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☆ Found Norway shipwreck could be up to 700 years old
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Resting at the bottom of Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway, a shipwreck from hundreds of years ago is in almost perfect condition, frozen in time. The lake is a source of drinking water for about 100,000 people in Norway, according to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, so the munitions posed health risks. Since the shipwreck was found in the middle of the lake, Ødegård believed the ship had gone down in bad weather. It’s most likely that the ship used square-shaped sails, he added, that proved to be difficult to navigate for seafarers caught in extremely windy conditions. The nearly 2,200-year-old shipwreck was relatively well preserved for being thousands of years old.

☆ UN agency says Israel is delaying new visas for its staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Jerusalem CNN —A United Nations agency that operates in the West Bank and Gaza says Israel is not processing visas for its newly recruited staff, while Israeli officials accuse the agency of “ignoring Israeli victims of terror” in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, a charge the agency denies. The UN considers East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be occupied territory, and Israelis living there to be living in illegal settlements. Erdan said when OCHA is asked why they don’t count Israeli victims, they are told the agency does not have reliable data. “Of course you don’t, you don’t employ Hebrew speakers, and the senior manager of the agency is Palestinian,” Erdan said. OCHA’s latest report does record some instances of Israelis being injured by stones thrown at civilian vehicles traveling in the West Bank.

☆ FTC’s Tussle With Microsoft Puts Spotlight on Cloud Gaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | Aaron Tilley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gaming in the cloud is a small part of the current videogame market, but it is a key piece of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block Microsoft Corp.’s purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. Cloud gaming is an emerging technology that allows people to stream videogames to nearly any internet-connected device, similar to how movies and shows are viewed on Netflix , Hulu and other streaming platforms.

☆ FTC’s Move to Block Microsoft’s Deal for Activision Blizzard Came Despite Charm Offensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Microsoft Corp. had been working for close to a year to calm regulators’ concerns about its acquisition of videogame developer Activision Blizzard Inc., but the Federal Trade Commission’s suit to block the deal raised doubts about the company’s pledge not to shut out rivals. The FTC this week took one of its biggest swings ever against a big technology company and sued to stop the planned $75 billion acquisition, setting the stage for a court challenge over a deal the antitrust agency said would harm competition.

☆ Microsoft Faces Tougher Path to Closing Activision Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shares of Activision fell a day after the FTC sued Microsoft to block its planned acquisition of the ‘Call of Duty’ publisher. The Federal Trade Commission’s suit to block Microsoft Corp.’s $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. puts the software giant in regulators’ crosshairs and leaves Activision in limbo. Microsoft, after earlier offering concessions to regulators, is prepared to defend its purchase of the “Call of Duty” publisher in court, Microsoft vice chairman and president, Brad Smith , said Thursday. Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said the regulatory environment is focused on ideology and misconceptions.

☆ EU gets another reason for a gas cap U-turn
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Commission’s gas cap has taken some withering friendly fire. The European Central Bank has slammed the proposal for threatening financial stability and putting the central bank in an untenable position, in an opinion published on Thursday. The gas cap, put forward under intense political pressure, has exposed divisions among European Union member states. Instead of crafting a workable compromise, the Commission plan seems to have achieved the impressive feat of being both unusable and a danger to financial stability. Ahead of next week’s European leaders’ summit, the smart move is to scrap it.

☆ SpaceX's moon mission gets 8 more crew members
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The mission, called Dear Moon, was first announced in 2018. Dear Moon still advertises that its mission will take off in 2023, though SpaceX’s new rocket and spacecraft system, known as Starship, has yet to conduct its first orbital test flight. The Dear Moon mission crew includes (clockwise from top left): Tim Dodd, Yemi A.D., Choi Seung Hyun, Steve Aoki, Rhiannon Adam, Karim Iliya, Miyu (backup), Dev Joshi, Yusaku Maezawa, Brendan Hall and Kaitlyn Farrington (backup). Since the Dear Moon mission was first announced, Maezawa made his first journey to space, taking a self-funded, 12-day journey to the International Space Station. If early test flights of Starship are successful and the Dear Moon mission gets off the ground, Maezawa’s crew could be the first group of private citizens to venture beyond low-Earth orbit.

☆ FTX Hires Forensic Team to Probe Money Trail
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FTX’s new management has hired a team of forensic investigators from advisory firm AlixPartners to help track the billions of dollars that have gone missing from the failed cryptocurrency exchange, people familiar with the matter said. The AlixPartners team is led by Matt Jacques, a former chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Jacques didn’t respond to a request for comment. AlixPartners...

☆ Deutsche bank, Rabobank hit with EU antitrust charge over bond cartel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People are silhouetted next to the Deutsche Bank's logo prior to the bank's annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachBRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Rabobank (RABO.UL) were charged by EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday of taking part in a government bond cartel, the latest move against a sector which has racked up millions of euros in fines for various competition violations. Deutsche Bank said it does not expect any sanction, suggesting that it may have alerted the cartel to the authorities. "Deutsche Bank has proactively cooperated with the European Commission in this matter and as a result has been granted conditional immunity. In accordance with the European Commission’s guidelines, Deutsche Bank does not expect a financial penalty," the German lender said.

☆ AT&T to Pay $6.25 Million to Settle Claims It Tipped Off Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged moves that led to a lowered consensus sales estimate for AT&T, which the telecom company beat. AT&T Inc. will pay $6.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by regulators that alleged it gave nonpublic financial information to analysts who then lowered their estimates, allowing the company to beat sales expectations. The telecom company agreed to pay the fine and settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s litigation without admitting or denying wrongdoing, according to a court filing. Three AT&T investor-relations executives each agreed to pay $25,000 individually to end the lawsuit, records show.

☆ Exclusive: Horse racing-U.S. Senator McConnell pushing for legislative fix to safety law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Rory Carroll | Thomson Reuters | Los Angeles-Based Sports Reporter Who Interviews The Most Impactful Athletes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a legislative fix to a law designed to make horse racing safer after an appeals court last month ruled it unconstitutional, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters. The changes to the law, which would provide greater federal oversight of the board charged with writing and implementing safety rules, would be included in a full-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, which could pass later this month. But the law was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which said there was insufficient government oversight of the new authority in a case brought by various horse racing associations and some states. Opponents argue that HISA would replace states' regulatory structures and allow new fees to be imposed on the industry. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The United States and European Union established the council in June last year as a forum for discussing new technology and trade. “With the Inflation Reduction Act being informally discussed only over a 45-minute lunch, the commissioner has decided not to participate,” the aide added. The Inflation Reduction Act has become an acute source of tension between the allies. The European Union and United States share the biggest “bilateral trade and investment relationship” in the world, according to the European Commission’s website. Transatlantic trade hit a record €1.2 trillion ($1.26 trillion) in 2021, the Commission said.

☆ FTX Collapse Draws Senate Hearing Scrutiny as Crypto Oversight in Focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Senators with a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies are due to question the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s chairman about the failure of the digital-asset exchange FTX and on legislation that would give that agency more power over the volatile market. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam is scheduled to testify at Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The panel’s chairwoman, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), and its ranking member, Sen. John Boozman (R., Ark. ), introduced a bill that would regulate trading in bitcoin, ether and some other cryptocurrencies through the commission. Giving the CFTC, a relatively small agency, authority to police trading in the most valuable crypto assets would mark a substantial expansion of its authority.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoNEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A congressional grilling on cryptocurrency answered a lot of questions, but far more about the ignorance on Capitol Hill than digital currencies. More bizarrely, Roger Marshall, also a Republican, suggested a “pause in this cryptocurrency digital world” while Congress gets its “arms around it,” a process he said could take years. Marshall also referenced central bank digital currencies, but those will fall under the U.S. Federal Reserve’s purview if the central bank approves such a project. Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, however, and Congress has failed to craft relevant laws to oversee crypto. The hearing was the first of several planned to examine FTX’s bankruptcy, cryptocurrency regulation, and agency jurisdiction over digital assets.

☆ UK banks’ Big Bang thankfully looks like big flop
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, the mooted changes would probably only benefit middling lenders like Santander UK, Virgin Money (VMUK.L) and Banco Sabadell’s (SABE.MC) TSB Bank, according to the FT. And on Wednesday, the BoE’s supervisory body said it planned largely to stick to international bank-capital rules, dubbed Basel 3.1. But the big flop might not be such a bad thing for the country’s financial sector. Separately, the government’s City minister Andrew Griffith said on Nov. 29 that he wanted to relax the so-called ringfencing regime that forces large British lenders to separate their retail and investment banking arms. According to the Financial Times, the ringfencing regime would still apply to the biggest UK banks but there could be exemptions for lenders with limited trading operations including Santander UK, Virgin Money and TSB Bank.

☆ Sentencing Elizabeth Holmes to 11-plus years for Theranos fraud was way too much
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Andrey Spektor | Andrey Spektor Is A Litigation Partner At Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | A Former Federal Prosecutor In New York. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

A federal judge sentenced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to 11 years and 3 months in prison Friday — too harsh a punishment considering the crime and the defendant. Anyone who claims Holmes received more or less than what she was “supposed to get” does not understand federal sentencing. Federal sentencing can seem arbitrary, but at bottom, it requires a humane and common sense result: Defendants must not be punished more than is absolutely necessary. Most people who are first exposed to federal sentencing — including lawyers — are bewildered by its unpredictability. Anyone who claims Holmes received more or less than what she was “supposed to get” does not understand federal sentencing.

The crypto giant FTX and its affiliated companies have started the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO. Bankman-Fried sent out a series of tweets on Friday stating his hope that FTX would be able to continue as a going concern following its bankruptcy. Media outlets have reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department are now investigating FTX. In the days following the report, rival crypto exchange Binance announced it was liquidating its FTT holdings. Unable to find an out, FTX announced its bankruptcy filing Friday morning.

☆ Federal Trade Commission to Expand Use of Law Against Anticompetitive Practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( John D. Mckinnon | Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Federal Trade Commission’s plan to expand its use of a 1914 statute is likely to be criticized by big businesses. WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday that it plans to expand its use of a century-old statute that could allow the agency to bring more lawsuits against what it sees as anticompetitive corporate behavior. The move—broadening its interpretation of the 1914 law that created the FTC—opens the door to more legal challenges against businesses engaging in alleged coercive or deceptive conduct that undermines competition, Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a briefing with reporters.

☆ Supreme Court Hears Challenges to FTC and SEC In-House Courts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jan Wolfe | Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Federal Trade Commission is one of the agencies that use administrative courts in which judges rule on the legality of mergers and make other decisions. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments over the Federal Trade Commission’s authority, the latest case before the high court that seeks to rein in federal agency power. The justices will hold an oral argument in Axon Enterprise Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, a lawsuit brought by the maker of Tasers and other police equipment against the antitrust enforcement agency.

☆ Former MoviePass executives face fraud charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The men each face one count of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud with a maximum of 20 years in prison. Farnsworth had a first appearance in DC District Court Friday after he voluntarily turned himself in. But MoviePass’ business model was at best unsustainable — and at worst nonexistent. Spikes helped found MoviePass before being pushed out in 2018 after selling the company to HMNY. Details remain scarce, but the company says the new MoviePass will have three pricing tiers that will cost $10, $20 or $30, depending on the market.

☆ Movement to ban TikTok: What midterms could mean for future of app
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The effort to ban TikTok is back, and it could gain more strength after the midterm elections. Alex Brandon / AP fileExperts said there’s a steep hill to climb for those who want a total TikTok ban, but the midterms could provide a push. The renewed push for a TikTok ban or forced sale is taking place while the company is in negotiations with the Biden administration on a potential written security agreement. TikTok says it believes the agreement would address not only privacy concerns but how the app moderates content. Rubio is co-sponsoring legislation to ban TikTok from all U.S. government devices.

States are working to shore up what might be the most public and vulnerable parts of their election systems: the websites that publish voting results. One of its victims last month was Hawaii.gov, which also hosts the state’s election night reporting. That means avoiding even the perception of hackers’ changing votes, which makes election results websites all the more crucial. Historically, election results websites have been ripe targets for malicious hackers who want to sow chaos. Some U.S. officials emphasized that even accurate results on websites should be taken for what they are — preliminary indications of election results.

The United States on Wednesday called for Iran to be expelled from a U.N. commission on women, citing the regime’s “systematic oppression” of women and its violent crackdown on street protests. Iranian women have been at the forefront of protests across the country since a 22-year-old woman from the country’s Kurdish region, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody in September. Human rights groups have made similar allegations and issued detailed accounts of the crackdown. Two rights groups, Norway-based group Iran Human Rights and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, said last week that more than 250 protesters have been killed since the protests began. “It’s time for us to stop abetting the Islamic Republic of Iran and start supporting the freedom-loving people of Iran,” said Boniadi.

☆ SEC Favors Midpoint Prices on Investor Stock Trades in Rules Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Alexander Osipovich | Paul Kiernan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Any significant Securities and Exchange Commission rule changes are expected to draw pushback from the financial industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s planned overhaul of stock-trading rules seeks to ensure that small investors get better prices when buying or selling stocks. One of the SEC’s aims is to increase the likelihood that investors get the midpoint price on trades—halfway between the publicly displayed buying and selling price—or better.

☆ New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern makes rare trip to Antarctica
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared awestruck Thursday to be standing in the Antarctic hut of explorer Ernest Shackleton. “I think when you’re a kid and you read stories about Shackleton, you’d never imagine you’d have the opportunity to come. So, I feel pretty lucky,” she said from inside the hut that was built more than a century ago. Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing in Antarctica are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress. The motivation for Russia, which did not respond to requests for comment this week, remains unclear.

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