FTC Nixes Orders Banning Hess, Sheffield from Chevron, Exxon Boards
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) set aside previous orders barring...
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) set aside previous orders barring oil executives John Hess and Scott Sheffield from serving on the boards of Chevron and ExxonMobil.
The FTC voted 3-0 to reopen and set aside a final consent order issued in January 2025 in conjunction with Chevron’s pending $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp.
The commission also voted 3-0 to toss out a similar order barring Sheffield from the Exxon board, in conjunction with Exxon’s $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources last year.
The Biden-era FTC signed off on the mega-mergers between the oil and gas giants—but banned Chevron and Exxon from nominating, designating or appointing Hess or Sheffield to their respective boards of directors.
Uber inks $300+ million deals for new robotaxi service
The global ride-hailing leader is getting serious about autonomous vehicles....
The global ride-hailing leader is getting serious about autonomous vehicles. Uber announced it’s investing $300 million in EV-maker Lucid and a similar amount in tech startup Nuro to launch a new robotaxi program that could compete with Waymo. The goal is to deploy 20,000 autonomous EVs over the next six years, starting in 2026 in a “major US city.” The deals with Lucid and Nuro underscore Uber’s strategy to outsource its robotaxi technology rather than develop it in-house as it seeks to become the go-to service for autonomous rides. Uber’s stock was mostly unchanged following the news, but Lucid’s soared nearly 40%.
New details in the Air India crash investigation. According...
New details in the Air India crash investigation. According to dialogue of the plane’s two pilots recorded by its black box, the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, turned off fuel switches to the engines after it took off, the Wall Street Journal reported. The first officer reportedly questioned the captain’s actions before he “expressed surprise and then panicked,” while the captain remained “calm.” The investigation has not yet determined whether or not the switches were shut off on purpose. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff last month, killing all but one of its 242 passengers and crew.
President Trump said he is suing the Wall Street Journal after the paper published details of a “bawdy” letter he allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump claimed the letter was “fake.”
Liquid Death, the canned water brand that makes you when you say its name, is launching an energy drink with a “sane level of caffeine.”
Juul will be allowed to continue selling its e-cigarettes in the US after the FDA reversed its 2022 ban on the product.
President Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older people, after noticing lower-leg swelling.
CBS announced it plans to end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and retire the franchise in 2026 in a “financial decision.”
Mark Zuckerberg won’t have to testify in a data privacy trial after Meta executives and shareholders reached a settlement with defendants who had accused them of failing to protect user data stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
“Crypto Week” got back on track yesterday after House GOP lawmakers convinced the holdouts in their party to help advance a series of crypto-friendly bills.
S&P 500, Nasdaq end at fresh record highs as investors buoyed by economic data
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished deeper into record...
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished deeper into record territory on Thursday as investors cheered steady economic data, calm in the bond market and healthy corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 added 33.66 points, or 0.5%, ending at 6,297.36 — a record.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 153.78 points, or 0.7%, to score its own record close at 20,884.27.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 229.71 points, or 0.5%, closing at 44,484.49.
Oilfield services providers are accelerating M&A to outlast shrinking...
Oilfield services providers are accelerating M&A to outlast shrinking customer bases, rising costs, and industry headwinds.
A wave of upstream E&P mergers, especially in the Permian Basin, has reduced the number of independent producers, squeezing demand for oilfield services.
The sector also faces macroeconomic uncertainties from tariff and trade volatility, as well as rising production from the OPEC+ cartel, according to Fitch Ratings' June report.
The sector “is experiencing a slowing of activity in 2025, with a decrease in rig counts in both the U.S. and internationally compared to this time last year,” Fitch Ratings Associate Director Brittany DeWilkins wrote.
A slowdown in offshore activity also has several offshore drillers “seeing increased white space” and a softening spot market, according to Fitch.