COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Exxon, Chevron held preliminary talksThe chief executives of ExxonMobil Corp and Chevron Corp held preliminary talks in early 2020 to explore combining the two largest US oil producers in what would have been the biggest merger of all time, according to people familiar with the matter.The discussions, which are no longer active, are indicative of the pressure the energy sector's most dominant companies faced as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and crude prices plunged.The talks between Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods and Chevron CEO Mike Wirth were serious enough for legal documents involving certain aspects of the merger discussions to be drafted, one of the sources said. The reason the talks ended could not be learned.The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Exxon and Chevron, which have market capitalizations of US$190 billion and US$164 billion, respectively, declined to comment.In their talks, the CEOs of Exxon and Chevron envisioned achieving synergies through massive cost cuts to help weather the downturn in energy markets, one of the sources said. At the end of 2019, Exxon employed about 75 000 people and Chevron roughly 48 000.- Nampa/ReutersShell targets power trading Royal Dutch Shell is betting on its expertise in power trading and rapid growth in hydrogen and biofuels markets as it shifts away from oil, rather than joining rivals in a scramble for renewable power assets, company sources said.Shell and its European rivals are seeking new business models to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels and appeal to investors concerned about the long-term outlook for an industry under intense pressure to slash greenhouse gas emissions.Shell will present its strategy on Feb. 11 and unlike Total and BP the company will focus more on becoming an intermediary between clean power producers and customers than investing billions in renewable projects, the sources said, giving previously unreported details of the plan.Shell announced in October it would increase its spending on low-carbon energy to 25% of overall capital expenditure by 2025 and the sources said that would translate into more than US$5 billion a year, up from US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion now.The Anglo-Dutch company will, however, keep its overall oil and gas output largely stable for the next decade to help fund its energy transition, though gas is set to become a bigger part of the mix, the sources told Reuters. - Nampa/ReutersMicrosoft confident Bing can fill the gap in AustraliaSoftware giant Microsoft Corp is confident its search product Bing can fill the gap in Australia if Google pulls its search over required payments to media outlets, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday.Australia has introduced laws that would force internet giant Google and social media heavyweight Facebook Inc to negotiate payments to domestic media outlets whose content links drive traffic to their platforms. However, the Big Tech firms have called the laws unworkable and said last month they would withdraw key services from Australia if the regulations went ahead. Those services include Google’s search engine, which has 94% of the country’s search market, according to industry data.Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has since spoken with Morrison about the new rules, the tech company told Reuters, and on Monday, Morrison said the software company was ready to grow the presence of its search tool Bing, the distant No. 2 player.“I can tell you, Microsoft’s pretty confident, when I spoke to Satya,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra, without giving further detail of the conversation. - Nampa/ReutersCanadian airlines to cancel flights to MexicoCanada's major airlines have April 30, starting on Sunday, as part of the fight against a second wave of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.Trudeau also said that all arriving airline passengers would be required to take a mandatory Covid-19 test at the airport and then wait in a hotel for up to three days at their own expense until the results arrived."The government and Canada's main airlines have agreed to suspend service to sun destinations right away," Trudeau told reporters.Governments globally are adding new travel restrictions, requirements and bans amid fears over the spread of a more contagious and potentially vaccine-resistant Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa.In addition, Trudeau said that Canada would receive fewer Moderna Inc vaccines than had been expected in next week's delivery, but Moderna says that it is still on track to deliver 2 million doses in the first quarter as had been promised. – Nampa/ReutersIG Group restricts trading on GameStop, AMCOnline trading platform IG Group Holdings Plc said on Saturday it will restrict any new positions on GameStop Corp and AMC Entertainment due to “extreme volatility” in the market."Due to extreme volatility, and to prioritise the service we give our existing clients, we are not allowing any new positions to be opened on the US stocks GameStop and AMC Entertainment," London-based IG said in a tweet.The company is the latest trading platform announcing restrictions following a surge in volumes in recent days stemming from calls on social media by individual investors to trade stocks like GameStop and AMC that were being heavily shorted by hedge funds.On Friday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission waded into the battle between small investors and Wall Street hedge funds, warning brokerages and social-media traders it was on alert for any wrongdoing in this week’s roller-coaster trade. - Nampa/Reuters

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