Your dispatch from Day 1 of the Tesla shareholder dispute over the company’s SolarCity purchase didn’t disappoint—at least as far as Elon was concerned—with the founder taking the stand, defending the acquisition, and taking some shots at opposing counsel during cross-examination - WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and TechCrunch and Law360
France’s competition regulators have slapped Google with a $593 million fine for “allegedly violating orders to negotiate paid deals with news publishers, raising pressure on the company in a global fight over how and whether tech companies should pay for news.” France’s Competition Authority had ordered Alphabet to strike deals with publishers in April 2020, but Google has only done so with a handful of French news agencies - WSJ and TechCrunch
Since why not keep the inflation talk going (thanks, CPI figures), some economists are now suggesting that a reverse in the “secular forces” (think globalization, demographics, and the rise of e-commerce) that had helped “keep prices in check” in recent decades may be contributing to “new inflationary pressures” - WSJ and NYTimes and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Solid win for Treasury Secretary Yellen and the U.S. delegation to kick off the week, with EU officials agreeing “to postpone their proposal for a digital levy that had threatened to derail a global effort to crack down on tax havens.” The deal completes another piece of the puzzle forwarded by the G-20 this weekend to overhaul international corporate tax laws - NYTimes and Marketplace
In other international trade news, the Administration is mulling a “digital trade agreement covering Indo-Pacific economies” aimed at countering “China’s influence in the region.” Such an agreement could “set out standards for the digital economy, including rules on the use of data, trade facilitation and electronic customs arrangements” - Bloomberg
Chip-maker Broadcom is reportedly in talks to buy the closely held SAS Institute Inc., “the latest move by the acquisitive technology giant to beef up in the corporate-software market.” If finalized, the deal could value SAS at between $15 and 20 billion - WSJ
Credit Suisse’s Swiss Banking compliance chief, Floriana Scarlato, has stepped down and will leave the bank immediately, “creating another vacancy in the bank’s compliance function in the wake of a fallout over losses tied to the meltdown of Archegos Capital Management” - WSJ
Marvel-Disney’s “long-delayed” “Black Widow” had a solid opening weekend, collecting some $160 million in theaters around the world and another $60 million through Disney+’s $30 surcharge as an example of how “with a carefully calibrated pricing strategy, theatrical distribution and streaming can coexist” - NYTimes
A pair of new federal lawsuits accuses Wells Fargo of “providing ‘substantial, knowing assistance’” to two “’free trial’ marketing scams that pulled in $200 million from consumers before being shuttered by the Federal Trade Commission” – Law360
What’s that you say? In desperate need of 9 minutes of John Oliver raving about octopuses (correct plural)? Done and done - LastWeekTonight
Stay safe and get vaxxed,
MDR
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