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☆ 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.

☆ Six Nigerian states challenge election in Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ABUJA, March 3 (Reuters) - Six opposition-led Nigerian states have asked the Supreme Court to throw out the result of last weekend's presidential vote, saying the electoral body broke the law and its own rules during the count, court papers showed. Six of Nigeria's 36 states - Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto - said in court papers dated Feb. 28 that the election commission had failed to transmit results through an electronic system meant to show transparency. They sought a court declaration that all presidential election results announced by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) "were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever". Those materials included ballot papers and voting machines, the order from the appeals court showed. There have been numerous legal challenges to the outcome of past Nigerian presidential elections but none has succeeded.

☆ Asian stocks rally sputters as China pulls back, higher U.S. yields weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. futures erased earlier gains, with the S&P 500 stock futures falling 0.5% and Nasdaq futures down 0.7%. Tesla shares (TSLA.O) slumped 5.5% in after-hour trading, after the Tesla Investor Day failed to excite investors. On Thursday, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit a fresh four-month high of 4.0160%, after hitting 4% overnight. In the currency markets, the U.S. dollar index, measuring the greenback's value against a basket of major peers, gained 0.2% to 104.6. Oil prices were largely steady on Thursday, having risen by 1% the previous day due to optimism over China's recovery.

☆ US manufacturing sector still shrinking; raw material prices rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Nevertheless, the rebound in prices at the factory gate suggests inflation could remain elevated for a while after monthly consumer and producer prices surged in January. The ISM's manufacturing PMI edged up to 47.7 last month from 47.4 in January. Paper products, textile mills, furniture and related products as well as nonmetallic mineral products, computer and electronic products were among the 14 reporting contraction. Comments from some manufacturers in the ISM survey were supportive of this thesis. Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said "new order rates remain sluggish due to buyer and supplier disagreements regarding price levels and delivery lead times."

☆ Applied Materials unveils new chip tool to lower cost in lithography process
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb 28 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley-based Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O), among the most important makers of tools for chip manufacturing, said on Tuesday it has started selling a new tool that can lower the cost of a process involving lithography. Lithography uses light to print a pattern on the wafer, the shiny round discs used for chip making. This is especially true with the latest lithography tool by Dutch tool maker ASML (ASML.AS), called EUV, which stands for extreme ultraviolet, the wavelength of light used. Applied Materials' new tool, called Centura Sculpta, is used to shine a light only once for the first pattern and sculpt the final pattern from that. Applied Materials in a statement quoted chip maker Intel Corp (INTC.O) as saying that it collaborated closely in the "optimization of Sculpta" and would be using the technology.

☆ Applied Materials forecasts strong Q2 as chipmakers scale up production
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Chip tools maker Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) on Thursday forecast second-quarter revenue broadly above market estimates, as it benefits from higher production of semiconductors that had been in short supply for the most of last year. After a global shortage of semiconductors affected everything from smartphones to car production, chipmakers are now scrambling to boost capacity in the United States and Europe and reduce reliance on Asian hubs. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $6.40 billion, plus or minus $400 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.29 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Revenue for the first quarter was $6.74 billion, compared with analysts' average expectation of $6.69 billion. Excluding items, the company earned $2.03 per share, beating estimates of $1.93 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ Why Processing Sweden’s Rare-Earth Haul Won’t Be Easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The find is adjacent to the company’s Kiruna iron-ore mine, an operation that would eventually be expanded to extract the rare earths plus phosphorus, a critical mineral for fertilizers. The company said it would take 10 to 15 years to start recovering the rare earths. LKAB facilities in Kiruna, Sweden. Also, LKAB reported that its find has a total rare-earth oxide level of 0.18%, a low level of concentration. U.K.-based Pensana PLC aims to mine rare-earth concentrates in Angola, before separating and processing them in the north of England.

Finance chiefs are coming into the year grappling with a variety of challenges, from rising interest rates and inflation to managing labor disruptions, pricing and inventory. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. “But…there’s more and more of a belief that any kind of downturn will be short and shallow, frankly. Some finance chiefs, meanwhile, are finding opportunities to expand in the volatile economy. You can’t take everything that your vendors are sending you.”Labor woes persistHiring, however, remains a challenge for finance chiefs.

☆ Cruz Foam makes styrofoam alternative from shrimp shells and food waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meanwhile, companies that ship or sell fragile goods, food or medical supplies that need to stay cold during shipping still need materials with the lightweight, insulating qualities and manufacturability of styrofoam. That's where startup Cruz Foam comes in. Cruz Foam is made from naturally occurring materials including chitin (pronounced like "kite-in") along with starches and fibers diverted from agricultural waste streams. Chitin is a polymer contained in the shells of shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as insect exoskeletons. Besides that, styrofoam products are usually treated with flame retardants and can absorb other pollutants from water around them, increasing the threat to any wildlife that eats or lives amid the discarded styrofoam.

☆ Making the Mummies of Egypt Involved a Lot More Than We Knew
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ariana Perez-Castells | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A re-creation of what the embalming process might have looked like around 664-525 B.C. in Saqqara, Egypt. Inscribed ceramic vessels left behind in an Egyptian subterranean embalming structure from the 26th Dynasty of ancient Egypt offer new clues as to how the dead were preserved, and the role trade played in the mummification process. Researchers for the first time analyzed the organic materials found inside 31 vessels used in the embalming process at the necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo, a burial ground for royals and people of high society. These vessels, which carried inscriptions on them, contained materials including animal fat, oils and resins that played a major role in preservation practices—and were obtained through long-distance exchange and routes from far away lands, according to researchers.

☆ U.S., India partnership targets arms and AI to compete with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The White House is launching a partnership with India on Tuesday that President Joe Biden hopes will help the countries compete against China on military equipment, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI). Yet the White House faces an uphill battle on each front, including U.S. restrictions on military technology transfer and visas for immigrant workers, along with India's longstanding dependence on Moscow for military hardware, issues it hopes to now address. But Washington has held its tongue, nudging the country on Russia while condoning India's more hawkish stance on China. General Electric Co (GE.N), meanwhile, is asking the U.S. government for permission to produce jet engines with India that would power aircraft operated and produced by India, according to the White House, which says a review is underway. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Sanders, Josie Kao and Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cramer's lightning round: L3Harris Technologies is still a buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Loading chart...Dutch Bros Inc : "You've got to wait [to buy], because we still see wage pressure." Loading chart...Farfetch Ltd : "I don't know FTCH. Loading chart...Bausch Health Companies Inc : "We've got that on what I would regard as being a retainer basis. We simply don't know what to do. Disclaimer: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of Bausch Health Companies and Nvidia.

☆ Cramer's lightning round: I love Eagle Materials
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Loading chart...Eagle Materials Inc : "I love Eagle Materials. Loading chart...Apple Inc : "I'm still urging people to own it, don't trade it, but I accept the fact that it's going lower before it goes higher." Loading chart...Cellebrite DI LTD : "I'm going to have to take a pass. Loading chart...SoFi Technologies Inc : "I think that SoFi, it's finally going to be [CEO] Anthony Noto's year. Disclaimer: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of Apple.

☆ Form Energy to build long-duration battery plant in West Virginia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Form Energy Inc, a startup hoping to make long-duration storage batteries from materials including iron to store power from renewable energy, will partner with West Virginia to build a manufacturing plant in the state, the company and politicians said on Thursday. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and Form Energy, backed by supporters including Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures, said the plant will be built with a total investment of up to $760 million. Form Energy aims to build batteries using iron, air and water. Form says the batteries can store power for days, much longer than ones based on lithium-ion, and using less expensive materials. "The path forward is innovation, not elimination, and with this announcement West Virginia and Form Energy are doing just that," Manchin said in a statement.

☆ Exclusive: Afghan government officials helped smugglers sneak almost $1 billion in cash and gold out of Afghanistan as the US-backed government neared collapse, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Edris Lutfi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The office of Ashraf Ghani, the US-backed Afghan president, had been informed about the problem, insiders say. The smuggling flouted Afghan laws requiring travelers to declare cash or gold worth $10,000 or more and a strict ban on exporting $20,000 or more. The documents identify the two men as being part of the 2021 smuggling ring; they do not allege who was behind the $824 million smuggled in 2019 and 2020. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani meets with President Joe Biden in June 2021. The UAE is also the home of Ghani and Noor, the former provincial governor with alleged ties to the Hairatan smuggling ring.

☆ Cramer's lightning round: Oxford Lane Capital is not a buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Loading chart...DraftKings Inc : "I feel safer in my DraftKings than I do in a crypto. Applied Industrial Technologies Inc : "It's up 20% and that might be too much for the year." Loading chart...Oxford Lane Capital Corporation: "They own these collateralized loan obligations, which is always the stuff people really worry about going into a recession, so I'm going to have to take a pass on this one." Loading chart...Star Bulk Carriers Corp : "I have not been in favor of the carriers. I'm not going to change my mind."

☆ Redwood Materials to Build Second Battery-Parts Factory in South Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Sean Mclain | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials Inc. is accelerating its U.S. investment, saying it plans to build a second factory in South Carolina. The $3.5 billion plant will recycle spent lithium-ion batteries and manufacture anode and cathode components, Redwood Materials said—two of the most costly parts of the batteries that power electric vehicles. The company decided to build another plant in the South to better position itself to supply a flurry of battery plants going up to take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ Russian oil just got hit with sanctions and a price cap after months of lead up. Here's what it means and what happens next.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

If you take anything away from today's newsletter, let it be this: As of today, Russian oil faces a new European Union embargo, as well as a price cap. EU leaders have been debating a price cap for months, but on Friday agreed to a $60-a-barrel level. Some analysts predict Russian oil exports could drop by 1 million barrels per day, or about 20% of its seaborne volume. She told me over a video call from London that, ultimately, oil markets probably won't react dramatically in either direction. What do you think is the most likely outcome of the new sanctions on Russian oil?

☆ Products Made With Captured Greenhouse Gas Are Reaching Commercial Scale
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Straws, bottles and packaging made with captured greenhouse-gas are starting to reach commercial scale, offering a way for businesses making and using everyday products to reduce emissions contributing to global warming. Origin Materials Inc. and Newlight Technologies Inc. are trying to meet that demand by bringing factories online that use captured emissions to manufacture materials used to make products including clothes, tires and plastic bottles. Sourcing and transporting raw inputs and captured CO2 are crucial to a product’s so-called carbon-negative credentials, meaning more CO2 is stored than created. The private company sources captured emissions from dairy farms, ethanol plants and landfills, and is expanding into coal mines and exploring direct-air capture. Competitor Origin Materials has a different approach to acquiring captured emissions and plans for its first commercial-scale factory to come online next year.

"Initially when that (Bullard commentary) came out, you saw the market sell off and then there was some discussion about was he being over-reactive?" Equities had seen strong gains last week after a softer-than-expected inflation report boosted hopes of smaller rate hikes from the Fed. Most of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced, with defensive utilities (.SPLRCU) and real estate (.SPLRCR) leading gains, up about 1% each. The S&P index recorded six new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 60 new lows. Reporting by Shubham Batra, Ankika Biswas and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday the U.S. central bank needed to keep raising interest rates given that its tightening so far "had only limited effects on observed inflation". The comments, coming on the heels of strong retail sales data, dampened hopes of the Fed toning down its hawkish approach following softer-than-expected inflation reports. They are getting more comfortable with a generally higher interest rate regime," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. ET, Dow e-minis were up 224 points, or 0.67%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 35.5 points, or 0.9%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 118.25 points, or 1.01%. Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) gained 4.0% after the chip tools maker forecast first-quarter revenue above estimates, on hopes of easing supply chain constraints.

☆ Applied Materials forecasts strong Q1 revenue on easing supply chain woes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chip tools maker Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) forecast first-quarter revenue above market estimates on Thursday, on hopes that easing supply chain constraints will help it meet pent up demand from chipmakers ramping up production. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company rose nearly 3% in trading after the bell. The company posted revenue of $6.75 billion for the fourth quarter ended Oct. 30, compared to analysts' average expectation of $6.45 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $6.70 billion, plus or minus $400 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.45 billion. Applied said the outlook includes expected impact of recently announced U.S. export regulations and ongoing supply chain challenges.

☆ Apartment conversions jumped 25% over the past two years, meaning that swanky place you're renting likely used to be an office space, hotel room, or church.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Developers converted more old buildings into rentals than ever before between 2020 and 2021. Developers are targeting a range of building types, from office buildings to churches. That represents a 25% increase over the more than 22,300 apartments developers converted between the years of 2018 and 2019, prior to the pandemic. "Larger office buildings in abandoned central business districts are better suited to conversion than the often-smaller office complexes distributed around the suburbs." Local governments have gotten behind the trend by creating incentives for conversion projects.

☆ Japan's service-sector activity growth hits 4-month high -PMI
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Japan's services sector activity grew at the fastest clip in four months in October, a private survey showed on Friday, as the easing of restrictions on foreign tourism and an improvement in domestic travel boosted sentiment. Despite the pickup in activity, however, high import costs heaped pressure on the sector as prices of fuel, energy and raw materials increased. "However, inflationary pressures currently being faced by Japan's service providers continued to present downside risks to the sectors potential growth." October's final reading was slightly better than a 53.0 flash figure released last month, the survey showed. The composite PMI, which is calculated by combining the manufacturing and services readings, stood at 51.8 in October, up from the previous month's 51.0 final.

☆ Microsoft's president warns of talent shortage for tackling climate change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Thousands of businesses will fail to meet pledges to combat climate change unless they start training employees on sustainability, Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) President Brad Smith told Reuters. Microsoft sells software for organizations to track their environmental impact. Still, companies need more than technology to address global warming, said Smith, announcing plans to develop green education materials including on LinkedIn, which Microsoft owns. The findings primarily stemmed from interviews and surveys with Microsoft and eight other large companies in sectors such as finance and consumer goods. "Employers really need to step back and take a broader look at their investment in employee learning and training."

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