Good morning. A JPMorgan Chase subsidiary will pay $18 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges it violated whistleblower protections rules, one of the largest fines to date by the regulator under the rule.

• The case: The SEC alleged Tuesday that J.P. Morgan Securities prevented hundreds of advisory clients and brokerage customers who had disputes or concerns with the firm from reporting potential violations of securities law to regulators by asking them to sign confidential release agreements that contained language that prohibited such reporting.
   
• The details: The SEC alleged that, from March 2020 to July 2023, J.P. Morgan Securities asked retail clients who had been issued a credit or settlement of more than $1,000 to sign agreements that required them to keep confidential all underlying facts relating to their settlements and all information relating to the accounts. The SEC said that at least 362 clients have signed such releases since 2020, each receiving amounts ranging from about $1,000 to $165,000.
   
• Why it was a problem: The SEC alleged that while the confidentiality agreements allowed the clients to respond to inquiries from regulators, they didn’t permit clients to voluntarily contact the SEC and other regulators to report potential misconduct, in violation of the SEC rule.
   
• Background: Enforcement of the whistleblower protection rule has been a focal point for the SEC in recent months, after whistleblower attorneys have for years called attention to widely used nondisclosure provisions that could silence people who have witnessed misconduct.

Federal judge blocks JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways’ $3.8 billion deal to buy Spirit Airlines, rejecting a merger that he said would hamper competition and lead to higher fares.

The ruling thwarts what would have been the biggest U.S. airline merger in over a decade. It marks a victory for the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued last year to prevent JetBlue and Spirit from going ahead with their tie-up.

U.S. export control authorities move to make self-reporting easier.

The U.S. enforcers who run the nation’s export control regime want to make it easier for entities to report their own wrongdoing. The U.S. Commerce Department will change its policy so that entities such as businesses and colleges can submit voluntary self-disclosures via email, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matt Axelrod said Tuesday in a speech in New York.

Under the new guidance, entities also will be allowed to bundle reports of minor or technical violations and provide shorter narrative accounts for those violations, Axelrod said. The policy shift is designed to manage the workload of export enforcement agents, who face an increasing burden as the U.S. works to block the transfer of sensitive technology to Russia, China and other countries.

• The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down Apple’s attempt to appeal a decision in an antitrust case over its App Store, a rejection that could create new options for companies such as Netflix and Spotify to sign up customers.
   
• Washington state has sued to block supermarket giant Kroger’s $25 billion takeover of rival Albertsons.
   
• A jury last year ordered Donald Trump to pay $5 million to columnist E. Jean Carroll, finding the former president was liable for sexually abusing her in the 1990s—and for defaming her much later when he denied it. An additional trial began Tuesday to determine whether he’ll have to pay her even more.
   
• Federal prosecutors recommended that Charles Littlejohn receive a five-year prison sentence for leaking Trump’s tax returns and those of thousands of wealthy Americans.
   
• The Internal Revenue Service says it has initiated 330 criminal investigations involving more than $2.8 billion of potentially fraudulent employee-retention credit, or ERC, claims and encourages employers to withdraw questionable pending claims.

Shell suspends Red Sea shipments amid fears of more Houthi attacks.

British oil major Shell suspended all shipments through the Red Sea after U.S. and U.K. strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels triggered fears of further escalation, according to people familiar with the decision.

The West’s targeting of the Iranian-ally militia came after the Houthis launched dozens of missiles and drones at commercial vessels around the Red Sea and the nearby Bab el-Mandeb. The militia has said the attacks are in response to an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Around 12% of total global seaborne oil trade goes through the Red Sea.

• Israel’s War in Gaza Enters Its Most Perilous Phase Yet

• Private-equity firm TPG is acquiring venture capital-backed risk management technology company Sayari Labs, which works with clients that include the U.S. Labor Department to help expose risks in supply chains and corporate networks, according to WSJ Pro Private Equity.
   
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country would rewrite its constitution to label South Korea as its principal enemy, opening a new and perilous chapter as tensions rise between the two countries.
   
• CEOs and business leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum are feeling increasingly confident about the U.S. economy and the strength of consumer demand, despite protracted conflicts around the world, a looming U.S. election and worries about new trade disruptions.
   
• Chinese Premier Li Qiang gave global business elites a big hint on highly anticipated growth figures, as he sought to reassure them that investing in China is an opportunity—not a risk.
   
• China’s economic growth rate finished at one of the lowest levels in decades last year, underscoring the heavy toll that a property-sector collapse and weak consumer confidence have taken on the world’s second-largest economy despite the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions.
   
• Taiwan has ordered some $19 billion in American missiles, rocket launchers and other weapons to help it defend itself against threats from Beijing. The only problem: U.S. delivery on many of those orders is years away.
   
• Iran hit a jihadist group in Pakistan with a missile and drone strike Tuesday, according to Iranian state media, as a series of conflicts continue to spread across the Middle East in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza.
   
• The troubled commercial real estate market is bracing for a record amount of maturing loans, boosting the prospect of a surge in defaults as property owners are forced to refinance at higher rates.

• The U.S. military was searching for two Navy SEALs lost at sea during an operation that seized Iranian-made missile parts bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen, as the U.S. launched another series of strikes against the group.
   
• Rifts among Israel’s war cabinet are spilling into public view, threatening to undermine the country’s military strategy in Gaza at a crucial stage in the conflict.
   
• Goldman Sachs reported a 51% surge in fourth-quarter profit, giving the Wall Street giant a boost after eight quarters of declines.
   
• Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has gone public with a demand for another big pay package, saying he wants more shares and greater control over the electric-car company as it expands further into robotics and artificial intelligence.
   
• A tech company employee who went viral for filming her firing and sharing it on TikTok says her video has brought a flood of support.

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