Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal is finalizing a plan that would drastically change its partnership with Hulu, shifting high-profile programming to its own Peacock streaming platform, according to people familiar with the matter.
Starting this fall, new episodes of shows like "The Voice," "Saturday Night Live" and "American Auto" would no longer be available on Hulu soon after they air as a result of that plan, they said.
FDA Rejects Short Sellers' Request to Halt Trials of Alzheimer's Drug
The Food and Drug Administration has denied a petition by short sellers to halt clinical trials of an experimental Alzheimer's drug being developed by Cassava Sciences Inc.
The two short sellers alleged in filings with the FDA and the Securities and Exchange Commission that Cassava's published research contained images of experiments that appear to have been manipulated using software such as Photoshop. Cassava denied the allegations, and said it was cooperating with government investigations.
Elon Musk Expects Starship to Deliver Launches at Lower Costs
Elon Musk said his space company's enormous rocket should soon be able to reach orbits at significantly lower costs.
Starship should be able to reach orbits for less than $10 million a flight within two to three years, Mr. Musk said during a presentation Thursday at SpaceX's southern Texas facility, where the company plans to launch the spacecraft. Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket SpaceX has built to date. Mr. Musk said that Thursday's presentation was the first company update on the rocket in almost two years.
Crypto Exchange Binance to Invest $200 Million in Forbes
Cryptocurrency exchange operator Binance Holdings Ltd. is making a $200 million investment in the publisher of Forbes magazine, an unusual tie-up between a digital-currency firm and a traditional media outfit, the companies said Thursday.
Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange operator by trading volume. It would become one of the biggest investors in Forbes Global Media Holdings Inc. if the deal is completed.
OPEC Supply Issues Risk Heightening Oil-Market Volatility
Chronic oil supply issues among a group of major producing nations threaten to increase tightness and volatility in the energy market and push prices higher still, the International Energy Agency said Friday.
Failures by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies to meet supply pledges have helped propel oil prices to their highest levels since 2014. There were signs that the shortfall was deepening, likely tightening an already stretched market, the Paris-based agency said in its monthly market report.
The Stock Market Hasn't Looked This Cheap in Nearly Two Years
U.S. stocks appear cheaper than they have since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic-but such bargains won't be enough to power the next leg of the bull market, investors say.
Although major indexes are still hovering near record levels, a punishing January selloff in technology and other growth stocks brought valuations down closer to historical norms.
Investors Bet Ukraine-Russia War Will Be Averted
Russian troops are continuing to build up on the Ukrainian border, but investors are piling into bets that there won't be a war.
The Russian ruble and Ukrainian hryvnia have strengthened against the dollar in recent days, appreciating 3% and 1.5% this month so far, respectively. The currencies traded at multiyear lows in the last week of January.
UK Economy Grew Modestly in 4Q Despite Omicron
The U.K. economy expanded modestly in the final quarter of last year, despite a drop in output in December as the Omicron variant of coronavirus hit activity.
U.K. gross domestic product grew 1% in the final three months of the year, the Office for National Statistics said Friday, matching a revised 1% expansion recorded in the third quarter.
Germany's Inflation Decelerated in January
Germany's annual rate of inflation rose in January, though at a slower pace than in December when it posted the highest reading since the summer of 1992, according to final data released by the German statistics office Destatis on Friday.
Consumer prices rose 4.9% on year measured by national standards, in line with the forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. They rose 5.1% on year by European Union-harmonized standards, also in line with the economists' forecast.
ECB President Lagarde pushes back against acting 'hastily' over interest rate hikes
Financial markets that have been pricing in faster-than-expected European interest rate hikes should, as they say, cool their jets.
That's according to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who pushed back at speculation in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that published Friday. The comments came in response to a question as to why the central bank doesn't just fight higher prices with interest rate increases.
Surging Inflation Heightens Fed Debate Over How Fast to Raise Rates
The question facing Federal Reserve officials ahead of their policy meeting next month is no longer whether they will raise interest rates but rather by how much.
Another strong inflation report released Thursday is intensifying debate within the central bank over how to accelerate a series of interest-rate increases this spring to ease surging prices and cool the economy, according to officials' most recent public comments and interviews.
Schools Lift Mask Requirements, Change Covid-19 Rules as Omicron Recedes
School districts around the country are rapidly rolling back Covid-19 policies that have built up over nearly two years, with many eyeing a return to more normal classroom life and operations as infection rates fall and fewer students and teachers miss class.
The number of Americans with new cases of the virus fell to 202,001 on Feb. 9, down from 860,860 four weeks earlier, on Jan. 12, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Estimates show that the Omicron variant was likely responsible for 99.9% of Covid-19 infections in the week ended Jan. 29, according to the CDC.
Massachusetts Legislature Advances Data-Privacy Bill
Massachusetts is a step closer to becoming the next U.S. state to bring in strict consumer-privacy laws after its legislature advanced a bill lawmakers hope could serve as a model for future federal legislation.
The Massachusetts Information Privacy and Security Act, or Mipsa, sets out registration requirements for data brokers, includes opt-outs for residents on data collection and consent for data to be sold, and gives the attorney general's office the power to investigate complaints and fine organizations that breach the rules.
Secret CIA Bulk Surveillance Program Includes Some Americans' Records, Senators Say
WASHINGTON-A secret program at the Central Intelligence Agency relied on a form of mass surveillance activity that involved the collection of an unknown data set and included the gathering of some records belonging to Americans, according to a newly declassified letter from two Democratic senators.
Details of the CIA program have been kept from the public as well as some lawmakers, according to the April 2021 letter to the agency from Sens. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.), members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The letter was partially declassified and disclosed Thursday.
Biden Says He Is Vetting About Four People for Supreme Court Vacancy
President Biden said he is vetting about four candidates for his coming Supreme Court nomination to succeed retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
"I've taken about four people and done the deep dive on them," Mr. Biden told NBC's Lester Holt in an interview, excerpts of which were released by the network on Thursday. He said his administration was conducting background checks to "see if there's anything in the background that would make them not qualified."
Russia, Ukraine Talks Falter as Scope for Diplomatic Solution Narrows
KYIV, Ukraine-Russian and Ukrainian negotiators said they failed to reach an agreement after nine hours of talks in Berlin on Thursday over ways to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region and resolve the monthslong crisis triggered by Russia's troop buildup along Ukrainian borders.
Dmitry Kozak, the Russian representative at the talks involving France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, said the gap between the parties was such that they couldn't even agree on a joint statement.
Canadian Mayor Makes Plea for Injunction as Trucker Protest Limits Ford, GM Auto Production
A Canadian judge on Thursday delayed a bid by the Canadian border city of Windsor, Ontario, to obtain a court order to remove demonstrators who for four days have blocked most traffic on a crucial U.S.-Canada trade corridor.
The protest against Covid-19 vaccine mandates at the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit with Windsor, forced Detroit-based auto makers to scale back production in the U.S. and Canada and temporarily send employees home because parts required for assembly couldn't be delivered.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
ABC Tech 2Q
CAE 3Q
Cineplex 4Q
Enbridge 4Q
Fortis 4Q
Magna Intl 4Q
Economic Indicators:
None scheduled
Stocks to Watch:
Trisura Group 4Q EPS $0.24; Rev C$106.5M; 4Q Book Value Per Share of C$8.70
Expected Major Events for Friday
07:00/GER: Jan CPI
07:00/GER: Jan WPI
07:00/UK: Dec UK trade
07:00/UK: Dec Index of production
07:00/UK: Dec Index of services
07:00/UK: 4Q First quarterly estimate of GDP
07:00/UK: Dec Monthly GDP estimates
09:00/FRA: Feb IEA Oil Market Report
09:30/UK: 4Q Business investment in the UK: provisional results
12:30/UK: Jan NIESR Monthly GDP Tracker
15:00/US: Feb University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - preliminary
16:59/GER: Dec Balance of Payments
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
02-11-22 0608ET
