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☆ AI Regulation Is Here. Almost.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Breakup of Google Ad-Tech Business Now on Table in Europe, Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sam Schechner | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Mercedes Teams Up With Green Steelmaker to Slash Emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( William Boston | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ AI, China to Dominate U.S.-Europe Talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Microsoft’s $75 Billion Activision Blizzard Deal Gets EU Approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A U.K. antitrust regulator rejected Microsoft’s $75 billion deal to buy gaming company Activision Blizzard on Wednesday. The deal is also being scrutinized by the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated PressBRUSSELS—The European Union’s antitrust watchdog approved Microsoft ’s planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard , giving the two companies a win after the deal hit a regulatory roadblock in the U.K. The decision comes weeks after the U.K. regulator rejected the agreement, saying it would crimp competition in the country’s gaming market. Monday’s approval in Brussels won’t have any direct legal bearing on that process, and antitrust lawyers say Microsoft faces long odds in overturning the British decision.

Nuclear projects are getting a boost of investment as countries try to tackle an energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine, while also pursuing emissions targets. WSJ looks at how startups say their alternative designs can help solve past issues. Photo illustration: Eve HartleyNuclear power in the West is having a long-awaited revival, with new reactors opening in the U.S. and Europe and fresh momentum toward building more soon. A gaping hole in the plan: The West doesn’t have enough nuclear fuel—and lacks the capacity to swiftly ramp up production. Even more vexing, the biggest source of critical ingredients is Russia and its state monopoly, Rosatom , which is implicated in supporting the war in Ukraine.

☆ Microsoft, Activision Decision Shows Tech Companies Face New Scrutiny From Regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated PressBRUSSELS—The U.K. decision to block Microsoft Corp.’s plan to buy videogame producer Activision Blizzard Inc. is the latest sign of how global regulators are toughening their approach to market-dominating tech companies. The Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K.’s antitrust watchdog, said Wednesday that it was prohibiting the deal because commitments Microsoft had proposed didn’t go far enough in addressing its concerns. Microsoft said it would appeal the decision.

☆ Microsoft’s $75 Billion Deal for Activision Blizzard Rejected By U.K.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Microsoft’s $75 Billion Deal for Activision Blizzard in Peril
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated PressThe U.K.’s antitrust watchdog rejected Microsoft Corp.’s $75 billion deal to buy game maker Activision Blizzard Inc., raising a high hurdle in the software giant’s attempt to win global approval of the deal. The Competition and Markets Authority’s ruling, issued Wednesday, said Microsoft had failed to convince it that undertakings it had proposed since announcing the deal would sufficiently ease the regulator’s competition worries. The CMA has said the deal poses a competition threat to the U.K.’s gaming industry and has been reviewing it for months.

☆ Microsoft’s $75 Billion Deal for Activision Blizzard Rejected by U.K.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An image released by Activision Blizzard shows a scene from the ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ videogame. Photo: ActivisionThe U.K.’s antitrust watchdog rejected Microsoft Corp.’s $75 billion deal to buy game maker Activision Blizzard Inc., raising a high hurdle in the software giant’s attempt to win global approval of the deal. The Competition and Markets Authority’s ruling, issued Wednesday, said Microsoft had failed to convince it that undertakings it had proposed since announcing the deal would sufficiently ease the regulator’s competition worries. The CMA has said the deal poses a competition threat to the U.K.’s gaming industry and has been reviewing it for months.

☆ Microsoft’s $75 Billion Deal for Activision Blizzard Is in Peril
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated PressThe U.K.’s antitrust watchdog rejected Microsoft Corp.’s $75 billion deal to buy game maker Activision Blizzard Inc., raising big questions about whether the combination will ever get done and disrupting both companies’ short-term strategies. The Competition and Markets Authority’s ruling, issued Wednesday, said Microsoft had failed to convince the agency that actions the companies had proposed since announcing the deal would sufficiently ease the regulator’s competition worries. The CMA has said the deal poses a competition threat to the U.K.’s videogame industry and has been reviewing the transaction for months.

☆ Foreign-Subsidy Reporting Rules Could Have a Chilling Effect on EU Investment, Say Industry Groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Proposed new EU rules could mean that many multinational companies will have to track a range of interactions with foreign governments. BRUSSELS—Industry groups representing major multinational companies are urging changes to the European Union’s new rules for reporting foreign subsidies, saying they could effect investment in the bloc. Thirteen business associations said in a joint statement published Tuesday that they support the EU’s efforts to deal with distortive foreign subsidies. But they said multinational companies may not be able to comply with the rules as they were drafted because of the need for many of them to create “elaborate internal compliance mechanisms” that don’t currently exist.

☆ China Wants to Be at Center of New World Order, Top EU Official Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Laurence Norman | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says Beijing’s actions over the war in Ukraine will be a determining factor for EU-China ties. BRUSSELS—China is seeking a new international order with Beijing as the dominant player, and the European Union must be more assertive in defending its security and economic interests, including possible EU-wide controls on outbound investment, the bloc’s top official said Thursday. In a speech Thursday ahead of her trip to China alongside French President Emmanuel Macron , set to take place next week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU must continue engaging with Beijing but needs a strategy for “de-risking” its relationship and dependencies on China.

☆ Intel, Raytheon, Other Big Companies Push Back on EU Subsidy Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The new European Union foreign-subsidy rules are set to take effect later this year. BRUSSELS—Multinational companies including Intel Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. are warning that new European Union rules for reporting foreign subsidies are so onerous they could disrupt mergers and acquisitions and impede public tendering. In a letter sent last week to the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, the companies said the commission “severely underestimates” the work required to comply. While the companies said they support the overall aim of the new rules, they said their implementation “will result in an extremely complex administrative ordeal.”

☆ Multinationals Slam New EU Foreign-Subsidy Law’s Reporting Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Microsoft-Activision Deal Gets Lift as U.K. Regulators Narrow Competition Probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A billboard for the Activision videogame ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ in Times Square, New York City. Microsoft Corp. moved closer to winning approval for its planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. in the U.K. The country’s antitrust watchdog said Friday that it had narrowed the focus of its probe into the proposed acquisition to the nascent cloud-gaming market, removing previous concerns that the deal could lessen competition in the established and much larger console-gaming market.

☆ ‘Greenwashing’ Targeted in Latest European Regulatory Push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Scrutiny over environmental labeling in the EU is increasing. BRUSSELS—European officials rolled out proposals aimed at forcing companies to back up environmental and sustainability claims they make over consumer products with scientific evidence, part of a broad regulatory push that—like similar efforts in technology—could set precedents for corporate rules elsewhere. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, on Wednesday proposed legislation targeting what critics have broadly defined as “greenwashing.” The rules target eco-friendly labeling, such as assertions that a product was made from recycled material or with neutral carbon emissions.

☆ Microsoft Signs Third ‘Call of Duty’ Deal as It Seeks Approval to Buy Activision Blizzard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

An image released by Activision Blizzard shows a scene from ‘Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.’BRUSSELS— Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said the company reached a deal with cloud gaming company Boosteroid on distributing “Call of Duty” videogames and expects more agreements to follow as the software giant pushes to convince regulators to approve its planned $75 billion acquisition of the videogame franchise’s owner, Activision Blizzard Inc.Microsoft said Boosteroid is the largest independent cloud-streaming company, with about four million users globally, including in the European Union, the U.K. and the U.S. The 10-year agreement would allow its customers to stream Activision games including ‘‘Call of Duty” if the acquisition goes through, Microsoft said. It is the third such pact Microsoft has signed. It previously reached similar deals with console maker Nintendo Co. and chip maker Nvidia Corp.

☆ U.S., EU Try to Defuse Subsidies Dispute to Focus on Russia and China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Andrew Duehren | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Friday as the U.S. and Europe try to move beyond a spat over subsidies for clean-energy technology and preserve a trans-Atlantic relationship that had strengthened following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since Congress passed the climate and healthcare law called the Inflation Reduction Act last year, European officials have loudly complained about provisions that they fear disadvantage their own industries. They have taken aim at U.S. subsidies for electric vehicles that impose new requirements on the source of the materials used in the vehicles, as well as a wider range of tax incentives that officials believe could draw investment out of Europe and into the U.S.

☆ EU Draft Law Sets Out Moves to Secure Supply of Critical Energy Transition Materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

According to draft legislation seen by The Wall Street Journal, the Critical Raw Materials Act aims to set standards and promote policy designed to ensure Europe has the metals and minerals it deems necessary for its energy transition and defense and energy security. The Critical Raw Materials Act will also make it easier to mine and process the materials within the bloc; establish a European Critical Minerals Board; identify strategic projects to mine, process and recycle the materials; and work to ensure those projects have quick permitting and sufficient funding. The purchasing system would negotiate with global sellers but will be structured to comply with EU competition law. Other countries such as Japan have put in place similar plans to secure raw materials. Raw materials projects could also be labeled as being in the public interest or as strategic, which could further streamline funding.

☆ EU Draft Law Sets Out Moves to Secure Critical Energy Transition Materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

According to draft legislation seen by The Wall Street Journal, the Critical Raw Materials Act aims to set standards and promote policy designed to ensure Europe has the metals and minerals it deems necessary for its energy transition and defense and energy security. The Critical Raw Materials Act will also make it easier to mine and process the materials within the bloc; establish a European Critical Minerals Board; identify strategic projects to mine, process and recycle the materials; and work to ensure those projects have quick permitting and sufficient funding. It also said the EU should be able to extract 10% and process 40% of its strategic raw material needs while also expanding recycling capacity so that 15% of consumption can come from secondary sources by 2030. Other countries such as Japan have put in place similar plans to secure raw materials. Raw materials projects could also be labeled as being in the public interest or as strategic, which could further streamline funding.

☆ Europe to Target ‘Big Fish’ Companies in New Foreign-Subsidy Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said the European Commission would attempt to keep red tape to a minimum. BRUSSELS—The European Union will aim to minimize the burden on companies to comply with tough new rules for reporting foreign subsidies, the bloc’s competition chief said, focusing instead on what she referred to as the “big fish” that distort the European market. The new foreign-subsidy rules, set to take effect later this year, could allow the EU to bar companies from making certain acquisitions or winning large public contracts if they previously received government aid that regulators consider to be distortive.

☆ Germany, Italy Signal They Could Block EU Combustion-Engine Ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Kim Mackrael | William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The auto industry employs 3.4 million people in the European Union. A group of large European Union countries is threatening to block a plan by Brussels to effectively ban the internal combustion engine, endangering the bloc’s ambitious agenda to combat climate change. Germany and Italy said this week they could block the plan’s formal approval at crucial meetings this week and next. Berlin said it would oppose the plan unless Brussels agrees to allow so-called synthetic fuels that can burn like gasoline and diesel but spew fewer climate-damaging emissions alongside fully electric vehicles.

☆ Apple Faces Revised Charges Over Music Streaming From EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An Apple Store in Sydney. The company said it was pleased the commission had narrowed its case. The European Union sent a revised charge sheet to Apple Inc., narrowing the scope of its allegations that the company abused its position in the market for distributing music-streaming apps. The European Commission, the bloc’s antitrust watchdog, said Tuesday its concerns now focus on contractual restrictions that Apple imposed on app developers, which the commission said prevented them from informing iPhone and iPad users about other ways to subscribe to music-streaming services.

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