Amazon takeover of iRobot to be blocked by EU | BBC

January 22, 2024January 21, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon’s takeover of vacuum cleaner maker iRobot is set to be blocked by the European Union’s competition watchdog, the BBC understands.

It’s a blow to the tech giant, which was previously given the all-clear for the purchase by the UK government’s competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that its place in the UK market was “modest” and that it already faced several significant rivals.

Amazon declined to comment.

The online giant moved to buy iRobot, maker of the Roomba cleaner, in August 2022 in a takeover deal set to cost $1.7bn (£1.4bn).

EU agrees on rules to tame ‘Wild West’ crypto market | CNN

July 1, 2022June 30, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union has agreed on ground-breaking rules for regulating crypto assets, EU lawmakers said on Thursday, as the rout in bitcoin piles pressure on authorities to rein in the sector.

Globally, crypto assets are largely unregulated, with national operators in the EU only required to show controls for combating money laundering.

Representatives from the European Parliament and EU states thrashed out a deal on the markets in crypto assets (MiCA) law, which is expected to come into force around the end of 2023.

US rolls back Trump-era tariffs on UK steel | BBC News

March 24, 2022March 22, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The US has agreed to ease Trump-era tariffs on UK steel and aluminium shipments, resolving an issue that had strained relations between the allies.

The move follows earlier deals with the European Union and Japan over the controversial taxes, which were imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018 in the name of national security.

In exchange, the UK will suspend extra taxes it had put on US products such as bourbon and Levi’s jeans.

Business groups welcomed the decision.

Business is ‘staring down the precipice’ over Brexit | CNN

March 13, 2019March 12, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Companies in the United Kingdom are suffering from a bad case of déjà vu after lawmakers rejected a second version of the Brexit deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May.

“Enough is enough,” said Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, a business lobby. “It’s time for parliament to stop this circus,” she added, stressing that “jobs and livelihoods depend on it.”

The stunning defeat increases the chances that Britain will crash out of the European Union without a deal in just 17 days — doing big damage to the economy — or that Brexit will be delayed, prolonging the uncertainty for business.

Brexit: Delay is ‘most likely’ option, says former chancellor | BBC News

January 23, 2019January 22, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Former Chancellor George Osborne has said delaying the UK’s exit from the EU is now the “most likely” option.

The UK has to choose between no deal – which he compared to Russian roulette – or no Brexit for now, he told the BBC.

MPs are proposing alternative plans to the PM’s deal with the EU, including seeking an extension to the UK’s exit date – it is due to leave on 29 March.

But the prime minister has said the “right way” to rule out no-deal Brexit is to approve her withdrawal agreement.

EU to launch counter-tariffs against US on Friday | BBC News

June 20, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union will launch a raft of retaliatory tariffs against US exports on Friday, a top official has said.

The move comes after US President Donald Trump imposed steep duties on steel and aluminium earlier this month.

American exports such as blue jeans, motorbikes and bourbon whiskey will be targeted, trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom confirmed.

However, she said the bloc “did not want to be in this position”.

Brexit talks: U.K. and EU begin divorce negotiations | CNN Money

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brexit talks are officially underway.

Officials charged with negotiating the first departure of a country from the European Union were in Brussels on Monday to kick off the most consequential series of talks for the U.K. since the end of World War II.

Chief U.K. negotiator David Davis is meeting his EU counterpart, former French foreign minister Michel Barnier, to grapple with a complex set of questions about the future of trade and migration, how much the country must pay to settle its bill with the bloc, and the rights of millions of citizens who have settled in Britain or Europe.

EU referendum: How is the US (not) like the EU? | BBC News

June 22, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As the Brexit referendum debate approaches its day of judgement, many Americans have been left with a number of questions.

What is Brexit? What happens if the UK votes to leave? And, uh, what do the letters EU stand for again?

So here are some basics. The EU is the European Union. The people of the United Kingdom may – or may not- want to leave.

Like the US, the EU has a flag. They both have their own currencies. They control their external borders and their citizens have an unlimited right of movement within their internal borders. They regulate immigration.

And, perhaps, the forces that have led the UK to consider withdrawing from the EU could also be at play in the US.

No, seriously. Here are handful of ways the EU and the US are similar enough to merit such consideration, and a few reasons why they aren’t.

Brexit Europe risk | Business Insider

June 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Everyone is suddenly talking about the coming Brexit vote.

With Britain preparing to vote in a June 23 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, the latest polls seem to suggest that Brits are leaning toward Leave:

The ICM phone and online poll: Remain 47% / Leave 53%

ORB phone poll: Remain 48% / Leave 49%

YouGov online poll: Remain 39% / Leave 46%

Europe eyes new rules for online platforms | TechCrunch

May 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union’s executive body has today set out a series of proposals for new rules that would apply to a broad range of online platforms, from the likes of YouTube to Google to eBay, as part of ongoing efforts to boost competitiveness in the region under its Digital Single Market Strategy.

The proposals follow a year long assessment by the European Commission of online platforms, after which it says it has concluded that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not appropriate to maximize consumer benefits while ensuring effective regulation across all the different types of platforms — so it says it will rather look at each area where it can act “from telecoms to copyright rules, to address any specific problems in a future-proof way for all market players”.

Among the proposed changes is a new set of audiovisual rules — with the stated aim of achieving a better balance between rules that apply to traditional broadcasters vs online video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms like YouTube. Key among the EC’s concerns here is safeguarding minors.