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The logo of Amazon is seen at the company's logistics centre in Boves, France, October 6, 2021 REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators said on Monday Amazon's (AMZN.O) $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot (IRBT.O) may squeeze out rival robot cleaners on its online marketplace. The EU competition enforcer said Amazon's online marketplace is an important channel for robot vacuum cleaners (RVCs) in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. "iRobot, which faces intense competition from other vacuum cleaner suppliers, offers practical and inventive products. We believe Amazon can offer a company like iRobot the resources to accelerate innovation and invest in critical features while lowering prices for consumers," the company said. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pascal, Foo Yun Chee, David Evans Organizations: Rights, Amazon, Big Tech, European Commission, EU, Commission, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Boves, France, Rights BRUSSELS, Germany, Italy, Spain

VA loan borrowers were given the option to put their mortgages in forbearance, meaning they could temporarily pause their mortgage payments. So on November 17, the VA announced a stopgap for distressed VA borrowers. Advertisement"This is good news for VA borrowers, especially those who may be struggling with their mortgage payments," says Christy Bunce, president of New American Funding. How to take advantage of the Refund Modification programDuring the pause, the VA is also offering its Refund Modification program. The VA says that borrowers struggling to make mortgage payments should visit the VA Housing Assistance website or call 877-827-3702 for help.

Persons: servicers, —, who's, it's, Christy Bunce, Bunce Organizations: Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, NPR, Veterans, New Locations: forbearance

☆ Fact Check: Fox News did not report Deutsche Bank filed Mar-a-Lago foreclosure in November
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Fox News did not report that Deutsche Bank filed a foreclosure notice on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, in November 2023. The post reads: “BREAKING FOX NEWS Deutsche Bank has filed a notice to foreclose on Mar A Lago. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. The account that first posted the claim describes itself as a parody account. A spokesperson for Fox News said that the claim is “fake.”This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Lago, Trump, “, ”, Read Organizations: Fox, Deutsche Bank, FOX, Trump, Facebook, Fox News, Reuters, Deutsche Bank's, Thomson Locations: Donald Trump’s Florida, Mar, New York

☆ Opinion: The unwelcome topic at this year’s Thanksgiving table
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Opinion Joan Steinau Lester | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —My wife and I were recently invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the home of a friend. Nearly everyone is confronted by intensely emotional conflicts, with the upheaval roiling workplaces, college campuses, schools and other places. Arguments over Israel are nothing new, but the rifts are deeper and more lacerating than I can ever remember. In one particularly painful and personal case, a dear friend and I have disagreed for decades about antisemitism and Israel. Love may find a way, if not to move mountains, at least to allow space for durable resolutions.

Persons: Joan Steinau Lester, CNN —, ” Joan Steinau Lester, Irene Young, ”, “, they’d, stiffly, “ I’m, recedes, Nelson Mandela, —, Martin Luther King, Jr, it’s Organizations: PEN, CNN Locations: Israel, Gaza, Israeli, South Africa

☆ Judge Puts Off Decision on Whether to Delay Trump Documents Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Alan Feuer | More About Alan Feuer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At a hearing last week in Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, Fla., Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Mr. Trump, signaled that she was ready to make some “reasonable adjustments” to the timing of the case. She expressed concern in particular that her trial in Florida might “collide” with Mr. Trump’s other federal trial, a Washington-based proceeding on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election that is set to begin in early March. That is only three days before Mr. Trump’s election subversion case is supposed to begin in Washington. Her ruling also did not foreclose the possibility that she might at some point in the future delay the trial until after the election — a move that would be a major victory for Mr. Trump. Were that to happen, and were Mr. Trump to win the race, he could have the case thrown out entirely simply by ordering his attorney general to drop the charges.

Persons: Judge Cannon, Trump, Cannon, —, Judge Cannon’s Organizations: Federal, Court, Mr Locations: Fort Pierce, Fla, Florida, Washington

☆ A woman is 'furious' and in 'shock' after her house was demolished by mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Polly Thompson | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

While on vacation, Susan Hodgson's neighbor called to say her house was being completely torn down. Hodgson says she's not even had an apology from the demolition company, which is investigating the incident. AdvertisementAdvertisementA woman is mulling the next steps after a company mistakenly demolished a home she owned in southwest Atlanta. Hodgson said a neighbor called while she was away and asked if someone had been hired to tear down the vacant house. When a person in charge at the site checked the permit, Hodgson said he admitted he was at the wrong address.

Persons: Susan Hodgson's, Hodgson, she's, —, Susan Hodgson, Everett Tripodis Organizations: Service, Associated Press, Atlanta -, Atlanta, WSB Locations: Atlanta

☆ Dua Lipa must face lawsuit claiming she copied 'Levitating'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File PhotoNEW YORK, Aug 8 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Manhattan said the British pop star Dua Lipa must face a lawsuit accusing her of copying her 2021 megahit "Levitating" from a 1979 disco song. The lawsuit, filed in March 2022, claimed that "Levitating" shared "compositional elements" with "Wiggle," most significantly by duplicating its opening melody. Defense lawyers argued that it was implausible to believe that Lipa, 27, heard "Wiggle" before writing "Levitating." Failla's opinion does not cover the plaintiffs' claim that "Levitating" copied another song, "Don Diablo," to which they owned a copyright. The case is Larball Publishing Co et al v Lipa et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Persons: Dua Lipa, Maja Smiejkowska, Katherine Polk Failla, L, Russell Brown, Sandy Linzer, Failla, Jason Brown, Don Diablo, Lipa, Bosko Kante, Jonathan Stempel, Leslie Adler Organizations: Dua, REUTERS, U.S, Warner Records, Larball, Court, Southern District of, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Manhattan, British, Lipa, Los Angeles, Florida, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of New York, New York

Bret: And yet there are some crimes that are so premeditated, hateful and cruel that I think society has to respond in the severest way possible. The country can get past a president who breaks the law in his private life, hides official documents and hides the evidence that he hides official documents. Bret: I thought the right remedy for Jan. 6 was political, via immediate impeachment and conviction, as I wrote at the time. Gail: All this drama keeps bringing me back to Mike Pence — and believe me, I never thought I’d be in a world where I wanted to be back with Mike Pence in any way, shape or form. But when the critical moment came, he followed through and declared the actual election winner the actual election winner.

Persons: Bret, Gail, Adolf Eichmann, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, Bowers, Trump, We’ve, he’s, Donald Trump, Mike Pence —, I’d, Mike Pence Organizations: Trump

☆ 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 ,

☆ An earthquake destroyed their California home days before Christmas. They still have to pay the mortgage
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake had just struck Rio Dell, California, upending homes and lives for the community of 3,400 people near Oregon. “It’s a gamble to not have it,” Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp said. A whopping 90% of homes in California aren’t covered by earthquake insurance, according to Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, a nonprofit quake insurer established by the state. Gavin Newsom proclaimed an emergency for Humboldt County, where Rio Dell is located, in part to help local governments access services. Despite seeing how costly earthquake damage can be, she doubts she’ll buy earthquake insurance for her next home.

Persons: CNN —, Jacqui McIntosh, Rio, McIntosh, ”, unlivable, “ It’s, Fred Greaves, “, Kyle Knopp, Glenn Pomeroy, ” Brian Ferguson, Knopp, ” Knopp, Randy Jensen, ” Jensen, Jensen, Jane Tyska, ” Pomeroy, that’s, Pomeroy, Gavin Newsom, Michelle Bushnell, Bushnell, it’s, Keith Porter, Kent Porter, Bolt, Porter, ” Porter, ‘, Alyssa Jorgensen, Jorgensen, didn’t, ” McIntosh Organizations: CNN, Dell, California Earthquake Authority, California Governor’s, Emergency Services, Mendocino Triple Junction, FEMA, Rio Dell, Reuters, Rio Dell Water, Media, East Bay Times, San, Small Business Administration, Institute, The Press Democrat, Mitigation, retrofits, Earthquake, California Earthquake Locations: Rio Dell , California, Oregon, Rio Dell, California, It’s, Mendocino, Cape Mendocino, Northern California, Montecito, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Rio, Humboldt County

☆ Republicans are staunchly opposed to student-loan forgiveness, but Democrats think it goes 'hand in hand' with creating high-paying jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Republicans and a few Democrats have voted to overturn Biden's student-loan forgiveness. Democrats defend Biden's student-loan forgiveness as part of a broader workforce development strategy to address the ongoing labor shortage and rebuild the middle class. "Student loan 'forgiveness' will benefit wealthy elites," Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted when Biden announced his student-loan forgiveness plan in August 2022. But Deluzio voted with all but two House Democrats to protect Biden's student-loan forgiveness. "Expansions of student debt forgiveness need to be matched dollar-for-dollar with investments in career & technical education.

Persons: it's, —, Biden's, Biden, he's, Jim Jordan, Joe Biden, Sen, Bill Cassidy, Jamaal Bowman, Bowman, Chris Deluzio, Deluzio, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington, Pell Grant Organizations: Service, Privacy, House Republicans, Biden's, Real America, Fox, Democratic Rep, York, Pennsylvania, Democrats, Pittsburgh Democrat, Republican, Brookings, New York Times, Institute Locations: Real, Ohio, Georgia, Philadelphia

☆ US agency closes investigation into Tesla game feature
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shortly after NHTSA opened its investigation into Tesla's "Passenger Play" in December 2021, Tesla agreed to stop allowing video games to be played on vehicle screens while its cars are moving. NHTSA said that a month after Tesla voluntarily disabled Passenger Play capability with an over-the-air software update it reported a 97% completion rate. NHTSA's investigation covered Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 that had the feature. NHTSA has an ongoing investigation into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with driver assistance system Autopilot and involving crashes with parked emergency vehicles. NHTSA said Tuesday in the Autopilot investigation it aims "to better understand human factors with respect to Tesla interfaces and the dynamic driving task."

Top of mind: inflation and the impact of a credit tightening Fed officials feel is still evolving in the wake of both higher interest rates and a financial sector rattled by the recent failure of three U.S. banks. "The case of avoiding a recession is in my view more likely than that of having a recession," Powell said. The shift in the Fed's approach was reflected in U.S. interest rate futures, which showed broad expectations for no hikes at either of the central bank's next two policy meetings. U.S. stocks initially held onto gains after the release of the Fed statement, but fell later in the afternoon and closed lower. "With the word 'determining' in place of 'anticipating,' (it) is essentially telling the markets that the Fed is now on pause."

☆ The biggest malls in America, from the troubled American Dream mall to Florida's alligator-shaped shopping center
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Palisades CenterDanni SantanaPalisades Center in West Nyack, New York, opened in March 1998. The four-level shopping mall has 225 stores and 16 sit-down restaurants inside. Palisades Center offers 2 million square feet of leasable store space and is owned by EklecCo NewCo LLC, a division of Pyramid Management Group. Mortgage lender Wilmington Trust is now looking to foreclose on Palisades after EklecCo failed to pay back a $418.5 million loan from 2016 in full, Patch reported last month. Wilmington Trust has filed suit against Pyramid asking the New York Supreme Court to have mall tenants pay rent to the firm directly until Palisades Center is put up for sale.

☆ 3 key things to know before opening a home equity line of credit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Westend61HELOC use rose as cash-out refis droppedLast year, as mortgage rates climbed higher, accessing home equity by taking cash against it during refinancing — a so-called cash-out refi — became less appealing. That compares with personal loan rates of above 10%, for consumers with high credit scores, and about 20% for credit cards, according to CreditCards.com. I would not use a HELOC to buy frivolous things or things you can't afford. "I would not use a HELOC to buy frivolous things or things you can't afford," said certified financial planner David Demming, president of Demming Financial Services in Aurora, Ohio. Here are three key things to consider before signing on the dotted line.

☆ Homeowners Struggle to Get Pandemic Aid Meant to Stop Foreclosures
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Ben Eisen | Photographs Julie Renée Jones For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Peter and Nancy Rosalez found out in November they were eligible for up to $25,000 in government money to keep from losing their house to foreclosure. But their mortgage company had gotten permission to foreclose on their Middletown, Ohio, home and was about to sell it. The money sat unused while an auction of the home went forward.

☆ Did the market already show its hand in the first week of 2023? What we've learned so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Recall that at the start of last year, the popular bet was for a smooth and painless rotation from expensive growth stocks to financials and cyclicals. It didn't last: The S & P financial sector trounced utilities by seven percentage points in just the first week of 2022. Yet the Nasdaq 100 's premium to the overall S & P 500 remains at 25% — higher than at any point in the decade before the Covid pandemic hit. And the broader tape, as measured by the equal-weighted S & P 500, continues to act better than the top-heavy headline index. This egalitarian basket, buyable via the Invesco S & P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) , is up 16% from the autumn low, is down less than 12% from its record high and has broken to a new cycle high against the traditional S & P 500.

Depending on the loan type, lenders can repossess collateral or get repayment through other options. In other words, failing to keep up your end of a loan agreement can eventually push your loan into default. Even a short reprieve might give you enough time to get back on track with your loan payments. Loan type Standard amount of time until loan considered default Standard amount of time until nonpayment reported to credit bureaus Student loan 270 days 90 days Auto loan 30 days 30 days Personal loan 30 days 30 days Mortgage 30 days 30 daysQuick tip: The specific timeline of defaulting on a loan can vary based on the lender. As your default period stretches out, you may also rack up thousands of dollars in unpaid interest.

☆ Video gamers sue Microsoft in US court to stop Activision takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Microsoft Corp was hit on Tuesday in US court with a private consumer lawsuit claiming the technology company’s $69 billion bid to purchase “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard Inc will unlawfully squelch competition in the video game industry. The private lawsuit also seeks an order blocking Microsoft from acquiring Activision. It was filed on behalf of 10 video game players in California, New Mexico and New Jersey. The proposed acquisition would give Microsoft “far-outsized market power in the video game industry,” the complaint alleged, “with the ability to foreclose rivals, limit output, reduce consumer choice, raise prices, and further inhibit competition.”A representative for Microsoft did not immediately comment on Tuesday. The FTC previously said it sued to stop “Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio.” The agency said the merger would harm competition among rival gaming platforms from Nintendo Co Ltd and Sony Group Corp.

☆ Video gamers sue Microsoft in U.S. court to stop Activision takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mike Scarcella | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was filed on behalf of 10 video game players in California, New Mexico and New Jersey. A Microsoft representative on Tuesday defended the deal, saying in a statement that it "will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers." After the FTC sued, Microsoft President Brad Smith said, "We have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court." Private plaintiffs can pursue antitrust claims in U.S. court, even while a related U.S. agency case is pending. The FTC previously said it sued to stop "Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio."

☆ Microsoft wants to create more competition among game publishers, CEO Satya Nadella says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella says the American tech giant wants to create more competition among game publishers, as it faces an anticompetition probe over its $69 billion offer to buy Activision Blizzard . Activision Blizzard, the American game publisher behind popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush, could boost Microsoft's mobile gaming presence where it is largely absent. Microsoft has largely been in the console and PC video game businesses, offering access to hundreds of games via their video game subscription services Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. What can Microsoft uniquely do for gamers and game publishers? When asked about the next step if the Activision Blizzard deal doesn't happen, Nadella said: "We have been in gaming for decades.

☆ EU antitrust regulators to probe Microsoft's $69 billion Activision bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Activision games "Call of Duty" are pictured in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 18, 2022. EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday opened a full-scale investigation into Microsoft's $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard, warning the deal may hurt competition. The U.S. software company, which announced the deal in January, is betting Activision's stable of games will help it compete better with leaders Tencent and Sony, with the latter being a critic of the deal. "The Commission's preliminary investigation shows that the transaction may significantly reduce competition on the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, including multigame subscription services and/or cloud game streaming services, and for PC operating systems," the European Commission said in a statement. "In particular, the Commission is concerned that, by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may foreclose access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC video games, especially to high-profile and highly successful games (so-called 'AAA' games) such as 'Call of Duty'," it said.

A home equity loan allows a homeowner with significant equity to borrow a large sum of money. A home equity loan is a fixed-rate loan that allows you to turn the equity in your home into cash. This ratio will include the amount of the home equity loan borrowers apply for.. On a home equity loan, lenders look for a DTI ratio of 43% or lower. To start the process of qualifying for a home equity loan, you may first want to estimate how much you can borrow on a home equity loan. Because you secure the loan with your home, you'll pay a lower interest rate on a home equity loan than you would on a personal loan.

☆ A blue-collar worker who retired early thanks to real estate investing bought his first rental property by taking out a home equity line of credit. Here's how HELOCs work and how they can be used to b
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A home equity line of credit lets you borrow against your home's most current appraised value. To fund his very first investment property — a $100,000 single-family home in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia — he took out a home equity line of credit (HELOC). How HELOCs workA home equity line of credit lets you borrow against your home's most current appraised value to access cash. Using a HELOC to build wealthAs previously mentioned, you can use HELOC money to finance anything. Bryce DeCora, a 30-year-old Washington-based real estate investor, took out a home equity line of credit to expand his property portfolio and ended up becoming an "Airbnb millionaire."

Mortgage interest rates are always changing, and there are a lot of factors that can sway your interest rate. Average mortgage interest rate by stateThe state where you're buying your home could influence your interest rate. Here's the average interest rate by loan type in each state according to data from S&P Global. A mortgage rate, also known as an interest rate, is the fee charged by your lender for loaning you money. In general, you can consider a good mortgage rate to be the average rate in your state or below.

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