The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1150 ET – The UK competition authority’s decision to clear Microsoft’s $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard wasn’t subject to any political interference, its top official says. The Competition and Markets Authority approved the transaction in September after initially rejecting it earlier this year. Sarah Cardell, the agency’s chief executive, says in a speech that the CMA ultimately approved the deal because Microsoft had offered to restructure it to address competition concerns. “I would like to put to rest, once and for all, the speculation that political intervention influenced the outcome,” Cardell said. “There was no attempt by any politician, political advisor, or government official to influence our decision-making in that case.” (kim.mackrael@wsj.com; @kimmackrael)