Elon Musk's decision to greenlight a robotaxi instead of an affordable electric car could see the company lose the lead. Last week, Musk was reported to be rallying behind a robotaxi, the kind of impossible project that has characterized his first decade at the helm of the company. There's an argument that the company got where it is today by betting big, then delivering on enough of its promises to convince shareholders and generate significant positive cash flows. The problem is that in the early days, there was everything and nothing to lose. The entire company could have collapsed, but…
Author: ricardofrancois
Comstock photos | stockbyte | Getty ImagesIt's not unusual for new homeowners to experience financial surprises, but people who purchase a newly built home may be more likely to experience sticker shock on major expenses.Nearly 75% of new homebuyers reported regretting their purchase, according to a 2023 survey by Real Estate Witch. Property taxes were the most common issue, surprising 33% of new owners.With new buildings, property taxes can change significantly after purchase because initial rates are often based on estimates. This can be annoying for homeowners who have already stretched their budgets to purchase a home in the current…
Cruise ship in San Francisco on February 2, 2022.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGeneral Motors' Its autonomous touring vehicle unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roads on Tuesday for the first time since October, starting with a small fleet of human-piloted vehicles in Phoenix, the company said.The relaunch comes after the company suspended operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.The company said the redeployed vehicles will not operate as they did previously — like robotaxis — but…
Hedge funds are dumping stocks at the fastest pace in three months, as what is often called “smart money” stepped up their bearish bets against stocks amid the recent decline. Professionals sold global stocks on a net basis for the second straight week last week, driven almost entirely by short sales, according to Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data. The data showed that this represented the biggest week of selling for hedge funds since mid-January. Separately, Bank of America customer data showed a similar trend. Its hedge fund clients sold stocks for the fifth straight week last week, exiting stocks across…
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are photographed outside a Boeing factory on March 25, 2024 in Renton, Washington. Stephen Brashear | Getty ImagesBoeing First-quarter aircraft deliveries fell to the lowest level since mid-2021 as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door seal on one of its 737 Max 9 planes exploded mid-air in January.The company delivered 83 aircraft in the three months ending March 31, most of them 737 aircraft, compared to 157 aircraft in the previous quarter and 130 aircraft in the same period of the previous year. In March alone, Boeing delivered 29 aircraft. Airbus said Tuesday it…
No one believed William Woods.They couldn't believe someone used their Social Security number to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. They did not believe that the Social Security card he himself carried was real.Above all, no one believed it was really William Woods.He was arrested on charges of unauthorized use of personal information and spent nearly two years in detention awaiting trial, including more than 100 days in a psychiatric hospital. Woods ultimately pleaded no contest in a Los Angeles court to identity theft and false impersonation in exchange for a prison sentence and immediate release from…
Barstool Founder and CEO Dave Portnoy is seen before the Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Loyola (Il) Ramblers game at the Barstool Invitational at Wintrust Arena on November 8, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Michael Hickey | Getty ImagesBarstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy pocketed $2.76 million from UConn's blowout win over Purdue on Monday night in the men's NCAA tournament game.Portnoy tweeted the massive result of a March 20 $600,000 bet on the Huskies winning the national championship. DraftKings confirmed the bet to CNBC.“Greatest bet of my life,” Portnoy said in a post on social media site X. “The biggest win of…
A man checks the label of a vitamin jar at a Costco Wholesale store on April 3, 2024 in Colchester, Vermont. Robert Nickelsburg | Getty ImagesSmall business confidence hit its lowest level in more than 11 years in March, as owners worried that inflation was still a big problem.While other data points show inflation falling, the National Federation of Independent Business reported Tuesday that its survey showed a reading of 88.5, down about one point from February and the lowest level since December 2012.A quarter of survey participants reported that rising costs were the biggest problem.“Small business optimism has reached…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Brussels has launched an investigation into financial support for Chinese wind turbine companies as it steps up efforts to protect its domestic industry from cheap competition.Margrethe Vestager, the EU's top competition enforcer, said the investigation would examine whether Chinese companies involved in wind parks across Europe may have benefited from state support from Beijing.The investigation will use the European Commission's new powers designed to clamp down on market-distorting subsidies from foreign governments as Brussels seeks to defend itself from unfair competition from…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.“If something can't go on forever, it will stop.” This is known as Stein's Law, named after the late Herbert Stein, former chairman of Richard Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers. Stein published this in June 1989, referring to the US trade and budget deficits. They haven't stopped yet! But as an equally important German proverb says, “Trees do not grow to the sky.” At some point, the weight of the tree becomes unbearable. This also applies to financial debts. Limits on debt…