The daily business briefing: December 12, 2023

1. Epic Games wins antitrust case against Google

Epic Games on Monday won its antitrust lawsuit against Google. A San Francisco jury's finding that Google's Android app store is an illegal monopoly was "a major blow to the tech giant, which has mostly been able to avoid losing lawsuits and being forced to make changes" despite years of allegations that it violated competition laws, The Washington Post reported. Epic Games, maker of the popular game Fortnite, has battled Google and Apple for years over their app-store control. The game-maker's victory could expose other Big Tech companies to legal challenges over their control over pricing and payments on dominant internet platforms. The Washington Post

2. Ford cuts electric F-150 pickup production

Ford Motor Co. is cutting production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck by half next year due to soft demand. "We will continue to match production to customer demand," spokesperson Jess Enoch said in a statement. The shift is the latest in a series of adjustments automakers have made after rushing to increase EV production only to find customers were hesitant to buy all-electric vehicles due to concerns about cost, charging times, availability of charging stations on long trips, and other potential obstacles. Ford said in October it was holding off on $12 billion in planned EV investment. Automotive News, The Detroit News

3. Hasbro cuts jobs after toy sales fall from pandemic highs

Hasbro plans to cut 1,100 jobs, about 17% of its workforce, as toy and game sales remain weak heading into the crucial holiday shopping season, according to a Monday memo from CEO Chris Cocks to employees, The Wall Street Journal reported. The reductions come on top of layoffs earlier this year that affected 800 workers. The company, which makes Transformers action figures, the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy game, Monopoly and other popular toys and games, posted toy sales that were weaker than expected in the first nine months of 2023. Cocks said sales are coming back down after "historic, pandemic-driven highs." The Wall Street Journal

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4. Stock futures edge higher ahead of inflation report

U.S. stock futures were little changed early Tuesday ahead of the release of key inflation data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq were up 0.1% at 7 a.m. ET. S&P 500 futures were flat. The Dow and the S&P 500 gained 0.4% on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.2%. Economists expect the Labor Department's November consumer price index, being released at 8:30 a.m. ET, to show that prices remained flat in November compared to the month before, and year-to-year inflation eased to 3.1%, from 3.2% in October, as falling gas prices offset rising food costs. Core prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, are expected to show an annualized 4% increase, as in October. CNBC, The Associated Press 

5. Fed starts final 2023 policy meeting

Federal Reserve policymakers head into their final meeting of the year on Tuesday. They are expected to hold interest rates steady when they end the meeting on Wednesday. Market-watchers believe the Fed is done raising interest rates to slow the economy and bring inflation down to the central bank's 2% target. Markets have even been pricing in a 50% chance of a rate cut in March. But the November employment report on Friday showed that job growth accelerated even as inflation showed signs of cooling, increasing hopes that the Fed could reach its inflation goals without tipping the economy into a recession, and decreasing expectations of a March rate cut, Reuters said. Reuters