Elon Musk has agreed to buy Twitter at the original terms both parties agreed to in April. Musk sent a letter to Twitter Monday evening offering to go ahead with the deal less than two weeks before both parties were due to go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court. Musk was due to be deposed later this week. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal was deposed on Monday. More: - According to an SEC filing on Tuesday, Musk’s lawyers noted the Tesla and SpaceX CEO plans to close the deal at the previously agreed price of $54.20 a share once debt financing is received.
- The lawyers also asked for an immediate stay on the legal action and adjournment of the upcoming trial and all other proceedings related to the deal.
- The letter adds that the Musk team provides the notice “without admission of liability and without waiver of or prejudice to any of their rights, including their right to assert defenses and counterclaims pending in the Action…”
- Twitter acknowledged it received the letter from the Musk parties and intended to close the takeover agreement at the $54.20 per share agreed price.
- According to sources, both parties met Tuesday in an emergency Zoom call with Delaware Chancery Court judge Kathaleen McCormick.
- Twitter wants broader protections from the court, including an order that guarantees timing and certainty of closing.
- Twitter is concerned that Musk might be offering to proceed with the deal in an effort to delay the trial.
- Twitter shares popped following news of Musk’s reversal on the deal before it was halted during afternoon trading.
- The stock closed at $52 a share, up more than 22% for the day.
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The U.N. has asked the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to halt their interest rate hikes or risk pushing the global economy into a recession followed by a prolonged stagnation. In its annual global economic outlook report, the U.N. estimates that for every 1% increase to the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, economic output in rich countries goes down by 0.5% and 0.8% in poor countries over the next three years. More: - India’s central bank warns that the global economy is facing a third major shock after the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD) estimates that the Fed’s interest rate increases so far this year would reduce economic output in poor countries by $360B over the next three years.
- The Fed has raised rates five times so far this year.
- The Fed’s fund rate is currently in the range of 3% to 3.25%.
- Fed officials have signaled raising the rate to between 4% and 4.5% by the end of the year.
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The EU Parliament approved the single charger reform on Tuesday, which requires a single charging port for most electronic devices sold in the region starting in 2024. The reform is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and confirmed an earlier agreement by EU countries and lawmakers to make the single charger standard USB-C. More: - Apple is expected to be the most impacted by the reform among European electronic device manufacturers and providers.
- Apple would have to swap out its iPhone Lightning charger and other charging connectors for the USB-C for products sold in the 27-nation bloc.
- The standard USB-C charging port requirement for electronic devices includes mobile phones, tablets, cameras, e-readers, earbuds, and other technologies.
- Following the approval vote, shares of European semiconductor manufacturers rose more than 5%.
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Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, is stepping down as co-chief investment officer almost 50 years after founding the hedge fund. Dalio’s retirement brings a years-long succession process to an end. Dalio will remain on the company’s board. More: - Bridgewater Associates is the largest hedge fund in the U.S., with $150B in assets under management.
- The firm had previously told its clients it had a 10-year transition plan to find a suitable successor to Dalio.
- The transition process has lasted about 12 years and has seen different executives come and go.
- In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, Dalio noted that though the succession process hadn’t been easy, he felt great about the people and “machine” in control of the firm.
- Co-investment chiefs and Bridgewater veterans Bob Prince and Greg Jensen will lead the firm moving forward.
- Dalio started Bridgewater in 1975 from his Manhattan apartment and began investing in 1985 after receiving $5M from the World Bank’s pension fund to trade bonds.
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U.S. job openings fell to 10.05 million in August from 11.17 million reported in July, signaling early signs that the large U.S. labor gap is closing. In August, the unemployment rate rose by 0.2% to 3.7%, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 344,000 to 6 million. More: - Though the labor gap seems to be closing, there are still 10.05 million vacancies for 6 million job seekers.
- Labor force participation gained 0.3% to 62.4%.
- The rate is still one percentage point below its pre-pandemic rate.
- Nonfarm payrolls rose by 315,000 jobs in August.
- September numbers are set to be released on Friday.
- The Fed pays close attention to job openings and labor turnover reports as it raises interest rates to bring inflation down to its 2% target.
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Micron Technology plans to invest up to $100B to build a semiconductor manufacturing facility in upstate New York. When completed, the plant will be the largest semiconductor-fabrication facility in the U.S. The plant will be in Clay, New York, with chip production projected to begin before the end of the decade. More: - Micron waited to commit to spending on a new factory until the U.S. government approved subsidies for domestic chip production.
- Construction at the site is scheduled to start in 2024.
- Micron is also investing $15B in a new factory in Idaho, with construction at that site starting next year.
- According to CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron’s upcoming facilities in New York and Idaho would bring the company’s production in the U.S. to 40% from its current 10%.
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Quick Hits - The 3 Things to Never Build In Your App: Authentication, Notifications, and Payments.*
- Former President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a dispute over the Justice Department’s review of classified documents seized by the FBI during a raid at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
- Google has agreed to pay the state of Arizona $85M to settle a 2020 lawsuit for tracking users in the state without their consent. Google is accused of using the location data to sell ads for billions of dollars in profits.
- Three physicists in their 70s have won the Nobel Prize for quantum technology discoveries. Alain Aspect from France, John Clauser from the U.S., and Anton Zeilinger from Austria will share the 10M Swedish kronor ($900,000) prize.
- U.K.-based chip designer Arm has cut 40% of its workforce. The move comes after its parent company, SoftBank, promised in 2016 to double Arm’s U.K. workforce over the next five years.
*This is a sponsored post.
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- November 02 - AMA with Bill Glenn (Executive Chairman at Crenshaw Associates) (Register Here)
- December 07 - Live AMA with Deividi Silva ( Head of Developer Relations at Gun.io) (Register Here)
*This is a sponsored listing.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Freelance Writer for Inside.com. She writes the Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, exploring cities, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | 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 and 1972 Fords. | |
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