With its $75 billion deal for Activision Blizzard, Microsoft aims to shake up the gaming industry by building out its library of blockbusters and bolstering its efforts to entice consumers onto its cloud-gaming service.5 min read
The bank joined its peers in posting gains in investment banking but a decline in trading revenue.1 min read
U.S. stocks were poised for muted opening moves following Tuesday’s selloff, and government-bond yields extended their advance.3 min read
The New York attorney general’s office said it uncovered a swath of evidence that former President Donald Trump and his company falsely valued assets to obtain loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions.2 min read
Nurses’ extraordinary experiences during the pandemic are similar to those confronted by troops in combat. One hospital now offers its nurses trauma training. “That’s just as important as teaching them how to place an IV or how to give the medications or how to administer oxygen.”415 min read
The Biden administration is expected to announce plans to make 400 million N95 masks available free at pharmacies and community health centers across the country, a White House official said.3 min read
The Biden administration’s top diplomat told Ukraine’s president he would have unified support from the West but warned that Russia could invade as concerns mounted over Moscow’s deployment of forces to neighboring Belarus.5 min read
WSJ News Exclusive
Columnists
Business & Finance
WSJ News Exclusive
Massarsky Consulting’s team of four economists sold its business after valuing over $6.5 billion worth of music rights last year.5 min read
WSJ News Exclusive
The drugmaker said that a network of little-known drug suppliers and distributors sold illicit and potentially dangerous fake versions of its HIV medicines that ended up in pharmacies and in the hands of patients.6 min read
The healthcare and health-insurance company showed little sign of serious impact from costs tied to soaring levels of Covid-19 cases that the Omicron variant brought last month.2 min read
Global oil demand will exceed pre-pandemic levels this year thanks to growing Covid-19 immunization rates, the International Energy Agency said.3 min read
The government unveiled full legislation aimed at protecting national security and thwarting illegal money flows through the gambling hub.3 min read
U.S.
A regular on the front rows of fashion shows in New York and Europe who worked at Women’s Wear Daily and Vogue, Mr. Talley was described as “perhaps the industry’s most important link to the past.”3 min read
Some applicants provided an ID number that is different from the one in the system, while others used old application forms rather than the ones issued after the new law.3 min read
Some Democrats are losing patience and want votes on individual bills, but President Biden and party leaders haven’t given up on a larger education, healthcare and climate package.5 min read
World
To keep out Covid-19, China closed some border gates late last year, leaving produce to rot in trucks. Restrictions like these and rules at some Chinese ports, the gateways for goods headed to the world, could cascade into delays in the global supply chain.
Consumer prices in the U.K. rose 5.4% in December compared with a year earlier, strengthening the case for further increases in the Bank of England’s key interest rate as the country’s economy emerges from the Omicron wave.3 min read
Chinese authorities have detained two prominent human-rights activists, quietly intensifying a crackdown on dissent weeks before Beijing hosts the most politicized Winter Olympics in recent memory5 min read
The British prime minister’s Conservative Party has been sliding in the polls, with surveys showing popular anger over the incident. Some of Mr. Johnson’s lawmakers strategized how to oust the British leader and one defected to the opposition.5 min read
Life & Work
Adding pattern to a closet makes putting things away less dreary by turning the space into a giant jewel box—with storage that will make you smile3 min read
Sports
Players and fans have been taken aback by something unusual for a tennis major: There are few people, and it is often quiet.5 min read
Few players have improved their 3-point shooting more than Dorian Finney-Smith of the Dallas Mavericks. It changed everything about his career.6 min read
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