Business

Steven Mnuchin, America’s treasury secretary, warned China that a new round of tariffs would be imposed on Chinese goods in December if it did not adhere to the accord struck between the two countries on October 11th. Under the deal China will buy more American agricultural produce, toughen protections for intellectual property and provide more access to its financial-services market, enough concessions to stop America raising tariffs on $250bn-worth of exports. China was cautious about the prospect for a breakthrough that will end the trade war. Donald Trump was more ebullient, declaring that the deal amounted to a “l(fā)ove fest”.

Goldman Sachs reported a big drop in quarterly profit and revealed that it had lost $80m so far on its investment in WeWork, a loss-making office-rentals startup that had to abort its long-awaited stockmarket debut when its valuation sank. By contrast, JPMorgan Chase, which was the lead underwriter on WeWork’s IPO, recorded a rise in net profit, to $9.1bn. The bank is said to be working on a financing package for WeWork to stop it running out of cash next month.

An international panel of experts reviewing the certification process of Boeing’s 737 MAX jetliner, which has been grounded following two crashes, published a report that was highly critical of the aerospace company and the Federal Aviation Administration. The report found that the FAA had “inadequate awareness” of what the plane’s new automated system was supposed to do. On the day it was published, Boeing separated Dennis Muilenburg’s dual positions as chief executive and chairman, in order to augment the board’s “active oversight role”.

Nestlé said it would return SFr20bn ($20bn) to shareholders over the next few years, after reporting solid revenues and a boost from the sale of its skincare business. The Swiss food-and-drink maker’s share price has risen by a third since January.