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