TRADE
Trump administration to block Congressional action to interfere with ZTE settlement
The Trump administration signaled Wednesday that it will try to block any effort by Congress to interfere with its plan to throw a lifeline to ZTE, the Chinese technology company that the US government has penalized for violating sanctions. The Department of Commerce brokered a settlement with ZTE this month after President Xi Jinping id China asked President Trump to issue a softer penalty that would not put the company out of business. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been working on legislation that would undermine that agreement and impose a stiffer punishment on ZTE. The White House said Wednesday that the current agreement “will ensure ZTE pays for its violations and gives our government complete oversight of their future activity without undue harm to American suppliers and their workers.’’ Lawmakers have been working to attach legislation on ZTE to an upcoming National Defense Authorization Act measure that is expected to pass in the Senate. Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, suggested that such a move would undermine the authority of the executive branch. The company’s shares plunged Wednesday, losing more than 40 percent of their value, in their first day of trading on Hong Kong’s stock exchange since the US government slapped ZTE with crippling penalties two months ago. — NEW YORK TIMES
AUTOMOBILES
GM to have two women in high-ranking positions
General Motors is about to have two of the auto industry’s highest-ranking women in the upper echelons of its management team. Dhivya Suryadevara, GM’s vice president of corporate finance for the last 11 months, will become chief financial officer on Sept. 1, replacing Chuck Stevens, the company said Wednesday. Suryadevara, 39, played a key role in GM’s divesting its German affiliate Opel, acquiring self-driving car unit Cruise Automation, investing in ride-hailing startup Lyft Inc., and arranging a recent investment by SoftBank Vision Fund. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
PIZZA
Domino’s pays to fix potholes
The saying goes that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but what if the road was paved with pizza? News outlets report national delivery-based pizza chain Domino’s is aiming to make commutes around the country a little less hellish, by helping to repair potholes. The company’s ‘‘Paving for Pizza’’ program has launched in four test cities: Athens, Ga.; Bartonville, Texas; Burbank, Calif., and Milford, Del. Milford’s public works director, Mark Whitfield, says an abnormally harsh winter left the city with more potholes than usual. Milford received a $5,000 grant, which covered the repair of 40 potholes. The city used their own crews, who stenciled Domino’s logo and ‘‘Oh, yes we did’’ on the first few repairs. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHING
Clinton’s novel a big seller
Bill Clinton’s debut novel had the year’s biggest opening so far for a work of fiction. ‘‘The President is Missing,’’ the thriller he cowrote with James Patterson, sold 250,000 copies its first week. Alfred A. Knopf and Little, Brown and Co., the book’s copublishers, announced Wednesday that the number includes hardcover, e-book, and audio sales. NPD BookScan, which tracks around 85 percent of print sales, reported sales of 152,000 copies. That’s BookScan’s top-selling fiction debut since the latest ‘‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’’ which came out last fall, and biggest first week for adult fiction since Harper Lee’s ‘‘Go Set a Watchman’’ sold more than 700,000 hardcover copies in 2015. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
INTERNATIONAL
Britain’s highest court sides with worker in test case of ‘gig economy’
Britain’s highest court ruled Wednesday that a plumber who had sued a large London plumbing company over working rights could not be classified as self-employed, in a case that could lead to a closer examination of the relationship between businesses and workers in the “gig economy.’’ In Britain, people classified as workers under contract have some rights, like paid vacations and a minimum hourly wage, but not all of those granted to employees, like parental leave and protection against unfair dismissal. On Wednesday, the case reached the Supreme Court, where the judges found that Pimlico Plumbers was neither a client nor a customer of Smith and had exerted control over how he worked and how much he was paid. It also pointed out that Smith had been contractually required to drive a Pimlico Plumbers-branded van. — NEW YORK TIMES
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter to personalize news for users
Twitter Inc. will personalize news for users and send them notifications of events, trying to attract a bigger, broader audience with one of its most comprehensive product updates in years. The changes follow several iterations to make the social-media platform less cumbersome for new users, who may find it hard to decide whose opinions to follow and how to engage in conversations. Now, Twitter will predict relevant topics and send breaking-news notifications based on a person’s interests. It’s overhauling the explore section of the mobile app to show curated content for major events and stories that are organized by topics like news, entertainment, and sports. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
British pub chain to drop French champagne, Italian Prosecco, German beer pre-Brexit
A major UK pub chain will stop serving French Champagne, Italian Prosecco, and German wheat beers and offer more British drinks ahead of the country’s exit from the European Union. Tim Martin, the founder of the JD Wetherspoon chain and a strong advocate for Brexit, said Wednesday that the aim is to make the business more competitive for when Brexit becomes a reality. The move, which comes into force next month, seems to be as much a political point as a business decision. Last year, Wetherspoon sold 2 million bottles of Prosecco, 500,000 bottles of German wheat beer, and 100,000 bottles of Champagne. By comparison, it sold 6 million bottles of the Swedish cider Kopparberg, which it is not blocking, even though Sweden is also in the EU. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANKING
ECB taking closer look at three big banks
The European Central Bank is taking its closest look yet at the trading books of three of the euro zone’s biggest lenders, according to people briefed on the matter. The Frankfurt-based supervisor asked BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG, and Societe Generale SA several months ago to provide details of how they value bonds, stocks, and derivatives on their trading books, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INDUSTRY
Siemens may sell gas turbine business
Siemens AG is considering strategic options, including a potential sale of its struggling business that makes large gas turbines for power plants, according to people familiar with the matter. The German engineering company is looking at all possibilities, such as a combination with a rival, for what was once a flagship operation within the power and gas division, said the people, who asked not to be identified. General Electric Co., a market leader alongside Siemens, is mired in a deep slump largely because of a deterioration in its own power-generation business. GE is weighing bigger changes as well, including a possible breakup that could separate the power business into a standalone entity. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
