EU antitrust officials are targeting Google for “potentially abusing its dominance in the online advertising market to box out competition”—all part of a “broader push by the European authorities to clamp down on the world’s largest technology companies” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Meanwhile, German regulators have opened a probe into Apple’s “digital ecosystem” to determine if a recent amendment to Germany’s competition law apply to the “restrictions [Apple] places on its devices” – Law360 and TechCrunch
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has inked a “multiyear deal to make multiple feature films annually” with Netflix as part of an arrangement that “will not take the place of Amblin’s current pact with Universal Pictures” - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch and TechCrunch and Bloomberg
Chair Powell’s on the Hill again this week, but better to expect good vibes rather than specific policy plans (at least if his prepared remarks are any indication of what we can anticipate) - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
Interesting timing on this Times piece questioning the state of affairs at Google under CEO Sundar Pichai. The tech giant’s parent company, Alphabet, is worth an estimated $1.6 trillion, and “profits are charting new highs every three months.” Yet a “restive class of Google executives” is leaking their worries about an “increasingly outspoken” workforce and leadership marked by “risk aversion and incrementalism,” presumably as a way of shaking things up at the top - NYTimes
The Dow bounced back nicely on Monday, regaining nearly all of the ground it lost in a dismal Friday of trading that closed out last week - WSJ
The Upshot, on the other hand, is going decidedly down in the mouth with this look at how the front-loading of the recent Congressional stimulus measures could “make the road ahead bumpy” as the federal injection of money into the economy dries up in favor of—we hope—private sector-driven demand instead - NYTimes
More crypto-focused crackdowns by the Chinese government (ordering “the country’s largest banks and payment processors to take a more active role in curbing cryptocurrency trading and related activities”) pushed bitcoin lower to start the week, with the currency dropping below $33k for the first time since late January - WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360
A new lawsuit filed by consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch last week accuses Smithfield Foods—one of the major pork producers in the U.S.—of “falsely stoking consumer fears and misleading the public” last spring when Covid was tearing through meat packing facilities around the country - NYTimes
And in D.C., as if on cue . . . - WSJ
Exxon Mobil is rolling out cuts to its workforce—largely in its white-collar ranks—that will amount to a 5-10% annual reduction for the next three to five years in “areas such as engineering, finance and project management” - Bloomberg
Still confused about the current inflation conundrum? Transitory? Sticky? Huh? Why not let the Cleveland Fed (and its Legos) help out - Bloomberg
Conan’s heading into the sunset, but America’s best buddy Paul Rudd couldn’t let him leave before just one more special clip - AVClub
Stay safe and get vaxxed,
MDR
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