August 06 2024

FLASH Harris officially Dem nominee, expected to name running mate today 
1 Judge Rules Google Maintains Illegal Monopoly in Landmark Antitrust Case 
2 Japanese Stocks Surge, Reversing Previous Day's Sell-off 
3 US Personnel Injured in Rocket Attack on Iraqi Military Base 
4 Bangladesh Prime Minister Resigns Amid Escalating Protests 
5 OPINION Friedman: Full-Scale War Between Israel and Iran Could Force US Involvement 
BONUS “Stop the Skimp!”: Chipotle Faces Scrutiny Over Portion Sizes
8/6/1991 First-ever website published, Info.cern.ch

Also follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

FLASH Harris officially Dem nominee, expected to name running mate today 

1 Judge Rules Google Maintains Illegal Monopoly in Landmark Antitrust Case 

A US federal judge has ruled that Google spent billions on exclusive deals to maintain an illegal monopoly on search, marking a significant win for the Department of Justice.

A US federal judge has ruled that Google spent billions of dollars on exclusive deals to maintain an illegal monopoly on search, in a landmark win for the Department of Justice as it seeks to rein in Big Tech’s market power. Amit Mehta, the judge who presided over the four-year-old case in Washington, called Google a “monopolist” in a 286-page decision on Monday that found the company had violated US antitrust law. The ruling follows a weeks-long trial in which the DoJ argued the search giant paid tens of billions of dollars a year for anti-competitive deals with wireless carriers, browser developers and device manufacturers — and in particular Apple. These payments, which cemented Google as the default search engine, totalled more than $26bn in 2021, according to the decision. Google — which handles more than 90 per cent of online queries and whose name has become synonymous with search — argued that it did face fierce competition in the sector and its success was driven by the quality of its products.
FT

In 2000, a ruling in a U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft helped set the rules of competition for the digital giant of its day. At the time, a federal judge said Microsoft had abused the monopoly power of its Windows operating system and ordered that the company be split up. A breakup was reversed on appeal, but key legal findings were upheld. And Microsoft was prohibited from forcing restrictive contracts on its industry partners and ordered to open some of its technology to outsiders — preventing the company from single-handedly controlling the internet. More than two decades later, a ruling in a Google antitrust case similarly promises to shape new rules for the tech industry. Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found on Monday that Google had violated antitrust laws by stifling rivals in internet search to protect its monopoly. Google’s loss could have major ripple effects for competition today. U.S. regulators have also accused Apple, Amazon and Meta of violating antitrust laws by advantaging their own products on the platforms they run and acquiring smaller rivals. The Google ruling, and potential remedies to be decided by Judge Mehta, are likely to weigh heavily on those cases, including a second lawsuit against Google over ad technology, which is scheduled to go to trial next month.
NYT

Article Source: FT, NYT

2 Japanese Stocks Surge, Reversing Previous Day's Sell-off 

Some call for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve to prevent serious economic deterioration amid pre-recessionary signs.

Japanese stocks surged on Tuesday, leading markets higher across Asia in a reversal of the previous day’s global sell-off, although a tentative rebound in Europe fizzled out.
FT

The U.S. economy has spent three years defying expectations. It emerged from the pandemic shock more quickly and more powerfully than many experts envisioned. It proved resilient in the face of both inflation and the higher interest rates the Federal Reserve used to combat it. The prospect many forecasters once considered imminent — a recession — looked increasingly like a false alarm. Until now. An unexpectedly weak jobs report on Friday — showing slower hiring in July, and a surprising jump in unemployment — triggered a sell-off in the stock market as investors worried that an economic downturn might be underway after all. By Monday, that decline had turned into a rout, with financial markets tumbling around the world. Some economists said investors were overreacting to one weak but hardly disastrous report, since many indicators show the economy on fundamentally firm footing. But they said there were also reasons to worry. Historically, increases in joblessness like the one in July — the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent, the highest since 2021 — have been a reliable indicator of a recession. And even without that precedent, there has been evidence that the labor market is weakening.
NYT

Ed note: Liberal economist Paul Krugman sounds alarm, calls for interest rate cuts:

The United States probably (probably) hasn’t entered a recession yet. But the economy is definitely looking pre-recessionary. And policymakers — which right now basically means the Federal Reserve — need to move quickly to head off the risks of serious economic deterioration. It’s already clear that the Fed made a mistake by not cutting rates last week; indeed, it probably should have begun cutting months ago. Unfortunately, we can’t turn back the clock. But the Fed’s open market committee, which sets short-term interest rates, can and should make a substantial cut — probably half a percentage point, rather than its usual quarter-point — at its next meeting, scheduled for mid-September.

One more thing: If the Fed cuts rates in September, it will probably face a firestorm of criticism from Republicans accusing it of trying to help Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump in the presidential election. And yes, a rate cut would probably help Democrats, largely because it would help drive home how successful America has been in bringing inflation under control. But politics shouldn’t, and I hope won’t, affect the Fed’s decision. For the fact is that the economic case for major rate cuts is overwhelming; the Fed would be acting politically if it didn’t respond to that economic case simply because the election is looming.
Paul Krugman, NYT OPINION

Article Source: FT, NYT

3 US Personnel Injured in Rocket Attack on Iraqi Military Base 

At least five US personnel were injured in a rocket attack on al Asad airbase in Iraq, amid heightened tensions following the killing of senior militant leaders.

At least five U.S. personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday, U.S. officials told Reuters, as the Middle East braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Two Katyusha rockets were fired at al Asad airbase in western Iraq, two Iraqi security sources said. One Iraqi security source said the rockets fell inside the base

Article Source: Reuters

4 Bangladesh Prime Minister Resigns Amid Escalating Protests 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has resigned and fled the country following weeks of anti-government demonstrations, leading to political and economic uncertainty.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country, ending her long rule after weeks of escalating anti-government demonstrations. Sheikh Hasina’s dramatic downfall after a total of two decades in office opened a new era of political and economic uncertainty for the nation of 170mn, a crucial supplier to the global garments industry. Student protests that started last month against a job quota system developed into a broader uprising against Sheikh Hasina after police and government loyalists cracked down on the demonstrators, killing an estimated 300 people.
FT

Bangladesh's parliament was dissolved on Tuesday, the president's office said in a statement, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following violent protests demanding her ouster.
Reuters

Article Source: FT, Reuters

5 OPINION Friedman: Full-Scale War Between Israel and Iran Could Force US Involvement 

Escalating conflicts between Israel and Iran could lead President Biden to make a critical decision on whether to engage in war alongside Israel to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.

if the current tit-for-tat conflict between Israel and Iran and Iran’s proxies (Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis) escalates into a full-scale war — one that Israel could not fight for very long alone — President Biden could face the most fateful decision of his presidency: whether to go to war with Iran, alongside Israel, and take out Tehran’s nuclear program, which is the keystone of Iran’s strategic network in the region. Iran has been building that network to supplant America as the most powerful force in the Middle East and to bleed Israel to death by a thousand cuts inflicted by its proxies.

Article Source: NYT

BONUS “Stop the Skimp!”: Chipotle Faces Scrutiny Over Portion Sizes

Chipotle customers are documenting and weighing their orders to ensure they receive the advertised portions, amid growing frustrations over food prices and shrinkflation.

Chipotle is struggling to shed scrutiny on its portion sizes, and whether stores are failing to dish out a full four ounces of meat. A crowdsourced website “Stop the Skimp!” is tracking locations that serve beefier portions. Some customers are filming workers as they craft meals to try to guarantee more rice and guac. The most extreme are weighing Chipotle orders to determine whether they are getting shorted at certain locations or by ordering online instead of at the counter. For the pinto-bean police, the saucy stunts help channel their broader rage at food prices and shrinkflation. Zackary Smigel, a 28-year-old YouTube creator from Hermitage, Pa., started filming his Chipotle orders this year, weighing 15 burritos and 15 bowls over 30 days at three different locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio. What he found became fodder for a documentary posted on YouTube—burritos ordered online were skimpier 70% of the time, he says. 

last month, the company said it had investigated more thoroughly, and it had a beef with around 10% of restaurants in their allotting beef. The company is working on training, telling workers to err on the side of generosity. Chipotle has gotten granular in the quest for perfect portions, dissecting how workers hold scoops and spoons. The wrong level can cause chunks of chicken to fall back on the bar and not in a customer’s bowl, Chipotle chief financial officer Jack Hartung said in an interview. The company is also tinkering with serving utensils with measuring lines, but past experiments haven’t wowed. “They’re a little clumsy,” Hartung said. We’re still looking if there’s another spoon that is a little bit bigger or a little bit rounded.”

Article Source: WSJ

8/6/1991 First-ever website published, Info.cern.ch

Sources

2. https://on.ft.com/3SEbA4X; https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/technology/google-microsoft-antitrust-cases.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

3. https://on.ft.com/3SCqcSA; https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/business/economy/recession-markets-stocks.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare; https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/05/opinion/interest-rates-federal-reserve.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

4. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-personnel-hurt-attack-against-base-iraq-officials-say-2024-08-05/

5. https://on.ft.com/3LSnMvm; https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-parliament-dissolved-presidents-office-says-2024-08-06/

6. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/01/opinion/iran-israel-war.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

7. https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/chipotle-burrito-skimp-sizes-portions-00d27593?st=7c42gcu9h1q3blb&reflink=article_copyURL_share