The daily business briefing: July 23, 2019

1. White House, lawmakers strike 2-year budget deal

White House and congressional negotiators on Monday reached a budget deal that would raise spending by $320 billion over current caps and raise the debt ceiling for two years. If approved, the agreement will keep the government funded beyond a looming September deadline and avert a potentially devastating partial government shutdown. The spending in the plan will increase already surging federal deficits, but President Trump hailed it as a victory. "I am pleased to announce that a deal has been struck ... on a two-year Budget and Debt Ceiling, with no poison pills," Trump tweeted. "This was a real compromise in order to give another big victory to our Great Military and Vets!"

The New York Times

2. Boris Johnson chosen to replace Theresa May as U.K. prime minister

Britain's governing Conservative Party announced Tuesday that Boris Johnson, a former London mayor and foreign secretary, has been selected to serve as the country's new prime minister, replacing Theresa May after her failure to win approval from lawmakers for her deal on Britain's exit from the European Union. Johnson beat out Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, with the support of 66 percent of the party members who voted. Johnson has promised to renegotiate the Brexit deal, although the EU has said that won't happen. Johnson has vowed to lead the U.K. out of the trading bloc by the end of October, "come what may." Several Conservative ministers already have said they will resign to fight a "no-deal" Brexit, which economists warn could tip the country into recession.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Guardian The Associated Press

3. FTC reportedly considered fining Facebook tens of billions of dollars

Facebook reportedly dodged a Federal Trade Commission fine several times larger than the $5 billion fine it's ultimately expected to receive. Regulators, according to a Monday report, "stopped short of some even tougher punishments it initially had in mind" for Facebook as part of the FTC investigation into the company's data practices, including a potential fine of "tens of billions of dollars." But Facebook thought it should have to pay less than $1 billion and reportedly felt it could easily prevail in court. The $5 billion settlement is expected to be finalized and announced in the coming days. The FTC also reportedly considered punishments as part of its settlement that would have held CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable for the company's privacy scandals.

The Washington Post The Wall Street Journal

4. Report: U.S., China negotiators to meet in China for trade talks

Negotiators from the U.S. and China are expected to meet in China next week for their first direct trade talks since President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in June to pause the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, the South China Morning Post reported Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The efforts to set up the meeting in Beijing reportedly started after the U.S. announced tariff exemptions for 110 Chinese products, from medical equipment to electronic components. China also announced that several companies would buy American agricultural products under exemptions from China's tariffs. A face-to-face meeting between the two countries' lead negotiators would be seen as a positive step, although a deal is expected to take time.

South China Morning Post

5. Stock futures rise ahead of fresh corporate earnings reports

U.S. stock index futures rose early Tuesday ahead of another wave of corporate earnings reports. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose by 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq was up by 0.4 percent. Coca-Cola and United Technologies, among the companies reporting quarterly results before the bell, gave the market a boost by reporting better-than-expected earnings. On Monday, the Dow gained under 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose by 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Stocks were mostly higher in Europe and Asia on Tuesday as markets got a boost from expectations that both the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates before the end of the month.

CNBC Reuters