DOJ reportedly accelerates Apple antitrust investigation
Source: CNBC
The Department of Justice has accelerated its antitrust investigation into Apple, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The company’s policies for third-party apps on its devices and whether it unfairly favors its own products on its mobile operating system are two areas of focus, according to the Journal.
The investigation, which began in 2019, has gained more litigators assigned to it and new document requests and consultations with companies related to the matter in recent months, according to the report. Politico reported in August that the DOJ was in the “early stages” of drafting a potential complaint against the company.
It’s still unclear what role DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter will play in the investigation or any potential enforcement action. Kanter was initially not involved in the Apple matter because of his past representation of clients who have accused Apple of being anti-competitive, but sources told the Journal he would likely end up working on any action against the company.
Kanter was cleared to work on Google matters after the department evaluated similar concerns over his work in private practice. The Justice Department has two ongoing antitrust lawsuits against Google, with the first expected to go to trial in September.
Silicon Valley Bank Is Being Shut Down by Regulators by Natasha Mascarenhas
March 10, 2023
Introduction:
(TechCrunch) Silicon Valley Bank has been closed by regulators, which are now in charge of the bank’s deposits, according to a release sent out by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday.
While banking activities in SVB’s 17 branches are closed today, SVB’s operations will resume on Monday — this time, with the FDIC in charge. Of the many moves that FDIC is making, the top priority appears to be giving customers access to their deposits. The same memo says that all insured depositors will have “full access” to “insured” deposits no later than Monday morning, March 13, 2023 and that official checks “will continue to clear.” Uninsured depositors will get paid an advanced dividend within the next week, the memo says, and future dividends could be made as FDIC sells assets of SVB.
Deposit insurance, per the FDIC’s definition, means that deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category. Could depositors receive more than this? It isn’t clear. Per the FDIC’s website, when a bank fails:
First, as the insurer of the bank’s deposits, the FDIC pays insurance to depositors up to the insurance limit. Historically, the FDIC pays insurance within a few days after a bank closing, usually the next business day, by either 1) providing each depositor with a new account at another insured bank in an amount equal to the insured balance of their account at the failed bank, or 2) issuing a check to each depositor for the insured balance of their account at the failed bank.
In some cases—for example, deposits that exceed $250,000 and are linked to trust documents or deposits established by a third-party broker—the FDIC may need additional time to determine the amount of deposit insurance coverage and may request supplemental information from the depositor in order to complete the insurance determination.
Facebook parent Meta slashes another 10,000 jobs
Source: AP
Facebook parent Meta is slashing another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs.
The company said Tuesday it will reduce the size of its recruiting team and make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, and then its business groups in late May. “This will be tough and there’s no way around that,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success.”
The Menlo Park, California, company has invested billions of dollars to realign its focus on the metaverse. In February it posted lower fourth-quarter profit and revenue, hurt by a downturn in the online advertising market and competition from rivals such as TikTok.
The company announced 11,000 job cuts in November.
Dow falls 500 points as Credit Suisse concerns deepen fears of banking crisis
Source: The Hill
The stock market opened with steep losses Wednesday as concerns about the health of Credit Suisse triggered fears of a broader banking crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened with a loss 1.5 percent Wednesday, a decline of almost 500 points after the opening bell. The S&P 500 index opened with a loss of 1.4 percent and the Nasdaq composite opened with a loss of 1.1 percent.
Stock futures began selling off before the stock market opened Wednesday as U.S. traders watched shares of Credit Suisse plunge more than 30 percent in overseas trading, according to CNBC. Investors began to lose confidence in the bank after the chairman of the Saudi National Bank, Credit Suisse’s largest investor, told Reuters that the Saudi central bank would not boost its investment in the troubled Swiss firm.
Credit Suisse, Europe’s second largest bank, has faltered under years of scandals and financial woes. Credit Suisse also operates in the U.S. and is subject to the strictest Federal Reserve supervision and stress tests. Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed Friday and set off a global banking scare, was exempted from those rules under a 2018 bipartisan law signed by former President Trump.
Gov. Ron DeSantis gained control of Walt Disney World's oversight district board in February.
The move was an attempt to strip the company's self-governing power that it has enjoyed for decades.
But a previously signed agreement may have rendered the new governing board powerless.
Gov. Ron DeSantis' move to take over Walt Disney World's governing board in Florida may have backfired due to a prior obscure agreement that new governor-appointed board members say stripped them of their power.
Asda owners shrug off £9bn debt pile and size up £8bn Subway take over
TUESDAY 28 MARCH 2023 2:16 PM
The billionaire owners of supermarket Asda are reportedly sizing up an £8bn takeover of global sandwich maker Subway.
According to reports in The Sun, billionaire’s Mohsin and Zuber Issa are understood to be eyeing up the 44,000 restaurant chain.
The pair, who gained their notoriety as the founders of forecourt business EG Group, already have Subway branches at there 6,300 petrol stations globally – which includes 340 filling stations in the UK.
A source close to the brothers told the outlet that the pair believed that Subway had not recognised their “massive growth”.
They said: “EG Group have felt for a while that Subway treated them the same way as other franchise partners and their massive growth hadn’t been appreciated. So what better way to show who’s boss than owning them.”
US sales at top automakers rise on improving inventory, Toyota struggles
Source: Reuters
April 3 (Reuters) - Top global automakers reported a rise in first-quarter U.S. sales on improving shipments to dealers, with the exception of Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), which continued to grapple with parts shortage, data showed on Monday. General Motors Co (GM.N), which replaced Toyota as the top U.S. automaker in 2022, posted a 17.6% rise in first-quarter auto sales.
"We gained significant market share in the first quarter, pricing was strong, inventories are in very good shape, and we sold more than 20,000 EVs (electric vehicles) in a quarter for the first time," GM Executive Vice President Steve Carlisle said in a statement.
Vehicle production took a hit after the pandemic disrupted supply of semiconductor chips and other raw materials, hurting carmakers' ability to meet the upsurge in demand for personal mobility. The companies have been trying to make up for the lost production ever since as supply chain snags gradually ease.
But rising interest rates and fears of a recession may play spoilsport in an industry where most vehicle purchases are financed with loans, analysts say, as they watch out for signs of plateauing demand. The average transaction price of vehicles, too, has surged over the last one year. "Consumers are facing credit uncertainty as rapidly rising interest rates have created barriers to entry for even the most qualified buyers," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at auto research firm Edmunds.
Swiss cut up to $66M in bonuses for top Credit Suisse execs
Source: AP
today
The Federal Council, a seven-member panel that runs Switzerland’s executive branch, announced Wednesday that it has instructed the Finance Department to cancel altogether or reduce by either one-half or one-quarter such bonuses due last year among the top three rungs of management.
That will amount to a loss of bonus pay totaling about 50 million to 60 million Swiss francs ($55 million to $66 million).
The move comes after Swiss authorities scrambled in mid-March to cobble together a 3 billion Swiss franc ($3.25 billion) sale to UBS of Credit Suisse, which suffered surging outflows of deposits and a plunge in its share price.
This can go well if the principles of the USA here work but if it does not it can go wrong. Not much needs to be done if people are satisfied which still works nowadays. Seems Europe must have a situation to pull that stuff with mortgages.
^ In Central London, unless you have a rich partner, you literally need a CEO's salary to buy even a 1-bed flat.
The cost becomes slightly less insane around the outer boroughs, but is still far beyond the national average.
Looking at RightMove, there are maybe two or three properties I could afford in the whole of Greater London. And those are usually tiny, cramped flats in shitty areas. My only real option is one of the surrounding counties like Essex, and even then I'm looking at small or poor quality housing.
The state of housing in the UK, and the chronic shortage of new house-building to ease the balance of supply/demand, is a national scandal. For many young people, owning a house will be an impossible dream.
Fetterman returns to the Senate following treatment for clinical depression
Source: CNN Politics
CNN — Sen. John Fetterman has returned to the Senate after receiving treatment for clinical depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The Pennsylvania Democrat began inpatient treatment in February and was discharged at the end of March. “It’s great to be back,” he told reporters as he arrived at the Capitol Monday afternoon. He did not answer questions.
“I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works,” Fetterman said in a statement after his release. “This isn’t about politics — right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.” His office had said he would return to Washington, DC, when the Senate came back into session on April 17 following a two-week recess.
While Fetterman had dealt with “depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” his chief of staff said in February, announcing that the senator had decided to seek treatment.
Fetterman, a 53-year-old freshman senator who was elected in November of last year, suffered a stroke ahead of the the May 2022 Democratic Senate primary in Pennsylvania, which he went on to win.
Judge rules against Google, allows antitrust case to proceed
Source: AP
By MATTHEW BARAKAT an hour ago
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday rejected a motion from Google to toss out the government’s antitrust case against it.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled the lawsuit alleging Google wields monopolistic power in the world of online advertising can proceed in its entirety.
Her ruling is the second setback for Google at the federal court in Alexandria. Google had earlier tried to get the case consolidated with a similar lawsuit that’s been ongoing for several years in New York. But Brinkema ruled last month that the case can proceed in the Alexandria courthouse, which is known as the “Rocket Docket” for its reputation of adjudicating disputes swiftly.
The lawsuit alleges that Google holds a virtual monopoly in online advertising that works to the detriment of consumers. The complaint alleged that Google “corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising.”
Lauren Boebert hit with new campaign finance complaint for 'illegally spending $60,000'
Source: raw story
Sarah K. Burris May 4, 2023, 3:34 PM ET
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) .................
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The group alleges that Boebert spent tens of thousands of dollars on so-called "get out the vote" contact calls and texts.
The voter outreach efforts are considered in-kind independent expenditures, but that wasn't how she reported them, the group said.
"Boebert may have made an illegal in-kind contribution to herself that exceeds the $5,000 limit set by federal law, or spent money to influence another campaign without reporting it, as required by federal law," the report says citing the complaint.
"Congresswoman Boebert used her leadership PAC as a personal bank but, unfortunately for her, this practice is illegal under federal law," End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller told Newsweek...........................
