The daily business briefing: December 8, 2020

1. House reportedly to vote on stopgap spending bill to avert shutdown

Democratic aides said Monday that the House is preparing to vote Wednesday on a stopgap spending measure to prevent a government shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline. The short-term spending bill will keep government agencies funded through Dec. 18, giving Republicans and Democrats more time to negotiate a long-term deal. House Democratic leaders had aimed to resolve differences over a broad spending package, a new round of coronavirus relief, and an annual defense bill by Friday. That would have given lawmakers time to go home and quarantine for two weeks so they could safely spend the holidays with their families. But talks on the spending bill hit several snags, including immigration policy, and the coronavirus stimulus deal has eluded lawmakers for months.

The Hill The Washington Post

2. Bob Dylan sells entire song catalog for estimated $300 million

Bob Dylan has sold his catalog of more than 600 songs to Universal Music Publishing. "To represent the body of work of one of the greatest songwriters of all time — whose cultural importance can't be overstated — is both a privilege and a responsibility," Universal Music Publishing Group CEO Jody Gerson said in a statement Monday. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed, but The New York Times said the price for the songs Dylan wrote over six decades was estimated at more than $300 million. Dylan, 79, wrote and performed some of the iconic songs of the '60s, including "The Times They Are a-Changin'," "Like a Rolling Stone," and "Mr. Tambourine Man." He won a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 2008 and a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.

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CNN The New York Times

3. Ikea scraps annual catalog after 70 years

Swedish home-furnishing retailer Ikea is eliminating its massive annual catalog, citing customers' shift to online shopping and browsing. Ikea said scrapping the catalog after 70 years in publication was an "emotional but rational decision." Both the print and digital versions of the catalog will be halted. "Turning the page with our beloved catalog is in fact a natural process since media consumption and customer behaviors have changed," said Konrad Grüss, an Ikea executive, in a statement. The first Ikea catalog came out in 1951. It was published online as well as in print starting in 2000. At its 2016 peak, the company printed 200 million copies in 32 languages. The 2021 issue, released in October, will be the last, although next year the company will release a smaller book.

CNN

4. Trump administration rejects calls for tougher soot regulations

The Trump administration on Monday declined to tighten standards on soot emissions. Some public health experts and environmental justice activists have pushed for more strict rules on soot, the nation's deadliest air pollutant. The Environmental Protection Agency decided to keep current limits on fine particle pollution in place for another five years despite evidence that the air pollutants are linked to deaths from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the regulations on Friday, The Washington Post reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Agency scientists had recommended reducing the limit on annual concentrations of soot and other chemicals from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air, saying that setting the limit at 9 could save up to 34,600 lives a year.

The Washington Post

5. Stock futures fall as coronavirus spike continues

U.S. stock index futures lost ground early Tuesday as investors continued to focus on rising coronavirus cases and talks on a new round of stimulus to help individuals, businesses, and local governments get through the pandemic. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down by 0.4 percent, while those of the Nasdaq fell by 0.2 percent. Congress is facing mounting calls for a new coronavirus relief bill as many pandemic emergency benefits are set to expire at the end of the month, and employment growth slows. The ongoing surge in coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and deaths also is threatening to overwhelm many hospital systems, and prompting states to reimpose social-distancing and business restrictions.

CNBC