Microsoft shares jumped 9 percent on Tuesday after a strong earnings report that beat analysts’ expectations and rode a wave of enthusiasm over the company’s prospects in artificial intelligence. The rally continued on Wednesday, when shares were up by more than 7 percent even after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it intends to block the software giant’s planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, citing concerns about the merger’s impact on “the growing and fast-moving” cloud gaming sector, while providing a clean bill of health in the console market. Microsoft says it will appeal the decision. Continue reading UK Blocks Microsoft-Activision Merger, Companies to Appeal