For more than two months now, Xerox (XRX) has been pushing HP Inc. (HPQ) to accept its $32B, $22 a share takeover bid and now it is done asking, with Xerox launching a proxy fight for control of HP and nominating 11 directors to replace the latter's entire board, Eric Savitz writes in this week's edition of Barron's. HP has made it clear that it would prefer to lever up and buy back huge amounts of stock, rather than submit to a Xerox offer that it considers inadequate, but a higher bid could soften HP's position, the author notes. In either scenario, HP investors are likely to benefit, the report adds. Reference Link

Big tech companies, including Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Alphabet (GOOGL), are competing for a bigger slice of the esports live-streaming business, which could present an opportunity for investors, Connor Smith writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Esports events - where the best players compete in games like League of Legends, Activision Blizzard's (ATVI) Overwatch, and Valve's Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - are attracting young people, much the way traditional sports had for generations, the author notes. Reference Link

Super Bowl is the biggest day of the year for sports gambling and this year an increasing share of the wagering on the February 2 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will be done legally, Andrew Bary writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Sports betting has quickly become the hottest trend in the U.S. gambling industry, with the latter focusing its expansion on mobile sports gambling, rather than the sports books patterned on those at Las Vegas casinos, the author notes. The Street's enthusiasm is most evident in the surging stock price of Diamond Eagle Acquisition (DEAC), a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that reached a deal in late December to buy DraftKings, the report adds. The other chief play on U.S. sports gambling is Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), the top U.K. betting company that controls FanDuel, the main online U.S. sports wagering rival for DraftKings. Reference Link

Attorneys general from nine U.S. states are urging a federal judge to dismiss Google's $13M settlement of a class-action lawsuit claiming that its Street View mapping technology violated consumer privacy, Bloomberg's Malathi Nayak reports. The proposed settlement in a matter that became known as "Wi-Spy" does not offer compensation for millions of people whose confidential information was captured off their Wi-FI networks by Street View vehicles, and instead the accord divvies up funds among a handful of privacy rights organizations, a small number of individual consumers who led the case, and their attorneys, Nayak says, citing the state officials in a court filing. "Without receiving any of the $13 million cash fund or any meaningful injunctive relief, class members receive no direct benefit from the settlement," the attorneys general said. Reference Link

PG&E Corp. (PCG) could be ordered by probation judge William Alsup to "restrict bonuses and incentives for supervisors and other high-ranking employees until the company meets its obligations under its wildfire-prevention plan," according to Bloomberg's Peter Blumberg and Mark Chediak. The judge additionally threatened to tie incentive pay to the company meeting its fire mitigation and safety goals. The judge has asked PG&E to explain why he shouldn't issue such an order, the report added. Reference Link