The latest figures also pointed to a sharper deterioration in Intel’s finances, rekindling worries that it will be forced to slash its dividend payments. The company reported negative adjusted free cash flow for the year of $4.1bn. It had cut its forecast to a decline of $2-$4bn only three months before.
David Zinsner, chief financial officer, said the cash flow had been affected by the delay of $3bn of subsidies that had been expected in 2022, and that Intel was “committed to maintaining a competitive dividend”.
Most analysts had already cut their expectations for Intel in recent weeks, despite the positive reaction to the launch two weeks ago of a new generation of server chips designed to make up lost ground on arch-rival AMD.
Though an important step in reducing the technology gap that had opened up between the two companies, most analysts predicted it would not be enough to win back market share, and that Intel’s market position would continue to slip until it manages to catch up in advanced manufacturing with TSMC.
In the latest quarter, revenue from Intel’s client computing group fell 36 per cent to $6.6bn, while sales in the data centre and AI division fell 33 per cent to $4.3bn.
Morgan Stanley hits bankers with $1mn penalties for messaging breaches
Morgan Stanley has hit bankers with financial penalties running up to more than $1mn per employee for conducting official business on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms.
The forfeitures come as the bank tries to punish employees for a scandal that tarnished the group’s reputation and resulted in it paying $200mn of regulatory fines last year.
Ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than $1mn per individual, the penalties are based on a points system that takes into account factors including the number of messages sent, the banker’s seniority, and whether they received prior warnings, said people briefed on the matter.
Depending on the size of the penalty, the funds have either been clawed back from previous bonuses or will be docked from future pay.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
The employee penalties are the latest fallout from a wide-ranging crackdown on Wall Street by US regulators over the use of personal phones and unapproved apps. The multiple investigations have resulted in more than $1bn in fines across the banking industry.
US regulators have said bank failures to ensure that employees’ electronic communications were stored properly have impeded their investigations.
In 2020, at least two senior employees — Nancy King and Jay Rubenstein — left Morgan Stanley’s commodity division over their use of personal messaging apps, the FT reported at the time.
Other traders in Morgan Stanley’s commodities team were also given warnings about their use of messaging apps, said one person familiar with the matter. Other banks such as Credit Suisse and HSBC have fired bankers embroiled in the scandal too.
Morgan Stanley has been among the banks hit hardest by the investigation, with the company last year agreeing to pay $200mn to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Morgan Stanley now gives employees training sessions explaining scenarios when they should shift conversations on personal devices to official channels such as their work email. This can include seemingly innocuous instances where colleagues are exchanging messages about the time or location of a meeting.
The group has warned employees that these apparently trivial messages often lead to more material discussions, said a person briefed on the bank’s training programmes.
Many banks now require employees to take a picture of work-related messages on personal devices and forward them to the compliance departments so that they can be preserved.
© Financial Times
