The FTC has asked for a temporary restraining order to block the $69 billion merger. American trustbusters don't want the deal to go through and are making their final arguments today. Mergers involving Amazon, Google and lots of others are now gummed up in court. There are very, very tangible concrete harms that we are already living with because of significant consolidation and concentration.
This week’s court battle involving Microsoft and Activision, giants of tech and gaming, reflects a sea change under way in America’s trustbusting machinery; it may not go as far as the top competition cop might like. A boom in China’s post-pandemic economy now seems to be sputtering (11:29). And a paean to the Tayto crisp—cheese-and-onion flavour, naturally (18:29).
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