Nippon Steel makes final plea

A Nippon Steel executive will head to Washington Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to salvage its blocked $15 billion acquisition of US Steel, the Financial Times reported. Observers will closely watch whether the deal will come up during the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, who have both opposed it.

It’s not the only mega-deal to fall apart recently, The Economist argued, despite seemingly ripe market conditions. One theory is that “sprawling global conglomerates are thoroughly unfashionable,” with more investor skepticism around empire builders: Big tech, especially, is averse to risky tie-ups. But politics are the potent killer of such deals, The Economist wrote, as companies want to avoid heightened antitrust scrutiny.