Breakingviews

Compensation for S&P 500 general counsels is up almost 23 pct since 2010, a sharper rise than for CEOs and CFOs. It’s a sign that companies are choosing to handle more big deals, lawsuits and regulatory issues in-house. Outside law firms should brace for a steeper dive in demand.

The Coors owner is paying SABMiller $12 bln for its 58 pct stake in their U.S. venture. By helping ease antitrust pressure on the UK-listed brewer’s $105 bln sale to AB InBev, Molson avoids a premium. Some $200 mln of annual cost savings, plus a sizeable tax perk, are pure gold.

Facebook got dinged in Belgium for secretly tracking visitors, while Spokeo’s similarly nosy conduct will probably go unpunished in America. Yet in neither case could victims prove they were harmed. The disparate outcomes highlight the need for more uniform data-gathering rules.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency says the world’s reliance on low-cost Middle East oil could return to 1970s levels. By cutting capex, oil majors are bolstering that dependence. Supply squeezes could feed through to higher crude sooner rather than later.

The chances of the UK voting to quit the European Union are high. The damage to business if it does leave would be high too. Trade ties, and the difficulty of replacing them from outside the EU, should be front and centre of the debate.

U.S. employers did lots of hiring last month, but that means less than investors may think. Nonfarm payroll numbers are volatile, imprecise and prone to revision. They’re important mostly because traders, analysts and journalists give them outsized attention. A demotion is overdue.

That’s the jolt to the carmaker’s worth after its CEO said it delivered 23 more vehicles in Q3 than thought. It’s classic irrational shareholder exuberance to value a sliver of good news above an earnings miss. As Tesla expands, though, that may prove harder to do.

The London-based maker of the sweet-matching mobile game is selling to Activision for $5.9 bln. It’s just a 20 pct premium, which leaves investors in last year’s IPO with a loss. With few synergies, this looks as much an excuse to use excess cash as a sound bet on future hits.

U.S. regulators accuse the carmaker of putting devices that fool pollution tests on even more autos, including Porsches and a wider array of Audis. If true, the claims would contradict VW’s defense, expose the company’s internal probe as hapless and drag its new CEO into the mire.

The Budweiser brewer has upped guidance on revenue. Costs are also rising because AB InBev is selling more fancy beers. Ahead of its $105 billion deal with SABMiller, the world’s largest brewer must spend on new products and markets as well as buying rivals in order to secure growth.