In a massive win for Amazon (because, again, Jeff NEEDS it), Court of Federal Claims Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith has granted the company’s motion for an injunction halting Microsoft’s work on the $10 billion cloud-computing JEDI contract for the Pentagon that it beat out Amazon for during the pendency of AWS’s challenge to the awarding of that contract. Bezos & Co. have alleged that the White House improperly interfered in the deal based on grievances over coverage in the Bezos-owned Washington Post – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Law360 and Mashable
Federal Reserve nominee Judy Shelton faced tough questions from both parties during her Senate confirmation hearings on Thursday, “casting doubt on the confirmation chances of a candidate viewed as a potential next Fed chair” – NYTimes and WSJ and Law360
As revealed in a federal indictment unsealed just yesterday, the Department of Justice has charged Chinese telecom company Huawei with “federal racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets from American companies,” a move seen as a “significant escalation” in the administration’s already-public spat with the company – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360
Why, exactly, are we hearing so much buzz about antitrust investigations of tech giants like Amazon and Google at the moment? After all, the complained-of actions aren’t exactly new revelations. Well, according the Journal, top Oracle lobbyist Kenneth Glueck may have something (or everything?) to do with it. Here’s the scoop on a little D.C. inside baseball – WSJ
The Federal Reserve Bank of NY caught analysts off guard this week by announcing that it will “shrink its repurchase-agreement operations” more than anticipated starting tonight, “a sign officials are comfortable removing liquidity without upending funding markets.” The NY Fed has been injecting repo markets with billions to ensure adequate liquidity in recent months in an effort to “keep control of short-term rates and bolster bank reserves” – Bloomberg
The Royal Bank of Scotland is rebranding after 300 years in an effort to move past the “legacy of the global financial crisis that saw the U.K. banking giant receive a $59.3 billion bailout from British taxpayers to prevent it from collapsing.” AKA, so long RBS and hello NatWest Group PLC – WSJ and Bloomberg
A new SEC filing from Tesla shows that the Commission subpoenaed the electric carmaker in December seeking information about its financial data and contracts, including its “regular financing arrangements.” The news didn’t have an immediate impact on Tesla shares, which are up nearly 80% since the start of the year – NYTimes and WSJ and Law360
French media conglomerate Vivendi SA is testing the waters for a coming Universal Music Group IPO, an effort that many view as an attempt to “cash in on a resurgent music business” – WSJ
What better way to celebrate V Day than with news that scientists may have discovered the skull of Vesuvius victim Pliny the Elder, right? Nothing but warm and fuzzies for us all – NYTimes
Have a great weekend. We’ll see you back here on Tuesday.
