The daily business briefing: July 29, 2019

1. Fed expected to cut interest rates for 1st time in decade

The Federal Reserve is preparing for the Tuesday start of a two-day meeting that is expected to end with the central bank's first interest rate cut in more than a decade. Fed leaders recently stoked speculation that they could be gearing up to a big cut of 50 basis points to boost the economy and keep its record-long expansion from sputtering, but recent strong economic data cooled those expectations. "The market is pricing in a 25 basis point cut," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist with Prudential Financial. "We already know of two Fed presidents who don't think we need it, so there's obviously going to be a discussion, with the strong data." A Friday report showed that GDP grew by a better-than-expected 2.1 percent in the second quarter, although trade tensions appeared to be taking a toll.

CNBC

2. The Lion King continues its box office domination

The Lion King led the weekend box office for the second straight week, bringing in $75 million in North America, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. With a total haul of $350 million so far, the Disney photorealistic remake of the animated original is now the year's fourth highest-grossing movie. Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood came in second with $40 million on its debut weekend. The Sony film had the edgy director's biggest opening ever, topping his 2009 film Inglourious Basterds by about $2 million. The new film has a more high-powered cast than Tarantino's previous eight movies, featuring stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie.

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The Associated Press

3. Pfizer to combine non-patented drug unit with Mylan's

Pfizer agreed Monday to combine its off-patent drugs division with Mylan's. The plan would create a powerhouse in the industry of drugs not protected by patents, with big-name products including one-time Pfizer best-sellers Viagra and Lipitor, which are losing patent protection, and Mylan's EpiPen emergency allergy treatment. The generic-drug industry has been struggling with falling prices, partly due to the ability of giant pharmacy and wholesaler buying groups to demand better deals from drug companies. Pharmaceutical companies have been responding by selling their generics units or consolidating them. Mylan shares jumped by more than 16 percent in pre-market trading, while Pfizer's stock dropped by 1.7 percent.

The New York Times CNBC

4. Stocks struggle for footing with Fed meeting, China talks looming

U.S. stock index futures inched higher early Monday ahead of a big week of corporate earnings and a closely watched Federal Reserve meeting. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq were all up by 0.1 percent or less, rebounding from equally small earlier losses. Investors are expecting the Fed to end a two-day meeting with a quarter-point interest-rate cut, but they will be watching for hints of where the central bank will go from there. Global markets also are focusing on this week's trade negotiations between the U.S. and China in Shanghai. Expectations are low for a deal to end the trade war between the world's two largest economies.

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5. Iran and world powers recommit to saving nuclear deal

Diplomats from Iran and five world powers met Sunday and renewed their commitment to salvaging a landmark 2015 agreement exchanging curbs to Tehran's nuclear program for sanctions relief. Iran has loosened its compliance with the deal in order to pressure European nations to do more to counteract sanctions reimposed by the U.S. since President Trump withdrew from the accord. The sanctions are hurting Iran's oil exports and devastating its economy. "The atmosphere was constructive, and the discussions were good," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said after the meeting in Vienna with representatives from Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia, and the European Union. "I cannot say that we resolved everything," he added, but all sides remained "determined to save this deal."

CNBC