INTC Eyes AMD as Foundry Customer, Berkshire's $9.7B OXY Purchase, FICO Soars

Chip Industry - Intel is in early stage discussions to add AMD as a foundry customer, which has led to a rise in Intel's shares [1][2] - Intel is seeking Anchor customers for its NextG processing chips, with recent wins including a $5 billion investment from Nvidia [2] - AMD currently relies on Taiwan Semiconductor for its advanced chips, and moving production to Intel would represent a significant shift [3] - Bernstein analysts express skepticism about the partnership due to AMD and Intel being rivals, although partnerships among rivals are becoming more common in the chip space [4] Credit Scoring Industry - FICO shares surged over 14% after the company announced it will directly license its credit scores to mortgage lenders, bypassing traditional credit bureaus [5][6] - This new model will cut the price of a credit score by 50%, impacting the margins of credit bureaus like Equifax and TransUnion, which saw their shares drop by more than 7% and 8% respectively [6][9] - The new direct-to-reseller model aims to provide greater price transparency, with resellers paying just under $5 per score and a funded loan fee of $33 per borrower [8] Berkshire Hathaway - Berkshire Hathaway has officially reached a deal to acquire Occidental Petroleum's chemical unit for $9.7 billion, marking its largest deal since 2022 [10][11] - The acquisition will allow Berkshire to utilize a portion of its cash reserves, which have been a point of interest among analysts [11] - Occidental Petroleum plans to use a significant portion of the proceeds to pay down its debt, which has been a challenge for the company [12]