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☆ Elon Musk says the Fed will be too slow to lower interest rates again
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with CNBC's David Faber on Tuesday that he believes the Fed was too slow to increase rates, and it will likely be too slow to lower them in the coming months. The Federal Reserve was slow to raise interest rates, and they're gonna be slow to lower them." Musk's opinion about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy gives a look into what a major company leader is seeing in response to higher interest rates. Musk says that the next 12 months will be difficult for Tesla and other companies from a macroeconomic perspective because of increased interest rates pinching consumer budgets. "You can think of raising the Fed rate as somewhat of a brake pedal on the economy, frankly," Musk said.

☆ U.S.-Made Technology Is Flowing to Sanctioned Russian Airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ana Swanson | Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The shipments also increased over the course of last year as Russia recruited global businesses to help it bypass the sanctions. The men are accused of fielding requests for parts, including expensive brake systems for a Boeing 737, from at least three Russian airlines, including two that had been strictly barred from purchasing U.S.-made products through a so-called temporary denial order issued by the Commerce Department. Despite the level of sanctions evasion, airplane shipments into Russia remain significantly lower than before the war. U.S. officials say Russian airlines have been forced to cannibalize planes, breaking them down for spare parts to keep others in operation, as well as turning to Iran for maintenance and parts. Russia’s imports of aircraft and aircraft parts fell from $3.45 billion annually before the invasion to only about $286 million afterward, according to The Observatory of Economic Complexity, a data visualization platform that explores global trade dynamics.

☆ I drove Nissan's electric Ariya SUV — it proves that 13 years after the Leaf, the automaker can compete with Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The basicsThe 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderThe Ariya landed in the US earlier this year with a starting retail price of $43,190. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderThere's no bulky tunnel running down the middle of the vehicle. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderThe quirks don't stop there. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderHands-free driving isn't available across the board, but Nissan doesn't skimp on standard safety features. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderNissan says the Ariya can charge from 20%-80% in 40 minutes using a sufficiently powerful fast charger.

☆ Australia boasts rare budget surplus, before spending pressures intensify
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FILE PHOTO: Tourists walk around the forecourt of Australia's Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, October 16, 2017. “Providing responsible, targeted relief is the number one priority in our Budget,” Chalmers told lawmakers, while also lauding the improvement in the budget bottom line. High prices for Australia’s commodity exports have also delivered a windfall to mining profits, and thus tax receipts, though prices are now well off their peaks. The government also raised its long-term commodity price assumptions in the budget, which is expected to contribute billions of dollars in extra revenues. Walker believed the revised commodity price projections were still conservative.

☆ How on-demand delivery services hobbled America's biggest city
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But even the largest city in the country isn’t designed to handle the rise of online ordering and the influx of delivery workers. The way New York City handles these issues will shape the response in other major cities. “People view delivery workers as dirty, smelly and taking up too much space,” said Wood, a member of Workers Justice Project, an advocacy group for delivery workers in New York City. The growing dependency on e-bikes has been driven by demands on delivery workers, including faster delivery and bigger areas to cover. “But delivery workers are on the front lines of this and it’s even more necessary for them.”

☆ I drove the $62,000 Kia EV6 GT — a genius electric SUV with supercar speed. Here are 8 things it taught me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Alanis King | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

I heard a lot of great things about the Kia EV6 GT before driving one myself. The Kia EV6 GT is geniusThe EV6 is Kia's new electric crossover, and it starts at $48,700. The 2023 Kia EV6 GT. The 2023 Kia EV6 GT. The 2023 Kia EV6 GT.

☆ Ocon says FIA and F1 apologised for Baku pitlane incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MIAMI, May 4 (Reuters) - Formula One and governing FIA have apologised for a dangerous pitlane incident at the end of last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Alpine's Esteban Ocon said on Thursday. "The FIA have assured us they are making sure they are changing the protocols and making sure there is nobody in the pitlane until the end. Ocon said upgrades taken to Baku had worked, even if not evident at the time with only a handful of laps in the only practice session and the car not optimised. Team mate Pierre Gasly's car caught fire in Friday practice and he then crashed in qualifying. In the previous race in Australia, Ocon and Gasly collided in a late restart after red flags.

☆ A looming El Niño could prompt a spike in global temperatures, UN agency warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An El Niño climate pattern will likely develop later this year, which could exacerbate global warming and break temperature records around the world, forecasters from the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. The United Nations agency said it cannot yet forecast the strength or duration of the El Niño, but according to its outlook, there is a 60% chance that the El Niño will form between May and July and an 80% chance it will form between July and September. "The development of an El Niño will most likely lead to a new spike in global heating and increase the chance of breaking temperature records," Taalas said. An El Niño has the opposite effects on weather and climate patterns than a La Niña. Both weather patterns result from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific and are part of an intermittent cycle known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO.

☆ 3 indicators the job market is seeing what one economist calls an ‘unambiguous cooldown'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The job market is still hot but is clearly slowing from the scorching levels seen during much of the past two years, according to labor experts. Job openings and voluntary worker departures (or, quits) declined in March, while the layoff rate increased, according to data issued Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Two words: unambiguous cooldown," Nick Bunker, director of North American economic research at job site Indeed, said of the data in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. "If you're looking at the current temperature of the labor market, it's still strong, still hot," Bunker said. The Federal Reserve began raising borrowing costs aggressively last year to cool the economy and labor market, aiming to tame stubbornly high inflation.

The World Health Organization said last year the syrups, made by Indian manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, contained lethal toxins ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) – used in car brake fluid. "If you ask and you don't get informed, it's a dead end," Rutendo Kuwana, the WHO's team lead for incidents with substandard and falsified medicines, told Reuters in an interview on March 31. Drug inspectors found a dozen violations at Maiden last October related to the production of the cough syrups sold to Gambia, a government document showed. Among these, some of the COAs of raw ingredients used in making the syrups, including propylene glycol, were missing batch numbers. Kuwana said the WHO was sure of its own cough syrup test results from two separate independent laboratories, both of which showed contamination.

Growth came mostly from exports, the result of a revival in global trade as China re-opened for business after the pandemic. But national data showed price growth remained stubbornly high, probably leaving the ECB with no choice but to keep raising interest rates. Friday's inflation data showed progress was slow. IMF CALLS FOR MORE RATE HIKESMoney markets currently price in another 70 basis points of ECB rate hikes by October, possibly followed by cuts as early as the start of next year. It also said European Union finance ministers should tighten fiscal policy in concerted action to bring down high inflation, which would probably depress consumption further.

☆ Chile's lithium takeover plan faces technical, political challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] A view of a brine pool of a lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert, Chile, August 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File PhotoSANTIAGO, April 28 (Reuters) - While Chile's plan to take control of its lithium industry has caused global shockwaves, state-led production of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries is seen by analysts as likely years away given technical and political challenges. CODELCO'S ROLEChile's state-run Codelco, the largest copper producer in the world, plays a key role in Boric's lithium plan although it has no experience in producing the white metal. The report noted that Argentina currently has more lithium projects in the pipeline than any other country in the world. Albemarle has said it needs new water sources to expand in Chile's Atacama salt flat, noting a desalination project was awaiting permits and construction.

☆ Markets next week have to contend with how aggressive the Fed drumbeat sounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"Is Chairman Powell going to say, 'It is likely that we pause now and assess what the economy is going to do?' "The tone on that balance is going to be very critical to how the market is going to move next week." "What is [Powell] going to do? June Fed meeting The betting on Wall Street right now is that, after next week, the Fed will standpat at its next meeting six weeks later, on June 13-14. Beyond Apple, some 161 other companies in the S & P 500 index are scheduled to report latest-quarter results next week.

☆ GM Recalls Some Chevy Silverado Trucks Over Fire Risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some Chevrolet Silverado trucks were discovered to have a potential brake-fluid leak that could result in a fire. Photo: rebecca cook/ReutersGeneral Motors Co. has issued a recall for some of its Chevrolet Silverado trucks after discovering a potential brake-fluid leak that could result in a fire. The recall could involve as many as 40,000 medium-duty trucks made in 2019 or later, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

☆ An American Airlines employee died when his vehicle crashed at an airport in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An American Airlines employee was pronounced dead after a crash in Texas on Thursday. The worker died after a vehicle crashed on the tarmac at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. An American Airlines employee died when a vehicle he was driving crashed into a jet bridge at an airport in Texas. The incident occurred outside the terminal where aircraft park, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said in a statement on Twitter. An American Airlines representative told Insider: "We are devastated by the accident involving a team member at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

☆ They Saw the Horrific Aftermath of a Mass Shooting. Should We?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jay Kirk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Jeff decided that he and Sam would be the only two permitted to have phones inside, in order to limit photographs. It was something Jeff learned to do from the nurses at Bristol Hospital a million years ago when he was a paramedic. He had already made the mistake when one fluttered out as he was dumping an uneaten lunch into the trash. They would set up staging tables in the tent for mass processing of the evidence, nothing they’d ever done at this scale. The problem was that during these interruptions it was not as if they could just step outside for a break.

The size of subsidies under the EU Chips Act, which aims to tempt the world's top chipmakers to build factories in the bloc and double its share of global output to 20% by 2030, lags the $52 billion CHIPS for America Act. Taiwan accounts for more than 60% of global chip production and concerns are growing about heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing. But Europe's relatively modest subsidies could put a brake on its ambition, said Richard Windsor of research company Radio Free Mobile. GOOD STARTThe EU Chips Act is a good start given the EU has little choice but to join the subsidy race, but the bloc should play to its chipmaking strengths, said Christopher Cytera, research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis. Catching up on the chips race is more than just building factories and the Chips Act acknowledges this with its focus on developing skilled labour for the future, said Anielle Guedes, senior research analyst at IDC Technologies.

LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - The zinc market was defined by smelter woes last year with global refined metal production dropping by 4.1% relative to 2021, according to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG). But the smelter bottleneck was severe enough to generate a global supply shortfall of more than 300,000 tonnes, according to ILZSG. A sharp rise in the annual benchmark smelter processing fee should incentivise a turnaround in metal production. Annual "benchmark" zinc smelter processing feesOUT-OF-SYNCH SUPPLY CHAINThis year's benchmark treatment charge, the fee a smelter earns for converting mined concentrates into metal, has been set at $274 per tonne, up from $230 in 2022 and $159 in 2021. Global mined and refined zinc production annual changeSMELTER RECOVERY?

☆ U.S. opens safety probe into Tesla that struck student in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowWASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. safety authorities said on Friday they are investigating whether an advanced driver assistance system was in use when a Tesla struck a 17-year-old student that exited a school bus in North Carolina. NHTSA said Tesla's advanced driver assistance systems were suspected of being in use in the North Carolina crash. The agency has ruled out Tesla Autopilot use in three other special crash investigations. The local fire department said a Tesla struck one of its fire trucks and the Tesla driver was pronounced dead at the scene. In June, NHTSA upgraded to an engineering analysis its defect probe into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with driver assistance system Autopilot that involves crashes with parked emergency vehicles including fire trucks.

☆ GM's Cruise recalls 300 self-driving vehicles to update software after bus crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - General Motors' (GM.N) robotaxi unit Cruise LLC is recalling the automated driving software in 300 vehicles after one of its driverless vehicles crashed into the back of a San Francisco bus. The March 23 collision was the fault of a software error in a Cruise automated vehicle (AV) that inaccurately predicted the movement of an articulated San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority bus, Cruise said on Friday. The crash caused moderate damage to the Cruise but did not result in any injuries. Cruise in September disclosed that it recalled and updated software in 80 self-driving vehicles after a June crash in San Francisco that left two people injured. NHTSA in December opened a formal safety probe into the Cruise autonomous driving system after it received reports of incidents in which self-driving Cruise vehicles "may engage in inappropriately hard braking or become immobilized."

☆ Actor Jeremy Renner says horrific snowplow accident was 'my mistake'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES, April 6 (Reuters) - Oscar-nominated actor Jeremy Renner said he was at fault in a New Year's Day snowplow accident that left him close to death and that he apologized to his family for putting them through the ordeal. Renner stuck one foot out of the plow to look back at Alex and did not set the parking brake. Renner, then worried that the snowplow would roll back and crush his nephew, said he tried to jump back into the vehicle to stop it. Renner was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his work in 2008 film "The Hurt Locker" and for best supporting actor for his work in 2010 movie "The Town." Renner credited the support of his family with helping him survive the snowplow accident.

☆ OpenAI to propose remedies to Italian ban on ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME/STOCKHOLM, April 6 (Reuters) - OpenAI plans to present measures to Italian authorities on Thursday to remedy concerns that led to a ban of its ChatGPT chatbot in Italy last week, the country's data protection authorities said. The Italian agency, also known as Garante, accused Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI of failing to check the age of ChatGPT users and the "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot. OpenAI responded by stopping access to Italian users. The agency said it has no intention of putting a brake on the development of AI but reiterated the importance of respecting rules aimed at protecting the personal data of Italian and European citizens. In February, Garante banned AI chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people.

☆ Oil prices stable as economic fears balance OPEC+ cuts, U.S. stock draw
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File PhotoLONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Wednesday, as the market weighed gloomy economic prospects against expectations of U.S. crude inventory declines and OPEC's voluntary output cuts announcement. Bullish sentiment continued after voluntary cuts pledged by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+. However, weak manufacturing activity in the U.S. and China - the two biggest oil consumers - have capped oil oil price gains. Record Russian diesel flows to the Middle East in March, and the sluggish performance of middle distillates contracts have "acted acted as a brake on any attempt to push crude oil prices meaningfully higher," Varga said.

☆ Tesla reports vehicle deliveries are up about 35 percent from last year in first quarter following price cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla published its Q1 production and deliveries data Sunday, reporting a record number of deliveries. The electric vehicle manufacturer reported production of about 440,000 vehicles, and just under 423,000 vehicle deliveries, the closest figure to sales that Tesla reports, in the first quarter. The car maker fell short of analyst expectations from FactSet — an average of 432,000 deliveries reported Friday — cited in the Wall Street Journal and CNBC. The Treasury Department also recently released new regulations for electric vehicle tax credits, which are set to go into effect later this month. They could impact the demand and affordability for Teslas and other electric vehicles as certain models become ineligible for $7,500 tax credits.

☆ Tesla recalled some of its electric semi trucks just months after they hit the road
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It is unclear how many Tesla Semis have been delivered. The recall impacts 35 trucks, but it's unclear what percentage of the total number of Tesla Semis on the road that represents. The electric-car maker began delivering the semi trucks in December. In January, Tesla issued an end-of-quarter delivery report, but it did not specify the delivery number for the Tesla Semi. The Tesla Semi recall is one of several hiccups the electric-car maker has dealt with in recent months.

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