The U.K. Deals a Huge Blow to Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Bid
Summary
Britain’s mergers regulator on Wednesday blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover bid for Activision Blizzard, ruling that buying the maker of “Call of Duty” would give the tech giant too much control of the thriving market for cloud-based video games. “You can be reassured that the regulators are deeply involved in monitoring the situation and will take the necessary actions,” Jeff Zients, the White House chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal after the earnings report, without naming specific banks. “I think the concern now is that, with the deposit picture being so much worse than people had feared, does that spark another round of outflows?” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has vowed to bring a vote as soon as Wednesday on a Republican bill to lift the debt ceiling, even though party support for the measure remains far from certain. In an extended interview with The New York Times Magazine, America’s former top public health official opened up about the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, the intense criticism he received and the lessons that should be learned. AB InBev said on Tuesday that two executives were on a leave of absence, as the world’s biggest beer maker tries to put the lid on a controversy that erupted this month over a social media campaign for Bud Light featuring the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
