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☆ Morgan Stanley upgrades AI play on the insurance industry, sees 30% rally
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It is time to consider scooping up shares of a little-known software play, according to Morgan Stanley. CCC is a software as a service provider specializing in the property-casualty insurance sector and working with insurers and collision repairers. CCCS YTD mountain Shares this year "CCCS is a market share leader, positioned to capture value digitizing and automating the [property and casualty] Insurance industry," Baer wrote. "Established solutions, ramping emerging solutions and AI help to sustain high-single-digit growth." CCC's shares have also underperformed those of its vertical software peers, offering an attractive valuation discount and entry point relative to competitors, the analyst noted.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Josh Baer, Baer Organizations: CCC, Services, Insurance

☆ Tesla, Alphabet or GM? A breakdown of the autonomous driving battle and how to trade it
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Michael Khouw | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Autonomous driving is at a pivotal juncture, with several companies vying for leadership in a sector that promises to revolutionize transportation. While Tesla (TSLA) has dominated the autonomous vehicle headlines with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, it may not be the best autonomous driving investment. Waymo: A leader in the autonomous race Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet , has long been a frontrunner in the autonomous driving sector. Tesla's FSD software relies primarily on optical cameras, supported by advanced AI algorithms to interpret the road environment. The value autonomous driving adds to stock Currently, Alphabet, GM, and Tesla are not generating meaningful revenue from autonomous driving or robotics technology.

Persons: GM's, Google's Waymo, Waymo, Tesla's, Cruise, Mary Barra, Elon Musk, Tesla, AVs, GM's supercruise, TSLA, Price, Mary Barra's Organizations: General Motors, PACE, Hyundai, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety, Cruise, Cruise's, National, Traffic Safety Administration, Ford, Elon, GM's, Tesla, GM, CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL Locations: Phoenix, Los Angeles, AVs

☆ Ford turns 'dirty' business into a profit driver. GM and Stellantis are taking notice
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Many fleet sales, especially daily rentals, have historically been viewed as a negative for auto companies. But Ford has proven that's not always the case by breaking out financial results for its "Ford Pro" fleet business. Ram, GM retoolAs Ford touts its fleet business, its closest rivals have amped up their operations. It launched "GM Envolve" last year, its overhauled fleet and commercial business focused on fleet sales, digital telematics and logistics for commercial customers. EV goalsGM Envolve includes the company's EV commercial business BrightDrop, which was folded back into the automaker last year instead of it acting as a subsidiary.

Persons: Mark Hazel, It's, Ford, Ferrari, Jim Farley, Wolfe, Joe White, Farley, BofA's John Murphy, Ram, Christine Feuell, Stellantis, Ram Ram, Ken Kayser, Sandor Piszar, Motors, Piszar, EV600 Organizations: Ford DETROIT, U.S, automakers, Ford Motor, General Motors, Chrysler, P Global Mobility, Ford, Ford Pro, Wolfe Research, North, GM, Ford Super Duty, Reuters, GM retool, CNBC, Software, Stellantis, GM Envolve, Sierra, GM Fleet, EV Locations: Dearborn , Michigan, U.S, North America, Europe, Kentucky, Louisville , Kentucky, Stellantis, Detroit

☆ Bank of America likes this new AI play from the auto sector
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Sean Conlon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Before a multiyear adoption cycle for artificial intelligence -enabled dashcam technology takes hold, investors should watch a key software stock in the automotive industry , according to Bank of America. " Samsara (IOT) is revolutionizing roadway safety," analyst Matt Bullock wrote in a Thursday note. Bullock thinks Samsara's new offerings may move the needle for the company's growth in the long term. "They also have smaller R & D budgets and install-bases from which to collect data and improve AI models," Bullock added. "Because of this, we expect Samsara to remain on the cutting edge of the video-based safety software market."

Persons: Matt Bullock, Bullock, there's Organizations: Bank of America

☆ Activist Elliott settles for a new director at Sensata. These next steps may help boost shares
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Business: Sensata Technologies is an industrial technology company that develops, manufactures and sells sensors, electrical protection components and other products. Activist Commentary: Elliott is a very successful and astute activist investor. Elliott often watches companies for many years before investing and has an extensive stable of impressive board candidates. At the same time, Sensata also noted that Elliott settled for a board seat for Phillip Eyler (president and CEO of Gentherm), effective on July 1. As Sensata sensors are used in both combustion and electric vehicles, the current trend to hybrid gives the company a sort of 2-for-1 demand for its products.

Persons: Elliott, Jeff Cote, Martha Sullivan, Sensata, Phillip Eyler, Russell, Sullivan, Eyler, Ken Squire Organizations: Sensata Technologies, Xirgo Technologies, SmartWitness Holdings, 13D Locations: COOs, Cote, Sensata

☆ Why car insurance costs are skyrocketing and leading to higher inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

RobertCrum | Getty ImagesDETROIT – Skyrocketing auto insurance costs helped contribute to inflation accelerating at a faster-than-expected pace in March and are adding to the ever more expensive costs for U.S. vehicle owners. Auto insurance costs have been on the rise for some time, growing every month as part of the index since December 2021. However, auto insurance remains a small portion of the CPI, with a 2.85% weighting. watch nowThe insurance cost increases on inflation come more than two years after the Biden administration largely blamed used car prices for pushing inflation higher in January 2022. The cost of vehicle insurance — which is mandatory in almost every state — varies by provider, driver, coverage and location.

Persons: Sean Tucker, Kelley, David Sampson, Sampson, Biden, Mitchell, Power, —, it's, Price, Mark Garrett, — CNBC's Robert Ferris, Jeff Cox Organizations: Getty, DETROIT, U.S, Auto, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, American, Casualty Insurance Association, CNBC, Progressive, Power's U.S . Auto Insurance, State Farm, Liberty Mutual Locations: U.S, Power's U.S, Geico, .

☆ Ford CEO tells Wall Street to forget Tesla, says 'Pro' business is the future of the auto industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ford Motor Co., CEO Jim Farley gives the thumbs up sign before announcing Ford Motor will partner with Chinese-based, Amperex Technology, to build an all-electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, during a press conference in Romulus, Michigan February 13, 2023. DETROIT – Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley on Thursday urged Wall Street to forget about Tesla and its FSD driver-assistance systems as the future of the auto industry, arguing investors should instead focus on the Detroit automaker's "Pro" fleet business. Look at Ford Pro. Ford expects the Pro unit's pre-tax earnings to increase to between $8 billion and $9 billion this year, the automaker said earlier this month. Tesla does not break out revenue or earnings from its premium driver-assistance software, marketed as its Full Self Driving Beta, FSD or FSD Beta.

Persons: Jim Farley, Farley, It's Organizations: Ford Motor Co, Ford, Amperex Technology, DETROIT, Ford Motor, Detroit, Deere, Co, Ford Pro, Research, Pro Locations: Marshall , Michigan, Romulus , Michigan

☆ Why foreign workers are flocking to this 700-year-old European city
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-03 | by ( Marylou Costa | Jonathan Delise | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ricardo Schmitz. It's something fellow foreign worker Misha Johanna says is a real benefit of living in Vilnius. Source: Misha Johanna"My company here really encourages people to take all of their vacation. Brazilian Ricardo Schmitz engaging in the sport of curling. Source: Ricardo Schmitz

Persons: Ricardo Schmitz's, hadn't, Schmitz, Ricardo Schmitz, Craig Hastings, It's, Misha Johanna, Johanna, Burger King, Aleh, Laura Guarino, Guarino, Teltonika, it's, they've, Laura Guarino Vilnius, " Schmitz Organizations: CNBC Travel, Deloitte, Mykolas Romeris University, Invest Lithuania, European Union, Organization for Economic Cooperation, OECD, Work, Istock, Napoli, Lithuanian Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, Brazil, Europe, Switzerland, Hungary, Indonesian, Indonesia, Jakarta, Bali, Italy, Naples, Lithuanian

☆ BMW North America expands EV charging service across the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of German automaker BMW is seen in Brussels, Belgium June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - BMW North America (BMWG.DE) on Tuesday said it would expand its electric vehicle (EV) charging service, ChargeForward, to 48 states in the U.S., increasing its footprint in the electric mobility sector. All BMW electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles models manufactured after 2018 will be eligible to enrol in the service, the New Jersey-headquartered company said. It currently partners with utilities PG&E in California and Duke Energy in North Carolina, among others, for the service. Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim ZahidOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yves Herman Acquire, ChargeForward, Priyamvada, Tasim Zahid Organizations: BMW, REUTERS, BMW North America, Duke Energy, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, U.S, New Jersey, California, North Carolina, Canada, Bengaluru

BOSTON (AP) — Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. On security, Mozilla's minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. “Sensitive personal information” collected includes driver's license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation and health diagnoses. Mozilla's Caltrider credited laws like the 27-nation European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and California's Consumer Privacy Act for compelling carmakers to provide existing data collection information.

Persons: —, ”, Jen Caltrider, ” Caltrider, North America —, Albert Fox Cahn, Brian Weiss, Tesla, Mozilla's Caltrider, It's Organizations: BOSTON, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Renault, Dacia, North America —, Harvard's Carr, for Human Rights, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, . House, Associated Press, Alliance, Pew, Nissan, Big Tech, Facebook, ”, Data Locations: telematics, Europe, North America, U.S, Japan

☆ Most major companies admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Frank Bajak | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new study found many car companies can collect and sell your personal data, sparking privacy concerns. Most major manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds, with half also saying they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. On security, Mozilla's minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. "Sensitive personal information" collected includes driver's license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation, and health diagnoses.

Persons: —, Jen Caltrider, Caltrider, North America —, Albert Fox Cahn, Brian Weiss, Tesla, Mozilla's Caltrider, It's Organizations: Nissan, Service, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Renault, Dacia, North America —, Harvard's Carr, for Human Rights, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, . House, Associated Press, Alliance, Pew, Big Tech, Facebook, Data Locations: Wall, Silicon, telematics, Europe, North America, U.S, Japan

DETROIT, May 10 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) will consolidate North American sales operations for commercial vehicles, parts and telematics services under a new brand umbrella, GM Envolve, that will compete with Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Ford Pro unit and others for revenue from business vehicle fleets. GM executives said the reorganization is aimed at making it easier for commercial fleet customers to negotiate electric and combustion vehicle purchases and sign up for services and software offerings that GM is developing to generate revenue after the vehicle sale. GM is battling with Ford and Stellantis NV for a bigger share of the commercial fleet market. Ford created its Ford Pro commercial fleet unit in May 2021, and is aiming to increase its annual revenue to $45 billion by 2025, driven in part by software-enabled services. Both Ford and GM say they are leaders in commercial fleet sales, using different definitions of the market.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway shares rise as investors cheer earnings beat and Geico's quick turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett tours the grounds at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha Nebraska. Berkshire's B shares climbed 1.5% in premarket trading, set to add to their 5% gain so far this year. — Berkshire Hathaway shares rose on Monday as Warren Buffett's conglomerate wooed investors with a strong earnings report and an insightful "Woodstock for Capitalists" over the weekend. The strong performance was driven by a rebound in Berkshire's insurance business, especially auto insurer Geico. Geico's surprise recoveryGeico, the crown jewel of Berkshire's insurance empire and Buffett's favorite child, saw a big turnaround in the quarter, returning to an underwriting profit of $703 million.

☆ Berkshire's Ajit Jain says Geico is 'taking the bull by the horns' to improve telematics
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBerkshire's Ajit Jain says Geico is 'taking the bull by the horns' to improve telematicsBerkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger preside over the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Ajit Jain, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway's insurance operations and Greg Abel, vice chairman for non-insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway discuss GEICO.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway's operating earnings increase 12% in the first quarter, cash hoard tops $130 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Earnings for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway jumped in the first quarter, thanks in part to a rebound in the conglomerate's insurance business. Operating earnings, which encompass profits from the conglomerate's fully-owned businesses, totaled $8.065 billion in the first quarter. Profit from insurance underwriting came in at $911 million, up sharply from $167 million a year prior. The auto insurer suffered a $1.9 billion pretax underwriting loss last year as it lost market share to competitor Progressive. Berkshire's cash hoard swelled to $130.616 billion from $128 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway is outperforming during turmoil, but Warren Buffett's favorite child Geico is in trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders attending this year's meeting will want to know more about the company Warren Buffett once called his "favorite child" – the auto insurer Geico. With tens of thousands of shareholders in attendance, Berkshire's annual "Woodstock for Capitalists" will be held in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday, the second in-person gathering since 2019. "I think it's the biggest issue out there at the moment is really Geico," said Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust and a Berkshire shareholder. Geico, until recently, wasn't involved in telematics," Jain said at Berkshire's 2022 meeting. Geico represents one area of weakness for Berkshire, which overall has been beating the broader market.

☆ You'll likely pay more and wait longer for repairs to your electric car
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If car-buyers can only go to a dealer for service, that might mean longer waits and more expense. What's going on with vehicle repair today? So you can imagine if independent repair shops didn't have the opportunity to work on vehicles." "The industry has been hyper-focused on launches and now these customers are bringing their electric vehicles in for maintenance and repairs." "The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but we're not seeing the benefits yet," Sutton added.

☆ Ford taps masses of vehicle data to stay ahead in commercial van market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ford, which leads the commercial vehicle market in both Europe and the United States, launched the system in 2021. Hans Schep, European head of Ford Pro, the company's commercial vehicle business, said it is already close to hitting long-term targets of increasing vehicle "up time" by up to 60%. Ford recently announced engineering job cuts in Europe, but is still hiring software experts for its data services. Data is a huge battleground for commercial vehicle makers and competition will only intensify with electric models, which are essentially computers on wheels. Starting with 2024 models, GM will provide a range of OnStar data services free for fleet vehicles.

☆ Nokia, Kyndryl extend partnership for private 5G factory networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Kyndryl (KD.N) have extended their partnership for three years after clocking up more than 100 customers for automating factories using 5G wireless networks, following their first tie-up a year earlier. "We grew the business significantly last year with the number of customers and number of networks," Chris Johnson, head of Nokia's enterprise business, told Reuters. The companies said some customers were now coming back to put private networks into more of their factories after the initial one. In Dow Chemical's petrochemical processing plant in Texas, the private wireless network increased worker safety, enabled remote audio and video collaboration, personnel tracking, and vehicle telematics, the companies said. The size of the global private 5G network market is expected to reach $41.02 billion by 2030 from 1.38 billion in 2021, according to a study by Grand View Research.

☆ Best Car Insurance Companies for Young Drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +14 min

By Kat TretinaWhether you’re a parent adding a child to your car insurance or a recent college grad purchasing your own policy for the first time, you may experience sticker shock when you see how expensive car insurance premiums can be. Geico also has useful options for young drivers who have made serious mistakes in the past. For young drivers looking for personalized help choosing the right policy, the lack of local agents can be a significant downside. Best Car Insurance with TelematicsState FarmWhy We Chose It: Usage-based insurance, also known as pay-as-you-drive, uses smartphones or telematic-technology to track driver behavior and is increasingly popular. How We Picked the Top CompaniesTo identify the top car insurance companies for young drivers, we researched the 22 insurers ranked in the 2022 J.D.

☆ Werner CIO Looks to Outfit Company Trucks With AI-Enabled Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Mr. Mahon was hired in 2020 to help the 66-year-old trucking and logistics company modernize its technology—much of it built on legacy systems. Nearly 50% of Werner’s systems, data and applications have already been moved to the cloud from its data centers, Mr. Mahon said. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. While Werner is putting its costs “under the microscope heading into next year,” Mr. Mahon said technology is still an area of investment given its priority for company executives. “They understand that if we want to get to that stated goal of $5 billion in the next few years, and beyond that, we have to improve and increase our spend in technology,” Mr. Mahon said.

☆ DHL buying Ford's electric cargo vans showcases Club holding's EV strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The news DHL will acquire 2,000 Ford E-Transit cargo vans by the end of 2023, the companies announced Monday. DHL— owned by Germany's Deutsche Post — said it has already received some of the E-Transit vans, adding them its global fleet of roughly 27,000 electric vans. Ford has sold roughly 5,800 E-Transit vans through November , and the vehicle has become the top-selling commercial vehicle in North America, according to the company. One of those is called Telematics, the official name for the fleet management software DHL will use under Monday's deal. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ A former Tesla engineer's new battery startup just raised a $17.5 million Series A. Here's why investors are betting on AMP to power the future of EV batteries.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Startup AMP just raised $17.5 million for its tech that looks into battery health. Battery management is key to saving EVs from costly recalls. Monitoring battery health can help avoid costly recalls (like that of 142,000 Chevrolet Bolts), extend an EV's life, and manage the way EVs charge. AMP's energy management assesses battery health and performance as the battery sits in a car or in storage. AMP does so through its hardware, using an energy management unit manufactured by third-party partners, as well as a battery management system and software that provides insights.

☆ Ford unveils new F-Series Super Duty trucks designed to boost its commercial, software services businesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

DETROIT – Ford Motor is redesigning a pivotal product lineup, leaning on new software and connected data metrics, to boost profits in its commercial vehicle business. The Detroit automaker on Tuesday revealed its 2023 F-Series Super Duty trucks, a lineup of vehicles ranging from large pickups to commercial trucks and chassis cabs that are used for emergency response, towing and plowing, and construction or utility work. Super Duty is the size of revenue of Southwest Airlines, Marriott or Nordstrom. Cannis declined to disclose revenue for Ford's Super Duty lineup, but Southwest, Marriott and Nordstrom most recently reported annual revenues of between $14 billion and $16 billion. Super Duty trucks have more than 50% market share in utility, mining, construction and emergency response vehicles, according to Ford, citing data from S&P Global Mobility.

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