WASHINGTON-The United Arab Emirates is threatening to pull out of a multibillion-dollar deal to buy American-made F-35 aircraft, Reaper drones and other advanced munitions, U.S. officials said, in what would be a significant shake-up between two longtime partners increasingly at odds over China's role in the Gulf.
The Emirati government told U.S. officials that it intended to halt the deal because Abu Dhabi thought security requirements the U.S. had laid out to safeguard the high-tech weaponry from Chinese espionage were too onerous, and the country's national sovereignty was in jeopardy, officials said.
Israeli Cyber Firm NSO Explores Sale, Closure of Spyware Unit
TEL AVIV-Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group is exploring a potential sale of business or the closure of its controversial spyware unit, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The move follows a recent U.S. decision to blacklist the company over allegations that NSO's surveillance software, called Pegasus, has been used inappropriately. Those pressures have put the company at risk of defaulting on its debt, according to ratings firm Moody's Corp.
Chanel Picks Luxury Industry Outsider Leena Nair as Its Next CEO
LONDON-French luxury group Chanel SA poached consumer-goods executive Leena Nair to become its chief executive, reaching outside the fashion market for leadership as it strives to recover from the industry's pandemic slump.
Ms. Nair has been head of human resources at consumer-goods and packaged-food giant Unilever PLC. Alain Wertheimer, who owns privately held Chanel with his brother Gerard, will move from the CEO role to executive chairman early next year, Chanel said in a statement.
Apple, Google Hold 'Vise-Like Grip' on Smartphones, U.K. Regulator Says
LONDON-Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google hold a "vise-like grip" over how people use mobile devices, Britain's antitrust regulator said Tuesday, adding it was assessing whether to try to loosen what it said was their control over smartphone ecosystems.
The preliminary report is among several, nonbinding research efforts by the U.K. and other antitrust regulators in Europe into competition in the tech industry. It doesn't come with any regulatory action like fines or remedial orders. Still, previous reports have laid the foundation for more specific action and legislative proposals by regulators in the U.K. and Europe.
JPMorgan Tells Unvaccinated Workers To Stay Home
JPMorgan Chase & Co. told unvaccinated employees in New York that they must work from home starting Tuesday.
The bank had previously allowed unvaccinated staff to work in its Manhattan offices if they were tested twice a week. It had already limited their ability to travel and attend meetings, either internally or with clients. And it had said they would bear some of the expense by paying higher healthcare costs in 2022.
Apple Renews Mask Mandates in U.S. Stores as Covid-19 Surges
Apple Inc. stores across the U.S. are returning to requiring masks as Covid-19 cases surge.
The iPhone maker said Tuesday that the new mask mandate would apply to all customers and employees. The company's prevention efforts have waned in recent months in step with U.S. infection rates, with masks being optional in domestic Apple stores since the first week of November.
Study Finds Two Pfizer Vaccine Doses Offer Less Protection Against Omicron Than Against Delta
The first large real-world study of how vaccines hold up against Omicron found that two shots of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE's Covid-19 vaccine lowered the risk of hospital admission by 70% for patients infected with the highly mutated variant.
The study, by South Africa's largest private health insurer Discovery Ltd., found that while Omicron reduced vaccine effectiveness against infection to 33% from 80% for Delta, its effect on protection against hospitalization was less marked, falling to 70% from 93%.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
00:01/UK: Nov Scottish Retail Sales Monitor
06:00/FIN: Oct Retail sales
07:00/NOR: Nov External trade in goods
07:00/UK: Nov UK producer prices
07:00/UK: Nov UK monthly inflation figures
07:45/FRA: Nov CPI
08:00/SPN: Nov CPI
08:00/HUN: Oct Construction
08:00/SVK: Oct New orders in industry
09:00/POL: Nov CPI
09:00/BUL: Nov CPI
09:00/ITA: Nov CPI
09:00/POL: Oct Merchandise trade
09:30/UK: Oct UK House Price Index
10:00/GRE: Oct Labour Force Survey
11:00/IRL: Oct Goods Exports and Imports
15:59/UKR: Oct Trade
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-15-21 0034ET
