Plus: fintech startup Revolut secures French banking license to expand European operations. And Apple may keep price hikes minimal for its coming iPhone 18 Pro despite production cost increases. Julie Chang hosts.
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[00:00:01] Here's your afternoon WSJ Tech News Briefing for Monday, August 10. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. Intel has announced it will offer $15 billion in common stock. The chipmaker cited strong customer demand driven by, quote, unprecedented investment in AI compute. The company said it would use proceeds for general purposes, including capital expenditures and working capital.
[00:00:24] In its July earnings release, Intel raised its forecast for capital expenditures for this year to more than $20 billion, up from $18 billion. Executives said the higher spending was a sign of their confidence in future sales. Digital bank Revolut has secured a full banking license in France from the local regulator and the European Central Bank, advancing its European expansion.
[00:00:48] The fintech company is Europe's most valuable startup. It aims to broaden products and core European markets while seeking approvals elsewhere. It previously gained a UK license in March and has applied for a US charter. Following the French approval, the French unit of the British company will start to serve local customers. Customers in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain will gradually move to its French entity.
[00:01:14] Meanwhile, its Lithuanian entity will continue handling the rest of Europe under a dual hub framework. Western Europe is Revolut's largest and fastest growing region with around 30 million customers. 8 million joined in 2025. And Apple may keep price hikes minimal for its coming iPhone 18 Pro, despite a sharp jump in production costs. That's according to research firm Trendforce.
[00:01:39] The cost of components used in the iPhone 18 Pro 256GB model is expected to surge about 38% on year, largely due to soaring memory prices. Memory chips accounted for just 10% of the phone's component costs a year ago, but Trendforce says that share is projected to exceed 40% by early next year.
[00:02:01] To avoid hurting demand, the research firm says Apple may accept lower profit margins on the new model and could even raise prices on older iPhone models to help offset the higher costs. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Tuesday's Tech News Briefing Podcast. It's Blogadio-322,iano and leftover profit margins on the new rack, and add user profund vocation with electrically roundedufen managed cholera on developing a smartoner by steaming Victoria. Geocial The Whether or not Support Jack Thank you.