Company News in Brief

Antitrust trial could force Zuckerberg to sell InstagramA trial in the landmark antitrust case against social media giant Meta kicked off in Washington on Monday.The US competition and consumer watchdog alleges that Meta, which already owned Facebook, bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate competition, effectively giving itself a monopoly.The FTC reviewed and approved those acquisitions but committed to monitoring the outcomes. If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wins the case it could force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell off both Instagram and WhatsApp.Meta previously said it was sure it would win and experts have told the BBC it is likely to argue that Instagram users have had a better experience since it was taken over. - BBCFutures rally, tech shares jump on tariff reprieveWall Street futures rose on Monday after the White House exempted smartphones and computers from reciprocal tariffs on China, offering temporary relief to key US tech imports from new levies.The US announced the exemptions on Friday, but Trump has said he would announce tariff rates for imported semiconductors later in the week.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the exempted technology products would face new duties within the next two months.Still, futures for the major US indexes rose over 1% each. Shares of iPhone maker Apple leapt 5.3% in premarket trading. Chip stocks also jumped, with Nvidia tab rising 2.2% and Micron Technology up 4.1%, while PC maker HP and server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise gained 5.4% and 5%, respectively. – Reuters Apple takes top spot for first-quarter smartphone salesApple took the top spot for global smartphone sales in the first quarter on the back of the iPhone 16e's launch and strong demand in countries such as Japan and India, data from Counterpoint Research showed on Monday.Counterpoint expects the smartphone market to decline this year, due to economic uncertainty and tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump.Trump's back-and-forth tariffs and escalation of global trade tensions have resulted in a worsening economic outlook and the possibility of stronger inflation. A volatile macroeconomic environment can cause consumers to postpone the purchase of mobile phones, unsettling the supply chain and increasing trade risks which can negatively impact the market, the report said. – Reuters China urges US to 'completely cancel' tariffsChinese officials are calling on US President Donald Trump to "completely cancel" his so-called reciprocal tariffs, as a trade war between the world's two biggest economies grinds on.This week, Trump announced a 90-day pause on a host of global tariffs he had planned but increased levies on Chinese imports to 145%."We urge the US to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of 'reciprocal tariffs' and return to the right path of mutual respect," China's commerce ministry said in a statement.The Trump administration seemed ready to offer a concession on Friday by announcing that some electronic products - including those produced in China - would be exempt. - BBCTrump-wary EU has energy security dilemmaMore than three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe's energy security is fragile. US liquefied natural gas helped to plug the Russian supply gap in Europe during the 2022-2023 energy crisis. But now that President Donald Trump has rocked relationships with Europe established after World War Two, and turned to energy as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, businesses are wary that reliance on the United States has become another vulnerability. Against this backdrop, executives at major EU firms have begun to say what would have been unthinkable a year ago: that importing some Russian gas, including from Russian state giant Gazprom, could be a good idea. That would require another major policy shift given that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 made the European Union pledge to end Russian energy imports by 2027.Europe has limited options. Talks with LNG giant Qatar for more gas have stalled, and while the deployment of renewables has accelerated, the rate is not fast enough to allow the EU to feel secure. "If there is a reasonable peace in Ukraine, we could go back to flows of 60 billion cubic metres, maybe 70, annually, including LNG," Didier Holleaux, executive vice-president at France's Engie, told Reuters in an interview. - Reuters

Company News in Brief

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Republikein 2025-12-19

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