The daily business briefing: November 21, 2016

1. Trump interviews candidates for treasury secretary

President-elect Donald Trump met with several top Wall Street executives he is reportedly considering for the role of treasury secretary in his administration. Trump, interviewing potential Cabinet picks at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, talked to at least three potential treasury nominees, including Jonathan Gray, global head of real estate at Blackstone Group, David McCormick, president of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, also in the running to be commerce secretary. Steven Mnuchin, a leader of Trump's transition team, is considered the frontrunner, with the decision hinging on whether Trump opts for a loyal longtime supporter or an outsider who could help him expand his team.

Bloomberg

2. Symantec to acquire LifeLock for $2.3 billion

Symantec Corp. plans to buy LifeLock Inc. for $2.3 billion in cash, the company confirmed Monday. The price represents a 16 percent premium over LifeLock's share price at the close of trading Friday. Symantec, one of the world's leading cybersecurity software makers, sees the addition of LifeLock, an identity theft protection service, as a key to bolstering sales at its Norton cybersecurity unit. "This acquisition brings $660 million in revenue to the consumer business and returns it to longer sustainable growth," Symantec Chief Executive Greg Clark told Reuters.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Bloomberg The Wall Street Journal

3. Police hit Dakota Access protesters with water in freezing weather

North Dakota police used water cannons in freezing weather to disperse about 400 protesters trying to get through a barricaded bridge leading to a Dakota Access oil pipeline protest site on Sunday. Protesters also said the police, wearing riot gear, had fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and concussion grenades. Police have been blocking the bridge with trucks since a clash there in late October. Protesters, who argue the pipeline threatens the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation's water supply and sacred sites, said the barricade prevents emergency vehicles from reaching the reservation.

Reuter

4. Theresa May pledges more R&D investment

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday pledged billions of dollars in additional investment in science and technology to spur "ambitious" business expansion in the U.K. At the same time, May, who entered office to lead her country's exit from the European Union, said that the wealth created by private enterprise must be shared more equally. "When a small minority of businesses and business figures appear to game the system and work to a different set of rules," May said at the Confederation of British Industry conference, "we have to recognize that the social contract between business and society fails — and the reputation of business as a whole is undermined."

The Associated Press Reuters

5. Investor Wilbur Ross seen as possible commerce secretary pick

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross reportedly is one of the leading contenders to be President-elect Donald Trump's commerce secretary, a source close to Trump's transition team told CNN. Ross, a 78-year-old distressed debt investor, met with Trump on Sunday at Trump's Bedminster golf course, where he met with several potential Cabinet picks over the weekend. The commerce secretary typically serves as the White House liaison with the business community, and serves as the government's chief business advocate.

CNN