Intel shares spike after Softbank signs $2bn deal with chipmaker
Under the deal announced on Monday, Softbank will pay $23 per share in Intel."The investment comes as both Intel and SoftBank deepen their commitment to investing in advanced technology and semiconductor innovation in the United States," the two companies said in a joint statement.Last week, US President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet met Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan.The meeting came just days after Trump called for Mr Tan to resign, accusing him of being "highly conflicted" due to his earlier ties to China.The developments came as the US chip industry is under intense scrutiny by the White House.Last week, Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the US government 15% of their Chinese revenues as part of an unprecedented deal to secure export licences to China.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Standard Chartered faces FBI probe over claims it helped firms linked to Iran circumvent US sanctions
Standard Chartered is facing an FBI investigation and potential fines of billions of dollars after a British whistleblower's case was picked up by Donald Trump. Britain's fifth largest bank has been hit by more allegations that it helped companies linked to Iran's military and nuclear interests circumvent US sanctions. Standard Chartered has already been fined £1.5billion by the US authorities for breaching sanctions against Iran, through its US branch. But former bank executive Julian Knight claims it covered up the true scale of the breaches. Knight first revealed the allegations in the Daily Mail business pages six years ago and has fought a prolonged battle in the US courts with the bank and US government. Last week, Trump posted on his Truth Social account a story accusing New York's Democrat Attorney General Letitia James of ignoring Knight's treasure trove of bank data last year. The US President has targeted James, calling her a 'disgrace', after she successfully pursued Trump and his organisation for financial fraud, with a New York court handing out a £333million fine. Sean Buckley, the deputy US attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), has now revealed in an email to Knight's US lawyers that a file has been reviewed and passed onto the FBI. He wrote: 'SDNY and the FBI are committed to investigating these new potential sanctions violations. 'We and our partners at the FBI take such allegations very seriously.' The bank has consistently claimed that Knight, and his fellow whistleblower, American financier Bob Marcellus, had 'fabricated claims' to seek 'personal financial gain'. This is because under the US False Claims Act, whistleblowers are entitled to 15-30 per cent of any fines recovered from companies found to have defrauded the US federal government. They first handed over bank data to US regulators in 2012 but claim they have uncovered bank spreadsheets that showed vast amounts of 'concealed transactions with Iranian entities'. Last year, Knight and Marcellus and their legal team presented this evidence to US officials, including Chris D'Angelo, Letitia James' right-hand man at the New York Attorney General's office. Last night, Knight said: 'After 13 years, I feel vindicated and gratified that the Department of Justice has finally recognised the extreme importance of the information we provided in 2012.' Last night, a Standard Chartered source said that 'nothing has changed as far as we are concerned'.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US judge rejects Trump administration challenge to Illinois E-Verify law
Aug 20 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed a bid by the administration of Republican President Donald Trump to bar Illinois from restricting employers' use of a federal program that electronically verifies eligibility to work in the United States. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman on Tuesday said, opens new tab an Illinois law imposing a series of requirements on employers who use E-Verify falls within the state's power to regulate employment and does not interfere with the federal government's enforcement of immigration laws. Trump, a Republican, has made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his second term. His administration has stepped up arrests of immigrants, cracked down on unlawful border crossings and stripped legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants. Coleman denied the administration's motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which took effect in January, and granted a motion by Illinois to dismiss the case. "The federal government's broad interpretation of its power to regulate matters of immigration would swallow the historic powers of the states over employment-related issues," wrote Coleman, an appointee of President Barack Obama, a Democrat. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Illinois Attorney General's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. E-Verify was established in 1996 to help companies avoid hiring people who are in the United States illegally and lack authorization to work. The program compares work eligibility forms filled out by workers, known as I-9s, with records maintained by the federal government. E-Verify is voluntary on the federal level, but 10 states require all or most employers to use it and about a dozen others mandate it for government contractors. California and Illinois are the only states that restrict the use of E-Verify. The Illinois law, called the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act, bans employers from using the program to check the immigration status of existing employees and requires them to post notices about E-Verify in the workplace. It also requires employers to notify workers when federal authorities are conducting an audit of their immigration status and allow them to address any discrepancies in their paperwork. The Trump administration in its lawsuit claimed that because the law discourages employers from using E-Verify, it disrupts federal immigration enforcement and is preempted by federal law. Coleman on Tuesday said that argument was "broad to the point of absurdity." If the administration were correct, it would mean that states also could not mandate the use of E-Verify and that various other state employment laws that have been upheld by courts would be invalid, she said. The case is United States v. Illinois, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:25-cv-04811. For the United States: Elianis Perez of the U.S. Department of Justice For Illinois: Darren Kinkead of the Illinois Attorney General's Office Read more: Trump's immigration enforcement record so far, by the numbers
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Coty forecasts sales fall on consumer caution; to raise premium fragrance prices
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Coty (COTY.N), opens new tab on Wednesday forecast a drop in current-quarter sales as weak spending in the U.S. cast a shadow on demand for beauty products, sending its shares down 18% in extended trading. The company also said it would raise prices in its premium fragrances unit in the U.S. in the mid-single digit percentage range to mitigate the impact of the 15% duties on import of goods from Europe under U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs policy. This comes at a time when retailers in the U.S. are increasingly cautious due to tariffs and destocking inventories as cost-conscious consumers tighten spending on some beauty and skincare products. Coty sees first-quarter like-for-like sales declining 6% to 8%, compared with 4.5% growth a year ago. The company expects product launches in both its prestige and consumer beauty categories to drive sales growth in the second half of the year. "Our analysis of cosmetics category weakness points to value-seeking behavior, some fatigue with innovation as consumers circle back to basics and less frequent usage, particularly with Gen-Z migrating to fragrances," finance chief Laurent Mercier said in a statement. Changes in the immigration policy under the Trump administration has also contributed to the slowdown in the country, Mercier added. The company is also looking to move production for mass fragrances and entry prestige fragrances sold in the U.S. to a domestic manufacturing plant in order to cushion some of the $70 million headwind from tariffs in fiscal 2026. Coty reported an adjusted quarterly loss of 5 cents per share for the quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of a profit of 2 cents per share. The loss included a negative impact from an equity swap mark-to-market of $0.07 due to the stock price decline in the quarter, the company said. Beauty retailer Estee Lauder (EL.N), opens new tab also gave a weak annual profit forecast on Wednesday. Coty's shares have fallen nearly 30% so far this year, following a 44% drop in 2024. The company's fourth-quarter revenue fell 8% to $1.25 billion, but beat estimates of $1.20 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
