UK’s competition boss: We do not want a hostile environment for tech

LONDON (Reuters) – The head of Britain’s anti-trust regulator said it was not seeking to create a “hostile environment” for tech companies with its decision to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which operates independently from government, caused shockwaves in April when it said the deal could…

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Cryptoverse: Every frog has its day as pepe pops 7,000%

(Our weekly analysis of the wild world of cryptocurrencies) By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Medha Singh (Reuters) – Move over dogecoin? “Memecoins” – a hyper-speculative, ultra-volatile and somewhat peculiar class of crypto – are back in the spotlight after the latest digital token hit the market with stratospheric gains. Pepe, a coin inspired by an…

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Factbox-Amgen-Horizon deal joins mega mergers facing regulatory heat

(Reuters) – A U.S. antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it will sue to stop Amgen’s $27.8 billion deal for Horizon Therapeutics Plc, as it would give Amgen “monopoly positions” in treatments for thyroid eye disease and chronic refractory gout. Here is a list of some mergers that recently faced strong antitrust scrutiny around the world:…

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Writers’ strike injects uncertainty into upfront ad-selling ritual

By Dawn Chmielewski, Helen Coster and Sheila Dang NEW YORK (Reuters) – An animated appearance by Ted, the foul-mouthed teddy bear from the movie of the same name, a gaggle of “Real Housewives” and a NBC News political correspondent appeared at NBCUniversal’s annual ad-selling “upfront” presentation, as a writers’ strike prompted high-wattage acting talent to…

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US charges former Apple engineer with attempt to steal self-driving car tech

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that it had charged a former Apple Inc engineer with attempting to steal the firm’s technology related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars. The engineer, whom Justice Department officials named as Weibao Wang, 35, in 2017 accepted a U.S.-based job with a Chinese company working…

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U.S. forms team to set strategy on flying air taxis

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration said Tuesday it has formed an interagency team to develop a national strategy relating to advanced air mobility efforts such as flying taxis. Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) have been touted as the future of urban air mobility. Low-altitude urban air mobility aircraft has drawn…

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Two online brokerages to remove China apps as Beijing data crackdown widens

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Online brokerages Futu Holdings Ltd and UP Fintech Holding Ltd will remove apps in mainland China amid Beijing’s sharpened focus on data security and capital outflows, triggering a heavy selloff in their New York-listed shares. Chinese regulators had warned the two firms as early as 2021 that online brokerages not licensed in…

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Asian hedge funds piled to China education, U.S. AI shares in Q1

By Summer Zhen HONG KONG (Reuters) – Large Asian hedge funds added Chinese education companies to their portfolios in the first quarter of 2023, and bought stocks in U.S. tech giants expected to benefit from ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence systems, regulatory filings showed. Investors poured money into private tutoring leaders, including New Oriental and…

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