The daily business briefing: October 31, 2023

1. UAW, GM reach deal to end strike

The United Auto Workers and General Motors reached a tentative deal Monday to end the union's strike, which started in mid-September. The four-and-a-half-year contract proposal includes a 26% wage increase and restores cost-of-living adjustments. The agreement, which must still be approved by a union council and ratified by a majority of the UAW's 146,000 members, follows the pattern set by deals the union made with Ford last week and Chrysler-owner Stellantis on Saturday. "I think it's great," President Biden said. The three deals signaled the end of an unprecedented simultaneous strike by the UAW against all three of Detroit's Big Three automakers. The walkout halted production of some of GM's most profitable vehicles, including the Cadillac Escalade. The Detroit News, The New York Times

2. Meta to launch subscription option for European teens

Meta will suspend ads for users under age 18 in Europe as part of a plan to offer subscription-based versions of its Facebook and Instagram platforms, the company announced Monday. The change is necessary for the social media giant to comply with European regulations. Meta will let users 18 and over choose between letting the company target them with ads based on their online activity, or pay fees to use the sites ad-free on desktops for about $10.55 a month, or about $13.85 for mobile apps. Meta said the subscription option would be available within weeks, with ads pausing next week. The Wall Street Journal

3. Magic Johnson becomes fourth billionaire athlete

Magic Johnson has become the fourth athlete to be confirmed as a billionaire by Forbes. Johnson's net worth has climbed to $1.2 billion, according to the magazine, putting him in an elite club with fellow basketball legends Michael Jordan and LeBron James, and golfer Tiger Woods. Johnson was the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft after a stellar college career at Michigan State. He went on to lead the NBA four times in assists and twice in steals. He appeared in 12 All-Star games and won five NBA championships. Johnson earned $40 million as a player. The rest came from the former Los Angeles Laker's smart business decisions and investments. Forbes, CBS Sports

4. Bud Light flap drags down Anheuser-Busch Inbev's US revenue

Anheuser-Busch Inbev reported Tuesday that its quarterly revenue growth in much of the world was offset by a sharp drop in the United States, "primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light." The 13.5% drop in U.S. revenue for the Belgium-based company showed that the brewer was continuing to deal with a conservative backlash over a promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in early April. The controversy cost Bud Light its spot as America's best-selling beer, a distinction it held for more than two decades; it is now in close second place behind Modelo Especial, which is also owned by InBev but imported from Mexico and sold by Constellation Brands in the U.S. The Associated Press

5. Stock futures little changed ahead of Fed meeting

Stock futures edged higher early Tuesday as the Federal Reserve heads into a policy meeting to decide its next move on interest rates. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, at 7 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were little changed. Fed funds futures pricing indicates a 98% probability that the central bank will hold interest rates steady at this meeting, which ends Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Wall Street is coming off a Monday rally in which the Dow jumped 1.6%, and the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.2%. CNBC, Dow Jones