Apple is at risk of being hit with multi-billion-euro fines after the European Union ruled that the iPhone maker’s App Store violated the bloc’s landmark digital competition rules.
Brussels has accused Apple of stifling competition with its app store, marking the first time that EU regulators have imposed new digital restrictions on a big tech company.
In its “preliminary opinion,” the European Commission told Apple that “App Store rules prevent app developers from freely directing consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.”
If found guilty, Apple could be fined up to 10% of its annual global turnover, with the EU saying that fines could increase to 20% for repeated violations.
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This is the first time the committee has formally brought charges against a tech company under the new rules since it launched its first Digital Markets Act (DMA) investigations into Apple, Google (GOOG), and Meta (META) in March.
Bitcoin fell on Monday as the cryptocurrency market recorded its second-worst weekly drop of 2024 amid cooling demand for cryptocurrency ETFs.
Bitcoin is currently below $63,000 (£49,750), continuing heavy losses over the past week as traders grew sceptical about the timing of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
To some analysts, the digital asset’s decline is a warning sign about broader risk appetite, according to Bloomberg.
The cryptocurrency has fallen to its lowest price in over a month after a sixth consecutive day of outflows from a U.S. ETF targeting the token.
Bitcoin hit a record of $73,798 in March but has lagged traditional assets such as stocks, bonds and gold this quarter.
Target (TGT)
Target shares rose in premarket trading as investors welcomed an announcement that the retailer plans to introduce new AI tools to improve productivity and growth.
The company announced that it will roll out an AI-powered chatbot called “Store Companion” by August to provide associates in its first 2,000 stores with the tools to “answer questions about work processes, mentor new team members and help manage store operations.”
The chatbot is accessible through an app on handheld devices distributed to store employees and provides instant answers to procedural questions.
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Target is the latest U.S. retailer to announce plans to use AI to support customers and frontline employees: Walmart (WMT) began using Generation AI late last year to enhance customer search and provide real-time information to frontline employees so they can answer customer questions and get operational information.
PepsiCo (PEP)
Carlsberg (CARL-B.CO) confirmed on Monday that PepsiCo has agreed to waive a change of control clause in its bottling deal with Britvic (BVIC.L), removing a potential challenge for the Danish brewer’s bid to buy the British drinks company.
British drinks giant Carlsberg is reviewing its position after admitting on Friday that it had rejected two takeover bids because they “significantly undervalued” the company.
Britvic’s board said both the offer and an earlier one for 1,200 shares a year earlier significantly undervalued the company – the latest offer had valued it at £3.1 billion.
Carlsberg has until July 19 to make a formal offer to the tonic maker or abandon the deal.
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