U.S. files second antitrust suit against Google's ad empire, seeks to break it up
 
The Justice Department and eight states on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Google over its digital advertising business, claiming the tech giant illegally monopolizes the market for online ads.
 
It is the second antitrust suit federal authorities have brought against the company's advertising empire, which has for years been under scrutiny over allegations of self-dealing and choking off competitors.
 
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Bloomberg noted that it marks the first time the Justice Department has pursued a major company breakup since the 1980, when the federal government dismantled the Bell telecommunications business over allegations that it was a monopoly.

Switzerland is preparing to use emergency measures to fast-track the takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse, according to two people familiar with the situation, as the banks and their regulators rush to seal a merger deal.

Under Swiss rules, UBS would typically have to give shareholders six weeks to consult on the acquisition, which would combine Switzerland’s two biggest lenders.
 
Three people briefed on the situation said UBS had indicated that emergency measures would be used so it could skip the consultation period. The details are still being worked out, one of the people said.

BlackRock’s consulting arm warned Silicon Valley Bank, the California-based lender whose failure helped spark a banking crisis, that its risk controls were “substantially below” its peers in early 2022, several people with direct knowledge of the assessment said.

The January 2022 risk control report gave the bank a “gentleman’s C”, finding that SVB lagged behind similar banks on 11 of 11 factors considered and was “substantially below” them on 10 out of 11, the people said. The consultants found that SVB was unable to generate real time or even weekly updates about what was happening to its securities portfolio, the people said. SVB listened to the criticism but rebuffed offers from BlackRock to do follow up work, they added.

SVB had already begun to absorb large interest rate risks to bolster profits before the BlackRock review began, said former employees. The consultation did not consider the deposit side of the bank, so did not delve into the possibility that SVB would be forced to sell assets quickly to meet outflows, several people confirmed.

Un accord entre Credit Suisse et UBS pourrait être conclu ce dimanche
 
Le numéro un bancaire helvétique UBS, poussée par les autorités, doit absolument finaliser ce dimanche le rachat de sa rivale Credit Suisse pour espérer éviter une débâcle et une vague de panique contagieuse sur les marchés lundi.
 
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https://www.rts.ch/info/economie/13 [...] inent.html

Midsize banks are reportedly requesting the FDIC to insure all deposits for two years

The all-share deal between Switzerland’s two biggest banks is set to be signed as soon as Sunday evening and will be priced at a fraction of Credit Suisse’s closing price on Friday, all but wiping out the target’s shareholders, four people with direct knowledge of the situation said.

UBS has offered to buy Credit Suisse for up to $1bn

The offer was communicated on Sunday morning with a price of SFr0.25 a share to be paid in UBS stock, far below Credit Suisse’s closing price of SFr1.86 on Friday, the people said. UBS has also insisted on a material adverse change that voids the deal if its credit default spreads jump by 100 basis points or more, they added.

The situation is fast-moving and there is no guarantee that terms will remain the same or that a deal will be reached, all the people stressed.

SWISS AUTHORITIES EXPECTED TO CHANGE COUNTRY’S LAW TO BYPASS UBS SHAREHOLDER VOTE - FT

UBS has also insisted on a material adverse change that voids the deal if its credit default spreads jump by 100 basis points or more

credit suisse said to push back against ubs’s $1 billion offer

The bank believes the offer is too low and would hurt shareholders and employees who have deferred stock