{"id":76873,"date":"2025-08-12T09:47:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T09:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/76873\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T09:47:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T09:47:16","slug":"elon-musk-threatens-to-sue-apple-over-app-store-ranking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/76873\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk threatens to sue Apple over App Store ranking"},"content":{"rendered":"

German investor morale fell more than expected in August as it took a hit from disappointment at the EU-US trade deal, according to the closely watched ZEW economic research institute\u2019s latest confidence index.<\/p>\n

The economic sentiment index decreased to 34.7 points from 52.7 points in July. Analysts had forecast a reading of 39.8. It is the first fall in four months.<\/p>\n

ZEW President Achim Wambach said the decline was also owing to the poor performance of the German economy in the second quarter of 2025, which contracted 0.1 per cent.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe outlook has worsened in particular for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The mechanical engineering and metal sectors as well as the automotive industry are also severely affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

End of the road for AOL dial-up internet service\"Dial-up<\/p>\n

Dial-up was a mainstay of internet access in the 90s but has since been replaced by broadband<\/p>\n

SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL<\/p>\n

AOL is shutting down its dial-up internet service after more than 30 years.<\/p>\n

Formerly America Online, AOL introduced many households to the world wide web for the first time when its dial-up service launched, rising to prominence in the 90s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n

The service currently only exists in the US and Canada, and the latest government data showed it was used by about 300,000 people, compared to more than 300 million using broadband.<\/p>\n

\u201cAOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue dial-up internet,\u201d the company said in a notice to subscribers in the US and Canada. It said dial-up and associated software was \u201coptimised for older operating systems\u201d which will soon be unavailable on AOL.<\/p>\n

The service ends on September 30.<\/p>\n

Labour market data: what the economists say<\/p>\n

Ashley Webb, Capital Economics: \u201cOverall, the continued, albeit slowing, loosening in the labour market should continue to bear down on wage growth further ahead. Indeed, we think it\u2019s only a matter of time before wage growth slows to rates consistent with the 2 per cent inflation target. So for now, we still think the Bank will cut interest rates once more this year in November, from 4 per cent now to 3.75 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suren Thiru, ICAEW: \u201cThe UK jobs market is facing more pain in the coming months with higher labour costs likely to lift unemployment moderately higher, particularly given growing concerns over more tax rises in this autumn\u2019s budget. While these disheartening figures will reassure rate-setters that last week\u2019s policy loosening was the right call, the pace at which the labour market is currently cooling is unlikely to be sufficient to prompt another rate cut in September.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elliott Jordan-Doak, Pantheon Macroeconomics: \u201cAll told, we think the jobs market will continue to improve gradually as growth holds firm and the MPC\u2019s interest rate cut feeds into activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spirex helps lift FTSE 100<\/p>\n

London\u2019s leading share index has opened higher, buoyed by corporate results and optimism after the extension to the US-China trade truce.<\/p>\n

The FTSE 100 rose 24 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 9,153.71, with thermal energy and fluid engineer Spirax rising 18.5 per cent after it said it expected organic sales growth to accelerate in the second half of the year, following a 3 per cent rise in the first half.<\/p>\n

Housebuilders were lifted by upbeat results from Bellway. Persimmon and Talyor Wimpey gained 1.5 per cent and 1.45 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n

Technology stocks were lower despite the easing of restrictions on trade in chips. Sage Group fell 1.56 per cent, while tech investors Polar Capital Technology Trust and Scottish Mortgages Investment Trust were slightly lower.<\/p>\n

The pound strengthened against the dollar to $1.3449.<\/p>\n

PageGroup profits slump 99%\"The<\/p>\n

The company said permanent recruitment was more subdued than temporary recruitment<\/p>\n

CHRIS RATCLIFFE\/BLOOMBERG\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

The UK recruiter PageGroup has reported a dive in first-half pre-tax profits to \u00a3200,000, compared with \u00a327.7 million in the same period last year.<\/p>\n

PageGroup chief Nicholas Kirk said: \u201cWe experienced a slight deterioration in activity levels and trading in Continental Europe towards the end of the period, particularly in our two largest markets, France and Germany. Elsewhere, we saw some improvement in activity, trading and customer confidence in Asia and the US.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revenue fell by 11 per cent to \u00a3798.4 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cPermanent recruitment continued to be impacted more than temporary, as clients sought flexible options and permanent candidates remained reluctant to move jobs,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

PageGroup plans to pay an interim dividend of 5.36p, the same as last year, and reiterated its full-year guidance. The shares slid 2p, or 0.75 per cent, to 266p.<\/p>\n

Entain upgrades full-year profit guidance\"Euro<\/p>\n

Euro 2024, in which England progressed to the final, provided a boost to Entain last year but the group said this year\u2019s performance was even better<\/p>\n

INA FASSBENDER\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

The global sports betting and gaming group has upgraded its full-year profit guidance after reporting interim results for the six months to the end of June.<\/p>\n

Group net gaming revenue, including a 50 per cent share of BetMGM, was up 7 per cent. There were better-than-expected performance at both Entain and BetMGM \u2014 its venture with MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas casinos group.<\/p>\n

Online net gaming revenue, excluding the US, was 5 per cent ahead of expectations, with strong volumes in sports and gaming. The company, which operates Ladbrokes and Sportingbet, said that the performance was \u201cparticularly pleasing as prior year second quarter comparators included [the] Euros tournament\u201d.<\/p>\n

Entain expects full-year core profit to be between \u00a31.10 billion and \u00a31.15 billion, above market expectations of \u00a31.11 billion.<\/p>\n

Bellway completions rise to 8,749\"New<\/p>\n

New Bellway homes under construction in Essex<\/p>\n

CHRIS RATCLIFFE\/BLOOMBERG\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

The housebuilder said housing completions increased by 14.3 per cent to 8,749 homes at an overall average selling price of about \u00a3316,000, both slightly ahead of previous guidance, in a trading update for the year to July 31.<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomer demand was supported by good availability of mortgage finance and relative stability in mortgage interest rates during the year,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

Housing revenue rose by 17 per cent to more than \u00a32.76 billion, and underlying operating margin is expected to approach 11 per cent, up from 10 per cent in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the softer market conditions in recent months, we have entered the new financial year with a healthy order book,\u201d Bellway said. It expects to deliver about 9,200 homes in its 2026 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Musk: xAI will take immediate legal action<\/p>\n

Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence startup xAI would take legal action against Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of breaching antitrust regulations in managing the App Store rankings.<\/p>\n

Musk said on his social media platform X: \u201cApple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not provide evidence to support his claim.<\/p>\n

ChatGPT currently holds the top spot in the App Store\u2019s \u201cTop Free Apps\u201d section for iPhones in the US, while xAI\u2019s Grok ranks fifth and Googles Gemini chatbot sits at 57th. ChatGPT also leads the rankings on the Google Play Store, according to Sensor Tower data.<\/p>\n

OpenAI boss Sam Altman responded to Musk\u2019s claims, suggesting Musk manipulates the X network to serve his personal interests and stating that OpenAI will stay focused on making great products.<\/p>\n

Wage growth cools as higher jobs taxes bite\"Commuters<\/p>\n

The unemployment rate remained at 4.7 per cent<\/p>\n

DOMINIC LIPINSKI\/BLOOMBERG\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Wage growth and employment slowed in the three months to June, according to official data, showing more evidence of a cooling UK jobs market under pressure from higher payroll taxes.<\/p>\n

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of the year, lower than the 5 per cent recorded in the previous rolling three-month period, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.<\/p>\n

Economists had expected earnings to expand by 4.7 per cent. Private sector earnings expanded by 4.8 per cent, below the 5.2 per cent forecast by the Bank of England.<\/p>\n

Liz McKeowan, director of economics statistics at the ONS, said: \u201cHowever, real pay growth fell, due to rising inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unemployment rate remained at 4.7 per cent in the three months to June, compared with the three months to May.<\/p>\n

Beijing \u2018tells Chinese firms not to use Nvidia chips\u2019\"China<\/p>\n

China appears suspicious of US-manufactured chips<\/p>\n

EPA<\/p>\n

China is reported to have urged local companies to avoid using Nvidia\u2019s H20 processors, particularly for government-related purposes, in a blow to President Trump\u2019s plans to charge Nvidia and AMD for chip sales to the country.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Nvidia and AMD agree deal with Trump to keep China\u2019s market open<\/a><\/p>\n

Bloomberg reported that the guidance from Chinese authorities also affects AI accelerators from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Apparently, Beijing is worried that Nvidia chips could have location-tracking and remote shutdown capabilities. It would prefer to use chips make by Chinese companies to reduce reliance on the West.<\/p>\n

The move makes it harder for Nvidia to recoup revenue lost from the recent restrictions on chip sales.<\/p>\n

Asian stock markets rose after Washington and Beijing extended a trade truce and technology shares were bolstered by President Trump\u2019s deal to allow US chipmakers to sell to China.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 index rose to a record, with technology investor Softbank also rising to a new high. However, Chinese stock markets were mixed: the SSE Composite gained, but Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng fell.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trump extends deadline for higher tariffs on China by 90 days<\/a><\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s ASX 200 was also trading near a record high hit earlier in the day ahead of a widely expected quarter-point interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia.<\/p>\n

Markets in Europe are expected to open higher, with the FTSE 100 forecast to rise 13 points. However, doubts are growing about whether Trump\u2019s talks with Putin will resolve the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"German investor morale fell more than expected in August as it took a hit from disappointment at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[11357,517,28,13528,19846,112,13529,4201,5186,41755,54442,54441,826],"class_list":["post-76873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-markets","tag-app","tag-apple","tag-business","tag-elon","tag-live","tag-markets","tag-musk","tag-over","tag-ranking","tag-store","tag-sue","tag-threatens","tag-to"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}