A U.S. district judge in Oregon has blocked a $25 billion bid by supermarket giant Kroger to take over rival Albertsons, ruling that the Federal Trade Commission’s concerns about the merger’s impact on market consolidation were valid.

Judge Adrienne Nelson said Tuesday afternoon that a merger between the two companies would end up harming consumers.

The two companies ‘engage in substantial head-to-head competition and the proposed merger would remove that competition,’ Ferguson wrote. As a result, the proposed merger would be likely to lead to outcomes that ‘unilaterally’ harm consumers and is thus ‘presumptively unlawful. ‘

Ferguson also ruled the merger would be bad for workers, arguing that increased consolidation would reduce workers’ bargaining power.

Albertsons said in a statement that it is ‘disappointed by the U.S. District Court’s decision to grant the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction.’

‘We believe we clearly outlined during the proceedings how the proposed merger would expand competition, lower prices, increase associate wages, protect union jobs, and enhance customers’ shopping experience. We are carefully reviewing the Court’s opinion and are evaluating our options in accordance with the merger agreement,’ it said.

A spokesperson for Kroger also expressed disappointment and said the company ‘is currently reviewing its options.’

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, has said a court ruling like this one would effectively scuttle the merger.

The FTC applauded the decision, saying the agency “scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons.’

‘This victory has a direct, tangible impact on the lives of millions of Americans who shop at Kroger or Albertsons-owned grocery stores for their everyday needs, whether that’s a Fry’s in Arizona, a Von’s in Southern California, or a Jewel-Osco in Illinois,’ the FTC said in a statement.

Kroger shares closed up 5% Tuesday, while shares of Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, finished 2% lower.

Kroger had argued the deal was necessary for it to continue to compete with big box retailers like Walmart and Target, as well as Amazon, that have significantly grown their grocery businesses.

But Nelson said that ‘supermarkets’ still represent a distinct, niche market within the U.S. consumer landscape and that the impacts from the proposed merger must be accounted for.

The ruling is a victory for the Biden administration and especially FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has taken an unprecedentedly aggressive approach to countering mergers likely to create monopolies.

Salt Lake City has grown from a winter sports venue to a vibrant technology hub in just two decades, leveraging the legacy of the 2002 Winter Olympics to transform into one of America’s fastest-growing business destinations.

Known as part of Utah’s “Silicon Slopes,” the city has become a magnet for entrepreneurial spirit, venture capital and a flourishing workforce. Over the past decade, wages have risen by 51%, and the population has increased by 10%, according to the Census Bureau.

Former Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt credits the Olympics with spurring major infrastructure projects in Salt Lake City, attracting technology talent and establishing an economic legacy that continues to shape the region’s identity.

“The Games were a great catalyst. And big economic growth needs a catalyst like that,” Leavitt told CNBC for the upcoming “Cities of Success: Salt Lake City” special, premiering Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.

In 2002, the world watched as Salt Lake City welcomed athletes and spectators to the Winter Olympics. But for Leavitt, who served as governor from 1993 to 2003, the Games meant much more than 17 days of sporting excitement. 

“The 17 days of the Games is very important,” Leavitt said. “But it’s what happens in the seven or eight years in advance — and what happens in the 10 years after — that ultimately makes the Games a worthwhile experience, both economically and culturally.”

The 2002 Games utilized 10 facilities, all of which continue to serve the community and attract major events, including the Olympic Oval, a premier speed skating venue still used by aspiring Olympians today. 

The multimillion-dollar facility is said to have the “fastest ice on Earth” by athletes who have broken records on it.

Experts say the high altitude — more than 4,600 feet above sea level — reduces air resistance, which may help give skaters an edge when it comes to speed.

In preparation for the Games, Leavitt said, Utah invested in infrastructure improvements, including light rail and major highways, creating lasting benefits for both residents and visitors.

“It’s a lot like having a party at your house — a lot gets done with that deadline,” Leavitt told CNBC. “We competed with the world and realized we can win.”

Salt Lake City’s 2002 Olympics cost about $2 billion and turned a profit. The University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute reports the state’s allocation for the Games resulted in a $164 million surplus, with $59 million returned to taxpayers.

In the 15 years following the Games, skier visits to Utah increased by 43%, hotel and lodging revenue grew by 70%, and visitor spending soared by 66%, according to the Gardner Institute.

″[The early 90s] was at a time when technology was just beginning to emerge,” Leavitt said. “Up until that point, Utah had been both agriculturally based as well as defense — but there was an ambition on our part to become a tech capital.”

During preparations for the Olympics, Leavitt met with Adobe co-founder and Salt Lake City native John Warnock in Silicon Valley to discuss building a tech community in Utah.

Leavitt recalled a comment Warnock made to him: “If you want [me] to come to Utah, I need engineers.”

Acting on Warnock’s advice, in 2001, Leavitt and the state of Utah launched the Engineering and Computer Science Initiative. The program aimed to improve higher education in these fields by expanding faculty and programs, ultimately doubling the number of engineering and computer science graduates over two decades with a cumulative $40.1 million investment.

With state funding, colleges and universities rose to the challenge, aligning programs with student interests and industry demands. Since then, public and private investments have continued to grow, driven by the region’s increasing need for tech workers.

Adobe years later acquired Utah-based Omniture for $1.8 billion, signaling Utah’s capacity to build competitive tech enterprises, Leavitt said.

“It was the combination of a clear vision, dramatically ratcheting up the number of engineers we were educating, and having the Olympics and a place they wanted to live,” Leavitt said. “All of that came together into what’s become one of the most robust economies in the country around technology.”

With the 2034 Winter Games set to return to Salt Lake City, Utah aims to build on its existing infrastructure with an estimated $31 million in upgrades — a modest cost compared with the $286.7 million spent in 2002.

The state expects the upcoming Games to generate $6.6 billion in economic activity, create 42,000 job-years of employment — the equivalent of 4,200 full-time jobs for 10 years — and add nearly $3.9 billion to Utah’s economy, solidifying the Olympics’ role in Utah’s flourishing tech landscape.

“We now have advantages we didn’t have,” Leavitt said. “We have all of the infrastructure that’s there, and we have a reputation. The Games will be done well in 2034. There’s just no question about it.”

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

TikTok in a court filing Monday warned that U.S. small businesses and social media creators would lose $1.3 billion in revenue and earnings in just one month if the popular app is effectively shut down in the United States on Jan. 19, under provisions of a law targeting national security concerns about its China-based parent company.

“Those numbers would only increase if the shutdown extends for more than a month,” said Blake Chandlee, president of global business solutions for TikTok, in that court filing.

Chandlee’s declaration came as his company asked a federal appeals court to temporarily block a law that would require app stores operated by Apple and Google and internet providers to stop supporting TikTok on Jan. 19 unless its parent company ByteDance sells the app.

TikTok and ByteDance plan to ask the Supreme Court to overturn a recent ruling upholding the law, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

“The Supreme Court should have an opportunity, as the only court with appellate jurisdiction over this action, to decide whether to review this exceptionally important case,” TikTok and ByteDance said in the filing, seeking a temporary injunction.

The injunction, if granted, would allow the app to continue operating until the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the appeal.

The filing also argued that “an injunction is especially appropriate” because it will give the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, the opportunity to decide if it wants to enforce the law.

If TikTok is effectively shut down in the United States in January, Chandlee wrote, American small businesses alone would lose more than $1 billion in revenue — even if the prohibitions are lifted after only a month.

“Almost two million creators in the United States would suffer almost $300 million in lost earnings, and TikTok itself would lose 29% of our targeted global advertising revenue for 2025,” Chandlee wrote.

He said that as of November, more than 7 million U.S. accounts use TikTok to do business.

And “69% of these businesses say that using TikTok has led to increased sales for their businesses in the last year, and 39% say that access to TikTok is critical to their business’s existence,” he said, citing an economic impact report prepared for the company by Oxford Economics.

Chandlee also said in the filing that those businesses’ advertising, marketing and “organic reach on TikTok” contributed $24.2 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, with TikTok’s own operations adding another $8.5 billion to U.S. GDP.

The law TikTok wants blocked for now was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last spring after concerns about ByteDance’s alleged connections to the Chinese government.

In its unanimous ruling Friday, a three-judge panel on the appeals court in the District of Columbia rejected ByteDance’s argument that the ban would violate the First Amendment rights of 170 million U.S. users of the app, or other parts of the Constitution.

The panel, in its written opinion, said that the U.S. government “offered persuasive evidence demonstrating that” the divestment law “is narrowly tailored to protect national security,” and noted that TikTok “never squarely denies that it has ever manipulated content at the direction of the” People’s Republic of China.

The Tokyo government plans to introduce a four-day workweek for its employees in an attempt to support young families and boost record-low fertility rates nationwide.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that starting in April, employees of the metropolitan government will have the option to take three days off each week.

“We will review work styles … with flexibility, ensuring no one has to give up their career due to life events such as childbirth or child care,” she said in a policy speech at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly’s fourth regular session.

The new policy is designed to encourage Japanese couples to have children at a time when the country’s fertility rate is at a record low. Last year, it dipped to a mere 1.2 children expected per woman during her lifetime, even with the government’s increased efforts to motivate young people to start families, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. That number should be at least 2.1 for a population to remain stable.

Koike announced an additional policy allowing parents with children in elementary schools to trade off a bit of their salaries for the option to clock out early.

“Now is the time for Tokyo to take the initiative to protect and enhance the lives, livelihoods and economy of our people during these challenging times for the nation,” she said.

Only 727,277 births were recorded in Japan last year, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. That may be in part because of Japan’s overtime work culture, which often pressures women to choose between having careers or families. The gender gap in the country’s labor force participation is higher than in other high-income nations, at 55% for women and 72% for men last year, according to the World Bank.

However, implementing a four-day workweek may provide government employees with more time to dedicate to raising their families.

In a 2022 series of global trials coordinated by 4 Day Week Global, a nonprofit organization, various companies took part in a four-day workweek pilot program.

More than 9 out of 10 employees who participated in the trials wanted to continue with the four-day workweek. They reported that it gave them improved physical and mental health and work-life balance and increased general life satisfaction. Measures of their stress, burnout, fatigue and work-family conflict all declined. Those participants rated their experience 9.1 out of 10.

Another Asian country put a shortened work week to the test this year.

Singapore introduced new guidelines requiring all firms to consider employee requests for flexible working arrangements, including four-day workweeks or staggered hours.