Google is buying cybersecurity company Mandiant in an all-cash deal valued at $5.4B. If the deal is approved, it will be Google’s second-largest acquisition to date; in 2011, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5B. Mandiant would join Google’s cloud business as the company aims to boost its cloud offerings. Google will pay $23 a share for Mandiant, a 2.3% premium on the company’s closing price on Monday. Last month it was reported that Microsoft had expressed interest in buying Mandiant. More: - Mandiant was founded in 2004 and specializes in identifying cyber threats and attacks and the likely nation-state sponsor or hacker group behind the attack.
- In 2013, Mandiant was acquired by FireEye for $1B, but it was spun out last year when FireEye was acquired by a private equity consortium led by Symphony Technology Group.
- Google Cloud head Thomas Kurian said the company plans to learn from Mandiant’s threat research and apply its security solutions to Google Cloud products, especially at a time when companies are facing increased cyber threats.
- The deal is expected to close later this year; Google plans to retain Mandiant’s brand.
- According to data from Canalys, as of Oct. 2021, Google Cloud had the third-largest share of the cloud market with 8%. Amazon’s AWS has the largest share with 32%, followed by Microsoft’s Azure with 21%.
- Google Cloud revenue rose 45% to $5.54B in its last quarterly earnings report, accounting for about 7% of the tech company’s total revenue for the quarter.
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 President Biden announced on Tuesday that the U.S. is banning the importation of Russian oil and natural gas effective immediately. The executive order gives U.S. companies 45 days to exit existing contracts for Russian energy supplies and prohibits new U.S. investment in Russia’s energy sector. It also bans U.S. individuals and companies from financing foreign companies that invest in Russia’s energy sector. The ban includes coal and certain petroleum products as well. The oil import ban adds to a growing number of sanctions imposed against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. More: - The U.S. imported about 672,000 barrels of oil a day from Russia in 2021, accounting for about 8% of U.S. imports of oil and refined products.
- Most U.S.-used oil is produced locally. Of what the U.S. imports, most crude oil and petroleum products come from Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
- On the news of the ban, oil futures jumped 7%. West Texas Intermediate was trading above $128 a barrel, and Brent crude rose 7.7% to $132.75.
- According to AAA, the U.S. national average for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.173 on Tuesday, surpassing the prior record of $4.114 a gallon from July 2008.
- The U.K. and the EU also announced plans to reduce their reliance on Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
- The U.K. imports about 4% of its natural gas demand from Russia.
- The EU, which imported about 45% of its natural gas from Russia in 2021, has pledged to cut down its purchases of Russian natural gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.
In related news: - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in a television address on Monday, threatened to close a major gas pipeline to Germany if the West imposes a ban on its energy exports.
- Novak warned such actions would have catastrophic consequences on the global market and could lead to oil prices reaching $300 a barrel or more.
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Payment giants Visa and Mastercard are planning to increase the fees merchants pay when they accept customers’ credit cards. According to the Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the matter said the fee increase has been paused for the last two years due to the pandemic and is expected to go into effect next month. Interchange fees, which go to the bank that issued the card, will account for most of the increase. These fees have skyrocketed in recent years as rewards credit cards grew in popularity. Rewards cards have higher interchange fees to cover the costs of the benefits associated with the card. More: - In 2021, U.S. merchants paid credit card issuers about $55.4B in Visa and Mastercard credit-card interchange fees, more than double the amount paid in 2012.
- The costs are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices and/or charging customers who pay with credit cards extra.
- According to consulting company CMSPI, Mastercard’s interchange fee increases will cost merchants an additional $330M a year.
- The fee increase will apply to both online and in-store purchases, with small and midsize groceries stores paying higher interchange fees on most rewards cards.
- Visa and Mastercard claim the fees help cover costs related to fraud prevention and innovation.
- A Mastercard spokesman said the company would lower costs for all merchants with transactions below $5, as well as for sectors hit hard by the pandemic – hotels, restaurants, etc.
- Visa plans to lower fees for online and in-store purchases for some merchants with $250,000 or less in annual consumer credit-card volume.
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 Customers lineup outside a McDonald's in Moscow in 1996 | Image: James Hill/FT More Western companies are taking actions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. From auto to energy, finance to retail, many brands are either suspending operations or completely exiting the Russian market. Last week Russia gave foreign companies three options amid growing sanctions against the country: a.) continue working in Russia, b.) transfer shares to be managed by Russian partners with the option to return to the market later, or c.) permanently terminate operations in Russia, close production, and dismiss employees. More: - Shell announced it would stop buying Russian oil and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels, and lubricant operations in the country.
- The company faced heavy criticism after it was revealed it purchased 100,000 metric tons of oil from Russia at a discount on Friday.
- The company said it would use profits from the purchase to fund humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
- McDonald's announced it would temporarily close 850 of its locations in Russia but will continue to pay its 62,000 Russian employees.
- McDonald's opened its first location in the Soviet Union months before the state collapsed. The company owns 84% of its Russian locations.
- Yum Brands, which operates 1,000 KFC and Pizza Huts in Russia, said it was suspending all new investment and restaurant development in the country.
- Starbucks announced it is suspending all business activity in Russia and temporarily closing its 130 locations in Russia and Ukraine.
- The company said it would provide support for its 2,000 employees living in Russia.
- UPS and FedEx have suspended operations in Russia and Belarus, and DHL said it has suspended all inbound shipments to Russia and Belarus.
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The London Metal Exchange (LME) stopped the trading of nickel and canceled all trades of the metal after prices doubled to more than $100,000 per ton on Tuesday. The LME raised margin requirements for nickel contracts by 12.5% to $2,250 a ton and paused nickel trading on all venues for the rest of the day. Three-month nickel on the LME rose to a record $101,365 a ton before the LME suspended trade. In a statement, the LME said it would plan for the reopening of the nickel market and would announce the mechanics for it as soon as possible. More: - The exchange pointed to the developments in Russia and Ukraine as the drivers for the nickel market, not supply and demand.
- Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of nickel, a major component in lithium-ion batteries used in EVs and a key ingredient in stainless steel.
- China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, one of the world’s top nickel and stainless-steel producers, had been buying a short position in nickel since last year, betting prices would fall.
- Prices rose sharply as Tsingshan bought large amounts of nickel to reduce its short bets and its exposure to costly margin calls.
- The LME said it would void all trades from midnight to 8:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
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 The new Studio Display and Mac Studio desktop | Apple Apple held its first product event of the year on Tuesday, where it announced a new affordable iPhone and other products. The new 4.7-inch budget iPhone SE, with the company’s latest A15 chip, retails for $429. Apple also announced a new color for the existing iPhone 13 – alpine green – and a new iPad Air with Apple’s M1 chip starting at $599. All devices will support 5G service. More: - Apple unveiled a new Mac model called the Mac Studio that starts at $1,999. It is a cube-shaped aluminum box desktop computer without a built-in display.
- The company also unveiled a separate 5K retina 27-inch screen called the Studio Display that retails for $1,599.
- Apple announced it will air two exclusive Major League Baseball games on Friday nights on its Apple TV+ streaming platform.
- This comes a week after MLB announced it would cancel its opening day and a few games in the season after failing to reach an agreement with its players’ union.
- Apple shares closed at $157.44, down ~1% for the day.
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- Tesla CEO Elon Musk has asked a federal judge to dismiss a settlement he reached with the SEC in 2018 that required some of his tweets to be preapproved. The condition is the main point of an ongoing conflict with the securities regulator.
- Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexual assault, have formally asked a New York federal judge to dismiss her lawsuit against the British royal after they reached a settlement.
- The leader of Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was arrested on Tuesday in Miami, Florida, in connection to the Jan. 6 capital riot. He was indicted on conspiracy and other charges and accused of developing plans to storm the capital with other extremist group members.
- GM announced a pilot program in California to make EVs that could power a home in the event of a power outage or grid failure. The carmaker is partnering with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The company aims to open it up for customer trials by the end of the year.
- Amazon launched its live audio app, Amp, in a limited-access U.S. beta on iOS. Amp allows users to launch their own live show where callers can join and request to speak. The company has signed up popular artists and influencers to create content for the app.
- More than half of U.S. organizations said they currently spend $1M to $50M on AI initiatives every year, while another 15% are spending $51M or more, according to LXT's new executive report.*
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | 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 Ford. | |
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