Google hit with record EU fine over Shopping service www.bbc.com

Google has been fined 2.42bn euros ($2.7bn; £2.1bn) by the European Commission after it ruled the company had abused its power by promoting its own shopping comparison service at the top of search results.

The amount is the regulator's largest penalty to date against a company accused of distorting the market.

The ruling also orders Google to end its anti-competitive practices within 90 days or face a further penalty.

The US firm said it may appeal.

However, if it fails to change the way it operates the Shopping service within the three-month deadline, it could be forced to make payments of 5% of its parent company Alphabet's average daily worldwide earnings.

Based on the company's most recent financial report, that amounts to about $14m a day.

The commission said it was leaving it to Google to determine what alterations should be made to its Shopping service rather than specifying a remedy.

"What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules," declared Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's Competition Commissioner.

"It has denied other companies the chance to compete on their merits and to innovate, and most importantly it has denied European consumers the benefits of competition, genuine choice and innovation."

Media captionWATCH: Margrethe Vestager explains how consumers have been harmed by Google's Shopping service
Ms Vestager added that the decision could now set a precedent that determines how she handles related complaints about the prominence Google gives to its own maps, flight price results and local business listings within its search tools.

Google had previously suggested that Amazon and eBay have more influence over the public's spending habits and has again said it does not accept the claims made against it.

"When you shop online, you want to find the products you're looking for quickly and easily," a spokesman said in response to the ruling.

"And advertisers want to promote those same products. That's why Google shows shopping ads, connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both.

"We respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today. We will review the Commission's decision in detail as we consider an appeal, and we look forward to continuing to make our case."

Fast growth
Google Shopping displays relevant products' images and prices alongside the names of shops they are available from and review scores, if available.

The details are labelled as being "sponsored", reflecting the fact that, unlike normal search results, they only include items that sellers have paid to appear.

On smartphones, the facility typically dominates "above-the-fold" content, meaning users might not see any traditional links unless they scroll down.

One recent study suggested Shopping accounts for 74% of all retail-related ads clicked on within Google Search results. However, the BBC understands Google's own data indicates the true figure is smaller.

Seven-year probe
The European Commission has been investigating Google Shopping since late 2010.

The probe was spurred on by complaints from Microsoft, among others.

The rival tech giant has opted not to comment on the ruling, after the two struck a deal last year to try to avoid such legal battles in the future.

However, one of the other original complainants - the British price comparison service Foundem - welcomed the announcement.

"Although the record-breaking 2.42bn euro fine is likely to dominate the headlines, the prohibition of Google's immensely harmful search manipulation practices is far more important," said its chief executive Shivaun Raff.

"For well over a decade, Google's search engine has played a decisive role in determining what most of us read, use and purchase online. Left unchecked, there are few limits to this gatekeeper power."

This is a big moment in a clash between the EU and the US's tech giants, which has been going on for more than a decade.

The commission believes it has struck a blow for consumers and for little firms at a time when online advertising - particularly on mobile phones - is dominated by Google and Facebook.

Google believes the regulator has a weak case and has failed to provide evidence that either consumers or rivals have been harmed.

In essence, it sees this as a political move rather than one based on competition law. You can be pretty confident that the Trump administration will share that view.

There's mounting anxiety in European capitals about something called Gafa - Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon - the four American giants that play such a huge role in all of our lives.

That means we can expect further action to try to limit their powers, with the potential for growing political tension between Brussels and Washington.

Although the penalty is record-sized, it could have been bigger.

The commission has the power to fine Alphabet up to 10% of its annual revenue, which was more than $90bn (£70.8bn) in its last financial year.

Alphabet can afford the fine - it currently has more than $172bn of assets.

Turquoise Hill announces second quarter 2018 production and completion of Shaft 5 www.gogo.mn

Turquoise Hill Resources today announced second quarter 2018 production for Oyu Tolgoi as well as the completion of Shaft 5.

Development of bill on civil servant code of conduct finalized www.gogo.mn

Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat G. Zandanshatar announced that the development of a bill on codes of conduct for civil servants has been completed.

Crude oil exports generated 94.3 billion www.gogo.mn

It is projected that Mongolia will export a total of 8.1 million barrels (1.1 million tons) of crude oil in 2018.

Mongolian President summons irregular parliamentary session www.news.mn

President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga sent an official letter to Chairman of the State Great Khural M.Enkhbold about calling an irregular Parliamentary session.

Jeff Bezos is now worth more than Bill Gates and Larry Page combined www.cnn.com

Amazon investors, including CEO Jeff Bezos, should be in a festive mood, too. (Although there were some tech glitches.)

Apartment complex for young families under construction in Erdenet www.montsame.mn

Orkhon /MONTSAME/ ‘BB Park’ apartment complex is under construction in Orkhon aimag with 100 percent investment of the Republic of Korea. Curreltly, the construction runs with 40 percent performance. The appartments are expected to be low-cost as designated for youths and young families.

NUM graduates invited to work for Toshiba Corporation www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Toshiba Corporation of Japan has invited 13 graduates of Electronic Engineering Program of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences of the National University of Mongolia (NUM).

Russia & United States can compete & work together in energy market - Putin www.rt.com

Russia and US are competitors in oil and gas exports, but there is room for cooperation in regulating the energy market, said Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Helsinki press conference with US President Donald Trump.
"I believe that we, as the largest oil and gas powers, could work constructively to regulate international markets, because we are not interested in acute prices drops, because producers will suffer from this, including shale oil and gas projects in the United States,” said President Putin in response to a reporter's question regarding the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Tesla Is Getting a China Factory. This $4 Billion Startup Will Be Waiting www.bloombergtv.mn

Henry Xia jumps into the burnt toast-colored electric car he helped build as co-founder of Xpeng Motors Technology Ltd. and commands it to play Green Day’s “21 Guns.” He asks the car about traffic conditions and starts driving. The 35-year-old is the most senior car executive at a Chinese automaker that hasn’t delivered a single vehicle, doesn’t own a factory and hasn’t obtained a production license from the government. At least, not yet.

What the four-year-old startup has is backing from tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Foxconn Technology Group and Xiaomi Corp. founder Lei Jun. Xpeng expects to raise more than $600 million this month from investors that include Alibaba, valuing it close to $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the fundraising.

In a test drive of Xpeng’s first crossover around a drab cement office park in Guangzhou, the roomy SUV drives smoothly, with a Tesla-like panoramic windshield and sleek exterior. But it’s the voice controls, streaming music, live video, driver-tracking maps and other software that reveal the auto ambitions of the company’s Chinese tech backers. Xpeng is making the equivalent of a smartphone with a steering wheel.

Xia explains why the company nicknamed this car David: “We’re going up against Goliath,” he says, referring to the hundreds of automakers churning out electric vehicles in China, where half of the world’s EVs are sold. “It’s not about the physical car anymore, which anyone can now manufacture,” Xia says, “but about building a robot on wheels.”

Xpeng is primed to capitalize on a trade tussle that is already jacking up car prices. As China hits back against the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs, import duties on American-made cars have increased to 40 percent. But perhaps the bigger opportunity comes from Tesla Inc.’s still-diminutive presence in China, creating an opening for local startups to hawk cheaper, technology-centric electric vehicles.

Tesla reached a preliminary agreement last week with the Shanghai government to build China’s first car-production facility wholly owned by a foreign automaker. Tesla expects car production to start within two years of starting construction and to churn out 500,000 cars per year in China two to three years after that.

It won’t be easy: Tesla’s made lofty promises before, only to delay plans. It will also have to clear hard-to-navigate government approvals and obtain permits. With just $2.7 billion in cash, Tesla must absorb what Bloomberg Intelligence estimates to be a $10 billion cost to build the plant and hasn’t specified where it will get the money.

“Tesla is running out of time,” says John Zeng, managing director of LMC Automotive Shanghai. He estimates that the American automaker sold fewer than 15,000 cars in China last year, claiming just 3 percent of the battery-powered market. In total, 25 million cars were sold in China last year.

Finding capital is less of a concern for the local startups trying to outrun Elon Musk. China’s government is offering financial and political support for electric-vehicle companies as it attempts to lead the world in the field, fueling the rise of Xpeng and hundreds of other rivals. President Xi Jinping pledges to open markets and curtail protectionism, even as he lavishes assistance on domestic makers of electric cars, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. China’s electric-car buyers get price subsidies of as much as $10,000 per vehicle, for example, and can also dodge license plate restrictions that impede sales of gasoline-powered cars.

That support, combined with ample cash from China’s tech leaders and the comparative ease of building EVs instead of traditional cars, has seeded a crop of startups competing with such established automakers as BYD Co., Beijing Automotive Group Co. and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.