The CD&R-led group emerged as the front-runner after outbidding SoftBank Group Corp.'s Fortress Investment Group LLC and its partners in an unusual one-day auction held Saturday to decide the victor. The U.K. Takeover Panel, a government arm that oversees deal making in the country, held the contest to end a monthslong standoff fueled by increased offers by each side.
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The Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Says She Wants to Fix the Company, Not Harm It
The former Facebook Inc. employee who gathered documents that formed the foundation of The Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files series said she acted to help prompt change at the social-media giant, not to stir anger toward it.
Frances Haugen, a former product manager hired to help protect against election interference on Facebook, said she had grown frustrated by what she saw as the company's lack of openness about its platforms' potential for harm and unwillingness to address its flaws. She is scheduled to testify before Congress on Tuesday. She has also sought federal whistleblower protection with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Exxon Sees Green Gold in Algae-Based Fuels. Skeptics See Greenwashing.
Some scientists regard Exxon Mobil Corp.'s long-running quest to turn algae into a transportation fuel as little more than a PR stunt. The oil giant says they are wrong.
Using genetic engineering, Exxon says it is closer to its goal of fueling jet planes and heavy trucks with oil distilled from the tiny organisms. With government subsidies and incentives, it says it is on pace to make algae biofuel commercially viable by the end of the decade.
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Pacemaker, Ultrasound Companies Seek Priority Amid Chip Shortage
In the race to secure computer chips amid a global shortage, medical device makers say they have found their ace card: their products save lives.
While only a tiny fraction of the world's chips end up in medical equipment compared with cars and consumer electronics, the components are key to a range of vital devices like MRI machines, pacemakers and blood-sugar monitors for diabetes. To win priority over larger buyers, medical device makers say their most effective tactic is to raise awareness with executives at chip suppliers.
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Tesla Deliveries Surge, Defying Supply-Chain Woes
Tesla Inc. overcame snarled global supply chains to deliver a record number of vehicles in the third quarter.
The Silicon Valley electric-vehicle maker delivered 241,300 vehicles to customers in the three months ending in September, it said Saturday, up from 139,593 vehicles during the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast Tesla would deliver roughly 227,000 vehicles in the quarter.
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Broader Inflation Pressures Begin to Show
While many pandemic-driven price pressures are easing, broader sources of higher inflation are replacing them.
That is the message from a slew of alternative inflation measures that strip away price changes due to idiosyncratic swings in supply and demand, and home in on longer-lasting pressures.
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Crypto Boom, Retail Investors Fuel Rise in Over-the-Counter Stock Trading
A quirky corner of the U.S. stock market home to cannabis sellers, cryptocurrency trusts and other speculative investments is seeing record levels of activity.
Trading volume in over-the-counter stocks, which aren't listed on exchanges, has surpassed $548 billion so far this year. That is already more than the total volume for all 2020, according to OTC Markets Group, the company that operates the main marketplace for such securities.
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U.S. to Press China on Trade Pact, Keep Tariffs in Place
WASHINGTON-The U.S. plans to launch new trade talks with China, but will maintain tariffs on Chinese imports as it presses Beijing to fulfill pledges to buy more U.S. goods and services, according to Biden administration officials.
The new initiative is set to be detailed in a policy address Monday by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in what would be her first detailed remarks on trade between the world's two largest economies since she took office in March.
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Fed Prepares to Launch Review of Possible Central Bank Digital Currency
WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve plans as early as this week to launch a review of the potential benefits and risks of issuing a U.S. digital currency, as central banks around the world experiment with the potential new form of money.
Fed officials are divided on the matter, making it unlikely they will decide any time soon on whether to create a digital dollar. Unlike private cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, a Fed version would be issued by and backed by the U.S. central bank, a government entity, as are U.S. paper dollar bills and coins.
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Stock Funds Finally Had to Struggle
Now, fund investors will be tested.
As stocks continued to hit records through the summer, investors poured money into both stock and bond portfolios. But as the third quarter ended, stocks were pulling back.
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Falling Unemployment Could Add to Worries About the U.S. Labor Market
Many economists would welcome a small rise in the unemployment rate.
They are troubled by the rate's swift decline from its pandemic peak because it partly reflects a lack of job seekers-effectively limiting the amount of fuel in the economy's engine.
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To Prevent the Next Pandemic, Scientists Seek One Vaccine for Many Coronaviruses
Kayvon Modjarrad is out to win the war against this pandemic-and the next one.
An emerging-infectious-diseases researcher with the U.S. Army, Dr. Modjarrad is pursuing a vaccine to protect against a range of coronaviruses that cause disease in humans-including Covid-19 variants that might elude today's vaccines.
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U.S. to Press China on Trade Pact, Keep Tariffs in Place
WASHINGTON-The U.S. plans to launch new trade talks with China, but will maintain tariffs on Chinese imports as it presses Beijing to fulfill pledges to buy more U.S. goods and services, according to Biden administration officials.
The new initiative is set to be detailed in a policy address Monday by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in what would be her first detailed remarks on trade between the world's two largest economies since she took office in March.
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Fumio Kishida Is Elected Prime Minister of Japan
TOKYO-Fumio Kishida was elected prime minister by Japan's Parliament on Monday and plans to tackle revival of the world's third-largest economy as one of his first tasks.
The 64-year-old former foreign minister was elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 29, assuring his elevation to prime minister. His predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, said in early September that he would step down. Mr. Kishida was set to introduce his cabinet and hold a news conference later Monday.
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Irish Police Say Europol, Interpol Helped Dismantle Hackers' Infrastructure
Irish police investigating the May ransomware attack that crippled the country's public healthcare system say international authorities have been crucial to their efforts to disrupt the hackers' network.
In August, Irish authorities began dismantling the attackers' online infrastructure, including websites and servers, with help from the European police agency Europol and Interpol. The Garda, or Irish police, is still working to identify the perpetrators, said Pat Ryan, detective superintendent of its cybercrime bureau.
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Democrats' Tax Plans Worry High-Income Business Owners
The largest closely held businesses would face a series of overlapping tax increases under Democratic proposals, leading to heavier burdens on high-income owners of partnerships and S corporations.
The plan, detailed in September by the House Ways and Means Committee, seeks to raise about $2 trillion over a decade to expand the social safety net and combat climate change. The House plan differs from the Biden administration's proposals, and it is likely to change again as lawmakers negotiate the size and details of their agenda.
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California Officials Try to Limit Damage From Oil Spill
California officials were trying Sunday to limit damage from a major oil spill off the coast of Orange County, as oil reached beaches and threatened wetlands south of Los Angeles.
The spill of an estimated 126,000 gallons from an oil-processing platform about 5 miles offshore extended from Newport Beach to Huntington Beach, a distance of roughly 6 miles.
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Crypto Exchanges Turn to Walk-In Stores
In a small business park in Mississauga, Ontario, a fledgling kind of store can be found near a dentist, a Pizza Hut and a Vietnamese restaurant. It looks like a small local bank, or maybe a currency exchange operator, with a brightly lit waiting area, a reception desk and cubicles surrounded by bullet-resistant glass.
But Coin Nerds Inc. offers visitors something that other financial storefronts typically do not: cryptocurrency.
The owners of the store, which opened in 2018, belong to a small crop of entrepreneurs who believe there is a place for virtual currency offline and on Main Street.
"We allow individuals from all walks of life to be able to participate in this digital asset ecosystem, without the hurdles of attempting to onboard with self-service online exchanges, not to mention the technological barriers that people of a certain age might perceive," said Adam Hack, the chief executive and founder of Coin Nerds.
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