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1. Senate approves funding plan to end US partial shutdown
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved funding to most of the Department of Homeland Security excluding immigration enforcement, AP News reports. The deal is expected to be considered by the House on Friday and, if passed, would end the 42-day partial shutdown that has led to long security lines at airports suffering staffing challenges from unpaid TSA agents.
“We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again, and then we’ll go from there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “Obviously, we’ll still have some work ahead of us.”
Ahead of the Senate passing this latest measure, President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order to immediately pay TSA agents.
2. Oil prices rise despite Trump postponing action in Iran
Oil prices globally continued to increase Friday, even after President Trump pulled back on immediate threats to attack Iran's power grid, reported The New York Times. In response, global stock markets fell.
The global benchmark for oil rose to around $111 Friday after increasing about 5.7% to $108.01 on Thursday.
"The S&P 500 is on course for its fifth-straight week of losses for the first time in four years," the NYT reports. "The war also continues to pressure bond yields, raising concerns over housing affordability and inflation generally."
3. IHG CEO points to industry resilience amid global disruption
At this year's International Hospitality Investment Forum, the conflict in the Middle East was top of mind for hoteliers, reports CoStar News Hotels' Sean McCracken. IHG Hotels & Resorts CEO Elie Maalouf said navigating global disruption is something the hotel industry is familiar with.
"The top priority is the safety and security of our guests, our colleagues, properties and supporting our owners in the region," he said. "Unfortunately, we have a lot of experience with this around the world. We are always somewhere in a place of conflict or natural disasters. When you're in 100 countries, things happen. We're still operating in Ukraine and Kyiv. We've been operating in the Middle East for 65 years."
4. Economists expect US inflation to rise over 4% this year
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts U.S. will average a 4.2% inflation rate, the New York Times reports. The Paris-based organization pointed to the war in Iran as an impact for the rising rate.
“Higher energy and fertilizer prices and the unpredictable nature of the evolving conflict in the Middle East will add to inflation and weigh on demand,” according to the report.
5. Longtime hotel exec Kirk Kinsell passes away
Kirk Kinsell, the former president of the Americas for IHG Hotels & Resorts and former president and CEO of Loews Hotels & Co, passed away this week at the age of 71. In his nearly 20 years at IHG, he led operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, before taking on the role overseeing the Americas. In 2015, he took the helm of Loews Hotels.
His family will celebrate his life in a ceremony at the Georgia Aquarium in August and asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Georgia Aquarium, Beachside Church and Mayo Clinic.