12:07 PM EDT, 07/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Corrected third paragraph and headline to show that Honeywell ( HON ) agreed to acquire the LNG process technology and equipment business of Air Products and Chemicals ( APD ).)

All three major US stock indexes were up around midday trading Wednesday, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell embarks on a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill and ahead of another crucial inflation report Thursday.

In company news, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) reported June revenue Wednesday of 207.87 billion New Taiwanese dollars ($6.37 billion), a 33% jump from a year earlier but down from NT$229.62 billion in May. Revenue for the first six months of 2024 totaled NT$1.266 trillion, up from NT$989.47 billion in the first half of 2023. Shares of TSM were up 2.8% around midday.

Honeywell International ( HON ) agreed to buy Air Products and Chemicals' ( APD ) liquified natural gas process technology and equipment business for $1.81 billion. The all-cash deal, which doesn't require any financing condition, is expected to close before the end of the year following regulatory approvals, the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday. Honeywell ( HON ) expects the deal to be immediately accretive to sales growth and segment margins and add to adjusted earnings on a per-share basis in the first year of full ownership. Honeywell ( HON ) shares were up 1.1%, while those of APD were up 1%.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple ( AAPL ) have abandoned observer seats on OpenAI's board amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of investments in AI startups, multiple news outlets reported Wednesday. However, the US Federal Trade Commission is still probing Microsoft's ( MSFT ) OpenAI investments, and its exit from the company's board will not, on its own, resolve antitrust concerns, Bloomberg reported. Separately, Microsoft ( MSFT ) secured a deal to settle an antitrust complaint by CISPE, a Brussels-based cloud trade group, over its cloud computing licensing practices, Reuters reported Wednesday. Microsoft ( MSFT ) will develop a product allowing CISPE's members to run Microsoft ( MSFT ) software on their platforms on Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Azure cloud infrastructure with prices in-line with those of Microsoft ( MSFT ), CISPE told Reuters. Microsoft ( MSFT ) will also compensate CISPE members for lost revenue tied to their licensing costs over the last two years, Reuters reported. Shares of Microsoft ( MSFT ) were up 0.4%, while those of Apple ( AAPL ) were up 1.1%.

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Silo AI in an all-cash deal valued at about $665 million. Silo AI is a private artificial intelligence lab in Europe, and AMD said the acquisition is part of its strategy to deliver end-to-end AI solutions. The deal will likely close in H2, AMD said, adding that Silo AI co-founder and CEO Peter Sarlin will continue to lead the Silo AI team under the AMD Artificial Intelligence Group. AMD shares were up 3.2%.

Intuit (INTU) will eliminate around 1,800 jobs and close facilities in Boise, Idaho and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in order to reallocate resources supporting AI initiatives and other high-growth sectors, the company said Wednesday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Intuit expects to hire "a nearly equivalent number of employees" during fiscal 2025, with many of the new and existing employees working on the company's AI-powered financial assistant platform, Intuit Assist, CEO Sasan Goodarzi said in an email to workers. Intuit expects to incur about $250 million to $260 million in charges tied to the reorganization, primarily during its Q4 ending July 31. It expects to complete the moves by the end of the company's fiscal Q1 in October. Shares of Intuit were down 3.9%.

HSBC Holdings ( HSBC ) is reorganizing parts of its investment bank to make it similar to rivals like Citigroup (C), Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Executives will combine several of HSBC's ( HSBC ) industry coverage groups, which should allow bankers to work more efficiently, according to the report. Separately, HSBC ( HSBC ) won the dismissal of several claims brought by First Citizens Bank & Trust over the hiring of over 40 former Silicon Valley Bank employees following that lender's collapse in 2023. First Citizens alleged in the lawsuit that a former SVB executive who joined HSBC ( HSBC ) organized a scheme to poach former SVB employees from First Citizens after First Citizens purchased the assets of the collapsed bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The complaint alleges that, in so doing, HSBC ( HSBC ) could procure SVB's confidential, proprietary and trade-secret information to First Citizens' financial detriment. But US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler rejected many of First Citizens' claims, stating that "the allegations against most defendants show only a failed bank and employees decamping to a better business opportunity." Shares of HSBC ( HSBC ) were up 0.6%.

Warner Bros. Discovery's ( WBD ) CNN will cut around 100 jobs as part of a plan to consolidate its news operations and boost its digital business, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing an internal memo it viewed. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ) were down 2%.

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