The daily business briefing: August 29, 2019

1. Queen approves Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament

Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday approved British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament from the second week of September to Oct. 14, 17 days before the date the U.K. is scheduled to leave the European Union. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, had written the queen urging her to withhold her approval. Johnson has vowed to lead the U.K. out of the E.U. with or without a deal on Brexit terms. Rival leaders have said a no-deal Brexit would devastate the British economy but with Parliament suspended they will have little time to pass legislation to prevent it. Former Chancellor Philip Hammond called Johnson's move "profoundly undemocratic." Demonstrators gathered in London and several other cities chanting "save our democracy," "stop the coup," and calling for Johnson to resign.

Independent The Guardian

2. U.S. trade officials reaffirm plan for higher China tariffs

The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Wednesday released an official notice confirming the U.S. will impose an additional 5 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, bringing the tariff to 15 percent. It will hit some of the products on Sept. 1, and the rest, including cellphones, laptops, toys, and shoes, on Dec. 15. President Trump announced the tariff increase in a Friday tweet in response to China's plan to slap retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. imports. Hundreds of business groups, including retailers and shoe companies, had urged Trump to drop the tariffs to avoid driving up prices and killing jobs.

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Reuters

3. Trump renews attacks on Fed over interest rates

President Trump on Wednesday renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve, which he has accused of hobbling the economy by failing to cut interest rates enough. "Our Federal Reserve cannot 'mentally' keep up with the competition — other countries. At the G-7 in France, all of the other Leaders were giddy about how low their Interest Costs have gone," Trump tweeted. "Germany is actually 'getting paid' to borrow money — ZERO INTEREST PLUS! No Clue Fed!" Trump tweeted Tuesday that the U.S. central bank "loves watching our manufacturers struggle with their exports to the benefit of other parts of the world." Trump is urging the Fed to aggressively cut rates to boost the economy. Economic indicators suggest Trump's trade war with China is increasing the odds of a recession.

Politico

4. Apple promises not to retain Siri recordings by default

Apple apologized on Wednesday following reports that contractors were listening to users' Siri recordings. The company announced updates to its audio review policies after reports found that contractors would regularly hear confidential and intimate information while reviewing Siri audio to improve the virtual assistant. After reviewing this program, which it previously suspended, Apple said "we realize we haven't been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize." It plans to resume a Siri audio review program, but going forward, customers will have to opt in. Apple also says it will work to delete any recordings from when Siri is accidentally triggered and won't retain audio recordings of Siri interactions by default.

The Verge

5. Stock futures rise sharply after China calls for 'calm' to resolve trade war

U.S. stock index futures jumped early Thursday after China said it hoped to resolve its trade dispute with President Trump through a "calm attitude." Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up by about 1 percent, while those of the Nasdaq gained as much as 1.3 percent. Futures shook off earlier losses after the comment from China's commerce ministry eased fears of escalating tensions between the world's two biggest economies, which have fueled recession fears. U.S. stocks also gained on Wednesday. U.S. markets have been shaken recently by signals of a possible looming recession from the bond market. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell to an all-time low on Wednesday.

CNBC