BUSSINESS TRADE

  Apple faces years of distractions after DOJ antitrust suit A multiyear legal battle involving hundreds of attorneys was launched on Thursday when the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging it had exploited the iPhone's market dominance to shut out competitors. The lawsuit also threatened Apple's "walled garden" business model. Should the DOJ prevail, it may pursue various modifications to Apple's operations, and American authorities did not completely rule out the prospect of Apple being subjected to "structural remedies" or even being split apart. Apple could have additional weapons to fend off future regulation if a court decides that its estimated 64% market dominance in smartphones in the United States does not constitute a monopoly or that its actions were lawful. But before any of that occurs, there will probably be years of legal wrangling during which Apple will have to produce internal documents for the government, ...

Joe Biden Jokes About Donald Trump's Debt Problems: 'I Can't Help You' With a series of wins in the primaries on March 12, Trump and Biden emerged as their respective parties' presumptive presidential nominees, probably paving the way for a replay of the 2020 election in November.Trump was hit with a $355 million judgment in February after a New York judge found that he had committed corporate fraud by purposefully inflating the value of some of his assets in order to qualify for better bank loans. The entire penalty, including interest, will exceed $464 million. According to his legal staff, it is "practically impossible" for Trump to pay the whole amount as a bail in order to appeal the verdict, which he is attempting to do. Once Trump's legal team approached them, some businesses declined to serve as sureties for the bond. "This defeated-looking man approached me the other day and said, 'Mr. President, I need your help,'" the speak...

  How the BOJ's strategy to smoothly transition away from negative interest rates failed In brief Inflation and poor data prompted BOJ to examine two options. Different deputy governors make the departure process more difficult. Japan's transition to a negative rate represents a turning point. BOJ will probably maintain interest rates close to zero for some time. March 20, Tokyo (Reuters) - On a cloudy December day, when Governor Kazuo Ueda and two deputies convened at the bank's Tokyo headquarters, the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth transition away from years of huge stimulus came apart. The central bank's goal to stop zero interest rates by March or April and swiftly implement additional hikes was made more difficult by the fact that inflation was slowing down more than anticipated. The officials thought about two options.   The first choice was to proceed as scheduled while watching for indications ofeconomic improvement. The other option was to stop negative...