Benzinga
Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) Floats Plan For $3B Debt Buyback
- Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) has offered to buy back its debt securities worth about $3 billion in the backdrop of concerns about the Swiss bank's financial health, which had dragged its share price and led to an increase in bets against its debt.
- Credit Suisse's shares had briefly hit an all-time low on Monday, while its credit default swaps hit a record high in the backdrop of the market's concerns over the bank's future.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (NYSE: TSM) reported a September revenue growth of 36.4% year-on-year to NT$208.25 billion.
- Revenue for January through September 2022 totaled NT$1.64 trillion, up 42.6% Y/Y.
- Revenue for the third quarter grew 48% Y/Y to NT$613 billion ($19.4 billion), above the consensus of NT$603 billion.
- Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:AAPL) most crucial chipmaker signals that the most prominent players in the $550 billion semiconductor industry may bypass the downturn helped by resilient demand for electronics products.
- Samsung Electronics (LON:0593xq) Co Ltd. (OTC: SSLNF) reported earnings guidance for the third quarter, with the consolidated operating profit likely dropping nearly 32% to 10.8 trillion won compared to last year.
- This is the first profit drop reported by the company since 2019.
- Consolidated sales are estimated at approximately 76 trillion won, slightly higher than the 73.98 trillion won registered a year earlier.
- Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google will open its first data center in Japan next year.
- The new facility, based in Inzai City, Chiba, will accelerate the operation of Google tools and services and support economic activity and jobs.
- The Chiba data center is part of a $730 million investment in infrastructure that began in 2021 and will continue through 2024. That includes the Topaz subsea cable, likely to be ready for service in 2023.
- Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) pulled 11 original podcasts from the platform.
- It will impact studios Parcast and Gimlet and involve less than 5% layoffs from Spotify's podcast staff.
- Spotify appears to be weeding out the failures, possibly making room for the several upcoming O&E titles the company intends to announce in the weeks and months ahead.
- Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced data from two real-world evidence studies evaluating Lagevrio (molnupiravir), an investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine.
- According to the results of a pivotal clinical trial in the UK, Merck's COVID-19 antiviral pill failed to show it can lower the risks of hospitalization and death among adults at higher risk from the disease.
- Telenor ASA (OTC: TELNF) (OTC: TELNY) agreed to divest a minority stake in its Norway fiber assets to a consortium led by KKR & Co Inc (NYSE: KKR) and Oslo Pensjonsforsikring for 10.8 billion kroner ($1 billion).
- The deal is part of a strategy by Norway's biggest telecommunications company to highlight the value of its infrastructure and free up capital to lay down more fiber in the country.
- British fashion group Superdry ADR (OTC: SEPGY) has returned to profit in the fiscal year 2022, with an adjusted profit before tax of £21.9 million versus a loss of £(12.6) million in FY21.
- Total revenue increased 9.6% to £609.6 million year-on-year due to lapping enforced store closures and lifting restrictions in key markets.
Amid FDA Dispute, Juul Labs Cancels Overseas Expansion Plans
- Juul Labs Inc. is taking all necessary steps to stay afloat, CEO K.C. Crosthwaite says. Altria Group Inc (NYSE: NYSE:MO) has a minority stake in the company.
- Juul expects lay offs after scrapping expansion plans outside the U.S.
- It has also refinanced its secured debt, giving it more time to explore more long-term options, the CEO added.
Amazon Will Halt Live Tests Of 'Scout' Delivery Bots
- Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:AMZN) has reportedly halted the live testing of its automated delivery robot "Amazon Scout."
- The e-commerce giant found that the program failed to meet customer needs.
- An Amazon spokesperson told the newswire it was "reorienting" the program instead of complete abandonment, and workers would be matched to other open roles at the company.
- EU antitrust regulators grilled game developers about whether Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:MSFT) will be incentivized to block rivals' access to "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:ATVI) best-selling games.
- The EU competition enforcer also asked if Activision's trove of user data would give Microsoft a competitive advantage in developing, publishing, and distributing computer and console games.
- EU antitrust regulators are due to make a preliminary decision by November 8 on whether to clear Microsoft's proposed $69 billion acquisition.
- Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM) fears that about 296,000 pieces of customer information from its T-Connect service might have been leaked.
- The affected customers are individuals who signed up to the service's website using their email addresses since July 2017.
- Toyota denied any possibility of a leak in users' sensitive personal information.
- As per a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) looks to lay off 1,458 workers at the e-commerce fulfillment center in Fulton Parkway in Atlanta, Georgia.
- "We're converting the fulfillment center on Fulton Parkway to support our growing WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services) business.
Adidas Holds Kanye West Tie Under Review
- Adidas AG (ETR:ADSGN) (OTC: ADDYY) is reviewing its relationship with rapper Kanye West following recent issues when the rapper publicly accused Adidas CEO of not providing him control over Yeezy.
- Adidas announced its partnership with West in 2013. West also agreed in 2016 to manufacture and distribute items from his Yeezy clothing line.
- In September, West terminated Yeezy's partnership with Gap Inc (NYSE: NYSE:GPS).