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(Reuters) -A new underground transmission line was approved by the New York State Public Service Commission linking an existing Clay substation with Micron Technology's proposed semiconductor megafab facility in Onondaga County, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday. The two-mile, 345-kilovolt line is a key piece of infrastructure for Micron’s planned $100 billion investment in Central New York, the largest private investment in the state’s history, Hochul's press release said. The project is expected to create more than 50,000 jobs over the next two decades, including 9,000 direct positions at Micron. "This project is set to transform Central New York — and we're moving quickly ahead with all due speed and deliberation," Hochul said. The transmission line approval follows a 2022 agreement between Micron and New York State, when the chipmaker selected the region for its advanced manufacturing facility. The megafab aims to produce one in four of all U.S.-made semiconductors by 2030. The commission also approved environmental and construction plans for the first phase of the project, including the eastern expansion of the Clay substation and installation of equipment linking it to the Micron facility. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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By AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter (Reuters) -A breach at U.S.-based cybersecurity company F5 has been blamed on state-backed hackers from China, two people briefed on the investigation said on Thursday. On Wednesday, U.S. government officials said federal networks are being targeted by an unidentified "nation-state cyber threat actor" that is trying to exploit vulnerabilities in products made by F5. The company did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in a statement he was not familiar with the situation, but that "China consistently opposes and combats hacking activities in accordance with the law, and we are even more opposed to the dissemination of false information for political purposes." The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, when contacted by Reuters, did not confirm whether the breach was carried out by Chinese state-backed hackers. "These same risks extend to any organization using this technology, potentially leading to a catastrophic compromise of critical information systems," CISA acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala said in a statement, without specifying who was behind the hack. The two people briefed on the investigation said the hackers were inside F5's network for more than a year.  (Reporting by Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens. Devika Nair, Gnaneshwar Rajan, and Nilutpal Timsina provided additional reporting; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Franklin Paul)

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(Corrects October 15 story in paragraph 6 to indicate that Bloomberg did not report Robby Walker left Apple for Meta Platforms) (Reuters) -Apple's Ke Yang, the newly tapped executive leading an effort to develop a ChatGPT-like AI-driven web search, is stepping down to join Meta, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Just weeks ago, Yang was appointed head of a team called Answers, Knowledge and Information, or AKI, which is central to the Siri voice assistant's overhaul, planned for March, the report said. Apple, Meta and Yang did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Yang has been with Apple since 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile.   Meta has intensified Silicon Valley's talent war through aggressive hiring aiming to challenge rivals, including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, as the tech firms pour significant investment into AI in the race to superintelligence. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company had poached top AI executives from the iPhone maker before, including Ruoming Pang, as earlier reported by Bloomberg News. Bloomberg News also reported that Robby Walker left Apple, without specifying a new employer. (Reporting by Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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By AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter (Reuters) -A breach at U.S.-based cybersecurity company F5 has been blamed on state-backed hackers from China, two people briefed on the investigation said Thursday. On Wednesday, U.S. government officials said federal networks are being targeted by an unidentified "nation-state cyber threat actor" that's trying to exploit vulnerabilities in products made by F5. The company and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), when contacted by Reuters, did not confirm whether the breach was carried out by Chinese state-backed hackers. "These same risks extend to any organization using this technology, potentially leading to a catastrophic compromise of critical information systems," CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala said in a statement, without specifying who was behind the hack. The two people briefed on the investigation said the hackers were inside F5's network for more than a year.  (Reporting by Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens. Devika Nair, Gnaneshwar Rajan, and Nilutpal Timsina provided additional reporting; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Franklin Paul)

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By Manya Saini (Reuters) -Crypto heavyweight Kraken said on Thursday it has acquired futures exchange Small Exchange from IG Group for $100 million, paving the way to launch a fully U.S.-based derivatives suite. The cryptocurrency sector is maturing as digital assets gain broader acceptance and traditional financial firms increasingly engage through regulated products such as futures, options and tokenized securities. Small Exchange is a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed designated contract market, giving Kraken a regulated venue to offer futures and options to both retail and institutional clients. "Under CFTC oversight, Kraken can now integrate clearing, risk and matching into one environment that meets the same standards as the largest exchanges in the world," Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, said in a statement. Once the preserve of banks and brokers, the derivatives market is drawing digital asset firms looking for liquidity and risk management. Analysts say adoption is likely to accelerate as more institutional and traditional financial players enter the digital asset space. "Digital asset firms are no longer content being sideshow players. They aim to wrest seats in the core capital markets ecosystem," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors. The derivatives market is likely to pull closer together, with big exchanges and fintech firms first testing offerings like tokenized futures and hybrid products at the edges, then rolling them out more widely, he added. Crypto-linked futures and options have been among the fastest-growing segments as investors seek to manage risk. "By securing the necessary licensing and infrastructure today, Kraken is laying the groundwork for institutional-grade markets as crypto matures," the company said. The deal comes as a more crypto-friendly regulatory tone under U.S. President Donald Trump encourages digital asset firms to expand in the United States with promises of clearer rules. Earlier this year, Kraken agreed to buy retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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By Rachel More BERLIN (Reuters) -European carmakers could face significant disruption to manufacturing without a swift resolution to a trade and intellectual property dispute over chipmaker Nexperia between China and the Dutch government, an industry association warned on Thursday. The dispute could cause further strain on Europe's automotive sector, whose carmakers and suppliers are already battling tariffs, foreign competition and weak demand. It also thrusts Nexperia into a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheting up pressure on tech as China curbs rare earth exports. SPOTLIGHT ON CHINESE OWNER WINGTECH ACEA, the European Union's auto association, said it was "deeply concerned by potential significant disruption to European vehicle manufacturing if the interruption of Nexperia chips supplies cannot be immediately resolved". Carmakers and their suppliers received notice from Nexperia last week that it could no longer guarantee delivery of its chips, the ACEA said in a statement. "Without these chips, European automotive suppliers cannot build the parts and components needed to supply vehicle manufacturers and this therefore threatens production stoppages," the statement said. "We hope to get all challenges resolved soon to the best of everyone's interests," a Nexperia spokesperson said. He said the company could not comment further beyond a statement on Tuesday that said it is engaging with Chinese authorities to obtain an exemption from restrictions. The Dutch government announced on Sunday that it had as of September 30 taken control of Chinese-owned computer chipmaker Nexperia, citing worries about the possible transfer of technology to Nexperia's Chinese parent company, Wingtech. Court documents showed the Dutch government's move came after months of rising U.S. pressure on the company. Nexperia was at risk of being impacted by a new U.S. rule that extends export control restrictions to companies at least 50% owned by one or more entities on the U.S. entity list. Washington put Wingtech, which has 100% ownership of Nexperia, on the U.S. list in late December. The Chinese commerce ministry issued on October 4 an export control notice prohibiting Nexperia China and its subcontractors from exporting specific finished components and sub-assemblies manufactured in China, according to a statement Nexperia published on Tuesday. Nexperia chips are not technically sophisticated but are needed in large volumes. Its biggest manufacturing site is in Hamburg, Germany, but most of its chips are packaged and assembled into larger products in China. AUTOMAKERS, SUPPLIERS WORK TO IDENTIFY RISKS Volkswagen and BMW are among the carmakers whose supplier networks include Nexperia, with Bosch among the German auto suppliers who use its chips. Volkswagen and BMW both said production had not yet been impacted by the issues but that they were working to identify potential supply risks. "We are monitoring the current situation closely and are also in contact with the manufacturer Nexperia, which is one of our suppliers for electronic components," a Bosch spokesperson said. Mercedes-Benz said it was monitoring the situation and in touch with relevant stakeholders, without giving further details. A spokesperson declined to say whether Nexperia was part of the company's supplier network. "Stellantis is closely monitoring the situation and collaborating with Nexperia and other suppliers to assess potential impacts and develop mitigation measures," a spokesperson for the carmaker said. China's commerce ministry, responding to a question on Nexperia, said on Thursday that it opposed interference in the internal affairs of enterprises through administrative means, and that it would take the necessary measures to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Che Pan in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Matthias Williams, Mark Potter and Ed Osmond)

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By Suzanne McGee and Ateev Bhandari (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told Reuters that it was "unclear" whether the dozens of recent filings by asset managers to issue highly leveraged ETFs would be approved by the agency. Since the U.S. government shutdown began, "the agency has received a large number of registration statements for ETFs seeking to offer 3x and 5x leveraged, equity-linked exposure," said Brian Daly, director of the SEC's division of investment management.  "It is unclear whether these ETFs would comply with the Derivatives Rule (Rule 18f-4), which generally limits leverage to 2x." On Wednesday, ETF issuer Volatility Shares filed to launch a total of 27 highly leveraged ETFs, including the first-ever proposed 5x ETF for the U.S. market, in a move that raised eyebrows amid widespread concerns over inflated asset prices.  A 5x target means that an ETF would seek to quintuple the daily return of an underlying single stock. Until now, the SEC has approved single-stock leveraged ETFs with a maximum of 2x. The SEC's response comes as a partisan shutdown in Washington has forced the agency to function on skeletal staffing, limiting its ability to review corporate filings, investigate misconduct, and oversee markets. "It is reassuring to see that, despite the shutdown, the SEC continues to monitor new ETF filings and take note of those that could be potentially problematic for retail investors and for the ETF industry as a whole," said Amrita Nandakumar, president of Vident Asset Management, a firm that works with ETF issuers. A concentration of investor assets into leveraged ETFs has fueled caution across the market, highlighted by last week's broad-based selloff after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated the trade war against China. While such leveraged ETFs are designed to amplify the return of the underlying stock or index, a fall in the price of the indexed asset can force liquidations. "Of those launched more than three years ago, over half have closed and 17% have lost over 98% of their value over their lives," said Bryan Armour, ETF analyst at Morningstar, referring to the dangers of leveraged ETFs. A JPMorgan report estimated that some $26 billion of selling from leveraged ETFs at Friday's close exacerbated the downward spiral. A Reuters analysis of SEC filings found that Volatility, whose filings included a 3x and a 5x offering on bitcoin treasury pioneer Strategy, proposed its filings to go effective 75 days after submitting.  "This SEC administration has been more amenable to new strategies coming to market, but 5x leveraged single-stock ETFs will test those limits," Armour added. SEC staff will not be able to review the new filings until after the shutdown is over, the agency's Daly added. Volatility did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Mark Porter and Philippa Fletcher)

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By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -Cloud-computing firm Salesforce was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit by two authors who alleged the company used thousands of books without permission to train its artificial intelligence software.  Novelists Molly Tanzer and Jennifer Gilmore said in the complaint filed on Wednesday that Salesforce infringed copyrights by using their work to train its xGen AI models to process language. A Salesforce spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit on Thursday.  "It’s important that companies that use copyrighted material for … AI products are transparent," attorney Joseph Saveri, who represents the authors and has brought similar lawsuits on behalf of copyright owners against tech companies, said on Thursday. "It’s also only fair that our clients are fairly compensated when this happens." Authors, news outlets and other content owners have filed dozens of lawsuits against tech companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta Platforms for allegedly misusing their material in AI training. Anthropic agreed to a landmark $1.5 billion settlement with a separate group of authors suing it for copyright infringement in August. Tanzer and Gilmore said in their lawsuit that Salesforce used thousands of pirated books written by them and others to train xGen. The lawsuit said that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has previously criticized AI companies for using "stolen" training data to build their models and said that paying content creators for their work would be "very easy to do." "Benioff is right — technology companies like Benioff’s own Salesforce that use the intellectual property of copyright holders like Plaintiffs and Class members should fairly compensate them," the complaint said. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -Cloud-computing firm Salesforce was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit by two authors who alleged the company used thousands of books without permission to train its artificial intelligence software.  Novelists Molly Tanzer and Jennifer Gilmore said in the complaint filed on Wednesday that Salesforce infringed copyrights by using their work to train its xGen AI models to process language. A Salesforce spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit on Thursday.  "It’s important that companies that use copyrighted material for … AI products are transparent," attorney Joseph Saveri, who represents the authors and has brought similar lawsuits on behalf of copyright owners against tech companies, said on Thursday. "It’s also only fair that our clients are fairly compensated when this happens." Authors, news outlets and other content owners have filed dozens of lawsuits against tech companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta Platforms for allegedly misusing their material in AI training. Anthropic agreed to a landmark $1.5 billion settlement with a separate group of authors suing it for copyright infringement in August. Tanzer and Gilmore said in their lawsuit that Salesforce used thousands of pirated books written by them and others to train xGen. The lawsuit said that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has previously criticized AI companies for using "stolen" training data to build their models and said that paying content creators for their work would be "very easy to do." "Benioff is right — technology companies like Benioff’s own Salesforce that use the intellectual property of copyright holders like Plaintiffs and Class members should fairly compensate them," the complaint said. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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(Crrects paragraph 5 in October 15 story to say BlackRock-Preqin deal was valued at $3.2 billion, not $3.5 billion) (Reuters) -S&P Global has agreed to buy private markets data provider With Intelligence, the company said on Wednesday, as it looks to expand its products for the fast-growing segment of financial services. Private markets are seeing increased investor interest as years of higher interest rates and muted exits have pressured private valuations at a time when industry executives are concerned about asset price bubbles in public markets. Insights into pricing and comparables for private assets have become valuable because of the historical opacity around such investments. The trend has drawn BlackRock, with the world's largest asset manager spending $12.5 billion to buy Global Infrastructure Partners last year. It also spent $3.2 billion for private markets data provider Preqin in February and $12 billion for private credit firm HPS Investment Partners in July. Private markets also received a boost from U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order in August, aiming to ease access to nontraditional assets like private equity and private credit in 401(k) plans. Founded in 1998, With provides data and analytics for alternative and private markets to around 3,000 customers globally. It is expected to generate around $130 million in revenue in 2025, with annual contract value growth expected in the high teens. The deal is set to close in 2025, or early 2026, and is expected to be add to the company's adjusted profit per share in 2027, S&P Global said. Citi advised S&P Global, while Centerview Partners was the financial advisor for With. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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