One Out of Ten Koreans Own RippleDid you know that one out of ten Koreans owns Ripple (XRP), the world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency? Ripple is accelerating its expansion in Korea based on the interest of Koreans. Josh Kim, a partner of Ripple, revealed in an interview with the Ripple-related community “Crypto Eri” on the 26th that “10% of the Korean population own […]
Samsung C&T Plans to Build Massive Solar Power Plant in Indiana, USASamsung C&T Corporation is building a massive solar power plant in Indiana, USA. They are tightening the reins on expanding solar development projects, which they have pinpointed as a future growth engine. They are in full swing to leap forward as a global eco-friendly energy company. According to a report submitted to the Bartholomew County […]
Shanghai Nickel Surges to Three-Month High Amid U.S. Sanctions on RussiaNickel in the Shanghai Futures Exchange has reached its highest level in three months. This is due to the expansion of U.S. sanctions against Russia and growing concerns over supply in Indonesia. According to the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) on the 26th, the price of nickel in March closed at 135,220 yuan ($18,784.74) per ton […]
Boeing, SAAB, and IAI Compete in Three-Way Race for South Korea's AEW&C Aircraft ProjectThe bidding race for the “Command Center in the Sky” Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft, which our military is introducing to monitor and analyze North Korean aerial threats, is warming up. This bidding race is expected to be a three-way race between Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States, SAAB, a […]
The Motley Fool's Magnificent Seven Reveals February's Must-Buy Stocks [TheGuru=Eung-Yong Jung] U.S. investment publication The Motley Fool has named its top two "Magnificent Seven" (Apple, Microsoft, Google Alphabet, Amazon, Envidia, Meta, Tesla) stocks to buy in February. The list includes Nvidia and Amazon, according to The Motley Fool on Thursday. Nvidia is one of the best-positioned stocks to capitalize on the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), with its stock price surging 239% over the past 12 months. The Mottley Fool believes Nvidia stock remains attractively valued relative to its underlying business growth. Industry experts are raising their annual revenue estimates for the GPU leader over the next few years, even though growth expectations for the company were already very high. The stock's fair valuation remains an attractive buying opportunity, the analysis said. It currently trades at 35 times next year's earnings consensus, which is reasonable given Nvidia's robust growth. In particular, the $1 trillion ($133.5 trillion) data center infrastructure will drive Nvidia's growth. Nvidia generates $32 billion in trailing revenue from the data center segment and has about 80% market share in the AI chip market, which should provide more growth and returns for investors. "Amazon is a very solid company that generates returns to shareholders through multiple revenue streams, including cloud services, advertising, and online retail sales," The Motley Fool said of the company. "While its cloud division, Amazon Web Services, has gotten the most attention from Wall Street, it is the improving growth in e-commerce that is driving the stock higher." The Motley Fool noted Amazon's improving delivery speeds. Last year, Amazon shipped more than 7 billion items on the same or next day, the fastest shipping speeds in its history. The company's focus on speeding up delivery is expected to continue, making it harder for competitors to catch up. Amazon is also focused on strengthening its brand. It launched a new shopping assistant, Rufus, powered by generative AI, to encourage customers to default to Amazon.com instead of Google...
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Pledges $70 Billion Annually for Vision 2030 [TheGuru=HongSungHwan Lee] Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), plans to invest KRW 90 trillion annually starting in 2026 to fulfill its Vision 2030. "We plan to increase our annual capital deployment to $70 billion (about 93 trillion won) after 2025," PIF Governor Yasir Osman Alumayan said at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Miami, U.S., on Nov. 22, according to industry sources. Currently, PIFs invest between $40 billion and $50 billion (about $53 trillion and $67 trillion) annually. The fund invests 70 percent of its funds in Saudi Arabia and 20 to 25 percent abroad. "The share of foreign investments has decreased, but the volume has continued to grow," Alumayan said. "PIFs invested $100 billion (about $133 trillion) in each country between 2017 and 2023, creating more than 103,000 jobs," Alumayan said, emphasizing that "we have made a significant contribution to the U.S. economy." The PIF is the world's sixth-largest sovereign wealth fund with $600 billion in assets under management and is a key source of funding for Vision 2030 reforms. It is chaired by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler. Saudi Arabia is implementing Vision 2030, a mid- to long-term development plan to move away from an oil-centric economy. It is a strategic national evolution plan to reduce the Saudi economy's dependence on oil, diversify its economic structure, and promote healthcare, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism. The goal is to expand non-oil exports from 16% in 2016 to 50% in 2030...
FTX Cleared to Sell Anthropic Stake by US Court for Customer Compensation [Dugguru=Eung-Yong Jung] A U.S. court has approved the sale of FTX's stake in Anthropic, a cryptocurrency exchange that went bankrupt in 2022. FTX plans to use the proceeds from the sale of its stake in Anthropic to repay customer restitution funds. Bankruptcy Judge John Dawsey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on Wednesday approved the sale of FTX's 7.84% stake in Anthropic, saying the company had reached a settlement with a group of customers. The stake is reportedly valued at about $1.4 billion. According to court documents, FTX invested $500 million in Antropic in 2021, acquiring a 13.56% stake. Subsequent investments, including a $4 billion investment from Amazon.com, reduced FTX's stake to 7.84%. "The growing interest in AI and large-scale language models has led to a significant increase in the value of Antropic's shares," said Andy Dieterich, an attorney for FTX, "and we will maintain the flexibility to sell our shares at the most opportune time." Until now, FTX customers have argued that FTX did not actually own Antropic shares, as it bought them with funds stolen from customer deposits. However, it was agreed that the funds from FTX's sale of the Antropic shares belonged to FTX customers, and the court approved the sale. Mr. Dieterich explained that he plans to repay customers with the proceeds from the sale of the Antropic stake, and that he has enough cash on hand to prove ownership of Antropic shares to a specific group of customers if he can convince the court. Mr. Dieterich claims that FTX has $6.4 billion in cash on hand. FTX plans to base customer redemption amounts on the current higher value of cryptocurrencies, rather than the November 2022 value at the time of the bankruptcy. Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Pryde was convicted by a court in November of fraud and money laundering charges. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28, and he could face up to 115 years in prison...
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Urges SEC to Approve Spot Ethereum ETF [TheGuru=Sung-Hwan Hong] Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has urged securities regulators to approve an Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). This is the latest sign of growing anticipation for the approval of an ETH spot ETF. "We believe that Grayscale's proposed Ethereum spot ETF meets the rules and requirements of the Exchange's proposed rules," Paul Grewa, Coinbase's chief legal officer, wrote in a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to industry sources. "Ethereum is not vulnerable to fraud or manipulation because it has a robust and decentralized governance system," he said, adding that Ethereum is not a security. Grayscales previously filed to convert its Ethereum Spot Trust into an ETF in October of last year. Other asset managers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and ArkInvest, are also preparing to launch ETH spot ETFs. The industry is expecting an ETH spot ETF to launch as early as May. In a report published on May 18, U.S. asset manager Bernstein said it expects the SEC to approve an ETH spot ETF as early as May and as late as this year. British investment bank Standard Chartered (SC) also said last month that it expects approval of an ETH spot ETF to come on May 23, when the first round of applications is due. Meanwhile, the SEC approved bitcoin spot ETFs for listing and trading on exchanges on May 10th. Following the decision, 11 bitcoin spot ETFs began trading on May 11th. They include BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, ARC Investments, Invesco, WisdomTree, Bitwise Asset Management, Valkyrie, and Grayscale Investments...
Bomb Threat Halts BlueOvalSK Factory Construction in Kentucky [TheGuru=Yerin Jung] The construction site of BlueOval SK, an electric vehicle battery joint venture between SK Energy and Ford, has been suspended due to a bomb threat. No one was injured and the company is cooperating with law enforcement authorities to investigate. At 12:30 p.m. (local time) today, BlueOval SK announced that it confirmed a bomb threat at its Glendale, Hardin County factory construction site and evacuated all employees. Police are currently searching the facility with a bomb squad. The threatster left a note on an inspection sheet in a portable restroom at the construction site stating that the "bomb will go off at 1:00 p.m." So far, no explosives have been found other than the note. As the investigation is ongoing, it is unclear when construction will resume at BlueOval SK. The government and police authorities say they will abide by BlueOval SK's decision. "Safety is our top priority at BlueOval SK," said a BlueOval SK spokesperson, "We have evacuated the site to ensure the safety of all workers." BlueOval SK is building two factories in Glendale, Kentucky, each with an annual capacity of 43 GWh. The batteries will power Ford and Lincoln's next-generation electric vehicles. Approximately 5,000 new jobs will be created. Construction was scheduled to begin in the second half of 2022, with Plant 1 coming online in 2025 and Plant 2 in 2026. In October of last year, the company announced it would delay the start of the second plant. The delay comes as joint venture partner Ford is rebalancing its investment plans amid slowing demand for electric vehicles. The company did not disclose when the new production will start...
Shanghai Data Exchange Makes History with First Virtual Asset Issuance and Trading [TheGuru=Sunghwan Hong] China's Shanghai Data Exchange has successfully completed its first virtual asset issuance and trading. It is expected to accelerate the development of China's digital economy. On the 23rd, Shanghai Data Exchange announced that it has issued a total of 999 tradable virtual assets in cooperation with Guangming Dairy, a leading local dairy company. Shanghai Data Exchange is a semi-public organization that was established in November 2021. It officially began operations in January last year after more than a year of piloting. Data exchanges are places where data generated by companies such as aviation, transportation, power, telecommunications, legal, accounting, and finance are bought and sold as commodities. More than 100 companies and organizations, including data companies such as Shanghai Electric Power, China Eastern Airlines, and China Mobile Communications; law firms such as Sherry, Jindoo, and Zhongrun; accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and Deloitte; data providers such as Fusu Guoji, Youkeder, and Xinghuan Guoji; and financial institutions such as Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank, have signed agreements and registered on the Shanghai Data Exchange. China's data market is expected to reach 81.5 billion yuan in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 30% over the past few years. With the full operation of Shanghai Data Exchange, the market size is expected to reach 175 billion yuan in 2025...
Samsung's $18 Billion Investment Sparks Economic Boom in US Semiconductor IndustrySamsung Electronics construction of semiconductor factories in Austin and Taylor, USA, has been worth exceeding $18 billion to the local economy. It has been evaluated that the company has grown into a key company in Texas by creating about 38,000 jobs and significantly contributing to expanding tax revenue. Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS), the U.S. subsidiary […]
Saudi Arabia's Cash Reserves Plummet Amid Mega-Projects PushAs Saudi Arabia continues to push for mega-projects such as Neom City, it appears that their cash reserves are rapidly dwindling. As a result, they are expanding borrowing to secure funds for their ventures. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 21st, as of September last year, the cash holdings […]
Uranium Investment Rebounds: Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Lead the ChargeUranium investment is gaining attention once again. This surge in interest is due to the rising prices of uranium, driven by an increased focus on nuclear energy. Global investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Macquarie and hedge funds actively invest in uranium. According to industry insiders, on the 21st, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie, and hedge […]
Chilean Navy Deploys South Korean KLTV Vehicles for Night OperationsResponding to large-scale fires in 4 regions according to the disaster response manual The Chilean Navy’s Marine Infantry Corps (CIM) deployed the South Korean Light Tactical Vehicle (KLTV), the so-called ‘South Korean Humvee,’ for field operation at night. According to industry sources, on the 20th, the Chilean Navy’s Marine Infantry Corps (CIM) recently deployed extraordinary […]
Texas Jury Rules in Favor of Samsung Electronics in $4 Billion Semiconductor Patent Case [TheGuru=SoYoung Oh] Samsung Electronics is expected to win its semiconductor patent infringement battle against a US patent giant. It received a verdict from the jury that it did not infringe the patent. According to industry reports on the 19th, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled on the 15th (local time) that Samsung Electronics did not infringe on Demaray LLC's semiconductor patents. The verdict did not conclude on the validity of the two patents at issue (patent numbers 7544276 and 7381657). With this verdict, Samsung effectively won the first trial. Samsung was sued by Demaray in July 2020. Samsung Electronics America (SEA), Samsung Semiconductor Inc (SSI), and Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC (SAS), a U.S. semiconductor fab in Austin, Texas, were also named as defendants. Demaray alleged that Samsung had misappropriated two patents related to an oxidation process that coats wafers with a thin film, and sought more than $4 billion in damages for alleged patent infringement. Demaray called Samsung's semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials to testify. This was an unsuccessful attempt to prove Samsung's alleged infringement. Demaray is a patent management company (NPE) that makes money by suing companies over patents without making products. It is headquartered in California, USA, and holds more than 60 patents. It has been involved in lawsuits with Intel and Applied Materials...
Cathie Wood Sells Nvidia Stock, Favors AI Software Over Semiconductor HardwareCathie Wood continues to reduce her stake in Nvidia, a semiconductor company at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, drawing attention. Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, appeared on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) podcast on the 18th (local time) and said, “We have been selling Nvidia for a long time,” adding, “We […]
Korean Aerospace Industries Advances FA-50 Export to Colombia with Sales Promotion AgreementThe Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 light attack aircraft has taken another step closer to being exported to Colombia. The export competitiveness has been strengthened by signing a sales promotion agreement with Colombia. According to the industry, on the 19th, KAI is expected to win the contract for the Colombian Air Force’s project to replace […]
Hyundai Ioniq 6 Named 2023 CleanTechnica Car of the Year, Beats CompetitorsBeating four competitors, including Mercedes-Benz EQE Hyundai’s exclusive electric sedan model, the Ioniq 6, has won the final champion title at “Best of the Year” conducted by CleanTechnica, a U.S. specialist electric car media outlet. According to CleanTechnica, on the 15th, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 was selected as the “2023 CleanTechnica Car of the Year”. […]
Hyundai's Santa Fe: The Driving Force Behind Social Media BuzzHyundai Motor Company has created unique social media content based on collaborations with brands like Adobe to market its new Santa Fe model. Thanks to the unique content, which vividly reflects each brand’s characteristics, this achieved better results than traditional advertisements on broadcast and radio legacy media. According to Hyundai Motor America (HMA), on the […]
Blackstone Brews Up Investment in Drive-Through Coffee SensationThe world’s largest private equity firm, Blackstone, has invested in the drive-thru coffee brand 7 Brew. Blackstone anticipates this investment to accelerate 7 Brew’s business expansion. Blackstone announced on the 14th (local time) that Blackstone Growth and its affiliated funds have made a growth equity investment in 7 Brew, but the exact size of the […]
One Out of Ten Koreans Own Ripple Did you know that one out of ten Koreans owns Ripple (XRP), the world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency? Ripple is accelerating its expansion in Korea based on the interest of Koreans. Josh Kim, a partner of Ripple, revealed in an interview with the Ripple-related community “Crypto Eri” on the 26th that “10% of the Korean population own […]
Samsung C&T Plans to Build Massive Solar Power Plant in Indiana, USA Samsung C&T Corporation is building a massive solar power plant in Indiana, USA. They are tightening the reins on expanding solar development projects, which they have pinpointed as a future growth engine. They are in full swing to leap forward as a global eco-friendly energy company. According to a report submitted to the Bartholomew County […]
Shanghai Nickel Surges to Three-Month High Amid U.S. Sanctions on Russia Nickel in the Shanghai Futures Exchange has reached its highest level in three months. This is due to the expansion of U.S. sanctions against Russia and growing concerns over supply in Indonesia. According to the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) on the 26th, the price of nickel in March closed at 135,220 yuan ($18,784.74) per ton […]
Boeing, SAAB, and IAI Compete in Three-Way Race for South Korea's AEW&C Aircraft Project The bidding race for the “Command Center in the Sky” Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft, which our military is introducing to monitor and analyze North Korean aerial threats, is warming up. This bidding race is expected to be a three-way race between Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States, SAAB, a […]
The Motley Fool's Magnificent Seven Reveals February's Must-Buy Stocks [TheGuru=Eung-Yong Jung] U.S. investment publication The Motley Fool has named its top two "Magnificent Seven" (Apple, Microsoft, Google Alphabet, Amazon, Envidia, Meta, Tesla) stocks to buy in February. The list includes Nvidia and Amazon, according to The Motley Fool on Thursday. Nvidia is one of the best-positioned stocks to capitalize on the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), with its stock price surging 239% over the past 12 months. The Mottley Fool believes Nvidia stock remains attractively valued relative to its underlying business growth. Industry experts are raising their annual revenue estimates for the GPU leader over the next few years, even though growth expectations for the company were already very high. The stock's fair valuation remains an attractive buying opportunity, the analysis said. It currently trades at 35 times next year's earnings consensus, which is reasonable given Nvidia's robust growth. In particular, the $1 trillion ($133.5 trillion) data center infrastructure will drive Nvidia's growth. Nvidia generates $32 billion in trailing revenue from the data center segment and has about 80% market share in the AI chip market, which should provide more growth and returns for investors. "Amazon is a very solid company that generates returns to shareholders through multiple revenue streams, including cloud services, advertising, and online retail sales," The Motley Fool said of the company. "While its cloud division, Amazon Web Services, has gotten the most attention from Wall Street, it is the improving growth in e-commerce that is driving the stock higher." The Motley Fool noted Amazon's improving delivery speeds. Last year, Amazon shipped more than 7 billion items on the same or next day, the fastest shipping speeds in its history. The company's focus on speeding up delivery is expected to continue, making it harder for competitors to catch up. Amazon is also focused on strengthening its brand. It launched a new shopping assistant, Rufus, powered by generative AI, to encourage customers to default to Amazon.com instead of Google...
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Pledges $70 Billion Annually for Vision 2030 [TheGuru=HongSungHwan Lee] Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), plans to invest KRW 90 trillion annually starting in 2026 to fulfill its Vision 2030. "We plan to increase our annual capital deployment to $70 billion (about 93 trillion won) after 2025," PIF Governor Yasir Osman Alumayan said at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Miami, U.S., on Nov. 22, according to industry sources. Currently, PIFs invest between $40 billion and $50 billion (about $53 trillion and $67 trillion) annually. The fund invests 70 percent of its funds in Saudi Arabia and 20 to 25 percent abroad. "The share of foreign investments has decreased, but the volume has continued to grow," Alumayan said. "PIFs invested $100 billion (about $133 trillion) in each country between 2017 and 2023, creating more than 103,000 jobs," Alumayan said, emphasizing that "we have made a significant contribution to the U.S. economy." The PIF is the world's sixth-largest sovereign wealth fund with $600 billion in assets under management and is a key source of funding for Vision 2030 reforms. It is chaired by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler. Saudi Arabia is implementing Vision 2030, a mid- to long-term development plan to move away from an oil-centric economy. It is a strategic national evolution plan to reduce the Saudi economy's dependence on oil, diversify its economic structure, and promote healthcare, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism. The goal is to expand non-oil exports from 16% in 2016 to 50% in 2030...
FTX Cleared to Sell Anthropic Stake by US Court for Customer Compensation [Dugguru=Eung-Yong Jung] A U.S. court has approved the sale of FTX's stake in Anthropic, a cryptocurrency exchange that went bankrupt in 2022. FTX plans to use the proceeds from the sale of its stake in Anthropic to repay customer restitution funds. Bankruptcy Judge John Dawsey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on Wednesday approved the sale of FTX's 7.84% stake in Anthropic, saying the company had reached a settlement with a group of customers. The stake is reportedly valued at about $1.4 billion. According to court documents, FTX invested $500 million in Antropic in 2021, acquiring a 13.56% stake. Subsequent investments, including a $4 billion investment from Amazon.com, reduced FTX's stake to 7.84%. "The growing interest in AI and large-scale language models has led to a significant increase in the value of Antropic's shares," said Andy Dieterich, an attorney for FTX, "and we will maintain the flexibility to sell our shares at the most opportune time." Until now, FTX customers have argued that FTX did not actually own Antropic shares, as it bought them with funds stolen from customer deposits. However, it was agreed that the funds from FTX's sale of the Antropic shares belonged to FTX customers, and the court approved the sale. Mr. Dieterich explained that he plans to repay customers with the proceeds from the sale of the Antropic stake, and that he has enough cash on hand to prove ownership of Antropic shares to a specific group of customers if he can convince the court. Mr. Dieterich claims that FTX has $6.4 billion in cash on hand. FTX plans to base customer redemption amounts on the current higher value of cryptocurrencies, rather than the November 2022 value at the time of the bankruptcy. Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Pryde was convicted by a court in November of fraud and money laundering charges. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28, and he could face up to 115 years in prison...
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Urges SEC to Approve Spot Ethereum ETF [TheGuru=Sung-Hwan Hong] Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has urged securities regulators to approve an Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). This is the latest sign of growing anticipation for the approval of an ETH spot ETF. "We believe that Grayscale's proposed Ethereum spot ETF meets the rules and requirements of the Exchange's proposed rules," Paul Grewa, Coinbase's chief legal officer, wrote in a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to industry sources. "Ethereum is not vulnerable to fraud or manipulation because it has a robust and decentralized governance system," he said, adding that Ethereum is not a security. Grayscales previously filed to convert its Ethereum Spot Trust into an ETF in October of last year. Other asset managers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and ArkInvest, are also preparing to launch ETH spot ETFs. The industry is expecting an ETH spot ETF to launch as early as May. In a report published on May 18, U.S. asset manager Bernstein said it expects the SEC to approve an ETH spot ETF as early as May and as late as this year. British investment bank Standard Chartered (SC) also said last month that it expects approval of an ETH spot ETF to come on May 23, when the first round of applications is due. Meanwhile, the SEC approved bitcoin spot ETFs for listing and trading on exchanges on May 10th. Following the decision, 11 bitcoin spot ETFs began trading on May 11th. They include BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, ARC Investments, Invesco, WisdomTree, Bitwise Asset Management, Valkyrie, and Grayscale Investments...
Bomb Threat Halts BlueOvalSK Factory Construction in Kentucky [TheGuru=Yerin Jung] The construction site of BlueOval SK, an electric vehicle battery joint venture between SK Energy and Ford, has been suspended due to a bomb threat. No one was injured and the company is cooperating with law enforcement authorities to investigate. At 12:30 p.m. (local time) today, BlueOval SK announced that it confirmed a bomb threat at its Glendale, Hardin County factory construction site and evacuated all employees. Police are currently searching the facility with a bomb squad. The threatster left a note on an inspection sheet in a portable restroom at the construction site stating that the "bomb will go off at 1:00 p.m." So far, no explosives have been found other than the note. As the investigation is ongoing, it is unclear when construction will resume at BlueOval SK. The government and police authorities say they will abide by BlueOval SK's decision. "Safety is our top priority at BlueOval SK," said a BlueOval SK spokesperson, "We have evacuated the site to ensure the safety of all workers." BlueOval SK is building two factories in Glendale, Kentucky, each with an annual capacity of 43 GWh. The batteries will power Ford and Lincoln's next-generation electric vehicles. Approximately 5,000 new jobs will be created. Construction was scheduled to begin in the second half of 2022, with Plant 1 coming online in 2025 and Plant 2 in 2026. In October of last year, the company announced it would delay the start of the second plant. The delay comes as joint venture partner Ford is rebalancing its investment plans amid slowing demand for electric vehicles. The company did not disclose when the new production will start...
Shanghai Data Exchange Makes History with First Virtual Asset Issuance and Trading [TheGuru=Sunghwan Hong] China's Shanghai Data Exchange has successfully completed its first virtual asset issuance and trading. It is expected to accelerate the development of China's digital economy. On the 23rd, Shanghai Data Exchange announced that it has issued a total of 999 tradable virtual assets in cooperation with Guangming Dairy, a leading local dairy company. Shanghai Data Exchange is a semi-public organization that was established in November 2021. It officially began operations in January last year after more than a year of piloting. Data exchanges are places where data generated by companies such as aviation, transportation, power, telecommunications, legal, accounting, and finance are bought and sold as commodities. More than 100 companies and organizations, including data companies such as Shanghai Electric Power, China Eastern Airlines, and China Mobile Communications; law firms such as Sherry, Jindoo, and Zhongrun; accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and Deloitte; data providers such as Fusu Guoji, Youkeder, and Xinghuan Guoji; and financial institutions such as Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank, have signed agreements and registered on the Shanghai Data Exchange. China's data market is expected to reach 81.5 billion yuan in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 30% over the past few years. With the full operation of Shanghai Data Exchange, the market size is expected to reach 175 billion yuan in 2025...
Samsung's $18 Billion Investment Sparks Economic Boom in US Semiconductor Industry Samsung Electronics construction of semiconductor factories in Austin and Taylor, USA, has been worth exceeding $18 billion to the local economy. It has been evaluated that the company has grown into a key company in Texas by creating about 38,000 jobs and significantly contributing to expanding tax revenue. Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS), the U.S. subsidiary […]
Saudi Arabia's Cash Reserves Plummet Amid Mega-Projects Push As Saudi Arabia continues to push for mega-projects such as Neom City, it appears that their cash reserves are rapidly dwindling. As a result, they are expanding borrowing to secure funds for their ventures. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 21st, as of September last year, the cash holdings […]
Uranium Investment Rebounds: Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Lead the Charge Uranium investment is gaining attention once again. This surge in interest is due to the rising prices of uranium, driven by an increased focus on nuclear energy. Global investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Macquarie and hedge funds actively invest in uranium. According to industry insiders, on the 21st, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie, and hedge […]
Chilean Navy Deploys South Korean KLTV Vehicles for Night Operations Responding to large-scale fires in 4 regions according to the disaster response manual The Chilean Navy’s Marine Infantry Corps (CIM) deployed the South Korean Light Tactical Vehicle (KLTV), the so-called ‘South Korean Humvee,’ for field operation at night. According to industry sources, on the 20th, the Chilean Navy’s Marine Infantry Corps (CIM) recently deployed extraordinary […]
Texas Jury Rules in Favor of Samsung Electronics in $4 Billion Semiconductor Patent Case [TheGuru=SoYoung Oh] Samsung Electronics is expected to win its semiconductor patent infringement battle against a US patent giant. It received a verdict from the jury that it did not infringe the patent. According to industry reports on the 19th, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled on the 15th (local time) that Samsung Electronics did not infringe on Demaray LLC's semiconductor patents. The verdict did not conclude on the validity of the two patents at issue (patent numbers 7544276 and 7381657). With this verdict, Samsung effectively won the first trial. Samsung was sued by Demaray in July 2020. Samsung Electronics America (SEA), Samsung Semiconductor Inc (SSI), and Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC (SAS), a U.S. semiconductor fab in Austin, Texas, were also named as defendants. Demaray alleged that Samsung had misappropriated two patents related to an oxidation process that coats wafers with a thin film, and sought more than $4 billion in damages for alleged patent infringement. Demaray called Samsung's semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials to testify. This was an unsuccessful attempt to prove Samsung's alleged infringement. Demaray is a patent management company (NPE) that makes money by suing companies over patents without making products. It is headquartered in California, USA, and holds more than 60 patents. It has been involved in lawsuits with Intel and Applied Materials...
Cathie Wood Sells Nvidia Stock, Favors AI Software Over Semiconductor Hardware Cathie Wood continues to reduce her stake in Nvidia, a semiconductor company at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, drawing attention. Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, appeared on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) podcast on the 18th (local time) and said, “We have been selling Nvidia for a long time,” adding, “We […]
Korean Aerospace Industries Advances FA-50 Export to Colombia with Sales Promotion Agreement The Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 light attack aircraft has taken another step closer to being exported to Colombia. The export competitiveness has been strengthened by signing a sales promotion agreement with Colombia. According to the industry, on the 19th, KAI is expected to win the contract for the Colombian Air Force’s project to replace […]
Hyundai Ioniq 6 Named 2023 CleanTechnica Car of the Year, Beats Competitors Beating four competitors, including Mercedes-Benz EQE Hyundai’s exclusive electric sedan model, the Ioniq 6, has won the final champion title at “Best of the Year” conducted by CleanTechnica, a U.S. specialist electric car media outlet. According to CleanTechnica, on the 15th, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 was selected as the “2023 CleanTechnica Car of the Year”. […]
Hyundai's Santa Fe: The Driving Force Behind Social Media Buzz Hyundai Motor Company has created unique social media content based on collaborations with brands like Adobe to market its new Santa Fe model. Thanks to the unique content, which vividly reflects each brand’s characteristics, this achieved better results than traditional advertisements on broadcast and radio legacy media. According to Hyundai Motor America (HMA), on the […]
Blackstone Brews Up Investment in Drive-Through Coffee Sensation The world’s largest private equity firm, Blackstone, has invested in the drive-thru coffee brand 7 Brew. Blackstone anticipates this investment to accelerate 7 Brew’s business expansion. Blackstone announced on the 14th (local time) that Blackstone Growth and its affiliated funds have made a growth equity investment in 7 Brew, but the exact size of the […]
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