Business News at a Glance

Pro Tariffs, but Protecting Friends From Pain

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been one of the biggest proponents of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on China, welcoming tariffs on Chinese imports while conceding that they will raise costs for U.S. businesses and consumers. But behind the scenes, Graham has been working to help chemical and textile companies in his home state avoid the pain of Trump’s trade war. The Republican senator has advocated on behalf of seven South Carolina companies that import products from China, writing letters urging the Trump administration to remove materials they rely on from a list of goods subject to Trump’s tariffs.

Rifts Break Open at Facebook Over Kavanaugh Hearing

Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president for global public policy, sat behind his friend, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, when the judge testified in Congress about allegations he had sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford in high school. Kaplan’s surprise appearance prompted anger and shock among many Facebook employees, some of whom said they took his action as a tacit show of support for Kavanaugh — as if it were an endorsement from Facebook itself. The unrest quickly spilled over onto Facebook’s internal message boards, where hundreds of workers have since posted about their concerns, according to current and former employees.

Stanford’s Endowment Grew 11.3 Percent Last Year, Beating Harvard but Not Yale

Stanford University’s endowment, the world’s third largest, grew 11.3 percent in the most recent fiscal year, officials said this week. The university did not provide the endowment’s total value at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, which ended June 30, but said that it was $26.5 billion at the end of August. Stanford’s announcement followed similar reports by the two universities with larger endowments: Harvard, the world’s biggest, and Yale. Harvard said its endowment grew 10 percent in the 2018 fiscal year, to $39.2 billion. Yale said its endowment climbed 12.3 percent, to $29.4 billion.

Chinese Oil Company Official Talked Arms Deals and Evading Iran Sanctions, U.S. Says

The mysterious Chinese oil company CEFC China raised eyebrows wherever it went. Then, last year, U.S. prosecutors arrested one of its executives, accusing him of bribery in an effort to secure oil rights in Chad and Uganda. Now, they say, he also explored businesses beyond oil: brokering arms deals in other countries and looking for ways to dodge U.S. sanctions on Iran. In a filing Tuesday, prosecutors said Patrick Ho had discussed using the company’s connections to help sell weapons to Chad, Qatar and Libya. The prosecutors also accused Ho of exploring whether CEFC could serve as a middleman for an Iranian company to gain access to funds from a Chinese bank.

Danske Bank Faces U.S. Inquiry Over Money Laundering

Danske Bank, which last month acknowledged failing to prevent suspected money laundering at its Estonian branch, has now drawn the attention of U.S. authorities. In a statement on its website, the Danish lender said it was cooperating with the Department of Justice in a criminal investigation of flows of money out of the bank’s branch in Estonia. An internal 87-page report, prepared by lawyers hired by the bank, found misconduct stretching from 2007 to 2015 at the branch and estimated that total flows of 200 billion euros, or $234 billion, could be unlawful.

With Popularity Slumping, Macron Tries Tax Cuts for France’s Working Class

As President Emmanuel Macron presses ahead with the most business-friendly overhaul of the French labor market in decades, his popularity has gone into a tailspin. Consumer confidence is falling. A nascent recovery is cooling off. Unemployment has been stuck above 9 percent for months. That is hardly the vision of France that Macron hoped for when he swept into office 18 months ago with a pledge to revitalize Europe’s third-biggest economy. The government is trying to shore up support by giving tax breaks next year worth 6 billion euros ($6.9 billion) for middle- and low-income earners.