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☆ Auto supplier Magna to invest $790 mln to build three new facilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 20 (Reuters) - Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc (MG.TO) said on Thursday it will invest $790 million to build three new supplier facilities, two of which will be housed at Ford Motor Co's (F.N) BlueOval City campus in Tennessee. The development comes as suppliers race to meet requirements from automakers, who have been hustling to boost their electric vehicle output as demand for environmentally friendly vehicles surges. Magna's facilities will support production of Ford's second-generation electric truck, the Canadian company said in a statement. Ford in March said it plans to build up to 500,000 electric trucks a year at its BlueOval City complex under construction. A third Magna facility in Lawrenceburg will produce vehicle frames, the company said.

Persons: Ford's, Magna, Priyamvada, Nivedita Organizations: Magna International Inc, Ford Motor, Ford, Thomson Locations: BlueOval City, Tennessee, Ford's, BlueOval, Detroit, Lawrenceburg, Bengaluru

☆ Fisker to sell limited edition electric SUVs in India by fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. startup Fisker (FSR.N) said on Monday it would produce 100 limited edition electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for the Indian market and expects to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter this year. The company had said in September it would begin selling its Ocean electric SUVs in India by July 2023, with local production beginning in a few years. Fisker Ocean Extreme is priced at 69,950 euros ($78,588.83), excluding taxes, in Germany. A Fisker Ocean SUV starts at $37,499 in the United States. Fisker also looks to produce its next EV, the smaller, five-seater PEAR in India with Foxconn (2317.TW).

Persons: Fisker, Akshita, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: International Energy Agency, Magna International, Austrian, Thomson Locations: India, Germany, United States, China, U.S, Europe, Hyderabad, California, Bengaluru

☆ Explainer: Auto industry on tenterhooks as UAW kicks off talks with 'Detroit Three'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Nathan Gomes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File PhotoJuly 12 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers (UAW) union will start contract talks with the Detroit Three automakers beginning Thursday, ahead of the mid-September expiration of current four-year labor deals. WHO IS THE UNION NEGOTIATING WITH? The U.S. labor union will officially open talks first with Stellantis, followed by Ford on Friday and GM on Tuesday. In fiscal 2019, GM's fourth-quarter profit took a $3.6 billion hit from a 40-day UAW strike that shut down its profitable U.S. operations. Fain who took helm of the union in March, has been a UAW member for more than two decades.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Shawn Fain, Fain, They've, Biden, Tesla, Jim Farley, Ford, Stellantis, GM's, Wells, Colin Langan, Fitch, Steve Brown, Nathan Gomes, Ben Klayman, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: REUTERS, United Auto Workers, UAW, Detroit Three, General Motors, Ford, Detroit, WHO, GM, EV, Detroit Free Press, Lear Corp, Thomson Locations: Auburn Hills , Michigan, U.S, Detroit, United States, Stellantis, American, Bengaluru, Ben

☆ Explainer: Clock ticks down towards potential UAW strike against Detroit Three automakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Detroit automakers, like their global counterparts, have been focused on cost reductions, which in some cases include job cuts, to help accelerate a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) from gasoline-powered vehicles. Contract talks between the UAW and the Detroit automakers have gone on until the strike deadline and beyond in past years. "To win, we're likely going to have to take action," UAW Fain said on Wednesday. The Detroit Three want to close the cost gap they have with foreign automakers with non-unionized U.S. factories. In fiscal 2019, GM's fourth-quarter profit took a $3.6 billion hit from a 40-day UAW strike.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Shawn Fain, Fain, Jim Farley, we're, UAW Fain, Biden, Tesla, GM's, Nathan Gomes, Sriraj Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, International Workers, REUTERS, Detroit Three, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Detroit, WHO, Ford, Detroit automakers, FROM, Reuters, EV, Deutsche Bank, Lear Corp, Anderson Economic Group, Thomson Locations: New York, Manhattan , New York City , New York, U.S, Bengaluru

HONG KONG, June 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - There's plenty to like about Swire Pacific's (0019.HK) Coca-Cola sale. Little wonder Swire's Hong Kong shares rallied as much as 8% on Thursday morning. The Coke sale is refreshing for investors, but only until the rest of Swire Pacific regains its fizz. Upon completion of the sale, Swire Pacific will distribute HK$11.7 billion in special dividends to its shareholders. The company also plans to enter into a 13-year agreement to provide management services to Swire Coca-Cola USA and receive an annual fee of at least HK$117 million.

Persons: Swire Pacific's, Swire, John Swire, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, HK, Cathay Pacific, Swire, Cola, John Swire & Sons, Cola Europacific Partners, Citi, Cathay, Swire Pacific, Hong Kong, Cola USA, Hong, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China, Cathay Pacific

HONG KONG, June 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A government-led buyout signals more uncertainty ahead for a chip industry grappling with oversupply and geopolitics. The state-backed Japan Investment Corp will take over JSR (4185.T), which makes light-sensitive chemicals vital to manufacturing semiconductors, among other things. In recent years, the conglomerate has pivoted from a low-margin business of selling synthetic rubber used to make tyres to focus on semiconductor materials - primarily photoresists - and biopharmaceuticals. Yet JIC's mandate to boost the country’s global competitiveness and its focus on consolidating industries helps to justify the hefty premium. Either way, the government's focus on elevating national chipmaking champions creates fresh uncertainty for JSR's foreign customers like South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (2330.TW).

Persons: Sharp, Eric Johnson, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Japan Investment Corp, Renesas Electronics, chipmakers, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Japan Investment Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Development Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Tokyo, Taiwan, Japan, United States, South Korea, South

☆ UK startup Helixx leans on Siemens to design EV 'factory in a box'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - UK startup Helixx said on Monday it will use Siemens' (SIEGn.DE) open digital platform to help design a highly-automated 'factory in a box' that can be built anywhere to assemble smaller, low-cost electric vehicles (EVs), initially for large Asian cities. The 'digital twin' technology provided by the Siemens Xcelerator will help Helixx design the factory and plan supply chain requirements, Helixx and Siemens said. Some EV startups have turned to contract manufacturers, as Fisker has done with Magna and Foxconn, but the concept of providing a factory and "white label" EV designs for clients is new. "We have reimagined the way the vehicles go together so you can get a factory producing vehicles anywhere in the world, just like a McDonald's franchise," Pegg said. So far Helixx has raised about 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) and Pegg said building its prototype fleet will require around 3 million pounds.

Persons: Steve Pegg, Pegg, Helixx, Nick Carey, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Siemens, Reuters, EV, Magna, Thomson Locations: United Kingdom, Britain, Singapore

☆ The Book That Changed Robert Rubin’s Thinking About Poverty
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In addition to the subject’s fascinating life — among much else, she was Virginia Woolf’s muse and longtime lover — I always enjoy books about that era. What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently? I recently finished a book called “1215: The Year of Magna Carta,” by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham. Our political system and government. You’ll find more recent examples of the genre — especially those by David Baldacci and Daniel Silva — on my shelves, too.

Persons: Victoria Glendinning, ”, Vita, —, Danny Danziger, John Gillingham, I’d, Roger Lowenstein, who’s, Federal Reserve —, haven’t, Chris Whipple’s, Coffin, Dimitrios, Eric Ambler, Helen MacInnes, You’ll, David Baldacci, Daniel Silva — Organizations: Bloomsbury Group, Magna Carta, Wall Street, The Times, Federal Reserve, Scottish Locations: Vita Sackville, West, England, Virginia, Scottish American

☆ Microsoft, Google strategy to test AI search ads irks some brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Google, Microsoft and Alphabet logos and AI Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration taken, May 4, 2023. Microsoft is testing ads in the Bing AI chatbot, which began rolling out to users in February, by relocating some traditional search ads and inserting them into the AI responses, the company said. In a May interview, Google’s general manager of ads, Jerry Dischler, said the tech company would also use existing search ads to experiment with ad placements within the AI search snapshots, an early-test feature called Search Generative Experience that first became available last month. Microsoft and Google said existing guard rails on their search engines, including lists of blocked keywords to prevent ads from appearing on those queries, would also apply to their AI search features. Three ad buyers said they were concerned about Microsoft’s lack of transparency reporting, or reports that can show what search terms triggered a brand’s ads to appear in generative AI experiences, or how the ads performed versus traditional search ads.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Google’s, Jerry Dischler, Jason Lee, Wells, Wells Fargo, Lynne Kjolso, Bing, ”, Samantha Aiken, Max, can’t, Kjolso, Sheila Dang, Kenneth Li, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Google, Microsoft, REUTERS, Reuters, MAGNA, Bing, Horizon Media, Thomson Locations: Anthropic, Corona, Wells Fargo, Dallas

HONG KONG, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shein is threading the world’s trickiest geopolitical needle. But rising American pressure is forcing it to tweak its business model right as it tries to list there. Last year, its top line surged 46% to $23 billion, per the Wall Street Journal, surpassing $22 billion at H&M and outpacing the 18% growth at Inditex. A Boston Consulting Group report notes that this model allows Shein to keep inventory turnover at just 40 days. That will be expensive; the company's net profit margin was a razor-thin 3.5% last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, far below bricks and mortar rival Inditex's 13%.

Persons: Shein, Bernstein, Chris Xu, Xu, Mubadala, Pete Sweeney, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, U.S ., Rivals, Street, Financial Times, Boston Consulting, Morningstar, Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street, ’, Singapore, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Zara, China, Inditex, Guangdong, U.S, Xinjiang, Nanjing, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, India

☆ Trove of 750 looted artifacts returned to Italy from disgraced British dealer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Some 750 looted archaeological treasures have been seized from the notorious British antiquities trader Robin Symes and returned to Italy after a decades-long fight for their return, the Carabinieri art police said on Wednesday. Some of the antiquities returned to Italy from London are seen on display at Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. The 750 repatriated items were seized from the disgraced British art dealer Robin Symes. He was often investigated but never charged for his alleged crimes despite countless attempts by Italy and Greece. The return of these 750 objects marks another success in Italy’s attempt to recover its stolen treasures.

Persons: Robin Symes, …, Remo Casilli, Symes, General Lorenzo d’Ascia, Reuters Symes, Marion True, True, Vincenzo Molinese, Gennaro Sangiuliano, ” Organizations: CNN, Carabinieri, Magna Graecia, Ministry of Culture, Castel, Reuters, Symes Ltd, Italian Judicial Authority, State, Paul Getty Museum, Castel Sant'Angelo Locations: Italy, Castel Sant’Angelo, Etruria, Magna, London, Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, United Kingdom, British, Swiss, Greece, Castel, United States

☆ EV startups conserve cash as make-or-break moment approaches. Here's where everyone stands
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

As legacy automakers increasingly ramp production of all-electric vehicles, cushioned by the profits of gas-powered models, a handful of EV startups are scrambling to conserve cash and stay in the mix. It also means the amount of cash Fisker had left as of the end of March, $652.5 million, isn't yet cause for alarm. Still, Fisker cut its production guidance for 2023 to between 32,000 vehicles and 36,000 vehicles, from 42,400 in its original plan. Or as Evercore ISI analyst Doug Dutton wrote before Fisker's earnings report, "Fisker is beginning to turn into a story of binary and 'show me' outcomes." It had $108.1 million remaining as of the end of March, but it lost $171.1 million in the first quarter .

Persons: Tesla, Rivian, Claire McDonough, Rivian's, It's, McDonough, Deutsche Bank's Emmanuel Rosner, Rosner, Sherry House, Peter Rawlinson, Bank of America's John Murphy, Murphy, Aston Martin, Henrik Fisker, Fisker, Doug Dutton, Dutton, Nikola Nikola, Trevor Milton, Nikola, Voltera, TD Cowen, Jeffrey Osborne, Osborne, Polestar Polestar, it's, Johan Malmqvist isn't, aren't, Deutsche Bank's Rosner, Lordstown, Foxconn, Foxconn doesn't Organizations: EV, Amazon, Deutsche, Lucid's, Bank of America's, BMW, Global, Magna International, Nikola, Iveco, Volvo Cars, Geely, Lordstown, Nasdaq, General Motors Locations: Georgia, Magna, Austria, U.S, Europe, North America, Nikola's, Swedish, China, Ohio, Lordstown

Foxconn's turnaround efforts initially paid off: by 2018, Sharp was back in the black. Moreover, analysts estimate assembling iPhones and other Apple (AAPL.O) gadgets still brings in more than half of Foxconn’s annual sales. The troubled unit was once a joint venture between Sharp, Foxconn and an entity tied to Gou. The company attributed the slump to a non-operating loss of T$19.7 billion related to its 34% stake in Japanese electronics maker Sharp. Sharp reported a 220-billion-yen ($1.6 billion) impairment loss in the quarter, mostly from buildings, machinery and goodwill relating to display businesses.

MUNICH, May 17 (Reuters) - Electric car maker Fisker Inc (FSR.N) is exploring collaboration with other companies to scale up market share faster, Chief Executive Henrik Fisker said on Wednesday. If we collaborate with someone, you can scale quicker ... it could be with suppliers, other car companies, tech companies - we are exploring all these avenues," Fisker said, speaking at the Reuters Automotive Conference in Munich. The PEAR will have 25% fewer parts than a comparable car today, Fisker said. Instead, Fisker will build vehicles from steel, combining multiple parts into one using single stampings, he said. Fisker said eventually the company plans to have production capacity in Europe, China, the United States and India.

HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investing in China need not be too stressful, provided you avoid investing in Chinese companies. A spending pop in the transport, food and beverage and hospitality sectors helped lift first-quarter GDP to 4.5%. But that data was flattered by comparison to a grim 2022, and April data on imports, inflation and bank loans all disappointed. While Beijing’s crackdowns on domestic technology companies and property developers have eased, other risks are rising. Separately, quarterly revenue at Alibaba is expected to rise 3% year-on-year to 211 billion yuan ($30.5 billion) in the three months to March, according to the average analyst forecast on Refinitiv.

[1/3] Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at the Google I/O 2023 conference, in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 10, 2023. Called the Search Generative Experience, the revamped Google can craft responses to open-ended queries while retaining its recognizable list of links to the Web. "We are reimagining all of our core products, including search," Sundar Pichai, Alphabet's CEO, said after he took the stage at the event. Generative AI can, using past data, create brand new content like fully formed text, images and software code. WHAT OUTFIT TO WEARWith the embedded AI, Google still looks and acts like its familiar empty search bar.

May 10 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google on Wednesday began unveiling more artificial intelligence in its products to answer the latest competition from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which has threatened its perch atop the nearly $300 billion search advertising market. He said Google is integrating generative AI into search. For years the top portal to the internet, Google has found its position in question since rivals began exploiting generative AI as an alternative way to present content from the web. That has represented a technological affront and a business one: Microsoft said every percentage point of share it gained in search advertising could draw another $2 billion in revenue. Pichai said earlier this year that generative AI to distill complex queries would come to Google Search, as would more perspectives, "like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar."

May 10 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google on Wednesday is expected to unveil more artificial intelligence in its products to answer the latest competition from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which has threatened its perch atop the nearly $300-billion search advertising market. For years the top portal to the internet, Google has found its position in question since rivals began exploiting generative AI as an alternative way to present content from the web. That has represented a technological affront and a business one: Microsoft said every percentage point of share it gained in search advertising could draw another $2 billion in revenue. Sundar Pichai, Alphabet's chief executive, this year said generative AI to distill complex queries would come to Google Search, as would more perspectives, "like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar." At Wednesday's conference, it is expected to announce a more powerful AI model known as PaLM 2, CNBC reported.

☆ Fisker cuts production guidance for Ocean EV after last-minute snags
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Electric vehicle startup Fisker on Tuesday reported a wider first-quarter loss than expected and cut its production guidance for the full year, both of which it blamed on last minute snags as it begins production of its Ocean SUV. 38 cents, versus a loss of 30 cents expected. A year ago, Fisker reported a net loss of $122.1 million, or 41 cents a share, with no revenue. Fisker had $652.5 million in cash remaining as of March 31, down from $736.5 million at the end of 2022. "We are ready to go full speed on production next week," Henrik Fisker told CNBC's Phil LeBeau on Tuesday.

☆ After Pornhub shut down its site in Utah, Google searches for VPN access jumped
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

After Pornhub blocked access to its site in Utah, Google searches for VPN access spiked statewide. The pornography site pulled the plug on Monday in protest of a new Utah age-verification law. Other related topics — everything from different types of VPNs to "what is a VPN" — also saw spikes in search, according to Google data. Utahns' increased interest in virtual private networks comes after Pornhub revoked access to its site for state residents on Monday. 287, which passed in March and went into effect Wednesday, Pornhub published a video statement on its site.

HONG KONG, May 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Money flowing into the People's Republic is getting uncomfortably hot. Yet recent reversals in New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai suggest that is driven by fickle short-term funds – exactly what Beijing doesn’t want. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsFollow @mak_robyn on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSChinese spirit maker ZJLD shares closed down 18% lower than their initial public offering price on their trading debut April 27. The KKR-backed company raised $676 million in what was the biggest offering in Hong Kong since October 2022. Separately, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada's third largest pension fund, closed down its China equity investment team based in Hong Kong, Reuters reported on April 25, citing sources.

☆ SCOTUS justices went on cushy teaching trips to Italy, Iceland, and the UK funded by a conservative law school: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

George Mason University funded a series of plush trips for Supreme Court justices in recent years. Per The Times, the law school sent justices on trips to European tourist spots as part of teaching programs. Gorsuch was asked to help pick which Italian city would host his teaching trip. The law school dean, Ken Randall, said students had their time there "undoubtedly enhanced by the justices teaching or visiting or speaking with students." Insider sought further comment from the law school and the court.

☆ A solid start to earnings season will be put to the test in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The biggest week of this earnings season showed us that things aren't as bad as many feared. The week ahead of earnings, including several more Club names, should tell us more. The results are always important, but it's the guidance and management commentary we will really hone in on to better understand the path ahead. In Amazon's case, a solid first quarter for its AWS cloud business was overshadowed by management seeing a material slowdown in April. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls Looking back It was the biggest week of this earnings season for the Club as several of our mega-cap holdings and industry bellwethers reported results.

☆ Alphabet, Meta lure back advertisers as smaller rivals expected to struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

This year, though, the social media ad market is expected to grow at a slightly faster pace than in 2022, according to a report last month from media and intelligence firm MAGNA. "Advertisers are simply going back to platforms they know, like and trust," said Brian Mulberry, a portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management. The social media advertising market overall is expected to grow 6% this year to $66 billion, according to MAGNA. Last year, the social media ad market grew 2% in part because privacy updates by Apple Inc (AAPL.O) made it more difficult for advertisers to gather user data to serve targeted ads. Digital pinboard company Pinterest is expected to post a 3% year-over-year rise in quarterly revenue on Thursday, according to Refinitiv data.

Beijing's retaliatory strategy against U.S. chip sanctions is a bigger worry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has so far remained relatively unscathed since Washington stepped up sanctions to hobble China’s domestic semiconductor development. Second, even if Chinese companies account for just 11% of TSMC’s top line, its other customers are far more exposed to the People's Republic. How Beijing responds to American pressure will define the scope of TSMC’s recovery. In January, TSMC said its capital spending in 2023 would be between $32 billion and $36 billion, compared to $36.3 billion in 2022.

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