ASML and TSMC: Hostages of Geopolitics

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ASML and TSMC: Hostages of Geopolitics

The share price of ASML [ASML] fell Wednesday on news that the Biden administration is considering applying the most severe trade restrictions if firms continue to sell advanced semiconductor technology to China. This was despite the fact the chipmaker reported bookings rose 54% in Q2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. [TSM] stock fell as much as 2.4% after former President Donald Trump said Taiwan should be paying the US for its defence.

Amazon AI Deal Under Scrutiny

The US Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry into the e-commerce giant’s [AMZN] deal with artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Adept, CNBC reported. Announced last month, the deal involved Adept Co-founder and CEO David Luan and other team members joining Amazon’s AI unit: an example of the sort of tech “acquihires” that are increasingly on legislators’ radars. Elsewhere, a US Senate probe has found that Prime Day, a 48-hour discount period, is a major cause of worker injuries.   

More than a Meme Stock?

GameStop [GME] closed up 5.8% Tuesday after climbing for seven sessions in a row. The stock is up by more than 60% this year, versus an 18% rise in the broader S&P 500 Index. Wall Street analysts are not getting on board: one has rated it a ‘strong sell’, while a Seeking Alpha analysis observed that a “FOMO rally has led to some significant short-term price gains… but this optimism is not justified from a financial and valuation point of view”.

In a Roche to Catch Up

Swiss drugmaker Roche [RHHBY] is hot on the heels of rivals Novo Nordisk [NVO] and Eli Lilly [LLY] when it comes to weightloss drugs. Roche acquired Carmot Therapeutics for $3.1bn last December, and a second of its drugs has now yielded “encouraging” results, Jefferies analyst Peter Welford told the Financial Times. Users of the experimental once-daily pill CT-996 lost an average 6.1% in weight compared with a placebo after four weeks; the drug will now progress to phase two trials.

New Car Software Rules

The US Commerce Department is set to issue new rules next month imposing limits on made-in-China software for connected vehicles. They will not target the whole car, but will stipulate that “some of the key driver components of the vehicle that manage the software and manage the data around that car… would have to be made in an allied country,” said Export Controls Chief Alan Estevez at a forum in Colorado, Reuters reported.