Plus, Serena Williams announces retirement from Tennis.
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The U.S. has sent back or detained shipments from several Chinese solar-panel suppliers in the last several weeks as part of customs enforcing a new law. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or UFLPA, went into effect at the end of June and banned the importation of items produced in the Xinjiang region of China as they are assumed to be made with forced labor. More: - The new law requires companies to prove that their products were not made using forced labor.
- U.S. business executives say the law will likely result in short-term supply-chain disruptions as importers try to adapt to the new requirements.
- Analysts said the level of documentation required by U.S. import authorities had caught many in the industry off guard.
- China’s Xinjiang region produces about 50% of the global supply of a critical component in solar panels.
- The Chinese government has said that UFLPA isn’t based on facts and has consistently denied allegations of forced labor and abuses in Xinjiang.
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Ben & Jerry's and parent group Unilever PLC are locked in a legal dispute over the sale of the former's assets in Israel. On Monday, Ben & Jerry's legal team tried to stop the transfer of the brand's intellectual property in a phone hearing before U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. Ben & Jerry's has no authority to sue the parent business, according to Unilever's legal team, which said that the deal had already been closed. More: - Due to concerns over human rights, Ben & Jerry's stopped selling its products in the West Bank region and several areas of East Jerusalem last year.
- After severe political pressure, Unilever completed the sale of Ben & Jerry's assets in Israel to Avi Zinger in late June.
- Ben & Jerry's is seeking to stop the transfer of its brand's intellectual property under trademark law.
- The licensee in Israel might introduce a product with similar branding and packaging, according to the ice cream maker's legal team, weakening the reputation of the brand.
- Ben & Jerry's legal team will clarify its rights and is expecting a permanent injunction at the subsequent court hearing.
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AppLoving Corp made an offer to acquire Unity Software Inc. at $58.85 per share. The offer price represents a premium of 18% over Unity's closing share price on Monday. The entire transaction is valued at $17.54B. More: - If accepted, Unity will have about 49% of the voting rights and possess 55% of the outstanding shares of the merged entity.
- Unity's CEO John Riccitiello is poised to lead the new merged entity as CEO.
- Meanwhile, AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi is expected to become the COO.
- Unity's board is evaluating the proposal.
- Serkan Toto of Kantan Games believes this deal has very slim chances of happening.
- Last month, Unity offered to acquire ironSource in a $4.4B all-stock transaction.
- If Unity decides to accept the offer from AppLovin, it will have to give up its acquisition of ironSource.
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Micron revealed that it will spend $40B between now and 2030 in the U.S. as it looks to increase its semiconductor production market share from 2% to 10%. The news comes as President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law earlier today. Micron is set to receive grants under the new law. More: - It is estimated that Micron's investments will create 40,000 jobs in the country, 5,000 of which will be highly technical and operational jobs.
- Full details of the investment will come in the following weeks.
- The company also lowered its revenue forecast for the current quarter.
- Micron expected revenue to fall between $6.8B and $7.6B at its earnings call in June.
- The firm is anticipating negative free cash flow during Q1 2024.
- Micron faces rising inventory levels as consumers curb their expenses and hold off purchases.
- Research firm Gartner forecasts PC shipments to drop by 9.5% this year.
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According to data from the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, public pension plans lost a median of 7.9% in the year ending June 30. This represents their worst annual performance since 2009. More: - Much of the losses occurred in Q2 — April, May, and June — when global markets experienced a downturn.
- As of June 30, public pension funds had a median equity allocation of 57%, meaning these funds had more significant exposure to stock-market volatility.
- Pension funds usually have an annual return target of 7%.
- These funds have hundreds of billions of dollars less on hand than they will need to cover future benefit promises.
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Nielsen Holdings' largest shareholder, WindAcre Partnership, has agreed to support the $10B buyout of the TV ratings company. Earlier this year, a consortium of private equity firms led by Elliott Management and Brookfield Asset Management offered to buy Nielsen at $28 a share, including debt More: - In April, Houston-based investment firm WindAcre, which owns about 27% of Nielsen, said it would vote against the buyout offer, saying it undervalued the company.
- Nielsen announced on Tuesday that Elliott and Brookfield had reached a preliminary agreement with WindAcre.
- WindAcre would join the consortium and remain an investor in Nielsen with a portion of its current stake in the company.
- The group will pay $28 a share for the rest of WindAcre's stake in Nielsen.
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- Ford is raising the prices of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup, citing a significant increase in material costs and other factors. The starting prices for its 2023 F-150 Lightning will now range from $47,000 to $97,000.
- Signet Jewelers, the owner of Zales, has agreed to buy online jewelry brand Blue Nile for $360M in cash. Signet hopes to appeal to younger consumers and grow its bridal business. Signet also cut its financial forecast for Q2 and full-year fiscal 2023.
- Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum to over 20%. According to an SEC filing, Berkshire bought about 6.7 million shares of Occidental between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8 for $391M.
- Tennis star Serena Williams announced her retirement in an article for Vogue magazine published Tuesday. Williams said she will retire after the U.S. Open, which is scheduled from late August to September. Williams and her daughter are on Vogue Magazine's September issue cover.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com. Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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