TL;DR: Intel is facing financial difficulties and is under scrutiny from the US Commerce Department, which is considering a potential merger to stabilize the company. Intel lost a significant discount from TSMC due to controversial remarks.
Intel has been in trouble for a while now but it is just continuing to pile up for the US-based tech giant, which has now got the interest of the US Commerce Department, which is now working through ways of recovery, including a potential merger for the company.