Weekly news summary for October 6 to October 12

Friday, Oct. 6: OpenAI Considering In-House AI Chips: Report

OpenAI Inc. is reportedly considering developing artificial intelligence (AI) chips in-house and even looked into a possible acquisition candidate as the ChatGPT-maker attempts to find a solution for the lack of expensive AI chips that it significantly needs.

People familiar with the matter said OpenAI has not yet decided to proceed with the plan, although, since 2022, it has explored different options, including creating its own AI chip, further collaborating with other chipmakers such as Nvidia Corp., and expanding its suppliers beyond the US tech giant.

Monday, Oct. 9: Israeli Shekel Declines to Lowest Level Since 2016

The Israeli shekel dropped 2.8 percent to its lowest level since February 2016 of 3.95 against the US dollar on Monday, weighed by the ongoing conflict in the region, sparked by the multi-pronged attacks from Hamas militants over the weekend.

The slump led the Bank of Israel (BoI) to sell 30 billion dollars in foreign currency in the open market to keep the currency’s stability, saying it would “provide liquidity for the “continued proper functioning of the markets.”

Tuesday, Oct. 10: Binance Freezes Hamas-Linked Accounts

Binance and Israel Police’s Cyber Unit have teamed up to freeze accounts on the crypto exchange linked to the Hamas militants following the fatal attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group over the weekend.

Law enforcement claimed on Tuesday that Hamas used the accounts that have been banned to raise war-related funds via different social media platforms since Saturday, while Binance co-founder Yi He said ordinary users would not be affected by the freeze, including Palestinian civilians.

Wednesday, Oct. 11: Ford Kentucky Truck Plant Shuts Down on UAW Strike

Ford Motor Co.’s largest manufacturing plant has been shut down unexpectedly on Wednesday as the United Auto Workers (UAW) launched a strike at its Kentucky Truck Plant, further escalating the union’s protest against the US’s Big Three carmakers.

The UAW stated that 8,700 workers at the facility, which builds Ford’s Super Duty and Lincoln Navigator, went on strike after the union said the Dearborn, Michigan-based company decided to no longer continue negotiations for a “fair contract.”

Thursday, Oct. 12: Fast Retailing Posts New Record Annual Profit

Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. saw full-year operating profit increase on Thursday as the Uniqlo owner found support from China’s post-pandemic rebound and the yen’s weakness, while it expects operating profit for fiscal 2024 to reach 450 billion yen (3 billion dollars).

The Japanese retailer said annual profit rose 28 percent to 381.1 billion yen (2.56 billion dollars) in the 12 months ending Aug. 31 on sales of 2.8 trillion yen, marking a new all-time high after it posted a record profit of 297.3 billion yen in 2022.