Anita Ramaswamy

Reddit plans to reserve a big chunk of shares in its initial public offering for its website's users and moderato.

Microsoft made an investment in OpenAI last year, which breathed life into the prospects for venture firms.

People turn to social media site Reddit for advice on topics ranging from baking cookies to legal dilemmas. It posted 20% revenue growth last year, a testament to its posts' ability to attract advertisers. But despite its popularity, Reddit's reliance on search engines, specifically Alphabet-owned Google, poses a fundamental risk. Fickle users are expensive to attract, and that keeps Reddit on a c

Strange bedfellows. The enemy of Alphabet's enemy may be its friend. The $1.8 trillion search giant pays Apple billions of dollars to make its Google

NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bitcoin's price broke its record, nearly two years after crypto exchange FTX went bust.

It's 12 months since Silicon Valley Bank failed and Credit Suisse collapsed into the arms of UBS. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how bigger banks gorged on these lenders' carcasses – and how the system's underlying weaknesses have not gone away.

Fee frenzy. Retailers just notched a big win in a lengthy battle against credit-card network operators. Visa and Mastercard, which together account for three-fourths of credit-card transactions globally, agreed in a settlement to cap the so-called swipe fees that they take when shoppers use their cards. The counsel representing the millions of U.S. merchants involved estimates the arrangement will save them a collective $30 billion over five years. It could also cause greater shifts in the rich economics of paying on plastic.At present, retailers can sometimes ask customers to pay more when they use a card than when they hand over cash, but they typically can’t vary the price according to which specific card is swiped, under the terms imposed by the two powerful payment networks. In theory, the new arrangement will change this. Swipe fees, which in 2023 cost merchants $72 billion, per data provider Nilson Report, have been rising rapidly. Networks negotiate them with merchants, though most of the income goes to the banks issuing the cards. While consumers may not know it, cards with rewards programs that offer perks like airline miles tend to be pricier for merchants to process.After this settlement, retailers might raise prices for shoppers who use these premium cards, which could erode demand. If a customer goes to buy coffee with a friend and realizes she will be charged more for the same latte because she uses her Chase Sapphire Reserve card, for example, she might reconsider her payment method.Credit cards drive huge profit for banks, so the mere threat that merchants could pass higher fees onto lucrative customers could spook them into settling for a lower overall rate. But there is some stickiness: A Bankrate survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults suggests that 67% of those with credit card debt still prioritize rewards.The settlement resolves litigation that has dragged on for nearly two decades, though Morgan Stanley analysts reckon it will cost both networks less than 0.01% of their 2025 revenue. Meantime, policymakers’ calls for legislation that could more permanently erode what U.S. Senator Dick Durbin calls a “duopoly” are intensifying. For card-swiping customers, the fight is just beginning.

Over-accessorizing. The $274 billion luxury house Hermès International might be a little too exclusive. In a lawsuit filed last week, two California shoppers allege that the brand violates U.S. antitrust law by forcing customers for its much-sought Birkin handbags to first buy other items. If successful, the case could crimp Hermès’ fastest-growing segments and ultra-luxe goods’ mystique.Hermès’ must-have aura is burnished by its lofty clientele: Birkin bags sell for at least $10,000 each. The lawsuit alleges that getting to the front of the queue for the carrier is grueling. One plaintiff claims they had to buy tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of home goods and scarves just to have a chance at being shown a Birkin. In legal parlance, this is “tying,” or forcing customers seeking one good in which a company is dominant to purchase other goods facing more competition. The U.S. government sued tech stalwart Microsoft in 1998 over philosophically similar claims.Plaintiffs here will likely have to show that Hermès consistently enforces a policy of requiring unrelated purchases as a pre-condition to buying its top-tier bags, and that this practice restricted competition for accessories. To the first point, the lawsuit claims that Hermès sales associates don’t earn commissions on selling Birkins, while they take a 3% cut on other goods, potentially indicating perverse incentives.But the accessory market is highly fragmented, and in-store snobbery isn’t new. Customers of Chanel, for instance, have said that they receive more favorable treatment for buying clothing in addition to the brand’s handbags, according to the Washington Post. Plus, a strong secondary market offers alternative access to the bags.Still, if plaintiffs clear their hurdle, it could pose a real risk to high-flying Hermès. Those secondary sales are often at a premium to Birkins’ original purchase price, bolstering their appeal. Anything endangering the current sales model could wreck that delicate balance. And if Birkins’ aura really drives sales of other goods, Hermès’ highest-growth areas could suffer. The company’s leather goods segment, which includes Birkin, grew revenue 12% in 2023, while ready-to-wear clothing, watches and jewelry, and home goods expanded much faster.That growth aids a valuation as premium as the company’s bags, with shares trading at 33 times expected earnings – over double the multiples of rivals LVMH and Kering, according to LSEG. An adverse court outcome would put any similarly exclusive retailers on notice. The resurgence of antitrust enforcement has hit everything from tech to groceries; the rarefied air of ultra-luxury fashion may not be immune.

Policymakers and trustbusters are eyeing new restrictions on mergers and acquisitions. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists unpack some imaginative workarounds being used by companies ranging from Big Tech to fast food.

The four big tech firms that reported earnings results in the past 10 days—Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Amazon—posted substantially richer operating profit margins than they have in several years. Investors shouldn’t get used to it.