The Department of Justice and Live Nation have reached a settlement agreement in their antitrust case, multiple people familiar with the matter have confirmed.

Fox News Digital reached out to Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster, and the DOJ for comment on Monday morning.

In 2024, the President Joe Biden-era DOJ and many state attorneys general targeted Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster LLC in an antitrust suit.

“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” then-Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, according to a 2024 DOJ press release. 

“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” Garland said, according to the 2024 release.

Politico reported that Live Nation arrived at the settlement with the DOJ less than a week after the trial started, according to three individuals familiar with the issue.

The agreement requires Live Nation to shell out about $200 million of damages to participating states, the outlet reported.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated

The U.S. reversed a five-year decline in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom with its biggest annual increase in the index in over two decades, FOX Business can exclusively reveal.

America’s economic freedom score rose by 2.6 points from a year ago to 72.8, which ranks 22nd among the more than 176 countries that had completed scores in the index. The increase of 2.6 points was the largest annual increase since 2001 and is the second-largest jump the U.S. has had in its 32-year history in the index.

Heritage’s Index of Economic Freedom assesses 12 economic freedoms that fall into four categories including rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets – each of which has three subcategories. 

“The U.S.’s score improvements in monetary freedom, government spending, fiscal health, and investment freedom have outpaced the relatively lower score in trade freedom, reflecting the net positive impact of major regulatory and tax reforms on economic growth, investment, and business confidence,” Heritage’s Anthony Kim, the Jay Kingham Research Fellow in International Economic Affairs, editor of the Index of Economic Freedom and manager of global engagement at the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, told FOX Business.

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Kim explained that the progress “is not accidental” and is reflective of the Trump administration’s initiatives that have “cut government jobs, slowed spending, and prioritized private-sector growth through proactive, bold deregulatory and tax reforms.”

While the U.S. score of 72.8 came in at 22nd in the world rankings, it ranked 3rd in the Americas, trailing only Canada (75.6) and Chile (74.3), respectively. Mexico scored 59.8 and ranked 92nd in the world, and was in 19th place among the 32 countries in the Americas region.

In the rule of law category, the U.S. ranked highly with property rights, judicial effectiveness and government integrity all scoring well above the world average.

Government size was a relative weakness for the U.S., with a roughly average tax burden score of 75.3 compared to the global average of 78.4. Government spending scored 57.9 to the global average of 66.3, while fiscal health was a significant weak point – as the U.S. score of 18.5 was well below the global average of 65.9 due to high levels of public debt and large budget deficits.

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Aspects of regulatory efficiency assessed by the report included freedom for business, labor and monetary were all well above the Index’s global average.

In terms of open markets, the U.S. scored 67.6 in trade freedom, which was below the global average of 70.2. However, investment freedom and financial freedom each scored an 80 for the U.S., well above the global averages of 53.4 and 48.1, respectively.

Kim noted that the “impact of restrictive tariffs on the global economy has been far more muted than feared, in light of increased investment in such critical sectors as energy and AI (among many others),” adding that the lack of tariff retaliation by countries other than China, Canada and the EU mitigated the potential impact of a trade war.

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Countries with the highest overall scores in Heritage’s Index of Economic Freedom were Singapore (84.4), Switzerland (83.7%), Ireland (83.3), Australia (80.1) and Taiwan (79.8). 

The countries that scored the lowest were among the most repressed in the world, with North Korea (3.1) ranked last. Cuba (25.2), Venezuela (27.3), Sudan (32.5) and Zimbabwe (35.2) rounded out the bottom five countries in Heritage’s analysis.

Russia (50.3), China (48.3) and Iran (41.8) were also among the lowest scoring countries in the index due to their repressive political and economic systems.

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Argentina’s economic freedom rating saw the largest increase from a year ago of all countries in Heritage’s index, climbing by 3.2 points relative to last year.

“October 2025’s decisive midterm election victory provided reform-minded President Javier Milei with concrete support and greater momentum for continuing to transform Argentina’s economy,” Kim said. 

Kim noted that several other countries, including Oman, The Philippines, Morocco and Paraguay, have “recorded sizable score improvements in their past two years despite challenging economic environments.”

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He added that Paraguay’s President Peña has been “unambiguously promoting economic freedom, combating corruption, and building alliances with democratic nations.”

G7 finance ministers are reportedly set to discuss a coordinated release of emergency oil reserves on Monday, as governments scramble to contain a sharp surge in crude prices triggered by the war in Iran.

Ministers will hold a call with International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol to assess the impact of the conflict and consider a joint release of petroleum from strategic reserves, according to the Financial Times.

The outlet reported that three G7 countries, including the United States, have expressed support for tapping stockpiles, with some U.S. officials viewing a potential release of 300 million to 400 million barrels, roughly a quarter to a third of the IEA system’s public reserves, as appropriate.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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President Donald Trump on Sunday said rising oil prices are a “very small price” for the United States and the world to pay for “safety and peace.”

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Oil prices on Monday morning were sharply higher in early trading, with benchmark crude posting double-digit percentage gains.

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West Texas Intermediate, the key U.S. oil benchmark, was trading at $103.80, up more than 14%, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, stood at $105.88, also up roughly 14%, according to OilPrice.com data.

Other key grades, including Murban and WTI Midland, were also solidly higher, and U.S. Mars crude showed an even steeper jump of nearly 24%.

The IEA says it was founded in 1974 in response to the 1973–1974 oil crisis, with a mandate to help countries coordinate a collective response to major disruptions in oil supply.

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Since then, it has maintained a joint emergency response mechanism designed to stabilize global energy markets and protect the broader economy during periods of severe price volatility.

The agency has activated that system on five occasions, including during the First Gulf War in 1991, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, during the 2011 Libyan crisis, and twice following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

For India, which relies heavily on crude imports, the spike poses a serious challenge if the conflict in West Asia continues and oil prices stay elevated. VK Vijayakumar of Geojit said markets will increasingly start pricing in the broader economic impact of the surge in crude. He also cautioned that inflationary pressures are likely to rise regardless of whether the higher fuel costs are passed on to consumers.

Vijayakumar added that the biggest uncertainty at the moment is the duration of the conflict. This lack of clarity could also influence foreign investor behaviour. He noted that foreign institutional investors have once again turned aggressive sellers in Indian markets after a brief period of buying in February.Meanwhile, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times that global oil prices could surge as high as $150 per barrel if the conflict in the Middle East intensifies and disrupts energy supplies from the Gulf region.Should you buy oil on MCX?

According to Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, higher timeframes continue to indicate strong bullish momentum, with prices holding firmly above key moving averages and important support levels. He said a decisive move above Rs 9,300 could push prices further towards Rs 9,500 to Rs 9,650. Immediate support is placed in the Rs 8,800 to Rs 8,500 range, while a sustained fall below Rs 8,400 could weaken the short-term trend and drag prices towards Rs 8,000. Stronger structural support is seen around Rs 7,000 to Rs 7,200. Overall, the outlook remains constructive if the upside breakout continues.

Aamir Makda, Commodity and Currency Analyst at Choice Broking, said U.S. WTI crude oil opened with a gap up at $98 and is currently trading around $115, reflecting a rise of nearly 26%. He noted that this marks the biggest jump in crude prices since 2020, largely driven by disruptions in the Middle East. Iran’s move to block the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend has heightened concerns around regional oil supply. He added that the sharp rise in the U.S. dollar, which is now trading above the 99 level, has also influenced crude price movements. Meanwhile, countries such as Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar have reported a decline in overall oil production.

Key support to be considered at Rs 9,000-Rs 8,127 respectively. On the other hand, immediate resistance would be at Rs 10,500 and breakout of this level will accelerate upside momentum in Crude oil price towards 11,300 in upcoming sessions.”
The ongoing war, which began on February 28, could leave consumers and businesses worldwide dealing with elevated fuel costs for several weeks or even months. Even if the conflict ends soon, suppliers may continue to face challenges such as damaged infrastructure, logistical disruptions and heightened risks to shipping in the region.
Domestic brokerage JM Financial said that every $1 increase in crude prices raises India’s annual import bill by roughly $2 billion. Prolonged tensions could elevate logistics and marine insurance costs, disrupt Gulf shipping routes and widen pressure on the trade balance. The INR faces a near-term depreciation bias, with potential RBI intervention via foreign exchange reserves. The transmission mechanism is evident: higher crude prices increase inflation risks; elevated inflation pushes bond yields higher; and rising yields compress equity valuation multiples.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)