Following a report this morning from Reuters that Chinese tech giant Huawei planned to move into the electric vehicle market, Andy Purdy, chief security officer for the company's U.S. division, refuted that it would be manufacturing cars of its own.
"We're not, as a recent report said, going to be manufacturing our own electric cars," Purdy told Cheddar. However, he said the company would develop automotive computer systems.
The report comes amid Huawei's ongoing efforts to improve relations with the U.S. after the Trump administration imposed sanctions that cut the company off from a vital supply of semiconductors. The former administration also pursued criminal charges against Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei and daughter of the company founder, who has been under house arrest in Canada for the last two years as she fights extradition.
"We hope the Biden administration disaggregates those issues and focuses on them one-by-one," Purdy said.
He also stressed that 40,000 American jobs were on the table, which was his rough calculation of how many jobs were created by Huawei's annual purchase of 12 billion semiconductors prior to 2019, the year it bought 18 billion in order to stockpile ahead of the sanctions.
"If in the long-term, we and other companies are not allowed to buy those chips, those jobs will leave America forever," he said.
The sanctions knocked $20 billion off Huawei's revenue in 2019, he added, and that the company will announce soon what the damage was in 2020.
"We do know that we're in the black for revenue and profit for 2020, which is a good thing, but we're hurting badly and we're going to continue to hurt for the foreseeable future," Purdy explained.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.