1.INTEL : Intel  stock was down 1.7% in Friday’s premarket trading following a disappointing forecast for the ongoing financial year that hinted at ongoing loss of market share in providing data centers with silicon chips.
and chief executive Pat Gelsinger’s comments indicating a stretched period for chip shortages.
The company raised its outlook for FY21 revenue by $1 billion to $73.5 billion in an indication that the fourth quarter may be somewhat subdued and growth may be slowing after a good performance in previous quarters.
It also raised the outlook for annual earnings per share by 20 cents from the previous forecast to $4.80.
Third-quarter EPS is seen at $1.10 on revenue of $18.2 billion.
According to separate comments Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger made to Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, the ongoing shortage of chips could spillover into 2023.
“We are helping them build factories as fast as they can,” Gelsinger told Reuters following the company’s announcement of its second-quarter results.
“But it will be one of those things that just takes a couple years to fully catch up to this explosive demand we’re seeing, and we have better tools to address it than others,” Gelsinger told the news agency.
2.TESLA:- Tesla Inc has written to Indian ministries seeking a big reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs), a move it says will boost demand and generate revenue for the government, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Its pitch, however, is likely to face resistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration which has championed high import taxes for many industries in a bid to boost local manufacturing.
Other luxury automakers in India have also lobbied the government in the past to lower taxes on imported cars but have had little success due to opposition from rivals with domestic operations.
Tesla, which aims to begin sales in India this year, said in a letter to ministries and the country’s leading think-tank Niti Aayog that slashing federal taxes on imports of fully assembled electric cars to 40% would be more appropriate, according to the sources.
That compares with current rates of 60% for cars priced below $40,000 and 100% for those above $40,000.
“The argument is that at 40% import duty, electric cars can become more affordable but the threshold is still high enough to compel companies to manufacture locally if demand picks up,” one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified as the letter has not been made public.
According to Tesla’s U.S. website, only one model – the Model 3 Standard Range Plus – is priced below $40,000.
Tesla and Niti Aayog did not respond to an email seeking comment. Ministries that Tesla wrote to included the transport and heavy industries ministries, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Indian market for premium EVs, indeed for electric cars in general, is still very much in its infancy with vehicles far too costly for the average consumer and very little charging infrastructure in place.
Just 5,000 of the 2.4 million cars sold in India last year were electric and most were priced below $28,000.
3.AMAZON:-A U.S. agency said on Thursday it is permitting three airports to enter into security agreements with Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Air unit that will allow the company to assume some security functions and facilitate Amazon’s rapid planned hiring at the airports.
In a notice, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Cincinnati/Northern, Baltimore/Washington (BWI), and Chicago Rockford can enter into agreements allowing Amazon Air to assume some security functions.
The agreements are typically used when an entire airport terminal is serviced exclusively by one aircraft operator. The exemption will allow Amazon to assume physical control of some airport access and “initiate the employee vetting functions that the airport authorities would otherwise be required to conduct” as well as handle ID issues.
“Amazon Air possesses the latest, sophisticated access control and monitoring systems that enhance security by significantly restricting access to cargo and aircraft,” TSA said.
Amazon did not immediately comment.
4.AT&T:– AT&T Inc on Thursday raised its full-year financial forecast as the telecoms company emerged from the pandemic with more wireless and internet customers, and beat analyst estimates for phone subscribers and revenue in the second quarter.
The results come as AT&T is unwinding its expensive media investments to focus on its original business of providing phone and internet services.
Ahead of closing a deal to combine its media content with Discovery , AT&T said WarnerMedia continued to attract more customers to streaming service HBO Max and notched higher revenue as live sports and televised events resumed from the pandemic.
The company added 789,000 net new phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill during the quarter ended June 30, blowing past Wall Street estimates of 278,000 new subscribers, according to data from research firm FactSet.
WarnerMedia added 2.8 million U.S. subscribers for its premium channel HBO and streaming platform HBO Max during the quarter, thanks to new movies like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” and “Mortal Kombat,” which is based on the popular video game.
The growth of new digital video subscribers is one sign the market for streaming media is still expanding in the United States, said WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar in an interview, even as streaming pioneer Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) reported losing 430,000 subscribers in the United States and Canada in the second quarter.
“The market is expanding based on consumer spending … but you have to deliver for customers day in and day out,” he said.
.5.VOLKSWAGEN –Shareholders in Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen on Thursday approved a deal to settle claims against four former executives, including long-time CEO Martin Winterkorn, related to the company’s emissions scandal.
The initial deal, which was announced last month and which will see Volkswagen receive 288 million euros ($339 million) in compensation, required shareholder approval and 99.9% of investors agreed to the proposal at the group’s annual general meeting.
Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating U.S. diesel engine tests, sparking the biggest business crisis in its history.
The settlement marks a major milestone in the carmaker’s efforts to turn a page on the scandal, which has cost it more than 32 billion euros in vehicle refits, fines and legal costs so far.
