Welcome to the Tech Mem Right Home for Wednesday, April 26,

2023. I'm Brian McCullough today. The UK is blocking Microsoft's Activision acquisition.

A quick rundown of Microsoft and Alphabet earnings.

The new Mavik drone is a beast apparently.

Cruz has actually expanded its self-driving taxi service and a look at the mounting pressure on

Binance and CZ. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech.

The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority made a surprise announcement this morning blocking Microsoft's 68.7 billion dollar Activision acquisition

citing concerns about competition and innovation in the UK gaming market.

Microsoft does plan to appeal, of course,

but as I say, this was surprising.

I think the conventional wisdom had been that Microsoft had probably won over the UK,

though maybe would have more trouble with the EU.

So this seriously calls into question whether or not this whole thing goes forward or not,

quoting Bloomberg.

The competition and markets authority said its concerns couldn't be solved by remedies such

as the sale of blockbuster title Call of Duty or other

solutions involving promises to permit rivals to offer the game on their

platforms according to a statement Wednesday. Microsoft said it will appeal the

decision.

Pressure had been mounting on Microsoft as it lobbies at home and in Europe to convince watchdogs to clear the deal,

one of the 30 biggest acquisitions of all time.

Crucially, the CMA's conclusions come before decisions from the European

...