IQIYI Stock Jumps 12%

Shares of iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) are gaining over 12% on Tuesday morning after it announced closing of private placement of $500 million senior notes.

IQ is currently trading at $5.97, up $0.67 or 12.74%, on the Nasdaq. The stock opened its trading at $5.50 after closing previous trading day at $5.30. The stock

IQIYI provides online entertainment services under the iQIYI brand in China. The company offers various products and services comprising internet video, online games, live broadcasting, online literature, animations, e-commerce, and social media platform.

IQIYI announced the closing of a private placement of $500 million in secured convertible senior notes to PAGAC IV-1 (Cayman) Limited, an affiliate of PAG, an investment firm focused on the Asia Pacific region.

The company entered into a definitive agreement with respect to the transaction in August 2022.

U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Inches Higher In November

A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday unexpectedly showed a modest increase in U.S. construction spending in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said construction spending crept up by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $1.808 trillion in November after edging down by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of $1.803 trillion in October.

The uptick surprised economists, who had been expecting construction to decrease by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.3 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected increase in construction spending came as spending on private construction rose by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $1.426 trillion.

Spending on non-residential construction surged by 1.7 percent to an annual rate of $558.3 billion, more than offsetting a 0.5 percent drop in spending on residential construction to an annual rate of $868.0 billion.

Meanwhile, the report showed spending on public construction edged down by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $381.6 billion.

Spending on highway construction tumbled by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of $115.0 billion, while spending on educational construction inched up by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $81.3 billion.

The Commerce Department noted total construction spending in November was up by 8.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

Aurinia Pharma Climbs 35% After Announcing Patent Settlement With Sun Pharma

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUPH) are gaining more than 35 percent on Tuesday morning trade after announcing a patent challenge settlement for Aurinia’s Lupkynis against Sun Pharmaceuticals’ Cequa. Both companies agreed to file a joint motion to dismiss the inter-parties review of patent no. 10,286,036.

Lupkynis is the first FDA-approved oral therapy for Lupus nephritis, a serious manifestation of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE, that can irreversibly damage kidney.

Currently, shares of Aurinia are at $5.95, up 37.62 percent from the previous close of $4.32 on a volume of 7,287,351.

Foxconn's IPhone Plant In China Reaches 90% Production Capacity: Reports

Foxconn’s major plant in China, which was hit hard by worker unrest following Covid-19 spread and related restrictions, has reportedly reached nearly 90% production.

The world’s biggest iPhone factory in the Zhengzhou city, called iPhone City, was running at 90% of planned production capacity at the end of December, the Henan Daily newspaper reported Tuesday.

Last year, production at the facility was heavily impacted after issues with workers following strict Covid-19 restrictions. Foxconn is said to have employed as many as 300,000 workers at the factory, which produces the majority of Apple’s premium models including iPhone 14 Pro.

Many workers fled in October after food shortages and to avoid strict Covid-19 restrictions. The issues had disrupted the production of Apple products ahead of the crucial Christmas and New Year holidays.

Foxconn offered bonuses to attract new workers and convince those still there to stay on.

“At the moment, the order books look good, and the orders will peak from now until a few months after Chinese New Year,” said Wang Xue, deputy general manager of the facility, according to Henan Daily. The Lunar New Year will begin on January 22.

Tesla Makes China Head Tom Zhu Highest-profile Executive After Elon Musk: Reuters

Tom Zhu, Tesla’s China head, has been promoted to take over responsibilities of the electric carmaker’s U.S. assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe, according to Reuters.

Last month, the wire had reported a rumor that Zhu, president of Tesla China, would replace Musk as CEO of Tesla.

The report says that Tesla posting showed that Zhu’s title of vice president for Greater China had not changed and that he also retained his responsibilities as Tesla’s most senior executive for sales in the rest of Asia as of Tuesday.

Zhu has now become the highest-profile executive at Tesla after Musk, with direct oversight for deliveries in all of its major markets and operations of its key production hubs.

Several investors in Tesla had called for Musk to resign after the company’s market capitalization plummeted by over $700 billion last year. The company’s market cap more than halved last year after Musk agreed a $44 billion takeover of Twitter as well as due to concerns about deliveries as China’s struggle to contain COVID-19 cases led to a slump in production.

UK Unveils Cost Of Living Support To Low Income Households

The British government is set to start paying out the cost of living support of up to GBP 900 to low income households in the Spring, a plan than was initially announced by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the autumn statement.

The Department of Work and Pensions said on Tuesday that the cost of living payment for means-tested benefit claimants will go direct to bank accounts in three disbursements over the financial year.

The fund will be disbursed to more than eight million households from Spring and it will be tax-free. Individuals who are eligible will be paid automatically, without making any application.

To fight the cost of living crisis, the lowest-income households across the UK will get a maximum GBP 1,350 in 2023/24.

The government will also provide extra cash support for disabled people and pensioners. There will be a separate GBP 150 for over six million disabled people and GBP 300 for over eight million pensioners on top of their Winter Fuel Payments.

Chancellor Hunt said these are tough times for families who are struggling to meet rising food and energy costs, driven by the aftershocks of Covid and Putin’s war in Ukraine.

These payments are on top of above inflation increases to working-age benefits and the Energy Price Guarantee, which is insulating millions from even higher global gas prices, Hunt added.