Jun 27, 2019

AMD benefits from Bitcoin's renewed rise

Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals

Everything is going right so far this year for Advanced Micro Devices. The company's stock price rose more than 3% on Wednesday, continuing to shake off trade war fears and pushing back towards a 13-year high touched in June.

The state of play: AMD is benefiting from renewed interest in Bitcoin, which has soared to nearly $13,000 per coin. The company doubled down in November when cryptocurrencies were left for dead, launching a spate of new Bitcoin and blockchain tools.

The company is also winning on gaming, selected by Microsoft as the chipmaker for its next-generation Xbox console, to be released during the 2020 holiday season. Sony is also expected to use AMD chips in its next PlayStation.

What they're saying: Analysts at Morgan Stanley, long-time bears on the company, said earlier this month they had made the "wrong call" on the stock and raised their price target to $28 a share.

Nomura analysts expect "new processor families scheduled for launch by Intel and AMD in 2H19 and 1H20 offer significantly larger steps up in technology and design than products released by the companies in 2018."

Go deeper: Bitcoin is losing its Wall Street buy-in

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Jonathan Swan

Exclusive: Trump's "Deep State" hit list

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: WPA Pool/Getty Pool, Drew Angerer/Getty Staff

The Trump White House and its allies, over the past 18 months, assembled detailed lists of disloyal government officials to oust — and trusted pro-Trump people to replace them — according to more than a dozen sources familiar with the effort who spoke to Axios.

Driving the news: By the time President Trump instructed his 29-year-old former body man and new head of presidential personnel to rid his government of anti-Trump officials, he'd gathered reams of material to support his suspicions.

Go deeper37 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Alayna Treene

Exclusive: Anti-Sanders campaign targets black South Carolina voters

Courtesy of The Big Tent Project

The Big Tent Project, a Democratic political group focused on promoting moderate presidential candidates, has sent hundreds of thousands of mailers bashing Bernie Sanders to black voters in South Carolina who voted in the state's 2016 primary.

Why it matters: Sanders' rise to the top of the pack, as dueling moderate candidates split their side of the vote, is worrying many in the Democratic political establishment who fear a socialist can't beat President Trump.

Go deeper37 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Jonathan Swan

Inside the fight over FBI surveillance powers

Carter Page. Photo: Artyom Korotayev\TASS via Getty Images

Over the past year, President Trump has told senior administration officials, including Attorney General Bill Barr, that he wants a major overhaul of national security surveillance powers and the secret court that approves them.

Behind the scenes: In one such discussion last year about the need to reauthorize government authorities to surveil U.S. citizens, Trump went so far as to say he'd rather get rid of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) altogether.

Go deeper37 mins ago - Politics & Policy