Toyota Pleased by Trump Comment on $1.33B Investment

Shares in Sony slumped more by than 10 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday on news of Microsoft's $75 billion deal to buy the video games maker Activision Blizzard. Investors fear the acquisition could mean popular titles like Call of Duty would be moved exclusively to Microsoft platforms. FRANCE 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll examines the consequences of the deal for the companies involved, and their rivals.

For the first time since inception in 2004, Facebook lost about 5 lakh users on a daily basis during Oct-Dec 2021. That saw the shares of its parent company, Meta, plunge 20 percent on the exchanges, wiping off $200 bn in market capitalisation.

It was the biggest ever deal in the chipmaking industry, but US firm Nvidia has abandoned its planned $40 billion purchase of Britain's Arm Holdings. The sale was called off after pressure from regulators in the UK, EU and US. Softbank, Arm's current owner, is planning to float the company on the stock market instead. Also today, we look ahead to the announcement of EU plans to boost semiconductor production.

Swedish price comparison firm PriceRunner accused Google of "abusing the market" by promoting its own shopping comparisons in search results despite a 2017 EU ruling.

The US Justice Department announced its "largest financial seizure ever" and the arrest of a New York couple for allegedly laundering money stolen through a 2016 hacking.

The price of Bitcoin dipped in early trading on Wednesday, after the US Justice Department announced it had arrested two people and seized Bitcoin worth $3.6 billion that was stolen from the exchange Bitfinex in 2016. The investigation is being closely watched by players in the cryptocurrency sector as to how investigators are tracking criminal activity involving the tokens. Also today, we report on protests in Argentina against the latest agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Swiss authorities on Thursday extradited a German lawyer sought by Germany on account of being a key leader of a massive tax fraud scheme called "Cum-Ex." Hanno Berger, 71, was handed over to German police officials in the city of Konstanz in southern Germany, prosecutors based in Frankfurt said.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣⁣

German leaders have agreed on a package helping federal states accommodate and integrate Ukrainian refugees. This includes access to job centers and language courses.

Billionaire and avid platform user Elon Musk has made an offer to purchase 100% of the shares for the social media giant.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.

Berlin plans to lease four liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to wean itself off Russian gas. The decision comes as the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline now sits unused at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.