IT infrastructure
1. No merger scrutiny of Microsoft’s hiring of Inflection staff, EU says
Microsoft’s hiring of artificial intelligence startup Inflection’s staff including its co-founders will not be scrutinised under European Union merger rules, EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
2. EU court confirms Qualcomm’s antitrust fine, with minor reduction
Europe’s second-top court largely confirmed on Wednesday an EU antitrust fine imposed on U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, revising it down slightly to 238.7 million euros ($265.5 million) from an initial 242 million euros. (Print)
3. YouTube and Shopee partner in Southeast Asia e-commerce tie-up
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc’s YouTube and e-commerce platform Shopee said on Wednesday they were launching an online shopping service in Indonesia and planned to expand it in Southeast Asia as competition picks up with a rival operator owned by TikTok. (Investing)
4. AT&T agrees $13 million fine for 2023 data breach
AT&T Inc. agreed to pay $13 million to settle an investigation by the US Federal Communications Commission into whether the telecommunications company failed to protect customer data that was stolen when a cloud vendor was hacked last year. (InsuranceJournal)
Tech trends
5. Google urges tribunal to throw out $9.3 bln UK lawsuit over search ‘dominance’
Google parent Alphabet on Wednesday asked a London tribunal to throw out a mass lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of abusing its dominance in the online search market. (MarketScreener)
6. Amazon raises pay of US hourly workers in fulfillment, transport ops
Amazon.com is raising the pay of its fulfillment and transportation staff in the United States by at least $1.50 an hour and handing out free Prime memberships as benefits, it said on Wednesday. (Yahoo Finance)
7. Google wins EU antitrust fine fight but setback for Qualcomm
Alphabet unit Google won a legal challenge on Wednesday against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.7 billion) European Union antitrust fine, while Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab failed to repeal a penalty. (Reuters)
8. China chip stocks surge on government equipment list
Shares in several Chinese companies linked to the semiconductor industry surged on Wednesday, driven by investor excitement over a government list that some interpret as signaling progress in China’s efforts to develop domestic chipmaking technology. (MSN)
9. FTC says Gamestop CEO Cohen to pay nearly $1 million penalty
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen agreed to pay a nearly $1 million penalty to settle the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s claim that he failed to report acquisition of more than $100 million worth of Wells Fargo & Co voting shares, the agency said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
10. Japan’s Mitsubishi to provide H3 rockets for France’s Eutelsat from 2027
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has agreed to provide multiple H3 rocket launches for French satellite company Eutelsat Group from 2027, it said on Wednesday. (MSN)
11. Vietnam’s top leader Lam to meet Google, Meta in US next week, sources say
Vietnam’s president and ruling Communist Party chief To Lam is set to meet representatives from several U.S. corporations, including Google and Meta, during a visit to the United States next week, two people briefed about the plans told Reuters. (MSN)
12. Amazon names veteran Samir Kumar as new India head
Amazon named Samir Kumar as its new India head on Wednesday, handing the reins to a 25-year company veteran as the e-commerce giant faces intense competition and regulatory pressures in the country. (Reuters)
13. Meta bans Russian state media for ‘foreign interference’
The U.S. recently imposed sanctions on RT’s parent companies, Rossiya Segodnya and Tv-Novosti, accusing them of
acting as an arm of Moscow’s intelligence operations. (WashingtonPost)
