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☆ Facebook owner Meta Platforms seeks to stop privacy breach fine in Norway
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowOSLO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) will ask a court in Norway on Tuesday to stop a fine the country's data regulator has imposed on the owner of Facebook and Instagram for breaching users' privacy, in a case that could have wider European implications. Since Aug. 14, Meta Platforms has been fined 1 million crowns ($94,313) per day for harvesting users' data and using it to target advertising at them, called behavioural advertising, a business model common to Big Tech. Meta Platforms is asking for a temporary injunction against the order, which imposes a daily fine through to Nov. 3. Datatilsynet could make the fine permanent by referring its decision to the European Data Protection Board, which has the power to do so, if it agrees with the Norwegian regulator's decision.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, Tobias Judin, Datatilsynet, Gwladys Fouche, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Facebook, Big Tech, European Union, European Economic, EEA, Reuters . Regulator, Meta, Reuters, European Data Protection, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Norway, Norwegian, Europe, Oslo

☆ Meta to seek user consent for targeted ads in the EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

EU flag and Meta logo are seen in this illustration taken, May 22, 2023. Meta said the change is to address a number of evolving regulatory requirements in the region and stems from an order in January by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, Meta's lead EU regulator, to reassess the legal basis on how it targets ads. Once this change is in place, advertisers will still be able to run personalised advertising campaigns to reach potential customers and grow their businesses. Meta added that it would share further information on how the process will work in practice over the coming months following further engagement with regulators. A spokesperson for Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, which is the lead privacy regulator for many of the world's largest technology companies within the EU, said it had received correspondence from Meta on the matter.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Meta, Meta's, Padraic Halpin, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters Connect DUBLIN, European Union, Facebook, Ireland's Data, Data, Meta, Thomson Locations: Switzerland

☆ Americans are flocking to Spain and buying pricey homes. New 'digital nomad visas' could make it even more popular.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The number of Americans living and buying real estate in Spain has jumped in the last few years. Americans are also buying some of the most expensive property in the country. A "digital nomad visa" launched this year could encourage even more Americans to move to Spain. CNBC reported that the General Council of Notaries in Spain found the number of Americans living in Spain increased by 13% between 2019 and 2021. The number of homes sold to Americans in Spain surged 88% between the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2022.

Persons: Nadia Calviño Organizations: Service, CNBC, General, Danes, Economic Locations: Spain, Wall, Silicon, Navarre, Basque, Madrid, Valencia, Spanish

☆ Binance's European banking partner Paysafe to withdraw support
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - Binance's European banking partner Paysafe Payment Solutions said on Thursday it will cease offering its embedded wallet solution to the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange across the European Economic Area (EEA) from Sept. 25. "Paysafe and Binance are now working to mutually implement an orderly and fair process to terminate this service over the next few months," Paysafe said in a email to Reuters. Binance will be changing the provider for euro deposits and withdrawals through the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), while the current partner — Paysafe — will no longer be providing these services to Binance users, CoinDesk reported on Wednesday. Binance typically accesses SEPA via payment intermediaries. Binance tied up with Paysafe last year to allow its users to deposit sterling via Faster Payments, a network that oversees payments and bank account transfers in Britain.

Persons: Paysafe, — Paysafe, CoinDesk, Binance, Rishabh, Rahat Sandhu, Yana Gaur, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Jason Neely Organizations: European Economic, Reuters, U.S, Securities and Exchange Commission, Thomson Locations: Britain, Bengaluru

☆ Binance ordered to stop all digital currency services in Belgium
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Sudip Kar-Gupta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - Belgium's FSMA regulator on Friday ordered Binance to cease offering any virtual currency services in the country, adding to pressure on the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. "Binance is offering and providing exchange services in Belgium between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area," the FSMA said. "The FSMA has therefore ordered Binance to cease, with immediate effect, offering or providing any and all such services in Belgium," it added in a statement. Earlier this month, Binance and Binance.US entered an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure U.S. customer assets remain in the United States until a sweeping lawsuit filed this month by the SEC is resolved. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance.US, Sudip Kar, Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith Organizations: European Economic, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Shanghai, Belgium, United States, France

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Global trade remained in the doldrums during the second quarter as China’s post-lockdown rebound proved slower than expected and was offset by continued weakness in North America and Europe. Chartbook: Global container tradeChina’s freight movements have rebounded as the country emerged from lockdowns and the exit wave of the epidemic, though not as fast as anticipated at the start of the year. At Japan’s Narita airport, international air cargo was down 25% in the first five months of 2023 compared with a year ago. The most optimistic interpretation is that freight volumes have stabilised, after declining sharply in the second half of 2022, but there is no sign yet of a recovery outside China. Related columns:- Global freight cycle may have reached lowest point (May 25, 2023)- Global freight shows signs of bottoming out (April 27, 2023)- Global freight slump deepens at the start of 2023 (March 21, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: John Kemp, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Global, of, European Union, Ministry of Transport, Traffic, Association of American Railroads, American Trucking Association, Thomson, Reuters Locations: North America, Europe, Netherlands, China, Asia, United States, Japan, United Kingdom, lockdowns, Singapore, East Asia, Los Angeles, Long Beach , Oakland, Houston, Charleston, Savannah, Virginia, Seattle, New York, U.S, Narita, Heathrow

☆ France makes high-profile push to be the A.I. hub of Europe setting up challenge to U.S., China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Macron told CNBC France will "invest like crazy" into A.I. "I think we are number one [in AI] in continental Europe, and we have to accelerate," French President Emmanuel Macron told CNBC's Karen Tso last week. watch nowWhile the U.S is seen as the leader in AI by many measures, France hopes to catch up. Underscoring the potential and hype of AI developments, four-week-old French startup Mistral AI raised 105 million euros to fund the company. I think we need a global regulation," Macron said.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Nathan Laine, Karen Tso, OpenAI's, Bruno Le Maire, Jean, Noel Barrot, Paris, Anton Dahbura, Rishi Sunak, Dahbura, … Organizations: Viva Tech, CNBC France, Bloomberg, Getty, PARIS —, French Finance, Digital, CNBC, European Union, Johns Hopkins Institute, Autonomy, Microsoft, OpenAI, Nvidia, Global, EU, Organisation for Economic Co Locations: A.I, PARIS — France, Europe, China, U.S, France, Germany, Britain

HAMBURG, June 11 (Reuters) - BioNTech (22UAy.DE) will go to court on Monday to defend itself against a lawsuit from a German woman who is seeking damages for alleged side effects of its COVID-19 vaccine, the first of potentially hundreds of cases in the country. The plaintiff claims she suffered upper-body pain, swollen extremities, fatigue and sleeping disorder due to the vaccine. Tobias Ulbrich, a lawyer at Rogert & Ulbrich, told Reuters he aimed to challenge in court the assessment made by European Union regulators and German vaccine assessment bodies that the BioNTech shot has a positive risk-benefit profile. Almost 768 million vaccine doses have been administered in the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Rogert & Ulbrich says it has filed about 250 cases for clients seeking damages for alleged side-effects of COVID-19 vaccines.

Persons: Tobias Ulbrich, Caesar, Preller, Ludwig Burger, Patricia Weiss, Emilio Parodi, Natalie Grover, Sam Tobin, Josephine Mason, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, European Union, Pfizer, European Medicines Agency, EMA, Economic, BioNTech, United, Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Hamburg, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, United States, Italy, Milan, London

☆ Portugal just launched a 'government-funded' 4-day workweek trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Portugal is the latest country to experiment with a four-day workweek, and businesses are getting an assist from the government. Businesses say they want to see if a shortened workweek will help reduce employee stress and burnout, and in turn improve worker retention. Researchers also hope to track the economic, social and environmental implications of a four-day business week in Portugal. Although no country has fully adopted a four-day workweek, trials have run in South Africa, Belgium, Iceland, Japan and elsewhere. Check out: Congressman wants to make 32-hour workweek U.S. law to ‘increase the happiness of humankind’

Persons: Kelly Evans Organizations: Employers, OECD, University of London, University of Reading, Borders Service, European Union, European, Area Locations: Portugal, Portuguese, United Kingdom, Ireland, U.S, South Africa, Belgium, Iceland, Japan

☆ This under-the-radar real estate stock could be a winner of the A.I. boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The boom in artificial intelligence should create a big winner in one of the economic areas investors are most worried about, according to Jefferies. Analyst Jonathan Petersen said in a Tuesday note to clients that Digital Realty Trust, a real estate company focused on housing data centers, will gain pricing power because of the extra demand for computing power created by AI. Digital Realty is part of the broader commercial real estate sector, which many investors are trying to avoid with higher rates and signs the economy is slowing. "DLR's stock is up +14% since NVDA 's earnings release, but the stock only trades at a 15.6x [adjusted funds from operations] multiple. Jefferies has a buy rating and a price target of $129 per share for Digital Realty, or about 28% above where the stock closed Tuesday.

Persons: Jonathan Petersen, Jefferies, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Jefferies, Digital Realty Trust, Digital Realty Locations: Petersen

☆ Shifting to life post-Covid: How remote work transformed this city in the Midwest
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Michigan Avenue in Lansing, Michigan. said Cathleen Edgerly, executive director of Downtown Lansing, Inc., a nonprofit working on the culture and sustainability of the downtown. Lansing had the largest share of job listings in March with at least one day of remote work of any city, according to WFH Map. And an analysis by Bloomberg found remote work has cost Manhattan more than $12 billion annually. Lansing, Michigan, USA at the Michigan State Capitol during the evening.

☆ Google to open up UK in-app payments to satisfy regulator's concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator said proposals from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google to give app developers the freedom to break away from Google Play's billing system looked to be sufficient to address its concerns about in-app payments. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in June that Google's complete control over in-app payments unfairly restricted developers by forcing them to use Google Play's billing system, reducing competition and hurting users. "Under the commitments, developers will be able to add an alternative in-app billing system, alongside Google Play's billing system, for their mobile and tablet users in the UK," Google said in a blog post. "At checkout, users will be able to choose which billing system to use." The CMA invited comments on Google's proposals by May 19 before it makes a final judgment.

NEW DELHI/LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Global fuel suppliers are turning to longer and costlier routes that produce more carbon emissions to move their diesel and other products as Western restrictions on Russian cargoes have reshuffled global energy shipping patterns. The ban comes on top of a halt late last year on Russian crude sales into the bloc as well as Western price caps. Also in March, Russian clean products shipped to Togo reached 973 million MT-NM, up from zero in November. Conversely, Russian exports to the Netherlands dropped to 238,200 tonnes in February from 1.15 million tonnes in September. Those longer distances are being done at higher costs for Russian products than for typical shipments from Europe.

☆ Italy moves to ban lab-grown meat in drive to protect home products
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It does not apply to products made or sold elsewhere in the European Union, in Turkey or in the European Economic Area (EEA). The nationalist administration of Giorgia Meloni has pledged to shield Italy's food from technological innovations seen as harmful, and renamed the agriculture ministry the "ministry for agriculture and food sovereignty". Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, one of Meloni's closest allies, says laboratory products endanger the traditional link between agriculture and food. The ban on "cell-based" meat is not the only initiative the right-wing government in Rome has put in place to block non-conventional food from being served on Italian tables. Agricultural lobby Coldiretti on Tuesday praised the government's move against "synthetic food", saying the ban was needed to safeguard home production "from the attacks of multinational companies".

☆ China's State Council shakeup aims to counter rising US tech restrictions and financial risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“These proposed institutional changes reflect key focus areas of Chinese policymakers in the next few years, namely improving financial regulation coordination to enhance financial stability,” Goldman Sachs analysts said on Wednesday. Among the changes announced Tuesday during the annual gathering of the National People’s Congress, Beijing will set up a new powerful financial regulator: the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA). VCG/Getty ImagesA super regulatorChina’s financial system has traditionally been jointly overseen by the People’s Bank of China, the CBIRC and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The new regulator is meant to “better manage risks” in the financial system and strengthen the supervision of “institutions, behaviors, and functions,” the government proposal said. The move comes as risks to the stability of China’s financial system are rising amid a housing market slump and economic slowdown.

☆ 'Digital nomads' can now live in Spain with their families — if they earn enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The so-called "digital nomad" visa is open to a wide variety of remote workers and has already attracted considerable interest. U.S. Google searches for "digital nomad visa Spain" spiked by 66% in late January, according to digital marketing specialists Semrush. Fernando Angulo (pictured here in Colombia) said he's lived in many countries as a "digital nomad," including Russia, Argentina and India. Source: Zach BoyetteZach Boyette, co-founder of the digital marketing agency Galactic Fed, called Spain's digital nomad visa a "game changer." Boyette, a longtime digital nomad, said the visa allows digital nomads to "spend a longer time in Europe," he said.

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) will need to secure European Union antitrust approval for its $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma even though the deal falls short of the EU turnover threshold for a review, EU regulators said on Wednesday. The move by the European Commission underlines regulators' worries on Big Tech acquiring smaller innovative rivals and the impact on competition. Photoshop maker Adobe had originally sought approval from antitrust agencies in Austria and Germany for the deal. Austria subsequently referred the case to the Commission, prompting the other EU countries to join in. "We look forward to working constructively with the European Commission to address its questions and bring the review to a timely close," a spokesperson for San Francisco, California-based Figma said.

☆ Lithuania may tax windfall bank profits, boost defence spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura speaks with Lithuania's Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste at the European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2022. "This is a critical situation, we are in an environment of high rates, so unexpected profits are appearing," central bank Governor Gediminas Simkus told a news conference. "The war in Ukraine and countries' reactions to it led to the high liquidity and high rates. The invasion also leads to more defence spending, so if we tax the windfall, the income would be used for defence", Skaiste told reporters. The neighbour of Russia had so far budgeted 2023 defence spending at 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion), or 2.52% of its gross domestic product.

☆ Morning Bid: 'Soft landing' or 'no landing'?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee kicks off its two-day policymaking meeting, the economic news from around the world brightened considerably. China's economic activity swung back to growth in January after three months of contraction, according to official business surveys released on Tuesday. The euro zone economy confounded forecasts for a quarterly contraction of gross domestic product in the final three months of 2022. Eurostat estimated GDP in the bloc rose 0.1% in Q4 despite consensus expectations for a fall of 0.1%. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Recession is likely to bump inflation out of the driver's seat for the economy — so investors should brace for uncertainty, Mohamed El-Erian says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Recession is likely to replace inflation as the driver of the economy in 2023, Mohamed El-Erian said. The global economy and investment portfolios would face a bigger range of potential outcomes, he said. The top economist warned US inflation will stay stubborn at around 4% because the Fed acted too late. "In this new year, recession, actual and feared, has joined inflation in the driver seat of the global economy and is likely to displace it," El-Erian said in a Financial Times opinion column Monday. "They should keep an open mind, if only to avoid repeating the mistake of prematurely dismissing inflation as transitory," he added.

☆ Japan warns of China's COVID situation, cuts view on factory output
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The economic report from the Cabinet Office comes as Japan, the world's third-largest economy, wrestles with sluggish global growth and high import costs that have weighed on its exports and manufacturing activity. "If China's infection situation impacts on supply chains or trades, it could also impact on Japan's economy as we've seen earlier this year," a Cabinet Office official said. Meanwhile, Tokyo upgraded its view on business sentiment for the first time in a year to say it was showing signs of recovery. In other key economic areas, the Cabinet Office left its view on private consumption unchanged saying it was moderately picking up. The report reiterated that the government expects the Bank of Japan to achieve its 2% price target stably based on the economy, prices and financial situation.

☆ UK's post-Brexit settlement scheme for EU citizens unlawful, London court rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Small toy figures are seen in front of UK and European Union displayed flags in this illustration picture, October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationSummary Judge says government interpretation was "wrong in law"IMA citizens' rights body welcomes rulingBritish government to appealDec 21 (Reuters) - The British government's post-Brexit settlement scheme for EU citizens is unlawful, London's High Court ruled on Wednesday. He argued this aspect of the EU settlement scheme – and a similar scheme for citizens from the countries of the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association – was "straightforwardly incompatible with the withdrawal agreement". Judge Peter Lane ruled the British government's interpretation of the withdrawal agreement was "wrong in law" and the settlement scheme was unlawful. "The EU settlement scheme goes above and beyond our obligations under the withdrawal agreement, protecting EU citizens' rights and giving them a route to settlement in the UK.

☆ Amazon avoids multibillion-dollar fine as it reaches EU antitrust settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, announced Tuesday that Amazon had made a series of commitments to address allegations that the company was using independent sellers' data to its advantage. In November 2020, the Commission issued Amazon a statement of objections over its "systematic" use of non-public business data from independent sellers to benefit its own retail business. One of the commitments was to stop using non-public data on independent sellers for its retail business or for selling branded goods and private label products. In Italy, Amazon has agreed separate legal remedies with the country's competition regulator relating to the buy box and Prime. "With these new rules, competing independent retailers, carriers and European customers will have more opportunities and choice."

☆ 'Every breath you take': Air pollution stifles Europe's health targets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Juliette Portala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Air pollution is still the largest environmental health risk in Europe," the EEA said. "While emissions of key air pollutants and their concentrations in ambient air have fallen significantly over the past two decades in Europe, air quality remains poor in many areas." Air pollution aggravates respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, with heart disease and stroke cited as the most common causes of related early deaths. "Further efforts will be needed to meet the zero pollution vision for 2050 of reducing air pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health," the EEA said. The European Commission proposed in October to set stricter thresholds for air pollution but also to enhance the right of citizens to clean air.

☆ China will not decouple from West, Airbus CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) Chief Executive Guillaume Faury believes China and the West will reduce their mutual dependency in the long term but there is no question of them breaking off trade ties, he told Handelsblatt. "I think a break-up of economic areas is unthinkable," he told the business daily. Airbus has a market share of 50% in China with its own production, according to Handelsblatt. "From my point of view, the exchange is intense but good," he said of relations between the French and German governments, recently strained over energy policy. Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Maria SheahanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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