David Fuller and Eoin Treacy's Comment of the Day
Category - General

    Illumina Names Thaysen CEO After deSouza's Abrupt Departure

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest. Here is a section:

    Thaysen will need to decide how to proceed with Grail, a company Illumina acquired in 2021 that sells a blood test to identify dozens of types of cancer at earlier stages than typically diagnosed. Antitrust regulators in the US and Europe are trying to unwind the deal, which Illumina has vowed to defend despite steep costs, including a nearly $500 million fine in Europe. 

    Meanwhile, Illumina’s DNA-sequencing business faces more competition than ever. The company started shipping its latest machine earlier this year to help maintain its hold on the market. That investment has in part crimped profitability, something Illumina pledged to fix during its proxy fight with Icahn.  

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    Email of the day on Monday's podcast:

    A very interesting commentary today, Eoin. Several of your comments resonated with me. Most important was Mrs Treacy’s observation about Chinese social media reaction to Japanese radiation, and the response from the CCP that the Chinese should stop the negativity - followed by the thought that the negativity will be rapidly removed from the social media records. OMG. I am currently re-reading George Orwell’s book 1984. That’s exactly what he predicted; history rewritten constantly to support Big Brother’s narrative of the day. We should all read 1984 again and contemplate if the West is heading in the same direction.

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    Apple Falls on Report That China Agencies Are Barring iPhone

    This article may be of interest. Here is a section:

    China also was one of the highlights of Apple’s results last quarter, helping offset a generally sluggish period. The company is preparing to unveil its latest iPhones next week, setting the stage for a holiday quarter that is invariably its biggest sales period of the year. 

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    'There's No Plan B': Oil Chiefs Sound Alarm on Refining Woes

    Thanks to a subscriber for this article which may be of interest.

    Low stockpiles are driving an “incredibly strong” diesel structure, signaling market tightness, said Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura Group.

    It’s becoming more expensive to fund normal refining projects, Alex Grant, senior vice president for crude, products, and liquids at Equinor SA, said in an interview. Existing refineries will operate at the highest rates they can, with refining margins staying high, he said.

    The refining system is “crying out” for fresh investment with oil demand still growing, especially in Asia, said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director of market analysis at Phillips 66. Refiners need to cater to it, while also accounting for the green energy transition, she added.

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    The equal pay scandal that drove Birmingham Council to the edge of bankruptcy

    This article from ITV may be of interest. Here is a section:

    GMB Organiser, Michelle McCrossen, said: “Today’s announcement is a humiliating admission of failure on the part of Birmingham City Council’s officials and leadership.

    “Not only are they responsible for creating this crisis through years of discriminating against their own staff, but even they no longer believe themselves capable of fixing it.

    “For decades the Council has stolen wages from its low-paid women workers, running up a huge equal pay liability that has brought Birmingham to the brink." 

    They said today's news will be worrying for staff and residents. 

    Equal pay cases are happening across retail as well.  

    We revealed leaked documents that show a boost for the 55,000 claimants taking on Asda - where male dominated distribution centres have higher wages than the shop floor.

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    Why would North Korea's Kim and Russia's Putin want to meet?

    This article from Al Jazerra may be of interest. Here is a section:

    “North Korea did not leave the Cold War; it still has that production, and it has ordinance of the same Soviet/Russian calibres copycats, so that can actually provide Russia with things that the Russian military needs on the front line,” Felgenhauer said.  

    Buying munitions from North Korea would be a violation of UN resolutions, which were supported by Russia, that ban all arms trading with the isolated country. But now that it faces international sanctions and export controls over its war in Ukraine, Russia has been seeking weapons from other sanctioned countries, such as North Korea and Iran.

    And

    It’s unclear whether Russia would be willing to provide North Korea with advanced technologies related to nuclear weapons and ICBMs, Cha said. Russia has always tightly guarded its most important weapons technologies, even from key partners like China, he said.

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