Dow futures sharply lower amid intensifying trade war concerns - CNBC

U.S. stock index futures were sharply lower Monday morning, as market participants monitor an intensifying trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

At around 05:05 a.m. ET, Dow futures slipped 132 points, indicating a negative open of more than 134 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both seen slightly lower.

Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, amid growing fears that Washington's latest tariff threats against Mexico could tip the global economy into a recession.

Tensions between the U.S. and China escalated over the weekend, as the two countries clashed over trade, technology and security issues.

A senior Chinese official and trade negotiator said Sunday that Washington would not be able to use pressure to force a trade deal on Beijing. Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen also refused to say whether the leaders of both countries would meet at the G20 summit to work out an agreement later this month.

On the data front, a final reading of manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) data for May will be released at around 9:45 a.m. ET. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index for May, construction spending figures for April and latest light vehicle sales data will all follow slightly later in the session.

In corporate news, Box and Coupa Software are both expected to release their latest quarterly results after market close.

On Friday, the Dow tumbled more than 350 points after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from June 10. The Trump administration has threatened to raise those charges up to 25% over the coming months if Mexico does not take significant action in stopping migrants reaching the southern border.

Friday's declines added to a torrid week and month for stocks. The Dow dropped 3% last week and notched its sixth straight weekly loss. That's the longest weekly losing streak for the Dow since 2011. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their fourth straight weekly loss. The major indexes also snapped a four-month winning streak.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/03/stock-markets-wall-street-monitors-intensifying-trade-war-concerns.html

2019-06-03 09:07:02Z
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Tesla Supercharger V3 rollout will prioritize long-distance routes, says Elon Musk - Teslarati

By Dacia J. Ferris

Posted on June 3, 2019

Tesla’s Version 3 (V3) Superchargers will first begin rolling out in locations used for long-distance travel, according to an update provided by CEO Elon Musk. He additionally revealed during a recent interview on Ride the Lightning, a weekly podcast hosted by Ryan McCaffrey, that first generation Superchargers will also be prioritized for replacement.

“We’ll focus on long-distance routes, so if you’re in a hurry to get from one city to another, you can go as fast as possible. Then also, we’re replacing some of the Version 1 Superchargers – some of the old Superchargers will take priority,” Musk detailed. “There are some out there that still charge at 75 kW, so we’ll replace those first on long-distance routes.”

Despite Tesla’s open patents for utilizing its Supercharger technology and declared willingness to allow other manufacturers to access its network, Musk said that he hasn’t yet been contacted yet about sharing its facilities and technology. “Nobody’s contacted me, so…Maybe they’ve contacted other people at the company and they haven’t mentioned it to me. But, none of the other manufacturers have contacted me and said that they want to use it,” he explained.

Tesla Supercharger V3 stalls being constructed at the LA Design Center in March 2019.

Tesla does have preconditions for sharing its Supercharger Network, though, which may be part of the reluctance to taking the all-electric car maker up on its offer. “We do require that the car be able to charge at a high rate and then obviously share in the cost of the system,” Musk said. “Probably…we will get some takers down the road, but they don’t seem to be particularly interested right now.”

On the topic of developing its Supercharger Network, Tesla’s CEO also explained that the company tries to stay ahead of demand and avoid congestion, but empty Supercharger stations are not in the company’s best interest, either. Also, business permits can slow down expansion efforts despite Tesla’s best efforts to meet its customers’ charging needs. Overall, it’s a balancing act between congestion and freedom to travel.

The V3 Supercharger was unveiled in March this year at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California where the first (beta) stalls are located. The V3 Superchargers are able to charge twice as fast the Version 2 (V2) with a maximum power output of 250 kW, or 1,000 miles per hour. Additionally, Tesla owners using V3 Superchargers will no longer need to split power with neighboring vehicles, thereby substantially increasing the charge rate and reducing the overall amount of charging time by nearly half.

In Tesla’s first annual report to New York’s Empire State Development Corp., the company announced that a new manufacturing line for the electrical components of Supercharger V3 stations were added at Gigafactory 2 in New York. The facility was originally designed to produce Tesla’s Solar Roof tiles, which look like conventional roofing material but are capable of functioning like solar panels. Given Tesla’s aggressive expansion of its Supercharger Network, this move towards expanded capability is indicative of plans for a quick rollout of its latest charging technology.

Listen to Ryan McCaffrey’s interview with Elon Musk here.

Tesla Supercharger V3 rollout will prioritize long-distance routes, says Elon Musk

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https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-supercharger-v3-rollout-long-distance-stations/

2019-06-03 07:03:33Z
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Infineon acquires Cypress Semiconductor in deal valued at $10 billion - VentureBeat

Infineon Technologies has agreed to buy Cypress Semiconductor in a deal that values the chip maker at $10 billion.

Infineon is paying $23.85 per share in cash ($10 billion enterprise value, counting debt) in addition to continuing its dividend through closing. That’s 55 percent higher than the stock price was last week before the news started to leak.

The deal shows that trend toward consolidation of the chip industry — which has swallowed many Silicon Valley companies from Altera to NXP — is continuing.

The stock price represents an-all time high for Cypress, and it’s a nice way for a legendary Silicon Valley to go out in style.

Cypress was founded in 1982 by T.J. Rodgers, a Green Bay Packers fan who was also brilliant chip engineer. He helped Cypress rise from an also-ran to a skilled maker of a wide variety of memory, sensor, and Internet of Things chips.

Above: T.J. Rodgers of Cypress Semiconductor

Image Credit: Cypress/Wikipdia

Early to recognize the value of improved solar cells made from silicon, Rodgers invested in SunPower in 2002 and later helped it launch an initial public offering in 2005. Cypress got a big return on that deal.

But Cypress was known for its larger-than-life founder, who said outrageous things (like “real men have fabs”) and yet was known as a smart and fiercely independent libertarian. Regarding fabs, or wafer fabrication plants (chip factories), Rodgers was adamant that owning your own factories was the path to success in semiconductors. (That eventually proved to be wrong). Rodgers’ firm grew to thousands of employees.

Rodgers stepped down in 2016 and was replaced by but he was an activist shareholder within Cypress. He set a personal goal of creating the best pinot noir in the world at his vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I walked through his vineyard once, when it was equipped with some of the early monitoring equipment for the internet of things. We laughed as he told tales of getting the Cypress staff to (voluntarily) come pick his grapes.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Rodgers was known as the toughest boss in Silicon Valley, always holding executives and employees accountable. He said he liked corporations to set “big, hairy, audacious goal,” or BHAGs, so they could always achieve higher results. When I was still at the San Jose Mercury News,

At the time of the acquisition, Cypress was valued at 18.2 times NTM EBITDA ( a measure of profitability).

The companies expect the transaction to close by the end of 2019 or early 2020.

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https://venturebeat.com/2019/06/02/infineon-acquires-cypress-semiconductor-in-deal-valued-at-10-billion/

2019-06-03 05:52:18Z
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Apricot Power brand apricot seeds recalled over fears of cyanide poisoning - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

OTTAWA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced a recall of Apricot Power brand apricot seeds and apricot seed meal due to concerns about cyanide poisoning.

The agency says the products, produced by the Markham, Ont.-based company Ecoideas Innovations Inc., contain the natural toxin amygdalin.

The agency says the compound has the potential to release cyanide when the bitter apricot seed kernels are ingested.

It says humans can "detoxify" small amounts of cyanide, but high amounts can be lethal.

No illnesses have been associated with the products, but officials say anyone who has the products in their home should throw them out or return them to the point of purchase.

Symptoms of acute cyanide poisoning include headache, dizziness, confusion, weakness, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, seizures and coma.

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June 02, 2019 at 09:05PM

Global airlines slash profit forecast 21% on protectionism fears - Investing.com

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An airplane prepares to land at Cointrin airport in Geneva

By Jamie Freed and Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) - Global airlines slashed a widely watched industry profit forecast by 21% on Sunday as an expanding trade war and higher oil prices compound worries about an overdue industry slowdown.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents about 290 carriers or more than 80 percent of global air traffic, said the industry is expected to post a $28 billion profit in 2019, down from a December forecast of $35.5 billion.

"Airlines will still turn a profit this year, but there is no easy money to be made," IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said at the group's annual meeting in Seoul.

"Creeping protectionist or isolationist political agendas are on the rise," he added.

Global stock markets tumbled on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's unexpected threat of tariffs on Mexican goods added to fears that escalating trade tensions will push the United States and other major economies into recession.

Airlines had reported $30 billion in annual profits in 2018, but conditions in the air cargo market - an extra source of revenue for carriers - have weakened substantially.

"You see that international trade is now at a zero growth rate, so there is an immediate impact on our cargo business," de Juniac told Reuters TV.

IATA voiced concerns the trade tensions, which have forced several carriers in Asia to ground or delay taking delivery of air freighters, could spill into the passenger market.

Passenger capacity growth, which reached 6.9 percent in 2019, is forecast to slow to 4.7 percent this year, with average fares flat following a 2.1 percent decline in 2018.

The dip is potentially significant because airline profits track consumer confidence and global trade, economists say.

After struggling to inspire confidence for decades due to high fixed costs that are mainly out of their control, airlines have managed to cover the cost of their capital in recent years by squeezing their expenses and carrying out some restructuring.

But analysts have said that aviation is nearing the end of an extended business cycle.

The sector's heavy reliance on one region, North America, for half of the global profits prompted leading consultant Peter Harbison to warn airline CEOs from the floor of the IATA meet that the industry's good fortunes were a "temporary aberration".

The industry's growth continues to be stimulated by low fares, but such travel tends to be most vulnerable in a downturn, Harbison told Reuters.

'LOW PRICES CAUSE CONGESTION'

In a $900 billion cut-throat industry brimming with tensions, the head of Germany's Lufthansa hit out at low-cost airlines who slash fares to what he called unrealistic levels, though those firms say legacy carriers are bloated.

"I'm not complaining about the competition. Don't get me wrong ... but that kind of ticketing below 10 euros is hurting the ... trust of public and politicians (and) congesting air traffic," CEO Carsten Spohr said.

The practice also undermines climate goals by spurring trips that would not otherwise exist, he added.

Europe could see more airlines disappear after a series of failures through mergers or bankruptcies.

"We have just begun to see the beginning of it," he said.

The CEO of the recently acquired UK-based Flybe said she saw a risk of "massive consolidation without independent and challenging carriers".

Christine Ourmieres-Widener plans to step down on July 15, months after the sale of the low-cost airline to a consortium including Richard Branson.

Airbus said on Sunday it was receiving some requests to defer plane orders but denied the aviation market had cooled.

"I put it in the category of a discreet event more than a global phenomenon at this point. My impression is not that the tide has turned," said sales chief Christian Scherer.

The planemaker is close to a deal to sell A330neo wide-body jets to Virgin Atlantic, people familiar with the matter said.

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June 02, 2019 at 09:20AM

Windsor Street Exchange to be overhauled in $47M Halifax port upgrade - CBC.ca

U.S. stock futures, oil slide as trade wars stoke global recession fears - Reuters