The daily business briefing: September 5, 2019

British lawmakers pass bill that would block a no-deal Brexit, China confirms plans for October trade talks, and more

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(Image credit: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

1. Bill blocking no-deal Brexit passes House of Commons

Britain's House of Commons on Wednesday approved a bill seeking to block a no-deal Brexit, dealing a fresh defeat to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his effort to usher the U.K. out of the European Union in late October with or without an agreement. Opposition lawmakers and dissenters in Johnson's own Conservative Party took over control of the legislative agenda late Tuesday when a defector deprived Johnson of his majority. Next, the bill against a no-deal Brexit goes to the House of Lords. Lawmakers rejected Johnson's request to call a snap election in mid-October, two weeks before the country's scheduled exit from the trading bloc. After Johnson threatened the early elections, more than 100,000 people applied to vote over 48 hours.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

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.