🐤 Team effort

Markets: There’s a lot of information dropping this week for investors to consider, but perhaps the most influential data will come in the form of the latest inflation numbers. The consumer price index — along with wholesale inventory and import pricing reports — are all set to be released over the next few days. Other economic reports coming this week include wholesale inflation, unemployment claims, and small business sentiment. A number of stocks, including Oracle, Adobe, and GameStop are also releasing their latest earnings reports this week.

End of the beginning: It was USC’s first season in the NCAA’s Big Ten, and the team will include an appearance at the upcoming Las Vegas Bowl to cap off its inaugural year in the conference. The Trojans will take on Texas A&M two days after Christmas. Both teams managed to advance to the bowl despite some underwhelming performances and injuries that plagued them both throughout the season. USC still won’t have running back Woody Marks on the roster. USC started the season with a win against LSU at the same Nevada stadium.

The manhunt continues: New York City authorities are working well outside of their own jurisdiction as part of a continuing probe into the brazen murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last week. Although there is mounting evidence about the suspect, he has not yet been identified. NYPD detectives reportedly pursued leads in Atlanta, where the suspect is believed to have started his journey by Greyhound bus to the Big Apple ahead of the fatal shooting. Police say the incident appeared to be an act of targeted violence.

Shop till you drop: Holiday shopping season is hitting its stride, and analysts say 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for retailers. But that means the cost of accepting and handling returned merchandise will also rise. Projections indicate that about 17% of all items sold this year will end up being returned. That’s higher than the 15% registered in 2023. E-commerce has led to the practice of buying multiple versions of the same item and returning all but the right ones. Returns will cost retailers an estimated $890 billion this year alone.

Off-limit ads: A number of food companies have less than a year to figure out how they’ll be advertising their products in the United Kingdom. A new law goes into effect next October that will restrict television commercials for “less healthy” products like burgers, cereal, energy drinks, and various snacks. Certain natural products aren’t included. UK officials say they want to put a dent in the nation’s obesity epidemic. About 10% of all 4-year-olds in the UK are categorized as obese and twice that many are already showing signs of tooth decay.

Gamers (in particular those interested in VR gaming) might have a new reason to be excited for the future. Recent reports suggest Apple and Sony are working together on a project that will combine the former’s Vision Pro with the latter’s PSVR2 controller.

What it all means

Among those who stand to benefit most directly from such a joint venture are current owners of the Vision Pro VR headset. Adding Sony’s controller, which isn’t currently available as a standalone product, would enhance the game-playing experience.

Not only is the controller a user-friendly bit of hardware, but a collaboration with Sony might also expand the Vision Pro’s currently limited selection of game titles.

And even if you’re not a gamer, using these two products in tandem could prove beneficial when working with apps like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro.

As it stands, the Vision Pro headset only offers a Bluetooth controller that most consumers aren’t raving about.

But will the integration of the PSVR2 be enough to allow the Vision Pro to go mainstream? We might have to wait a while to find out.

A few potential hurdles

Apple has already delayed previous plans to offer support for the Sony controllers, so it remains to be seen whether the current rumors ever become reality. But if the plan does come together, it will require a lot of planning and research from both companies involved.

Sony continues to work on its end to provide adequate support for the PSVR2 while outside developers are helping Apple with the many details involved in adding the controllers to its apps.

There’s still a lot of speculation swirling around this project … but it might end up being the first step toward convincing the masses that they should invest in the VR experience.

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Just a few months after a judge ruled that Google’s search engine constituted a monopoly, the Big Tech titan is now facing a bureaucratic setback.

Time to pay up

This time around, it’s Google Payment Corp. that is under the magnifying glass of authorities. Specifically, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a statement late last week that the division was placed under the supervision of federal regulators.

If the action goes through, the CFPB could have the authority to monitor and even dig into the actions of Google Payment Corp., actions similar to those taken on banks that have received similar rulings.

For its part, Google was quick to file a lawsuit seeking to block the order from taking effect.

A series of customer complaints are reportedly behind the CFPB’s interest in the payment platform, and a probe led to the agency’s conclusion that Google Payment Corp. repeatedly fell short when it came to resolving errors and preventing fraudulent transactions.

Regulators made it clear, however, that none of this should be seen as proof that Google is “guilty of wrongdoing.”

Making the case

In addition to filing a lawsuit, Google is pleading its case in the court of public opinion. The company asserted that the complaints it’s currently facing are “unsubstantiated.”

Spokesperson Jose Castaneda reflected the company’s defiance in his response to the CFPB’s order.

“This is a clear case of government overreach involving Google Pay peer-to-peer payments, which never raised risks and is no longer provided by the U.S., and we are challenging it in court,” he asserted.

The regulatory agency also acknowledged in its order that the platforms included in its investigation have been discontinued nationwide for months.

Although millions of Americans are enamored with the short-form video platform, TikTok — and its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance in particular — have been on the receiving end of some serious bipartisan backlash over the past several years.

What’s the beef?

The social media app’s close ties to China have been a persistent point of contention during both the Biden administration and Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. Critics across the ideological spectrum cited two overarching concerns:

• Possible surveillance of American users by Chinese operatives
• Potential manipulation of content shared on the TikTok platform

And when Congress had an opportunity to vote on the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act earlier this year, lawmakers from both parties sent it on to Biden’s desk where it was signed into law.

That action requires ByteDance to sell TikTok by next month or face a nationwide ban.

Naturally, TikTok and ByteDance pushed back, in part by filing a lawsuit challenging the law on First Amendment grounds. A judge struck down that argument, though, determining that the action was aimed at thwarting possible Chinese espionage, not restricting Americans’ free speech.

Two options remain

With January just a few weeks away, there doesn’t seem to be enough time left for ByteDance to offload TikTok in time to avoid at least a temporary ban … and there are only a couple of ways that timeline could be postponed.

Reports indicate TikTok is planning to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court, pleading with justices to strike down the law in order to prevent Americans from having their rights restricted.

The only other alternative involves cozying up to Trump ahead of his second term. Once in office, he could delay the order or negotiate a resolution.