China readies antitrust investigation into Google year after Huawei complaint: report - Fox Business

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FOX Business’ Charlie Gasparino gives updates on the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Google and the potential TikTok deal.

China is readying to launch an anti-trust investigation into Google amid allegations the American search engine leverages its dominance on the Android mobile operating system to eliminate competition, according to a report published on Wednesday.

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Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., the Chinese telecom giant headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, initiated the complaint last year, which was submitted by China’s top market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, to the State Council’s anti-trust committee for review, Reuters reported, citing two sources who declined to be identified.

U.S. TIGHTENS EXPORTS TO CHINA'S CHIPMAKER SMIC, CITING RISK OF MILITARY USE

A decision to move forward with a formal investigation into Google, which is operated by its parent company Alphabet Inc., could come as early as October, one of the sources said. The probe also could be affected by the relationship between China and the United States at the time.

President Trump has consistently ramped up pressure on China since first launching a trade war in 2018 and restricting Huawei on national security grounds. His administration threatened similar restrictions against Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp 0981.HK and ordered TikTok owner ByteDance to divest the short-form video app.

The potential investigation conducted by China would also explore accusations that Google’s market position could cause “extreme damage” to Chinese companies like Huawei, leading to loss of confidence and revenue, a source said.

US HOUSE JUDICIARY ANTITRUST REPORT LIKELY TO COME OUT AS SOON AS MONDAY OCTOBER 5: REPORT

Despite Huawei being blacklisted by U.S. trade regulators, Google had a temporary license allowing the search engine to provide technical support to new Huawei phone models and access to Google Mobile Services, the developer services bundle upon which most Android apps are based, according to Reuters. The license expired in August.

Just this year, the U.S. has imposed new restrictions on Chinese diplomats and journalists; closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, and repeatedly criticized China on multiple fronts, from its handling of the coronavirus to its military moves in the South China Sea and its human rights record in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang region, home to largely Muslim ethnic groups.

China has rebuked the U.S. and taken parallel measures, including the closing of a U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu. With almost daily heated exchanges, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that ties face their gravest challenge since the normalization of relations in 1979.

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Meanwhile, a report compiled by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee into antitrust allegations against Alphabet's Google, as well as Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., and Apple is expected to come as soon as next Monday.

The four of America's largest tech companies have a combined market value of about $5 trillion.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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October 01, 2020 at 12:06AM
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China readies antitrust investigation into Google year after Huawei complaint: report - Fox Business

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Germany crackdown set to exclude Huawei from 5G rollout - Financial Times

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Germany is to impose tough new restrictions on telecoms equipment providers which will effectively exclude Huawei from the buildout of the country’s 5G phone networks.

An IT security bill that Angela Merkel’s cabinet is planning to pass in the coming weeks would stop short of an outright ban on Huawei but creates bureaucratic obstacles that could prove insurmountable for the Chinese company, according to MPs with knowledge of the draft legislation.

A move by the German government to phase out Huawei as a supplier of 5G telecoms equipment would be a huge blow to the Chinese company’s international ambitions. Germany, like the UK, has been one of Huawei’s key markets for expansion outside mainland China and its deals with companies such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom have helped turn it into the world’s largest supplier of telecoms equipment.

MPs who have seen the new bill say it will introduce a two-stage approval process for telecoms equipment, involving a technical check of individual components combined with a political assessment of the manufacturer’s “trustworthiness”.

“The German parliament requires the legal means to be able to exclude untrustworthy suppliers like Huawei from the 5G buildout, and this new law appears to do just that,” said Nils Schmid, foreign policy spokesman for the Social Democrats, a junior partner in Ms Merkel’s coalition government who has called for a tougher approach to Huawei.

The bill is not yet finalised and may still undergo technical changes. But it is already clear that it will make it almost impossible for Huawei to participate in Germany’s 5G programme.

“How can Huawei, a company with suspected links to the Chinese state, pass a political trustworthiness test?” said one MP involved in the discussions on the new law. “It’s impossible.”

Angela Merkel in the Bundestag on Wednesday. The German chancellor faced a rebellion from her own party to take a hard line on Huawei © Michael Kappeler/dpa

The bill also envisages a key role for Germany’s intelligence services, which have long been sceptical about Huawei. “In its current form [the bill] envisages that when doubts arise as to a company’s trustworthiness then the government can investigate it, using information provided by the intelligence services,” said Thorsten Frei, an MP with Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU.

Germany joins a growing group of countries that have moved to impose restrictions on Huawei, which critics believe could be used by Beijing to conduct espionage or cyber sabotage. Washington has repeatedly cited a law obliging Chinese companies and citizens to aid the state in intelligence-gathering. Huawei has denied that it is a tool of the Chinese government.

In July, the UK government banned operators from buying new 5G equipment from Huawei from the end of the year, while France has created regulatory hurdles designed to steer telecoms operators away from using the company’s kit.

The US government has been pressing its allies in Europe to drop Huawei as a supplier for several months. Last year the US warned it would scale back intelligence-sharing with Germany unless Berlin blocked Huawei. “The American pressure has been just brutal,” said one senior German official.

On Wednesday, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo used a trip to Rome to warn the Italian government that Chinese technology companies “with ties to the Chinese Communist party” were a threat to Italy’s national security and the privacy of its citizens.

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Ms Merkel has resisted US pressure to impose an explicit ban on the Chinese company, telling the FT earlier this year that it was wrong to “simply exclude someone per se”. Instead, she has sought to tighten the country’s security requirements towards all telecoms equipment providers and diversify suppliers.

But she has faced a rebellion from her own party, which has demanded a much harder line on Huawei — as have the Social Democrats and opposition Greens.

Huawei declined to comment on the new German law, stressing that the bill had yet to be finalised. It said it was a “purely private company” that was co-operating with the German security authorities and could “see no plausible reasons to limit our access to the [German] market”.

Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica, two of Germany’s biggest mobile operators, declined to comment. Vodafone said it would “continue to monitor the situation and will always comply with regulations”.

All three companies have used Huawei equipment for their mobile and fixed line networks and that has continued into the 5G era. In recent years the operators have signed deals to use the Chinese company’s kit for radio access networks (RAN) — the equipment that sits on masts and rooftops to connect phone calls.

But even before the new bill was being finalised, the companies had started to move away from using Huawei systems in the “core” — the intelligent part of the network where customer information is processed.

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October 01, 2020 at 01:23AM
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Germany crackdown set to exclude Huawei from 5G rollout - Financial Times

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5 Micron Analysts On Q4 Beat, Huawei Challenges - Benzinga

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Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) reported strong fourth-quarter results Tuesday, but the stock is losing ground on the Huawei standoff. 

The Micron Analysts: KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Weston Twigg maintained an Overweight rating and $70 price target.

Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill maintained a Buy rating and reduced the price target from $70 to $65.

Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar reiterated a Neutral rating and cut the price target from $51 to $45. 

Raymond James analyst Chris Caso reiterated a Strong Buy rating and $65 price target.

Rosenblatt Securities analyst Hans Mosesmann reiterated a Buy rating and $100 price target.

KeyBanc Sees Improving Dynamics For Micron: Micron's strong fourth-quarter results were achieved on the back of DRAM sales to cloud, gaming and PC customers; a ramp in QLC NAND; and strong demand from Huawei prior to a Sept. 15 cutoff, KeyBanc's Twigg said in a note. 

The first-quarter revenue guidance of $5.2 billion plus or minus $200 million, though soft, is better than some feared, the analyst said.

In the near-term, softening enterprise demand and the Huawei ban are headwinds, he said. 

Overall demand should improve through calendar year 2021 thanks to growing demand for graphics DRAM and reasonably good demand from cloud and PC customers, Twigg said, citing the company.

Despite the Huawei ban impacting the first- and second-quarter outlook, KeyBanc said it remains bullish due to likely improving dynamics in calendar year 2021 and good long-term tailwinds.

See also: Micron Technology's Risk-Reward 'Skews Positive,' Goldman Sachs Says In Bullish Turn

Why Micron's Present Is ‘Tense,' Future ‘Perfect': The halting of shipments to Huawei on Sept. 14 due to U.S. sanctions on China is the primary reason for the soft forward guidance, said Needham's Gill.

Huawei accounted for just under 10% of fourth-quarter sales, the analyst said. 

Weak enterprise demand due to lower IT spending from COVID-19 and higher customer inventories leading to lower pricing have also impacted the guidance, he said. 

"While we expect the near-term environment to be choppy, we expect several secular growth drivers in CY21: new CPU architectures driving higher server content, 5G smartphone growth, rebound in auto, ongoing gaming strength and cloud and AI machine generating higher memory growth," Gill said. 

Piper Sandler On Micron's 'Indigestion': The below-consensus guidance reflects technology transitions in DRAM, headwinds from Huawei and lackluster trends in some end markets, Kumar said. Micron appears to be going through some "indigestion" in the near-term, the analyst said. 

"Micron has applied for a license to ship to Huawei, but being granted one is still uncertain."  

Piper Sandler notably lowered its EPS estimates for the first half of 2021.

Micron's Risk-Reward Favorable, RayJay Says: The factors leading to near-term weakness for Micron are all transitory by nature, Caso said in a note. 

Micron has in excess of $7-per-share share earnings power in a recovery scenario, assuming a resumption of trendline demand trends, coupled with continued control of DRAM capex, the analyst said.

Despite Micron's suggestion of a strong recovery in the second half, Raymond James said it is cautious with respect to the NAND outlook due to Samsung's aggressive strategy.

"Net, we continue to view the stock's risk/reward favorably given the lowered near term expectations and our view of cyclical earnings power."  

Rosenblatt Says Buy The Micron Dip: Huawei's 10% level run-rate shutdown will require one-and-a-half quarters to offset, Mosesmann said in a note.

Additionally, near-term gross margins will remain weak due to increased NAND mix and various new DRAM ramps, the analyst said.

The inventory issue is localized in enterprise, with no or limited inventory issues, the analyst said. 

"Supply related discipline into 2021 from the oligopoly suggests to us tightness in DRAMs with NAND being more a wildcard, but we think modest given Micron's relative smaller exposure," he said. 

Rosenblatt said it would use the reset resulting from one-off events such as COVID-19 and Huawei to buy the stock.

Micron Price Action: At last check, Micron shares were down 6.51% to $47.41.

Related Link: Cramer Weighs In On Rocket Companies, Micron And More

Latest Ratings for MU

Date	Firm	Action	From	To
Sep 2020	RBC Capital	Maintains		Outperform
Sep 2020	Deutsche Bank	Maintains		Hold
Sep 2020	UBS	Maintains		Buy

View More Analyst Ratings for MU
View the Latest Analyst Ratings

© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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October 01, 2020 at 12:36AM
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Huawei Mate X2 certified, as Mate Xs EMUI 11 beta program starts - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

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With the Kirin 1000 chip shortage that Huawei is experiencing, there were speculations the Huawei Mate X2 won't come around until next year. But the new Wi-Fi certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance is indicating otherwise.

Screenshot from the Wi-Fi Alliance certification

The fact that Mate X2 had passed the certification process clearly indicates that its launch is around the corner. Other than the fact that it would support Wi-Fi 6 and run EMUI 11, there's nothing else that could be of any interest in the actual listing.

In other Huawei foldable phone news, the Mate Xs has entered the EMUI 11 beta program indicating that the final software for Huawei's current foldable smartphone will soon arrive. The device enters the program along with the MatePad 10.8.

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September 30, 2020 at 06:44PM
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Sanctions-hit Huawei ramps up investment in Chinese tech sector - Reuters

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By Josh Horwitz

5 Min Read

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies has built up stakes in Chinese semiconductor companies and other tech businesses as the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker bolsters its supply chain in the face of pressure from the United States.

FILE PHOTO: A Huawei company logo is pictured at the Shenzhen International Airport in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Habo Investments, set up by Huawei in April 2019, has closed 17 deals for stakes in Chinese tech companies since August last year, public records show.

The investment arm was established in response to what Huawei’s rotating chairman, Guo Ping, last week described as “suppression” by the United States after escalating restrictions that have cut off Huawei’s supplies of many overseas chips and effectively barred it from building its own.

“Since Huawei is only one company, we use investment and technology to help our supply chain partners become mature,” he said.

The company has emerged as a focal point in deteriorating U.S.-China relations with President Donald Trump’s administration alleging that its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, which the Chinese company has denied repeatedly.

Huawei’s investment push also coincides with ramped-up government efforts to boost China’s semiconductor sector, which still lags behind leading chip producers including the United States, South Korea and Taiwan.

CHASING CHIPS

While the investments might help Huawei in the future, analysts say they have done little so far to address the supply chain gaps that are undermining its once-booming smartphone business and could eventually threaten its core network equipment operations.

“It will take a long time,” said one Chinese chip investor. “But they don’t have many good options, so they must turn to investing outside.”

Huawei declined to comment on the investment division’s operations.

Most of Habo Investment’s deals have been in chip-related Chinese start-ups, a few of which have become part of Huawei’s supply chain.

Vertilite, which was founded in 2015 and received an investment from Huawei this year, makes VCSEL sensors that support facial-recognition technology in cameras.

The company did not respond immediately to a request for comment, but one Vertilite investor said its sensors are used in a number of Huawei handsets.

However, many of the businesses Huawei has backed are at an early stage in their development.

“Most of these companies are small, niche players who are good at what they do, but they are not necessarily globally competitive,” said Ivan Platonov, who tracks China’s chip sector at research company EqualOcean.

Shoulder Electronics, for example, makes RF filters that enable wireless communications but has yet to achieve compatibility for advanced 5G phones.

A spokesman for the company, which received investment from Habo in January, could not be reached outside business hours on Monday.

3Peak, which also received investment from Habo this year, makes analogue-to-digital converters (ADC) used in wireless network base stations.

U.S. players dominate that market segment and 3Peak generated only 300 million yuan ($43.99 million) in revenue last year, according to a prospectus it issued before listing on Shanghai’s STAR market.

3Peak did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.

Habo’s portfolio also includes companies outside Huawei’s core telecoms operations. Several investments in chips, raw materials and battery technology companies point to ambitions in self-driving cars.

Late last month it also closed an investment in Open Source China, a Shenzhen-based business behind Gitee, a Chinese rival to U.S. coding platform GitHub.

Gitee did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.

Habo typically acquires stakes of 5-10%, filings show, though valuations have not been disclosed.

CHANGE OF PACE

The recent investments mark a change in pace and tactics for Huawei, ramping up the frequency of such deals and refocusing on domestic businesses rather than overseas companies.

In 2013, for example, Huawei acquired Ghent-based photonics company Calopia. The following year it purchased Neul, a British maker of chips for the internet-of-things sector.

“Huawei likes to do its own R&D. So investment or acquisition was done only as a last resort, and that was why it tended to be towards U.S. or European technology companies,” said one former Huawei staffer who helped to scout acquisition targets.

($1 = 6.8203 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Jonathan Weber and David Goodman

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September 29, 2020 at 09:55AM
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This Could Be the Next NBA x Louis Vuitton Collaboration - HYPEBEAST

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A look at a potential upcoming footwear collab between Louis Vuitton and the NBA has just been leaked. Said to be part of the ongoing global partnership, following up from the trophy case we saw earlier this year, this potential release sees a light-brown suede boot with an NBA logo on the tongue, and gold-foil stampings.

This ankle boot follows LV’s creeper boot with a chunky, treaded outsole and metal Monogram flowers inserted in the heel. The low-cut boot will also have a colored NBA shoe tag. There’s currently no official news on if or when this will be coming out.

In other footwear news, Air Jordan 1 Mid “Quilted” pulls inspiration from luxury handbags.

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September 30, 2020 at 01:53PM
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Louis Vuitton’s SS21 show will re-open this iconic department store - i-D

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With IRL fashion shows going full steam ahead for SS21 in Europe, Louis Vuitton have announced their latest location for their womenswear show at Paris Fashion Week next month. Having traditionally staged past affairs in the setting of the Louvre, the LVMH-helmed brand are switching it up for the season. On 6 October, the show will be held on the glass-domed upper floors of La Samaritaine, a former department store that LVMH have been rebuilding since it shuttered in 2005.

Though final touches to the project are still being applied, this will be our first proper look inside the venue for 15 years before it fully reopens to include the original retail space, as well as a luxury hotel, offices, low-income housing, restaurants and a day-care centre. The gigantic space occupies an entire block on Rue de la Monnaie, right in between the Louvre and Notre Dame.

There is expected to be two shows, each with 200 guests in attendance to adhere to social distancing regulations, though a live stream is expected to reach millions more. Those lucky enough to attend the show IRL will be treated to panoramic views across the city of Paris from the glass-domed roof as the garments are paraded past them, but those tuning in remotely will be treated to a different experience, with green screens transforming the set-up. The front row cohort will also be provided with unspecified devices to interact with the show. A representative at Louis Vuitton told Women’s Wear Daily that “Nicolas’ goal is to create a connection with the guests. It is a fashion show that has been designed for digital, but based on a live experience”.

Louis Vuitton’s CEO, Michael Burke has called it “a one-off, bespoke experience”. The La Samaritaine building, a historical architectural gem in Paris, will be recreated respectfully for a new generation, calling that dichotomy “a play on time”, in keeping with the theme of this year’s delayed exhibition at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Delayed from May (yep, we miss the Met Gala too), “About Time: Fashion and Duration” will now open on 29 October.

For those eager to see how the dots can be joined between said exhibition and the latest offering of Nicolas Ghesquière, you can tune in digitally on 6 October to the Louis Vuitton website to see the new collection. La Samaritaine will open to the public in early 2021.

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September 28, 2020 at 06:03PM
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