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Business Insider
29 minutes ago
- Business
- Business Insider
HP stock plunges as tariffs slam the company
HP dived as much as 15% in extended trading on Wednesday after reporting second-quarter earnings that were hit hard by tariffs. "Due to additional tariff costs that could not be fully mitigated in the quarter, our non-GAAP operating profit fell short of expectations," HP's CEO, Enrique Lores, said on Wednesday's earnings call. Second-quarter revenue rose 3.3% to $13.22 billion, beating analyst expectations of $13.14 billion. Profit fell 17% to $700 million compared to the same period last year, missing expectations. The earnings report and guidance disappointed investors despite HP's efforts to dampen the impact from tariffs by diversifying its supply chain. "We recently increased our production coming from Vietnam, Thailand, India, Mexico, and the US," Lores said. "By the end of June, we now expect nearly all of our products sold in North America will be built outside of China." Later in after-hours trading, the company pared losses to about 8%. HP's stock has slumped 16% so far this year, in part because of earnings misses and underperformance compared to peers. Trade tensions have been a prominent theme this earnings season. Some companies including General Motors, Chipotle, and PepsiCo lowerd their forecasts for upcoming quarters. Others, such as Snap, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines, scrapped guidance completely, citing too much uncertainty from import duties. The US imposed a 145% duty on products made in China, as part of Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs in April. It reduced them to 30% earlier this month. On Wednesday, a federal court found that Trump does not have the authority to impose his sweeping tariff strategy. The unanimous decision by the three-judge panel came during ongoing trade negotiations between the administration and countries around the world. On Friday, Trump threatened a new tariff on the European Union, but backed down from the plan over the weekend. The US Court of International Trade's three-judge panel was unanimous in its ruling, declaring that the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration would be vacated.
Korea Herald
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
GM selling off Korean assets, but denies exit rumors
General Motors has once again dismissed speculation that it plans to end its Korean operations despite the US automaker's decision to sell off loss-making businesses and idle assets in Korea. According to auto industry sources on Thursday, Hector Villarreal, president and managing director of GM Korea, met with the leadership of the company's labor union the previous day to explain that the selloff decision was not part of a process to exit the Korean market but rather to increase profitability. He added that it will not impact the employment status of GM Korea workers. Rumors of GM's possible withdrawal from Korea were reignited when the company sent out a notice on Wednesday to its employees announcing that it will begin discussions with stakeholders to gradually sell its nine directly operated service centers nationwide as well as underutilized assets and land at its Bupyeong plant in Incheon. 'Maximizing the value of idle assets and streamlining the operation of loss-making service centers are important to maintaining the company's sustainability,' said Villarreal. 'We still have a few years left of our vehicle production program, and these measures are important to ensuring the business efficiency of the company.' The notification mentioned that the asset sales will not impact GM Korea's planned production. The automaker said it will continue to offer customer services at 386 service centers run by its partners while employees at the directly operated service centers will be relocated to other positions to maintain their employment. GM's exit rumors surfaced early this year when US President Donald Trump said he would impose "reciprocal" tariffs on auto imports. The 25 percent auto tariffs went into effect on April 3. GM Korea sold about 500,000 vehicles last year, and approximately 420,000 of them were shipped to the US. If the levies stay, GM Korea is on pace to suffer serious damage to its businesses that heavily rely on US exports. Despite GM's continued denials of plans to withdraw, industry watchers have been warily eyeing the US brand's future business in Korea. For instance, GM Korea said it had no plans to roll out new vehicles at its Korean plants during a presentation on its current business status at its headquarters in Bupyeong last week. The company operates two manufacturing plants -- one in Bupyeong and the other in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. It owns another plant in Bupyeong but it has been closed since November 2022. The automaker currently makes only two models in Korea: the Chevrolet Trailblazer, a compact sport utility vehicle, and the Chevrolet Trax, a crossover SUV. 'GM has a deal with the Korean government to continue its operations in Korea through 2027,' said an auto industry official. 'GM has exited Australia, Europe and India by selling off its local manufacturing plants. They could be laying the groundwork for the same action plan in Korea.' In 2018, the Korean government signed a contract with GM for the company to continue its business in the country until the end of 2027, offering GM 810 billion won in financial support amid the US headquarters' global restructuring.
Car and Driver
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Tested: 1978 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 Hunts for Pink Slips
From the February 1978 issue of Car and Driver. Remember the streetfighters? They were the kind of cars that you'd spend Saturday night in, chasing around Asbury Park or cruising the Gut in Eugene. All night the rippling bellow of big V-8s would echo in the streets. And then the next day, you'd take that same car out to the drags and enter it in the brackets. Pry the hubcaps off and put numbers on the windows with white Kiwi shoe polish (the only brand that wouldn't smear when you rolled the windows down). And then you'd just spend the afternoon profiling with your friends, watching the Pro Stockers run and sitting on the fender of your car. Every once in a while you'd run the car through the quarter. On the whole, it was a pretty nice way to grow older. It took a special kind of car to provide the right kind of kicks off the track as well as on the dragstrip. People tend to recall the street Hemi as that sort of car, but the ante to get into the game wasn't so high. The only requirement was that a car should make you feel good. Well, you may have thought your street-fighting dreams had wilted in the face of hissing exhausts and two-barrel carburetors, but I've got a car for you. Because the aroma of tire smoke and burning brake linings does, in fact, linger around the Oldsmobile 4-4-2. This Olds has the strongest legs of any new General Motors intermediate that we have tested. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver There are probably a few things about the new 4-4-2 that don't jibe with your streetfighter expectations. It doesn't weigh more than two tons. And it doesn't have wimpy little tires, a family sedan's bench seat or the comprehensive instrumentation of a freight elevator. Instead the 4-4-2 will make you grin because it runs from 0 to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds despite a 2.56 rear axle ratio that belongs in a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Turnpike Cruiser. This car also does a quarter-mile in 17.4 seconds at 83.3 mph. That's not fast enough to make your blood boil, but the eighteen-second barrier is substantial enough to keep an awful lot of cars on the outside looking in. The 4-4-2 also earns high marks because it lives up to the marque's reputation for agility while hurtling through the bends and twists of Racer Road. Though the original 4-4-2 functioned as Oldsmobile's salvo in the muscle car war (a four-barrel carburetor, four-speed transmission and dual exhaust lent the car its name), it also attempted to provide an alternative to unbalanced Detroit powerhouses that were incapable of turning a corner more abrupt than an Ohio Turnpike on-ramp or of stopping any shorter than a Trailways bus. And so, unlike recent incarnations of the 4-4-2, the 1978 edition has a reasonable power-to-weight ratio, big tires, good brakes, and it gets around corners better than any previous namesake. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver In one respect, this 4-4-2 unquestionably measures up to the past—it will have your neighbors craning their necks to get a look at it. Of course the car looks stunning enough with its styled steel wheels, obligatory macho black paint and gold 4-4-2 trim. It's clean and purposeful, and it doesn't require a creepy-crawly thing on the hood to make its point. But as you walk around to the rear of the car, it's clear that something new has been added to the stew. It is called a fastback. Some people like it and some people don't, but there's never any haggling about the distinctive look it gives all Oldsmobile Cutlass Salons and Buick Centurys this year. In a search for a radical departure from the traditional box-top styling of most sedans, GM seized upon the European five-door fastback look. It's supposed to look best on the four-door intermediate. At the moment the fastback is a styling gimmick, but the future holds a hatchback and a fold-down rear seat. So the only present difference between a fastback, formal notchback and traditional sedan is the shape of the trunk space. Elsewhere around the 4-4-2, more than styling is apparent. For example, the car's nose droops slightly and the 4-4-2's exclusive, blacked-out grille is tucked away, helping this car present a slippery aspect as it speeds toward double the double nickel. Like a stripped-down police cruiser, the 4-4-2 looks more like a piece of hardware than a status symbol. Yet the downsizing trend that has trimmed 600 pounds of fat, yards of overhang and inches of sheetmetal from this year's Oldsmobile Cutlass hasn't (as we keep reminding you) limited interior space. Measuring the dimensions of front and rear accommodations confirms what the eye suggests: There's more space for five people than last year's Cutlass and it makes a 1967 4-4-2 interior look like that of a Subaru 360 in comparison. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver But aside from the sensation of space, the intriguing aspect of the interior is the new seating position. Instead of perching atop a luxurious dining room chair, with your head in the clouds and your toes wriggling in a recessed footwell, you sit on the floor when you're in the 4-4-2. It may be in the spirit of luxury cars to sit tall in the saddle, but performance has always been associated with reclining as low as possible. It's a mystery why sitting with your legs stretched out in front of you should trigger fantasies of speed, but as MGB drivers can attest, those fantasies do exist. Unfortunately, the car's seats aren't up to the task of the modified driving position. The padding isn't deep enough or resilient enough to cope with more than a few hours of driving at a time. And the token side bolsters aren't large enough to keep you from sloshing around the cockpit even during low-speed tricks. The seats would probably satisfy most people but for the lack of a reclining adjustment. To aid rear-seat room, the front seats are inclined forward far more than their appearance suggests. But with your legs stretched out, it's difficult to compensate for the hunchback seating position. These seats had me feeling like an arthritic contortionist after 150 miles. While Detroit still fails to equip its cars with reclining seats as a matter of course (perhaps because the median buyer considers the additional expense frivolous), the option is at least available. When you order, specify the manual reclining seat at $59 for your front-seat companion and the $151 six-way power adjustable seat for yourself. But the measure of any good streetfighting car has never been how good it really is, but how good it makes you feel. The 4-4-2 makes you feel plenty good. The steering wheel has a leather-wrapped rim. And the dashboard and gauges are at once understated and attractive, flickering with the readouts for mph, rpm, oil pressure, volts and fuel level. And while all GM intermediates offer a performance gauge package, only Oldsmobile has had the courage to avoid an African crossfire pseudo-wood styling exercise on the dashboard. The 4-4-2 's dash just tells the plain truth. The warning lights, arranged in two BMW-like rows to the right of the gauges, emphasizes that approach. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver The 4-4-2's turf has always been backroads, and this car lives up to its heritage. There's rarely any danger of inadvertently collecting a few road-side mailboxes; plunge deep into the corners, yank the wheel over and don't panic if the variable-ratio steering suddenly seems to grow disinterested in returning to center. The car will snap into the turns, uncork on the exit and sprint down the next straightaway. Thanks to reasonable tire pressure these days—28 to 30 psi in the 4-4-2—the car's front tires won't whine with understeer. And whether you're braking for a radar trap or the hairpin in front of the local roadside tavern, the 4-4-2 won't fool you and lock its rear wheels before the fronts, lengthening your stop into either ticket territory or into the row of pickup trucks parked outside of Sadie's. The 258-foot stops from 70 mph recorded by last year's 4-4-2 can be attributed to such a brake imbalance, but this car's 192-foot stops from the same speed—the shortest stop of any of the GM intermediates we have tested—indicate that Oldsmobile has done its homework. Cresting the humps and rises of Racer Road, the 4-4-2 maintains its firm stance on the blacktop and the patter of the big 205/70 tires can be felt in the seat of your pants. The car's strength in the corners and this insistent tingle from the suspension (even on the Interstate), are the manifestations of the recalibrated shocks, 21-percent stiffer springs and larger front and rear anti-sway bars of the 4-4-2 handling package. It's apparent that the ride deficiencies are actually designed into the car—possibly to convince the driver of the 4-4-2's performance aspirations. Again, it's not necessarily how well the 4-4-2's modifications perform, but how good they make you feel. And it's always clear that some sort of stormer is locked inside the gold 4-4-2 trim. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver But the real strength of this car can be found underneath the hood, because a Chevrolet 305-cubic inch engine designated the LG4 lives there. And when you want a small-block V-8 that can get the job done, it's best to dial Chevrolet. But unlike most of the intermediates from the other GM divisions, the 4-4-2's motor has a 800-cfm (rated at 1.5 inches Hg pressure drop) four-barrel carburetor bolted to it instead of the proletarian 615-cfm (also rated at 1.5 inches Hg) two-barrel. The reason can be found in the huge demand for the Chevrolet-made Rochester Quadrajet by all GM divisions. In fact, demand has outstripped production. The four-barrel is available on the 350-cubic inch V-8s from GM, but the 305-cubic inch motor with the Quadrajet—which produces the same horsepower as its bigger relative—is available only on Oldsmobile Cutlass, Buick Century and Buick Regal models. It's the Quadrajet that makes such a big difference on the dragstrip. For example, the 4-4-2 with its Chevrolet engine and four-barrel carb pulled its 2.56 long-ratio rear end through the quarter-mile faster, and with a higher trap speed, than either the 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Pontiac Grand Am. The Monte Carlo had a 2.73 rear end and the Grand Am had both a 2.73 axle and a four-barrel carb bolted to its Pontiac 302-cubic inch engine. And yet the gasoline mileage is virtually identical among these cars because the Quadrajet cruises on tiny primary jets just like the two-barrel carbs. But when you stomp real hard on the 4-4-2's go-pedal, the car delivers what GM public relations people refer to as "drivability." I call it real acceleration. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver The importance of all this lies in the fun per dollar that the 4-4-2 represents. At $7000 fully laden with options, it hits the median cost of 1978 Detroit automobiles dead center. And though it's difficult to think of that as actually cheap, there's no doubt that you get a lot of fun for your money—a stereo for Saturday night and the V-8 and four-barrel for Sunday afternoon. Perhaps its best to compare this car with last year's 4-4-2 and Pontiac Can-Am. Though both of these big boomers had 400-cubic inch engines and four-barrel carburetors, they could barely squeak through the quarter-mile faster than this 4-4-2. The 1977 4-4-2 registered 17.3 seconds at 79.3 mph with a 3.23 rear end. The Can-Am with its rousing 200-hp engine turned a 17.2-second quarter-mile at 79.7 mph, again with a 3.23 rear axle. Somehow the 1978 4-4-2 seems far better equipped to combine reasonable transportation with the capacity to run wild on the highway. It may be a 4-3-1 compared to the original 4-4-2 concept, but that doesn't mean that it can't make you feel good. On the whole, the 4-4-2, like the other GM intermediates, doesn't represent anybody's idea of a technological great leap forward. Though it's trim and light, it simply carries the traditional body-frame construction of the Detroit intermediate automobile to its logical, quiet and luxurious conclusion. And yet the feeling of balance exhibited by the 4-4-2 distinguishes it as an automobile that aspires to the responses that drivers care about. It's one of the best combinations of cosmetic flash and real performance that people who like streetfighting Detroit iron have seen in a long time. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Specifications Specifications 1978 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door coupe PRICE Base/As Tested: $4408/$7064 Options: 305 cubic inch engine, $200; automatic transmission, $307; power steering, $152; P205/70R14 tires, $162; wheels, $82; AM/FM stereo radio, $236; air conditioning, $544; Rallye instrument panel, $64; 4-4-2 appearance and handling package, $260. ENGINE pushrod V-8, iron block andaluminum heads, port fuel injection Displacement: 305 in3, 4990 cm3 Power: 160 hp @ 4000 rpm Torque: 235 lb-ft @ 2400 rpm TRANSMISSION 3-speed automatic CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axle Brakes, F/R: 10.4-in vented disc/9.5-in drum Tires: Goodyear Polysteel Radial 205/70R-14 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 108.1 in Length: 197.7 in Width: 71.9 in Height: 53.3 in Curb Weight: 3440 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 8.9 sec 1/4-Mile: 17.4 sec @ 83 mph 100 mph: 32.8 sec Top Speed (C/D est): 106 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 192 ft Roadholding: 0.85 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY City/Highway: 18/19 mpg C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
How Trump's trade war is upending the global economy
May 28 - U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff decisions since he took office on January 20 have shocked financial markets and sent a wave of uncertainty through the global economy. Here is a timeline of the major developments: February 1 - Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, demanding they curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States. February 3 - Trump suspends his threat of tariffs on Mexico and Canada, agreeing to a 30-day pause in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement. The U.S. does not reach such a deal with China. February 7 - Trump delays tariffs on de minimis, or low-cost, packages from China until the Commerce Department can confirm that procedures and systems are in place to process them and collect tariff revenue. February 10 - Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminum to a flat 25% "without exceptions or exemptions". March 3 - Trump says 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect from March 4 and doubles fentanyl-related tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%. March 5 - The president agrees to delay tariffs for one month on some vehicles built in Canada and Mexico after a call with the CEOs of General Motors and Ford and the chair of Stellantis. March 6 - Trump exempts goods from Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25% tariffs. March 26 - Trump unveils a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks. April 2 - Trump announces global tariffs with a baseline of 10% across all imports and significantly higher duties on some of the U.S.' biggest trading partners. April 9 - Trump pauses for 90 days most of his country-specific tariffs that kicked in less than 24 hours earlier following an upheaval in financial markets that erased trillions of dollars from bourses around the world. The 10% blanket duty on almost all U.S. imports stays in place. Trump says he will raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect a day earlier. This pushes the extra duties on Chinese goods to 145%, including the fentanyl-related tariffs imposed earlier. April 13 - The U.S. administration grants exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China. April 22 - The Trump administration launches national security probes under Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1962 into imports of both pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors. May 4 - Trump imposes a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S. May 9 - Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announce a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place 10% tariffs on British exports, modestly expands agricultural access for both countries and lowers prohibitive U.S. duties on British car exports. May 12 - The U.S. and China agree to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs. Under the 90-day truce, the U.S. will cut the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%, while China's duties on U.S. imports will be slashed to 10% from 125%. May 13 - The U.S. cuts the low value "de minimis" tariff on China shipments, reducing duties for items valued at up to $800 to 54% from 120%. May 23 - Trump says he is recommending a straight 50% tariff on goods from the European Union starting on June 1. He also warned Apple it would face 25% tariff if phones it sold in the U.S. were manufactured outside of the country. May 25 - Trump backpedals on his threat to slap 50% tariffs on imports from the EU, agreeing to extend the deadline for talks between the U.S. and the block until July 9. May 28 - A U.S. trade court blocked Trump's tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling that the president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy. The Trump administration said it would appeal the ruling.
Motor 1
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Buy Now: VW Promises to Keep Pre-Tariff Prices Through June
Automakers are doing their best to insulate buyers from tariff-related costs. Volkswagen , which promised to maintain the current prices on all its models through the end of May, has extended that pricing guarantee through the end of June. The automaker said in a statement today: "In an effort to keep vehicles affordable for our customers, the brand will cover today's increased costs." This, despite it being more expensive "to do business in the current environment," the company said. The hold on current MSRPs includes the Jetta and Taos, the brand's entry-level models, which it makes in Mexico. Photo by: Victoria Scott / Motor1 The company said they "will maintain their accessible price points," which will include the redesigned 2025 Tiguan , the brand's best-selling model in America. It starts at $30,920 (all prices include the destination charge), while the Jetta and Taos cost $23,720 and $26,420, respectively. VW didn't say what will happen at the end of June. A Reuters report today alleged Volkswagen, along with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, are working to make a deal with the US government regarding the president's tariffs on imported vehicles. The report says that a deal could happen sometime in June, which would result in the three heavily investing in the country. Photo by: Anthony Alaniz / Motor1 General Motors is also keeping prices unchanged despite any increased costs. However, it'll cost the company $4 to $5 billion , and it's not a route every automaker is taking. Ford had to increase the price of the Maverick , now $30,000, after offering employee pricing on select models. Aston Martin plans to increase the price of its vehicles , and Volvo plans to pass some of the tariff-added costs onto consumers . Toyota has said that tariffs will result in higher prices , reduced sales, and costlier repairs for customers. The Latest On Tariffs: Even Hot Wheels Could Get a Price Hike From Trump's Tariffs UK Auto Tariffs Slashed in First Trade Deal With US Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Sources: Volkswagen , Reuters Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
