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☆ The long-running crisis at Japan's Toshiba
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Faced with more than $6 billion in liabilities linked to Westinghouse, Toshiba decides to put prized chip unit Toshiba Memory up for sale. Nov. 2021 - Toshiba says it will split into three companies, one for energy, one for infrastructure and the third to manage its Kioxia stake. Feb. 2022 - Toshiba announces a new plan to split into two, spinning off only its devices unit. April 2022 - Toshiba sets up a special committee to resume a strategic review that could see it taken private. Under pressure from shareholders, Toshiba announces a special dividend of some $545 million.

On Tuesday, Western Digital CEO David Goeckeler said the partnership with Apollo and Elliott would help "facilitate the next stages of Western Digital's strategic review." The latest investment is a precursor to a potential merger between Silicon Valley-based Western Digital and Japan's Kioxia Holdings Corp, according to people familiar with the matter. The sources, who requested anonymity as these discussions are confidential, said the talks between Western Digital and Kioxia are still active. Western Digital and Kioxia jointly produce NAND chips, which are widely used in smartphones, TVs, data center servers and public announcement display panels. Qatalyst Partners, Lazard and J.P. Morgan are serving as Western Digital's financial advisers and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as Western Digital's legal adviser.

☆ Futures drop as earnings roll in, Fed rate decision in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Fourth-quarter earnings season took center stage, with Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) down 2.6%, as the heavy equipment maker reported a drop in quarterly profit on higher manufacturing costs. Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) slid 3.2% after the drugmaker's full-year revenue outlook for its COVID-19 products fell short of expectations. As many as 140 S&P 500 companies had reported earnings for the fourth-quarter by Monday. ET, Dow e-minis were down 111 points, or 0.33%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 11 points, or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 50.25 points, or 0.42%. (This story has been corrected to say Caterpillar reported a drop in quarterly profit, not missed analysts' estimates, in paragraph 2)Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

All of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were up by early afternoon trading, with a 2.5% rise in tech stocks (.SPLRCT) making them the biggest gainers. "All those names and sectors (chipmakers) in general just got beat up much more than the market in general overall. So now in a lot of those names, there's value," said Jimmy Lee, chief executive officer of Wealth Consulting Group. Xylem Inc (XYL.N) dropped 8.74% on its acquisition of water treatment solutions firm Evoqua Water Technologies Corp (AQUA.N) in a $7.42 billion deal. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.40-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.90-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

☆ Wall Street rises as chipmakers lead tech shares higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were up in early trading, with a 1.3% rise in tech stocks (.SPLRCT) making them the biggest gainers. "All those names and sectors (chipmakers) in general just got beat up much more than the market in general overall. Analysts now expect fourth-quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies to fall 2.9%, according to IBES Refinitiv data, compared with a 1.6% drop at the beginning of the year. Investors are also awaiting January manufacturing and fourth-quarter GDP data to assess the impact of the Fed's rate hikes on the economy. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.05-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.60-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

☆ Wall St eyes higher open with earnings in full swing, Salesforce rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The tech-focused Nasdaq (.IXIC) index was the only major Wall Street benchmark that ended the previous week higher. Analysts now expect year-over-year fourth-quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies to decline 2.9%, according to IBES Refinitiv data, compared with a 1.6% decline at the beginning of the year. Among other stocks, Baker Hughes Co (BKR.O) slid 1.4% on missing fourth-quarter profit estimates, hit by component shortages and supply chain disruptions. Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) rose 4.0% on a report that the memory chip maker could merge with Japan's Kioxia Holdings. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BERLIN, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office regulator said on Monday it had initiated proceedings against payment company PayPal Europe (PYPL.O) over the possibility that it hindered competition. The subject of the proceedings was PayPal's rules for extra charges and the presentation of PayPal in the terms of use for Germany, the watchdog said. "These clauses could restrict competition and constitute a violation of the prohibition of abuse," said cartel office chief Andreas Mundt in a statement. "We will now examine what market power PayPal has and to what extent online merchants are dependent on offering PayPal as a payment method." Changes to Germany's antitrust laws for digital corporations, which came into effect in 2021, give the cartel office more power in identifying and prohibiting some companies' dominant positions.

☆ Western Digital, Kioxia in advanced talks for merger - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakeJan 20 (Reuters) - Memory chip maker Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) and Japan's Kioxia Holdings Corp are in advanced talks for a possible merger which will involve a dual-listing, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. A combined Kioxia-Western Digital would control a third of the NAND flash market, putting it on par with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) . Western Digital and Kioxia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Kioxia, one of the biggest producers globally of flash memory and solid-state storage, is a key supplier to Western Digital.

☆ Western Digital, Japan's Kioxia restart merger talks - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Memory chip maker Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) and Japan's Kioxia Holdings Corp have restarted merger talks, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Kioxia, which was spun off from Toshiba Corp (6502.T), and Western Digital operate a joint flash memory chip plant in central Japan's Yokkaichi. When asked about the report, Kioxia said that it does not comment on market rumours or speculation, while Western Digital did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. U.S.-based memory chip firm Western Digital said in June that it was reviewing strategic alternatives, including options for splitting off its flash-memory and hard disk drive businesses. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wall Street says a recession is coming. One investment pro names her favorite stocks to tough it out
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tengler, who's been a proponent of dividend growth strategies for more than three decades, named four stocks she owns. Her firm uses what's known as a relative dividend yield strategy to judge the value of a stock. A high relative dividend yield is a buy signal if the dividend level is expected to be sustained and increased over time. Goldman also fits into one of Tengler's top investment themes: old economy stocks that are embracing digital transformation. Two asset managers face off Another old economy stock that Tengler likes is California-based self-storage firm Public Storage .

☆ Micron launches mass output of advanced chip in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Memory chip maker Micron Technology (MU.O) on Wednesday kicked off mass production of its new high-capacity low-power 1-beta dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips at its plant in Hiroshima, Japan. The production of Micron's most advanced chip, which can store a third more data than older chips, comes as Japan tries to revive and modernise its once-mighty chip industry. The Japanese government in September offered Micron a 46.5 billion yen ($332 million) to boost production capacity at its plant. In July it gave a 93 billion yen subsidy to rival memory chip makers Kioxia Corp and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) to help it expand output at their joint factory Japan. ($1 = 140.2700 yen)Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by David Dolan and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German antitrust watchdog widens Amazon probe under new regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust watchdog said on Monday it had expanded two probes into U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com (AMZN.O) making use of new regulation allowing it to prohibit any anti-competitive behaviour at an earlier stage. "We are examining in both proceedings whether and how Amazon impedes the business opportunities of sellers that are active on the Amazon marketplace and compete with Amazon’s own retail business," Federal Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said in a statement. Changes to Germany's antitrust laws for digital corporations, which came into effect last year, give the cartel office more power in identifying and prohibiting some companies' dominant positions. According to the cartel office, Amazon operates the most important marketplace in e-commerce, giving it a key position in that area that allows it to set the rules for competition on its platform. "Our new competencies, which are precisely intended to restrict such power to set rules, allow us to intervene more efficiently against Amazon’s anti-competitive practices," Mundt said.

TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Japan said on Friday it will invest up to 70 billion yen ($500 million) in a new semiconductor company led by tech firms including Sony Group Corp (6758.T) and NEC Corp (6701.T) as it rushes to re-establish itself as a lead maker of advanced chips. The new chip company will be named Rapidus and aims to begin making chips in the second half of the decade, he added. Japan is also concerned that China may attempt to take control of Taiwan, the global hub for advanced chip production. In July Japan also offered a 93 billion yen subsidy to help memory chip makers Kioxia Corp and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) expand output in Japan. In September it pledged to give U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology (MU.O) $46.5 billion yen so it can add production capacity at its plant in Hiroshima.

☆ Goldman CEO David Solomon’s latest remix breaks up the bank’s struggling consumer finance business
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is planning his third major corporate reorganization since assuming control of the bank in late 2018, according to people with knowledge of the plan. That division, called Platform Solutions, will house Goldman's nascent digital corporate cash management business, recently acquired fintech GreenSky, and card partnerships with Apple and General Motors , according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the reorganization. Solomon has been under pressure this year as broad declines among financial stocks put shares of New York-based Goldman at the second-lowest valuation among big bank peers after perennial laggard Citigroup . That is according to Goldman's price to tangible book value ratio, a key metric followed by bank investors and analysts. That showing has led to rising questions about Solomon's decisions regarding his division heads, as well as internal criticism over Solomon's high-profile hobby as an international music DJ, CNBC and others have reported.

☆ This week's best-performing S&P 500 stocks include 3 energy names expected to jump at least 20%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Energy names were the biggest winners in the market this week, as a major production cut by OPEC+ boosted oil prices. In addition, eight of the top 10-performing S & P 500 stocks this week are energy names. This year, Halliburton's stock price has increased more than 34%, including this week's more than 22% gain. Outside of energy names, analysts are also very bullish on Western Digital. Energy names Devon Energy , Hess , Pioneer Natural Resources and Schlumberger complete the list.

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