Chip Stocks Rally as Samsung and SK Hynix’s $1.3 Trillion Investment Plan Boosts AI Optimism 
Gold Price Hits Annual Low as Fed Rate Hike Bets and Sticky Inflation Weigh on Bullion 
TSMC CoWoS Capacity Forecast Raised as Mizuho Sees AI Server CPU Demand Surging Through 2027 
US Stock Futures Rise as US-Iran Ceasefire Hopes Boost Market Sentiment 
Nike Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Wholesale Growth Offsets Direct Sales Weakness 
Gold Prices Drop as Fed Rate Outlook and Iran Tensions Weigh on Market 
Super Micro Shares Slide After Taiwan Raids Over Alleged Nvidia AI Chip Smuggling Probe 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.-Iran Peace Talks and Strait of Hormuz Risks Keep Markets on Edge 
China Sets 1.25% Overnight Reverse Repo Rate Below Market Expectations 
Europe Heatwave Creates Growth Opportunity for Carrier, Trane, and Johnson Controls, Citi Says 
UN Chief Urges Nations to Close $100 Million UNRWA Funding Gap 
Kakaku.com Shares Rise as Bain Capital and LY Corp Prepare Higher Takeover Bid Than EQT 
Yen Falls to 40-Year Low as Markets Watch Japan Intervention and U.S. Jobs Report 
Michael Burry Shorts Tesla at $416 as AI and Semiconductor Bearish Bets Expand 
Italy Investigates Microsoft Over Microsoft 365 AI Subscription Price Hike 
Baige Online Shares Soar 333% in Hong Kong IPO Debut as AI Insurance Demand Lifts Chinese Listings 
US Egg Producers Settle Price Manipulation Probe, Agree to Pay $3.3 Million and Donate 53 Million Eggs 
Korean Air is in the process of acquiring Asiana Airlines, and the procedure requires approval from several countries’ competition boards. The flag carrier of South Korea is one of the top 10 largest airlines in the world, and it first proposed to buy the latter in November 2020.
Now Korean Air is making big progress towards securing the “go ahead” signal from the United States and European regulators, which are the regions that have yet to approve the acquisition. The Korean air carrier is seeking clearances from competition authorities in several countries, and this is the most important step to finalizing and completing the deal.
It has already received clearance from South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Australia is the latest country to hand over its approval. On Sept. 1, Korean Air announced that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decided to approve its acquisition of Asiana Airlines.
The decision was made after the conduction of market consultation on the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger with interested parties. ACCC’s chairman, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said about the clearance they issued to Korean Air, “We consider that the Qantas Group offering flights on the Sydney to Seoul route with both its full-service and low-cost carriers means that there is likely to be effective competition.”
The Korean airline is hoping that the Australian competition regulator’s clearance will advance and speed up the remaining approval processes. The U.S. and the U.K. are two of the remaining countries that have yet to approve, but with the latest Aussie “go” signal, they are predicted to follow suit soon.
As per The Korea Times, the officials believe that the U.K. and U.S.’ clearance for the proposed operations under the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger deal will come as early as November. If they approve, it will be easier to get clearance from Japan, China, and the European Union.
Currently, the anti-trust regulators of the remaining nations are carefully reviewing the merger of Korean Air with Asiana airlines. It has already been approved by nine countries so far, with Seoul granting its conditional approval to the acquisition in February, Yonhap News Agency reported.
