TSMC award $6.6 billion grant for Arizona plant

TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and TSMC’s new Arizona plant.

Transcript

00:00I'm Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.

00:03Here's what we're watching on the street today.

00:04A stronger-than-expected retail sales report

00:07is letting some air out of the stock markets

00:10post-election rally.

00:11October retail sales grew by 0.4%,

00:14and September's number was upwardly revised.

00:17Investors see this as a sign of economic strength,

00:21which now calls into question whether the Federal Reserve

00:24will need to lower interest rates in December.

00:28In other headlines, the Biden administration

00:30is rushing to close business deals

00:32with only a few weeks left to go

00:34before it hands over the reins.

00:35The Commerce Department put the final touches

00:38on a binding contract that awards

00:40a $6.6 billion government subsidy to Taiwan Semiconductor.

00:45The money is to be used

00:47for semiconductor manufacturing in Arizona.

00:50As part of the deal, TSMC agreed to invest

00:53about $65 billion to expand operations in Phoenix

00:57in order to build its most advanced chips.

01:00It also agreed to limit stock buybacks for five years

01:03and share excess profits with U.S. taxpayers.

01:06The money used for the subsidy

01:08is part of the Biden administration's

01:10$52.7 billion Chips and Science Act

01:13passed by Congress in 2022,

01:16which was designed to encourage more manufacturing

01:19of the crucial tech component here in the U.S.

01:22$36 billion of that money is earmarked for projects

01:25involving Samsung, Intel, and Micron Technology.

01:29The Biden administration says the investment is necessary

01:32to keep America competitive in the tech world

01:35and to prevent any supply chain disruptions

01:38if tensions escalate between Taiwan and China.

01:42President-elect Donald Trump

01:44is a vociferous opponent of the subsidy.

01:48That'll do it for your daily briefing

01:49from the New York Stock Exchange.

01:50I'm Conway Gittens with The Street.