Apple reached a settlement this week with a group of app developers that will allow them to “urge customers to pay them outside their iPhone apps”—a move that enables them to “avoid paying Apple a commission on their sales” and that is likely calculated at addressing regulators’ anti-competition concerns. Apple will also create a $100 million fund “for payouts to small app developers” and put a 3-year moratorium on raising its commission rate for small developers. The agreement is separate from Apple’s ongoing battle over App Store rights with Fortnite maker Epic Games - NYTimes and Law360 and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and HuffPost and TechCrunch
Chinese regulators are preparing new rules “that would ban companies with large amounts of sensitive consumer data from going public in the U.S.” In line with other recent actions signifying government crackdown on China’s tech companies, the rules couch Beijing’s desire for control in the name of consumer privacy protection - WSJ and Bloomberg
Bank of America is saying goodbye to two “towering figures who helped steer [it] out of the financial crisis more than a decade ago.” Vice Chair Anne Finucane and COO Thomas Montag will both retire at the end of the year.” Finucane, in particular, helped rebuild BofA’s image after it too “a major reputation and financial hit from the collapse of the housing market in 2008.” The impending departures again raised questions about who is in the running to succeed current CEO Brian Moynihan - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
Politico has indeed reached a deal with German publishing giant Axel Springer in which AS will purchase the Washington news site for something in the neighborhood of $1 billion. The two companies have been holding deal talks for months, and they already collaborate on a Politico Europe venture - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
In other media news, “venerable business publication” Forbes has struck a deal with SPAC Magnum Opus Acquisition, a publicly traded bank-check firm, that values the company at $630 million and is set to take it public in coming months - NYTimes and TechCrunch
Just as we suspected following Delta airlines’ move, more U.S. businesses are now considering financial penalties for the unvaccinated and “other more aggressive measures to make their workplaces safer from Covid-19” - WSJ
California lawmakers, after years of struggling to take action on solutions to “increase urban density” and fight “the state’s desperate homelessness problem and a deepening housing affordability crisis,” are poised to finally move—“advancing a bill [on Thursday] that would allow two-unit buildings on lots that for generations have been reserved exclusively for single-family homes” - NYTimes
Struggling e-truck startup Lordstown Motors has named Daniel Ninivaggi, a former lieutenant to billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, as its new CEO – WSJ
It’s been 18 months since Covid kicked in for real. Why are supply chains still a disaster? Well, consider the humble hot tub - WSJ
More groundwork from Fed officials on Thursday for a sooner-than-first-predicted tapering of bond buying by the central bank - WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
File under “literal insult to injury”: the young hacker who allegedly masterminded the breach of more than 50 million T-Mobile users’ records told the Journal that the mobile carrier’s security “is awful.” Not a great look for the magenta set - WSJ and Bloomberg and Mashable
On the enduring popularity of Antiques Roadshow and the unexpected draw of valuing “knowledge over money” - TheAtlantic
Have a great weekend, stay safe, and get vaxxed,
MDR
