** Meta said on Tuesday it is seeking proposals from nuclear power developers to help meet its artificial intelligence and environment goals, becoming the latest big tech company to take interest in atomic power amid an expected boom in electricity demand.
** Donald Trump said Monday (Dec 2) he is opposed to Nippon Steel’s planned $15 billion buyout of U.S. Steel. The U.S. President-elect further said he believes a series of tax incentives and tariffs will revive the American firm. Trump said on his social-media platform Truth Social, he would ‘block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!
** General Motors (GM) told shareholders on Wednesday that it would record two non-cash charges totaling more than $5 billion on its joint venture in China, one related to the restructuring of the operation and another reflecting its reduced value.
** Heavy machinery and sound-monitoring equipment are being used in the search for a Pennsylvania grandmother believed to have fallen through a coal mine sinkhole deep into fragile, unstable ground while searching Monday for her cat, authorities said.
** Maine releases a new draft of rules that would require solar developers to pay a fee for developing projects on valuable farmland, adding blueberry barrens to the list of property types that could incur the charge.
** Tennessee has seen a 60% increase in electric vehicle chargers from a year ago, though it still lags other Southeast states for charger installation.
** –AiDash, an enterprise SaaS company providing satellite-first AI applications for remote inspection and monitoring of critical infrastructure, announced the appointment of Neil Chatterjee, former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to its advisory board.
World
** Washington on Tuesday condemned Beijing’s new export restrictions on key dual-use materials – gallium, germanium and graphite – which are vital for military and civilian technologies, and pledged to take “necessary steps” to prevent further “coercive” measures.
** China’s state -backed bodies covering internet companies, semiconductor firms, automakers and communications network operators have called on their respective members to shun chips from US suppliers in an apparent retaliation against Washington’s latest sanctions, which could deal a blow to the mainland businesses of Nvidia, Qualcomm and Intel.
** U.S. automaker Tesla’s (TSLA) sales of China-made electric vehicles fell 4.3% year-on-year to 78,856 in November, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Tuesday.
** Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.T) said it had suffered a loss of more than $90 million in China after uncovering suspected fraud by one of its copper traders.
** Volkswagen’s CEO and labour boss clashed during a staff meeting on Wednesday, with management pushing for major cuts while workers warned of more strikes if plant closures remain part of wage negotiations at the embattled German automaker.