TheChek News Flow

iOS 13.4 contains references to a “CarKey” API, which will make it possible to use the iPhone and also the Apple Watch to unlock, lock, and start a car. According to the system’s internal files, users will be able to use CarKey in NFC-compatible cars, as they only need to hold the device near the vehicle to use it as a key.

It will not be necessary to authenticate with Face ID, similar to what happens with Express Transit Cards. This also means that the feature will work even with iPhone or Apple Watch out of battery.

To use CarKey, hold iPhone or Apple Watch to reader. It will work automatically, without requiring Face ID. You can change express mode settings in Wallet.

The pairing process will be done through the Wallet app, and then it will be necessary to have the car manufacturer’s app to proceed with the setup. Users should place the iPhone on top of the NFC reader in the car during the initial process, and then CarKey will be available in the Wallet app. After that, the key can easily be added to Apple Watch.

Another interesting information is that CarKey can be shared with other people, such as family members. Drivers can invite them also through the Wallet app to have access to the key on their own Apple devices.

%@ invited you to use their %@ with unlock access. This allows you to use your iPhone and Apple Watch to unlock/lock the car.

If the automatic pairing process fails, users can manually add the key to the Wallet app using a PIN code.

It seems that Apple is already working with some car manufacturers to implement CarKey, but it probably won’t be available to everyone until iOS 13.4 is officially released. We’ll be looking for more information about that feature, and we’ll update the article as we find more evidence.

Although Netflix received 24 nominations (the most of any studio) at this year’s Oscars, its films only ended up winning two awards.

Laura Dern was named Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing Nora, a flashy divorce attorney in “Marriage Story” — the only award that “Marriage Story” won from its six nominations.

And “The Irishman” came up empty-handed despite being nominated in 10 categories. Both films were nominated for Best Director and Best Picture, awards that ultimately went to the night’s big winner “Parasite.”

Netflix’s only other Oscar for the evening was for “American Factory,” which won the award for Best Documentary Feature. The film was the first to emerge from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production deal with Netflix. (Despite rumors to the contrary, the Obamas were not on-hand to accept the award.)

Last year, Netflix’s “Roma” won the awards for cinematography, foreign language film and director. There was some speculation that it might have beaten “Green Book” for Best Picture if it had been released by a traditional studio, but it had other disadvantages. For one thing, a foreign language film had never won the big award — until tonight, when “Parasite” emerged victorious.

And perhaps this would have been the year of “Parasite” regardless; it certainly deserved all the awards. Still, “The Irishman” seemed like Netflix’s biggest swing yet. It was made for a reported budget of $160 million, directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese and brought Al Pacino and Robert De Niro back together on-screen. Maybe next year.

The antitrust commissioner signals that she is willing to go beyond fines

For years Brussels has been accused of being too slow to take antitrust actions against US tech giants. Critics say that by the time a fine is imposed, the likes of Google or Facebook have already killed competition. The fines end up seeming a mere cost of doing business for large online platforms.

But the mood music is changing. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition supremo, is under pressure to be more aggressive, and has signalled she is willing to go beyond fines as she seeks to restore competition. 

“We will be much more aware as to what [is] needed in order for competition to come back in a market that has been plagued with illegal behaviour by one or more companies,” she said last autumn after being confirmed as competition commissioner for a second term.

Last week, Ms Vestager got a reminder from the finance ministers of France, Germany, Poland and Italy to get on with a review of competition rules and promote European answers to digital and industrial threats coming from the US and China. The letter urged Ms Vestager to go after giant digital platforms “without unnecessary delay, in order to avoid irreversible distortions in competition on digital markets”. 

There are plenty of suggestions around for how she can take tougher action. A high-level expert report commissioned by Ms Vestager and published last year suggested tech giants could be held to higher standards of proof. She has said that companies such as Google should take on extra responsibilities because they have become “de facto regulators” in their markets. Ms Vestager is also under pressure to stop alleged anti-competitive behaviour even if a probe is still ongoing.

In Google’s case, for instance, rivals to the search engine want her to implement interim measures on Google Local and Google Travel, even though an investigation is not imminent. Google also faces a complaint from a rival over favouring its own services when it comes to searching holiday rentals.

It has rejected such claims and has said it provides “relevant and trusted information from a diverse range of sources”. This week it is going to the EU court in Luxembourg to challenge a €2.4bn fine imposed for abusing its dominance and favouring its own shopping services.

European states are also taking action. Berlin is pushing through new laws that will give its antitrust watchdog more powers to intervene against “abusive practices for big market-dominating digital companies”. The UK competition regulator wants to pursue new cases against the US tech giants post-Brexit. In the US, a broad coalition of attorneys-general has also launched an unprecedented investigation into big tech practices.

“There is a huge global shift from regulators,” said Barry Lynn, who runs the Open Markets Institute, a liberal think-tank that has advised presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. “They are saying they are not going to put up with [anti-competitive behaviour] any more.”

DAX:

MDAX:

SDAX:

Nikkei -0.60% Hang Seng -0.56% CSI +0.27% Shanghai +0.29% Shenzen +0.93%

Eur$ 1.0954 CNH 6.9832 CNY 6.9815 JPY 109.82 GBP 1.2903 CHF 0.9775 RUB 63.9125 TRY 6.0011 WTI$ 50.63 +0.08%

S&P +0.18% EuroStoxx -0.03% FTSE -0.10% Dax -0.07% SMI +0.13%

Macro ;

- U.S. Closes Antitrust Probe of Automakers Over Emissions Deal

- Virus Fallout From Singapore Conference Spreads Across Europe

- Coronavirus May Soon Peak in Wuhan With 500,000 People Infected

Keep an eye on :

- AIR FP : Airbus in Talks to Buy Out Bombardier Stake in A220 Program

- AIR FP : Embraer Says New Turbo-Prop Depends on Boeing Venture Approval

- AF FP : Air France-KLM Group January Passenger Traffic Rises 2.7%

- ALV GY : Ex-Pimco CEO Hodge Gets Nine Months in College Admission Scam

- MT NA : Italy Considering Possible State Investment in Taranto Mill

- CA FP : Axa Said in Advanced Talks to Sell Eastern Europe Unit to Uniqa

- BAYN GY : Bayer’s U.S. Roundup Cases Pushed Back at Request of Mediator

- BUR LN : Muddy Waters Says Burford 2H Results Validate Its Thesis

- BOOM LN : Audioboom Explores Potential Sale or Merger, Sky Says

- AFX GY : Carl Zeiss Meditec First Quarter Revenue 1.7% Above Estimates

- COTN SW : Comet FY Sales CHF371.6m, Ebitda Margin 10.8% Above Expectations

- CTT PL : CTT Says Some Shareholders Invited Oliveira to Become Chairman

- DIE BB : D’Ieteren Acquires Belron Preference Shares for $164 Million

- DKSH SW : DKSH Full Year Dividend Per Share CHF1.90 Vs. CHF1.85 Y/y

- EXO IM : Covea Is Said in Talks to Buy Agnellis’ PartnerRe for $9 Billion

- HELN SW : Helvetia Plans Capital Raise of 4-5% For Deal, CEO Tells Paper

- HOLMB SS : Holmen Preferred Among Nordic Forest Companies, Buy Shares: DI

- ISP IM : Timing Is Still Not Quite Right for Italian Banking Mergers

- ISR GY : *ATLAS COPCO AGREES TO BUY ISRA VISION FOR EU50 A SHARE IN CASH

- LEG GY : LEG Immobilien Names Susanne Schroeter-Crossan CFO From July 1

- LOTB BB : Lotus Bakeries NV FY Adjusted Ebitda Beats Highest Est.

- MS IM : Mediaset to Secure Six-Month Extension to Merge Units: Reuters

- RNO FP : Renault’s Korea Unit Closes Over Supply Disruptions in China

- ROG SW : Roche Says Gantenerumab Arm in Alzheimer Study Did Not Meet Goal

- SEBA SS : SEB Names New Head of Baltic Division

- SLA LN : Standard Life Aberdeen Starts Buyback Program of Up to GBP400M

- TMV GY : TeamViewer Sees 2020 Billings EU430 Mln To EU440 Mln

- TKA GY : Thyssenkrupp to Replace Chief of Steel Unit, Handelsblatt Says

- UQA Av : Austria’s Uniqa Agrees to Buy Axa Units for About $1.1 Billion

- WMH LN : William Hill Close to Inking U.S. Deal With CBS Sports: Times

- WDI GY : Wirecard Becomes Official Development Partner of SAP to Drive Innovative Customer Experiences

Nikkei -0.60% Hang Seng -0.56% CSI +0.27% Shanghai +0.29% Shenzen +0.93%

Eur$ 1.0954 CNH 6.9832 CNY 6.9815 JPY 109.82 GBP 1.2903 CHF 0.9775 RUB 63.9125 TRY 6.0011 WTI$ 50.63 +0.08%

S&P +0.18% EuroStoxx -0.03% FTSE -0.10% Dax -0.07% SMI +0.13%

Macro ;

- U.S. Closes Antitrust Probe of Automakers Over Emissions Deal

- Virus Fallout From Singapore Conference Spreads Across Europe

- Coronavirus May Soon Peak in Wuhan With 500,000 People Infected

Keep an eye on :

- AIR FP : Airbus in Talks to Buy Out Bombardier Stake in A220 Program

- AIR FP : Embraer Says New Turbo-Prop Depends on Boeing Venture Approval

- AF FP : Air France-KLM Group January Passenger Traffic Rises 2.7%

- ALV GY : Ex-Pimco CEO Hodge Gets Nine Months in College Admission Scam

- MT NA : Italy Considering Possible State Investment in Taranto Mill

- CA FP : Axa Said in Advanced Talks to Sell Eastern Europe Unit to Uniqa

- BAYN GY : Bayer’s U.S. Roundup Cases Pushed Back at Request of Mediator

- BUR LN : Muddy Waters Says Burford 2H Results Validate Its Thesis

- BOOM LN : Audioboom Explores Potential Sale or Merger, Sky Says

- AFX GY : Carl Zeiss Meditec First Quarter Revenue 1.7% Above Estimates

- COTN SW : Comet FY Sales CHF371.6m, Ebitda Margin 10.8% Above Expectations

- CTT PL : CTT Says Some Shareholders Invited Oliveira to Become Chairman

- DIE BB : D’Ieteren Acquires Belron Preference Shares for $164 Million

- DKSH SW : DKSH Full Year Dividend Per Share CHF1.90 Vs. CHF1.85 Y/y

- EXO IM : Covea Is Said in Talks to Buy Agnellis’ PartnerRe for $9 Billion

- HELN SW : Helvetia Plans Capital Raise of 4-5% For Deal, CEO Tells Paper

- HOLMB SS : Holmen Preferred Among Nordic Forest Companies, Buy Shares: DI

- ISP IM : Timing Is Still Not Quite Right for Italian Banking Mergers

- LEG GY : LEG Immobilien Names Susanne Schroeter-Crossan CFO From July 1

- LOTB BB : Lotus Bakeries NV FY Adjusted Ebitda Beats Highest Est.

- MS IM : Mediaset to Secure Six-Month Extension to Merge Units: Reuters

- RNO FP : Renault’s Korea Unit Closes Over Supply Disruptions in China

- ROG SW : Roche Says Gantenerumab Arm in Alzheimer Study Did Not Meet Goal

- SEBA SS : SEB Names New Head of Baltic Division

- SLA LN : Standard Life Aberdeen Starts Buyback Program of Up to GBP400M

- TMV GY : TeamViewer Sees 2020 Billings EU430 Mln To EU440 Mln

- TKA GY : Thyssenkrupp to Replace Chief of Steel Unit, Handelsblatt Says

- UQA Av : Austria’s Uniqa Agrees to Buy Axa Units for About $1.1 Billion

- WMH LN : William Hill Close to Inking U.S. Deal With CBS Sports: Times

- WDI GY : Wirecard Becomes Official Development Partner of SAP to Drive Innovative Customer Experiences