COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Microsoft halts donations to lawmakers Microsoft Corp said on Friday it will suspend all donations by its political action committee (PAC) through 2022 to all US lawmakers who voted to object to the certification of Joe Biden's election as president.The software maker will also suspend contributions through the same period for state officials and organizations who supported objections or suggested the election should be overturned.Microsoft said it "will promote and join a conversation with other businesses and organizations that want to strengthen democracy. Recent events have raised issues of importance to PACs across the business community."Microsoft President Brad Smith told employees on Jan. 21 that over the last four years 20% of its PAC donations "had gone to members who voted against the Electoral College."Alphabet Inc's Google and General Electric Co PACs have also suspended donations through 2022, while Dow Inc said it would extend its suspension to senators voting against certification for up to six years. - Nampa/ReutersChevron offers to buy out Noble MidstreamChevron Corp said on Friday it offered to buy shares in Noble Midstream Partners LP that it does not already own, in a deal valuing the company at US$1.13 billion, months after the US oil major bought the pipeline operator's sponsor, Noble Energy.Chevron, the second-largest US oil producer, in October closed a US$4.1 billion all-stock purchase of smaller rival Noble Energy, gaining a nearly 63% stake in Noble Midstream alongside large shale and international natural gas reserves.The US oil giant said it had offered to buy the rest of Noble Midstream at US$12.47 per common unit, in line with its closing price on Thursday. Noble Midstream's units rose more than 6% to US$13.13 in early trade on Friday, slightly above the offer price.While this consolidation was the most likely outcome after Chevron's Noble Energy takeover, the market is likely to focus on previous similar deals that required premiums to get over the finish line, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co analysts wrote in a note. – Nampa/ReutersWalmart lawsuit dismissedA federal judge has dismissed Walmart Inc’s lawsuit seeking to pre-emptively block the US government from blaming the world’s largest retailer for its alleged role in fuelling the nation’s opioid crisis.US District Judge Sean Jordan said the government had not waived its sovereign immunity from Walmart’s “sweeping” challenge to the Department of Justice’s and Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement of laws governing opioid prescriptions by pharmacies and pharmacists.Jordan ruled six weeks after the government filed its own lawsuit against Walmart, claiming its network of more than 5 000 pharmacies was unable to adequately detect and report suspicious opioid prescriptions. It also said Walmart did the opposite, filling thousands of invalid prescriptions.In its Oct. 22 lawsuit, Walmart had said the government’s lax and confusing oversight left pharmacists with an “untenable” choice between filling prescriptions and risking criminal or civil liability, or refusing prescriptions and facing the wrath of patients, doctors and state medical boards.“Our pharmacists and patients deserve better than the current patchwork of inconsistent, conflicting and contradictory demands from federal and state regulators,” the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said in announcing the planned appeal. - Nampa/ReutersPerformance of funds invested in GameStop The Morgan Stanley Institutional Small Co. Inception Portfolio fund was among the top gainers among mutual funds over the past two weeks having exposure to videogame retailer GameStop, data from Refinitiv Lipper showed.Crowds of retail punters sent shares in GameStop up by more than 2000% last month, causing some Wall Street hedge funds to lose billions of dollars on their short bets on the stock.The Morgan Stanley fund, which had 346 943 shares of GameStop as per the latest filing, gained 23% in the last two weeks, according to the data, which was based on the last two weeks’ price performance.The fund’s net assets rose 61% to US$746.7 million in January, the data showed. Shares of iShares Micro-Cap ETF and Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF also gained about 7% each in the past two weeks.Shares of GameStop have fallen more than 83.5% in the first four days of this month as the retail frenzy faded. - Nampa/ReutersAmazon orders hundreds of trucksAmazon.com Inc has ordered hundreds of trucks that run on compressed natural gas as it tests ways to shift its US fleet away from heavier polluting trucks, the company told Reuters on Friday.The coronavirus pandemic caused delivery activity to surge in 2020, with truck volumes exceeding 2019 levels on average while passenger car traffic fell. But that increase in road activity means more pollution, as heavier-duty trucks emit higher levels of greenhouse gases than passenger vehicles.Transportation companies are building their stable of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions. Much of the nation’s freight is delivered via medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which account for more than 20% of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions even though they make up less than 5% of the road fleet, according to US federal data.“Amazon is excited about introducing new sustainable solutions for freight transportation and is working on testing a number of new vehicle types including electric, CNG and others,” the company said in a statement.Amazon has ordered more than 700 compressed natural gas class 6 and class 8 trucks so far, according to the company. - Nampa/Reuters

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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