Oil Output Cut May Tip Global Economy Into Recession, Elon Musk's Starship's First Space Tourist, Alphabet Approves Distribution Of Trump's Truth Social App: Top Stories Thursday, Oct. 13

Reuters

Apple Supplier TSMC Records 80% Surge In Q3 Net Profit — What The Company Expects In Q4

• Apple Inc-supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. TSM recorded an 80% surge in its third-quarter net profit at NT$280.87 billion ($8.81 billion).
• This is the company's strongest growth in two years, supported by strong sales of its advanced chips used in data centers and electric cars.

Toshiba Shares Gain On Reports Of Potential $19B Takeover Bid

• A domestic investor-led group was looking at a $19 billion bid for Toshiba Corp TOSYY - a potential deal that would likely lead to foreign activist shareholders being bought out after years of tension.
• Toshiba and activist shareholders have been at odds over the company's direction, with several large foreign funds pushing the conglomerate to consider private equity bids.

More Heat In The EV Race Gets As Sony and Honda Prepare For Premium EV Offering

• A joint venture set up by Sony Group Corp SONY and Honda Motor Co Ltd HMC look to deliver its first electric vehicles by 2026 and sell them online, starting in the U.S. and Japan.
• They will price the new EV at a premium, offering a new software system developed by Sony that would open the way to recurring revenue from entertainment and other services for monthly billing.
• Honda will manufacture the EV at one of its plants in Ohio.

Wall Street Journal

TikTok Parent Reportedly Seeking To Expand Music Service In Direct Challenge To Spotify, Apple

• TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd reportedly wants to boost its music-streaming business and up the ante against industry heavyweights such as Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT.
• ByteDance has started approaching music labels for its Resso streaming service's global expansion plans and intends to integrate it with TikTok.

Samsung Wins One-Year Relief From New US Embargo

• Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd SSNLF bagged a one-year exemption from the new U.S. embargo on exports of advanced chips and related equipment to China.
• Samsung operated a NAND flash memory-chip plant in Xi'an and a chip-packaging facility in Suzhou.
• As of the second quarter of this year, Samsung accounted for 43.5% of global revenue for DRAM and roughly one-third of global revenue for NAND flash memory chips.

Activist Investor Urges Kohl's To Change Board Members

• Kohl's Corp KSS faces the fury of an activist investor, Macellum Advisors GP LLC, to make changes to its board.
• The investor holds a 5% stake in Kohl's and has urged the retailer to replace three or more directors, including its chairman.
• The New York hedge fund's talks with the company to agree on changes to the board remained unfruitful.

Bloomberg

Apple Keeps Unionized Store Workers Out Of Broader Plan To Hand Out Additional Perks

• Apple Inc AAPL has communicated to employees at its store in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland, that they won't receive the perks it plans to give their counterparts at other stores and its corporate staff.
• Cupertino said it is withholding the new benefits from the unionized employees in Baltimore due to the need to negotiate benefits through collective bargaining necessitated by unionization.

Yet Another Experimental Feature By Amazon After Amazon Glow, Amazon Scout and Amazon Care To Be Pulled Down

• Amazon.com Inc AMZN shut down a virtual tour feature called "Amazon Explore," which it launched during the pandemic. Amazon acknowledged supporting its affected employees during this transition.
• Amazon's aborted programs included Scout, an autonomous delivery robot, and Amazon Glow, a kids-focused video calling device.
• Amazon also froze hiring for its corporate retail teams and wound down Amazon Care, its startup telehealth service.

Amazon's Second Prime Day Sees Thrifty Shoppers As Inflation Woes Weigh

• Amazon.com Inc shoppers largely skipped expensive purchases during its second Prime sale for 2022.
• The customers favored pantry items and affordable gifts over big-ticket items like televisions and laptops.
• The average order size as of 1 p.m. in New York on October 12 was $46.44, down 23% from the "Prime Day" sale in July, according to Numerator.

Benzinga

OPEC Trims 2022, 2023 Forecasts For Global Oil Demand Growth: 'Risks Skewed To Downside'

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reduced its 2022 forecast for growth in world oil demand for a fourth time since April, stating that oil demand will rise by 2.64 million barrels per day (BPD) or 2.7% in the year. This is down 460,000 BPD from its previous forecast.
• "However, risks are skewed to the downside, with slowing growth in the global economy, if continued, likely leading to lower oil demand in the months to come," OPEC said in its report.

Recession Due To OPEC+ Oil Output Cut? IEA Says It May Be Tipping Point For Pushing Global Economy Into Recession

• With unrelenting inflationary pressures and interest rate hikes, higher oil prices may prove the tipping point for a global economy already on the brink of recession, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
• "The relentless deterioration of the economy and higher prices sparked by an OPEC+ plan to cut supply is slowing world oil demand," the agency said.

Elon Musk's Starship To Fly World's 1st Space Tourist Dennis Tito Around Moon

• Elon Musk's SpaceX announced the names of two crew members who have booked their seats on Starship's commercial spaceflight around the Moon.
• Dennis Tito and his wife, Akiko, will be on board Starship on its second spaceflight around the Moon, SpaceX said.
• For Tito, this would be his second mission to space. He was the first commercial astronaut to visit the International Space Station, or ISS, in 2001.

Amazon's Answer To Elon Musk's Starlink Gets New Space Ride For 2023 Launch

• Amazon.com Inc AMZN said that satellites for its Project Kuiper internet program will be launched by the new Vulcan rocket in early 2023.
• The Jeff Bezos-founded company said in a statement that its first two satellites — Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 — will be launched on the maiden flight of the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket early next year.

Why Donald Trump-Linked Stock Digital World (DWAC) Is Surging After Hours

• Digital World Acquisition Corp DWAC shares are trading higher in Wednesday's after-hours session following reports that Alphabet Inc GOOG has approved the Truth Social app for distribution in the Google Play store.
• According to several reports, Google has approved former President Donald Trump's social media app for distribution.

GSK Touts' Exceptional Results' From RSV Vaccine Candidate In Older Adults

• GSK plc GSK announced positive Phase 3 trial results for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate for adults aged 60 years and above.
• "These are truly exceptional results given that today RSV remains one of the major infectious diseases without a vaccine, despite over 60 years of research," said Tony Wood, GSK Chief Scientific Officer, in a statement.

FDA Signals Shortage For Teva Pharma's ADHD Drug Due To Manufacturing Delay

• The FDA said that there was a shortage of Adderall after intermittent manufacturing delays at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd TEVA.
• Adderall is indicated to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
• Other manufacturers continue to produce amphetamine-mixed salts. Still, the FDA said there is insufficient supply to meet U.S. market demand through those producers.

Cleveland-Cliffs, United Steelworkers Agree On New Labor Agreement

• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF announced that its new labor agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) had been ratified.
• The contract covers approximately 12,000 USW-represented employees at 13 operating locations and has a 4-year duration from its starting date of September 1, 2022.

Polestar Launches New Electric SUV - With 300 Miles Range

• Sweden-based Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC PSNY unveiled the Polestar 3 electric performance SUV.
• The fully electric 5-seat SUV premieres a new aerodynamic profile, and the materials used inside the car have been selected for their sustainability credentials.
• Polestar's first car to feature centralized computing with NVIDIA Corp NVDA NVIDIA DRIVE core computer, running software from Volvo AB VLVLY Volvo Cars.

Photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay