Yahoo Finance Electricity Bills Are Going Up—and Show No Sign of Slowing
Utilities are spending heavily to ramp up their transmission infrastructure as electricity demand grows.
Utilities are spending heavily to ramp up their transmission infrastructure as electricity demand grows.
STORY: Elon Musk looks to be doing more layoffs at Tesla. Reports by The Information on Tuesday (April 30) say he’s fired two top executives, and plans to get rid of hundreds more workers. Musk is said to be frustrated by falling sales, and the pace of earlier job cuts. The story quotes an email said to be from Musk. In it he says, “these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hard core about headcount”. In an apparent warning to managers, he says “while some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so”. There was no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment. It all follows a move earlier this month to shed some 10% of the company’s workforce. Tesla is grappling with falling sales and an intensifying price war which it started. Reporting earnings last week, it said all that led to its first quarterly drop in revenue since 2020. Musk this weekend made a surprise visit to China, the epicenter of the price battle. There he made progress on rolling out the brand’s advanced driver assistance features in the country. However, Tesla faces fierce competition from local makers like BYD in what is now the world’s biggest car market.
It's time for your second act.
Tech giant Huawei's first-quarter profits surged over fivefold year-on-year, a company filing showed Tuesday, as the US-sanctioned firm continues a rebound and bit into competitor Apple's sales in China.Net profit in the January-March period amounted to $2.7 billion, up 564 percent from the first quarter of last year, according to a results filing by Huawei's holding company on an official website and confirmed by a representative of the firm.
STORY: Light-up emojis. Music for pedestrians outside. In China, electric carmakers are offering up luxury tech – without the luxury price tag – in the battle for buyers. Cars are being loaded with once-expensive interior features and technology for as low as $20,000 – less than half the cost of the average new car in the U.S. Analysts say that poses a big challenge for foreign heavyweights like Tesla and Volkswagen. This is the Nammi – on display here at the Beijing auto show. It’s made by state-owned automaker Dongfeng and sells for under $10,000. That’s around the same as BYD’s Seagull EV – China’s fourth best-selling electric vehicle. The market is also crowded with electric and plug-in vehicles that splash luxury technology. Xpeng is planning to offer an EV with high-level self-driving features – for under $21,000. Analysts say the price of specialized components like sensors needed for self-driving and screens for onboard entertainment has tumbled. That's making competition in the world’s largest auto market all the more fierce… And chipping away at the halo that once hung over foreign brands. That’s according to an outlook from McKinsey analysts released in March. Take Zeekr, for instance. It's the carmaker with those emojis. Here’s its Shanghai head of design, Javier-Garcia Gallardo: “When we see the differences between our product launch in China versus our product launch in Europe and, you know, the technical details are as important as the design and the brand. And this integration of technology is essential for the Chinese customer.” Still, German automakers say they’re not backing down. Here’s Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius: “We have a dedicated digital tech team here all the way down to providing things like in the new E-Class, you can sing karaoke. Maybe you don't have that feature in Germany. Maybe you should. But here, customers love it.” Mercedes, as well as Volkswagen, both told Reuters they’re working to deliver those so-called “wow effects” for Chinese buyers.
Shares of Starbucks fell 15% to their lowest in nearly two years on Wednesday, after the coffee chain cut annual forecasts on persistent weak demand from inflation-weary U.S. customers and a slower-than-expected economic recovery in China. Price hikes taken last year have forced customers to ditch cafes and restaurants and instead drink coffee at home, hurting business for chains such as Starbucks. "The inability to stop the traffic leakage from the early signs of pull-back in November to date and the worsening macro and competitive dynamics in China may suggest prolonged challenges and no evidence of light at the end of the tunnel," Danilo Gargiulo, senior analyst at Bernstein, wrote in a note.
German engineering company BAUCH makes machines and engine components out of materials mined in China, Africa or South America that pass through multiple hands and processes before they reach its factories in southern Germany and China. To comply with Germany's new Supply Chain Act, BAUCH, like other firms with more than 1,000 staff, must take due diligence procedures to monitor suppliers' human rights and environmental protection standards - a task which CEO Manfred Bauch says is almost impossible and threatens to rip apart his supply chain.
Operators of local franchisees of companies like KFC and McDonald’s have pushed back against allegations that their businesses are tied to Israel.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Google will present closing arguments Thursday and Friday in the government’s case alleging the tech giant has illegally maintained and operated a monopoly in the online search market. The closing arguments will bring Google and the DOJ back to U.S. District Court after concluding a 10-week trial in…
Fast food at fine dining prices?
The cost to produce potash from a mine being developed in the Brazilian Amazon will be similar to Russia's and lower than in No. 1 producer Canada, said the CEO of Brazil Potash Corp, citing a third-party assessment used in a company presentation. The economics of the project -- which faced a protracted licensing process involving multiple government agencies and Indigenous consultations -- has drawn analysts' attention after the price of potash fell sharply from highs above $1,000 per metric ton amid the threat of sanctions against Russia and Belarus in 2022, compared to the current level just above $300. That, and new mining projects emerging in Canada and Laos, would likely keep a lid on prices, they said.
U.S. job openings fell to a three-year low in March, while the number of people quitting their jobs declined, signs of easing labor market conditions that over time could aid the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report from the Labor Department on Wednesday was, however, tempered somewhat by other data showing a measure of prices paid by manufacturers for raw materials jumped to the highest level in nearly two years in April as commodity prices increased. Falling goods prices were the major driver of the moderation in inflation last year.
Australia's Meteoric Resources will supply 3,000 metric tonnes of rare earth oxide per year to Toronto-listed Neo Performance Materials under a preliminary agreement, the companies said on Thursday. Neo's rare earth separation factory in Estonia is expected to purchase the rare earth oxide from the initial output of Meteoric's Caldeira project in Brazil.
The problem is more psychological than financial.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Thursday, rebounding from three days of losses, on expectations the lower levels may prompt the U.S., the world's biggest crude consumer, to start replenishing its strategic reserve, putting a floor under prices. Still, prices fell more than 3% on Wednesday to a seven-week after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, which may curtail economic growth this year and limit oil demand increase. Crude was also pressured by an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories and signs of an impending Israel-Hamas ceasefire that would ease Middle East supply concerns.
Bank says it has started search for a successor as it reports quarterly profits beat forecasts
In this piece, we will take a look at the top 20 technology companies in Silicon Valley. If you want to skip our coverage of the world’s technology hub and a region that has changed the world as we know it, then check out 5 Top Tech Companies in Silicon Valley. If there’s one thing […]
The CEO of Tim Hortons' parent company says its flatbread pizza market test was "the largest and most successful in recent history."
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) reported its second quarter earnings results, beating analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines. The semiconductor giant's second quarter adjusted earnings were $2.44 per share, topping Street estimates of $2.32. Adjusted revenue of $9.39 billion was just slightly better than the $9.32 billion estimate. Joining Market Domination Overtime to discuss the results are Rosenblatt Securities Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst Kevin Cassidy and Moor Insights & Strategy Founder, CEO, and Chief Analyst Patrick Moorhead. While the quarter focused primarily on Qualcomm's handset sales, Moorhead highlights the company's automotive segment as "the biggest surprise" in the results. He notes that this sector witnessed a remarkable surge in its backlog, increasing from $30 billion to a staggering $45 billion over the course of 18 months, describing the feat as "pretty big." Asked about AI's implications, Moorhead says that with Qualcomm's new chips featuring "supersized AI" capabilities, he is "very optimistic" that a supercycle could emerge in the latter half of the year. Cassidy echoed Moorhead's sentiment, describing Qualcomm's results as "a relief" amid reports of weakening demand in the Android sector. He agrees with the notion of a potential supercycle, saying that Qualcomm's unique features and applications could support such a development. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Angel Smith
European car giants Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis all posted lower sales and first-quarter revenue on Tuesday as they geared up to launch new models, faced higher costs and were hit by weaker demand for new cars as interest rates remain high. The news hit the automakers' stocks. Mercedes shares were down 4.4%, Stellantis 4% and Volkswagen 2.7%.
The Federal Communications Commission has slapped the largest mobile carriers in the US with a collective fine worth $200 million for selling access to their customers' location information without consent.