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Trade Wars
Automakers Hunt High And Low For Chips As Supply Crisis Worsens
Global automakers are scrambling to find chips and checking with suppliers to see if they have enough stockpiled, as a deepening semiconductor supply crunch related to Dutch firm Nexperia threatens car production across the industry. Beijing banned exports of Nexperia's products from China after the Dutch government seized control of the chipmaker last month, citing concerns about the transfer of technology to its Chinese parent, Wingtech, which has been flagged by the U.S. as a possible national security risk.
Nissan Motor and Mercedes-Benz are among the carmakers trying to get to grips with an uncertain supply situation, with Nissan saying it had enough chips until the first week of November. Honda (suspended production at a Mexican plant on Tuesday, and has started to adjust production in the U.S. and Canada, a spokesperson said. Nexperia's chips are widely used in automotive components, making the supply crunch the latest challenge for an industry already grappling with U.S. tariffs and Chinese curbs on rare earth exports.
Read more at Reuters
Nexperia To Resume Chip Shipments From China, Easing Supply Concerns
The White House plans to announce that Dutch chipmaker Nexperia's China facilities will resume shipments, a source said, in what would be a relief for auto manufacturers worldwide who faced the imminent prospect of curbing production. The Dutch government seized control this month of Nexperia, owned by Chinese company Wingtech. The move prompted Beijing to block Nexperia products from leaving China.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry appeared to confirm the source's comments in a statement, saying it will consider exemptions for Nexperia chip exports from the country. "As a responsible major country, China fully considers the security and stability of domestic and international production and supply chains," the ministry said, adding companies facing difficulty obtaining parts should contact Chinese authorities. "We will comprehensively consider the actual situation of the enterprise and exempt eligible exports."
Read more at Reuters
US Strikes $80 Billion Deal For New Nuclear Power Plants
The U.S. government inked a partnership with the Canadian owners of Westinghouse Electric on Tuesday that aims to build at least $80 billion in nuclear reactors. It is one of the most ambitious plans in U.S. atomic energy in decades, underscoring President Donald Trump's agenda to maximize energy output, focused on oil, gas, coal and nuclear. It also comes as growth in artificial intelligence data centers boosts U.S. power demand for the first time in two decades, straining parts of the grid.
Under the agreement with Westinghouse Electric's owners, Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management, the U.S. government will arrange financing and help secure permits for the Westinghouse reactors. In return, the plan offers the U.S. government a 20% share of future profits after Westinghouse has paid out profits of $17.5 billion to Brookfield and Cameco. The U.S. government could turn that profit into an equity stake of up to 20% and require an initial public offering of Westinghouse by 2029 if its value surpasses $30 billion, the companies said.
Read more at Reuters
Eli Lilly Blows Past Estimates, Hikes Guidance As Zepbound And Mounjaro Sales Soar
Eli Lilly last Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates and hiked its full-year outlook, as the company continued to see strong demand for its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro. Earnings per share were $7.02 adjusted and revenue was $17.60 billion. The pharmaceutical giant now expects its fiscal 2025 revenue to come in between $63 billion and $63.5 billion, up from a previous guidance of $60 to $62 billion. Eli Lilly also expects full-year adjusted profit to come in between $23 and $23.70 per share, up from its previous outlook of $21.75 to $23 a share.
Sales in the U.S. jumped 45% to $11.30 billion. Eli Lilly said that was driven by a 60% increase in volume — or the number of prescriptions or units sold — for its products, primarily for Mounjaro and Zepbound. That was partially offset by lower realized prices of the drugs, the company said. The company has gained the majority market share over the last year, thanks to the strong profile of its weight loss and diabetes injections and a boost from its direct-to-consumer sales, among other efforts. The company is now betting on its closely-watched experimental obesity pill, orforglipron, to solidify its dominance in the space, especially as Novo Nordisk and other drugmakers race to bring their own pills or next-generation injections to the market.
Read more at CNBC
BitSight Report Sees Big Increases In Cybersecurity Risks For ICS/OT Devices
Cybercriminals have more ways of attacking industrial control systems and OT equipment, making high-tech manufacturing more dangerous following years of improvements, according to a new report. Exposure of ICS and OT devices should exceed 200,000 devices visible to potential bad actors each month, up from 160,000 to 180,000 devices monthly in 2024, according to an assessment from cybersecurity firm BitSight. Many of these systems—which control critical infrastructure such as energy, water and building automation—often are exposed with minimal security and exploitable vulnerabilities.
According to the BitSight report, the increase in exposures stems from organizations relying largely on enterprise IT-grade firewalls and endpoint tools that were not designed to secure factory environments, where uptime is prioritized over data privacy. As a result of the gap between IT and OT, assets are exposed. In addition to more devices exposed to bad actors, security experts are finding new vulnerabilities in these devices. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency tracks these vulnerabilities and regularly publishes advisories on newly found vulnerabilities that affect industrial control systems. Common vulnerabilities and exposures are rising almost every year.
Read more at SmartIndustry
Palantir Sues Ex-Engineers At New AI Startup Backed By General Catalyst, Claiming They Stole Its 'Crown Jewels'
On Thursday, the defense tech and data giant sued two former employees who now work at Percepta, a startup building software to help integrate AI into large companies, governments, and healthcare systems. General Catalyst, a venture capital firm with IPO ambitions that recently bought a hospital chain, launched the company in early October.In a Federal lawsuit, Palantir claims the two ex-engineers "exploited their prior access of Palantir's confidential information, proprietary methodologies, and customer relationships to the benefit of a copycat 'version' of Palantir."
The company also says it found out about Percepta only after the startup "emerged from 'stealth' mode, professing to have developed in 11 months the same product and business that took Palantir decades to develop." Palantir alleges it hadn't known where either former employee was working until General Catalyst announced Percepta's launch. The dispute goes beyond a tussle between a company and its former staffers: It underscores the growing tension between established tech giants and fast-moving AI startups hoping to disrupt the status quo. Palantir — long known for its government work and tight control over its technology — is accusing a buzzy new entrant, backed by a heavyweight investor, of trying to replicate its playbook in a matter of months.
Read more at Business Insider
Palantir Thinks College Might Be a Waste. So It’s Hiring High-School Grads.
At first, the idea of skipping college to take a fellowship for Palantir PLTR 3.04%increase; green up pointing triangle Technologies seemed preposterous to Matteo Zanini. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it. “College is broken,” one Palantir post said. “Admissions are based on flawed criteria. Meritocracy and excellence are no longer the pursuits of educational institutions,” it said. The fellowship offered a path for high-school students to work full time at the company.
After deciding to apply, Zanini found out he got the fellowship at around the same time he learned of his admission to Brown University. Brown wouldn’t allow him to defer and he had also landed a full-ride scholarship through the Department of Defense. “No one said to do the fellowship,” said Zanini, who turned 18 in September. “All of my friends, my teachers, my college counselor, it was a unanimous no.” His parents left the decision to him, and he decided to go with Palantir.
Read more at The WSJ
Nissan Says It's On Track For Solid-State Batteries That Double EV Range By 2028
Nissan is still betting big on solid-state batteries, and seems on track to be one of the first automakers to bring them to the market. The automaker has developed prototype solid-state battery cells that could double the driving range of its EVs when they enter production, Nikkei reported on Sunday. Nissan’s solid-state battery cells have now reached performance targets to enter mass production, with help from U.S. battery start-up LiCAP Technologies.
The Sacramento-based start-up specializes in dry electrodes that eliminate the expensive, time-consuming wet-coating process. Dry coating eliminates solvent and liquid slurry by using the raw material mix to form a solid powder, which is then directly added to the current collector and flattened using roll presses, according to LG Energy Solution. Nissan has already been running a pilot production line for solid-state batteries since the start of this year. LiCAP Technologies also runs a 300 megawatt-hour production line in California for its proprietary Activated Dry Electrode technology.
Read more at Inside EVs
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