The DC Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the DOJ a blow yesterday with a ruling that “rejected the government’s claim that a lower court had applied antitrust laws incorrectly in allowing the merger” between AT&T and Time Warner to proceed. The Justice Department announced that it wouldn’t seek another appeal of the $85.4 billion deal – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360

The Labor Department has opened a probe into Fidelity Investments “over an obscure and confidential fee it imposes on some mutual funds.” The charge—dubbed an “infrastructure fee”—was implemented in 2016 and, because of that designation, allows fund firms to “avoid disclosing it to investors” – WSJ

Add the UAE to the list of countries defying the US’s wishes and forging ahead with a Huawei relationship in its pursuit of a next generation 5G wireless network – NYTimes

Details from Fed Chair Powell’s trip to the Hill include him affirming the central bank’s newfound “patient approach” to future rate hikes, some concerns about “less supportive” financial conditions, and some artful dodging. He heads to the House today – WSJ and Bloomberg

Credit bureau CEOs were also in DC yesterday, and they endured some hard questioning from the House Financial Services Committee over errors and data breaches that have marked their performance in recent years – Law360

A federal judge has given Elon until March 11 to explain himself over tweets he issued last week that the SEC claims violated the terms of a late-2018 enforcement settlement agreement  with the Tesla chief – WSJ

Germany is hurtling toward a dicey financial experiment, as it appears likelier every day that “the government will strong-arm Deutsche Bank into a merger with its Frankfurt crosstown rival Commerzbank,” in what would be a marriage of two seriously troubled lenders – NYTimes

A group of investors is accusing Bank of America, JPMorgan, and a “host of other big-name banks” of working in concert to “manipulate the price of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds” – Law360

Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, fellow activist Starboard Value, and eBay are reportedly “nearing a settlement deal that would give the activists board seat and could open the door to the company breaking itself up.” If the parties can’t reach an agreement, a fast and furious proxy fight would kick off through the end of the week – WSJ

Walmart wants a piece of that online ad pie, and it’s prepared to deploy access to its shopper data in order to get it – WSJ

Seriously, what can’t 80s pop culture cure. Welcome to the relaxation-inducing Tetris Effect – WSJ