Sure, and some of it in the form of predatory lending financial instruments, some of which are regulated. And a company on the scale of MS entering into any new market will draw a lot of scrutiny. One in the business of lending money, even just through a tightly-integrated partnership, is going to draw even more. That's a lot to gamble on a browser initiative before Edge has the market share to throw its weight around.

I'm sure MS would love-- and is hoping-- to collect rents on purchases users might make anywhere, but this seems a very clumsy attempts. Possibly driven, as others have noted, by short-term incentives by product managers rather than anything more strategic.