Every day, we handpick the 5 Top Stories stock market investors need to know. In 5 minutes, you’ll learn the stocks, CEOs, and money managers moving markets.
Chip Sales Rally
In November last year, semiconductor revenue worldwide amounted to $48bn, a 5.3% year-on-year increase, according to the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association, in a possible sign that artificial intelligence-related demand is prompting a sector-wide rebound. China led the rise, buying 7.6% more than a year earlier. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. [TSM] reported December sales of NT$176.3bn, matching sales in the year-ago quarter; analysts had expected sales to decline year-on-year, reported Bloomberg.
Tesla Latest: Model 3 Upgrade, Driving Range Reduction
On Tuesday, Tesla [TSLA] said that its overhauled Model 3 sedan is now available for sale in the US. The long-awaited announcement follows the re-launch of the Model 3 — which first hit the streets in 2016 — in China and Europe. Elsewhere, Tesla has finally lowered its driving range estimates; Reuters reported last July that the carmaker had rigged its algorithm to artificially inflate the distances vehicles can nominally travel between charges.
HPE Pivot to Networking
Hewlett Packard Enterprise [HPE] is to buy Juniper Networks [JNPR] for $14bn — over half HPE’s market value of $21bn — with a view to boosting its reach in the networking space. Networking involves managing the flow of information between devices and online; it will be the new core of HPE, said CEO Antonio Neri after the deal was made public The deal has been approved by both boards and should go through by early 2025.
Honda Unveils EV at CES 2024
At the CES trade conference in Las Vegas this week, Honda [HMC] announced it is to launch a new electric vehicle (EV) series — called Honda 0 — in 2026, as it races to meet its goal of selling only battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s VinFast [VFS] launched a prototype of its new pickup truck and said that its four-seater mini-eSUV VF 3 will go on sale globally.
Trouble at Twitch; Meta to Do More to Protect Teens
Amazon’s [AMZN] livestreaming site Twitch is to cut 35% jobs, or some 500 workers, Bloomberg reported. The cuts could be announced as soon as this week, and come amid losses at the firm, whose website supports 1.8 billion hours of live video content per month. Elsewhere in social media, Meta Platforms [META] is to increase the amount of content that is hidden from teenagers on Instagram and Facebook, following a worldwide regulatory ramping up.
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