Free Republic

Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are reportedly weighing plans to bid for Intel that would result in the storied chipmaker breaking up.According to The Wall Street Journal in a report Saturday, Broadcom has been looking into Intel’s chip-design and marketing business and and has “informally discussed” a bid with its advisers if it finds a partner for Intel’s chip-making operations.The report said TSMC has examined taking over some or all of Intel’s chip plants, meanwhile, as part of an investor consortium or another structure.

This year, hurricane season has taken off with a ferocious, ominous start thanks to Beryl—the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded, with winds topping out at 165 mph. Beryl bulldozed the Caribbean, made its way through Mexico and then plowed into Texas. As of the time of publication, over 2.1 million Texans are without power, just as a severe heat wave descends on the region. The increasing severity of hurricanes acutely stresses power grids like those in Texas, which could adversely affect everything from homes to health care facilities. It could cost a city "billions of dollars to recover from...