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☆ U.S. hits Chinese, Russian firms for aiding Russian military
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday added Chinese and Russian companies, including Russia's no. 2 mobile phone operator, to a trade blacklist for allegedly supporting the Russian military, deepening its crackdown on Moscow on the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine. The moves show President Joe Biden's administration is broadening its efforts to thwart Russia's military, targeting companies globally for helping Moscow evade export restrictions and access key technologies. The U.S. Commerce Department added Public Joint Stock Company Megafon, Russia's second largest mobile phone operator, to its entity list for allegedly "acquiring and attempting to acquire" U.S. technology to support Russia's military. Of the scores of new additions to its trade restriction list, 79 were Russia-based, five are listed under China, and two are based in Canada.

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond's order in Philadelphia federal court granted a request by Unisys to depose Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, former leaders of Unisys' "digital workplace solutions" business unit. Representatives for France-based Atos and lawyers for Gilbert and McGarvey did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday seeking comment. Unisys in a court filing said that "this case involves the theft of huge quantities of Unisys trade secrets," including technologies and business strategies for digital workplaces. Attorneys for Gilbert and McGarvey disputed the allegation and said "Unisys has not identified a single trade secret." The case is Unisys Corp v. Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

An Austrian official said that Austrian authorities were monitoring the situation at Raiffeisen and its business in Russia closely because of the bank's importance. Almost a year since Moscow launched what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Raiffeisen is among a handful of European banks that remain in Russia. Raiffeisen made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Alternatively, OFAC can also resort to less stringent measures such as levying fines and sending warning letters over sanctions violations. OFAC has sanctioned five major Russian banks, including state-backed Sberbank (SBER.MM) part of a response to that country's invasion of Ukraine, as well as wealthy oligarchs.

The ban is expected to apply to some investments tied to chip production, two of the sources said. China hawks in Washington blame American investors for transferring capital and valuable know-how to Chinese tech companies that could help advance Beijing's military capabilities. The White House declined to comment and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That could include the long-awaited outbound investment order. Efforts to incorporate an outbound investment screening plan in legislation failed last year in Congress.

REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationWASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - An American official on Tuesday made the most direct comments by a U.S. authority to date acknowledging the existence of a deal with Japan and the Netherlands for those countries to impose new restrictions on exports of chipmaking tools to China. "But you can certainly talk to our friends in Japan and the Netherlands." The United States in October imposed sweeping export restrictions on shipments of chipmaking tools to China, seeking to hobble Beijing's ability to supercharge its chip industry and enhance its military capabilities. For the restrictions to be effective, though, Washington needed to bring on board the Netherlands and Japan, home to chipmaking powerhouses ASML (ASML.AS) and Tokyo Electron (8035.T), among others. The Commerce Department said in an email it will continue to coordinate on export controls with allies.

☆ Dutch, Japanese curbs on chip equipment to China may not be tough enough -industry group
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - A chip industry group is warning that if U.S. allies do not adopt curbs on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China that are comparable to U.S. controls, they will not be effective. However, in a lengthy comment dated Jan. 31 on the October regulations, the group expressed concern that the allies' curbs would not be nearly as restrictive as the U.S. controls. It noted that U.S. equipment companies' share of the Chinese market has eroded for the past two years, as Chinese companies anticipated the new curbs. The U.S. Department of Commerce, which issued the October rules and has been working with allies, had no immediate comment. SEMI has over 2,500 members worldwide, including leading U.S. equipment makers Lam Research and Applied Materials.

☆ U.S. investors have plowed billions into China's AI sector, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Alexandra Alper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

According to the report, 167 U.S. investors took part in 401 transactions, or roughly 17% of the investments into Chinese AI companies in the period. Those transactions represented a total $40.2 billion in investment, or 37% of the total raised by Chinese AI companies in the 6-year period. According to the report, U.S. investor GSR Ventures invested alongside China's IFlytek Co Ltd (002230.SZ) in a Chinese AI company after the speech recognition firm was added to a trade blacklist. Silicon Valley Bank and Wanxiang American Healthcare investments group made investments in Chinese AI firms alongside China's Sensetime before the powerhouse in facial recognition technology was added to the same trade blacklist. Only one Chinese AI company that received funding from U.S. investors is involved in developing AI applications for military or public safety uses, according to CSET.

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoJan 30 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for U.S. companies to export most items to China's Huawei, according to three people familiar with the matter. Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) in 2020 received permission to sell 4G smartphone chips to Huawei. Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5g, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said. American officials placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 restricting most U.S. suppliers from shipping goods and technology to the company unless they were granted licenses. But U.S. officials granted licenses that allowed Huawei to receive some products.

☆ Jaguars roar back from 27-point deficit to stun Chargers and advance in AFC playoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Josh Alper | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A creative play from Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson set up the winning kick. Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker missed a 40-yard field goal to aid the comeback effort and the Jaguars took full advantage. After the fourth of those touchdowns, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after slamming his helmet to the turf while arguing for a penalty on Jaguars tackle Jawaan Taylor. That allowed the Jaguars to go for two and be in position to win the game with a field goal. While the Jaguars will be moving on to play another game, the Chargers will be left to pick up the pieces of a massive collapse.

☆ U.S. talks with Japanese, Dutch to yield no immediate China chip export curbs -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Alexandra Alper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Employees work at a production line manufacturing chips inside a factory of an electronics company in Chizhou, Anhui province, China March 21, 2018. Upcoming meetings between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the White House on Friday and next Tuesday, respectively, will provide forums to discuss the issue, said a person briefed on U.S. officials' thinking. But, "these visits will not result in immediate announcements and (are) part of our ongoing consultations on these issues," the person cautioned. A key commerce department official said in October that such agreements were coming "in the near term." Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast.

Tokyo Electron (8035.T), Japan's leading chip manufacturing equipment maker, relies on China for about a quarter of its revenue. The other top producers of chip-making gear are the United States and the Netherlands, home to ASML (ASML.AS), another of the world's biggest makers of chip-making tools. SEEKING A DEALU.S. officials are quick to play down the differences between the United States, Japan and other allies. But unless Japan and the Netherlands impose their own export controls, China will soon perfect other ways of getting the equipment it needs, even as American companies stand to lose market share. "For better or worse, Japan's semiconductor strategy is moving in accordance with what the United States wants."

The Justice Department's lawsuit, filed by the Trump administration, alleged that Google violated antitrust law in how it maintained dominance in search and search advertising. For example, it pointed to billions of dollars that Google paid annually to Apple (AAPL.O), LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) and others to ensure that Google search was the default on their devices. The company also argued that there was no evidence that agreements that Google made related to Google Assistant or Internet-of-Things devices hurt competition. Google faces additional allegations of antitrust violations from dozens of states. It also argues that Google broke antitrust law to hamper rivals, such as travel-oriented websites.

☆ Biden says Republicans, Democrats should unite against Big Tech 'abuses' -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal that Democrats and Republicans need to come together to pass strong bipartisan legislation in order to hold major tech companies accountable. Most importantly, Biden said he wanted to see "serious federal protections for Americans' privacy," including putting limits on how much data like location, biometrics and health information can be collected. "We must hold social-media companies accountable for the experiment they are running on our children for profit," he wrote, citing young people's struggles with bullying, violence, trauma and mental health. He also urged a reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to force tech companies to "take responsibility for the content they spread and the algorithms they use." Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Alexandra AlperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ First pre-trial hearing in Microsoft-Activision case set for Jan. 3
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | Thomson Reuters Institute | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A judge has set Jan. 3 for the first pre-trial hearing in the Biden administration's case against Microsoft (MSFT.O) over its $69 billion bid to take over "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O). Microsoft has countered that the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies alike, offering to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide "Call of Duty" games to rivals including Sony (6758.T) for a decade. Microsoft made the argument in a filing aimed at convincing a judge at the FTC to allow the deal to proceed. The case is a sign of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden taking a muscular approach to anti-trust enforcement. Reporting by Alexandra Alper; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"There'll certainly be an impact to the fourth quarter," Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Green told reporters on a call on Thursday. While other U.S. airlines got back to their feet relatively quickly, Dallas-based Southwest is still limping back to normalcy. Employee unions say they have repeatedly warned Southwest management that the airline's technology systems badly needed upgrades. Flight attendants have been complaining about technological failures at the airline for years, according to Lyn Montgomery, president of the Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants Union, a local 556 of the Transport Workers Union. The comments echoed those of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which said leadership had failed to adapt operations to address repeated systems failures, despite years of calls for improvements by the union.

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative COVID tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the Omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take COVID tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

☆ Biden admin to hold Southwest accountable if it fails to fulfill pledges to customers -Buttigieg
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The Biden administration will hold Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) "accountable" if it fails to fulfill commitments to customers for "controllable delays and cancellations," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Thursday, after the airline canceled thousands of flights in the wake of winter storms. In a letter to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan dated Dec. 29, Buttigieg also said the company has agreed to honor "reasonable" requests for reimbursement for alternative transportation for passengers whose flights were canceled or delayed between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2. Southwest did not immediately respond to a request for commentReporting by David Shepardson; Writing by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Southwest says process to reposition airline crew, aircraft was "manual"
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Southwest Airlines passengers wait in line at the baggage services office after U.S. airlines, led by Southwest, canceled thousands of flights due to a massive winter storm which swept over much of the country before and during the Christmas holiday weekend, at Dallas Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S., December 28, 2022. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber/File PhotoDec 29 (Reuters) - The process for repositioning airline crew and aircraft following storms that dramatically disrupted Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) flights was "manual," CEO Bob Jordan told reporters on a briefing call Thursday. Executives also said the airline would reimburse passengers whose travel was disrupted for full flight fare in addition to expenses including hotels, meals, rental cars and gas for rental cars. Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Southwest unions say they warned company about outdated systems for years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Shelby TauberWASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Employee unions say they warned Southwest Airlines Co. management for years that its technological systems badly needed upgrades, as the low-cost carrier canceled thousands of flights during the busy holiday travel crunch. Flight attendants have been complaining about technological failures at the airline for years, according to Lyn Montgomery, president of the Southwest Airlines Flight Attendance Union. On a Sept. 27 picket line, she added, one sign read, "Picket line loading, Southwest Airlines technology failure." The comments echoed those of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which blamed leadership failures in adapting airline operations to address repeated systems failures despite years of calls for improvements by the union. Company officials acknowledged that current problems stem, in part, from an inability of internal logistics and scheduling systems to recover after widespread storm disruptions.

☆ 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.

☆ U.S. orders Mastercard to stop blocking competing payment networks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday said it was ordering Mastercard Inc (MA.N) to stop blocking the use of competing networks to process debit payments. Under a proposed order, Mastercard would have to start providing competing payment networks with the customer account information they need to process payments, the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces competition laws, said in a statement. “This is a victory for consumers and the merchants who rely on debit card payments to operate their businesses,” Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. "We will continue the work to update our processes to comply with the consent order and provide even greater choice," the company said. Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Kirsten Donovan and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

TikTok said in a statement it was "disappointed that Congress has moved to ban TikTok on government devices - a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests - rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review." The bill gives the White House Office of Management and Budget 60 days "to develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies requiring the removal" of TikTok from federal devices. Many federal agencies, including the White House and the Defense, Homeland Security and State departments, already banned TikTok from government-owned devices. "The ban is minimal, extraordinarily minimal on the overall TikTok user base," said Matthew Quint, a brand expert at Columbia Business School. "The question is more, 'will this action get the ball rolling to create a bipartisan movement to fully ban the service because of a potential threat to national security?'"

REUTERS/Igor RussakWASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled new curbs on technology exports to Russia's Wagner military group, in a bid to further choke off supplies to the contractor over its role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Wagner group, which was added to a trade blacklist in 2017 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, will now be labeled a military end user and face tough new curbs on access to technology made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment. “The Wagner Group is one of the most notorious mercenary organizations in the world and is actively committing atrocities and human rights abuses across Ukraine,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez. The Wagner group, a private military contractor with close ties to the Kremlin, was founded in 2014 after Russia seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and sparked a separatist insurgency in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Reporting by Alexandra Alper and David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ‘Something to Talk About’ songwriter Shirley Eikhard dies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK — Shirley Eikhard, the singer-songwriter who supplied songs for Cher, Emmylou Harris, Anne Murray, Chet Atkins and found lasting fame penning Bonnie Raitt‘s Grammy-winning 1991 hit “Something to Talk About,” has died. Eikhard died Thursday at Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville, Ontario, due to complications from cancer, said publicist Eric Alper. The blues-rock smash hit “Something to Talk About” was written in 1985 and Eikhard had offered it to Murray and other artists, who all declined to record it. Then years later Raitt left a message on Eikhard’s phone saying she she’d just recorded it. Raitt said later she’d discovered the song on a demo Eikhard had sent and admired it.

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