FINANCIAL MARKETS
Stocks post solid gains
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are posting solid gains in afternoon trading, following the market’s steep declines the previous week.
Banks, which were hit hard last week, were among the biggest gainers. The S&P 500 was up 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.5% and the Nasdaq was up 0.7%.
Stocks fell sharply last week after Federal Reserve officials indicated that they were willing to start raising interest rates in 2022 or 2023, earlier than the Fed had forecast earlier.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.48%.
SUPREME COURT-PATENT BOARD
High court: Congress erred in patent dispute board setup
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says that Congress erred when it set up a board to oversee patent disputes by failing to make the judges properly accountable to the president.
Five conservative justices agreed Monday that Congress had erred, but both conservative and liberal justices agreed on the fix. They concluded that a portion of federal law related to how the Patent Trial and Appeal Board functions can’t be enforced.
The result of the court’s action is that the director of the Patent and Trademark Office can review and reverse any decisions made by the board’s judges. The director is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
CHINA-DIGITAL CURRENCY
Chinese banks promise to step up cryptocurrency ban
BEIJING (AP) — China’s biggest banks have promised to refuse to help customers trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies after the central bank said executives were told to step up enforcement of a government ban.
Regulators appear to be worried that despite a 2013 ban on Chinese institutions handling cryptocurrencies, the state-run financial system might be exposed indirectly to risks. The four major state-owned banks and payment service Alipay promised to step up monitoring of customers and block use of their accounts to buy or trade crypto-currencies.
Promoters of crypto-currencies say they allow anonymity and more flexibility, but Chinese regulators warn that might facilitate criminal activity.
CNH-INDUSTRIAL-AGRICULTURE
CNH Industrial acquires driverless ag vehicle company
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — CNH Industrial says it expects its $2.1 billion purchase of a South Dakota company will give it an edge in innovating autonomous technology in agriculture vehicles.
The Italian-American agriculture vehicle manufacturer said Monday it has acquired 100% of the capital stock of Raven Industries Inc. headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for $58 per share. The transaction will be funded with available cash on hand, CNH Industrial said, with a sale to be finalized by the end of 2021.
The company said in a statement that the sale will position it to have a greater impact on the global agriculture equipment market by “adding strong innovation capabilities in autonomous and precision agriculture technology.”
KATRINA-WASTE-LAWSUIT
Settlement avoids trial in 2011 Katrina trash lawsuit
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A decade-old lawsuit over the awarding of trash disposal contracts during the administration of a convicted former mayor of New Orleans has been settled.
Waste Management of Louisiana had sued River Birch Inc. and its owners in 2011 over contracts involving the disposal of debris and trash following Hurricane Katrina. Trial was to have started Monday.
Waste Management claimed that illegal campaign contributions to former Mayor Ray Nagin prompted Nagin to reverse his approval for the use of a Waste Management landfill. Nagin was convicted of corruption on unrelated matters but he and the River Birch owners denied Waste Management’s accusation. Terms of a settlement reached Friday were not disclosed.
NETFLIX-SPIELBERG
Spielberg’s Amblin to make several films a year for Netflix
NEW YORK (AP) — Steven Spielberg, a filmmaker synonymous with big-screen enchantment, has set a new deal with Netflix in which his production company, Amblin Partners, will make multiple feature films per year for the streaming giant.
The partnership announced Monday is a major get for the company that, amid increasing competition, brings perhaps the most beloved film director more officially into the streaming fold. The deal doesn’t specifically include any movies to be directed by Spielberg. In December, he’ll release his “West Side Story” in theaters.
Amblin, which takes its name from a 1968 short by Spielberg, has helped produce a wide variety of non-Spielberg films, including “1917” and “Green Book.”
