I don't see a parallel here. Neither company is being investigated for anti-trust.

Considering where the TSMC ticker is sitting right now, this evokes more of a "Reichswerke Hermann Göring" vibe from me. This was a closed-door demand to Taiwan with an "offer" they couldn't refuse, likely illustrated using some of the casualties Ukraine suffered during their brief lapse in American assistance. The government of Taiwan is the largest shareholder in TSMC, and Trump knows that he can threaten abandonment if they ever refuse US demands. Predicate weapons sales on administrating Intel fabs, and a stupid pretense can start to sound like a lucrative long-term investment. I wouldn't put it past a president that tried to sell Ukraine weapons they already owned by mining minerals they don't have.

> Keep your competitor alive so the antitrust folks don't come down on you?

It would be deeply ironic of America to attack Europe over antitrust litigation while trying to prosecute TSMC for "monopoly" abuse. Protectionism aside, the American economy stands only to harm itself by forcing TSMC out of the country. That would be like the tech industry cutting off its right arm to spite a pimple on its face.

Could you elaborate why this is good for Intel?

I understand it brings a short term injection of expertise and capital, but it looks to me like they can't operate their own fabs and a chunk of their manufacturing facilities have just been gobbled up by their competitor.

Agree, that's why I've been loading up $INTL last couple of months.

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I’m sure this was driven by the government as opposed to TSMC volunteering to take this on. Some behind the scenes action made this happen.

Yeah, Walter provided the ranking. Got flagged or something.