Donald Trump said the U.S. would begin “the most devastating economic operation ever carried out against any country” against Iran, Bloomberg reported. He did not provide details, but the threat to strike Iran’s trading partners—none of which he named—immediately drew attention to China, which buys most of Iran’s oil.
Samsung Electronics plans to launch a large-scale dividend payout program for shareholders totaling more than 100 trillion won ( $72 bn), aimed at paying out about 50% of its free cash flow, MoneyToday reports. The board is expected to meet and approve the key terms of the program by the end of August.
SK Hynix has reached a preliminary compensation agreement with its South Korean employees under which a significant portion of their bonuses will be paid not in cash but in company shares, Reuters reported. Under the proposed deal, employees would receive 40% of their bonuses in cash and another 40% in SK Hynix shares that can be sold immediately. The remaining 20% will be allocated as deferred equity compensation, with half becoming available after one year and the rest after two years. The agreement will need to be approved by the labor union, an SK Hynix representative said.
Meta Platforms has become one of Microsoft’s largest customers in artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported. The company that owns Facebook and Instagram spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year for access to AI models via Microsoft’s Azure cloud service.
Skanska said it signed a contract worth about 11.2 billion Swedish kronor ($1.2 bn) with one of its clients, whose name was not disclosed, to build four new data centers in the southeastern U.S. Construction will begin in Q3 2026 and is expected to be completed in Q3 2028.
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. said the country’s largest oil field, Tengiz, is already nearing peak production and that output will fall sharply over the next decade, Bloomberg reported. The company plans to invest billions of dollars in a new oil project at Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field, which will help soften the impact of falling production at Tengiz. According to a company presentation submitted to officials in Astana, production at Tengiz will peak next year and decline to about 500,000 barrels per day by 2035, 40% below the maximum level.
Uber Technologies (UBER) sold 72 million shares of Aurora Innovation (AUR) in a block trade, according to a Form 4 filing. Neben Holdings, an Uber subsidiary, sold the shares to a financial institution on August 17 at $6.55 per share.
Shein plans to launch the process for an initial public offering in Hong Kong on Monday and expects to list on September 1 rather than August 28 as previously expected, Reuters reported. However, the listing could take place a few days later, one of the sources noted.