All posts tagged: 6bn

Samsung set to secure huge bn US investment

Samsung set to secure huge $6bn US investment

Published by skeptic

The United States is set to award Samsung over $6 billion to expand the company’s presence in the country. The Korean technology firm already has a burgeoning presence in Austin, Texas with projected plans for a new plant in Taylor to the tune of $17 million. The funding will be announced before the end of March and these awards will be drawn from the funding agreed in the 2022 Chips and Science Act. What is the Chips and Science Act? The act signed into law in August of 2022 was designed to boost the chip-making and semiconductor industry of America. Over $280 billion was allocated to boost U.S. competitiveness, innovation and national security over the next 10 years. A total of $52.7 billion of this funding will be set aside for semiconductor manufacturing, R&D, and workforce development, with another $24 billion worth of tax credits for chip production on U.S. soil. Despite being the world’s leading economy and the center of the global tech industry, the U.S. only produces 10% of its entire global supply of …

UK bill payers may have to cover £6bn cost of failed energy firms, warn MPs | Energy bills

Published by Sam

Bill payers could be on the hook for almost £6bn to cover the cost of bailing out suppliers that went bust during the energy crisis, according to the government’s spending watchdog. The public accounts committee (PAC) has issued a “sobering reminder” that the government has no guarantee that it will be able to recover almost £3bn in costs for rescuing about 1.5m households affected by the collapse of Bulb Energy. In addition to the cost of bailing out 29 suppliers that collapsed between July 2021 and May last year, the energy crisis could pile a further £2.7bn on to home energy bills at a time that households “can ill afford such uncertainty”. In a new report the committee said that the cost of bailing out Bulb Energy, which collapsed in November 2021, is expected to be covered by Octopus Energy, which agreed to pay £2.96bn by September 2025 to buy the company. But the committee warned that bill payers would have to cover a £246m shortfall, and could still run the risk of being in …

Five Americans head home in $6bn US-Iran prisoner swap deal | Iran

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The US and Iran have freed five detainees each in a controversial prisoner swap involving the unfreezing by the Biden administration of $6bn (£4.8bn) of Iranian oil money. In an elaborate and delicate diplomatic deal, months in the making, the five Americans – some held for nearly a decade – were taken from hotels in Tehran to a plane that flew to Qatar, before heading back to Washington. “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home,” Joe Biden said in a statement. The US president added that they “will soon be reunited with their loved ones – after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering”. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he had spoken to the freed US citizens by telephone in what he said was “an emotional conversation”. Among the prisoners is the conservationist Morad Tahbaz, a British-American citizen. Iranian state media confirmed on Monday afternoon that five Iranian citizens imprisoned in the US – mostly for sanctions-busting offences – were also released. Only two of the …

US agrees to release $6bn in Iran funds as part of deal to free detained Americans | Iran

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The Biden administration has issued a waiver to allow the transfer of $6bn in frozen Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar as part of a deal to free five Americans detained in Iran. The deal is also reported to involve the freeing of five Iranian citizens imprisoned in the US, mostly for sanctions-busting offenses. The waiver allowing international banks to transfer the Iranian funds was signed by the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, late last week, and Congress was informed on Monday. Under the deal, the money will be sent to Qatar’s central bank, from where it can be disbursed for the purchase of humanitarian goods for Iran. As part of the preparation for the deal, four of the US nationals held by Iran were transferred from jail to house arrest last month. The fifth detainee was already under house arrest. The waiver was first reported by the Associated Press and Reuters. The state department has not responded to a request for comment. The US detainees include Siamak Namazi, a 51-year-old Iranian-American businessman, who …

Extra $6bn in US arms for Ukraine after ‘accounting error’ | Ukraine

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The Pentagon says it has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2bn – about double early estimates – resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages. A detailed review of the accounting error found that the replacement cost was used rather than the book value of equipment that was pulled from stocks, said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh. The Pentagon previously made a similar announcement, in May, that it had overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment by about $3bn, and the figure could grow with further investigation. On Tuesday, Singh said final calculations showed there was an error of $3.6bn in the current fiscal year and $2.6bn in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September. As a result, the department has additional money to use to support Ukraine as it pursues its counteroffensive against Russia. It come as the fiscal year is wrapping up and congressional funding was beginning to dwindle. “It’s just going to go back into the pot …