iPhones to accept payments, China clears AMD for Xilinx acquisition, Spotify removes Neil Young’s music

Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman reports on trending business stories, which include Apple planning to turn iPhones into payment terminals, AMD receiving clearance from China for its $345 billion Xilinx acquisition, and Spotify removing Neil Yoing's music over Joe Rogan dispute.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Apple could directly challenge Square by allowing small businesses to turn iPhones into payment terminals without extra hardware. According to Bloomberg, the technology will likely use the iPhone's near-field communications chip that's currently used for Apple Pay and will allow people like food delivery workers and hair stylists to accept payments with the tap of a credit card or another iPhone onto the back of their device.

Square would be able to take advantage of the feature if Apple allows any app to use it, but it's unclear if it will only work exclusively with Apple Pay. That's why those shares of Square or Block, as the parent company is known, are down by 2 and 1/2% today.

Advanced Micro Devices' $35 billion takeover of Xilinx has cleared its final major regulatory hurdle after the deal was approved by Chinese regulators. China's state administration for market regulation said it would approve the deal if AMD does not discriminate against Chinese clients and continue supplying Xilinx's products to its country. The acquisition, one of the largest in the global semiconductor industry, was first announced back in 2020. By the way, those Xilinx shares also higher today after it reported earnings.

And Spotify has begun the process of removing music by Neil Young. This comes after the rock star demanded Spotify choose between him and podcaster Joe Rogan, saying Rogan spreads, quote, "fake information about vaccines." Spotify said it regrets the move and hopes Neil Young can return to the platform soon. Young's not the only one, by the way. Earlier this month, 270 scientists and medical professionals also criticized Rogan, sending Spotify an open letter asking it to establish a clear misinformation policy. Spotify shares, though, not really seeing much reaction.