California is suing Amazon, accusing the company of violating the state’s antitrust laws by stifling competition and engaging in practices that push sellers to maintain higher prices on products on other sites. The 84-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday in San Francisco superior court mirrors another complaint filed last year by the District of Columbia, which was dismissed by a district judge earlier this year and is now going through an appeals process. – Guardian
Setting a new example in environmental corporate leadership, the billionaire owner of Patagonia is giving the entire company away to fight the Earth’s climate devastation, he announced on Wednesday. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who turned his passion for rock climbing into one of the world’s most successful sportswear brands, is giving the entire company to a uniquely structured trust and nonprofit, designed to pump all of the company’s profits into saving the planet. – Guardian
The taxpayer is to fund profits of up to £1.6bn for energy suppliers this year after their earnings were protected in Liz Truss’s freeze on household bills. Businesses will be allowed to make a margin of 1.9pc on energy that they sell to the public through the Prime Minister’s subsidy scheme, which caps the average bill at £2,500. – Telegraph
SoftBank is weighing up whether to launch a third large investment fund for start-ups as the Japanese conglomerate seeks to draw a line under record losses. Executives at the world’s most prolific technology investor have held discussions over how to proceed after its billionaire founder pledged to move forward with care. – The Times
The company behind Scalextric and Airfix indicated yesterday that it had not fully complied with stock market disclosure rules regarding related-party transactions with a company owned by its executive chairman. Hornby bought about £502,000 of stock, tooling and other items from Oxford Diecast, which makes and supplies diecast model vehicles and was owned by LCD Enterprises, a company owned by Lyndon Davies, Hornby’s chief executive. LCD was fully acquired by Hornby in July last year. – The Times
