Is an EV “Bloodbath” in the Offing?

Is an EV “Bloodbath” in the Offing?

Following Beijing’s crackdown on discounting, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) leader BYD [BYDDY] has predicted there will be what the Financial Times calls a “bloodbath” in the sector. “Even 20 OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] is too much,” said Executive Vice-President Stella Li on the sidelines of the Munich motor show. According to consulting firm AlixPartners, of the 129 brands currently operational, only 15 will still be financially viable by 2030. 

SpaceX $17bn Spectrum Deal

Elon Musk’s SpaceX will acquire $17bn in wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar [SATS] to expand Starlink’s direct-to-cell 5G coverage in the US. The deal includes $8.5bn in cash and $8.5bn in SpaceX stock, valuing the company at $425bn. EchoStar shares rose up to 23% before paring gains, as the sale eases regulatory pressure over its stalled 5G rollout and provides Musk with critical AWS-4 and H-block licenses.

Hyperscaler Pops on MSFT Deal

Nebius Group [NBIS] shares surged over 40% post-market after signing a $17.4bn, five-year artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure deal with Microsoft [MSFT]. Capacity will be delivered from Nebius’ new Vineland, New Jersey, data center later this year. CEO Arkady Volozh said the agreement marks the first of several long-term big tech contracts, strengthening Nebius’ AI cloud growth prospects, Seeking Alpha reported. 

How Are These Biotech Stocks Outperforming Their Peers?

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals [ARWR], Cytokinetics [CYTK], Ionis Pharmaceuticals [IONS] and United Therapeutics [UTHR] surged between 30% to 45% in the first week of September following positive drug development updates. The S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index [SPSIBI] rose about 5.7% during the same period. OPTO outlines the keys to their success.

Ant Embraces Blockchain

Ant Digital Technologies, the enterprise solutions arm of Jack Ma’s fintech giant Ant Group [6688:HK], is linking RMB60bn of energy infrastructure to its AntChain blockchain, tracking 15 million renewable devices such as wind turbines and solar panels. The unit has already raised RMB300m across three clean energy projects, Bloomberg outlined. 

Copper Juggernaut

Anglo American [NGLOY] and Teck Resources [TECK] are to merge to form Anglo Teck, a $50bn mining firm headquartered in Vancouver. Anglo will own 62.4% and Teck the rest, the Financial Times reported. The new firm’s primary listing will remain in London, with secondary listings in Johannesburg, Toronto and New York. The deal consolidates the two firms’ already-substantial Chilean copper assets.

This Cloud Start-up Could be a Serious Challenger

Databricks has raised $1bn in a Series K round, valuing the cloud data analytics firm at over $100bn. Backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Insight Partners, MGX, Thrive Capital and WCM Investment Management. Competing with Snowflake [SNOW], Databricks will use the funding to advance its AI strategy, including expanding Agent Bricks for enterprise AI agents. Read OPTO’s recent breakdown of three stocks that are at the forefront of agentic AI.