|
The Morning Risk Report: Senate Looks to Check Trump on National-Security Tariffs |
|
| |
|
|
Rolled steel is seen at Titan Metal Service, Inc.'s facility at the Port of Tampa, Fla., on July 19, 2018. PHOTO: Chris Urso/Associated Press
|
|
|
Good morning. A Republican senator is proposing legislation to make it harder for the White House to impose duties that have hit metals imports, WSJ's Siobhan Hughes and William Mauldin report.
The bill from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, (R-Ohio), aims to move beyond stalled congressional efforts to respond to the Trump administration’s national-security tariffs. President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imported autos, citing national-security concerns.
The measure, which faces longer odds in the House than in the Senate, could be most meaningful to foreign auto makers, who have been in the president's crosshairs despite a recent moderation in tensions between the U.S. and European car companies.
|
|
|
|
Mr. Portman teamed with Sen. Joni Ernst, (R-Iowa), and Sen. Doug Jones, (D-Ala.), to unveil a bill Wednesday to give the Defense Department the power to decide whether such tariffs are justified by national-security concerns.
The Commerce Department would then decide how to respond, including whether to impose the tariffs and where to set them. That would shake up the current arrangement under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, which Mr. Trump in March used to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, working through the Commerce Department.
The legislation would apply to future deals only, potentially heading off tariffs on automobile imports, which Mr. Trump threatened before agreeing not to impose tariffs on European Union cars during new trade negotiations with the bloc.
|
|
|
| Exclusive to Risk & Compliance |
|
|
U.S. again extends sanctions deadline. The U.S. Treasury Department once again extended a deadline to divest or transfer shares in blacklisted Russian companies.
Treasury said Tuesday it would authorize until Oct. 23 the sale or transfer of shares of EN+ Group PLC, GAZ Group and United Co. Rusal from people under U.S. sanctions to those not on the blacklist.
Treasury in late May issued a license authorizing such trades until Aug. 5. The additional extension gives the companies more time to get their controlling shareholder, blacklisted oligarch Oleg Deripaska, to reduce his stakes. -- Samuel Rubenfeld
|
|
|
The company tasked with curbing risk in the U.S. options market is under investigation by federal regulators for how it handled a recent period of market turbulence, WSJ reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The probes from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission include concerns Options Clearing Corp. failed to accurately forecast how much cash would be needed to cover trading losses triggered by a spike in volatility last February.
The chief executive of Pentagon Federal Credit Union is a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot who took over in 2014 and set a goal of more than quadrupling assets from about $18 billion to $75 billion by 2025. WSJ reports while the company has a long way to go--it ended 2017 with about $23 billion in assets--PenFed’s plans for high-octane growth are irking some bankers and pressing up against regulatory boundaries.
Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $2.09 billion to settle claims with the U.S. Department of Justice it sold residential mortgage loans it knew has misstated information and failed to meet the quality levels the bank claimed they did, Reuters reports.
The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee postponed a vote scheduled for Thursday on the Trump administration's nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Reuters reports.
Canada’s Liberal government is scaling back elements of its planned carbon-tax regime to address worries from the business community about global competition. WSJ reports that under the changes, industrial companies would now have fewer of their emissions--20% versus the original 30%--subject to the levy. The tax takes effect next year.
|
|
|
Uber Technologies Inc. named the first independent chairman of its board, appointing Northrop Grumman Corp. Chief Executive Ronald D. Sugar, Axios reports. It's the latest step by Uber to reform its management and governance following a series of controversies.
Activist investor Carl Icahn has built a sizable stake in Cigna Corp. and plans to vote against the health insurer’s $54 billion purchase of Express Scripts Holding Co., the latest sign of trouble for the planned tie-up, WSJ reports. Cigna and Express Scripts shareholders are set to vote on the deal Aug. 24.
|
|
|
Cigna Corp. corporate headquarters in Bloomfield, Conn., on May 16, 2018. PHOTO: Associated Press.
|
|
|
|
Google is testing a mobile version of its search engine that would adhere to China’s strict controls over content, WSJ reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. The action indicates renewed interest in a market the Alphabet Inc. unit abandoned eight years ago in protest over government censorship.
The arrests of three alleged members of the FIN7 cybercrime gang were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, Reuters reports. The men are accused of hacking into more than 100 U.S. businesses and stealing tens of millions of dollars.
|
|
|
Ohio State University placed head football coach Urban Meyer on paid administrative leave Wednesday while it investigates allegations he knew about domestic abuse charges against a former assistant coach in 2015 yet kept him on staff, New York Times reports.
The CBS Corp. board has retained two law firms to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against its chairman and chief executive, Leslie Moonves, as well as the CBS News unit, WSJ reports. The board created a special committee of board members to oversee the investigation. Mr. Moonves will have no role in the probes.
The president of the University of Southern California, Max Nikias, said in May he would resign after a series of scandals damaged the school's reputation. He remains on the job, Washington Post reports, and hundreds of university faculty asked Wednesday that he finally leave.
|
|
|
The White House, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Beijing and prod it into further negotiations, said it would consider more than doubling its proposed tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25%, WSJ reports. The move Wednesday came as talks between Beijing and Washington have stalled, and Washington is looking for additional leverage. China says it's ready for anything the U.S. does, Reuters reports.
Days after declaring over an ebola outbreak in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a new ebola outbreak was reported in the eastern part of the country, Reuters reports.
School administrators consider the likelihood of a shooting real enough that some districts are buying active-shooter insurance, WSJ reports. Schools use it in hopes of avoiding litigation and offsetting costs for counseling services, crisis management and added security after an attack.
|
|
|
After years of big rate increases on Affordable Care Act plans, WSJ reports insurers in many states are seeking smaller hikes and even some reductions. Major insurers in states including Mississippi and Florida are seeking single-digit increases, while big marketplace players in states including Texas, Illinois, Arizona and North Carolina have proposed to cut some premiums.
Condé Nast is looking to sell three of its magazines as the company tries to cut losses that totaled $120 million in 2017, New York Times reports. The company is looking to unload Brides, Golf Digest and W magazines, while keeping its flagship publications Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker.
|
|
|
Fidelity Investments starting Friday will offer clients the chance to invest in two new stock-index funds without paying any fees, putting new pressure on low-cost rivals such as Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab Corp. WSJ reports the moves are part of a broader reduction in the price of investing as firms duel for increasingly cost-sensitive clients.
|
|
|
A sign outside of a Fidelity Investments office in the Century City section of Los Angeles in June 2016. PHOTO: Associated Press//Richard Vogel
|
|
|
|
Follow the WSJ Risk & Compliance Team on Twitter: @WSJRisk, @srubenfeld, @BenDiPietro1 and @LikelyMara.
Send complaints, comments and kudos to Ben DiPietro at ben.dipietro@wsj.com.
|
|
|