By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – A federal appeals court, in a decision unsealed Wednesday, upheld the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson as a sanction for the plaintiffs’ misuse of confidential records they obtained through related litigation. The lawsuit, which accused J&J’s DePuy Orthopaedics unit of defrauding the federal government by marketing […]
Big Tobacco faces big EU counterfeit problem
Reuters | June 1, 2023
By Richa Naidu, Emma Pinedo and Emilio Parodi MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish police raided three clandestine tobacco factories early this year, seizing nearly 40 million euros ($44 million) worth of tobacco leaf and illicit cigarettes. At one, in the northern town of Alfaro, they found 10 Ukrainian workers, five of them war refugees, who’d been […]
Elon Musk greeted with flattery and feasts during China trip
Reuters | May 31, 2023
By Martin Quin Pollard BEIJING (Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk was showered with praise during a trip to China this week, with people on social media calling him “a pioneer”, “Brother Ma” and “a global idol” while the CEO of Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX and other companies also met in person with three government ministers. Since landing […]
AI means everyone can now be a programmer, Nvidia chief says
Reuters | May 29, 2023
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence means everyone can now be a computer programmer as all they need to do is speak to the computer, Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang said on Monday, hailing the end of the “digital divide”. Nvidia has surged to become the world’s most valuable listed semiconductor company as a major supplier […]
U.S. warns China could hack infrastructure, including pipelines, rail systems
Reuters | May 26, 2023
By Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui and James Pearson (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department warned on Thursday that China was capable of launching cyber attacks against critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and rail systems, after researchers discovered a Chinese hacking group had been spying on such networks. A multi-nation alert issued Wednesday revealed the […]
Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock to comply with UK regulator order
Reuters | May 23, 2023
(Reuters) -Shutterstock Inc said on Tuesday it would buy animated-images platform Giphy Inc from Meta Platforms Inc for $53 million in cash, months after the Facebook owner had agreed to divest the company on competition concerns. Britain’s competition regulator last year ordered Meta to sell Giphy over fears that it could deny or limit competitors […]
Chevron to boost U.S. presence with $7.6 billion PDC Energy buy
Reuters | May 22, 2023
By Sabrina Valle HOUSTON (Reuters) -Chevron Corp said on Monday it is increasing its U.S. oil and gas footprint by acquiring shale producer PDC Energy Inc in a stock-and-debt transaction worth $7.6 billion. For Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil firm, the deal will increase its production, capital expenditures and cash flow in the United States […]
Foot Locker slumps as weak demand, heavy discounts drive annual outlook cut
Reuters | May 19, 2023
By Deborah Mary Sophia (Reuters) -Foot Locker Inc’s shares closed down 27% on Friday as the footwear retailer cut its annual sales and profit forecasts amid a sharp drop in demand and a hit from heavy discounts aimed at clearing excess inventories. The company also missed analysts’ estimates for first-quarter results and named former Kohl’s […]
U.S. Democrats warn Biden against toughening aid for the poor
Reuters | May 19, 2023
By Richard Cowan, Leah Douglas WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats in the U.S. Congress expressed frustration with President Joe Biden’s willingness to engage with Republicans demanding tougher work requirements for food aid recipients as part of any deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. They have stopped short of threatening to block such moves, as talks on […]
US supply chain woes shift and persist in 2023
Reuters | May 17, 2023
By Lisa Baertlein CHICAGO (Reuters) -The U.S. supply chain is healing from early pandemic shocks that sent shipping costs skyrocketing and squeezed supplies of everything from toilet paper to pasta, but more than three years later, material shortages and hiring woes linger. Rates for trucking, ocean shipping and other transportation tumbled after U.S. consumers shifted […]