Wall Street traded mixed Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled to recover from its longest losing streak since February ahead of key readings on inflation and retail sales later this week.
Jim Cramer and TheStreet Senior Portfolio Analyst Jeff Marks talked about California’s antitrust ruling on Apple vs. Epic Games and Chinese regulators’ plan to breakup Alipay, the payment app owned by Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Group.
Apple Vs. Epic
Apple (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. (AAPL) Report on Friday lost part of a contentious legal battle with “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games in a California court ruling.
Apple was found to engage in anticompetitive conduct under California law, and will be forced to change its App Store policies and loosen its grip over in-app purchases following the federal court ruling.
The judge sided with Apple on the lawsuit’s other claims and notably did not conclude that the iPhone maker is a monopoly.
Epic Games on Sunday said in a legal filing that it plans to appeal a ruling in its antitrust case against Apple.
Cramer said the California ruling is a win for Apple and that the tech stock should still be a buy for investors. “They won nine out of 10 counts. And they won on the monopoly count [which Epic plans to appeal]. The judge did not give a way for Apple to be able to cure the problem which is a problem in an obscure law — California’s Cartwright Act,” he said.
“According to the judge, Apple did not violate the Sherman Antitrust Act which is what Epic really wanted. Which is why Epic is appealing the verdict and Apple hasn’t bothered yet to appeal,” he said.
“They may appeal, or they may just try to figure out, if we do this email fix, maybe we have beaten the Cartwright. The judge found that there is incipient antitrust problems which means it can be cured before it happens,” Cramer added.
China’s Crackdown on Alipay
U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba (BABA) – Get Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Sponsored ADR Report retreated Monday after the Financial Times reported that Beijing was planning to break up Alipay, the popular payment app owned by its financial affiliate, Ant Group.
Cramer said the Chinese government uniquely thinks that data is key, and he’s trying to figure out, is the data key to making it so that there is common prosperity.
“The government wants to know Alipay’s algorithm in order to be able to grant a loan. They want the data to know if the customer is being ripped off or not. And that’s a nightmare for a company operating in this space,” said Cramer.
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