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It’s becoming standard practice for US tech giants to follow the letter of European rulings and regulations without really changing their behaviour. Most recently, Facebook and Google have exhibited just a superficial compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to allow users to keep control of their data. The government-funded Norwegian Consumer Council issued a report ...

A sort of “cryptobrawl” broke out last month at the Milken Institute Global Conference between economist Nouriel Roubini and panel participants more optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency technologies. I had the opportunity to participate in a partial rematch at Battle of the Quants, where Roubini was just as negative and DMS Governance’s John D’Agostino presented a moderate defense. All ...

Timothy Carpenter’s interest in smartphones has had two unintended consequences. It has drawn the Supreme Court deeper into ongoing debates about applying the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment to uses of digital technologies that have swiftly — the first iPhone was sold in 2007; today there are 396 million American cellphone service accounts — become integral to daily life. And the disagreement ...

Bloomberg Bank of America (BofA) is jumping on the AI bandwagon. For the first time, the bank’s currency strategists are using machine-learning programs — which enable computers to comb through vast amounts of data to draw inferences and make predictions on their own — to tell clients what to buy and sell. They began producing AI-based research last month, as ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank said it’ll keep economic development steady and stabilise market expectations, and reiterated a more cautious tone on debt containment. The People’s Bank of China will keep a close eye on domestic and global economic developments and step up “forward-looking policy fine-tuning,” according to a statement released after a meeting a day earlier of the monetary-policy advisory ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan reduced debt purchases for a third time in June, taking advantage of the recent stability in bond yields and the yen. The BOJ lowered buying in the five-to-10 year segment by 20 billion yen ($181 million) to 410 billion yen at a regular operation. The yen — which has in the past shown a tendency ...

Bloomberg The pain felt in South Africa’s economy in the first quarter was echoed in the banking industry. The value of new consumer credit granted in the first quarter declined more than 10 percent to 121.6 billion rand ($8.9 billion) from the previous three months, according to data compiled by the National Credit Regulator. The number of applications for loans ...

Bloomberg Central banks in emerging economies are losing the battle with markets as their efforts to shield their currencies struggle for traction, suggesting policy makers have more work to do. Rising US interest rates, the strong dollar, higher oil prices, China’s market and economic wobbles and fears of a global trade war are conspiring to pressure emerging-market currencies. Here’s a ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is buying its way into the heart of the US healthcare system, instantly shaking up a prescription-drug industry already in the midst of a broader transformation. Insurance companies and drug-benefit managers have struck a series of deals in recent months designed in part to thwart a potential big splash in the health world from Amazon. But the ...

Bloomberg MAV Beauty Brands Inc., the personal-care company founded by celebrity hairstylist Marc Anthony Venere, raised C$242 million ($182 million) in its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the sale. The Toronto-based firm priced its shares at C$14 each, the low end of its marketed range of C$14 to C$16, the people said, asking not to be identified ...