THE TIES that bind the world’s two biggest economies are unravelling, in fits and starts. The latest episode involved fits, starts and chaos. On December 31st the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced that it would delist China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, three telecoms giants, shares in which have been traded on Wall Street for years. It did so, it said, to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order in November banning American investments in companies with links to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This set off a fit among their American shareholders. As the trio’s share prices swung wildly, funds scrambled to sell their stakes before the delisting, which the NYSE said would occur by January 11th. Speculation raged that CNOOC and PetroChina, state-run energy goliaths also listed in New York, could be next. Then came the start. Late on January 4th the NYSE declared it would not eject the firms after all. Those same funds faced the prospect of repurchasing the shares, the price of which had popped up on news of the NYSE’s U-turn. If that weren’t chaotic enough, two days later the NYSE changed its mind again. It would, after all, boot out
State attorneys general are planning another lawsuit against Google, this one focused on the search and advertising giant’s Play Store for Android phones, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The lawsuit is expected to be filed in February or March, the sources said, and it would follow complaints about Google’s management of its Play Store even though the company was originally seen as more open about its app store than Apple. Including a Justice Department lawsuit filed against Google in October, the possible new action would be the fourth government lawsuit brought against the Silicon Valley company since late 2020. All allege that Google abused its dominance of the internet search business or otherwise broke antitrust law. Google bans apps with objectionable content from its store, and further requires that some apps use the company’s payment tools and pay Google as much as 30 percent of their revenue. Those and related policies prompted criticism from app developers, particularly when Google said last year it would ramp up enforcement. Google’s Play Store is far more widely used than similar products from Amazon, Samsung, Huawei and others. The probe will be headed by attorneys general of New York, Utah and North Carolina, and other states are also expected to join, one of the sources said. Asked to comment on the possible new legal action, Google said in a
“Wonder Woman” is a knockout at the box office. Released on Christmas Day, “Wonder Woman 1984” was the highest box office opening of the pandemic, hauling in $16.7 million in ticket sales in the US and $36.1 million globally, according to Warner Bros. The sequel to the 2017 hit starring Gal Gadot was released in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service on the same day. Now, a third installment is being “fast-tracked,” the movie studio said on Sunday. “Wonder Woman 1984 broke records and exceeded our expectations across all of our key viewing and subscriber metrics in its first 24 hours on the service, and the interest and momentum we’re seeing indicates this will likely continue well beyond the weekend,” Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager of WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer, said in a statement. “During these very difficult times, it was nice to give families the option of enjoying this uplifting film at home, where theater viewing wasn’t an option.” Nearly two-thirds of movie theaters in the US are closed right now, which is why the studio opted to release the flick online at the same time. Total viewing hours on HBO Max tripled on Christmas Day
