US White House NEC director Kevin Hassett is speaking on CNBC:
- The government will not interfere with Intel’s operation
- The president feels it would be great if he could build a sovereign wealth fund.
- It is possible government will take stakes in more companies
- Instead of giving money away, the president will look to get something back from the companies for the US taxpayer.
- I think the pivot was accurate and data driven
- The economy is looking strong but not too strong.
- I think the Fed is a little late to the game.
- I think it is impossible for Chairman Powell to get in Pres. Trump’s good graces.
Hassett is also a candidate for the Fed Chair position.
Of course, this puts other CEOs on notice. Trump had already struck a deal with Nvidia to sell its H20 chips in China, but Commerce Secretary Lutnick torpedoed it by bragging on TV—prompting Beijing to clamp down on orders. Result: no more (or less) revenue from H20 sales. Nvidia halts production of the H20 chip
Another turning point came when Trump publicly demanded that Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan resign over his China ties. That confrontation eventually led to a meeting and the controversial deal: Intel handed over 10% of the company in exchange for CHIPS Act funds already allocated by the government. How do Intel shareholders feel about their CEO giving away such a stake?
Meanwhile, the Trump administration isn’t stopping there. Just last week, officials dug into Fed Governor Cook’s mortgage issues, warning she’ll be fired if she doesn’t step down. If that happens, Trump will get yet another Fed nominee—adding to Powell and Kugler.
The message is clear: Big Brother is watching, and Big Brother is collecting from its creditors.
What other companies got Chips Act money?
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Intel received $8.5 billion in grants for semiconductor projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon—this represents the single largest direct investment under the Act.
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TSMC was awarded $6.6 billion to build multiple advanced fabs in Arizona.
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Samsung received around $6.4 billion toward expanding its Texas semiconductor facilities.
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Micron Technologies was granted $6.1 billion to fund a chip manufacturing campus in New York and a new fab in Idaho.
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GlobalFoundries received $1.5 billion for projects across New York and Vermont.
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Microchip Technology was granted $162 million for upgrades in Oregon and Colorado.
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Polar Semiconductor received $120 million for a new foundry project in Minnesota
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BAE Systems received $35 million to enhance its New Hampshire facility.
Speaking of free money, the Covid money distributed was a bonanza for businesses (and it got out of control ballooning the deficit).
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.