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The CAT ruled that Apple had abused its dominant position from October 2015 until the end of 2020 by shutting out competition in the app distribution market and by “charging excessive and unfair prices” as commission to developers.

Apple – which has faced mounting pressure from regulators in the U.S. and Europe over the fees it charges developers – said it would appeal against the ruling, which it said “takes a flawed view of the thriving and competitive app economy”.

The case had been valued at around 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) by those who brought it. A hearing next month will decide how damages are calculated and Apple’s application for permission to appeal.

LANDMARK MASS LAWSUIT

Rachael Kent, the British academic who brought the case, argued Apple had made “exorbitant profits” by excluding all competition for the distribution of apps and in-app purchases.

Her lawyers argued at the start of the trial in January that Apple’s “100% monopoly position” allowed it to impose restrictive terms and excessive commissions on app developers, which Apple denied.

The CAT said in its ruling that developers were overcharged by the difference between a 17.5% commission for app purchases and the commission Apple charged, which Kent’s lawyers said was usually 30%. The CAT also ruled that app developers passed on 50% of the overcharge to consumers.

“This ruling overlooks how the App Store helps developers succeed and gives consumers a safe, trusted place to discover apps and securely make payments,” an Apple spokesperson said.

BOOST FOR UK’S ‘CLASS ACTION’ REGIME

The case was the first mass lawsuit against a tech giant to come to trial under Britain’s fledgling class action-style regime, which this year reached its 10th anniversary and has seen several multi-billion-pound cases certified for trial but with limited success for consumers so far.

Fellow tech giants including Amazon and Microsoft are also facing sizeable claims at the CAT.

Kent said in a statement that the ruling shows Britain’s collective action regime is working and “sends a clear message: no company, however wealthy or powerful, is above the law”.

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

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Calvin Klein Inc. today announces the U.S. launch of Re-Calvin, a new take-back program designed to make it easy for customers to responsibly part with their pre-loved items.

Developed in partnership with Trove, the leader in branded resale and customer trade-in, and Debrand, a comprehensive sortation and circular logistics partner, Re-Calvin is a free service from Calvin Klein that gives U.S. customers a simple, accessible way to extend the useful life of clothing, shoes and accessories from any brand through donation, recycling, downcycling or, when necessary, responsible disposal that is converted from waste to energy. Re-Calvin also accepts intimates such as bras, swimwear and underwear – a category often excluded from circularity programs.

“As Calvin Klein continues its sustainability journey, we are proud to introduce a program that makes circularity more accessible for our customers and delivers alternative uses for pre-loved items,” said David Savman, Global Brand President, Calvin Klein. “It was important that we partner with experts with a proven ability to build and scale programs that handle a wide range of products andcategories, making it easier than ever for customers to responsibly extend the life of their items.”

How It Works

Customers in the United States can visit calvinklein.us/re-calvin to print a free shipping label and send in items from any brand. Once received, each package is processed and routed according to Calvin Klein’s diligent, established standards:

• Reuse: Items in good condition are donated or sent to secondhand distribution partners.

• Recycle / Downcycle: Items that cannot be reused, including intimates, are recycled into new fibers whenever possible, or downcycled into materials such as insulation or padding.

• Responsible Disposal: As a final step, if no reuse, recycling or downcycling option is available, items are to be converted from waste to energy or alternative fuel conversion.

Only items suitable for a new owner are directed to reuse. Garments with significant wear, damage, heavy stains and all intimates are directed to end-of-use streams, including recycling, downcycling and responsible disposal. Customers receive an email update after their parcel is processed, detailing how their items were routed, ensuring transparency throughout the process.

Powered by Trove’s Takeback Plug-In

Re-Calvin is powered by Trove’s new Takeback Plug-In, which enables Calvin Klein to seamlessly manage item intake, routing and transparency at scale. The plug-in integrates directly into Calvin Klein’s existing U.S. website, enabling the brand to operate a multi-brand takeback program that includes complex categories such as intimates.

The Takeback Plug-in expands Trove’s suite of circular solutions, which also includes the Resale Plug-in, Trade-in Plug-in and a range of API integration options. Together, these tools give brands the flexibility to build customized circular programs that meet their unique needs.

“Re-Calvin marks the first implementation of Trove’s new Takeback Plug-In,” said Terry Boyle, CEO of Trove. “With this launch, Calvin Klein is showing how technology can make responsible choices simple for every customer, accepting items from any brand and across all categories, including intimates, to help keep more textiles in circulation.”

By accepting items from any brand and across all categories, Re-Calvin reflects Calvin Klein, Trove and Debrand’s shared belief that every item should have as many chances as possible to find a second life.

An autistic man who was let go as an unpaid shelf stacker at a Waitrose supermarket despite volunteering there for years has been offered a job at Asda.

Tom Boyd, 28, had worked in the Cheadle Hulme Waitrose store since 2021 with a support worker, as his mother, Frances Boyd, said the role gave her son “a sense of purpose and belonging”.

In a Facebook post last Friday, she wrote that her “autistic son has been treated so unfairly, and we feel deeply let down” by Waitrose. She said the supermarket declined to give him a paid job despite him offering more than 600 hours to the store “purely because he wanted to belong, contribute, and make a difference”, and that he was a well-liked member of the team by his co-workers.

Boyd added that they had only asked for a few hours of paid work “not as charity, but as recognition for all the time, effort, and heart” Tom had given to the store, and that she and her family were “shocked by how dismissive and cold” the management’s response was, and that Tom was asked not to return.

The post also claimed that Waitrose had not made any reasonable adjustments for Tom, who has limited communication skills, despite it being mandated by the Equality Act 2010, and that he received “no apology, no thanks, and no recognition for his commitment. Just silence.”

The post led to an outpouring of support for Tom, with Boyd telling the BBC on Thursday that she had been “overwhelmed” by people’s responses and that her son had been offered a job by another supermarket.

“We’ve had some great news – Asda have offered him two five-hour paid shifts a week,” Boyd said. “It’s overwhelming and they are flexible to say if at any time he is struggling they are fine. How amazing that a company could do this.”

As well as support, Boyd’s Facebook post also led to intense criticism being directed towards Waitrose for its handling of the situation, with some customers claiming on social media that they would no longer visit the store.

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, decried the company’s “truly terrible” treatment of Tom in a post on X.

After the backlash, Waitrose offered Boyd his job back in a paid capacity, but it is understood this offer was declined.

Burnham also pledged to support Boyd and others like him, saying that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority “would encourage all employers, including Waitrose, to sign up to our brand new Bee Neuroinclusive code of practice”, a guide for how companies should support neurodivergent employees. He offered Boyd’s mother the chance to be an ambassador for campaign, which she accepted.

Speaking on Wednesday, a Waitrose spokesperson said the company was “well experienced in making reasonable adjustments to help people succeed at work”, adding: “We are sorry to hear of Tom’s story and whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we are investigating as a priority.”

A spokesperson for Asda said the company “has a supported internship programme and partnership with DFN Project Search – a national charity for young people with autism or a learning disability – through which we have welcomed over 30 talented new colleagues into roles across our stores”.

“We have seen the positive impact this has for the individuals who join and for our colleagues and customers too. So when we heard about Tom and his desire to find meaningful work, we knew he’d be a fantastic fit and we are delighted to offer him a role at his local store,” they added.

By Joseph Adinolfi

A trio of issuers filed with the SEC this month for permission to launch dozens of new leveraged funds, some offering to amplify daily returns of hot stocks like Nvidia by as much as 5 times

Over the past few weeks, at least three ETF issuers sought permission from the SEC to launch new leveraged funds. Some say the prospects push the boundaries of what might be permitted under existing regulations.

Wall Street’s push to launch ever-riskier leveraged exchange-traded funds is picking up steam, as issuers test the boundaries of what is legally permissible in the U.S. with a recent flurry of filings.

Over the past few weeks, at least three ETF issuers – Volatility Shares, ProShares and T-Rex – have sought permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch new leveraged funds. If approved, these products would offer investors the opportunity to magnify daily swings in the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA; shares of artificial-intelligence darlings Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and CoreWeave (CRWV); and cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTCUSD) and XRP, by as much as 5x.

Many of the filings pitched funds that aim to amplify daily moves by 3x. But Volatility Shares has filed for permission to launch at least 21 funds advertising 5x daily swings on a number of individual stocks, cryptocurrencies, stock-market indexes or existing ETFs.

Representatives for Volatility Shares, ProShares and T-Rex all declined to comment on the filings when contacted by MarketWatch.

Since the beginning of October, issuers have filed for permission to launch more than 100 funds targeting 3x or 5x leverage, according to a MarketWatch analysis of securities filings.

Volatility Shares files for 21 5x levered ETFs

      Fund name                  Target                    Issuer        Date of filing 
   5x AMD ETF      Advanced Micro Devices Inc.       Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x AMZN ETF     Amazon.com Inc.                   Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x COIN ETF     Coinbase Global Inc.              Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x CRCL ETF     Circle Internet Group Inc.        Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x GOOGL ETF    Alphabet Inc. Class A             Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x MSTR ETF     Strategy Inc.                     Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x NVDA ETF     Nvidia Corp.                      Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x PLTR ETF     Palantir Technologies Inc.        Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x TSLA ETF     Tesla Inc.                        Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x Bitcoin ETF  Bitcoin                           Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x Ether ETF    Ethereum                          Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x Solana ETF   Solana                            Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x XRP ETF      XRP                               Volatility Shares  10/14/2025 
   5x GDX ETF      VanEck Gold Miners ETF            Volatility Shares  10/21/2025 
   5x GLD ETF      SPDR Gold Shares                  Volatility Shares  10/21/2025 
   5x MAGS ETF     Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF   Volatility Shares  10/21/2025 
   5x SLV ETF      iShares Silver Trust              Volatility Shares  10/21/2025 
   5x SOXQ ETF     Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF    Volatility Shares  10/21/2025 
   5x SPY ETF      SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust            Volatility Shares  10/16/2025 
   5x QQQ ETF      Invesco QQQ Trust Series I        Volatility Shares  10/16/2025 
   5x IWM ETF      iShares Russell 2000 ETF          Volatility Shares  10/16/2025 
   Source: SEC 

These filings caught the attention of individuals who closely follow the ETF industry. Some questioned whether these products would comply with current SEC regulations or run afoul of the regulator’s restrictions.

That’s because SEC regulations from 2021 include provisions that can effectively limit how much leverage a mutual fund or ETF can achieve using derivatives. The specific rule, known as 18f-4, states that firms must carefully manage how volatile their derivatives holdings might be – inclusive of swaps, futures or written options contracts.

Derivatives holdings are subject to a common risk-management calculation that compares their risk of loss to an underlying benchmark, said Rahul Sen Sharma, president and co-CEO of Indxx, which provides benchmarking services for ETFs that uses derivatives.

“Our understanding of 18f-4 is that it requires a designated reference portfolio to calculate a value at risk amount,” he told MarketWatch. While he called the rule “kind of long and complicated,” he figured it can be satisfied if a benchmark is provided – at least when it comes to 2x single-stock products, which have been approved in the past.

The first single-stock leveraged ETFs to trade in the U.S. launched in 2022, according to data from Morningstar Direct.

Dozens of funds aimed at 3x the daily move in an underlying index were grandfathered in because they launched before the 18f-4 SEC rule was finalized. That includes the ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF TQQQ, which aims to amplify daily swings in the Nasdaq-100 index NDX. That fund consistently ranks among the most heavily traded by clients of Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (IBKR), according to data shared with MarketWatch.

Of note, in the U.S., no ETF currently trading targets 3x the daily move on an individual stock. A spokesperson for the SEC said the agency isn’t able to respond to many press inquiries due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The higher the targeted leverage, the greater the challenge for getting these funds to pass muster with the SEC, said Dave Nadig, president and head of research at ETF.com and co-author of book titled “A Comprehensive Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds.” However, SEC rules governing derivative-linked volatility could probably be gamed to a certain extent, he said.

Others were more upbeat about the possibility that the SEC could permit the new batch of proposed funds to come to market, including the ones targeting 5x leverage.

A top executive at one ETF issuer, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly to the press, said he thinks these funds could be allowed under current SEC rules. Ultimately, whether or not they are approved will depend on how deeply opposed the SEC is to allowing these products to come to market, the executive said.

“Remember what happened with spot bitcoin? It wasn’t allowed, everyone filed for it, now it’s huge,” the executive said. In 2024, after a years-long saga, the SEC finally approved ETFs that could hold bitcoin directly.

Booming issuance

Issuance of new ETFs has boomed over the past couple of years as companies gravitated toward increasingly complex products. Funds that use derivatives, either to supercharge daily swings or offer dividend income or downside protection, have proven particularly popular.

Leveraged equity funds are the largest category in the leveraged-fund universe, encompassing 750 funds and $164.37 billion in total assets, according to data from EPFR, an ISI Markets company. The number of existing leveraged equity funds has increased by 40% year to date, and the vast majority of funds in the leveraged-equity category are ETFs.

Firms have also launched 164 leveraged alternative funds, which track cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and commodities like gold. These have accumulated $46 billion in assets, while leveraged bond funds have taken in $7.6 billion across 56 funds, EPFR data showed. These figures include both ETFs and mutual funds.

In the U.S., leveraged funds can be purchased on Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) and other brokerages popular with individual investors, making them particularly popular with amateur speculators, experts said. Professional investors can trade them as well.

European regulators, so far, have demonstrated a higher tolerance than their U.S. counterparts for allowing leveraged products that everyday investors can tap. While some products tied to individual stocks have proven popular, one such fund went bust earlier this month, offering a lesson to investors.

On Oct. 6, the GraniteShares 3x Short AMD Daily ETP was terminated by its issuer after shares of AMD rose by more than 33% intraday, driving the value of the exchange-traded product to zero. This fund was what is known as an inverse fund. Seen as a sibling to leveraged funds, inverse funds aim to profit when the targeted asset or index declines in value. A 33% gain for a given stock would be large enough to wipe out a 3x inverse fund.

In a statement shared with MarketWatch, GraniteShares described the liquidation as a “standard outcome.”

“The closure of a 3x long or short ETF following an extreme price move is a standard outcome in both U.K. and U.S. markets. In this instance, a 33%+ intraday move in AMD triggered the predefined mechanism that results in a 100% loss for a 3x short position, exactly how the product is designed to operate,” a representative for GraniteShares said in a written statement to MarketWatch. Investors who owned the fund ahead of the wipeout lost their entire investment.

Liquidations like that one could follow in the U.S. if any or all of the current crop of filings for single-stock leveraged funds are approved, according to Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Balchunas crunched the numbers and found 350 instances over the past five years where one of 66 stocks included in a filing for a 3x leveraged product swung by 33% or more in a single session. Such a move could be large enough to wipe out a fund aiming to amplify a daily move by 3x in either direction. A drop of just 20% would be enough to push a fund targeting 5x leverage on a single stock to liquidate.

Despite these risks, ETF.com’s Nadig said products targeting 5x leverage on stocks like Nvidia would probably prove popular with investors.

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Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump.

Zhao, also known as “CZ”, was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.

Binance was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Zhao’s prosecution under the Biden administration part of a “war on cryptocurrency”.

She claimed Zhao had been targeted “despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victim” and said prosecutors’ efforts to seek a three-year prison sentence had “severely damaged the United States’ reputation”.

“The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over,” she said.

The move to pardon Zhao comes amid the Trump administration’s adoption of a more friendly stance towards cryptocurrency than his predecessors.

The President has vowed to make the US the “crypto capital” of the world and made his own mark in the digital currency landscape by releasing his own coin shortly ahead of his inauguration in January.

Since then, he has sought to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve and pushed for making it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in them.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported representatives of the Trump family – which has its own crypto firm World Liberty Financial – had recently held talks with Binance.

The company has spent nearly a year pursuing a pardon for its former boss, who completed his four month prison sentence in September 2024, the WSJ reported on Thursday.

Binance has been approached for comment.

The exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, remains the world’s most popular platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Zhao stepped down from the company in November 2023.

He wrote in a post on X it was “not easy to let go emotionally” but “the right thing to do”.

“I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility,” he said.

US officials at the time accused Binance and Zhao of “wilful violations” of its laws – saying they had threatened the US financial system and national security.

“Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit,” said then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“Its wilful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform.”

That’s why today, we’re announcing Future Ready 2030—a $2.5 billion commitment to expand access to education and skills training and help prepare at least 50 million people for the future of work. This will benefit Amazon employees, students, and many others, because we believe that in a rapidly changing economy, people deserve the tools to adapt, build a career, and thrive.

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Apple has lost a landmark UK class action antitrust lawsuit over claims it levies “excessive and unfair” charges on software downloaded from its App Store, in the latest legal blow to the US tech giant.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled on Thursday that the Silicon Valley-based group abused a dominant position to charge developers commissions of as much as 30 per cent on purchases.

The claimants said 36mn consumers would be entitled to damages of about £1.5bn. Apple said it would appeal.

The tribunal found that Apple has “near absolute market power” in the markets for iOS app distribution and in-app payments.

Apple “is abusing its dominant position by charging excessive and unfair prices” to developers, it said in the decision.

The tech group said the ruling took a “flawed view” of the mobile apps market, arguing iPhones face “vigorous competition”.

“This ruling overlooks how the App Store helps developers succeed and gives consumers a safe, trusted place to discover apps and securely make payments,” Apple said.

The tribunal’s decision is the latest in a series of legal and regulatory challenges facing Apple’s lucrative services business, which is expected to generate more than $100bn in revenues for the first time this year.

The decision comes just a day after the UK’s antitrust agency said it would impose strict new rules on how Apple and Google run their mobile platforms under Britain’s new digital competition law.

Apple is also fighting several aspects of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which has forced the iPhone maker to make changes to its App Store.

It also faces huge pressure over the App Store in the US. Last year, the US Department of Justice filed a landmark antitrust case against Apple over what it alleges is a smartphone monopoly.

The CAT ruling is a crucial victory for class action claimants following a series of recent disappointments.

A wave of lawsuits have been launched — many of them against technology companies — under legislation drawn up a decade ago allowing mass actions over alleged breaches of competition law.

But the cases have been bogged down by protracted legal arguments over process, and payouts so far have largely been seen as disappointing for claimants.

The case against Apple — led by “class representative” Rachael Kent, a lecturer at King’s College London — was the first such case against a Big Tech group to go to trial before the CAT. Apple’s chief financial officer Kevan Parekh testified this year.

Kent said in a statement following the ruling: “Every in-app purchase, subscription and paid download was inflated by Apple’s anti-competitive practices.”

She added: “This is a landmark victory — not only for App Store users, but for anyone who has ever felt powerless against a global tech giant.”

In a 396-page ruling on Thursday, the CAT said “the process for resolving any questions relating to the calculation” of damages would be determined at a subsequent hearing, as soon as next month.

Tesla is recalling more than 63,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. because the front lights are too bright, which may cause a distraction to other drivers and increase the risk of a collision.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the recall includes certain Cybertrucks with a model year between 2024 and 2026. The vehicles were made between Nov. 13, 2023, and Oct. 11, 2025, with operating software versions prior to 2025.38.3.

The agency said that Tesla is not aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities related to the condition.

Tesla, which is run by billionaire Elon Musk, is issuing a free software update to correct the issue.

Earlier this month, federal regulators opened yet another investigation into Tesla’s self-driving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing that it was looking into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using the company’s so-called Full Self-Driving mode, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries. The new probe adds to several other open investigations into Tesla technology that could upend Musk’s plans to turn millions of his cars already on the road into completely driverless vehicles with a over-the-air update to their software.

In March U.S. safety regulators recalled virtually all Cybertrucks on the road. The NHTSA’s recall, which covered more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an exterior panel that runs along the left and right side of the windshield can detach while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

On Wednesday Tesla reported a fourth straight decline in quarterly profit, even as sales rose. The automaker reported third-quarter earnings plunged 37% to $1.4 billion, or 39 cents a share, from $2.2 billion, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. That marked the fourth quarter in a row that profit dropped. And even the revenue rise, a welcome relief from a sales plunge earlier in the year due to anti-Musk boycotts, came with a significant caveat: Customers rushed to take advantage of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expired on Oct. 1, possibly stealing sales from the current quarter.