The Wall Street JournalVerified account

AmEx Global Business Travel is close to a merger with a blank-check firm backed by Apollo Global Management to go public with a roughly $5.3 billion valuationhttps://on.wsj.com/3pr8mSW 

The FDA is preparing testing and manufacturing guidelines for a quick review of Omicron-targeted vaccines and drugs, if they are neededhttps://on.wsj.com/3lvqolU 

Stock futures wobbled, while oil prices continued to rise after OPEC and a group of Russia-led oil producers agreed to continue pumping more crudehttps://on.wsj.com/3G8C8CO 

Shell is standing firm against Third Point’s call for a breakup. But that isn’t stopping other European energy firms from targeting similar moves to boost shareholder returns.https://on.wsj.com/3Di8etR 

Heard on the Street: One advantage of chartering a private plane instead of buying one: It’s harder to know you are a massive polluter. “We definitely see companies that don’t want their names on the tail,” says one private-plane exec.https://on.wsj.com/3Do0kPI 

Investors are plugging into the metaverse, looking to tap into what they see as a new realm for making moneyhttps://on.wsj.com/3ruUWrI 

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are creating tougher rules for those infected with the Omicron Covid-19 varianthttps://on.wsj.com/2ZOsHJ9 

From @WSJopinion: A vaccine mandate puts patients at risk, writes @SeemaCMS. Washington’s threat to withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding is likely to do more harm than good.https://on.wsj.com/3Dh0cS0 

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange and pursue a listing in Hong Konghttps://on.wsj.com/3xTk1hd 

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell had a strict rule for employees at his Palm Beach, Fla., estate: “See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing.” A former staff member described working on the estate in Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial Thursday.https://on.wsj.com/3DkTxGL 

The U.S. and South Korea plan to update wartime plans for North Korea as the Kim Jong Un regime pursues weapons advanceshttps://on.wsj.com/3Df2roV 

The Senate passed an extension of government funding and sent the bill to Biden, averting a shutdown after resolving a standoff over vaccine ruleshttps://on.wsj.com/3DhJ6DF 

Pay growth remains anemic in Australia and Japan despite labor shortages, easing pressure on their central banks to raise interest rateshttps://on.wsj.com/32WOsI4 

Nearly two years into the pandemic, doctors have few effective treatments for Covid-19 patients, but some drugs and therapies have been shown to work. Here’s what public-health and infectious-disease experts say about how to treat Covid-19.https://on.wsj.com/3rwYYji 

"I speak rarely. When I do—CRISP and CONCISE." Elizabeth Holmes's handwritten notes to herself, which included instructions about how to conduct herself as head of Theranos, were submitted as exhibits in her criminal-fraud trial.https://on.wsj.com/3okVBKC 

Where are you most likely to see the northern lights this year? Here are suggestions on where and how to catch the elusive aurora borealishttps://on.wsj.com/3xNNwBd 

From @WSJopinion: Traveling in a flying sleigh may be easier than passing what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants by Christmas, writes @KarlRovehttps://on.wsj.com/3rwbcZO 

Citigroup has applied for a China securities license, joining JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and others in seeking a deeper foothold in the countryhttps://on.wsj.com/3lvO0XF