Plus, WNBA star Brittney Griner freed from Russian prison.
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The SEC released new guidance on Thursday requiring firms that issue securities to disclose their exposure and risk to the crypto market to their investors. The guidance comes a month after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy. According to court documents, FTX owes its top 50 creditors at least $3B. FTX has more than 1 million creditors. More: - In an interview with Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler pushed back against claims that the agency failed to prevent crypto firms from misusing customer deposits.
- The SEC has been accused of “falling behind” the crypto industry.
- Gensler said crypto firms should be held liable for compliance with existing rules, adding that said rules have been time-tested.
- Gensler added that the current business model of some crypto firms would not be allowed in traditional finance as there were multiple conflicts.
- Gensler said that the SEC had brought more than 100 enforcement cases in the crypto space, citing charges against Poloniex and Coinbase as examples.
- Under the new SEC guidance, public companies will have to include crypto asset holdings, risk exposure to the FTX bankruptcy, and other market developments in their public filings.
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The FTC has filed a lawsuit to block Microsoft’s planned $75B purchase of game developer Activision Blizzard. Earlier this week, Microsoft offered Sony and Nintendo a 10-year access to Activision’s popular “Call of Duty” video game, hoping to calm regulatory scrutiny of the deal. More: - In a statement on Thursday, FTC director of competition Holly Vedova said Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals.
- Vedova added that the agency seeks to prevent Microsoft from controlling a leading independent game studio and using it to harm rivals and consumers.
- In the lawsuit, FTC accused Microsoft of previously using its 2021 acquisition of ZeniMax Media to suppress competition from rivals.
- The agency added that Microsoft, following the purchase of ZeniMax, the parent company of game developer Bethesda Softworks, the tech giant made several Bethesda games exclusive to its platforms.
- Microsoft had pledged to EU antitrust regulators that it would not do so.
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The Pentagon split $9B worth of cloud computing contracts between Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle. The announcement comes a year after a previous cloud contract, the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (Jedi), which was awarded to Microsoft, was canceled following accusations of political interference from the previous administration. More: - Last year the Pentagon scrapped the Jedi, saying the program no longer met its needs and it would seek bids from additional companies.
- The previous administration had moved to issue the cloud contract to a single provider; the current administration has decided to split the program among multiple providers.
- The new contract, dubbed the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC), aims to build an extensive shared commercial cloud network for the Defense Department.
- The project is expected to be completed by June 2028 and would give the Defense Department access to commercial cloud services.
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Asset manager Vanguard said it is pulling out of the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, a financial alliance aimed at tackling climate change. Vanguard is the world’s second-largest asset manager after BlackRock, with about $7.1T under management. Net Zero Asset Managers had pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. More: - The move comes as fund managers face increased political pressure for their stance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
- Earlier this week, activist investor Bluebell called for BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to step down.
- Vanguard said it decided to withdraw from the initiative to provide clarity to its investors about the role of index funds and what the firm considers material risks, including climate-related risks.
- The firm added it wanted its investors to understand it speaks independently on matters of importance to them.
- The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative was founded in December 2020; as of November, it had 291 members managing $66T in assets.
- NZAM called Vanguard’s decision to withdraw from the group regrettable.
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Exxon said it plans to spend between $20B and $25B annually through 2027. The oil firm also expanded its share buy-back program from $30B to $50B through 2024. President Biden and other lawmakers have criticized the oil giant for using its record profits to pay dividends and buy back its stock while oil prices have risen since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. More: - Lawmakers have also urged the oil firm to use some of its profits to boost its refining capacity to make more gasoline and diesel.
- By the end of the year, Exxon said it expects to return about $30B to investors, including $15B in dividends and $15B in share buy-backs.
- The company expects its profits in 2027 to be twice as much as in 2019.
- The oil firm said it plans to invest between $23B and $25B in 2023 to increase oil supply to meet growing demand.
- Exxon said its investments should keep oil output at about 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023.
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Disney launched its ad-supported Disney+ tier on Thursday as the company aims to make its streaming business profitable. Disney said over 100 brands have already signed up to display ads on its platform. More: - Last quarter, Disney’s streaming business reported a $1.5B loss.
- The company hopes that ads will supplement its revenue from subscription fees.
- Disney also increased the price of its ad-free Disney+ tier to $10.99.
- Disney+ with ads costs $7.99.
- Analytics firm Kantar estimates that one out of four Disney+ subscribers could switch to the less-expensive ad-supported tier.
- Disney shares closed at $92.55 on Thursday, up 0.43%. The company is down ~41% YTD.
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- WNBA star Brittney Griner was freed from a Russian prison on Thursday and is headed back to the U.S. after the Biden administration negotiated her release in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
- The House passed the Respect for Marriage Act on Thursday, protecting the rights of same-sex and interracial couples to marry. The legislation will head to the desk of President Biden to be signed into law.
- Disneyland Shanghai reopened on Thursday as China eases its zero-COVID policies. According to sources, Foxconn founder Terry Gou sent a letter to Chinese leaders warning that the ongoing strict policy would threaten China’s central position in global supply chains.
- The House passed an $858B bill to fund the Defense Department. The legislation includes a provision to cancel the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for active duty service members.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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