Exxon Mobil Corp. sues California AG for defamation over plastic recycling claims

SAN FRANCISCO >> Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a federal defamation lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups, months after Bonta sued the oil and gas giant alleging that it deceived the public for half a century by promising the plastics it produced would be recycled.

The Texas-based company said in its lawsuit, filed Monday in that state’s Eastern District, that Bonta, the Sierra Club, San Francisco Baykeeper, Heal the Bay and the Surfrider Foundation conspired to defame it with statements regarding the efficacy of its plastic recycling technology.

“Together, Bonta and the US Proxies — the former for political gain and the latter pawns for the Foreign Interests — have engaged in a deliberate smear campaign against ExxonMobil, falsely claiming that ExxonMobil’s effective and innovative advanced recycling technology is a ‘false promise’ and ‘not based on truth,’” the company said in its lawsuit.

Japan links Chinese hacker to dozens of cyberattacks targeting security, tech data

TOKYO >> Japan on Wednesday linked more than 200 cyberattacks over the past five years targeting the country’s national security and high technology data to a Chinese hacking group, MirrorFace, detailing their tactics and calling on government agencies and businesses to reinforce preventive measures.

The National Police Agency said its analysis on the targets, methods and infrastructure of the cyberattacks by MirrorFace from 2019 to 2024 concluded they were systematic attacks linked to China with an aim of stealing data on Japanese national security and advanced technology.

The targets of the Chinese government-led cyberattacks included Japan’s Foreign and Defense ministries, the country’s space agency and individuals including politicians, journalists, private companies and think tanks related to advanced technology, the NPA said.

Meta tries letting Marketplace users view eBay listings as way to resolve EU charges

Meta said Wednesday that it will allow some Facebook users to view eBay listings on its Marketplace service, as it tries out a possible way to resolve European Union charges of anticompetitive behavior that the bloc leveled last year.

The social media company said it’s launching a test that will let Facebook users in Germany, France and the U.S. browse eBay listings directly on its Marketplace online classifieds service but complete the transaction on eBay.

Meta is carrying out the trial after Brussels slapped the company in November with a penalty of nearly 800 million euros ($824 million) for what it called “abusive practices” involving Marketplace.

European Union antitrust enforcers accused Meta of illegally shutting out competition by tying Marketplace to its social network and automatically exposing Facebook users to Marketplace whether or not they wanted it. They also accused Meta of gaining an unfair advantage through ad-related data.

U.S. applications for jobless claims fall to 201,000, lowest level in nearly a year

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending January 4, down from the previous week’s 211,000. This week’s figure is the lowest since February of last year. The four-week average of claims, which evens out the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 10,250 to 213,000.

The overall numbers receiving unemployment benefits for the week of December 28 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week.

The U.S. job market has cooled from the red-hot stretch of 2021-2023 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Through November, employers added an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 251,000 in 2023, 377,000 in 2022 and a record 604,000 in 2021.

Still, even the diminished job creation is solid and a sign of resilience in the face of high interest rates.

— Compiled via The Associated Press