Meta and Amazon have quietly teamed up to enable Facebook and Instagram visitors to make Amazon purchases without leaving the social media apps.  Meta has struggled with social shopping, so this is something of an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach.  Both parties also get more precious data tying together customer behavior and purchases.

You can never tell what’s behind that light at the of tunnel, but let’s think positive.  Firmex, which helps companies to share confidential data during investment negotiations, reports that merger and acquisition advisors are more optimistic about deal volume and valuations than any time since the start of 2022.  Deals are also taking longer to close and include more contingent compensation, but we’ll take any good news we can get.

Google lashed out at the Department of Justice’s threat to break up the company, calling the proposals “radical.” Among other things, Google says the proposals would threaten users’ privacy, stifle innovation and break Android and Chrome. Given the appeals process, it will likely be years before we know whether Google will stay in one piece.