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"It's a combination of the FTC and (Justice Department) being willing to litigate and the fact that companies are fighting back," Grosberg said. More recently, they have lost four attempts to block mergers in court, though they are appealing two of the cases. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Break-up fees that acquirers agree to pay their targets if their deal gets shot down by antitrust regulators are also on the rise. Many companies facing merger challenges say they will fight on, emboldened by the four court losses of the Justice Department and FTC.

☆ Marathon Galveston Bay refinery in Texas shut by cold
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Marathon Petroleum Corp FollowHOUSTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp's (MPC.N) 593,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, shut down on Friday because of malfunctions caused by cold weather, said people familiar with plant operations. About half of the refinery shut as temperatures fell overnight. Units in the other half of the refinery were shut on Friday morning, the sources said. Marathon spokesperson Jamal Kheiry declined to discuss operations at the refinery. The Galveston Bay Refinery is the second largest in the United States.

☆ Media mogul Bloomberg eyes Dow Jones or Washington Post acquisition, no talks yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

According to the Axios report, Bloomberg sees News Corp-owned (NWSA.O) Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos was interested in selling. Bloomberg L.P., the Washington Post and Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. "The transaction would be challenged only if the resulting choices leave insufficient competition in the market for either users or suppliers. In October, Rupert Murdoch had started a process that could reunite his media empire, News Corp and Fox Corp (FOXA.O), nearly a decade after the companies split. Reuters competes with Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., as a provider of financial news.

A spokesperson for the Washington Post, which Bezos bought in 2013 for $250 million, said it is not for sale. "A Bloomberg acquisition of the (Post) is not necessarily just a business decision. According to Axios, Bloomberg sees Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Bezos was interested in selling. Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reuters competes with Dow Jones and Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., a provider of financial news.

☆ 'Communities like mine won't survive:' Queens residents battle monthly floods as sea levels rise, storms worsen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Still, it's unclear how these vulnerable coastal communities — and others across the country — will ultimately fare. In this scenario, most of the communities surrounding Jamaica Bay would be inundated every day by high tides. These types of natural projects, some of which are already underway at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, would be balanced with the Army Corp's man-made engineered solutions. Additionally, the proposed Jamaica Bay Storm Surge Barrier, located to the east of the Marine Parkway Bridge, would close during major storms. Shoreline restoration is underway at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens.

Canada is in the midst of building a large terminal to export LNG, but its completion is two years away. Canadian gas production is on track to reach a record 18 bcfd in 2022 and 19 bcfd in 2023, according to energy consultancy Rystad Energy. Pipelines are also constrained in Canada due to swift production growth, particularly TC Energy Corp's (TRP.TO) NGTL pipeline system that ships gas around and out of western Canada. In August, gas prices in Alberta briefly turned negative because of bottlenecks stemming from NGTL maintenance. U.S. LNG exports are expected to reach 10.6 bcfd in 2022 and 12.3 bcfd in 2023, according to federal estimates.

☆ Meta is building virtual world open to app makers, CEO tells antitrust court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Katie Paul | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg leaves federal court after attending the Facebook parent company's defense of its acquisition of virtual reality app developer Within Inc., in San Jose, California, U.S. December 20, 2022. REUTERS/Laure AndrillonSAN JOSE, Calif., Dec 20 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) boss Mark Zuckerberg defended his acquisition of a virtual reality fitness app to an antitrust judge on Tuesday, arguing that his company was helping to build a nascent virtual reality industry, not dominate it. On fitness apps, he said, "it's less important that we own the experiences than that they exist." Platform companies have built "the key apps, what they call the killer apps," Zuckerberg said, "but they're not the only apps available." Within developed Supernatural, a VR app it advertises as a "complete fitness service" with choreographed workouts.

☆ Appeals court rejects China Telecom bid to reverse U.S. ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected China Telecom Corp's (0728.HK) challenge to a Federal Communications Commission order withdrawing the company's authority to provide services in the United States. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the bid by the U.S. arm of China Telecom to reverse the order that took effect in January. The FCC said in 2021 that China Telecom (Americas) "is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government." A lawyer for China Telecom (Americas) and the FCC did not immediately comment. China Telecom had argued the FCC violated its rules by refusing to hold a hearing before revoking China Telecom (Americas)’ domestic and international common-carrier authorizations.

☆ India court quashes tax dept's $448 mln block on Xiaomi's deposits -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Aditya Kalra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - An Indian court has quashed the income tax department's block on China-based Xiaomi Corp's (1810.HK) fixed deposits worth 37 billion rupees ($447.65 million), two people familiar with court proceedings said on Friday. Xiaomi and the income tax department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Indian tax officials froze the funds in February as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion. read moreThe investigation concerned allegations that the Chinese company purchased smartphones from its contract manufacturers at inflated costs in India, allowing it to record a smaller profit by selling them to customers and evading corporate income taxes, Reuters reported in May. A court is yet to pronounce a decision on the case following Xiaomi's challenge.

☆ U.S. Senate passes record $858 billion defense act, sending bill to Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday authorizing a record $858 billion in annual defense spending, $45 billion more than proposed by President Joe Biden, and rescinding the military's COVID vaccine mandate. Senators supported the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, an annual must-pass bill setting policy for the Pentagon, by an overwhelming 83-11 bipartisan majority. AID FOR TAIWAN, UKRAINE AND JUDGESBecause it is one of the few major bills that always passes, lawmakers use the NDAA as a vehicle for a range of initiatives. A bid to amend the bill to award back pay and reinstate troops who refused the vaccine failed. A bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2023, - the end of the fiscal year - is expected to pass Congress next week.

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices were largely unchanged in early Asian trade on Thursday as traders weighed optimism over China's demand outlook against the possibility of further interest rate hikes from global central banks. The market was bolstered by projections from the International Energy Agency seeing Chinese oil demand recovering next year after a 400,000-bpd contraction in 2022. The agency raised its 2023 oil demand growth estimate to 1.7 million bpd for a total of 101.6 million bpd. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday, a downshift from the 75-basis-point hikes it had delivered at its previous four policy meetings. The central bank signalled that more interest rate hikes were to be expected.

☆ Oil prices rise amid forecasts of 2023 demand uptick
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Brent crude futures last rose $2.17, or 2.69%, to $82.85 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $2.08 at $77.46. Looking into 2023, OPEC said it expects oil demand to grow by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) over next year to 101.8 million bpd, with potential upside from China, the world's top importer. The IEA, seeing Chinese oil demand recovering next year after a 400,000 bpd contraction in 2022, raised its 2023 oil demand growth estimate to 1.7 million bpd for a total of 101.6 million bpd. Oil prices have been supported by a leak and outage of TC Energy Corp's Keystone Pipeline, which ships 620,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude to the United States. Sending bearish signals, U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by more than 10 million barrels last week, the most since March 2021, buoyed by releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and as refiners reduced activity.

Brent crude futures settled up $2.02, or 2.4%, to $82.70 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up $1.94 to $77.28. Both contracts rose on a surge in diesel futures ahead of cold weather expected towards the end of the year. Sending bearish signals, U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by more than 10 million barrels last week, the most since March 2021, buoyed by releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and as refiners reduced activity. Looking into 2023, OPEC said it expects oil demand to grow by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) over next year to 101.8 million bpd, with potential upside from China, the world's top importer. The IEA, seeing Chinese oil demand recovering next year after a 400,000-bpd contraction in 2022, raised its 2023 oil demand growth estimate to 1.7 million bpd for a total of 101.6 million bpd.

Dec 12 (Reuters) - News Corp (NWSA.O) named Sunday Times editor Emma Tucker the new editor of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires on Monday. In his new role, Murray will take on “several critical growth projects supporting News Corp,” the company said. That vision appears to align with that of the Journal's publisher and Dow Jones chief executive, Almar Latour, who is credited with leading the digital transformation of the publication, which now boasts more than 3 million digital subscribers. “Emma is a brilliant, inspiring editor, with digital nous and the highest standards of integrity,” Thomson said in a statement on Monday. “She has been a thoughtful custodian of The Sunday Times and will bring verve and virtue to Dow Jones.

TC Energy shut the pipeline after the spill was discovered late last Wednesday. The 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone line ships heavy Canadian crude from Alberta to refiners in the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast. Prices for sour crude grades in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were strengthening on Monday, as the shutdown means more demand for heavier Gulf barrels. TC Energy said on Sunday that it has more than 250 people working on the leak, including third-party environmental specialists. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and pipeline regulator the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are also on the scene.

[1/4] Cast members Jay Ellis, Miles Teller, Tom Cruise, Glen Powell and Greg Tarzan Davis, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer pose for photographs during a news conference to promote the film 'Top Gun: Maverick' at a hotel in Seoul, South Korea, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Heo RanLOS ANGELES, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Nominations for the annual Golden Globe awards for film and television were announced on Monday. Winners will be announced Jan. 10 in a televised ceremony on Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) NBC. The broadcaster dropped the Globes telecast last year after a Los Angeles Times investigation highlighted the organization's ethical and financial failures and revealed that none of the then-87 members were Black. Following is a list of nominees in key categories:MOVIESBEST DRAMA“Avatar: The Way of Water”“Elvis”“The Fabelmans”“Tar”“Top Gun: Maverick”BEST COMEDY OR MUSICAL“Babylon”“The Banshees of Inisherin”“Everything Everywhere All At Once”“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”“Triangle of Sadness”BEST ACTOR, DRAMAAustin Butler: “Elvis”Brendan Fraser: “The Whale”Hugh Jackman: “The Son”Bill Nighy: “Living”Jeremy Pope: “The Inspection”BEST ACTRESS, DRAMACate Blanchett: “Tar”Olivia Colman: “Empire Of Light”Viola Davis: “The Woman King”Ana de Armas: “Blonde”Michelle Williams: “The Fabelmans”BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICALDiego Calva: “Babylon”Daniel Craig: “Glass Onion: A Knives out Mystery”Adam Driver: “White Noise”Colin Farrell: “The Banshees of Inisherin”Ralph Fiennes: “The Menu”BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICALLesley Manville, “Mrs.

☆ Oil up $2 a barrel on supply risks amid ongoing Keystone outage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $73.17 a barrel, rising $2.15, or 3%. The potential of a prolonged outage of TC Energy Corp's Canada-to-U.S. Keystone crude oil pipeline helped turn prices around. Traders worried about how long it would take to clean up and restart the Keystone oil pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of oil leaked last week, the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade. The outage is expected to shrink supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub, and delivery point for benchmark U.S. crude oil futures. "The emergent EU embargo on Russian crude... may add moderate upside energy price risks in the next few months.

☆ U.S. energy envoy Hochstein calls investor hostility to shale drilling "un-American" -FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein described the refusal of the country's shale investors to ramp up drilling as "un-American" in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday. "You want to pay dividends, pay dividends. You want to pay shareholders, pay shareholders. We are asking you to increase production and seize the moment", the FT quoted him as saying. Biden has repeatedly called on U.S. oil and gas companies to use their record profits to increase production and reduce fuel prices for Americans.

☆ Australia seeks to limit gas producers' profits as prices soar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Samuel Mckeith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The move, detailed late Friday, comes as gas producers face fierce criticism over soaring energy prices that have resulted in windfall profits from their Australian operations. The government said it would cap gas prices at A$12 per gigajoule (GJ) and coal prices for power plants at A$125 per tonne for one year in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said were "extraordinary measures" to drive down energy bills. It would not apply to gas sales on the spot market, and would remain in place until the regulator advised the government that domestic gas prices were "reflective of the underlying costs of production". "This may be taken as a declaration of war on the gas industry on the east coast," Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said. The government earlier this year forecast household gas and power prices would rise by 20% to 30% over each of the next two years.

This week's spill of 14,000 barrels in Kansas is sure to raise alarms over future pipeline development, as U.S. regulators had already increased scrutiny of pipeline construction due to previous Keystone spills in 2017 and 2019. The pipeline suffered few incidents in its early years, but since 2017, the number of spills increased after TC Energy received a special permit from the U.S. "I think a lot of scrutiny is going to be placed on the special permit," said Jane Kleeb, founder of Bold Alliance, an advocacy group that fought Keystone XL. John Stoody, vice-president of government relations at the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association said special permits come with numerous different operating conditions. "If anything there are complaints from industry about how lengthy the special permit process is.

"The legal precedent is not on the side of the FTC," said Andre Barlow, an antitrust lawyer at Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC. Barlow pointed to three recent mergers challenged by the FTC or Justice Department that were ultimately allowed to proceed. Those cases share something else in common with the proposed Microsoft deal: in each instance, a company would merge with a supplier in a so-called "vertical" merger. "Vertical merger challenges are really difficult to win so it will be an uphill battle for the FTC," said Roger Alford, who teaches law at the University of Notre Dame. Reuters reported last month that Microsoft was expected to offer remedies to EU antitrust regulators in the coming weeks to stave off formal objections to the deal.

☆ Slowing crypto startup funding may still surpass 2021 record - Pitchbook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Total funding at crypto startups this year is set to exceed investments in 2021, research firm Pitchbook said on Thursday though the pace of capital deployment is slowing as a series of crypto blowups sapped private equity investment appetite. Crypto projects globally attracted $19.9 billion in venture capital (VC) investments in the first nine months of 2022, 41% higher than a year ago, according to Pitchbook data. In total, last year drew in a record $21.2 billion. "The lack of clear regulation and guidance remains one of the crypto industry's greatest concerns and limiting factors," said Robert Le, crypto analyst at PitchBook. VCs infused $1.5 billion in the so-called Web3 companies in third quarter, a 44.5% growth sequentially, according to Pitchbook.

☆ Japanese billionaire Maezawa picks K-pop star TOP, DJ Steve Aoki to join SpaceX moon trip
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa reacts as he speaks with his family after donning space suits shortly before the launch to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, December 8, 2021. REUTERS/Shamil ZhumatovTOKYO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on Friday revealed that K-pop star TOP and DJ Steve Aoki will be among the eight crew members he plans to take on a trip around the moon next year, hitching a ride on one of Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets. The picks were announced by Maezawa on Twitter and at a website for what he dubbed the #dearMoon Project. Maezawa used the micro-blogging site to recruit eight crew members from around the world to join him on the moon trip, saying 1 million people had applied. U.S. Olympic snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu were named as backup crew members.

☆ U.S. House overwhelmingly approves bill backing record military spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"This bill is Congress exercising its authority to authorize and do oversight," said Representative Adam Smith, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in a speech urging support for the measure. This year's bill - the result of months of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate - needed a two-thirds majority in the House after disagreement from some House members over whether it should include an amendment on voting rights. The Senate is expected to pass the NDAA next week, sending it to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law. Authorization bills create programs but Congress must pass appropriations bills to give the government legal authority to spend federal money. Congressional leaders have not yet agreed on an appropriations bill for next year.

☆ Toyota offers cheaper Prius if customers take software updates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Satoshi Sugiyama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The lease program will require customers to opt in for a service expected to bring monthly lease payments down by 10%, Toyota's leasing affiliate said. The service marks the first time Toyota will update its safety features, including the collision avoidance system, for a car on the road, said Shinya Kotera, president of KINTO, the Toyota leaser unit in Japan. Tesla has routinely used over-the-air software updates to improve charging speed on its electric vehicles, unlock additional battery range and fix safety issues. Toyota unveiled the new Prius last month amid criticism from ESG investors and environmental groups for its slow rollout of fully electric vehicles. The leasing unit wants to expand the service to other vehicles within a year or two and is considering plans to make it a global offering, Kotera said.

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