The daily business briefing: December 11, 2019

1. Democrats, White House reach new North American trade deal

House Democrats said Tuesday they had reached a deal with the White House to advance a new U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade deal after months of negotiations. The agreement is designed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Trump has criticized. "There is no question of course that this trade agreement is much better than NAFTA," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday, saying that changes to the trade deal are "a victory for the American worker." If the pact is ratified, it will amount to Trump's main legislative success since Democrats regained control of the House in last year's midterms.

CNN

2. Saudi Aramco surges in world's biggest IPO

Shares of Saudi Arabia's state-owned Saudi Aramco jumped by 10 percent on Wednesday in their debut on the kingdom's stock exchange. The initial public offering beat high expectations and gave the massive oil company a valuation of $1.9 trillion, pushing it well past the values of Apple and Microsoft to become the world's largest listed company. Analysts had expected a valuation around $1.7 trillion, which was below what Saudi Arabia initially targeted. Even though Saudi Aramco listed only 1.5 percent of its shares, the IPO became the biggest ever, raising more than the $25 billion Chinese online retail giant Alibaba raised in its September 2014 IPO. The long-awaited IPO is a linchpin in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 program to transform Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy.

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CNBC

3. Boeing deliveries plummet due to 737 MAX grounding

Boeing deliveries dropped by more than half over the first 11 months of 2019 due to the grounding of the aircraft maker's best-selling 737 MAX jetliners after two fatal crashes, the company said Tuesday. Boeing's stock fell by 1.3 percent on Tuesday, bringing its losses to 17 percent since the jet's second fatal crash, which occurred in Ethiopia in March and led to the global grounding of the fuel efficient new generation of planes. Boeing has been working to fix anti-stall software blamed for the crashes. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has promised that when the 737 MAX is cleared to resume commercial flights it will be the world's safest jet.

Fox Business

4. Judge rules Exxon Mobil didn't dupe investors about climate change

Exxon Mobil on Tuesday scored a key court victory when a judge ruled New York Attorney General Letitia James' office had failed to prove the energy giant misled investors about the financial toll climate change would have on its business. State judge Barry Ostrager dismissed the case, saying Exxon said nothing that would have fooled "any reasonable investor." "Nothing in this opinion is intended to absolve Exxon Mobil from responsibility for contributing to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases," Ostrager said, but "this is a securities fraud case, not a climate change case." Exxon Mobil said the allegation was "baseless." James said the case made it clear "Exxon made materially false, misleading, and confusing representations" about its response to climate change regulations.

The Associated Press

5. Stocks flat ahead of Fed decision

U.S. stock index futures were flat early Wednesday in a sign of investor caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The Fed is expected to announce that it is holding its benchmark short-term rate steady at the end of a two-day policy meeting. Economists said they expected leaders of the central bank to continue to note trade tensions and other uncertainties, while recognizing signs of economic strength, including the strong jobs market. J.P. Morgan chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli said Fed policy makers have cut rates three times this year and made it clear they will adjust rates as needed to keep the record-long economic expansion going. "They've been pretty flexible so far and [I] don't see why that would change," Feroli said.

CNBC