Author: starbpo

Tesla has stopped making the Model Y at its gigafactory in Shanghai because Chinese companies that make cheap cars are making fewer people want to buy Tesla’s electric cars. Nikkei reported that the Texan car company has also told its suppliers to start making parts for Tesla cars outside of China and Taiwan because it is worried that the U.S. elections could lead to higher geopolitical tensions. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that Tesla’s Chinese factory made 17.7% fewer cars than the same time last year, or 36,610 cars, in March and April. The company opened its gigafactory…

Thursday, U.S. regulators took a big step toward approving spot ether exchange-traded funds. This could help the world’s second-most popular cryptocurrency become more widely used. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and a Cboe subsidiary exchange asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to change the rules so they could list spot ether ETFs. The SEC agreed to the changes. The SEC approved the 19b-4 filings, but issuers like VanEck, Fidelity, BlackRock, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, Ark/21Shares, and Invesco/Galaxy still need to get their registration statements approved before the products can be sold to the public. Investment advisor and president of the…

Investors have been keeping an eye on changes in gasoline demand in the U.S., since the summer driving season starts over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. So far, demand has been surprisingly low. For drivers who are filling up for family road trips, that may be good news. But there are some longer-term, maybe permanent, and somewhat worrying factors that have been changing how much gas Americans use. “Fears of inflation have caused U.S. gasoline demand to drop in early 2024, as people look for ways to cut back on spending as they expect the prices of other household goods…

Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed landmark crypto legislation with strong support from both parties. This could mean a big change in how Washington feels about the digital-asset sector. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act was passed by a vote of 279 to 136 in the lower chamber. Almost all Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and 71 Democrats did too. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts were two well-known Democrats who voted for the bill. Heard from Pelosi: The bill was just a…

Consumers were cautious again in the latest quarter report from Target Corp. on Wednesday. At least the company has pickleball, advertisers, and Taylor Swift. During the big-box store’s earnings call, managers tried to focus on the smaller areas where things were still going well. With the help of an exclusive edition of Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” sales in its entertainment category went up by “high-single digits.” The business TGT, -0.60% also said that its partnership with Prince, a maker of sports gear, “delivered incredible sales momentum in all things pickleball.” This is because pickleball courts have…

Thursday, News Corp. shares went up after the media giant signed a content deal with OpenAI, a leader in artificial intelligence. Because of the deal with OpenAI, the ChatGPT provider can access both new and old content from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and The Times. The pact also includes MarketWatch news and information. MarketWatch is the source of this report. Some anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal that the deal could be worth $250 million in cash and credits for using OpenAI technology. The exact amounts were not made public. Reddit and other social media…

As new cases of bird flu were reported in the U.S. and Australia on Wednesday, stocks related to vaccines went up sharply. Shares of CureVac N.V. (CVAC, 2.30%) went up 18.8% on Wednesday. Moderna Inc. (MRNA, 0.11%) stock went up 13.7%, and BioNTech SE’s ADRs (BNTX, -2.27%) went up 11.1%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday that a dairy farm worker in Michigan has been diagnosed with bird flu. This is the second case of bird flu in a person in the United States this year. The CDC said that, like the earlier case in Texas,…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that people who take out buy-now-pay-later loans will soon have better rights when they want to get their money back. The federal agency that protects consumers is treating buy-now-pay-later lenders the same way it treats credit card companies. This means that, like credit card companies, these lenders need to look into disputed purchases and refund money for returned goods and canceled services. CFP Director Rohit Chopra said that the announcement “means that consumers should get disclosures that lay out fees, pricing structures, and rights and protections for things like disputing bills and getting…

With a new program from United Wholesale Mortgage, one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the U.S., people can buy homes without putting any money down. As stated in a press release, the new program will be open to first-time home buyers and people whose income is at or below 80% of the median income in their area. For buyers who qualify, UWM UWMC, -0.14% will offer a second-lien loan of up to $15,000 to help with the down payment of up to 3% of the home’s price. There will be no monthly payments or interest on the loan. UWM…

Washington, D.C. During the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, rioters carried a second flag of the same type. The New York Times reported Wednesday that this flag was seen outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Last summer, a “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside Alito’s beach house. A symbol of the protesters, an upside-down American flag, was seen at Alito’s home outside of Washington, D.C., less than two weeks after the violent attack on the Capitol. When people heard about the American flag that was turned upside down last week, it caused…