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☆ Exclusive: U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns against draft EU plan to exclude non-EU cloud vendors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File PhotoBRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 12 other groups on Thursday warned the European Union against adopting rules that could exclude Amazon (AMZN.O), Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google, Microsoft (MSFT.O) and other non-EU cloud services providers from the European market. ENISA's draft dated May seen by Reuters sets out requirements for a certified cloud service provider (CSP) aimed at preventing and limiting interference from non-EU states with the operation of certified cloud services. "If other countries were to pursue similar policies, European cloud providers could see their own opportunities in non-EU markets dwindle," they said. Not all cloud services," a spokesperson said. The size of the global government cloud market is expected to reach $71.2 billion by 2027 from $27.6 billion in 2021, according to market research firm Imarc Group.

☆ Exclusive: Meta sought to settle EU antitrust investigations, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Facebook owner Meta (META.O) reached out to EU antitrust regulators some time back in an attempt to settle investigations into its use of customer data and the tying of its classified advertisements service to its social network, people with direct knowledge said. The EU competition enforcer and Meta declined to comment. The European Commission launched an investigation into Facebook in June last year, focusing on whether the social network unfairly use advertisers' data to compete with them in the online classified ads sector. A second investigation centres on whether Facebook ties its classified ads service Marketplace to its social network to give it an advantage in reaching customers and shut out rival online classified ad services. Settling an antitrust investigation allows a company to stave off possible fines up to 10% of its global turnover.

☆ World stocks in upbeat spirits, Fed's Powell in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, November 29, 2022. REUTERS/StaffLONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - World equity markets rallied on Wednesday and focus turned to Jerome Powell, who speaks later in the day in what will be the U.S. Federal Reserve chief's last opportunity to steer sentiment ahead of the Fed's December meeting. European stock markets rallied (.STOXX) and U.S. equity futures pointed to a firm start for Wall Street , . MSCI's broadest gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rallied more than 1% to its highest since September. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied more than 2% (.HSI), although Japan's blue-chip Nikkei fell 0.2% (.N225).

☆ Ukrainian grain exports via Poland rise by 50%, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Around 450,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain are being transported via Poland monthly, over 50% more than in the middle of the year, Poland's infrastructure minister said on Wednesday, as Warsaw helps its neighbour to increase its food exports. Ukraine is one of the world's leading grain and oilseed exporters and a Russian blockade of its ports after Moscow invaded the country in February drove a quest for alternative routes. After an almost six-month blockade, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. "Within the so-called solidarity lanes about 452 thousand tonnes of (Ukrainian) grains are currently transported through the territory of Poland, over 50% more than in the middle of the year," Andrzej Adamczyk said. "Compared to October last year, the increase in grain transport in the same period of 2022 is over 16 times," he added.

☆ Citi expects global growth to slow below 2% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - Citigroup on Wednesday forecast global growth to slow to below 2% next year, echoing similar projections by major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and J.P. Morgan. "We see global performance as likely (being) plagued by 'rolling' country-level recessions through the year ahead," said Citi strategists, led by Nathan Sheets. While the Wall-Street investment bank expects the U.S. economy to grow 1.9% this year, it is seen more than halving to 0.7% in 2023. For 2023, Citi projects UK and euro area to contract 1.5% and 0.4%, respectively. In China, the brokerage expects the government to soften its zero-COVID policy, which is seen driving a 5.6% growth in gross domestic product next year.

☆ Kronospan's remedies did not address concerns on Polish deal, EU's Vestager says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Austrian wood panel maker Kronospan failed to allay EU antitrust concerns over its bid for German wood maker Pfleiderer's Polish unit, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Wednesday after the companies scrapped the deal. The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation into the deal in April and had subsequently planned to veto it, a person familiar with the matter said. The EU competition enforcer said remedies offered by Kronospan failed to ease its concerns over the creation of a dominant player in the raw and melamine-coated particleboards markets in Poland and the Baltics. "As the remedies offered by Kronospan did not address our competition concerns, we could not clear the transaction. We take note of Kronospan's decision to abandon their deal," she said.

☆ Euro zone economic sentiment rebounds in Nov more than expected
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Euro zone economic sentiment rebounded in November slightly more than expected, data showed on Tuesday, rising for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February on more optimism among consumers and in services. The European Commission said its economic sentiment indicator rose to 93.7 in November from 92.7 in October, marginally beating consensus estimates in a Reuters poll of economists of a rise to 93.5. Sentiment in industry deteriorated to -2.0 from -1.2 in October, far worse than the -0.5 expected by markets, while sentiment in services improved more than expected to 2.3 from 2.1 last month. Consumers were strongly more optimistic with the indicator up to -23.9 against -27.5 in October. Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Foo Yun CheeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Microsoft likely to offer EU concessions soon in Activision deal - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. The U.S. software giant and Xbox maker announced the deal in January to help it compete better with leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T). Microsoft's remedy would consist mainly of a 10-year licensing deal to Playstation owner Sony, another person with direct knowledge said. The EU competition watchdog, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by April 11, declined to comment. We want people to have more access to games, not less," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

☆ Exclusive: Microsoft likely to offer EU concessions soon in Activision deal -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. The U.S. software giant and Xbox maker announced the deal in January to help it compete better with leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T). The deadline for the European Commission, which is investigating the deal, to set out a formal list of competition concerns known as a statement of objection is in January. Microsoft's remedy would consist mainly of a 10-year licensing deal to Playstation owner Sony, another person with direct knowledge said. The EU competition watchdog, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by April 11, and Sony declined to comment.

☆ Societe Generale's car leasing unit ALD wins EU nod for LeasePlan buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators cleared with conditions French car leasing company ALD's (ALDA.PA) bid for Dutch rival LeasePlan on Friday after the Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) unit agreed to divest some businesses across Europe to address competition concerns. ALD announced the 4.9-billion-euro ($5.1 billion) deal in January, which would give it ownership of the biggest electric vehicle fleet in Europe. The European Commission said ALD agreed to sell its operational leasing businesses in Ireland, Norway, Portugal and LeasePlan's businesses in the Czech Republic, Finland and Luxembourg to address competition worries. It will also provide access to tech services and its used car sales platform for up to 2 years. "These commitments remove the overlaps existing between ALD and LeasePlan's activities in the national markets for operational leasing where the Commission had identified competition concerns," the EU competition watchdog said in a statement.

☆ Amazon settlement with EU antitrust regulators possible by year end -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. online retail giant Amazon (AMZN.O) may be able to end two EU antitrust investigations by the end of the year after tweaking concessions to address concerns over its use of sellers' data, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Settling the EU investigations means the company will avoid a fine of as much as 10% of its global turnover. "It is possible an EU decision will come by the end of the year," the person said. It has offered to set up a second buy box for a rival product if it differs substantially in price and delivery from the product in the first box. Bloomberg was the first to report the possibility of an EU decision by the end of the year.

☆ Exclusive: EU antitrust regulators seeking more details on Microsoft in Slack case - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are seeking more information on Microsoft's (MSFT.O) practices from rivals and other companies in a case triggered by Salesforce.com's (CRM.N) workspace messaging app Slack, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The European Commission last month sent out another batch of questionnaires, a strong sign that the European Union's competition enforcer is preparing the ground for opening a formal investigation, the people said. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: EU antitrust regulators ramp up Microsoft scrutiny, probe likely - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) is likely to face an EU antitrust investigation as regulators intensify their scrutiny into its practices in a case triggered by Salesforce.com's (CRM.N) workspace messaging app Slack, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Last year, Slack complained to the European Commission, saying that Microsoft has unfairly integrated its workplace chat and video app Teams into its Office product. Microsoft introduced Teams in 2017, seeking a slice of the fast-growing and lucrative workplace collaboration market. Slack urged the EU competition enforcer to order the U.S. software giant to separate Teams from the Office Suit and sell it separately at fair commercial prices. The Commission and Microsoft, which has been fined 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) for cases involving so-called tying and other practices in the previous decade, declined to comment.

☆ Twitter job cuts a concern as new EU rules kick in, EU justice head says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reynders, who met with Twitter representatives at the social media platform's European headquarters in Dublin, sought clarifications from the company, a European Commission official told Reuters. "Twitter representatives reaffirmed the commitment of the company to ensure full compliance with EU rules. Commissioner Reynders took note of it and asked Twitter to translate this commitment into concrete measures," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Twitter has fired top executives and enforced steep job cuts with little warning following billionaire Elon Musk's tumultuous takeover of the company last month. Twitter's last two Brussels-based employees are no longer with the company, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

REUTERS/Yves HermanSummary Attack followed EU declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorismBRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The European Parliament's website was unavailable for several hours on Wednesday due to a denial-of-service attack by "Pro-Kremlin" hackers, after its lawmakers designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, the institute's president said. The parliament's website was up again shortly after 1700 GMT, around two hours after the institution had reported the outage. "The European Parliament is under a sophisticated cyberattack. A pro-Kremlin group has claimed responsibility," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in a tweet shortly after the website went down. The move is largely symbolic, as the European Union does not have a legal framework in place to back it up.

☆ EU countries back billion-euro chip plan ahead of talks with lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

EU envoys unanimously backed an amended version of the European Commission's proposal, the Czech Republic which holds the rotating EU presidency said. European Union ministers will meet on Dec. 1 to rubber stamp the chip plan that will still need to be debated with the European Parliament next year before it can become law. Europe's share of chip production stands at 8%, down from 24% in 2000. EU countries also sought to curb the powers of the Commission, the EU executive, saying its requests to companies for information during a crisis must be proportionate and security-focused, an EU document seen by Reuters showed. The Commission had earmarked money from research programmes and unspent funds from other schemes, drawing criticism from some EU countries that this could unfairly benefit countries that already have chip facilities or are set to attract chipmakers.

☆ Exclusive: Vivendi-Lagardere deal faces full-scale EU antitrust probe - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Media group Vivendi's (VIV.PA) proposed acquisition of rival Lagardere is likely to face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation, people close to the matter said on Tuesday. The proposed deal would combine France's two biggest publishing groups, Lagardere's Hachette and Vivendi's Editis, and has come in for criticism from rivals including renowned peer Gallimard. The European Commission is expected to launch an in-depth investigation after finishing its preliminary review of the deal on Nov. 30, the sources said. The EU competition enforcer and Vivendi declined to comment. The mass media holding company already owns 57% of Lagardere after a bid for all of the group's shares.

☆ Broadcom seeks EU antitrust approval for $61 bln VMware buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) is seeking European Union antitrust approval for its $61 billion bid for cloud computing company VMware (VMW.N), Broadcom said on Tuesday in a statement. "We are confident that this deal does not present any competition issues and look forward to working with the European Commission throughout this process", the company said. The EU competition watchdog will decide by Dec. 20 whether to clear the deal. Announced in May, the deal is the second biggest globally so far this year and marks Broadcom's attempt to diversify its business into enterprise software. (This story has been corrected to fix EU decision date to Dec. 20 from Nov. 20)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MEXICO CITY, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Bank of Mexico hiked its key interest rate by 75 basis points to a record 10.00% on Thursday, in line with forecasts and following in the footsteps of the U.S. Federal Reserve's recent three-quarters of a percentage point increase. In a departure from recent decisions, the bank's five board members did not vote unanimously for the increase, with Deputy Governor Gerardo Esquivel voting to hike the key rate by 50 basis points. The bank has raised its target rate by 600 basis points since June 2021, as inflation has blown past Banxico's target rate of 3%, plus or minus one percentage point. Inflation in Mexico slowed in October, official data on Wednesday showed, reaching an annual headline rate of 8.41%, down from the 8.7% annual rate the prior month. Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Christian Plumb and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU antitrust regulators about to charge Meta, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are drawing up charges against Facebook parent Meta (META.O) over its use of customer data and the tying of its classified advertisements service to its social network, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named. The European Commission, which can impose fines up to 10% of a company's global turnover for antitrust violations and Meta declined to comment. The Commission began an investigation into the social network company in June last year. In recent months, the Commission has asked Meta rivals to remove confidential information from their submissions to the regulator. Typically, that is the precursor to the Commission sending companies under investigation a statement of objections detailing what it sees as anti-competitive practices.

☆ EXCLUSIVE EU countries, lawmakers likely to clinch deal next week on satellite internet system, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - EU countries and European Parliament lawmakers are likely to reach a deal on a 6-billion-euro ($6 billion) satellite internet system next week, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, driven by the bloc's push to cut its dependency on foreign companies and the Ukraine war. The European Commission announced the initiative to build and operate a satellite internet system in February, part of EU industry chief Thierry Breton's campaign for strategic autonomy. Officials from EU countries and EU lawmakers will meet on Nov. 17 in what is expected to be the last meeting to thrash out final details, the people said. The proposed satellite internet system could lead to the construction and launch of up to 170 low orbit satellites between 2025 and 2027. The companies active in this area include Elon Musk's SpaceX, Amazon's (AMZN.O) Kuiper Systems and British satellite company OneWeb.

☆ Microsoft faces new EU antitrust complaint on cloud computing practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) faces a new antitrust complaint over its cloud computing practices as trade group CISPE, whose members include Amazon (AMZN.O), took its grievance to European Union antitrust regulators on Wednesday. CISPE has alleged that Microsoft's new contractual terms imposed on Oct. 1 together with other practices are irreparably damaging the European cloud computing ecosystem. Amazon is the market leader in the cloud computing sector, followed by Microsoft and Alphabet unit Google . Rivals Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Alibaba (9988.HK) and Microsoft's own cloud services however are excluded from the changes. The Commission could also add another provision to newly adopted tech rules, known as the Digital Markets Act, prohibiting cloud computing gatekeepers from favouring their software applications, CISPE said.

☆ EU wants broader rules on companies' market power, focus on tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - EU regulators want broader rules defining companies' market power, with more weight given to innovation and pointers on what digital markets are, the European Commission said on Tuesday, prompted in part by the growing power of tech giants. The rules, known as the EU market definition notice, date back to 1997 and help regulators measure a company's pricing power in a merger or its power to shut out rivals in an antitrust case. Businesses and academics have in recent years criticised EU antitrust laws for being inadequate, especially in relation to U.S. tech giants' merger deals and market power. Following feedback from more than 100 stakeholders, the EU executive proposed some additions to the rules. There will be need for principles clarifying how markets should be assessed where companies compete on innovation, including through pipeline products.

☆ Blow for EU crackdown on tax deals as Fiat wins appeal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] New Fiat Panda and Fiat 500 mild-hybrid cars are seen in piazza Maggiore, in Bologna, Italy, February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoLUXEMBOURG, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday won its fight against an EU order to pay 30 million euros ($30 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg, dealing a major setback to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's crackdown on sweetheart deals between EU countries and multinationals. In her 2015 decision, Vestager said Luxembourg had granted Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis (STLA.MI), an unfair tax advantage by endorsing artificial and complex methods that artificially lowered the company's taxes. Judges faulted the EU competition watchdog for its analysis of the reference system used to determine whether Luxembourg had given a selective advantage to Fiat. Vestager's high profile cases include her record 13-billion-euro tax order for Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon's (AMZN.O) Luxembourg deal.

☆ Microsoft's $69 bln Activision bid faces EU antitrust probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The preliminary investigation suggests that Microsoft may have the ability, as well as a potential economic incentive, to engage in foreclosure strategies vis-à-vis Microsoft's rival distributors of console video games," it added. Microsoft said it would work with the EU antitrust watchdog to address valid marketplace concerns. The EU competition enforcer said it would decide by March 23, 2023 whether to clear or block the deal. Reuters reported on Oct. 31 that Microsoft would face an extensive EU probe after declining to offer remedies during the preliminary EU review of the deal. Britain's antitrust watchdog is also investigating the acquisition, with similar concerns to its EU peer.

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