Economy
Officials at 14 ports along the US East and Gulf coasts were making last-minute preparations on Monday for a likely labor strike that could drag on the US economy just ahead of a presidential election. - At Monday's news conference, New York officials emphasized that they have been preparing for a likely US dockworkers strike.
The United States is set to see inflation cool further towards policymakers' target, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Monday, with interest rates likely to come down over time, too. Powell's speech comes more than a week after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a percentage point, marking its first reduction since 2020.
"Fortnite"-maker Epic Games is suing tech giants Google and Samsung, it announced Monday, accusing them of illegally colluding to block competition on Samsung devices. Epic, the company behind the hugely popular "Fortnite" video game, is asking the court to prohibit what it calls anti-competitive conduct and mandate that Samsung remove Auto Blocker as the default setting on its devices.
New York officials said on Monday they were prepared for a likely US dockworkers strike, reassuring consumers that they would not lose access to food and other essential goods. "We don't anticipate shortages of essential goods anytime soon," said state Governor Kathy Hochul.
Shares in Jeep-maker Stellantis and Britain's Aston Martin tumbled on Monday after both companies joined European rivals in cutting their profit forecasts. - China effect - Aston Martin also cited the Chinese market as it trimmed its financial guidance for 2024, saying its core profit is now expected to be "slightly below" the previous year's.
ECB chief Christine Lagarde said Monday that cross-border banking mergers in Europe were "desirable" to boost their competitiveness, despite mounting German opposition to a potential tie-up between Commerzbank and Italy's UniCredit.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill aimed at regulating powerful artificial intelligence models following pushback from tech giants and critics who argued the law went too far.
Germany's anti-cartel watchdog said Monday it had placed US tech giant Microsoft under closer surveillance for any possible abuse of its market position. The Federal Cartel Office said it had determined Microsoft was "of paramount significance for competition across markets", a move that would allow the watchdog to take action and prohibit "anti-competitive practices".
EU member states are expected to vote on whether to slap hefty tariffs on imported electric cars from China on Friday, European diplomats said on Monday. The European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, plans to levy additional duties of up to 36 percent on electric vehicles imported from China but the issue has divided the bloc.
Economy
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