Your commercial news round-up: Apple lawsuit, Russian gas, UK drone superhighway, crypto-asset regulation

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This week it was confirmed that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will take part in a six-week campaign in a battle to become the next UK Prime Minister, while England’s international football team came from behind to squeeze out a victory in its quarter-final match against a tough Spain opposition last night. What other interesting stories did you spot this week and how can you use them to impress in your applications and interviews?

• Apple is facing a US lawsuit over Apple Pay following allegations that it’s been using its market power to obstruct competition from other payment card issuers. The class-action complaint was filed by payment credit card union Affinity Credit and alleges that Apple “coerces” users of its iPhone and smartwatches, for example, to use Apple Pay via its own wallet, while Android-based devices enable consumers to choose between various wallets, including Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

The complaint said that Apple’s anti-competitive behaviour “prevents consumers from using competing mobile wallets capable of offering competing tap and pay solutions”. The tech giant has been accused of trying to “obtain a monopoly in the market for Tap and Pay iOS Mobile Wallets, with the effect being that competition is foreclosed and that consumer choice is gravely diminished”.

Affinity Credit Union added: “Apple’s conduct harms not only issuers, but also consumers and competition as a whole.”

• The European Commission has called for countries across the bloc to reduce their use of gas by 15% from August to March due to concerns that Russia could stop supplies this summer. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany, has been undergoing maintenance for 10 days with plans to turn the line back on today. However, there’s some uncertainty over whether Moscow will follow through with this plan. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen explained that an EU-wide cut-off is a “likely scenario” before adding “Europe needs to be ready”.  

Meanwhile, H&M has revealed its plans to leave Russia following the retailer’s decision to stop all sales in Russia in March in light of the conflict. The company said it will temporarily reopen its stores to sell off its remaining stock, with no date or timescale for the planned exit.

• The UK is due to become home to the world’s largest automated drone superhighway, spanning 164 miles, in the next two years. The Skyway project, which intends to connect the airspace above Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry and Rugby by mid-2024, is part of a £273 million funding package for the aerospace sector. The delivery of mail to the Isles of Scilly and medication across Scotland are among other plans that will receive part of the government’s funding. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is due to deliver the news regarding funding at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday. “[T]here’s a real demand to have access to this airspace”, said Chris Forster, chief operating officer of Altitude Angle, an aviation technology company. Meanwhile, Steve Wright, associate professor in aerospace engineering at the University of the West of England voiced his concerns about drone crashes. Wright says: “The problem is what happens when you're 10 feet away from people. That's the bit I spend my time worrying about.”

• The US and UK are set to “deepen ties on crypto-asset regulation and market developments, including in relation to stablecoins and the exploration of central bank digital currencies”, according to Nikhil Rathi, the Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive. Talking about the relationship between the UK and US, Rathi added: “We both pursue a transparent, proportionate response to regulation. Both our countries have a thirst for innovation. Our legal systems are rigorous in holding us as regulators to account.

“We have two of the largest and globally interconnected financial centres in the world.”

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