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☆ EU accepts Amazon commitments in antitrust agreement affecting data and sellers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The agreement includes several multi-year concessions offered by Amazon, including a commitment not to use third-party sellers’ data to benefit Amazon’s own marketplace listings, a practice that policymakers around the world have claimed is anticompetitive. As part of the deal, Amazon said it will treat all sellers on its platform equally when determining which seller to give top placement on Amazon product listings, and also agreed to several commitments linked to sellers’ terms under Amazon Prime. Those commitments will last for seven years, while the restrictions on Amazon’s use of seller data will last for five years. “Today’s decision sets new rules for how Amazon operates its business in Europe,” said EU Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager in a release. They cover the use of data, the selection of sellers in the Buy Box and the conditions of access to the Amazon Prime Program.

☆ Microsoft Prepares to Go to Battle With FTC Over Activision Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Microsoft Corp. has signaled it plans to challenge the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block its $75 billion deal for Activision Blizzard Inc., and is expected to argue that it is an underdog in videogame developing. The personal-computing company has been publicizing its position for months, saying the acquisition wouldn’t threaten competition in the industry because Microsoft trails rivals in videogame consoles and has a limited presence in mobile-game development. The company has also said it expects the industry to get more competitive in the future with the rise of cloud gaming.

☆ European Union threatens sanctions over Twitter's ban of journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Elon Musk’s decision to suddenly ban prominent tech journalists from Twitter is fanning a fierce backlash in Europe. Germany warned of the impact on press freedom, while a senior EU official said Twitter must comply with the bloc’s rules or face possible sanctions. “The EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. European leaders previously said they were watching how Musk’s takeover of Twitter would affect the platform. Thierry Breton, a top EU official, warned Musk in late November that the social media platform must take significant steps to comply with the bloc’s content moderation laws.

☆ Fact Check-Inaccuracies in claims Florida, Kentucky and Missouri all require drug testing for welfare recipients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Users on social media have claimed that welfare applicants in Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri require drug testing, which is partly false. A 2011 Florida law that was passed to drug test all welfare recipients was struck down as unconstitutional in 2014. Thank you Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri, which are the first states that will require drug testing when applying for welfare.” (here). FLORIDAIn 2011, Florida passed a law that would drug test all welfare recipients of the federal program known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (here). A Missouri bill was passed in 2011 to allow for applicants for welfare benefits to be drug tested.

☆ Iran ousted from U.N. women's rights commission amid crackdown and executions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Dan De Luce | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Abigail-Williams-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Eight members voted against the resolution and 16 abstained. “The commission is the premier U.N. body for promoting gender equality and empowering women,” she said. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, during a meeting to remove his country from membership in the Commission on the Status of Women on Wednesday. Yuki Iwamura / AFP - Getty ImagesIran, which ranks 143rd among 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's global gender gap index, was voted onto the commission by secret ballot. The vote to oust Iran from the commission came days after the country carried out a second known execution of a prisoner detained and convicted amid the nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

☆ EU angst over “Buy American” reopens old wounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The European Commission is the main gatekeeper on state aid, which the EU limits to protect fair competition in the single market. Von der Leyen’s plan might let it decide which champions are deserving in the first place. The free spending has sparked concerns of a handout war with other European countries, particularly given the EU’s recent focus on fiscal discipline. Von der Leyen wants to create a central pot of money to provide catch-up funds to smaller countries. Relaxing EU state aid rules fairly won’t be easy, and Europe will need a clearer industrial policy beyond handing out cash.

CNN —United Nations member states have removed Iran from a key UN women’s rights group just months after it joined. The Commission is the premier UN body for promoting gender equality and empowering women. Iran condemned the US resolution, calling it an “illegal request” and said it weakens the rule of law in the United Nations. Iran had only just begun its four-year term on the 45-member Commission on the Status of Women – which was created to advocate for gender equality globally – after being elected to the body in April. Reacting to news of Iran’s removal from the body, Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch said it was a “welcome step,” but remained a “far cry” from true accountability.

☆ EU Delays Labeling Lithium Toxic as Concerns From EV Industry Mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Last week, the European Commission was set to give a final ruling on whether lithium, a crucial battery input, should be classified as a toxic substance. Europe’s nascent battery companies are warning that investors may be drawn away from the continent to the U.S. where the IRA has created strong incentives to establish supply chains in the country. So far, within the European battery industry, Sweden’s Northvolt AB has been one of the few victories for the EU. She said the EU should “simplify and adapt” its rules that limit state funding to make it easier for public investments. For those looking to establish European battery production, the EU’s position on electric vehicles remains confusing.

☆ Battle Between FTC and Microsoft Turns on Future of Cloud Gaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | Aaron Tilley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gaming in the cloud is a small part of the current videogame market, but it is a key piece of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block Microsoft Corp.’s purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. Cloud gaming is an emerging technology that allows people to stream videogames to nearly any internet-connected device, similar to how movies and shows are viewed on Netflix , Hulu and other streaming platforms.

☆ Found Norway shipwreck could be up to 700 years old
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Resting at the bottom of Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway, a shipwreck from hundreds of years ago is in almost perfect condition, frozen in time. The lake is a source of drinking water for about 100,000 people in Norway, according to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, so the munitions posed health risks. Since the shipwreck was found in the middle of the lake, Ødegård believed the ship had gone down in bad weather. It’s most likely that the ship used square-shaped sails, he added, that proved to be difficult to navigate for seafarers caught in extremely windy conditions. The nearly 2,200-year-old shipwreck was relatively well preserved for being thousands of years old.

☆ UN agency says Israel is delaying new visas for its staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Jerusalem CNN —A United Nations agency that operates in the West Bank and Gaza says Israel is not processing visas for its newly recruited staff, while Israeli officials accuse the agency of “ignoring Israeli victims of terror” in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, a charge the agency denies. The UN considers East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be occupied territory, and Israelis living there to be living in illegal settlements. Erdan said when OCHA is asked why they don’t count Israeli victims, they are told the agency does not have reliable data. “Of course you don’t, you don’t employ Hebrew speakers, and the senior manager of the agency is Palestinian,” Erdan said. OCHA’s latest report does record some instances of Israelis being injured by stones thrown at civilian vehicles traveling in the West Bank.

☆ FTC’s Tussle With Microsoft Puts Spotlight on Cloud Gaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | Aaron Tilley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ FTC’s Move to Block Microsoft’s Deal for Activision Blizzard Came Despite Charm Offensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Microsoft Corp. had been working for close to a year to calm regulators’ concerns about its acquisition of videogame developer Activision Blizzard Inc., but the Federal Trade Commission’s suit to block the deal raised doubts about the company’s pledge not to shut out rivals. The FTC this week took one of its biggest swings ever against a big technology company and sued to stop the planned $75 billion acquisition, setting the stage for a court challenge over a deal the antitrust agency said would harm competition.

☆ Microsoft Faces Tougher Path to Closing Activision Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shares of Activision fell a day after the FTC sued Microsoft to block its planned acquisition of the ‘Call of Duty’ publisher. The Federal Trade Commission’s suit to block Microsoft Corp.’s $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. puts the software giant in regulators’ crosshairs and leaves Activision in limbo. Microsoft, after earlier offering concessions to regulators, is prepared to defend its purchase of the “Call of Duty” publisher in court, Microsoft vice chairman and president, Brad Smith , said Thursday. Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said the regulatory environment is focused on ideology and misconceptions.

☆ EU gets another reason for a gas cap U-turn
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Commission’s gas cap has taken some withering friendly fire. The European Central Bank has slammed the proposal for threatening financial stability and putting the central bank in an untenable position, in an opinion published on Thursday. The gas cap, put forward under intense political pressure, has exposed divisions among European Union member states. Instead of crafting a workable compromise, the Commission plan seems to have achieved the impressive feat of being both unusable and a danger to financial stability. Ahead of next week’s European leaders’ summit, the smart move is to scrap it.

☆ SpaceX's moon mission gets 8 more crew members
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The mission, called Dear Moon, was first announced in 2018. Dear Moon still advertises that its mission will take off in 2023, though SpaceX’s new rocket and spacecraft system, known as Starship, has yet to conduct its first orbital test flight. The Dear Moon mission crew includes (clockwise from top left): Tim Dodd, Yemi A.D., Choi Seung Hyun, Steve Aoki, Rhiannon Adam, Karim Iliya, Miyu (backup), Dev Joshi, Yusaku Maezawa, Brendan Hall and Kaitlyn Farrington (backup). Since the Dear Moon mission was first announced, Maezawa made his first journey to space, taking a self-funded, 12-day journey to the International Space Station. If early test flights of Starship are successful and the Dear Moon mission gets off the ground, Maezawa’s crew could be the first group of private citizens to venture beyond low-Earth orbit.

☆ FTX Hires Forensic Team to Probe Money Trail
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FTX’s new management has hired a team of forensic investigators from advisory firm AlixPartners to help track the billions of dollars that have gone missing from the failed cryptocurrency exchange, people familiar with the matter said. The AlixPartners team is led by Matt Jacques, a former chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Jacques didn’t respond to a request for comment. AlixPartners...

☆ Deutsche bank, Rabobank hit with EU antitrust charge over bond cartel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People are silhouetted next to the Deutsche Bank's logo prior to the bank's annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachBRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Rabobank (RABO.UL) were charged by EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday of taking part in a government bond cartel, the latest move against a sector which has racked up millions of euros in fines for various competition violations. Deutsche Bank said it does not expect any sanction, suggesting that it may have alerted the cartel to the authorities. "Deutsche Bank has proactively cooperated with the European Commission in this matter and as a result has been granted conditional immunity. In accordance with the European Commission’s guidelines, Deutsche Bank does not expect a financial penalty," the German lender said.

☆ AT&T to Pay $6.25 Million to Settle Claims It Tipped Off Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged moves that led to a lowered consensus sales estimate for AT&T, which the telecom company beat. AT&T Inc. will pay $6.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by regulators that alleged it gave nonpublic financial information to analysts who then lowered their estimates, allowing the company to beat sales expectations. The telecom company agreed to pay the fine and settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s litigation without admitting or denying wrongdoing, according to a court filing. Three AT&T investor-relations executives each agreed to pay $25,000 individually to end the lawsuit, records show.

☆ Exclusive: Horse racing-U.S. Senator McConnell pushing for legislative fix to safety law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Rory Carroll | Thomson Reuters | Los Angeles-Based Sports Reporter Who Interviews The Most Impactful Athletes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a legislative fix to a law designed to make horse racing safer after an appeals court last month ruled it unconstitutional, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters. The changes to the law, which would provide greater federal oversight of the board charged with writing and implementing safety rules, would be included in a full-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, which could pass later this month. But the law was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which said there was insufficient government oversight of the new authority in a case brought by various horse racing associations and some states. Opponents argue that HISA would replace states' regulatory structures and allow new fees to be imposed on the industry. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The United States and European Union established the council in June last year as a forum for discussing new technology and trade. “With the Inflation Reduction Act being informally discussed only over a 45-minute lunch, the commissioner has decided not to participate,” the aide added. The Inflation Reduction Act has become an acute source of tension between the allies. The European Union and United States share the biggest “bilateral trade and investment relationship” in the world, according to the European Commission’s website. Transatlantic trade hit a record €1.2 trillion ($1.26 trillion) in 2021, the Commission said.

☆ FTX Collapse Draws Senate Hearing Scrutiny as Crypto Oversight in Focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Senators with a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies are due to question the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s chairman about the failure of the digital-asset exchange FTX and on legislation that would give that agency more power over the volatile market. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam is scheduled to testify at Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The panel’s chairwoman, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), and its ranking member, Sen. John Boozman (R., Ark. ), introduced a bill that would regulate trading in bitcoin, ether and some other cryptocurrencies through the commission. Giving the CFTC, a relatively small agency, authority to police trading in the most valuable crypto assets would mark a substantial expansion of its authority.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoNEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A congressional grilling on cryptocurrency answered a lot of questions, but far more about the ignorance on Capitol Hill than digital currencies. More bizarrely, Roger Marshall, also a Republican, suggested a “pause in this cryptocurrency digital world” while Congress gets its “arms around it,” a process he said could take years. Marshall also referenced central bank digital currencies, but those will fall under the U.S. Federal Reserve’s purview if the central bank approves such a project. Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, however, and Congress has failed to craft relevant laws to oversee crypto. The hearing was the first of several planned to examine FTX’s bankruptcy, cryptocurrency regulation, and agency jurisdiction over digital assets.

☆ UK banks’ Big Bang thankfully looks like big flop
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, the mooted changes would probably only benefit middling lenders like Santander UK, Virgin Money (VMUK.L) and Banco Sabadell’s (SABE.MC) TSB Bank, according to the FT. And on Wednesday, the BoE’s supervisory body said it planned largely to stick to international bank-capital rules, dubbed Basel 3.1. But the big flop might not be such a bad thing for the country’s financial sector. Separately, the government’s City minister Andrew Griffith said on Nov. 29 that he wanted to relax the so-called ringfencing regime that forces large British lenders to separate their retail and investment banking arms. According to the Financial Times, the ringfencing regime would still apply to the biggest UK banks but there could be exemptions for lenders with limited trading operations including Santander UK, Virgin Money and TSB Bank.

☆ Sentencing Elizabeth Holmes to 11-plus years for Theranos fraud was way too much
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Andrey Spektor | Andrey Spektor Is A Litigation Partner At Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | A Former Federal Prosecutor In New York. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

A federal judge sentenced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to 11 years and 3 months in prison Friday — too harsh a punishment considering the crime and the defendant. Anyone who claims Holmes received more or less than what she was “supposed to get” does not understand federal sentencing. Federal sentencing can seem arbitrary, but at bottom, it requires a humane and common sense result: Defendants must not be punished more than is absolutely necessary. Most people who are first exposed to federal sentencing — including lawyers — are bewildered by its unpredictability. Anyone who claims Holmes received more or less than what she was “supposed to get” does not understand federal sentencing.

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