Five Things to Know in World Business Today

Mar 14, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly

(Bloomberg)

Crashes linked

Evidence has emerged that the Boeing Co. 737 Max which crashed on Sunday may have experienced the same problems as the plane that went down five months ago off Indonesia. The Federal Aviation Authority cited similarities in the flight path of both planes when it joined regulators around the world in grounding the jet. With no indication yet as to how long the no-fly orders will be in place, Boeing’s $600 billion-plus order book for the model is at risk.

Need a deal

Gary Cohn, the former head of Donald Trump’s National Economic Council, said the president “needs a win” on Chinese trade talks and is desperate for a deal. While it’s now more likely that an agreement won’t be forged until April at the earliest, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, giving testimony before the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, said that America must keep the option of raising tariffs as a way to ensure Beijing lives up to any trade pact. Republican Senator Rob Portman said no deal would be closed without substantial changes to how China treats intellectual property rights.

 

 

Brexit vote

If you were looking forward to March 29 as the last day you’d have to hear about Brexit negotiations, you’ll probably be disappointed. Another vote is expected after 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on whether to delay the date Britain exits the European Union after parliamentarians yesterday rejected a no-deal scenario. European Council President Donald Tusk said on Twitter this morning that he will ask EU leaders to be open to granting a “long extension” to the deadline. The pound is having another volatile session with short bets on the currency rising to the highest level since December.

Markets mixed

Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.3 percent as weaker-than-expected data from China weighed on stocks in the region, while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.2 percent lower. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.7 percent higher at 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time in a broad-based rally led by energy and communications shares. S&P 500 futures were flat, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.636 percent and gold dropped.

Coming up…

At 8:30 a.m., U.S. weekly jobless claims are published, with February import/export price data due at the same time. January new home sales numbers are at 10:00 a.m. Earnings today include Oracle Corp., Broadcom Inc., and Adobe Inc. Tesla Inc. is poised to unveil its new Model Y at an event in Los Angeles.

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