Reuters
Apple Supplier TSMC Records 80% Surge In Q3 Net Profit — What The Company Expects In Q4
- Apple Inc-supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) recorded an 80% surge in its third-quarter net profit at NT$280.87 billion ($8.81 billion).
- This is the company's strongest growth in two years, supported by strong sales of its advanced chips used in data centers and electric cars.
- A domestic investor-led group was looking at a $19 billion bid for Toshiba Corp (OTC: TOSYY) - a potential deal that would likely lead to foreign activist shareholders being bought out after years of tension.
- Toshiba and activist shareholders have been at odds over the company's direction, with several large foreign funds pushing the conglomerate to consider private equity bids.
- A joint venture set up by Sony Group Corp (NYSE: SONY) and Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE: HMC) look to deliver its first electric vehicles by 2026 and sell them online, starting in the U.S. and Japan.
- They will price the new EV at a premium, offering a new software system developed by Sony that would open the way to recurring revenue from entertainment and other services for monthly billing.
- Honda will manufacture the EV at one of its plants in Ohio.
Wall Street Journal
TikTok Parent Reportedly Seeking To Expand Music Service In Direct Challenge To Spotify, Apple
- TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd reportedly wants to boost its music-streaming business and up the ante against industry heavyweights such as Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT).
- ByteDance has started approaching music labels for its Resso streaming service's global expansion plans and intends to integrate it with TikTok.
- Samsung Electronics (LON:0593xq) Co, Ltd (OTC: SSNLF) bagged a one-year exemption from the new U.S. embargo on exports of advanced chips and related equipment to China.
- Samsung operated a NAND flash memory-chip plant in Xi'an and a chip-packaging facility in Suzhou.
- As of the second quarter of this year, Samsung accounted for 43.5% of global revenue for DRAM and roughly one-third of global revenue for NAND flash memory chips.
- Kohl's Corp (NYSE: NYSE:KSS) faces the fury of an activist investor, Macellum Advisors GP LLC, to make changes to its board.
- The investor holds a 5% stake in Kohl's and has urged the retailer to replace three or more directors, including its chairman.
- The New York hedge fund's talks with the company to agree on changes to the board remained unfruitful.
Bloomberg
Apple Keeps Unionized Store Workers Out Of Broader Plan To Hand Out Additional Perks
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:AAPL) has communicated to employees at its store in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland, that they won't receive the perks it plans to give their counterparts at other stores and its corporate staff.
- Cupertino said it is withholding the new benefits from the unionized employees in Baltimore due to the need to negotiate benefits through collective bargaining necessitated by unionization.
- Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:AMZN) shut down a virtual tour feature called "Amazon Explore," which it launched during the pandemic. Amazon acknowledged supporting its affected employees during this transition.
- Amazon's aborted programs included Scout, an autonomous delivery robot, and Amazon Glow, a kids-focused video calling device.
- Amazon also froze hiring for its corporate retail teams and wound down Amazon Care, its startup telehealth service.
- Amazon.com Inc shoppers largely skipped expensive purchases during its second Prime sale for 2022.
- The customers favored pantry items and affordable gifts over big-ticket items like televisions and laptops.
- The average order size as of 1 p.m. in New York on October 12 was $46.44, down 23% from the "Prime Day" sale in July, according to Numerator.
Benzinga
OPEC Trims 2022, 2023 Forecasts For Global Oil Demand Growth: 'Risks Skewed To Downside'
- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reduced its 2022 forecast for growth in world oil demand for a fourth time since April, stating that oil demand will rise by 2.64 million barrels per day (BPD) or 2.7% in the year. This is down 460,000 BPD from its previous forecast.
- "However, risks are skewed to the downside, with slowing growth in the global economy, if continued, likely leading to lower oil demand in the months to come," OPEC said in its report.
- With unrelenting inflationary pressures and interest rate hikes, higher oil prices may prove the tipping point for a global economy already on the brink of recession, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
- "The relentless deterioration of the economy and higher prices sparked by an OPEC+ plan to cut supply is slowing world oil demand," the agency said.
- Elon Musk's SpaceX announced the names of two crew members who have booked their seats on Starship's commercial spaceflight around the Moon.
- Dennis Tito and his wife, Akiko, will be on board Starship on its second spaceflight around the Moon, SpaceX said.
- For Tito, this would be his second mission to space. He was the first commercial astronaut to visit the International Space Station, or ISS, in 2001.
- Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) said that satellites for its Project Kuiper internet program will be launched by the new Vulcan rocket in early 2023.
- The Jeff Bezos-founded company said in a statement that its first two satellites — Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 — will be launched on the maiden flight of the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket early next year.
- Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: DWAC) shares are trading higher in Wednesday's after-hours session following reports that Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) has approved the Truth Social app for distribution in the Google Play store.
- According to several reports, Google has approved former President Donald Trump's social media app for distribution.
- GSK plc (NYSE: GSK) announced positive Phase 3 trial results for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate for adults aged 60 years and above.
- "These are truly exceptional results given that today RSV remains one of the major infectious diseases without a vaccine, despite over 60 years of research," said Tony Wood, GSK Chief Scientific Officer, in a statement.
- The FDA said that there was a shortage of Adderall after intermittent manufacturing delays at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE: NYSE:TEVA).
- Adderall is indicated to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
- Other manufacturers continue to produce amphetamine-mixed salts. Still, the FDA said there is insufficient supply to meet U.S. market demand through those producers.
- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE: CLF) announced that its new labor agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) had been ratified.
- The contract covers approximately 12,000 USW-represented employees at 13 operating locations and has a 4-year duration from its starting date of September 1, 2022.
- Sweden-based Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ:PSNY) Holding UK PLC (NASDAQ: PSNY) unveiled the Polestar 3 electric performance SUV.
- The fully electric 5-seat SUV premieres a new aerodynamic profile, and the materials used inside the car have been selected for their sustainability credentials.
- Polestar's first car to feature centralized computing with NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:NVDA) NVIDIA DRIVE core computer, running software from Volvo AB (OTC: VLVLY) Volvo Cars.
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