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☆ Diddy now has a 3rd chance to seek bail, this time from the same judge overseeing Ticketmaster antitrust lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new US district judge was announced Thursday in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex-trafficking case. Judge Arun Subramanian is now in charge of Combs' case and a potential third bid for bail. Subramanian is the same Manhattan federal judge overseeing the DOJ's Ticketmaster antitrust action. AdvertisementA new federal judge has been assigned to the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex-trafficking case, and it's the same judge currently overseeing the Department of Justice antitrust case against Ticketmaster. US District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., turned Combs down on his second court appearance.

Persons: Sean, Diddy, Combs, Arun Subramanian, Subramanian, —, Andrew L, Carter , Jr, Anthony Ricco, Ricco Organizations: Ticketmaster, Service, Department of Justice, US, DOJ Locations: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Miami

☆ Intel shares plunge 28%, dragging down global chip stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | Arjun Kharpal Is A Senior Correspondent For Cnbc In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Global semiconductor stocks fell Friday after a lackluster set of results from U.S. chip firm Intel sent its shares cratering, and a global market sell-off weighed on some of the biggest names in the tech sector. A number of major U.S. chip names also dropped on Friday in U.S. premarket trade, with Nvidia trading around 4% lower. The DOJ is looking at complaints that the chip giant allegedly abused its market dominance in artificial intelligence chips, The Information reported. Adding to the pressure on chip stocks is a global equity sell-off that began in the U.S. and has fed its way through to Asia and Europe. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF, which includes major names in the sector, closed roughly 6.5% lower in the U.S. on Thursday.

Persons: ”, prem Organizations: Intel, Nvidia, U.S . Department of, DOJ, NVIDIA, CNBC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung, SK Hynix, midafternoon, Infineon, AMD, Qualcomm, Nasdaq, VanEck Semiconductor Locations: U.S, Asia, Taiwan, South Korea, TSMC, Europe, Netherlands

☆ FTC chair defends track record on antitrust challenges, says big isn't categorically bad
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Congress, when passing the antitrust statutes, was setting out a policy preference, in many cases, for competition over monopoly," Khan said. "Any given year, the antitrust agencies get anywhere between 1,500 to 3,000 merger filings. Of that number, 98% go through without even any second questions being asked by the agencies," Khan said. Khan also defended the agency's record in court when it comes to merger cases. That's in part because the Supreme Court hasn't taken up merger cases as frequently in recent decades, meaning "that older law is still good law."

Persons: Lina Khan, Khan, Neil Bradley, hasn't, FTCs Organizations: Energy, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Trade, Economic, of New, FTC, Department of Justice, Division, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, CNBC, YouTube, Big Tech Locations: Rayburn, of New York

☆ FTC and DOJ lay out new rules for merger review to reflect a digital economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced on Wednesday new long-awaited guidelines on how they will enforce merger law. Almost two years ago, the FTC voted to withdraw the previous version of the vertical merger guidelines released in 2020, citing flaws. A vertical merger is a transaction between two businesses that are often in different parts of the supply chain in an industry, according to the FTC. Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard is an example of a vertical merger, because Microsoft distributes games through its Xbox consoles and streaming services, while Activision creates the games. On the call with reporters, the FTC official and a senior DOJ official said the guidelines reflect their updated approach to enforcing merger law, emphasizing the law itself has not changed.

Persons: Antitrust Jonathan Kanter, Lina Khan, Microsoft's, Jonathan Kanter, they're Organizations: Antitrust, Federal Trade, American Bar Association Antitrust, Marriott Marquis, Washington , D.C, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice Antitrust, FTC, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Activision, Big Tech, DOJ, Facebook, Democratic, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Washington ,

☆ California Democrat who opposed anti-tech bills is top contender for key role on antitrust subcommittee
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A California lawmaker who has opposed efforts to crack down on the tech industry is the leading contender to become the highest ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust. One senior Democratic aide described the prospect of Correa becoming ranking member as a "great windfall for the tech companies." Several senior members of the subcommittee who support tech antitrust reform would have seemed more likely candidates for the top Democratic seat not long ago. But the field is complicated by the fact that many of them already have ranking member positions on other subcommittees they may not wish to give up. WATCH: Here's why some experts are calling for a breakup of Big Tech after the House antitrust report

Persons: Lou Correa, David Cicilline, Cicilline, Correa, Correa's, Thomas Massie, Ken Buck, Buck, Joe Neguse, Mary Gay Scanlon, Pramila Jayapal, They're Organizations: Rep, Apple, Google, Facebook, Democratic, Colo, Big Tech, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Democrats, CNBC, Chamber of Commerce, FTC, Meta, Progress Education Fund, Economic Security, Future, House Judiciary, White Locations: California, Southern California, Ky, U.S, House

☆ Misclassifying employees as gig workers creates 'a race to the bottom' for businesses, Biden's top labor and antitrust regulators say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Businesses have an incentive to misclassify workers as contractors to undermine their competitors, according to the DOJ Antitrust Division. It's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to those called "gig workers" — freelancers, contractors, on-call workers, and temp agency workers, who for decades have increasingly replaced full-time employees as independent contractors. Not so for gig workers. In 2018, 20% of workers were contract workers, and 65% of part-time workers and over half of contract workers went without benefits, according to NPR. "Our goals are the same," Abruzzo said, as NLRB and DOJ Antitrust want to end "misclassification and employment structures that cause vertical constraints on competition."

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Friday denied Google's motion to dismiss a Department of Justice antitrust case focused on advertising technology. "I'm going to deny the defendant's motion to dismiss," Judge Leonie Brinkema said in a federal court in Virginia. It also said that the government's estimate of Google's ad exchange as having "more than 50%" of the market fell short of the 70% needed to allege market power. Google's motion is the company's latest effort to end costly, time-consuming antitrust lawsuits. It also asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss claims in a 2020 lawsuit filed by the government.

☆ Swiss antitrust agency names four firms in fragrance cartel probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( John Stonestreet | Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -The Swiss antitrust agency on Wednesday named four companies it is investigating for forming an alleged fragrance cartel that is also the target of U.S. and other European watchdogs. Slideshow ( 2 images )They are Switzerland’s Givaudan, domestic rival Firmenich, which is merging with Dutch chemicals group DSM, U.S.-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc and Germany’s Symrise, Swiss competition commission COMCO said. News of the probe into the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients broke on Tuesday, when Givaudan confirmed it was being investigated. A Symrise spokesperson confirmed the group was part of the investigation and that it would cooperate with authorities. Givaudan’s shares dropped 2.7% and DSM lost 2.8%, while U.S.-listed International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) was down 2.9% at Tuesday’s close.

☆ Swiss antitrust agency names four firms in fragrances cartel probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Swiss flavours and fragrances maker Givaudan is seen at its innovation center in Kemptthal, Switzerland January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannZURICH, March 8 (Reuters) - Swiss antitrust authorities on Wednesday named four companies targeted in an international investigation into an alleged fragrances cartel. They are Switzerland's Givaudan SA (GIVN.S), U.S.-headquartered Firmenich International, U.S.-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF.N) and Germany's Symrise AG (SY1G.DE), Swiss competition commission COMCO said. News of the probe into the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients broke on Tuesday, when fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan confirmed it was being targeted. A Symrise spokesperson confirmed the group was part of the investigation and would cooperate with authorities.

☆ Heavyweight tech battle: How Microsoft and Alphabet stack up against each other in the A.I. war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"It's a new day in search," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Tuesday during an AI event held at the company's headquarters, saying that the "race starts today." So far, Microsoft is making significant headway within AI and rising in popularity in the tech world. Alphabet, he added, "got beaten to market by Microsoft" despite its investments in the space. Alphabet Microsoft may be taking the lead on AI in the near term, but investors shouldn't sleep on Alphabet just yet. "We believe GOOGL has the AI tech and scale to maintain/grow its leading user base," said Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak in a Thursday note.

☆ Alphabet finally got the message that investors have had it with wild spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Alphabet (GOOGL) reported weaker-than-anticipated fourth-quarter results Thursday evening as a combination of foreign exchange headwinds and a slowdown in ad spending continued to plague the company. Bottom line This wasn't a great showing from Alphabet, but management's call with investors reassured us about the path ahead. The team said it will continue to invest in growth and the future — something we appreciate as long-term investors. While the effort to slow operating expense growth is underway, the team said the impact will become more visible in 2024. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

[1/2] The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. The complaint filed Tuesday in a Virginia federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division attempts to compel Google to sell part of its advertising technology unit. The suit mirrors allegations in another antitrust case brought against Google in New York federal court by a Texas-led coalition of 17 states in 2020. In the states' case, a New York federal judge in September rejected Google’s bid to dismiss it entirely. Google also faces two largely parallel antitrust lawsuits by states and the federal government alleging unlawful dominance in online searching.

☆ TikTok banned on government devices under spending bill passed by Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The bill includes an exception for law enforcement, national security and research purposes. TikTok has repeatedly said its U.S. user data is not based in China, though those assurances have done little to alleviate concern. While it fell short of antitrust advocates' hopes, the inclusion of the merger filing fee bill still gained praise. Miller said the bill will "significantly strengthen antitrust law for the first time since 1976." Empowering state AGs in antitrust casesAnother antitrust bill included in the package was a version of the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act.

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