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Ford rejigs EV plans after suffering billions in losses
Just four years ago, Ford Motor seemed poised to give Tesla a real run for its money in electric vehicles. In 2021, the company introduced a stylish electric sport utility vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E, and quickly followed it a year later with a battery-powered version of its bestselling pickup, the F-150, and an electric van. The three new models gave Ford a jump on other established automakers like General Motors. But then the growth of electric car sales slowed and Tesla started slashing car prices. At the same time, higher material costs made it harder for established carmakers to make money on electric vehicles. Over the last 2½ years, Ford's electric vehicle division has lost $12 billion, including $2.2 billion in the first half of this year. This year, sales of its electric models have stalled, falling 12 percent in the first six months. Now, Ford has come up with a new plan. On Monday, the automaker said that it has developed new, lower-cost electric vehicle components that will allow it to sell more affordable cars. The first will be a medium-sized, four-door pickup truck that can seat five, have a front trunk in addition to its bed and have a starting price of $30,000, Ford said. That truck is expected to arrive in showrooms in 2027, while a new large electric pickup will be delayed by a year to 2028. The company also said it has developed a new manufacturing process that should also lower costs while improving quality. — NEW YORK TIMES
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LABOR
Mothers are leaving the workforce, erasing pandemic gains
Working mothers, who helped drive much of the job market's post-pandemic comeback, are leaving the workforce in large numbers this year. The share of working mothers age 25 to 44 with young children has fallen nearly every month this year, dropping by nearly 3 percentage points between January and June, to the lowest level in more than three years, according to an analysis of federal data by Misty Heggeness, a professor at the University of Kansas and former principal economist at the Census Bureau. The drop has been enough to wipe out many of the gains made by working mothers after the pandemic, when remote work arrangements and flexible schedules lured many back to the labor force. But the reversal of many of those policies — with major corporations and government agencies now requiring employees to be back in the office five days a week — has had the opposite effect, Heggeness said. Sweeping federal layoffs have also been a setback for women and other caregivers, who have long relied on the government for stable and flexible employment. — WASHINGTON POST
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CURRENCY
Trump crypto firm announces $1.5 billion digital coin deal
World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency startup founded last year by the Trump family, announced Monday that a publicly traded technology firm would begin buying large quantifies of its signature digital coin. The firm, a little-known tech company called ALT5 Sigma, is planning to sell $1.5 billion worth of shares, using the proceeds to buy $WLFI, a cryptocurrency created by World Liberty, the announcement said. Similar initiatives have become wildly popular in the crypto world this year, after the success of Strategy, a public tech company formerly known as MicroStrategy that has built a bitcoin stockpile worth billions of dollars. Strategy's stock price has soared in sync with the price of bitcoin, which has set a series of record highs in recent months. As part of the deal, World Liberty will receive shares in ALT5, according to securities filings, in return for $750 million worth of $WLFI coins. Eric Trump, the president's middle son, will join ALT5's board, and Zach Witkoff, a World Liberty founder and the son of President Trump's Middle East adviser, will serve as chair of the board. The deal marks the latest expansion of the Trumps' sprawling crypto empire, which has buoyed the family's finances and created sweeping conflicts of interest. Not long after starting World Liberty, Donald Trump began selling a so-called memecoin, known as $TRUMP, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for his family. His sons Eric and Donald Jr. are also involved in a separate bitcoin mining venture, American Bitcoin. At the same time that his family has invested in crypto, the president has implemented policies designed to boost the industry. — NEW YORK TIMES
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LABOR
Israel's biggest union declines to join general strike
An attempt by Israeli hostage families to organize a nationwide strike against plans for a military takeover of Gaza was dealt a blow on Monday, when the country's main labor union declined to join in. The leader of Histadrut said he was concerned the union's involvement would divert the public discourse on the return of hostages into a political debate. The group represents 850,000 members, according to its website. 'If I knew that a strike, for even longer than one day, could stop the war and bring them home I'd have gone all in at full force,' Arnon Bar-David said after a meeting with representatives from the families. 'Unfortunately, and although my heart is bursting with anger, it's futile,' he added. Several of Israel's technology and venture capital companies have publicly voiced their support for the labor action, scheduled for Sunday, including Qumra Capital, Pitango Ltd, Wix.com Ltd, and Fiverr International Ltd. Representatives of the Israel Business Forum, a group of 200 of the country's top business leaders, was present at the meeting on Monday. They stopped short of saying whether they will support the strike. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
MEDIA
Paramount strikes seven-year deal to stream UFC fights
David Ellison has been the chair of Paramount for all of five days, but he already has something to show for it. Paramount announced Monday morning that it had struck a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal to claim exclusive streaming and broadcast rights in the United States for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The deal will go into effect next year. The agreement will give Paramount access to the full slate of UFC's 30 fight nights, along with 13 of the sport's biggest events. All of the fights will be available on the Paramount+ streaming app, and some marquee matches will also broadcast on CBS, which Paramount owns. Last week, Skydance Media, of which Ellison is founder and CEO, finally took over Paramount — the parent company of CBS, Comedy Central, and the fabled Hollywood movie studio — after more than a year spent wrangling to buy it. Sports rights have become increasingly valuable to media organizations, as they attempt to sell more subscriptions to their streaming services and to increase the amount of time people spend there. 'We think it is going to be incredibly material in terms of increasing our engagement on Paramount+, driving subscriber acquisitions and also meaningfully growing revenue across the business,' Ellison said. The new deal will replace a yearslong arrangement between UFC and ESPN, and effectively doubles the total fee the sport will take in. ESPN currently pays roughly $550 million a year for UFC coverage. — NEW YORK TIMES
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Business Insider
a minute ago
- Business Insider
Government data is now in question. Here's where macro investors are turning to fill the gaps.
No savvy investor makes a decision off a single data point, but there are some numbers that carry more weight than others. For many macro investors, the North Star has long been the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unit within the Department of Labor that measures, among other things, inflation, unemployment rates, and wage growth. Those in charge of the BLS have long been non-partisan economists, but President Donald Trump's firing of Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on August 1 and his top pick for her replacement, chief economist at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, EJ Antoni, have many concerned with the validity of future government data, especially as Antoni floated pausing monthly jobs reports. It's concerning for macro traders who rely on this data to make their bets, but there are non-governmental data sources that many already use. While helpful, these alternative databases can't replicate the widespread foundation BLS numbers provided for decades, where all market participants worked for the same set of basic facts about the state of the world's biggest economy. Still, traders are ramping up their use of this data in light of Trump's moves. "What's going to be tricky here is how to judge numbers coming out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics moving forward," said Andreas Steno Larsen, onetime macro investor and researcher, on his weekly podcast. He compared the firing to something that would happen "in Latin America" and predicted that investors would "look for alternative sources" to get a second opinion on the official data. Four macro investors pointed to the well-known ADP jobs report, which comes out monthly and tracks payroll from private employers, and MIT's Billion Prices Project as ways to track employment and inflation, respectively, in the US. The investors declined to be named because their firms don't authorize them to speak publicly. Some investors tap datasets that constantly scrape e-commerce prices, such as PriceStats, and track how different products rise and fall over time. This is a useful tool to understand Trump's tariff policies' impact, given the volume of online goods that US consumers buy from overseas. Payroll and scheduling company Homebase tracks more than 150,000 small businesses and produces monthly employment reports. LinkUp has tracked online job postings since 2007. Numerator has become a key source for in-person consumer data at places such as restaurants and home improvement stores. "Given the recent BLS conversations, we've recently seen demand for our data increase," Homebase CEO John Waldmann said in a statement. Not a replacement These alternative data sources are just that — alternative. They were used to get a sneak peek or a deeper look at inflation or unemployment figures that the government would release, not replace them entirely. They also sometimes vary. For example, ADP's payroll figures often diverge from the BLS's monthly jobs report, and MIT's Billion Prices Project can capture inflation trends sooner than the official CPI but is less comprehensive. "We don't see them replacing economic statistics altogether in the near future," said Julie Meigh, the head of ESG & macro research at alt-data platform Neudata, about non-traditional datasets. Even if BLS data becomes less trustworthy, the different macro investors who spoke with Business Insider said they'll still need to use it in some fashion unless there's a structural change in financial products. For example, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, change when the Consumer Price Index from the government is announced. For those who have exposure to these types of assets, ignoring the BLS is not possible even if the data becomes untrustworthy. As one trader at one of the world's biggest macro hedge funds said, he was surprised markets weren't more spooked by Trump's firing. Equity markets were near record highs, and bond yields stayed mostly steady. "I think it's clear that institutions are not as strong as many had thought," this individual said.
Business Insider
8 minutes ago
- Business Insider
'Critical Role…in Our Nation's Defense': Boeing Stock (NYSE:BA) Slips as Strikers Call on Lawmakers
The latest strike at aerospace stock Boeing (BA) continues unabated, with no talks yet on the schedule, and the strikers turning to a surprisingly desperate ploy. Boeing strikers at the St. Louis area plants are calling on lawmakers to step in and help deliver a contract. This did not sit well with Boeing investors, though, and they sent shares down fractionally in Wednesday afternoon's trading. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Tom Boelling, Directing Business Representative for IAM District 837, made it clear: 'IAM District 837 members have spoken loud and clear, they deserve a contract that reflects their skill, dedication, and the critical role they play in our nation's defense.' To that end, IAM has called on Missouri lawmakers to step in and push Boeing toward actually coming back to negotiate. While the District 837 workers are a big part of Boeing's operation, handling a large part of the fighter jet operations and munitions work, they produce certain components for Boeing's commercial aircraft line as well. But the operation is about a tenth, give or take, the size of the one that went on strike last year. It is something of a surprise that Boeing strikers have not sought President Trump's help, especially given how many planes Trump has had a hand in moving for Boeing. Air India Retrofit With the Air India disaster likely still ringing in its collective, and largely metaphorical, ears, Air India has launched a program to retrofit the 787 aircraft in its fleet. The program impacts 26 aircraft in total, reports note, and will add a slate of features to the aircraft in question. The retrofit will bring, among other things, a new 'three-class configuration with Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy Class seats.' Each cabin will get new seats and new in-flight entertainment systems. There will be plenty of new fixtures as well; carpeting, curtains, upholstery, galleys, and even lavatories will be getting replacements as part of the move. This should go quite a way to ensuring passengers pick Air India when traveling therein. Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 19 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 38.05% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $256 per share implies 10.15% upside potential.
Newsweek
31 minutes ago
- Newsweek
How Arctic Could Form Key Part of Ukraine Ceasefire Talks
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A ceasefire in Ukraine will be the focus for Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump when they meet in Alaska, but cooperation between Russia and the United States in the Arctic would also be a salient topic for discussion, a regional expert has told Newsweek. Andreas Østhagen, from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, said Anchorage is the natural location for the presidents to discuss the surrounding strategic region, which is drawing increasing attention from both countries. He said that oil and gas exploration, developing the Northern Sea route, and fishing are areas of mutual interest that could be discussed. Why It Matters Both Russia and the U.S. have prioritized the Arctic, making it a natural topic for a summit held in Alaska, which is the gateway to the region where the Bering Strait is a direct maritime passage between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty What To Know The Russian and American presidents will meet at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Friday, during which the Trump administration will hope for a breakthrough in the Russia-Ukraine war. As well as the war in Ukraine, Østhagen said that Russia could discuss developing the Northern Sea route (NSR) into a commercial traffic lane, which is a Russian project that the U.S. plays a part in but is not the primary driver of. The NSR, which goes along the Arctic coastline, is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region, and its strategic value chimes with Trump's statements about Greenland, which he wants to acquire. Through it sail container ships, oil tankers, bulk carriers transporting minerals and ores, and vessels servicing oil, gas and mining operations in Alaska and Siberia. It is becoming more navigable due to global warming. Under the Biden administration and Trump's first administration, efforts were made to expand collaboration between Russia and the U.S., focusing on enabling safer traffic through the Bering Strait, which divides Alaska from Russia, said Østhagen, who is also a senior fellow at the Arctic Institute. "If any shipping traffic takes that shortcut between Europe and Asia, it has to go via the Russian Arctic and via the Bering Strait," Østhagen said. The Bering Sea is also home to some of the most profitable fish stocks in the world, where not only Russia and the U.S. are actively fishing, but also other countries like China. There are potential plans for oil and gas development in the Arctic, and joint exploration in shared areas like the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait, could be considered, though profitability and political factors will influence such projects. "There's a lot to talk about in terms of practical functional cooperation, first and foremost to try to set up shipping or more oil and gas exploration in the Arctic," said Østhagen. What People Are Saying Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and Ocean Politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek: "The fact that both presidents have put the Arctic high on their agendas would make Alaska a natural point to discuss the region." "Russia perhaps could offer developing the Northern Sea route into a viable commercial traffic lane that's a Russian project, which the U.S. plays a part in, but is not the primary driver of," he said. What Happens Next The White House has described Friday's summit in Anchorage as a "listening exercise," for Trump. Before then, European leaders are likely to push for the U.S. to keep Ukraine's interests in mind.
