Leading global chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. are considering building large factories in the UAE to meet future demand for artificial intelligence chips, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the newspaper, representatives from these companies recently visited the UAE to discuss building state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in the coming years.
Plans for these projects are in the early stages, facing significant hurdles, and may not be realized, the paper noted. The total cost of the plants could exceed $100 billion. The projects will be financed by the UAE and its sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.
“We are always open to constructive discussions on ways to promote the semiconductor industry, but we remain focused on our current global expansion projects and currently have no new investment plans” to disclose, a TSMC spokesman told the newspaper.
Samsung did not respond to WSJ’s request for comment.
Ukraine exported 2.24 mln tons of wheat in August of this year (2024-2025 marketing year), the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) reported on Facebook.
According to the published infographic, 492 thousand tons of wheat were shipped to Spain, 426 thousand tons to Indonesia, 240 thousand tons to Vietnam, 191 thousand tons to Algeria, and 146 thousand tons to Egypt. Thailand (96 thsd tonnes), Portugal (82 thsd tonnes), Yemen (61 thsd tonnes), Tunisia (79 thsd tonnes) and Italy (68 thsd tonnes) also became the top 100 buyers of Ukrainian grain.
“Interestingly, in August, Indonesia and Vietnam took the 2nd and 3rd place in terms of imports of Ukrainian wheat, pushing Algeria and Egypt to the 4th and 5th place, respectively,” the association noted.
According to the UGA, Ukraine exported 1.277 mln tons of wheat in the first half of September, which is already higher than the volume for the same period last month, when it amounted to 1.266 mln tons.
The number of corporate bankruptcies in the U.S. in January-August 2024 reached a four-year high for the period and was the second highest since 2010, according to calculations by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The country recorded 452 bankruptcies in the first eight months of this year, up from 466 in the same period in 2020 and 604 in January-August 2010.
Sixty-three companies declared insolvency in August compared to 49 in July. A higher number of bankruptcies were only seen in June and April, 72 and 68 respectively.
The three companies that filed for bankruptcy court last month have debts above $1 billion are solar energy technology provider SunPower Corp. whose stock trades on the open market, as well as perfume and cosmetics seller Avon International Operations Inc. and gas station and convenience store operator SQRL Service Stations LLC.
“U.S. companies continue to face a number of challenges this year, including high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty,” S&P said in the report.
In 2023, 634 companies declared insolvency in the U.S. (up from 441 in January-August). In 2020, there was a peak of bankruptcies (638 companies) after the previous peak in 2010, when 827 companies collapsed.
The Experts Club think tank recently released a video on the history of defaults and a table of countries at risk of default in the medium term. For more details, see the video on Experts Club’s YouTube channel:
The number of bankrupt companies in the European Union in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 3.1% compared to the previous three months, according to the EU Statistics Office. The increase in the number of insolvent companies was recorded in construction (+3.8%), financial sector (+2.6%), trade (+2.4%) and industry (+1.6%).
At the same time, their number decreased in education and social activities (-1%), in the hotel and catering sector (-1.1%), in transportation (-1.6%), and in information and communications (-4.8%).
At the same time, the number of business registrations in the European Union fell by 2.1% compared to the first quarter, with declines in all sectors of the economy.
The largest declines were recorded in trade (-4.7%), industry (-3.6%), and education and social activities (-3.4%), with the smallest decline in finance (-0.7%).
Recently, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video about the history of defaults and a table of countries that may face the risk of default in the medium term. For more details, see the video on Experts Club’s YouTube channel:
On September 18, 2024, the 64th auction of Ukrainian Collectible Art will start at Goldens auction house. The selection represents works by Ukrainian artists of different time periods – from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century – and brings together rare works by masters whose work has become an integral part of the cultural heritage of Ukraine and Europe.
In total, the auction features over 40 lots – a unique collection of collectible works by artists of various art schools and movements. It is important to note that many of the works presented have been published in books and albums, and some of them have been exhibited in group or solo exhibitions, which certainly adds to the collection’s value. The auction exhibition and silent auction “Ukrainian Collectible Art” will start its work on September 18. The exhibition will be open until September 26 inclusive. Bids for the lots are accepted in the silent auction mode in the exhibition hall and on the website www.gs-art.com in the catalog section of the 64th auction. The final bidding of the auction will take place on September 26 (Thursday) throughout the day, and at 19:00 on September 26, bidding for the lots will be completed by step closing of the lots at the last current bid.
Among the prominent names of the Kyiv school, the auction will feature works by Anatolii Turovskyi, Mariia Prymachenko, Mykola Hlushchenko, and the Sixties artists Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretskyi. Anatolii Turovskyi’s works rarely appear on the art market and are always of interest to collectors. The names of Mariia Prymachenko, Mykola Hlushchenko, Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretskyi are among the pantheon of artists whose works add weight to any collection. The auction will feature a graphic work by Alla Horska from 1960 and a painting by Viktor Zaretskyi from 1986-1990, which is one of the highlights of the collection. In his “Date”, his unique style is most vividly expressed: a combination of modernism and Ukrainian national tradition, the dominance of drama and exquisite decorative elements.
The total area of residential buildings for which permits for construction works (new construction) were issued, at the end of January-June 2024 decreased by 7.7% compared to the same period of 2023 – to 2 million 45.5 thousand square meters, reported the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to the statistical department, in January-June 2024, the total area of new construction of apartment buildings decreased by 8.7% compared to last year – to 1.96 million square meters. m. The number of apartments in apartment buildings declared at the start of construction decreased by 13.1% and amounted to 21.7 thousand.
According to the State Statistics Committee, the most new housing in the first half of the year was announced in Kyiv region: the total area of new housing construction amounted to 383 thousand square meters (8.3 thousand apartments).
Significant volumes of new housing were also declared in Lviv region – 327.6 thousand sq. m (4.7 thousand apartments), as well as in Ivano-Frankivsk region – 217.4 thousand sq. m (3.6 apartments). m (3.6 thousand apartments), Vinnytsia – 213.8 thousand sq. m (3.4 thousand apartments), Zakarpattya – 143.4 thousand sq. m (2.1 thousand apartments) and Khmelnytskyi oblasts – 121.1 thousand sq. m (1.8 thousand apartments).
In Kiev in January-June 2024, the total area of new housing construction amounted to 187.9 thousand square meters (1.5 thousand apartments).
The State Statistics Service reminds that the figures are given without taking into account the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and part of the territories where hostilities are (were) conducted. As reported, the total area of new housing construction in 2023 decreased by 37% to 4.2 million square meters, while in 2022 amounted to 6.67 million square meters, in 2021 – 12.7 million square meters.
