The daily business briefing: December 22, 2023

1. Biden: US Steel sale merits 'serious scrutiny'

President Joe Biden wants regulators to take a close look at Nippon Steel's planned acquisition of U.S. Steel, the White House said Thursday. Steelworkers and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed alarm over the proposed $14 billion, all-cash deal to sell U.S. Steel, which was founded in 1901 by J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie, to the Japanese company. Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council, said in a statement that Biden "believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity — even one from a close ally — appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability." The Associated Press

2. Honda recalls 2.5 million US vehicles

Honda said in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it was recalling more than 2.5 million Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States and a total of 4.5 million worldwide to address a fuel pump defect, multiple news outlets reported Thursday. The problem can cause the engines of affected cars and SUVs to fail or stall. The automaker said it would replace the fuel pumps at no cost, but that it would notify drivers in phases because it didn't have enough parts to fix all of the vehicles at once. Dealers are expected to start notifying owners this week, Honda said in the filing. NPR, Reuters

3. Mortgage rates fall to lowest level since June

U.S. mortgage rates fell for the eighth straight week to their lowest level since June, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday. The rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which dropped below 7% last week for the first time in four months, continued declining this week to an average of 6.67%. A year ago, the average rate on the long-term loan was 6.27%. The Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to raise interest rates to cool the economy and bring down inflation pushed mortgage rates up from historic lows. Combined with high housing prices, that created the "least affordable housing market since the 1980s," according to CNN. Mortgage rates have fallen as inflation edged down and stoked anticipation of Fed rate cuts next year. CNN

4. Stock futures fall slightly

U.S. stock futures edged lower early Friday, but Wall Street remained on track for its eighth straight winning week. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3% at 7 a.m. ET. S&P 500 futures were flat, while those of the Nasdaq were down 0.1%. The major U.S. indexes bounced back on Thursday from big losses on Wednesday. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed up 0.9% and 1.0 %, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.3%. The eight-week positive streak is the longest for the Dow since 2019, and the longest for the S&P 500 since 2017. The market is closed Monday for Christmas. CNBC

5. Traffic to resume through Channel Eurotunnel after day-long strike

Traffic will gradually resume in the cross-Channel Eurotunnel between Britain and France after an agreement with unions ended a strike by French workers. The strike interrupted traffic most of Thursday. Eurotunnel said LeShuttle transport service for motor vehicles started again Thursday night. Eurostar passenger trains were due to resume travel Friday. The French workers held the day-long strike in a protest over bonus pay. The walkout disrupted holiday travel plans for thousands of people, forcing some trains to return to Paris just before they reached London. Thousands of passengers wound up stranded at the French capital's Gare du Nord high-speed rail terminal. Reuters