Tokyo - About 20 companies from Japan and the US have expressed interest in projects that could contribute to Tokyo’s commitment to invest $550bn in the US as part of a trade agreement, a fact sheet by the two countries showed on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump in July agreed to implement lower tariffs on Japanese automobile imports and other products in a deal that included a commitment to $550bn of Japanese investment in US projects.
Companies interested in taking part include SoftBank Group , Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi, according to the list of possible projects. The list, which covers areas including energy, AI infrastructure and critical minerals, said it could represent about $400bn in investment.
Japan has said its investment package would include equity, loans and loan guarantees from state-owned agencies. The list was published after President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday, inking deals covering trade and rare earths. Reuters
Cygnet Energy to buy Kiwetinohk in $1bn deal
Bengaluru — Privately held Cygnet Energy will acquire Kiwetinohk Energy in an all-cash deal valued at C$1.4bn ($998.29m), including debt, the companies said on Tuesday, creating a larger Montney and Duvernay operator.
Montney and Duvernay, in Alberta, are among Canada’s most prolific shale oil and gas plays, driving much of the recent production growth and investment in the western part of the country.
Earlier this year, Cenovus Energy and Strathcona Resources entered a takeover battle for MEG Energy as the companies eyed its coveted asset, the Christina Lake oil sands project, which is also located near Alberta.
Cygnet will pay C$24.75 per share, representing a premium of 10.4% to Kiwetinohk’s last close according to Reuters calculations. Reuters
UnitedHealth lifts annual profit forecast
Bengaluru — UnitedHealth on Tuesday raised its annual profit forecast and said it aims to grow in 2026, in a sign that the turnaround efforts under new CEO Stephen Hemsley were gaining steam.
Shares of the company rose more than 3% in premarket trading after third-quarter earnings came ahead of Wall Street expectations as the US health insurer kept medical costs in check. Hemsley, who was at the helm of the company from 2006-17, has been working to regain investor and consumer trust in the wake of an unexpected surge in medical costs, a federal probe and Americans’ anger at the high price of health care. He was brought in May as a part of a management shake-up after the company’s first earnings miss in over a decade in April.
“We view this result and slight raise as a sign of stability in an organisation that has experienced anything but stability over the past year,” said Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback.
The healthcare giant now sees 2025 adjusted profit per share to be at least $16.25, compared with its previous estimate of at least $16, and above analysts estimate of $16.20 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
“We remain focused on strengthening performance and positioning for durable and accelerating growth in 2026 and beyond, and our results this quarter reflect solid execution toward that goal,” said Hemsley. Reuters
Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo plan to merge
Bengaluru - Skyworks Solutions, which supplies radio frequency chips to Apple and other smartphone makers, will merge with rival Qorvo, the companies said on Tuesday, forming a combined company valued at about $22bn.
The stock-and-cash deal will create one of the largest US suppliers of radio-frequency chips used in smartphones, cars and other connected devices. Qorvo shareholders will receive $32.50 in cash and 0.960 of a Skyworks share for each share held.
Qorvo’s shares, which have gained about 32% this year, surged about 11% in trading before the bell, while Skyworks’ stock was down about 1%. Once the deal closes, Skyworks investors will hold about 63% of the merged company, with Qorvo shareholders owning the remaining 37% on a fully diluted basis. Skyworks designs and manufactures analogue and mixed-signal chips used in wireless communication, automotive, industrial and consumer electronics. The firm had in August forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations, benefiting from steady demand for its analogue chips. Apple’s efforts to develop its own radio chips, first unveiled in the iPhone 16e earlier this year, could eventually reduce its dependence on suppliers such as Skyworks and Qorvo, weighing on their long-term sales prospects.
However, analysts expect both companies to benefit from a recovery in smartphone demand after the post-pandemic downturn. Reuters
VF Corporation posts upbeat quarterly results
Bengaluru - Vans parent VF Corporation posted better-than-expected results for the second quarter on Tuesday, helped by strong demand for its footwear, bags and lifestyle apparel, even as economic uncertainty looms. Shares of the Denver, Colorado-based company were up about 4% in premarket trading.
The Timberland maker’s upbeat results come against a backdrop of mounting pressure across the US retail sector, where apparel and accessories companies are struggling to keep up with the effect of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The tariffs have disrupted sourcing regions such as Vietnam and Indonesia, which are critical to the global supply chain for sportswear and apparel.
VF Corp, which sources the majority of its products from Southeast Asia and the Americas, has responded by ramping up production and shipments, working with suppliers to manage costs and considering pricing strategies to offset the tariffs. The company’s latest collections across brands helped boost sales, with revenue for the North Face brand rising 6% in the reported quarter, while Timberland surged 7%. Vans, however, declined 9% from a year earlier, though the drop moderated from the 14% fall in the previous quarter. Reuters
