Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Apple’s legal ‘downpour’

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are scrutinizing Apple in a way that is unnerving investors, with fears over fines and threats to the gadget maker’s market dominance growing. In the US, the Justice Department and 16 attorneys general are suing the iPhone maker for violating antitrust laws. And in Europe, the company is said to be facing probes about whether it’s complying with the region’s Digital Markets Act. Apple, fresh from its €1.8 billion ($2 billion) European Union fine for blocking music streaming apps from informing users of cheaper deals, has been the focus of more attention since the DMA came into full effect on March 7. Shares of the company slid 4.1% Thursday, erasing about $113 billion in market value and taking their year-to-date loss back to 11%. Once the world’s most valuable firm at more than $3 trillion, Apple has underperformed both the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 in 2024. “There comes a point in which the downpour of cases and scrutiny that comes with them become a real drag on how these companies operate,” said Bill Kovacic, an antitrust professor at George Washington University Law School. “Even if they win, in an important way they’ve lost.” —David E. Rovella 

It’s one of the internet’s top spots for meme-powered stock tips and anonymous hot takes. But does Reddit belong in your portfolio? The question has divided fans of the notoriously rambunctious platform, where some super-users were invited to invest along with insiders at the initial public offering price of $34, before the general public had access. They watched Reddit surge 48% to $50.44 in its trading debut. The highly anticipated IPO comes as stock prices soar and cryptocurrencies hit records. But while Reddit shares jumped Thursday, financial advisers said retail investors should think twice before buying in.

Two million just doesn’t go as far as it used to. UBS is said to be planning to shutter thousands of smaller-value Credit Suisse accounts at its Asia Pacific wealth management arm. The lender is reviewing accounts with a balance of around $2 million or less, many in the Asian business hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong. The move underscores a broader effort by Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti to carve out parts of Credit Suisse—which it scooped up last year—that it doesn’t want. 

Sergio Ermotti Photographer: Pascal Mora/Bloomberg

The Swiss National Bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points, moving months ahead of global peers as policymakers try to prevent gains in the franc. Officials in Zurich lowered their benchmark to 1.5%, the first such reduction for one of the world’s 10 most-traded currencies since the pandemic ended. The Swiss currency is one of the worst-performers across Group-of-10 peers this year on speculation the SNB would be among the first central banks to start easing policy. 

The news quickly spread through Fidelity in London: Abigail Johnson, heir to the US fund giant founded by her grandfather, was bringing the ax down. Anxious employees began eying the door. Soon dozens were getting nudged out. Then the face of the operation, Chief Executive Officer Anne Richards, resigned. Finally, on March 6, the hammer fell: Johnson began the process of terminating 1,000 people, nearly one out of every 10 employees. And the firings may only be the start.

Abigail Johnson and her father Edward Johnson III applaud as then-US President George W. Bush speaks to Fidelity employees in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in 2004. Photographer: Brooks Kraft/Corbis Historical

Americans have been flocking to drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound, drawn by the prospect of rapid weight loss. But a monthly cost that can exceed $1,000 and scant insurance coverage mean users drop off almost as quickly as they get on. A group of companies now see this as an opportunity. Targeting current and former users of the medications, they’re offering telehealth checkups, lifestyle coaching, access to community support groups, exercise advice and other features—all with the aim of keeping the pounds off once the treatment has ended. But of course it’s going to cost you.

The US proposed to its Group of Seven allies that they create a special purpose vehicle to issue at least $50 billion of bonds backed by the profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets and use the proceeds to support Ukraine. The proposal would pool the $280 billion of Russian central bank assets that have been immobilized by G-7 countries and the European Union in the SPV, the profits of which would back “freedom bonds.”

On March 19, the Bank of Japan scrapped the world’s last negative interest rate, ordering its first increase since 2007. The move ends the most aggressive monetary stimulus program in modern history and signals confidence the country is leaving behind years of economic stagnation. But this massive shift is likely to disrupt everyday lives, both in Japan and around the world. In the Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary Japan’s Massive Money Experiment Is Over, we unpack how Japan’s post-war trajectory set it on a rollercoaster economic ride into the 21st century, and what comes next. 

Watch Japan’s Massive Money Experiment Is Over, on Bloomberg Originals

• In India’s Hindi heartland, farmer distress isn’t holding back Modi.
• Houthis tell China and Russia their ships won’t be targeted in Red Sea.
• Magnificent Seven? It’s starting to look more like the Tremendous Two.
• Canada to cut temporary residents by 20% over three years.
• American Air Boeing 737 runway accident linked to brake failure.
• New York prepares to seize Trump assets in Westchester County.
• After decades in Rolex’s shadow, Tudor crafted its own comeback.

George Steinbrenner’s decision back in 2004 to pair Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez—two generationally talented baseball players—turned out to be one of the biggest and arguably most successful deals in New York Yankees history. The results that sprang from the Boss’s machinations became clear: a perennially contending team, a 2009 World Series championship and yes—a lot of headlines. For Jeter, all that on-field success—and his ability to manage it so gracefully—made him one of the most sought-after athletes both during and after his baseball career. On the latest episode of The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, he tells the backstory of how Michael Jordan made him the first baseball player to be endorsed by a then-nascent Jordan Brand, and reveals some never-before-told details of his tumultuous, three decade-long relationship with A-Rod.

Derek Jeter waves to the crowd after the final game at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 21, 2008.  Photographer: Jin Lee

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