February 24, 2021
WASHINGTON HAS FINALLY WOKEN UP to the major shortage of semiconductor chips, which has created a drag on the production of everything from autos to cell phones. A bipartisan group of lawmakers will meet with President Biden at the White House today to discuss emergency measures, the Washington Post reports this morning.
CHIPS ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY: U.S. production has decreased as demand has surged. Chips are crucial in computers, where use has exploded as more people work from home. And chips are an integral component of autos, cellphones, weapons, etc.
WHEN WE LAST LEASED a car, the salesman said that it s a sophisticated computer on wheels, only a slight exaggeration. The shortage of chips has prompted Ford and General Motors to cut production.
Are you owed money? According to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), the Federal Government holds over $1.2 billion in unclaimed.
Shipton lingers, leaves ASIC
Few things could top what the Australian Securities Investments Commission got in the report into the well-publicised saga of payments made to former deputy chair Daniel Crennan, and also the current chairman, James Shipton.
The payment in Shipton’s case related to tax advice that he had received from KPMG, the global accounting firm, during the process of relocating back to Australia to assume the role as top corporate cop. The A$118,557 for tax advice has been repaid by the ASIC chairman, who will leave the role in three months even though the report did not make any specific adverse finding.
Jackie Edwards, Bloomberg News Microsoft Corp. Xbox games and accessories inside a GameStop Corp. store in San Diego, California, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. California, a recent epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has lifted its regional stay-at-home orders as the outbreak slows across the state and hospitalizations ease. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg , Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) A surge in GameStop Corp. and other heavily-shorted U.S. stocks has investors targeting some Australian names with large amounts of bearish bets.
Investors are snapping up companies that have a high short interest as a percentage of equity float after the U.S. video game retailer became a flash point between short sellers and retail traders. Some of Australiaâs most-shorted stocks like travel firm Webjet Ltd. and funeral-home operator InvoCare Ltd. are among the top performers on the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index on Thursday.