The daily business briefing: August 9, 2018

New York caps ride-hailing licenses in blow to Uber, GOP Rep. Chris Collins charged with insider trading, and more

NYC taxi drivers rally against Uber
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

1. New York caps new ride-hailing licenses in blow to Uber, Lyft

New York on Wednesday became the first major U.S. city to temporarily stop issuing new vehicle licenses for Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing services. The City Council overwhelmingly approved capping the services for a year while the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission examines the industry. The legislation also authorizes the city to set drivers' minimum pay rates. New York's aggressive move poses a new obstacle to Uber's efforts to move past recent negative publicity about its corporate culture, and continue to grow. Uber has been valued at $62 billion, and is aiming for an initial public offering of stock next year. Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker, said the bills would help lift low driver wages and "stop the influx of cars contributing to the congestion grinding our streets to a halt."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.