CNBC Daily Open: Under Trump, business and politics are becoming bedfellows

Don’t mix business with pleasure — or the music of the spheres might eject you from the skies even if you are an astronomer — but it seems, in the current milieu, there are no such restrictions between business and politics.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is eyeing a stake in struggling chipmaker Intel, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday. That consideration is primarily attributable to Intel’s status as the only born-and-bred American company that can manufacture the fastest chips on U.S. soil.

While some firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung, both of which can produce 3-nanometer chips — the most advanced semiconductors so far — have factories in the U.S., they are Taiwanese and South Korean companies, respectively, and probably do not enjoy apple pies on the Fourth of July.

In combination with the news that Nvidia and AMD will pay the U.S. government a 15% share of their revenue from chip sales in China, as well as Apple committing to make more chips in America, the Trump administration seems to be consolidating a chip empire with the White House as its capital.  

To modify a song last heard by the Astronomer CEO before he was cast down to Earth: “I used to rule the world / Chips would rise when I gave the word.”

— CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report

The Trump administration is reportedly considering a stake in Intel. The chipmaker is the only U.S. company that can manufacture the most advanced semiconductors in America. Intel’s shares soared 7.4% after Bloomberg reported the news.

China’s economy falters in July. A series of data released Friday — retail sales, industrial output and fixed-asset investment — all underperformed economists’ estimates. The statistics bureau attributed the disappointing performance to extreme weather last month.

Berkshire Hathaway unveils a stake in UnitedHealth. Warren Buffett’s conglomerate bought more than 5 million shares in the health care firm for a stake worth about $1.6 billion at the end of June, according to a regulatory filing.

U.S. stocks flirt with the flatline. The S&P 500’s 0.03% gain, however, means it closed at another high on Thursday. Asia-Pacific markets rose Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added more than 1% on the country’s economy expanding more than expected in the second quarter.

[PRO] European defense stocks will benefit from Trump-Putin meeting. Regardless of whether the talks result in any breakthroughs on the war in Ukraine, analysts think it’s a “win-win” situation for defense stocks.