BP earnings soar; judge blocks publisher merger; $1.2B Powerball prize

British Petroleum’s earnings more than doubled in the third quarter; a judge blocked a merger between two major publishers; and the Powerball prize is now $1.2 billion. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.

BP earnings soar – BP reported Tuesday that its earnings jumped to $8.15 billion in the third quarter of 2022. That’s up from $3.32 billion in the same period last year. The company also announced plans to reward shareholders, buying back another $2.5 billion of stock.

BP’s announcement comes a day after President Joe Biden accused energy companies of “war profiteering” and floated the possibility of a windfall tax if energy companies don’t boost domestic production. In the last couple of weeks:

• Shell reported its third-quarter earnings more than doubled to $9.45 billion;
• Saudi’s Aramco reported a $42.4 billion profit, it’s second-highest quarterly earnings ever; and
• Exxon Mobil broke records with $19.66 billion in profits in the third quarter.

“At a time of war, any company receiving historic windfall profits like this has a responsibility to act beyond their narrow self-interest of its executives and shareholders,” President Biden said Monday. “I think they have a responsibility to act in the interest of their consumers, their community and their country, to invest in America by increasing production and refining capacity.”

Judge blocks publisher merger – A federal judge blocked Penguin Random House’s proposed purchase of Simon & Schuster on Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Florence Pan sided with the Justice Department’s argument that the merger could “lessen competition” for “top-selling books.”

“Today’s decision protects vital competition for books and is a victory for authors, readers, and the free exchange of ideas,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a statement Monday. “”It reaffirms that the antitrust laws protect competition for the acquisition of goods and services from workers.”

Powerball jackpot set at $1.2 billion – The jackpot for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing has been set at $1.2 billion after nobody won Monday night’s jackpot. The more popular lump-sum prize will be $596 million.

Wednesday’s jackpot will be the fourth-largest in U.S. history, and the highest since the Mega Millions reached $1.337 billion back in July. Massive lottery jackpots have become more common in recent years as lottery officials have adjusted game rules and ticket prices to pump up the top prizes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.