Our top scoop today is on SoftBank-owned Arm, which is in talks to bring in Nvidia as an anchor investor in its New York public listing.
Nvidia is one of several existing Arm partners, including Intel, that the UK-based company is hoping will take a long-term stake at the initial public offering stage, according to several people briefed on the talks.
The prospective investors are still negotiating with Arm over its valuation ahead of its listing as early as September. One person familiar with the discussions said Nvidia wanted to invest at a share price that would value Arm at $35bn to $40bn, while Arm wants it to be closer to $80bn.
Nvidia, which in May became the first chipmaker to hit a $1tn valuation, was forced last year to abandon a planned $66bn acquisition of Arm after the deal was challenged by regulators.
Arm and Nvidia declined to comment. A person close to the situation said the talks had not been concluded and might not lead to an investment.
Here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today:
US inflation: The consumer price index is expected to have moderated to 3.1 per cent in June, its lowest level in more than two years. But “core” inflation is expected to be higher. Read more on what to expect from the latest US inflation report.
Central banks: The Bank of Canada is expected to raise interest rates again after its latest meeting ends today while the Federal Reserve publishes its Beige Book on economic conditions.
Nato: On the sidelines of day two of the military alliance’s summit in Vilnius, the G7 will announce long-term security commitments for Ukraine.
Five more top stories
1. Exclusive: JPMorgan is hiring dozens of bankers globally to capitalise on Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse in March. Recent hires in the UK and the US include three former SVB executives while the bank is also planning to expand its services to start-ups and venture capital-backed companies in Asia. Read more on how JPMorgan is filling the gap left by SVB.
2. A US federal court ruling has helped Microsoft move closer to its purchase of Activision Blizzard after a judge dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block the $75bn deal. The UK’s competition watchdog, which initially rejected the acquisition, signalled it was open to discussing changes to the deal that would address its concerns.
Analysis: The court ruling could force the FTC, which has until tomorrow to appeal, to rethink its recent interventionist stance, say investors and analysts.
3. EY China has refused to pay fees owed to its global headquarters for more than a year in a dispute over IT services. The Chinese arm says the services cannot be fully used after Beijing tightened data security rules, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more on the tussle between EY’s global bosses and its semi-independent member firms in China.
4. Dozens of academics are reviewing their research on behavioural science conducted alongside Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino. It is alleged that Gino, an expert on dishonesty, manipulated data in studies behind her research papers. Read more on the escalating controversy.
5. Saudi-controlled LIV Golf proposed giving ownership stakes to star players Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as it sought control of the sport. Newly released documents show how the Saudis tempered their ambitions in talks with the PGA Tour as the two sides moved from bitter litigation to prospective partners. Read more on the trove of emails, documents and instant messages released by a Senate committee yesterday.
The Big Read
Four decades after Ronald Reagan rejected large-scale US government intervention in the economy, Joe Biden is embracing it wholeheartedly with a raft of subsidies for domestic producers in strategic sectors, in the hope of creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Will the president’s policies transform the American economy in a way that is durable and have a tangible impact that resonates with voters?
We’re also reading . . .
Turkey looks west: Backing Sweden’s Nato bid was a strategic move by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to ease tensions and unblock trade.
Recognising the west’s hypocrisy: To tackle the threats to peace, prosperity and the planet the west must engage with China, writes Martin Wolf. But it must also engage with the rest of the world which sees it as deeply hypocritical.
Corporate Japan’s hunt for investments: Unlike the 1980s, the current search is about diversifying revenue streams and not accumulating trophy assets.
Chart of the day
Investors have been buying up local currency bonds issued by emerging economies in a bet that policymakers there have done a better job of battling inflation than their developed market counterparts, with the gap in government borrowing costs between the two markets falling to its lowest level in 16 years.
Take a break from the news
Scientists believe they are on the brink of proving the Earth has entered a new era for the first time in 11,700 years. A small lake in an area outside Toronto has been identified as the site to provide the formal reference point for the new Anthropocene epoch.
Additional contributions by Tee Zhuo, Emily Goldberg and Benjamin Wilhelm
Source: Economy - ft.com
