The daily business briefing: June 19, 2019

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1. Stocks rally after Fed meetings
2. Trump says he'll meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at G-20
3. Facebook's new cryptocurrency sparks backlash
4. Google to invest $1 billion in alleviating California housing shortage
5. PG&E to pay $1 billion for California wildfire damage

published 19 June 2019

1. Stocks rally after Fed meetings

The markets had their highest closings in weeks on Tuesday ahead of a looming policy decision from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 came within 1 percent of breaking its April 30 peak and advanced 28 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by more than 350 points, and the Nasdaq climbed more than 100 points. Although Tuesday ended on a high note, futures were mostly flat Wednesday morning ahead of the Fed's second day of meetings. Policy makers are expected to keep interest rates as they are but may indicate a willingness to cut them later this year. The markets also responded positively Tuesday to President Trump's announcement that he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping and plans to meet with him at the Group of 20 meeting in Japan.

Stocks rose on Tuesday following President Trump's tweet announcing he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and will have an "extended meeting" with the leader at next week's G-20 summit. The Dow surged more than 350 points on Tuesday, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both climbed higher after Trump's tweet. Chinese state media confirmed Xi will meet with Trump, reportedly saying Xi hopes the U.S. will treat Chinese companies fairly. China and the U.S. are locked in an escalating trade war, and Trump has effectively barred Chinese tech giant Huawei from doing business with American companies for fear of Chinese spying.

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Facebook on Tuesday unveiled its "Libra" cryptocurrency, and lawmakers are already calling on the social media giant to slow down its rollout plans. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said Facebook should halt its development of the coin until Congress and regulators can review it. Waters also said Facebook's executives should testify before Congress. Waters said Facebook is "continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users." Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was one of several lawmakers to echo Waters' statement, saying Facebook shouldn't be allowed to "run a risky new cryptocurrency" with no congressional oversight. A Facebook spokesperson said the company looks forward to answering lawmakers' questions.

Google will allocate $750 million in land and $250 million in financing to help San Francisco developers fix the housing crisis in the Bay Area. The project, which will create at least 20,000 homes and rehabilitate other housing, is set to take place over the next decade. Google acknowledged housing in the area had reached a "crisis point." Activists have put increasing pressure on companies like Google to help alleviate the burden of heightened housing costs and shortages as Silicon Valley continues to grow. Activist group Silicon Valley Rising called the investment "a great step in the right direction."

Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay $1 billion in damages to local California governments for a series of wildfires that left dozens dead and destroyed thousands of homes. After filing for bankruptcy in January, PG&E said the settlement is "an important first step toward an orderly, fair, and expeditious resolution of wildfire claims." More than half of the settlement is for a 2018 fire in Northern California that killed 85 people. More than $200 million was allocated specifically to the town of Paradise, which was mostly destroyed by the fire. The settlement also covers damage from a 2015 fire and a series of 2017 fires in wine country. "This money will help local government and taxpayers rebuild their communities after several years of devastating wildfires," Texas-based law firm Baron & Budd said in a statement.

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