The Senate Judiciary Committee wants to explore cryptocurrency legislation to help enforcers trace and retrieve digital payments in ransomware attacks. Ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told us he would be “glad to work on legislation” with Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., after the latter expressed interest during Tuesday’s hearing with officials from DOJ, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Secret Service (see 2107230058).

TV retail sell-through data through June “largely” confirmed Corning forecasts entering the year that global TV unit sales will decline by mid-single digits in 2021, said Chief Financial Officer Tony Tripeny on a Q2 call Tuesday. Unit sales of TVs 65 inches and larger increased more than 20% year over year in 2021's first six months, while smaller sets were down by high-single digits, he said.

Logitech shares fell more than 10% Tuesday morning after the company’s fiscal Q1 report reflecting a cautious revenue outlook and weaker gross margins. The company maintained a fiscal year outlook of flat sales growth in constant currency, “plus or minus five percent.” Shares closed 10.3% lower Tuesday at $108.45.

Potential recusal of Jonathan Kanter in DOJ’s case against Google could draw Senate Judiciary Committee attention during his confirmation to lead the department's Antitrust Division (see 2107200070). Some experts told us last week there’s a stronger case for Kanter’s recusal than requests for FTC Chair Lina Khan's disqualification from cases involving Amazon and Facebook (see 2107160052). Senators told us they’re reviewing Kanter’s record.

The agreement the U.S. Treasury reached last week with the State Bank of Vietnam to address U.S. allegations that Hanoi was devaluing the dong against the dollar to the detriment of American trade interests (see 2107190035) was a "satisfactory resolution” of the Section 301 investigation launched in October into Vietnamese currency manipulation, said an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice Friday. USTR “has determined that no action under the Section 301 investigation is warranted at this time,” said the agency.

Amazon customers’ shopping behavior -- Prime and non-Prime -- didn't change significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with earlier periods, said a Consumer Intelligence Research Partners report dated July 15 and released by the company Monday. Amazon “prospered during the pandemic” by getting more customers to shift to Prime, resulting in higher shopping frequency and increased loyalty, it said.

After a 2020 back-to-school season disrupted by many closed classrooms due to COVID-19, 2021 isn’t shaping up to be any more normal, Nikki Baird, vice president-retail innovation at retail technology provider Aptos told us Friday. The National Retail Federation predicts an average rise in BTS spending of $59 to $848.90, and a $1,200 average spend for college, up $141 from last year, with $80 pegged for electronics (see 2107190027).

The strong “demand environment” in semiconductors “continues to stress the supply chain,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on a Q2 earnings call Thursday. Though Gelsinger expects the chip shortages to “bottom out” in 2021's second half, it will take another year or two “before the industry is able to completely catch up with demand,” he said.

The government rejected the proposal from Section 301 plaintiffs at a U.S. Court of International Trade status conference Friday that would have entitled importers to refunds from reliquidated customs entries from China with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure if they prevail on the merits at the end of the litigation.

TV stations increasingly are available via a mushrooming number of streaming options such as aggregators. Discussions between networks and affiliates have been rising as cable subscribers decline, putting retransmission consent dollars in jeopardy, experts said in recent interviews. Networks wanted big increases on what affiliates pay based on the notion affiliates get more retrans revenue, but there's MVPD resistance to rising retrans fees, said broadcast lawyer Jack Goodman.