World Street | Nvidia loses most valuable company tag; BoE keeps rates unchanged; TikTok fights US ban, and more

World Street offers a sneak peek into the world of business and the economy.

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever has co-founded a new AI startup called Safe Superintelligence. The Bank of England kept interest rates steady after UK inflation hit 2 percent. Nvidia's shares fell 3.4%, making Microsoft the world's most valuable company. ByteDance is fighting a US ban on TikTok. All this and more on this edition of World Street.

Founder Feud

Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and chief scientist at OpenAI, who joined other board members in November to remove Sam Altman, has co-founded a new artificial intelligence company. The startup, named Safe Superintelligence, aims to develop superintelligence in a safe manner, according to spokeswoman Lulu Cheng Meservey.

Rate Roulette

The Bank of England on Thursday chose to maintain interest rates at their current level during its June meeting. The decision was described as "finely balanced" following UK inflation hitting its 2 percent target.

Money market pricing now suggests nearly 50-50 odds of an August rate cut, reflecting what investors perceive as a subtly dovish stance. The central bank's key rate remains at a 16-year high of 5.25 percent.

Capital Capers

Nvidia's shares declined nearly 3.4% on Thursday, handing the title of the world's most valuable company back to Microsoft. Still, Nvidia’s rise in the ranks of the world’s largest companies has been meteoric with its market value doubling this year, after tripling last year.

With a market capitalization of around $3.4 trillion, Nvidia has become larger than the respective stock markets of Germany, France, and the UK.

Production Pangs

Japan's factory activity expanded for a second straight month in June but the pace of growth eased as orders weakened and cost pressures intensified. The Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 50.1 in June, down slightly from 50.4 in May, but still above the 50.0 threshold separating growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

TikTok Trouble

TikTok parent ByteDance on Thursday called on a US court to overturn a law that would ban the popular short video app in the United States next year. ByteDance argued that the US government has refused to engage in serious settlement talks since 2022.

Legislation signed by President Joe Biden in April gives ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban on the app, which is used by 170 million Americans. ByteDance contends that a divestiture is "not possible technologically, commercially, or legally."

Kaspersky Kerfuffle

The Biden administration has unveiled plans to ban the sale of antivirus software from Russia's Kaspersky Lab in the United States. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that Russia's control over the company presents a major security risk.

Notably, Kaspersky's clientele includes critical infrastructure providers and state and local governments.

Aero Affair

Boeing is close to finalizing a deal to reacquire Spirit AeroSystems after the former subsidiary made significant progress in separate discussions with Airbus regarding a transatlantic split, Reuters reported.

Earlier this year, Boeing began negotiations to buy back Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, aiming to stabilize a crucial part of the supply chain for its best-selling jet following a mid-air incident on a new 737 MAX in January.

Import Impasse

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is considering new tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles to align with measures taken by the US and European Union, Bloomberg reported.

While final decisions are still pending, the government is expected to soon announce the start of public consultations on these tariffs, potentially impacting Chinese EV exports to Canada.