What The Heck Is Going On At Reuters?
Suppliers claim the media giant copies proprietary software. It all may end up in court
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Reuters vs. Bloomberg. The two behemoths that dominate the rapidly growing financial-information business have long been archrivals. The depth of that rivalry became apparent in late January, when Reuters Group PLC disclosed that a subsidiary was the subject of a grand jury investigation in New York for improperly obtaining and using information from Bloomberg LP.
Now, Reuters stands accused of additional questionable behavior--in particular, taking proprietary ideas and software applications from rivals and partners both in the U.S. and Europe. BUSINESS WEEK canvassed many of the approximately two dozen software vendors who have worked most closely with Reuters developing specialized software to analyze financial data.