Amrock says $706 million verdict brought out the whistle blowers

Bloomberg One of the biggest trade secrets cases in US history took a bizarre turn, with the company that lost a $706 million jury verdict saying it uncovered ‘bombshell’ evidence of fraud thanks to whistle blowers who used to work for the winning side. Amrock Inc., an affiliate of mortgage-lending firm Quicken Loans Inc., in March lost a trial in ...

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US pharma firms seek ‘stability’

Bloomberg Several major pharmaceutical companies lowered their spending on lobbyists in the second quarter of 2018, a time of uncertainty as President Donald Trump’s administration continued its campaign to lower drug costs for consumers. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America spent $5.54 million between April and June, down 7.7 percent from the same period last year, according to disclosures released ...

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Facebook suspends analytics firm

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. has suspended apps by Crimson Hexagon, a company founded by a Harvard University researcher who has a close relationship with the social network, after the Wall Street Journal inquired about the firm’s contracts with governments. US government agencies and a Russian nonprofit with ties to the Kremlin are among clients of Crimson Hexagon, a data analysis firm, ...

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Sizzling US heat strains power grids, withers Texas cotton

Bloomberg It’s so hot in Texas that the power grid keeps breaking demand records, and it’s forecast to get so warm in California next week that natural gas prices have risen to a nine-year seasonal high. The Dallas-Fort Worth area shattered a 93-year-old daily heat record, reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 Celsius), the sixth straight day of triple-digit temperatures. It ...

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Stocks are still in a bull market

Bloomberg It may not be obvious amid the screaming headlines — about currency manipulation, Fed jawboning, Russia summit, yuan weakening, etc. — but US stocks continue their low-volatility, bull-market grind higher. The 2,800 level on the S&P 500 has been bested three sessions in a row on a closing basis — and is on pace for a fourth. That level ...

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Egypt considers majority stakes in more public firms

Bloomberg Egypt is considering adding companies to the list of state-run firms in which investors can secure majority stakes as it readies to launch a programme aimed at reviving the battered public sector. The government is planning to start with the sale of Heliopolis Housing and Eastern Tobacco in October, Public Enterprise Minister Hisham Tawfik said. So far, however, a ...

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Merkel’s natural gas bridge looks like a dead end to execs

Bloomberg Energy executives say the fuel Chancellor Angela Merkel has picked for Germans as a bridge towards a cleaner future could turn out to be another dead end without political guarantees to draw investment. “I can’t imagine a rational investor who would invest in large-scale gas capacity” without government assurances, said Uniper SE Chief Executive Officer Klaus Schaefer in Berlin. ...

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Global warming suit against oil companies tossed

Bloomberg A US judge threw out New York’s lawsuit seeking to hold five of the world’s biggest oil companies financially responsible for contributing to climate change. US District Judge John Keenan dismissed the city’s claims against Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp, BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips, ruling that the federal Clean Air Act controls carbon dioxide emissions ...

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European utilities drop as SSE warns dry weather to hit profit

Bloomberg European utilities fell after UK energy company SSE Plc said the dry, mild weather that cut quarterly profit could hurt full-year results. The Stoxx Europe 600 Utilities index dropped to a two-week low, led by Orsted AS, the world’s biggest offshore wind-farm developer. SSE, the second-worst performer, fell the most since May and UK energy supplier Centrica Plc slumped ...

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Trump power plan could cost $35 billion a year: Opponents

Bloomberg The Trump administration’s plan to subsidise unprofitable coal and nuclear plants may cost as much as $35 billion a year, according to a study backed by trade groups opposed to the idea. Giving power plants an out-of-market annual payment of $50 per kilowatt of capacity — roughly the average operating shortfall for plants running at a deficit — would ...

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