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Global chipmakers rebound after Nvidia shares rally

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Global chipmakers rebound after Nvidia shares rally

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Chipmakers in Asia and Europe rebounded on Wednesday after strong corporate earnings from Dutch group ASML added to the previous day’s rally in industry leader Nvidia.

The recovery came after US chipmaker Nvidia closed up nearly 9 per cent on Tuesday, recouping some of the heavy losses that wiped close to $600bn off its market capitalisation at the start of the week, when investors fretted over the threat from China’s DeepSeek to the US supremacy in artificial intelligence.

The emergence of DeepSeek, which promises to develop AI tools at a fraction of the cost of US rivals, has been called a contemporary “Sputnik moment”.

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The Stoxx Europe 600 benchmark was up 0.5 per cent, led by ASML. The chip equipment maker announced earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, sending its shares 10 per cent higher in Amsterdam.

ASM, another chip stock, rose 7 per cent, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Technology index was up 4.3 per cent, more than erasing Monday’s rout.

“What happened on Monday was an extreme overreaction that was amplified by extreme positioning,” said Elyas Galou, global investment strategist at Bank of America, pointing to crowded positions in global tech stocks heading into US President Donald Trump’s inauguration and ahead of this week’s earnings from tech bellwethers including Meta and Microsoft.

“We saw a lot of buying yesterday, including from retail investors, which is supporting the market today,” he added.

Nvidia shares were flat in pre-market trading on Wednesday. Futures markets pointed to a further rebound in the US, with contracts tracking the Nasdaq up 0.3 per cent and those tracking the S&P 500 flat.

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Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei 225 closed up 1 per cent after a rebound in semiconductor stocks and AI investor SoftBank.

“Markets have taken a calmer look at developments in China with AI and perhaps it is a reflection that Monday’s moves were an overreaction,” said Mitul Kotecha, head of emerging markets macro and foreign exchange strategy at Barclays.

Asian market analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note on Tuesday night that “oversold high-quality stocks could also provide some investment opportunities”, adding “we think strong companies will get even stronger”.

In Tokyo, Nvidia supplier Advantest closed up 4.4 per cent while semiconductor company Tokyo Electron was up 2.3 per cent. SoftBank ended the day with a 2.4 per cent rise.

Markets in the rest of Asia were also buoyant on Wednesday. India’s Nifty 50 was up almost 1 per cent in afternoon trading while Australia’s ASX 200 closed up 0.6 per cent. China, South Korea and Taiwan are closed for lunar new year holidays.

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However, analysts warned that the recovery had not yet fully undone the panicked falls on Monday as investors digested the implications of the heavy AI investment by US tech in light of DeepSeek’s achievements.

“There’s not been a rebound like ‘oh, it was nothing’. It is just a reflection that Monday’s move was a tad overdone,” said Barclays’ Kotecha.

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Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

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Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

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Protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms across the US on Saturday to demonstrate against the drastic cuts Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, is imposing on the federal government.

Organisers cited 37 protests across the country as part of an effort co-ordinated through the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakover.

Musk’s car company is emerging as a target for political outrage in the US and Europe in response to the billionaire’s outsized influence in the White House.

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Through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Musk has orchestrated the dismissal of tens of thousands of civil servants, and gained access to sensitive US Treasury payments. He has also voiced his support for the German far-right and called for the centre-left government of Sir Keir Starmer in the UK to be thrown out.

What began with Tesla owners slapping bumper stickers on their cars saying “I bought this before Elon went crazy” has grown to activists projecting an image of Musk making a gesture many have likened to a Nazi salute on to Tesla’s factory in Berlin.

Protesters rally at a Tesla showroom in New York on Saturday. © Bloomberg

The UK campaign group Led by Donkeys joined with Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty in January to project the image, part of a longer montage of Musk’s recent political statements. The group said it was produced in response to the Tesla chief executive’s endorsement of German far-right political party, the AfD.

Local news outlets have reported on arson and attempted arson at Tesla showrooms in Oregon and Colorado. Earlier this month a Tesla showroom in The Hague was defaced with graffiti that included swastikas and anti-fascist slogans.

Dutch police confirmed to the FT that they were in contact with Tesla and the investigation was continuing, but no arrests had yet been made.

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Tesla’s stock, which climbed after the presidential election, fell 6 per cent on Tuesday to $328.50. It rebounded to close the week at $355.84 but is still down 12 per cent since the start of the year.

“The worry of the Street is that Musk dedicating so much time — even more than we expected — to Doge takes away from his time at Tesla,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

“In addition, Musk’s Doge-related actions and more powerful alliance with Trump clearly could alienate some consumers to move away from the Tesla brand.”

About 50 to 100 protesters turned out in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, carrying signs saying, “Dethrone Musk” and “If Tesla survives, your country dies”.

Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, was one of them. Since Musk’s power is not derived from election to public office, he said, boycotting and divesting from Tesla is the only tool available to curb his agenda.

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He argued that Tesla was overvalued and that its core business of making and selling cars was deteriorating. Significant losses could force investors to sell, triggering a drop in the share price and forcing Musk to sell a portion of his shares to meet a margin call.

“Every Tesla sale that you prevent, every dollar not spent servicing a Tesla, not charging at the Supercharger — these further degrade the business,” Niedermeyer said.

“It’s not easy, it’s not guaranteed, but we do have the opportunity to wipe out a huge amount of Elon Musk’s wealth.”

In Chicago, protesters carried a banner saying “Stop buying Nazi cars”.

City resident Lisa Pereira said she came to the demonstration because “you have to do something”. She said she was disturbed by the administration’s attempts to crush diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, its aggressive immigration enforcement, and the power wielded by Musk.

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“Everything is a little off the rails,” she said. “So I decided I had to show up. I had to be in cahoots with my soul.”

Chris White said he attended on Saturday because he fears “we’re living through a fascist coup”.

“My kids are trans,” he said. “I’m getting told they don’t exist. I don’t know if their healthcare will exist.”

Though one man yelled from a truck, “Elon’s my hero!” most passers-by in the heavily Democratic city expressed support.

“I’d rather buy a Rivian,” said one, referring to the electric-truck maker whose showroom was a block away from the protest.

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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Amazon workers vote against unionizing a North Carolina warehouse

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Amazon workers vote against unionizing a North Carolina warehouse

Amazon’s distribution center in Garner, N.C., opened in August 2020.

Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer via Getty Images


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Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer via Getty Images

Amazon workers in North Carolina have voted against unionizing as the retail giant once again prevailed in its fight against labor organizing.

Around 4,300 workers at a warehouse in Garner, N.C., a suburb of Raleigh, were eligible to cast ballots over the past week. They voted whether to join the grassroots union called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE.

Workers voted nearly 3-to-1 against unionizing. Federal labor officials’ tally showed 829 votes in favor and 2,447 votes against, with 77 ballots set aside as challenged by either the union or the company.

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Representatives of the unionization effort did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment on Saturday.

Union organizers, who are current and former workers, said they would push for higher wages, more reliable hours, better safety measures and other changes. They faced a staunch opposition campaign by Amazon.

Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer in the U.S. after Walmart, has argued its employees benefit from working directly with the company — without the involvement of unions.

“We’re glad that our team in Garner was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon,” Eileen Hards, a company spokesperson, said in a statement on Saturday. “We look forward to continuing to make this a great place to work together, and to supporting our teammates as they build their futures with us.”

Hards said in an earlier statement that Amazon “already offers” what unions are requesting, such as “safe, inclusive workplaces, competitive pay, industry-leading benefits — including health care on day one, pre-paid college tuition, and a 401k with company match — opportunities for career growth, and more.”

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The company has long fought off efforts to organize its packers, delivery drivers and other employees. In January, workers at one Amazon-owned Whole Foods location in Philadelphia voted to become the first unionized store in the chain. Whole Foods has since asked the National Labor Relations Board to disqualify the union’s win, in part because the federal agency no longer has enough board members to certify the vote since President Trump fired a Democratic member.

The company continues to legally challenge its first unionized warehouse, in New York, nearly three years since the historic vote. In that time, the finances and internal cohesion of that upstart Amazon Labor Union deteriorated. The group has joined forces with the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The Teamsters separately organized some of Amazon’s delivery drivers, though the company also does not recognize this representation. In December, the union led drivers and warehouse workers in picketing multiple locations around the U.S., trying to draw more people into the union fold and press Amazon to begin negotiating collective-bargaining contracts.

Amazon is also appealing a November ruling by a federal labor judge that ordered a third union election — a re-redo — at a warehouse in Alabama. In the original 2021 vote, workers overwhelmingly rejected the union. U.S. labor officials later found Amazon illegally influenced the result. The second election’s results remained too close to call for over two years, as the union and the company accused each other of breaking labor laws.

Amazon workers and federal labor investigators have filed numerous complaints alleging labor-law violations and illegal union-busting tactics by the company, which Amazon has denied and legally challenged. In fact, one of the company’s lawsuits has questioned the very existence of the National Labor Relations Board, arguing its structure violates the Constitution.

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Editor’s note: Amazon is among NPR’s recent financial supporters.

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Spotify to launch new premium service aimed at music ‘superfans’

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Spotify to launch new premium service aimed at music ‘superfans’

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Spotify will launch a new super-premium subscription aimed at audio enthusiasts that will cost an extra $6 a month, said three people briefed on the matter, as the Swedish group expands the streaming service.

Spotify will charge $18 a month for the new service and debut it later this year after sealing fresh licensing deals with Universal Music and Warner Music to allow their copyrighted songs from artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift to be included in the subscription.

Spotify has not announced a fresh deal with Sony Music, the third major record label and home to stars such as Beyoncé. The new subscription might not come until the autumn, said one person familiar with the discussions.

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The subscription, called “Music Pro”, will offer three main features to entice sign-ups: higher-quality audio; early access to concert tickets; and increased functionality such as a “DJ” option for streaming.

The ticketing feature is part of a push by the music industry to capitalise on “superfans” — the listeners who regularly buy merchandise and flock to concerts for their favourite stars.

Spotify’s main rivals, Apple Music and Amazon Music, already offer higher-quality “lossless” audio as part of their basic paid music streaming plans. Spotify has been teasing its own hi-def audio product since 2021, but it has been delayed repeatedly.

Spotify has been on a hot streak, having recently reported its first full year of profitability after slashing costs and laying off thousands of staff. Its shares have nearly tripled in the past year as investors cheered the results.

With a stock market capitalisation of $130bn, Spotify is valued by Wall Street as worth more than all three of the major record labels combined. The labels wanted to wring more money from Spotify in the most recent deals.

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Chief executive Daniel Ek earlier this month teased his plans for a new subscription tier during an earnings call. “The next version of the music industry, I believe, is one where we’re going to tailor experience of Spotify to all of these different subgroups,” he said. “We’re sort of moving from this one size fits all to this much more sort of specialised tier as the base of consumers are growing into the hundreds of millions.”

As part of the deals agreed with Universal and Warner, Spotify will also add more professional music videos to its platform, as it looks to compete with YouTube, TikTok and others.

Deutsche Bank analysts predicted this super premium tier “could drive the next leg of revenue growth” for Spotify.

But Midia Research offered a more sceptical view. “You could make a case that a superfan tier is disruptive innovation, but that will depend upon whether it really pushes the boundaries of what streaming is,” analyst Mark Mulligan wrote. “Otherwise, it may only be as ‘disruptive’ as mobile carriers having premium plans for higher-spending consumers.”

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