Saudi women to drive; India economy slowing; UK snap election impact on Brexit

What's new... what's next   By Matt Egan, Patrick Gillespie, Julia Horowitz and Paul R. La Monica of CNNMoney 1. Political gridlock might actually help Britain There are concerns that Theresa May's Conservative Party might lose its majority in parliament after the June 8 election. But would that really be so bad? Some market experts note the pound quickly recovered from this week's slump. Why? A divided parliament would lead to some political fireworks, but it also might force lawmakers to compromise and come up with a cleaner way to leave the EU that keeps current trade and immigration policies in place. 2. India is no longer growing faster than China India's economy grew at "just" a 6.1% annual pace in the first quarter. That's still good, obviously. But it's a deceleration from 7% in the fourth quarter. It's also below forecasts and less than China's 6.9% growth rate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to get rid of all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes was a big reason for the slowdown in growth. Modi did so to stamp out corruption and tax evasion. But it appears to have come at a price -- at least in the short-term. 3. Saudi prince: 'No doubt' women will drive It's looking more and more like Saudi Arabia will eventually lift its infamous ban on women drivers. In an interview, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah said, "Never mind driving a car, which is coming no doubt...I want her to drive society." Soon afterwards, the comments were trending on Twitter in Saudi Arabia. Talk of women driving comes as Saudi Arabia tries to modernize its oil-dependent economy, in part by boosting female participation in the workforce.  4. Spotlight on Ivanka Trump shoe supplier An activist investigating a company that manufactures shoes for Ivanka Trump has been detained by police in China, and two of his colleagues remain unaccounted for. The activists were working undercover at two factories in southern China, according to China Labor Watch, the New York-based advocacy group for which they were carrying out the investigation. It lost contact with them on Sunday... 5. Belgium University sorry for saying women should wear low-cut tops to graduation Free University of Brussels apologized Wednesday after it sent notice to graduates of its medical school that woman are encourages to wear a skirt or a dress as well as a low neckline. The school told CNNMoney a longtime secretary wrote the lengthy dress instructions and was later informed why they were inappropriate. The emailed dress suggestion was sent to about 100 medical students.  6. Quick Takes: Diamond-encrusted Hermes handbag sells for a record $377,000 Look out! China's top home rental site is taking on rival Airbnb There is no boom in coal jobs, despite what President Trump says Don't sleep yet on Microsoft. It's stock is quietly booming Retail woes continue: Michael Kors plans to close 100 to 125 stores Man fined $4,000 for 'liking' defamatory posts on Facebook EpiPen maker blasted for paying top exec an eye-popping $98 million 7. What's next: Big jobs preview: A raft of new numbers on the state of the U.S. jobs market are set to be released on Thursday morning, headlined by the ADP private sector employment report. ADP's report is expected to show that businesses created less than 200,000 jobs in May. New data on mass layoffs from Challenger, Gray & Christmas and weekly unemployment claims are also due ahead of Friday's more closely-watched government jobs report. Fleeting manufacturing rebound? America's manufacturing industry gathered momentum following Trump's election, but it's lost stream more recently. Look to see if that trend continued in May when the Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. Auto sales jitters: Concern is rising that the U.S. auto market may have peaked following the recent boom. Major car makers including Ford and General Motors revealed sales duds in April. New numbers for May are set to be revealed throughout the day on Thursday. Make this newsletter better. Please send us your feedback to CNNMoneyfeedback@turner.com Share Tweet Forward Sign up for CNN Money's morning markets newsletter: Before the Bell Sign up for CNN Money's closing markets newsletter: Markets Now Copyright © 2017 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You're receiving this newsletter because you opted in at cnn.com or cnnmoney.com. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences