By Ross Kerber

June 11 (Reuters) - An epic courtroom battle in Texas could reshape how the largest fund managers run money if a judge allows antitrust claims from Republican-led states to move forward.

You can read up about the unusual lawsuit below. In this busy news week, I'm also including links to a range of other stories such as a piece on coal plants in India, a new study showing some benefits of DEI programs, and a column about the economic stakes of Trump's efforts against immigration.

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The clash between Republican states and top asset managers

A Texas judge on Monday said he would take under advisement a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Republican-led states claiming asset managers BlackRock,BLK.N Vanguard and State Street STT.N violated antitrust law through climate activism that reduced coal production and boosted energy prices.

At a recent hearing, the fund firms denied wrongdoing, with a BlackRock attorney saying among other things that the plaintiffs had not brought forward any material showing direct talks among the companies to coordinate their activities. An attorney for the states responded that the companies' actions like joining industry climate groups could still have a market impact.

If Judge Jeremy Kernodle of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas allows the case to move forward, the outcome could have major implications for how the companies, which together run some $27 trillion, manage their holdings and passive funds.

Click here to read our full story.

Company News

Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O said it would split its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks, the latest corporate unraveling after decades of media consolidation.

Via a 9-0 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court spared American gunmaker Smith & Wesson SWBI.O and distributor Interstate Arms from a lawsuit by Mexico's government accusing them of aiding illegal firearms trafficking to drug cartels.

In a surprise collaboration between two prominent competitors, OpenAI plans to add Alphabet's GOOGL.O Google cloud service to meet its growing needs for computing capacity, sources told Reuters.

On my radar

The deployment of Marines to Los Angeles by U.S. President Donald Trump isn't strictly a business story for this newsletter, but the underlying issue of immigration is definitely an economic matter, especially if Trump succeeds in reducing the arrival of new people to fill job vacancies. "Over time, fewer new workers will likely mean lower growth," writes our columnist Jamie McGeever.

Among the benefits of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion $(DEI)$ programs: they increase employee retention, especially among younger workers, according to new research from Catalyst, a nonprofit focused on workplace inclusion.

India plans to spend nearly $80 billion on coal plants by 2031 to power growing industries like data centers. But most are planned for dry areas, portending conflict between industry and residents over limited water resources.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio)

((ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com; (617) 412 0093;))