that s the first increase after five consecutive months of declines. consumer prices edged up from 6.9% in march, which could further encourage the european central bank to raise interest rates on thursday. joining me now is christian schulz, deputy chief european economist at citi bank. lovely to see you. so, the number is on the up, no great surprise considering what we have seen elsewhere, but the big question is how the central bank response. the ecb has made some progress, i guess, the base rate was in double digits at the end of last year, we are now down to 7%. no further progress in april, it seems. looking at the details, there are some positives. food inflation is down, it had been rising and rising. hopefully that is a trend that will continue. also called goods inflation, that is also decreasing for the first time. the bad news is, for the ecb, that services inflation keeps rising and thatis services inflation keeps rising and that is the surprise in this, really.
Competition Appeal Tribunal Welcomes New Ordinary Members miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Microsoft came one step closer Friday to completing its $69 billion purchase of the video game-maker Activision Blizzard, in a deal that has become an example of how a company can successfully ride out stricter regulatory scrutiny of the power of tech giants.
The regulator initially tried to block the deal, saying it would undercut competition, but reversed course after Microsoft agreed not to purchase a part of Activision s business associated with so-called cloud gaming, a small but promising new area for the industry.
Meaning firms like google and apple will be blocked from favouring their own services or preventing business users from reaching consumers by, for instance, imposing unfair conditions to access the app store. companies that fail to comply could receive fines of up to 10% of their annual global revenue. ioannis kokkoris is professor of competition law and economics at queen mary university of london. thank you for being with us. talk to me about the significance of the day. i highlighted a couple of examples there, but i will big tech view this new act? it is examples there, but i will big tech view this new act? view this new act? it is a very significant view this new act? it is a very significant day view this new act? it is a very significant day for view this new act? it is a very significant day for big - view this new act? it is a very significant day for big tech. . view this new act? it is a very significant day for big tech. it j view this new act? it is a very - signif