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The Netherlands' government on Wednesday said it plans new restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology to protect national security, joining the United State's effort to curb chip exports to China. Dutch Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher announced the decision in a letter to parliament, saying the restrictions will be introduced before the summer. It specified one technology that will be impacted is "DUV" lithography, the second-most advanced machines that ASML sells to computer chip manufacturers. Major ASML customers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel are engaged in capacity expansions. ASML has never sold its most advanced "EUV" machines to customers in China, and the bulk of its DUV sales in China go to relatively less advanced chipmakers.

☆ Biden's budget plan boosts childcare funding by billions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's fiscal 2024 budget plan would boost federal funding for childcare and early childhood education by billions of dollars, ensuring free preschool for all of the country's 4 million 4-year-olds, the White House said on Wednesday. The White House argues that lack of access to affordable childcare is a key factor depressing women's participation in the workforce. One recent poll showed that 55% of households experience difficulty finding childcare, with 21% citing challenges related specifically to cost, the White House said. Biden's 2024 proposal includes $22.1 billion for existing early care and education programs, up 10.5% from the 2023 enacted level, including $9 billion for federal block grants. The White House is betting that childcare programs, which are very popular with the public, could help boost Biden's approval ratings.

☆ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's bet big on A.I. is paying off as his core technology powers ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Katie Tarasov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

As the engine behind large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Nvidia is finally reaping rewards for its early investment in AI. Nvidia counts on China for about one-quarter of its revenue, including sales of its popular AI chip, the A100. Nvidia Founder and CEO Jensen Huang shows CNBC's Katie Tarasov a Hopper H100 SXM module in Santa Clara, CA, on February 9, 2023. Nvidia founders Curtis Priem, Jensen Huang and Chris Malachowsky pose at the company's Santa Clara, California, headquarters in 2020. "We invented this new way of doing computer graphics, ray tracing, basically simulating the pathways of light and simulate everything with generative AI.

☆ TSMC: Taiwanese chipmaker plans to hire 6,000 employees in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Semiconductor giant TSMC plans to add more than 6,000 jobs this year, despite a broader slowdown in demand for chips. TSMC, which stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, produces an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced chips. TSMC announced last year that it’s building a second semiconductor factory in Phoenix, and increasing its investment there. The average salary for a new engineer based in Taiwan with a master’s degree would be 2 million New Taiwan Dollars (about $65,400), according to TSMC. That would equate to roughly 533,004 New Taiwan Dollars ($17,426) per year.

☆ Analysis: China's chip sector needs more than state money to dull impact of US restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The government has earmarked $140 billion that could include subsidising the purchase of domestically produced chipmaking equipment, Reuters reported in December, likely benefiting manufacturers such as China's sole semiconductor lithography specialist, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group (SMEE). Just as in the aviation industry, chipmaking equipment manufacturers work closely with clients, offering long-term services including installation, calibration, maintenance and repair of machines that can cost over $100 million each. Another former top staffer at a Chinese chipmaking equipment manufacturer recounted how while working to master the etching procedure for 3D NAND Flash, the company could not perfect a critical element, namely the channel hole, or hole size. The situation could be worsened for Chinese companies should Japan and the Netherlands agree with the United States to also restrict exports of chipmaking equipment to China. "When the sanctions came out, all the American companies followed," an engineer at a Chinese memory chipmaker told Reuters.

☆ Factbox: Chinese chipmaking equipment manufacturers filling void left by U.S. export restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Naura's most advanced etching machine supports 55 nm and 28 nm chipmaking technology, well behind the leading edge of chip manufacturing. The firm also makes deposition machines, which apply chemicals and gases to silicon wafers throughout the chipmaking process. It produces machines that can service the 14 nm to 28 nm process nodes of its deposition machines. ADVANCED MICRO-FABRICATION EQUIPMENT INC CHINA (AMEC) (688012.SS)AMEC makes etching equipment used to remove excess material from the surface of silicon wafers. BEIJING E-TOWN SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY CO LTD (BEST)BEST produces degumming equipment used to remove photoresist chemicals during the lithography process.

☆ How to invest in the ChatGPT-driven AI boom: Credit Suisse shares 6 stocks they're labeling as "top picks" as their exposure to AI development opens them up to new revenue streams
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Badri's price 12-month price target for shares of Microsoft is $285. The analysts said that growing AI use cases will help Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and their high performance computing business, which has already doubled since 2016. Credit Suisse's 12-month price target for the stock is $330, which is upside of 16%. Chou has a price target of NT$1,100 for the stock, meaning 13.5% upside. Both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Baidu are traded on US exchanges, while Accton and Wiwynn are traded in Taiwan.

☆ Taiwan's TSMC to recruit 6,000 engineers in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAIPEI, March 4 (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker, will recruit more than 6,000 new staff in 2023, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The hiring drive comes despite a global downturn in the chip industry. According to TSMC, the company will seek young engineers with associates, bachelor's, masters's or doctorate degrees in electrical engineering or software-related fields, in cities all across Taiwan. The average overall salary of a new engineer with a master's degree is T$2 million ($65,578.07), the company added. Intel Corp (INTC.O) recently announced that it would cut payments to mid-level staff and executives from 5% to 25%.

☆ US approved 192 licenses for exports to blacklisted Chinese firms early 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 3 (Reuters) - The Biden administration approved 192 licenses worth over $23 billion to ship U.S. goods and technology to Chinese companies on a U.S. trade blacklist in the first quarter of last year, according to a document released by a U.S. congressional committee on Friday. The 192 licenses granted were out of 242 license applications decided between January and March 2022, a chart showed, and 115 of those approved contained controlled technology. Nineteen, or 8 percent of the total number of applications, were denied, and 31 were returned without action. "This critical U.S. technology is going to the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance and military efforts," he said. BIS also noted that licenses for some well-known Chinese companies are reviewed under policies set by the Trump administration that do not carry presumptions of denial.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: C3.ai, Zscaler, ChargePoint and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:C3.ai — Shares surged 17% after C3.ai reported third-quarter results that topped expectations. It also reported revenue of $66.7 million, surpassing expectations of $64.2 million. The company reported adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share on revenue of $7.81 billion. Zscaler — Shares of the cybersecurity company slid 11% in premarket trading despite Zscaler beating estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter. The wholesale retailer reported revenue of $55.27 billion, less than the consensus estimate of $55.54 billion, according to Refinitiv.

☆ At China political meeting, internet bosses are out, chip execs are in
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HARDWARE FOCUSNewcomers to the events include representatives from chip firms Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), state-backed Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd, Shandong Youyan Semiconductor Materials Co. in the NPC and Cambricon Techologies Corp in the CPPCC. Other new NPC delegates come from robotics, laser, aerospace and aeronautics firms. Delegates for the NPC and CPPCC are chosen every five years by the Communist Party and have the option to resign. Some celebrity CPPCC delegates did not reappear on this year's list, such as Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, film director Feng Xiaogang and state television anchor Bai Yansong. Yao Ming, a retired basketball star who heads the Chinese Basketball Association, has moved from the CPPCC to the NPC.

☆ Is ChatGPT the tip of the iceberg? Analysts reveal potential A.I. uses — and the stocks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

ChatGPT is considered by far the most successful generative AI tool to date. But while ChatGPT is undoubtedly the talk of the town, HSBC believes it could just be the tip of the generative AI iceberg. However, there is the potential for Generative AI to have a significant impact on several sectors of the economy," the bank said. How to play it Morgan Stanley has named a raft of global stocks to play generative AI. Medical diagnostics Meanwhile, Canaccord Genuity in a Feb. 20 note highlighted the implications of AI on the medical diagnostics sector.

Industry sources say that the measure was a surprise and that it is unclear how it would be applied to companies, each of which will have to negotiate separate agreements with the U.S. government. Share repurchases have helped keep investors happy during tumultuous market conditions in the chip industry, which have swung from shortage to glut in two years. “I believe this is going to cause heartburn for companies," a second chip industry executive told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “It’s pretty odd for a foreign company to accept this kind of meddling in its business," said a third chip industry source. A more onerous issue is that building new chip plants will probably get more expensive in the U.S., where costs are already higher than industry centers such as Taiwan and Singapore.

☆ Biden aims billions in taxpayer money at companies' labor, supply practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"What Biden and his advisers are doing is solving problems that exist in the economy. They are pushing forward an agenda aimed at building things in America again ... and taking on corporate power," he said. A Department of Energy provision in the act requires companies to focus on workforce training, ensure diversity and engage "environmental justice" communities in planning. Key provisions on universal child care and better working conditions for child care workers were stripped out of bills last year. Julie Su, just tapped to be labor secretary, launched a campaign against "wage theft" by employers as a labor activist.

☆ Op-ed: Offshoring crypto hurts the financial system and America’s geopolitical standing, says Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Brian Armstrong | Coinbase Ceo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The traditional financial system has served us well for centuries, but it's beginning to show its age. While you might be able to bank online, the way in which the traditional financial system operates behind the scenes has largely gone unchanged for at least 40 years. Nearly seven in 10 Americans believe that the financial system needs major changes or a complete overhaul, according to the most recent research from Morning Consult. It's not a replacement of the traditional financial system, it's an update. While the consumer benefits that crypto could bring to the financial system are myriad, it's also important to recognize the geopolitical benefits.

☆ US to require companies winning chipmaking subsidies to share excess profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday said it will require companies winning funds from its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program to share excess profits and explain how they plan to provide affordable childcare. The CHIPS Act plays a central role in the Biden administration's effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States. Companies winning funding are also prohibited from using chips funds for dividends or stock buybacks, and must provide details of any plans to buy back their own shares over five years. The department will consider an "applicant’s commitments to refrain from stock buybacks in the application review process" in a five-step application. Raimondo noted companies winning awards will be required to enter into agreements restricting their ability to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern like China for 10 years after winning funding.

☆ U.S. Aims to Chart New Course for Chip Industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Yuka Hayashi | Asa Fitch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department on Tuesday kicked off the application process for semiconductor manufacturing subsidies under the $53 billion Chips Act, along with conditions aimed at advancing some of the Biden administration’s priorities. The program serves as a test of Washington’s ability to invigorate and chart a future course for the semiconductor industry that was forged in the U.S. but in recent years has moved much of its manufacturing overseas.

☆ Biden nominating Julie Su as next US labor secretary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Julie A. Su, nominee for deputy secretary of Labor, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he planned to nominate Julie Su, the current deputy and former California official, as his next labor secretary, replacing the departing incumbent, former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Su, a civil rights attorney and former head of California's labor department, was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies late last year, working to avert an economically debilitating strike. If confirmed by the Senate, Su would also be the first Asian-American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are of AAPI descent but don't lead a Cabinet department.

☆ Rapidus picks northern Japan's Chitose as semiconductor plant location
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan's state-backed Rapidus said on Tuesday it would build its semiconductor plant in Chitose, a manufacturing hub on the nation's northern island of Hokkaido. The factory and a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) plant under construction on the southern island of Kyushu are the key pillars of Japan's strategy to boost its capability to make more advanced chips and shield itself from supply chain snarls. Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi told Reuters this month that the company would need about 7 trillion yen ($51.4 billion) of mostly taxpayer money to begin mass producing advanced logic chips around 2027. Chitose, a city of about 100,000 people, already hosts a wide range of factories run by major manufacturers including silicon wafer maker SUMCO Corp (3436.T) and auto components maker Denso Corp (6902.T). ($1 = 136.1500 yen)Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Mayu Sakoda; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Want billions to make US chips? Here is how to get them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] CMOS chips, are shown at the manufacturing facility of VAS, an electronics manufacturer in San Diego, California April 14, 2009. Chip giant Intel Corp (INTC.O) moved ahead with the ground breaking of a $20 billion chip factory in Ohio after the chips bill passed. The CHIPS Program Office will give "strong preference" to projects that are largely funded with private capital. The department also said that the workers hired to build plants or chips should be able to join unions. The CHIPS Program Office will require any company given more than $150 million to return money if it makes more than they projected.

☆ Reshoring is accelerating—These stocks should benefit as companies return to the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Reshoring declarations are amping up, as more companies look to return operations to the United States from overseas. Corporate reshoring announcements jumped 17% in the fourth quarter compared with the prior quarter and are now tracking nearly 300% higher than the fourth quarter of 2021, according to UBS. In fact, reshoring and foreign direct investments jobs reached a record of at least 360,000 jobs last year, according to the Reshoring Initiative. The move back to the U.S . can also be seen in corporate earnings, said Ron Graziano, managing director of global accounting and tax for Credit Suisse. The company's equipment is needed for big semiconductor manufacturing plants as companies test chips as they are produced, Snyder said.

☆ Taiwan says 'Fab 4' chip group held first senior officials meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationTAIPEI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The U.S.-led "Fab 4" semiconductor alliance of Taiwan, the United States, Japan and South Korea held its first video meeting of senior officials last week focused on supply chain resilience, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The United States last September convened the first meeting of the working group, colloquially called "Fab 4" or "Chip 4", to discuss how to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain, after a global chip crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The semiconductor shortage, which forced some carmakers to halt production, thrust chip powerhouse Taiwan into the spotlight and has made supply chain management a bigger priority for governments around the world. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said the "U.S.-East Asia Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience Working Group", or "Fab 4", had after many months of coordination held the first video meeting of senior officials from its working group on Feb. 16. The group's members are home to the world's largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW), South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS), and key Japanese suppliers of semiconductor materials and equipment.

☆ TSMC plans second Japan factory to make higher-end chips -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) plans to construct a second chip plant in Japan to manufacture 5 and 10 nanometre chips from the second half of the decade, the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper reported on Friday. That decision could help Japan revive advanced semiconductor manufacturing, which it sees as key requirement for future economic growth driven by new digital technologies. TSMC's second plant in Japan will cost more than 1 trillion yen ($7.4 billion) to build, Nikkan Kogyo said. Wei at its last quarterly earnings call in January that the company was considering building a second plant in Japan, and said it had nothing further to add. Japan's government has offered TSMC a 476 billion yen subsidy, or about half the expected cost of the factory.

☆ U.S. Aims to Create Semiconductor Manufacturing Clusters With Chips Act Funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Yuka Hayashi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The U.S. will target funds from the $53 billion Chips Act to create at least two semiconductor manufacturing clusters by 2030, according to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo , marking the initial stages of a plan to bring more chip manufacturing back to the U.S. The aim would be to create ecosystems that would bring together fabrication plants, research-and-development labs, final packaging facilities for assembly of chips and the suppliers needed to support each phase of the operation, Ms. Raimondo said.

☆ Nvidia cheer ripples through chips as investors assess Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 24, 2023. The MSCI all country share index (.MIWD00000PUS) was slightly firmer, adding to the year's 4.5% advance, after falling nearly 20% in 2022. The yield on 10-year Treasury was slightly firmer at 3.9254%. The Australian and New Zealand dollar were both slightly firmer against the dollar. Fed officials Mary Daly and Raphael Bostic are also due to make appearances later on Thursday.

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