The daily business briefing: March 6, 2019

1. Ex-Nissan chair Carlos Ghosn released from Tokyo jail

Former Nissan chair Carlos Ghosn was released on 1 billion yen ($9 million) bail Wednesday after a judge rejected an appeal by prosecutors to keep him in jail until his trial. A judge approved Ghosn's release a day earlier at his third bail hearing. Authorities had held Ghosn in a Tokyo jail since November, when he was arrested on suspicion of underreporting his income by more than $80 million over several years. Japanese authorities later added additional charges, accusing Ghosn of trying to transfer personal financial losses to Nissan. He has vowed to fight the charges, which he called "meritless." Ghosn was the architect of Nissan's alliance with fellow automakers Mitsubishi of Japan and Renault of France.

The New York Times CNBC

2. China lowers its economic growth target

The Chinese government has lowered its annual economic growth target to between 6 and 6.5 percent, down from 6.6 percent last year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced in the opening session of the annual National People's Congress on Tuesday. Last year's rate was already the slowest since 1990. Li told the assembled legislators to prepare "for a tough struggle" as the government cuts taxes to prevent a sharper slowdown, acknowledging the U.S.-China trade war has negatively affected China's economy. He also announced plans to scrap "Made in China 2025," a plan heavily criticized by the Trump administration. Instead, Li said the government would promote advanced manufacturing and "encourage more domestic and foreign users to choose Chinese goods and services."

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The Wall Street Journal CNN

3. T-Mobile use of Trump hotel increased after Sprint merger announcement

T-Mobile increased its patronage of President Trump's Washington hotel after the company announced its merger with Sprint last April, the company acknowledged in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday. Before the deal, which is currently under Department of Justice review, only two T-Mobile executives had stayed at the hotel, but since then T-Mobile executives have stayed there for a total of 52 nights and spent $195,000. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) slammed T-Mobile's spending as an attempt to "curry favor" with Trump, who last year reportedly asked White House aides to pressure the DOJ to block AT&T from purchasing Time Warner. T-Mobile CEO John Legere said the stays were not political.

The Washington Post The Week

4. Stocks struggle with U.S.-China trade, fresh data in focus

U.S. stock index futures edged down early Wednesday, pointing to a modestly lower open as investors continued to await progress on efforts to end the U.S.-China trade war. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all were down by 0.2 percent or less. The main U.S. indexes closed down by 0.1 percent or less on Tuesday after a bumpy trading day. Wall Street's main indexes dipped in a choppy session Tuesday as a 4.7 percent drop in General Electric shares countered strong earnings reports from retailers.

CNBC Reuters

5. China to bar officials from demanding foreign firms surrender tech secrets

A new foreign investment law in China will bar government authorities from making foreign companies hand over technology secrets in exchange for access to Chinese markets, the vice chair of the government's economic planning agency, Ning Jizhe, said Wednesday. The measure will be debated at the current 11-day session of the rubber-stamp National People's Congress, where it is expected to be approved. The law addresses a key complaint of the Trump administration in its ongoing trade war with Beijing. Ning's statement came a day after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang promised in a speech at the legislature's opening session that foreign companies would be "treated as equals" by Chinese rivals.

The Associated Press