DeSantis’ feud with Disney puts the future of foreign investment in question

Investment

DeSantis’ feud with Disney puts the future of foreign investment in question

Published

11 months ago

May 18, 2023

In the brawl between Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company, it is tough to predict who will prevail, but there is already one unqualified loser: Florida’s economic prospects.

If Disney’s recent decision to pull the plug on a $1B campus in Lake Nona is any indication, we’re likely to see a decline in companies, both foreign and domestic, choosing to locate in Florida. We can also bet on a smaller proportion of the foreign investment dollars coming into the United States and making their way to the Sunshine State.

One role most governors have is as an advocate for foreign trade and foreign direct investment. The U.S. president, an office to which DeSantis aspires, has an even broader mandate: Keep peace and prosperity while being an advocate for foreign policy, trade and foreign direct investment as part of a single strategy with a clear message. DeSantis’ record as governor doesn’t bode well for long-term success in either job.

President Biden’s recent trip to Ireland provides a vivid contrast. Most of the headlines focused on his charm offensive. He made much of America’s and his family’s personal ties to the nation. But Biden also made room for a compelling economic message. On the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, he made the stakes clear: Continued peace in Northern Ireland means continued investment from the United States.

On DeSantis’ recent trip to the United Kingdom, meant to resemble a head of state’s visit, the governor’s performance was underwhelming. “Horrendous,” “bored” and “low-wattage,” were just a few descriptions from U.K. business leaders. For a short, first trade mission to a friendly U.S. ally, this is a poor start.

If DeSantis can’t charm businesses abroad and is willing to behave recklessly toward companies at home, such as Disney — Florida’s largest private employer and the reason Orlando Airport brings in record numbers of foreign tourists — what will his leadership do to our place in the global economy?

Culture-warrior posing might turn short-term outrage into votes, but it does not bode well for statesmanship or long-term prosperity. And it is in the long-term where we see what weaponizing state power to score cultural wins looks like.

Take Hungary. DeSantis’ policies have often been compared to those of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s far-right prime minister. Both spoke at CPAC in Florida last year. Both have used anti-LGBTQ rhetoric to win votes, rhetoric that later became law. And under Orban, Hungary has seen a decrease in E.U. funding for domestic projects and is at risk of being seen as a pariah state. This is not a model any U.S. state, much less our nation, will want to emulate.

In Uganda earlier this month, the country’s leadership put the finishing touches on a bill criminalizing gays and lesbians. Thirty-four other sub-Saharan countries have similar laws. When I was head of the Export-Import Bank under President Obama, I had numerous discussions with ambassadors from Africa about how such laws can impede foreign direct investment, hampering the prospects of millions of Africans.

Even in our own country, there are comparisons to be made.

In 1986, when I was president of catalog company Lillian Vernon, founded by my mother, we narrowed down locations for a 500,000-square-foot distribution center from 12 states to two, Virginia and South Carolina. We chose Virginia, in part, because we were uncertain about the prospects in South Carolina for a woman-founded and -led business with an openly gay man as president. The recent far-right turn of South Carolina’s Legislature, with laws targeting drag shows, gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ-inclusive education, as well as a legislative attack on reproductive rights, have all, sadly, confirmed our decision.

Elected officials have a choice. They can pander to extremists on vital issues or they can keep to our traditions of open debate and the rule of law. They can make our country competitive by attracting investment, providing economic incentives and strengthening education or they can risk it all to punish their cultural foes.

With economic threats from a possible recession and an ever-more competitive global economy, we don’t have any more time to waste on culture-warrior posturing, a distraction that nevertheless causes real economic and social harm.

Fred P. Hochberg was chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank from 2009 to 2017. He is the author of Trade is Not a Four-Letter Word: How Six Everyday Products Make the Case for Trade, published by Simon & Schuster.

Editor’s note: This oped has been updated to include Disney’s Lake Nona decision.

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Investment

Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in Micron Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today – Yahoo Finance

Published

40 mins ago

April 18, 2024

How much a stock’s price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you’d invested in Micron (MU) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to MU for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Micron’s Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let’s take a look at Micron’s main business drivers.

Idaho-based Micron Technology has established itself as one of the leading worldwide providers of semiconductor memory solutions.

Through global brands, namely Micron, Crucial and Ballistix, Micron manufactures and markets high-performance memory and storage technologies including Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, NOR Flash, 3D XPoint memory and other technologies. Its solutions are used in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking and mobile products.

A major portion of the revenues is derived from DRAM sales. The company’s mission is to be the most efficient and innovative global provider of semiconductor memory solutions.

Micron reported revenues of $15.54 billion in fiscal 2023. The company has four reportable segments:

Compute and Networking Business Unit (CNBU): The unit comprises of DRAM and NOR Flash products that are sold to the computer, networking, graphics, and cloud server markets, and NAND Flash products which are sold into the networking market. CNBU delivered revenues of $5.71 billion (37% of total revenues) in fiscal 2023.

Mobile Business Unit (MBU): The unit comprises Micron’s discrete DRAM, discrete NAND and managed NAND (including eMMC and universal flash storage (UFS) solutions) products that are sold to smartphone and other mobile-device markets. MBU generated revenues of $3.63 billion (23%) in fiscal 2023.

Storage Business Unit (SBU): The unit accounts for solid state drives (SSDs) and component-level solutions sold into enterprise and cloud, client and consumer storage markets as well as other discrete storage products sold in component and wafer forms to the removable storage markets. SBU’s revenues grossed $2.55 billion (16%) in fiscal 2023.

Embedded Business Unit (EBU): The unit includes Micron’s discrete DRAM, discrete NAND, managed NAND and NOR products, which are sold to the automotive, industrial and consumer markets. EBU’s revenues logged $3.64 billion (24%) in fiscal 2023.

The company struggles with intense competition from Intel, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Toshiba Memory and Western Digital Corporation.

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Micron ten years ago, you’re probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in April 2014 would be worth $5,416.81, or a gain of 441.68%, as of April 17, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

The S&P 500 rose 171.24% and the price of gold increased 76.28% over the same time frame in comparison.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for MU.

Micron’s better-than-expected second-quarter performance reflects gains from improved market conditions, strong sales executions and double-digit growth across multiple business units. The positive impact of inventory improvement in the data center, as well as stabilization in other markets, such as automotive, industrial and others, have also contributed to its results. It anticipates the pricing of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and NAND chips will keep increasing next year, hence improving its revenues. The pricing benefits will primarily be driven by rising AI server causing a scarcity in the availability of cutting-edge DRAM and NAND supply. The 5G adoption in the Internet of Things devices and wireless infrastructure is likely to spur demand for memory and storage.

Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 29.54%, and there have been 7 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2024 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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UK Mulls New Curbs on Outbound Investment Over Security Risks – BNN Bloomberg

Published

2 hours ago

April 18, 2024

(Bloomberg) — The UK is considering new curbs on outward investment in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors, citing the potential security risks of aiding hostile states such as Russia and China.

Britain’s deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, who oversees the UK’s investment regime, said he’s planning to work with other Group of Seven nations to assess the risks and consider whether to introduce extra restrictions.

The government’s concern is that some outbound investments may be used to “facilitate and support and aid strategic uplift of adversaries,” Dowden said in an interview, citing areas such as semi-conductor manufacturing, cryogenic equipment and facial recognition technology. Nevertheless, “there’s a high bar for the imposition of any form of restrictions,” he said.

The UK’s focus on the issue follows President Joe Biden’s order last year to limit US investment in some Chinese advanced technology companies, as Western nations try to strike a balance between protecting national security while encouraging free trade and innovation. Dowden said he will also review Britain’s approach to export controls and clarify the circumstances in which the government would review inward investment in sensitive sectors like critical minerals and semiconductors.

Read More: UK Weighs Measures to Crimp Investment in China After Biden

“The risk landscape is increasing all the time,” Dowden said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and the threat of ransomware attacks. “We are in a state of cyber and economic contestation with an increasing range of state and non-state actors.”

The move by Biden last year regulated US investments in some Chinese semiconductor, quantum computing and AI firms, and the British government said at the time that it would consider its own next steps.

Yet whether the Conservative Party will be in power to see through changes in this area is far from certain, given the opposition Labour Party’s commanding poll lead ahead of a general election that must be called by January 2025 at the latest.

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Sylvia Jones makes announcement in Muncey | CTV News – CTV News London

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2024

An investment has been announced to help connect over 23,000 people to primary care teams in the region.

Speaking in Muncey on Thursday, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said $6.4-million will help people in London, Lambton and Chathamk-Kent.

The money, part of a bigger $110-million investment will support seven new and expanded interprofessional primary care initiatives that will connect over 23,000 Ontarians to primary care teams and provide services.

Services include

New mobile services for an Indigenous Primary Health Care Organization that will support First Nations, Inuit and Metis community members in Middlesex County.
A new mobile bus to connect Indigenous people in rural and urban areas of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex with Indigenous led, culturally relevant primary care services in person and virtually.
A new Family Health Team for London and the surrounding area, that will expand services through additional Community Hub locations throughout the area. By meeting people where they are, and reducing other barriers, this program will help connect people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness with primary care providers that are trauma and violence informed.
An expanded Family Health Team in Elgin County that will partner with another Family Health Team and Community Health Centre to increase the number of people who can connect to team-based primary care services.
A new rural site along with expanded capacity at an urban clinic in Lambton County, focused on connecting isolated seniors, socioeconomically disadvantaged and vulnerable people, newcomers, and refugees to primary care.
New mobile primary care services in Chatham-Kent, including clinics for respiratory and diabetes management, cancer screening and traditional healers to help provide culturally appropriate care.
Primary care service expansion in Tillsonburg to connect vulnerable and medically complex community members to comprehensive, convenient and connected primary care closer to home.

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