Catch up on the weekend’s top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Sibanye-Stillwater (SBSW) is in advanced talks to buy two Brazilian miners for about $1 billion including debt, a bet on continued demand for metals used in the production of electric-car batteries, The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Dummett and Joe Wallace reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The miner would acquire Atlantic Nickel, which operates the Santa Rita mine, one of the world’s biggest open-pit nickel sulfide mines, and Mineracao Vale Verde, which is developing a copper-and-gold mine, the people said. 2. According to researchers, Facebook’s (FB) products in India were awash with inflammatory content that one report linked to deadly religious riots, The Wall Street Journal’s Newley Purnell and Jeff Horwitz reported. Inflammatory content on Facebook spiked 300% above previous levels at times during the months following December 2019, a period in which religious protests swept India, researchers wrote in a July 2020 report that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Rumors and calls to violence spread particularly on Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service in late February 2020, when communal violence in Delhi left 53 dead, according to the report. India is Facebook’s biggest market with hundreds of millions of users. 3. Intel (INTC) fell nearly 10% Friday after the microprocessor company forecast disappointing earnings for its fourth quarter, Eric Savitz wrote in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Intel’s woes come at a delicate moment for the PC sector, which saw a remarkable surge in demand during the pandemic, the author noted. Apple (AAPL), Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) all saw a spike in laptop sales over the past 18 months, as people shifted to working and learning from home. Many investors doubt that the boom can last, a view seemingly validated by Intel’s forecast, but HP suggests otherwise, the publication adds. Once primarily driven by its printer ink and toner business, it’s showing an “impressive surge” in innovation, Savitz contended. Thursday, HP held its first analyst meeting in two years, and had surprisingly good news that drove the stock up 7%, the publication pointed out. With an improving growth story, shareholder-friendly policies, and one of the cheapest stocks in the tech sector, HP looks like “a screaming buy,” the author argued. 4. AT&T (T) subsidiary Warner Bros.’ “Dune” won the domestic box office with a strong $40.1M debut despite its dual release as it opened simultaneously in 4,125 theaters across North America and on streamer HBO Max. Globally, the movie moved past the $100M mark after opening previously in earlier markets. “Dune” grossed another $47.4M from 75 markets overseas for a foreign cume of $180.6M and $220.2M globally. 5. Chesapeake (CHK) and Infineon (IFNNY) saw positive mentions in this week’s edition of Barron’s.
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