US, states sue Amazon | Video game companies face a voice actors strike | Mexico wants to export solar energy and attract chipmakers

In today's Portfolio Intelligence Daily, where we highlight under the radar investment themes and idiosyncratic company risks:

• US, states sue Amazon for monopolistic practices
• Video game companies facing voice actors strike
• Mexico seeks to export solar energy to US, lure chipmakers

Auquan’s analyst team curates these summaries from our intelligence engine, which uses retrieval augmented generation (RAG AI) to uncover unique insights at scale, typically involving emerging markets, supply chains, financially-material ESG risks, and the impact of regulatory changes.

US, states sue Amazon for monopolistic practices

U.S. regulators and 17 states are suing Amazon over allegations that the company abuses its position in the marketplace by inflating prices, both on and off Amazon, overcharging sellers, and stifling competition.

• The Federal Trade Commission and states claim that Amazon is violating antitrust laws and want the court to issue a permanent injunction stopping Amazon from engaging in its unlawful conduct and promote competition by loosening its monopolistic control.
• The company is accused of engaging in anti-competitive practices, including discouraging sellers from offering lower prices on non-Amazon sites.?
• This accusation is similar to allegations made in a separate lawsuit filed by the state of California last year.

“Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies. The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them. Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.” — Lina Khan, FTC Chair (source)

“If the FTC gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers, and reduced options for small businesses — the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do.” —? David Zapolsky, Amazon general counsel (source)

Select timeline

• September 26, 2023 | FTC Sues Amazon, Accusing Company of Illegal Online Retail Monopoly (NYT)
• September 26, 2023 | Amazon: US accuses online giant of illegal monopoly (BBC)
• September 26, 2023 |? Amazon sued by FTC and 17 states over allegations it inflates online prices and overcharges sellers (AP)

Tags: #amazon #ftc #monopoly #antitrust?

Video game companies facing voice actors strike

Members of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors, television and radio artists, have voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike against 10 of the nation's biggest video game companies.?

• Video game voice actors have sought to renegotiate a contract with major gaming studios for more than a year — their previous contract expired in November.
• A strike authorization does not guarantee that voice and performance actors working on video games will cease work, but the union has the ability to initiate a strike if it believes negotiations are unproductive.
• The union is demanding an 11% wage increase, which they want to be applied retroactively. They are also asking for on-set medics to be present during hazardous performance capture and protections against the use of generative AI to replace actors who are currently working.
• The 10 gaming firms impacted:? Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.

"The result of this vote shows our membership understands the existential nature of these negotiations, and that the time is now for these companies — which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly — to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in video games as a viable career." — Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president (source)

Select timeline

• September 26, 2023 | SAG-AFTRA authorizes strike against video game companies (Axios)
• September 26, 2023 | SAG-AFTRA members authorise video game strike (Games Industry)
• September 25, 2023 | SAG-AFTRA Members Vote to Authorize Video Game Strike (The Hollywood Reporter)

Tags: #sag #strike #labor #videogames #union?

Mexico eyes solar exports to US, lure chipmakers

Sonora, a state in northern Mexico, plans to export clean energy to California and Arizona from a large-scale solar farm project.?

• Sonora also aims to participate in the chip supply chain, following TSMC's $40 billion investment in Arizona. Sonora wants to lure Foxconn and TSMC to open facilities there.?
• The "Plan Sonora" solar energy project will enhance domestic connectivity to the national grid and enable energy exports to the United States.
• Sonora has significant lithium deposits, which were nationalized by Mexico earlier this year. However, Mexico has not started the production of the metal yet. Lithium is a crucial component for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

"Not only Arizona, but also California. It's part of its objective. We want to convert our state into an exporter of clean energy, particularly for semiconductor and electric vehicle industries." — Alfonso Durazo, Sonora Governor (source)

Select timeline

• September 26, 2023 | Mexico eyes US energy exports from solar farm, chip supply chain role (Reuters)
• June 21, 2023 | The largest solar farm in Latin America, at what cost? (Dialogo Chino)
• March 28, 2023 | Mexico is moving to power California and Arizona. But who will pay for it? (The Hill)

Tags: #mexico #solar #energy #tsmc #foxconn #chips #semiconductor

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