March 20 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories

in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these

stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- SoftBank Group inked a deal to purchase

U.S.-based chip designer Ampere Computing Holdings, a chip

startup founded by Intel's ( INTC ) former president, for $6.5

billion.

- U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is

considering a plan to extend Chevron's ( CVX ) license to pump

oil in Venezuela.

- Building-products distributor QXO signed a deal

for Beacon Roofing Supply ( BECN ), valuing Beacon at roughly

$7.7 billion, or $11 billion including debt.

- The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is nearing a $1.5

billion deal for NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures trading

platform, in a bid to expand its user base and move into other

asset classes.

- Bakkt ( BKKT/WS ) has appointed Akshay Naheta to be its

co-chief executive and is offloading some operations so the

company can focus on its payments and cryptocurrency businesses.

- Law firm Paul Weiss said in a court filing on Wednesday

that a former executive facing criminal bribery charges has

fired it as his defense counsel because of U.S. President Donald

Trump's executive order this month targeting the firm.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)