WASHINGTON-The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange wants Congress to block the Securities and Exchange Commission from overseeing the nascent industry and instead create a special regulator for digital assets, according to a policy blueprint reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Coinbase Global Inc., which has feuded with U.S. regulators in recent months, plans to publicly release a document with proposals for crypto regulation. It says crypto-market participants face uncertainty about which federal agencies should oversee particular assets.

White House Ransomware Summit Eyes Tighter Global Scrutiny for Crypto

Officials from 32 governments who met virtually this week to coordinate their response to the ransomware boom said uneven cryptocurrency standards are helping hackers cash in.

The representatives pledged to share information about cyberattacks and investigations, push firms to shore up security, and disrupt the financial infrastructure of a criminal hacking economy that has flourished in recent years. Consistent international scrutiny of cryptocurrencies will be key, the officials said, as ransomware groups that extort victims for digital payments can quickly transfer the funds to countries with lax standards for monitoring illicit transactions.

U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Surge as Refineries Hit the Brakes

U.S. crude-oil inventories rose much more than expected last week as refinery activity declined sharply, according to data released Thursday by the Energy Information Administration.

Benchmark U.S. oil prices that were higher before the somewhat bearish report came out reduced those gains afterward. The Nymex front-month crude contract for November delivery was recently up 0.5% at $80.85 a barrel.

What Bank Earnings From JPMorgan, Bank of America Tell Us About the U.S. Economy

Wall Street is booming, or at least parts of it are. Merger mania and stock trading lifted the big U.S. banks' third-quarter results. On Main Street, banks are still hunting for bigger loan growth, but many customers are spending more after holding out last year.

Here's what the biggest U.S. banks are telling us about the state of the economy.

Rio Tinto Cuts 2021 Projection for Iron-Ore Shipments, Copper Output

Rio Tinto PLC Friday said it expects to ship less iron ore than previously anticipated from its Australian mining operations this year because of delays to projects caused by labor shortages in the country's west.

The world's second-largest miner by market value is also on track to produce less copper and bauxite than it projected this year in big part because of plant-related problems, the company said on Friday.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Pushes Back Commercial Space Flights

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. said it is pushing back the launch of full commercial service for private-astronaut trips until toward the end of next year as it works to improve its space vehicles.

The company founded by billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson said Thursday that it now believes it will launch private-astronaut flights in the fourth quarter of 2022, instead of the end of the third quarter of next year, as Chief Executive Michael Colglazier previously told investors. The company has said it is charging at least $450,000 a seat for private-astronaut flights.

Signa Sports Attracts Investment From Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund

Online retailer Signa Sports United is nearing a deal to raise money from a group of investors including Saudi Arabia's sovereign-wealth fund, according to people familiar with the matter.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would join Signa's earlier backers, including Japan's SoftBank Group Corp., and Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., the people said. It would mark a reunion of sorts for the three investors, who were the cornerstones of SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund, launched in 2016.

U.S., European Nations Claim Progress on Path to Removing Digital Taxes

The U.S. and five European countries have reached an agreement on how those countries' digital-service taxes would be withdrawn as a broader international agreement moves forward, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.

The deal isn't likely to yield an immediate withdrawal of those taxes because it is still linked to the broader global tax agreement being completed and implemented over the next few years. But having a path forward could ease tensions between the U.S. and France, Italy, the U.K., Austria and Spain.

Financial Firms Get Seal of Approval for Climate Plans

An organization that assesses the credibility of corporate climate-change targets gave its blessing to the emission-reduction plans of two banks and a private-equity firm. The endorsements apply to the companies themselves as well as their investment and lending activities, a first for the sector.

The Science Based Targets initiative said Thursday it endorsed the emissions targets of French bank La Banque Postale, South Korean bank KB Financial Group and Swedish private-equity firm EQT AB. As well as committing to slash emissions from their own operations, the companies set targets for their portfolios, which experts say have a greater environmental impact.

White House Ransomware Summit Eyes Tighter Global Scrutiny for Crypto

Officials from 32 governments who met virtually this week to coordinate their response to the ransomware boom said uneven cryptocurrency standards are helping hackers cash in.

The representatives pledged to share information about cyberattacks and investigations, push firms to shore up security, and disrupt the financial infrastructure of a criminal hacking economy that has flourished in recent years. Consistent international scrutiny of cryptocurrencies will be key, the officials said, as ransomware groups that extort victims for digital payments can quickly transfer the funds to countries with lax standards for monitoring illicit transactions.

Johnson & Johnson Places Talc Injury Claims in Bankruptcy

Johnson & Johnson placed into bankruptcy its liabilities for tens of thousands of lawsuits linking talc-based products to cancer, betting the move will help drive a settlement of personal-injury claims that are expected to grow for decades to come.

J&J said Thursday that a corporate affiliate holding talc-related liabilities had filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, N.C., shifting the landscape of a yearslong legal fight over whether Johnson's Baby Powder caused ovarian cancer, asbestos poisoning and other illnesses. The company has maintained that the powder, which it stopped selling last year, is safe and doesn't contain asbestos.

Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Dermatologist Describes Theranos Lab Director Stint

SAN JOSE, Calif.-A dermatologist testified Thursday in the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes that he agreed to serve as Theranos Inc.'s lab director after being asked to fill the role by one of his patients, but never did much more than sign paperwork and appear in the company's lab once or twice.

Sunil Dhawan told jurors that he accepted the role in November 2014 at the request of Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, Theranos's chief operating officer, whom he had treated for almost 15 years.

Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com

Expected Major Events for Friday

06:00/NOR: Sep External trade in goods

06:00/EU: Sep New Passenger Car Registrations in Europe statistics (EU27 + EFTA3)

06:45/FRA: Sep CPI

07:00/SVK: Aug New orders in industry

08:00/POL: Aug Merchandise trade

08:00/POL: Sep CPI

08:00/ITA: Sep CPI

09:00/CRO: Sep CPI

09:00/EU: Aug Foreign Trade

09:00/ITA: Aug Foreign Trade EU

10:00/IRL: Aug Goods Exports and Imports

All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.

Write to us at newsletters@dowjones.com

We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-15-21 0026ET