Federal regulators opened their campaign to block Facebook parent Meta’s acquisition of a virtual-reality company Thursday in a San Jose, California, courtroom. In a landmark legal challenge to a Big Tech merger, the Federal Trade Commission has sued to prevent Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural, asserting it would hurt competition…
(Reuters) – The sale of a Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp oil-production joint venture in California has been pushed back to the first quarter of next year for U.S. regulatory approvals, the companies said on Thursday. German asset manager IKAV in September agreed to pay $4 billion for Aera Energy, a Shell-Exxon business that…
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Microsoft’s planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying it could suppress competitors to Microsoft’s Xbox game console and its growing games subscription business. The FTC’s challenge could be a test case for President Joe Biden’s mandate to scrutinize big tech mergers. The…
(Reuters) – A Canadian regulator said on Thursday it had rejected Telus Corp’s request to charge a processing fee on credit card payments made by customers for its telecom services in Alberta and British Columbia provinces. Canadian businesses, outside of Quebec, were allowed to pass on a fee for credit card transactions from Oct. 6,…
Two women who lost their jobs at Twitter when billionaire Elon Musk took over are suing the company in federal court, claiming that last month’s abrupt mass layoffs disproportionately affected female employees. The discrimination lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges over Musk’s decimation of Twitter’s workforce through mass layoffs and firings….
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it will roll out a TikTok-like feed on its e-commerce app, hoping to attract new shoppers through a stream of photos and videos from their favorite influencers. The move comes as shopping activity slows in response to an uncertain economy and decades-high inflation. The feature is also geared…
By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) – Turkey’s maritime authority said on Thursday it would continue to block the passage of oil tankers that don’t carry appropriate insurance letters, adding that insurance checks on ships in its waters were a “routine procedure”. The logjam is creating growing unease in oil and tanker markets and comes as…
By Mark Miller (Reuters) – Call the Social Security toll-free number for assistance these days, and this is the message you will hear: “We are experiencing service issues including poor call quality, dropped calls and long wait times. We apologize in advance if you encounter disruptions.” That pretty well sums up the state of customer…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tanita Hilliard made a wish the night a shooter livestreamed himself driving around Memphis, firing at people: “I hope it isn’t one of my babies.” She paused the video to study the young man. “I know that face,” she thought. She sent a screenshot to some former students. Is this him?…
(Reuters) – Apple supplier Foxconn’s founder-director Terry Gou had warned China that the government’s zero-COVID stance would threaten the position of the world’s second-largest economy in the global supply chain, the Wall Street Journal reported. The appeal, sent by Gou in a letter more than a month ago, played a major role in convincing China’s…
