BP Names Albert Manifold Chairman to Succeed Lund
The appointment comes as the British energy major slashes green spending and pivots back to oil amid pressure from investors. Lund, regarded as one of the key architects of BP's now-jettisoned strategy, said in April that he would be stepping down.
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Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A More Affordable EV Won't Save Tesla
Key Points Tesla fell 5% after hours on its second-quarter earnings report. Some investors saw production of a new, more affordable vehicle as a positive sign. The company launched its robotaxi network in June. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) issued another disappointing earnings report on Tuesday. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You The Insurance Savings You Expect Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The leading electric vehicle (EV) maker finished the after-hours session down 5%, but the sell-off could have been worse. The company reported a decline in both sales and profit. Revenue was down 12% to $22.5 billion, and adjusted net income was down 23% to $1.39 billion, or $0.40 per share. Those numbers actually topped a muted revenue estimate at $22.13 billion, while the bottom-line consensus matched the results at $0.40. Tesla's problems have been well-documented at this point. CEO Elon Musk's turn in the political spotlight seemed to backfire after his relationship with President Donald Trump went sour. Due in part to Musk's involvement with politics, the brand has become unappealing in the eyes of some potential buyers, leading to a 16% decline in automotive revenue. Sales have plunged in Europe, and the company is losing ground to more affordable Chinese EVs. One seemingly bright spot Musk has a long history of overcoming weak results by telling investors what they want to hear on the earnings call, including making big promises about its robotaxi network and other initiatives in autonomy like its Optimus robot. He seemed to do that again on the latest earnings call, with some comments about the more affordable model he has long promised, which some have dubbed the Tesla Model 2. Musk said that the company started production of the vehicle in June and is ramping up production now. He added: "The goal with those products was not to negatively impact revenue or gross margin, but just to make a car that everyone loves and wants at a more affordable price." Musk has long argued that price competition was one of the biggest headwinds facing the company, but the brand crisis seems to have overshadowed that. By introducing its own lower-priced model, Tesla may end up cannibalizing its more expensive vehicles. Customers may be choosing between a more expensive Tesla and that lower-priced model, rather than another brand. The new vehicle is just a cheaper Model Y, rather than a brand-new vehicle model. The robotaxi initiative The biggest reason Tesla has maintained its premium valuation even as sales and profits have tumbled is that investors believe that Tesla's robotaxi network could go mainstream, fulfilling Musk's long-term vision. However, the robotaxi has gotten off to only a modest start after launching in June, and it seemed to get less attention on Tuesday's earnings call, though Musk reminded the audience: "As you can tell, autonomy is the story." Management said that robotaxis in Austin, Texas have topped 7,000 miles with no significant safety interventions. The company is aiming to launch the robotaxi in the San Francisco Bay Area next. Tesla needs growth in its core business Investors have bid up Tesla stock on hopes for its initiatives in robotaxis and more affordable vehicles, but the company needs to return to growth in selling EVs for the stock to be successful over the long term. The decline in EV sales is a reflection of a backlash against Tesla's brand. The company is also expected to struggle over the next few quarters due to the elimination of the EV tax credit and a change in other federal policies that supported EV adoption. The company also faces a $300 million effect from tariffs. Tesla could get back on track, especially if the robotaxi network takes off. But the current valuation in the stock leaves little room for upside if it does, especially given the persistent challenges in EV sales. While a more affordable vehicle might be a step in the right direction, it seems more likely to undercut demand for Tesla's more expensive vehicles, rather than competing with alternatives. Should you buy stock in Tesla right now? The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,063,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A More Affordable EV Won't Save Tesla was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
With Individual Home Buyers on the Sidelines, Investors Swoop into the Market
Individual home buyers are largely locked out of the housing market as home prices continue to climb and interest rates remain stuck. But investors are buying, and dominating the market. So far in 2025, investors who buy homes to flip or rent out have made up about 30% of purchases of both existing and newly built single-family homes, the highest share on record, according to property analytics firm Cotality, which started tracking the sales 14 years ago.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump's EU deal averts disaster. But few are cheering
The United States and the European Union avoided the worst-case scenario: a damaging, all-out trade war between allies that threatened to raise prices on a large number of goods and slow two of the world's largest economies. The framework delivered a sense of relief for both sides – but few are cheering the arrangement itself. The agreement, which sets a 15% tariff on most European goods entering the United States, is higher than the 10% tariff Trump put in place on April 2 and significantly higher than the average of around 1.2% from before Trump's presidency. But it's significantly less than the enormous numbers Trump had been threatening if an agreement wasn't reached. A deal with the United States felt like an impossibility in late May. Frustrated by a lack of progress in negotiations with the 27-member European Union, Trump on May 24 told the world he was done talking to some of America's strongest allies. 'Our discussions with them are going nowhere!' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'I'm not looking for a deal,' he said later that day in the Oval Office. 'We've set the deal — it's at 50%.' The statement — and the shockingly high tariff threat — stunned European trade negotiators and rallied Europe's leaders into action. They quickly agreed to kick talks into high gear. Trump, who has taken a particular liking to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was swayed after she called him to say the EU would commit to moving 'swiftly and decisively.' Trump soon backed off his threat and said negotiations would continue. But a deal between the United States and the European Union, one of America's top trading partners, had remained elusive for months. The two sides squabbled over America's insistence on high tariffs for steel and aluminum, looming tariffs on pharmaceuticals and the tariff floor for virtually all goods that the Trump administration appears set to raise to 15%. Negotiators were unable to come up with a resolution before the initial July 9 deadline — one of the reasons the Trump administration postponed the effective day for its 'reciprocal' tariffs to August 1. With just days to go before the extended deadline, while Trump was visiting Scotland, he met with van der Leyen and finalized a framework for an agreement — one that was thin on details, heavy on caveats, but was nevertheless a hard-sought relief for both sides. With the agreement in place, two of the world's largest economies avoided a potential economically crippling trade war. The United States held a 50% tariff threat over Europe's head, and Europe threatened America with strategic retaliatory tariffs that threatened to damage key US industries. Both sides appeared to embrace the fact that a deal was in place more than they celebrated it. 'We made it,' Trump said while announcing the deal with von der Leyen. 'It's going to work out really well.' 'I think we hit exactly the point we wanted to find,' von der Leyen said. 'Rebalance but enable trade on both sides. Which means good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, means prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic and that was important for us.' Markets cheered, somewhat: Dow futures rose 150 points, or 0.3%, poised to open near record territory. S&P 500 futures gained 0.3% and Nasdaq futures were 0.4% higher. The United States and Europe 'seem to have avoided a self-destructive trade war for now in the biggest and deepest commercial and investment relationship the global economy knows,' said Jörn Fleck, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center. Nevertheless, the details remain murky. Europe will increase its investment in the United States by $600 billion and commit to buying $750 billion worth of US energy products. It eliminates tariffs on a variety of items, including aircraft and plane parts, semiconductors, generic drugs and some chemicals and agricultural products. Maury Obstfeld, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, note many of those investments were already in place. And the agreement appears to do little to eliminate the EU's non-tariff barriers, such as value-added and digital taxes that the Trump administration had railed against. 'There are many things that puzzle me about this agreement,' Obstfeld said. Industries in the zero-tariff arrangement cheered. 'The zero-for-zero tariff regime will grow jobs, strengthen our economic security and provide a framework for U.S. leadership in manufacturing and safety,' Airlines for America said in a statement. But the 15% baseline tariff applies to most goods, so the EU member states – and American importers — will have to come to terms with the fact that higher tariffs will raise prices for European goods in America. 'You're going to pay more for your European imports. That's what this means,' said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM. 'This doesn't enhance trade, this just sets a tax on European goods in the United States.' The agreement also deals another blow to Detroit automakers, which objected to a similar deal the Trump administration reached with Japan. The 15% auto tariff on EU cars imported to the United States undercuts the 25% tariff American automakers pay if their cars are built in Mexico. Although von der Leyen said pharmaceuticals were included in the early framework, she acknowledged that Trump may ultimately place higher tariffs on drugs imported to the United States, undercutting the agreement. Still, in the eyes of the hard-working negotiators — and for the sake of the global economy — a deal is better than no deal. 'We avoid a tit-for-tat retaliation between Washington and Brussels that would've spilled over into the far more important services sector,' Brusuelas said. Now comes the hard part: figuring out the details. CNN's Matt Egan contributed to this report.
