The daily business briefing: September 8, 2020

1. Hope for coronavirus relief deal dim as lawmakers return to Washington

Lawmakers begin returning to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a short session before the November election, with dim prospects for a deal on a new coronavirus relief package. Senators reconvene Tuesday, followed by House members next week. Talks between Democrats and the White House stalled last month, and Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on how much to spend in the package. House Democrats initially proposed a $3 trillion-plus package, while Senate Republicans' proposal would have cost around $1 trillion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has since said Democrats would accept a $2.2 trillion package. President Trump said Sunday that Democrats "don't want to make a deal because they think that if the country does as badly as possible ... that's good for the Democrats." Trump said he was "taking the high road" be refusing to meet with Democrats.

The Associated Press

2. Nasdaq futures drop further after last week's losses

Nasdaq futures plunged by nearly 3 percent early Tuesday as technology shares extended their worst selloff in more than five months. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up slightly while those of the S&P 500 were down by about 0.5 percent several hours before the opening bell. Wall Street last week ended a five-week winning streak as big tech stocks that had been soaring suddenly took a nosedive. Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook all fell sharply last week after leading the market out of the March drop caused by the coronavirus crisis. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 3.3 percent last week, its worst week since March. The Dow and the S&P 500 dropped 1.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, in their worst week since June.

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CNBC

3. PG&E starts cutting electricity in California due to extreme weather

Pacific Gas and Electric, California's largest utility, began to cut power to some of its customers late Monday as unusually strong winds threatened to down power lines and ignite more wildfires. About 172,000 customers are expected to lose electricity, affecting more than 500,000 people. Some will go without power until Wednesday. Hundreds of fires, fueled by a record-breaking heat wave, have burned more than two million acres. California, hit by extreme heat and a record-breaking fire season, in August experienced its first rotating blackouts since the 2001 energy crisis. PG&E emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July after agreeing to pay $25.5 billion to settle lawsuits over previous wildfires determined to have been started by the utility's equipment.

Bloomberg SFGate

4. Trump accuses Biden of 'economic treachery'

President Trump on Monday said he would "decouple" America's economy from China's, and he accused his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, of "economic treachery" that supported China's rise. "If Biden wins, China wins, because China will own this country," Trump said. "Today's Labor Day — it's a good time to talk about where we're being ripped off by countries, but nobody's even close to China." Trump cited a New York Times report that described the former vice president's belief that boosting China's economy through trade would advance human rights there while helping U.S. industries. Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Lily Adams called Trump's remarks "incoherent." "Trump ignored the economic havoc he's created and lied his way through a series of debunked political attacks," Adams said.

MarketWatch

5. Trump open to investigation of DeJoy fundraising allegations

President Trump on Monday said he was open to an investigation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's past fundraising for political campaigns, following reports that he pressured former employees to donate to Republican candidates and later had them reimbursed. "Sure, sure, let the investigations go," Trump said in a Labor Day news conference at the White House. The Washington Post reported that when DeJoy was CEO of New Breed Logistics, he and aides urged employees to make campaign contributions, then reimbursed them with bonuses, which would violate campaign finance laws. Monty Hagler, a DeJoy spokesman, said DeJoy did not think any employees had felt that they were being strongarmed into making donations, and believed that "he has always followed campaign fundraising laws and regulations."

The Washington Post The New York Times