AI Surge Fuels TSMC Rally, Headway Hits Milestone, and More
SMC's AI-Driven Boom, Headway's New Valuation, and the Latest Market Insights
TSMC’s Second Quarter Results May Fuel Its $420 Billion Rally as AI Demand Soars - Bloomberg
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is expected to report a 29% increase in second-quarter net income and raise full-year sales forecasts next week.
TSMC has become a favorite artificial intelligence-bet for investors due to its cutting-edge technology and bargaining power to raise prices for its advance chips.
The company has hit a $1 trillion market capitalization in the US earlier this week, making it the sole supplier of Nvidia and Apple Inc. and major customer of Broadcom Inc.
Mental Health Startup Headway Nabs $2.3 Billion Valuation - Bloomberg
Mental health startup Headway is raising a new funding round valuing the company at $2.3 billion.
The financing brings in about $100 million for Headway, which connects people with therapists and can handle tasks like booking appointments.
Closed-Door M&A Talks Turn ‘More Prominent’ in BCG Boss’s View - Bloomberg
M&A discussions are more prominent than they were a year ago.
The global value of mergers and acquisitions activity is higher than the same period in 2023.
New Yorkers See 58% Rise in Food-Delivery Fees - Bloomberg
New Yorkers have paid 58% more in food-delivery fees since a minimum-wage law went into effect in late 2023
Customers paid an average of $20.1 million a week in delivery fees during the first quarter of 2024, a 58% increase from a year prior
Fees paid by participating restaurants increased 13% over the same period
Wages for food delivery couriers increased by 64% and tips fell by 60% since the minimum-pay rule became law
Companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub have implemented scheduling systems to limit the number of couriers working at a given time
The number of contractors delivering food fell 9% in Q1 2024, pointing to the decline as proof that the rule isn’t working
Orders for delivery workers have been broadly increasing, with an 8% jump from the same time period a year earlier.
SoftBank Buys Struggling UK Chip Startup Graphcore in AI Race - Bloomberg
SoftBank Group has acquired British semiconductor startup Graphcore Ltd. as part of its investment in chips and artificial intelligence. The deal was announced without disclosing financial terms. Graphcore will operate as a SoftBank subsidiary and keep its management team. It is the second UK semiconductor company that SoftBank has acquired, following its acquisition of Arm Holdings Plc in 2016. The company designed a new type of chip called an IPU meant to enable AI applications. However, Graphcore struggled to gain customers and brought in $2.7 million in sales on $204.6 million in losses in 2022. SoftBank plans to collaborate with Graphcore on moving toward AGI, an industry term for a machine that outperforms humans in a range of tasks.
PepsiCo Chip Sales Drop as Prices Sting - New York Times
PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay snack brands saw a decline in sales volume in the second quarter, with a 4% drop in volumes from year-ago levels.
The decline is due to consumers becoming more price-conscious and seeking more value in certain parts of the portfolio. PepsiCo executives acknowledged that some consumers have become price conscious and want more value to stay with their brands. To attract more consumers back, PepsiCo plans to cut prices or offer more sales on certain salty snacks and other products to give back to consumers after three or four years of inflation.
Other food and beverage companies, including McDonald’s, Whole Foods, and Target, are also offering value deals to attract consumers back and cut prices to meet consumer demand. The overall Consumer Price Index moderated to 3% in June on an annual basis, but the cost of food at grocery stores and restaurants is still substantially higher than four years ago.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Is a Throwback Amid Summer Blockbusters - New York Times
The film “Fly Me to the Moon” is a period piece with an original script directed by Greg Berlanti.
The movie is part drama, part comedic caper, part romance, part fiction, and part true story, and was originally planned for a streaming release on Apple TV+.
Despite being part of the blockbuster season, the film has been released in 3,300 theaters in the US and Canada on July 11, 2024, at the height of its box office season.
Hollywood marketers prefer to serve up mindless popcorn movies aimed at teenagers in the summer, while ticket buyers prefer movies that mash together genres and are entertainment for thinking adults. The film is part of a Hollywood experiment to determine if there is still room at the multiplexes for original films aimed at grown-ups. (The initial producer of the film, Jason Bathe, left the project due to creative differences with the star, Scarlett Johansson, and replaced him with a new musical idea. The musical idea was shelved due to the pandemic.
Hallmark+ Will Arrive in September, Joining the Streaming Fray - New York Times
Hallmark Media is launching a stand-alone streaming service called Hallmark+ in September, with an estimated 1.5 million subscribers. The service will offer on-demand access to old content and exclusive new programming, including holiday-themed mini-series and reality competition shows. The membership will come with perks such as monthly $5 coupons for Hallmark Gold Crown stores, free greeting cards, and exclusive access to live experiences. The CEO of Hallmark, Mike Perry, says there is an enormous opportunity in streaming due to the strength of the brand and unique ways to connect business segments. Analysts warn of a coming “cliff” of cable cancellations, with ESPN set to be offered as a standalone streaming service by the end of next year. By 2027, fewer than 50 million homes will pay for cable television.
Biden’s Pick to Lead F.D.I.C. Faces Little Resistance in Senate Hearing - New York Times
Christy Goldsmith Romero is President Biden’s nominee for chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
She is a lawyer who has experience investigating fraud and misconduct by banks that received money from the government’s crisis rescue package
Her testimony drew praise from both Democrats and Republicans, suggesting she is likely to be confirmed for the position
Questions ranged from her lack of experience to her approach to writing new rules given the Supreme Court’s recent ruling
Republican lawmakers had previously called for the current F.D.I.C. chair, Martin Gruenberg, to resign and let the agency’s vice chair, Travis Hill, take over
The highest-ranking Republican on the committee, Senator Tim Scott, questioned her qualifications for the role, but other Republicans appeared satisfied with her responses
President Biden has nominated her to oversee smaller banks and administer the fund that protects bank depositors’ cash.
For L.G.B.T.Q. People, Moving to Friendlier States Comes With a Cost - New York Times
Laws targeting gender-affirming care have led to an influx of people moving from less welcoming parts of the country to more supportive places.
The cost of living for transgender individuals has increased, with Denver being more expensive than San Antonio and higher rent for one-bedroom apartments downtown costing around $1,800 a month
Experts and advocates for L.G.B.T.Q. rights say queer people are moving with increasing frequency as gender identity becomes an issue for the Republican Party
Finances are a top predictor of those who feel unable to consider moving, with lower income and poor employment prospects being common factors
States with more hospitable laws for LGBT individuals also have higher costs of living, according to an index assessing state-level policy environments
It is impossible to track the migration with any precision, but the need for relocation has narrowed in conservative states like Texas and Texas.
Shares of Hong Kong real estate groups rise on prospect of lower rates - Financial Times
S&P 500 rally ends as traders shift to small-cap stocks
Cooler-than-expected inflation data for June pushed traders to bet on more interest rate cuts this year
The Russell 2000 rose 3.6% on Thursday, marking its best day since November
US effort to deliver aid to the besieged Gaza Strip will soon be wound up
Apple seeks ‘killer app’ for its $3,500 Vision Pro headset - Financial Times
Apple is struggling to attract fresh content for its Vision Pro headset with only a fraction of the apps available compared to iPhone and iPad developers.
The lack of a “killer app” is seen as a problem for Apple as the headset goes on sale in Europe on Friday
Apple has shipped fewer than 100,000 units of Vision Pro in Q1, less than half of what rival Meta sold of its Quest headsets
Analysts predict that Apple will sell 350,000 Vision Pros this year and an increase to 750,000 next year and 1.7mn in 2026
Some app developers are taking a leap of faith and launching on the Vision Pro, betting that customers who can afford the pricey headset will be more likely to splurge on software
Early data suggests that new content is arriving slowly, with nearly 300 top iPhone developers yet to bring any of their software or services to Apple’s latest device
AmazeVR has seen an uptick in app downloads after the recent launch of the device in China and elsewhere in Asia
Anthony Geffen, creative director of Atlantic Productions, believes Vision Pro represents a tipping point for headsets.
SoftBank buys UK chipmaker Graphcore in AI push - Financial Times
SoftBank has bought UK-based chipmaker Graphcore, as part of its push into artificial intelligence.
Graphcore has struggled to commercialise its technology, generating just $2.7mn in sales and $205mn in pre-tax losses in 2022.
The money to buy Graphcore is coming from SoftBank Group itself, rather than its Vision Funds, reflecting the strategic nature of the investment. ּ The deal closed after receiving regulatory approvals in the UK and US, as well as national security clearance from the British government.
Republicans seek probe of Microsoft’s $1.5bn investment in UAE’s G42 - Financial Times
Republican lawmakers urge White House to assess national security risks posed by Microsoft’s $1.5bn investment in G42, a UAE AI company
The deal involves the transfer of sensitive US-origin technology to the UAE, raising concerns among US national security officials
UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan recently travelled to Beijing to discuss AI co-operation with President Xi Jinping
G42 has publicly distanced itself from China and its technology investment arm, 42XFund, has sold all its stakes in Chinese companies
Lunate, a new Abu Dhabi-based investor and asset manager, is managing G42’s Chinese investments, but the details are under NDA and not disclosed
Microsoft is working with the National Security Council and US commerce department to ensure national security in the partnership
Vivendi explores London listing for streaming service Canal+ - Financial Times
-French media conglomerate Vivendi is exploring a London listing for its Canal+ streaming service in a potential boost to the UK’s struggling capital markets.- Vivendi plans to split into separate business units and is looking at various listing options for all four entities it plans to create, including Canal+ and Havas advertising business.
A listing for Canal+ in London or Amsterdam would give Vivendi more access to international capital than Euronext in Paris where it is currently listed.
The board of Vivendi has not yet reached a final agreement on the four-way split of the group to address a large discount between its share price and the value of its businesses.
Microsoft Quits OpenAI’s Board Amid Antitrust Scrutiny - Wall Street Journal
Microsoft has resigned its partnership with OpenAI due to concerns over the stability of the AI company’s board.
The involvement of Microsoft in OpenAI is facing scrutiny in both the US and Europe.
For AI Giants, Smaller Is Sometimes Better - Wall Street Journal
Tech giants and startups are using small or medium language models to make AI software cheaper, faster, and more specialized. These models are trained on less data and often designed for specific tasks. Smaller models cost less than $10 million to train and use fewer than 10 billion parameters. Microsoft, Google, and Apple have all released smaller models this year. OpenAI recently released a version of its flagship model that it says is cheaper to operate. Businesses and consumers are looking for ways to run generative AI-based technology more cheaply. Small models can answer questions for as little as one-sixth the cost of large language models in many cases. Fine-tuning small models on specific sets of data allows them to perform as effectively as large models at a fraction of the cost.
In an Era of Fakes, How to Know When Someone Online Is Real - Wall Street Journal
Personalized schemes to dupe internet users are on the rise
The single best step to determine someone’s identity online and protect yourself is to slow down
Tech companies are beginning to help, with Google, LinkedIn and Bumble introducing features to detect suspicious messages and users
Guidelines for operating online are changing, some old rules still apply
Before transferring funds, ask for your prearranged secret word.
Sam Altman Startup Names Former X Executive as First Head of Privacy - Wall Street Journal
Tools for Humanity has appointed Damien Kieran as its first head of privacy as the company faces regulatory scrutiny over its Worldcoin venture. Kieran left his job as chief privacy officer at Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover of the social-media platform.- Worldcoin lets users download a wallet app that supports a digital identity known as World ID, which scans people’s eyes in exchange for cryptocurrency tokens.
Kieran faces the task of liaising with regulators globally and addressing concerns over how Worldcoin handles biometric data, which has raised eyebrows in countries such as Spain and Germany.
The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision launched a review of Worldcoin last year, citing the high sensitivity of the biometrically data it processes. Worldcoin tokens are distributed to users in countries where they are legally available, and nearly 6 million users across more than 160 countries have signed up for World ID.
How the Kindle Became a Must-Have Accessory (Again) - Wall Street Journal
TikTok’s literary subculture, BookTok, is giving e-readers the Stanley cup treatment. Kindle has become the gadget of choice among the community of book lovers. Kindle sales have grown in double-digit percentages for each of the past two years and are on track for similar gains this year. People under 45 are Kindle’s fastest-growing customer segment. BookTokkers share reading habits, book clubs, book challenges, library cards, and people’s reading setups. Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s $12-a-month subscription service allows customers to borrow more than four million digital books. Kindle newbies are driving the sales growth, with about 60% of Kindle sales growth coming from people who’ve never owned one of the devices before. Print and ebook sales rose during the pandemic but have declined since, according to market-research firm Circana. Library checkouts have jumped 75% since 2019, reaching 370 million ebooks last year.