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Talent sourcing has never been easier with this AI-powered recruitment product. Here's how it works. 2024-06-04 21:27:03+00:00 - Finding quality talent can be difficult. A staggering 99% of 300 US hiring managers say sourcing qualified talent is a challenge, according to a recent Indeed-commissioned survey with Harris Poll.1 Over half of those surveyed have seen reductions in their recruiting personnel, while they say only 36% of passive candidates are responsive, wasting the time and effort of an already-limited team. Now, imagine using a sourcing tool that automatically delivers a list of quality candidates matching the requirements of a job description you wrote — that's the experience with Indeed's new AI-powered Smart Sourcing. Building on the Indeed Resume product, which allows recruiters to search the 295 million resumes on Indeed, Smart Sourcing adds the efficiency of AI to your talent sourcing. Rather than manually filtering through talent, Smart Sourcing's algorithms match active candidates to your open roles. Custom-generated messaging and collaboration tools can further streamline your workflow while maintaining an individualized approach to candidate communication. In fact, 92% of users agree that Smart Sourcing is the preferred product for sourcing quality talent.2 "AI has been at the heart of Indeed's products for years," said Donal McMahon, vice president of engineering and data science at Indeed. "The growth of generative AI brings with it the potential for a greater understanding of job seeker and employer needs so that we can create better, quicker matches than ever before." Here's how the tool can address your talent-sourcing pain points. Get quality and engaged matched candidates, fast 74% of hiring managers would prefer to match with qualified talent based on skills and relevant experiences instead of manually searching for them. While Indeed Resume's search is effective, providing 69,000 successful connections between employers and job seekers each day, the Indeed-commissioned Harris Poll survey found that 74% of hiring managers would prefer to match with qualified talent based on skills and relevant experiences instead of manually searching for them. Smart Sourcing's matched candidates do exactly that — simply toggle between your jobs on Indeed via a drop-down menu to instantly view recommended candidates, then invite them to apply. As you accept or reject candidates, the Smart Sourcing AI will learn what you prefer over time. This lets you curate your matched candidates' results like a Spotify playlist, tailored to your unique preferences. You can still manually search and filter resumes or use automated recommendations to expedite the process. Matches are based on the keyword relevancy of your job post and job seeker resumes, job seekers' search activity on Indeed, and how recently job seekers have been on the site. This helps Indeed's matching algorithms present you with the most relevant candidates who are demonstrating interest in new opportunities. Universal Health Services (UHS), a leading hospital and healthcare provider with 400 facilities across the US, Puerto Rico, and the UK, has reported its candidate-response rate improving 30% since using Smart Sourcing. "Smart Sourcing serves up appropriate candidates that tend to be more eager to respond and are active on Indeed. So we get both quality candidates that are a fit and a higher response rate than with another similar tool," said one director of recruiting at UHS. In the survey, 70% of 1,107 US workers agree that companies who have contacted them in the past could have done a better job of reviewing their skills and experience beforehand. This lack of preparation, personalization, and attention to detail in recruiting can reflect poorly on your company. That's why matched candidates include candidate highlights, a generative AI capability that analyzes and summarizes each resume to suggest why the candidate could be a great fit for your role or to point out potential gaps in their experience. This accelerated evaluation enables you to make better-informed hiring decisions to preserve both your employer brand and the candidate experience. Matched candidates you invite to apply are 23 times more likely to apply to your job than job seekers who only see it when searching on Indeed, and employers who use this feature when sponsoring their jobs hire 20% faster.3,4 Connect to talent with AI-powered messaging Employers contacting candidates through Indeed's resume search receive a positive response from a job seeker in just 10 hours on average,5 but 95% of hiring managers believe that their productivity would be even better if administrative tasks like candidate outreach could be assisted by AI. Indeed's customizable AI-powered messages reduce the time and effort it takes to manually write, personalize, and proofread candidate communications. This allows you to generate a customized message based on the content of the candidate's resume and your job posting. You can generate message variations by the desired tone and refine the information before sending it. "The AI-powered messages are very effective because they're personalized for each individual candidate. It's amazing how the AI pulls in the right pieces of a job description to describe the highlights of the job and uses information from a candidate's resume to say why it's a great fit," the UHS recruiting director said. With a professional subscription, you can also automate post-outreach follow-up with custom reminder messages. Message analytics track how your templates perform and provide actionable insights on candidate engagement, helping you maximize ROI. Optimize recruiting workflows and team productivity Recruiting and hiring can be complex, with work distributed across multiple people and platforms. Smart Sourcing Professional Subscriptions simplify the process, allowing you to invite collaborators to sourcing projects and accelerate the candidate feedback process with collaborative task-management tools. For example, say you've used Smart Sourcing to curate a short list of suitable, responsive candidates. You can easily invite the hiring manager to provide feedback, even if they don't have a subscription. Once they've chosen which candidates will move on to the following hiring stages and left notes about their decisions, you can then bulk-send invitations about the next steps with AI-customized messages. You can also take your sourcing with you on the go with the Indeed Connect for Employers app. Once you've reached out to potential candidates, notifications alert you when they respond to an application invite or a message, allowing you to reply in real-time and keep the hiring process moving forward. Getting started with Smart Sourcing Smart Sourcing subscriptions are available starting today, and existing Indeed Resume subscriptions have transitioned to Smart Sourcing. Available in both Standard and Professional options, subscriptions include access to candidate search and filters, matching quality candidates to your job, and offering faster candidate connections. "AI is a powerful efficiency tool, but it still needs human decision-making — especially when it comes to someone's livelihood," McMahon said. "As an HR professional, let the machine do the busywork so you can invest more into the unique, human value you bring to your role." Find your ideal candidates and easily collaborate with your team to make better hiring decisions with Smart Sourcing. This post was created by Indeed with Insider Studios. Survey methodology: This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Indeed from February 12–20, 2024, among 1,107 employed adults, ages 18 and older, and 300 hiring managers (those with sole or primary decision making in the recruiting and hiring process) with 2,000+ employees. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the employee sample data is accurate to within +/– 2.6 percentage points and the hiring manager sample data is accurate to within +/— 5.6% using a 95% confidence level. Sources 1Harris Poll survey of US hiring managers with 2,000+ employees (n=300) and employed adults, ages 18 and older (n=1107), conducted on behalf of Indeed, February 2024 2Indeed Survey, CA (n=151), Jan-Feb 2024 3Indeed data (CA), August 2023 4Indeed data (US), Q1 2023 5Indeed data (worldwide), 2023

WNBA's Caitlin Clark-Chennedy Carter controversy brings out the worst in media 2024-06-04 21:00:08+00:00 - Depending on where you sit, less than a dozen games into her professional career, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is either the savior of a previously fledgling WNBA or the product of media overkill, overshadowing a collection of young talent and seasoned veterans. The debate reached fever pitch after Saturday night, when a rough foul committed by Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter against Clark elicited emotions ranging from rage to shoulder shrugs. (The following day, the WNBA upgraded Carter’s shove to a flagrant foul.) Carter, in a nonbasketball act, ran toward Clark and shoulder-checked her to the floor away from where the basketball was being inbounded. As she approached Clark, Carter could be seen yelling something toward the Fever star. What she said wasn’t clear, but I don’t think she was inviting her to postgame cocktails. Clark’s teammates have been notably absent from defending their teammate in a more forceful manner. How you view that Carter’s cheap shot on Clark likely reflects the way you view the much-ballyhooed arrival of the former University of Iowa sharpshooter or your level of experience following the WNBA. Across the court, on the Chicago bench, Clark’s former collegiate rival Angel Reese appeared to applaud the foul. During the NCAA Tournament earlier this year, Reese said she and Clark “don’t hate each other.” Yet her applause Saturday suggests a level of disdain. But some of that disdain seems to be more recent than their famous clashes in college: On Monday, Reese argued that the league’s growing popularity isn’t just because of “one person.” Reese is right. But has anyone driven the current surge in attention more than Clark? On Saturday night, a title-contending and star-studded New York Liberty team played in front of just under 10,000 fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. That’s a couple thousand above last season’s average attendance, but the very next night, with Clark and the Fever in town, the crowd swelled to 17,401. That is pretty much a sellout. In a sports world that is obsessed with statistics, the numbers don’t lie: 82,857 fans have attended five Indiana Fever home games thus far this season — more than they drew in all 20 home games last season. Meanwhile, Reese’s Sky, in a smaller three-game sample, is drawing about 1,000 more fans per game than last season's average attendance of 7,242. Following the Saturday shoulder-check heard ‘round the basketball world, Reese initially refused to speak to the media until Monday. She was fined for that decision. Carter refused to answer questions about “the shove.” Chicago head coach Theresa Weatherspoon was also quiet until Monday, when she finally condemned the shove. For her part, Carter took to social media to question the talents of Clark, intimating that she was nothing more than a shooter. Again, the numbers tell a different story: the rookie guard averages more than 15 points per game, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (It should be noted that she is leading the league in turnovers with 5.4 per game). On Monday, she was also named WNBA Rookie of the Month. As for Clark, she’s largely taken the high road. Fever head coach Christie Sides is calling on the league to protect her rookie. But Clark’s teammates have been notably absent from defending their teammate in a more forceful manner. This may open up a whole different can of worms, but at a time when players in the league aren’t shying away from speaking their minds, you don’t see a whole bunch of quotes from Fever players defending their biggest attraction. The mainstream sports media giants have only covered women’s sports from a distance. Who is speaking? Apparently, everybody in the media, including Yours Truly. You can’t turn on a sports radio station, podcast or television show and avoid discussion of Clark, her fellow WNBA players’ views of her and the league itself. This should be a welcome development, bringing attention to a league that has never seen this kind of recognition. Instead, in just 20 days since her first game, the conversation about the league has turned into a giant cafeteria food fight. This has included everything from clowns like ESPN’s Pat McAfee referring to Clark as a “white b----” (for which he later apologized) to talking heads like fellow ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith being shut down by his own female colleagues as they discuss the coverage of women’s sports. This failure was entirely predictable, however. The mainstream sports media giants have only covered women’s sports from a distance. For the first time, they are being forced to talk about a major women’s sports league in a more in-depth way, and they are largely being exposed for the novices they are. Many sports fans roll their eyes at the McAfees of the world even when they’re talking about leagues they actually follow. Their WNBA coverage shows it can always get worse. Covering the WNBA demands experience and nuance. It involves issues pertaining to race and sexual orientation, and it’s a game that is played differently than the men’s game as it is primarily played below the rim. That difference lends itself to a more physical style that existed long before Clark ever stepped foot on a WNBA court. So I want to make a suggestion to the Smiths and the McAfees of the world: Step aside, and let the professionals handle it.

What slumping oil prices mean for our stake in Coterra Energy 2024-06-04 20:59:00+00:00 - U.S. crude prices fell for the fifth straight day Tuesday, but we remain committed to our lone oil-and-gas stock in Coterra Energy . West Texas Intermediate has been moving lower since its early April peak, with Tuesday bringing the U.S. oil benchmark to its lowest settle since Feb. 5, at $73.25 a barrel. Some of the declines may be because the geopolitical risk premium factored into the commodity is fading amid hopes for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza. More recently, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, collectively known as OPEC+, indicated over the weekend that some of its production cuts will begin to be phased out later this year, which Goldman Sachs called a "bearish surprise" for the market. There are also some concerns about a slowing U.S. economy contributing to the decline, given demand for oil is closely tied to economic activity. The drop in oil prices has implications for the economy and stocks overall. While a material slowing of the economy — basically, a hard-landing scenario — certainly would not be a great backdrop for the market, some slowing is exactly what investors want to see. As we've become painfully aware over the past few years, energy represents a major, unavoidable input cost for both the average consumer and companies paying for transportation and electricity. Elevated oil prices have, as a result, pressured discretionary spending and corporate margins. For that reason, any relief in energy prices will have the opposite effect — freeing up more money for consumers to spend away from the gas pump. Corporations, meanwhile, can see a boost to profit margins as their costs to make and ship products comes down. Throw in the potential for lower interest rates beginning as soon as later this year, and it all amounts to a pretty positive setup for equities. We're looking for that sweet spot in economic growth that allows the Fed to cut interest rates while keeping unemployment low. If we get that, then we should see lower oil prices and sustained buying power along with a healthy environment for business investments. That's goldilocks for the economy and the stock market, aside from the energy sector. CTRA YTD mountain Coterra's year-to-date stock performance. And yet we still see reason to stick with Coterra Energy. In fact, one of the key reasons we like the company so much — its roughly equal exposure to oil and natural gas — has been on display lately. While oil has been pulling back, natural gas prices have rebounded from their steep sell-off to start the year, climbing about 23% over the past month. Coterra has the ability to shift production resources between oil and nat gas, based on whichever commodity offers the more favorable economics. In the first quarter of this year , that meant more of a focus on oil. Another reason to stick with Coterra: Deal activity has continued in the energy complex, the most recent of which being ConocoPhillips agreeing to buy Marathon Oil in a $17 billion all-stock transaction . To be sure, we don't invest in companies based on takeover probabilities, but the industrywide trend toward consolidation — sparked by Exxon Mobil 's takeover of ex-Club name Pioneer Natural Resources in the fall —is hard to ignore. Indeed, analysts at Citigroup published a research note Tuesday exploring potential takeover targets for Devon Energy, another ex-Club oil stock. Coterra was among the three names analysts mentioned alongside Ovintiv and Permian Resources . Admittedly, the analysts don't believe any of the three companies have a high chance of being bought by Devon or, in the case of Coterra, probably a merger of equals. Still, the note supports the idea that more deals could be announced in the future, which generally should be supportive of Coterra's valuation multiple as competition declines. The bottom line: When we initially took on exposure to the energy market, we told investors that the positions needed to be partially viewed as a hedge on the rest of the portfolio. After all, that is what a well-diversified portfolio looks like — some parts have the ability to work well when others fall out of favor. If the economy holds in while energy prices and interest rates come down, Coterra's stock could see some pressure while the rest of our portfolio benefits. That is how it's supposed to work with a hedge. However, we still want to own shares because weaker commodity prices may be offset by the higher demand resulting from increased consumption and sustained economic growth, even if at a slower pace. It's also possible geopolitical tensions could heat back up. Now layer in Coterra's ability to swing resources between oil and natural gas, continued consolidation in the oil patch, and management's strict financial discipline, and we come away with the view that the downside from here is limited. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long CTRA. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. An oil pumpjack in a field in Grandfalls, Texas, on March 24, 2024. Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Chinese spies are targeting disgruntled workers within U.S. corporations, warns national counterintelligence head Michael Casey 2024-06-04 20:53:00+00:00 - Michael Casey testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at Hart Senate Office Building on July 12, 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The U.S. needs to prepare for more cyberattacks from an increasing number of threat actors across the globe, with China being the biggest one, said Michael C. Casey, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. China is "by far the most prolific actor out there and the one coming after us across the board and in the hardest way possible," he said at the CNBC CEO Council Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Casey said there has been a 100% increase in cyber incidents and ransomware demands across the board. Over the years, he said, China realized that America's advantage in the world was technology and that made it a huge target. And it won't stop, "because it works, because they keep succeeding," Casey said. "China has published their list of desired technologies and then they go get it and it works." Among the threats that CEOs need to have on their radar when it comes to any IP threat is a rise in the use of what he called "human assets." These are people within organizations that can be recruited to steal IP, data, or whatever the bad actor is targeting. Given that CEOs and others in the C-suite can't keep track of every employee conversation and interaction around the globe, Casey told CNBC Senior Washington Correspondent Eamon Javers that the best course of action to stop nation states from recruiting human assets is to deploy a layered defense. "A CEO needs to really look at what secrets a company wants to protect and then who needs to have access to that information," he said. Another issue to focus on is the potential for employees to become human assets in the first place. "These are the employees who are having money problems, marital problems that someone can take advantage of," Casey said. That's why there needs to be a program in place to identify these employees and get them the help they need. "I'm stunned by the number of companies that have no concept of their insider threat," he added. Another issue that CEOs are dealing with is fear of alienating the tech talent they need, which often is comprised of people of Chinese descent. "The PRC is an authoritarian state and there should be no confusion between that and Chinese Americans and people of Chinese descent," Casey said. "In some cases, they are vulnerable because they have relatives at home, but companies should know how to make the distinction." The best strategy for CEOs is to share information with the public sector. "If you don't know your local FBI representative, you're doing something wrong," he said. And with China and Russia already targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, such as water supplies, CEOs must run worst-case scenario drills should these systems be taken down. "Leaders need to know what they would do if the worst thing happens," Casey said.

Who is Keith Gill, the "Roaring Kitty" pumping up GameStop shares? 2024-06-04 20:52:00+00:00 - Why are GameStop shares on the rise again? Why are GameStop shares on the rise again? Why are GameStop shares on the rise again? GameStop has recently reprised the stock frenzy that gripped the video game retailer in 2021, when the company's share soared as much as 2,000%. Then, as now, the man driving the original "meme stock" is Keith Gill, an amateur trader whose power to move markets stems from his popularity on social media. Read on to learn more about Gill. Who is Keith Gill? Keith Patrick Gill is a financial analyst turned social media influencer who has acquired a massive audience among retail investors. Known on YouTube as "Roaring Kitty" and as "DeepF—Value" on Reddit, he recently rekindled investor interest in GameStop, a money-losing video game chain, with a cryptic post on X that some took as a symbol of his return to the investing world after a three-year hiatus. The post, an image of a sketched man leaning forward in a chair, was followed by a series of other posts featuring comeback-themed music and movie clips. That was enough to send GameStop shares skyrocketing from $22.91 a share at the end of May to $32.80 on Monday. Gill's ability to influence GameStop shares may have grown so strong that E*Trade is considering banning him from the trading platform, according to the Wall Street Journal. Born in Massachusetts in 1986, Gill grew up in Brockton with two siblings, according to a bio posted on the website of Stonehill College, his alma mater. He was a standout track athlete at Stonehill, from which he earned a business degree in 2009. In 2001 testimony at a congressional hearing on the meme stock phenomenon, Gill said he is the first member of his immediate family to earn a college degree. He is married with one child. What is Gill's connection to GameStop? After a stint working with a startup in New Hampshire, Gill returned to Massachusetts, where he dove into a career in financial services. He became a chartered financial analyst and a licensed securities broker. Those credentials eventually landed him a job at MassMutual in 2019. He left the firm in 2021, Reuters reported. In 2020, Gill began growing his online influencer presence by, among other things, encouraging people to invest in GameStop, whose shares he had started buying the previous year. His social media platforms of choice: Reddit discussion boards and YouTube, where he posted videos about his take on financial markets and undervalued stocks. As Roaring Kitty, notably, Gill was posting videos at a time when Americans were stuck indoors during the pandemic, leading some to try their hands at investing. "I believed the company was dramatically undervalued by the market," Gill said in testifying before the House Financial Services Committee in 2021. "The prevailing analysis about GameStop's impending doom was simply wrong," To be sure, Gill earned a lot of money after promoting the purchase of GameStop shares, but he also lost big. In 2021, for example, Gill revealed that he had lost $13 million in a single day from his investments in the game retailer. Gill's move with GameStop eventually became a cornerstone storyline in the 2023 film "Dumb Money," where Gill is portrayed by actor Paul Dano. What is the meme-stock craze? GameStop was one of several struggling companies, including movie theater chain AMC, Bed Bath & Beyond and Blackberry, that retail investors who congregated on the Reddit forum Wallstreetbets embraced during the pandemic. It was these investors who eventually hung a label on these companies — "meme stocks" — while the movement's catch phrase was "to the moon." In the early days of meme-stock mania, one stated goal of at least some investors was to foil hedge funds and other institutional investors who had had bet against players like GameStop and AMC. But Gill has denied being motivated by a desire to punish Wall Street. "I was aware from public reports that a well-known investor, Michael Burry, was interested in GameStop. Because I thought the stock was undervalued, I purchased call options on June 7, 2019. I increased my position throughout much of 2019 and 2020, because as I continued to analyze the company and its prospects, I became increasingly confident that the share price was indeed dramatically undervalued." How is GameStop doing as company? In recent years, GameStop has experienced declining sales amid an industrywide pivot to video game streaming and digital downloads. Before reporting a profit in its most recent quarter, the company had posted seven straight quarterly losses. But with the help from meme-stock investors, the company in March 2023 turned its first profit in two years. Before then, it had posted seven straight quarterly losses. Cost-cutting measures also helped the retailer conserve cash and gave it more time to find new ways of driving growth, analysts said at the time. Over the long haul, however, GameStop still faces significant challenges as the the gaming industry shifts. In March, the company reported $5.2 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year, down from $5.9 billion the year prior. GameStop said in a regulatory filing last month that it sold a new batch of 45 million shares of the company, an amount that will generate about $933.4 million in fresh capital. As of February, GameStop had 4,169 locations, of which 2,915 are in the U.S. GameStop named Chewy founder Ryan Cohen as its new CEO last fall.

Hunter Biden trial highlights: FBI agent testifies about Hunter Biden's drug use and large cash withdrawals 2024-06-04 20:32:00+00:00 - Hines told jurors about how Hallie Biden — the widow of the president's late son, Beau Biden, who began a relationship with Hunter Biden after Beau's death — found and disposed of Hunter’s gun. She is expected to testify later in the trial. Hunter got Hallie Biden to use drugs as well, Hines said, but she was clean by the time Hunter purchased the gun. Hines also presented some evidence that Hunter was still using drugs around the time of the gun purchase and knew that he was an addict. Hines displayed a text from Hunter to Hallie Biden the day after the gun purchase, saying he was behind Blue Rocks Stadium (a minor league baseball team in Wilmington, Delaware) waiting for a dealer. Derek Hines for the prosecution says they will lay out that Hunter Biden flew back from California on October 5 with the hopes of “getting clean, not staying clean.” They will show his continued addiction through messages and testimony, including from Hallie Biden. “Hallie will testify about her own crack use,” with Hunter, said Hines, acknowledging that the testimony will be “embarrassing.” Hines revealed that both Hallie Biden and Zoe Kestan will be testifying under immunity agreements. They will also call Kathleen Buhle, who did not use drugs herself. Kathleen will not be testifying under any immunity agreement. Laying out the three charges against Hunter, Hines emphasized that on the third count, concerning his possession of the gun for 11 days, Hunter did not get rid of the gun by choice. “The only reason he had the gun for 11 days is because Hallie took it from him,” he said.

EV concerns overshadow strong Ford sales. Jim Cramer says the stock is down enough 2024-06-04 20:22:00+00:00 - Ford had another month of strong sales, but a wider appeal on Wall Street for the stock depends on cutting the automaker's massive EV division losses. Ford said Tuesday it sold more than 190,000 vehicles in May, an 11% increase from a year ago. Sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles — where most of the revenue comes from — rose 5.6%. Sales of hybrids and all-electric vehicles each grew by nearly 65%. Hybrid sales at 17,600 in May and EVs at nearly 9,000 are both high-growth areas but still relatively small. The near-term potential for the two, however, is quite different. The May numbers provide evidence once again that Ford made the right decision when deciding to shift more resources to high-margin hybrids from money-losing EVs. In the first quarter, Ford lost more than $100,000 per EV sold. That figure, according to Bloomberg , was twice what it was last year. To be sure, it includes sunk costs for the division beyond just auto production such as battery manufacturing. During CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday, Jim Cramer was surprised when he heard that number and said it makes sense that investors are discouraged by those kinds of EV losses. He also lamented the underperformance of Ford stock relative to rival General Motors — ever since GM announced a buyback in November. He has said over and over that Ford should do a buyback because it would boost shares. However, Jim thinks Ford stock has come down enough. He best summed up his thoughts during last week's May Monthly meeting for Club members. "I know I have been tearing my hair out over this one, but you can earn 5% on a CD or you can earn a 5% annual dividend yield on shares of Ford . The CD is not going to entertain the idea of buying back stock, and it is not going to have a very good quarter because the electric vehicle losses are being stemmed. This stock was at $13.50 per share just a few weeks ago, and I feel better about it now nearly $2 lower than I did back then. What more of an endorsement could there be? The stock is at a level where we are upgrading it to our buy-equivalent 1 rating ." Ford shares lost more than 9.5% quarter to date. Zooming out, the stock fared a bit better — declining a smaller 1.5% year to date. F YTD mountain Ford YTD (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long F. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. The Ford display at the New York International Auto Show on March 28, 2024. Danielle DeVries | CNBC

How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 6/4/2024 2024-06-04 20:18:04+00:00 - U.S. stocks held relatively steady after a report suggested the job market is cooling. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2%. Treasury yields slid after the report showed U.S. employers advertised fewer job openings at the end of April than economists expected. Wall Street actually wants the job market and overall economy to slow. That could convince the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The question is whether the slowdown for the economy overshoots and ends up in a painful recession that drags down corporate profits. On Tuesday: The S&P 500 rose 7.94 points, or 0.2%, to 5,291.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.26 points, or 0.4%, to 38,711.29. The Nasdaq composite rose 28.38 points, or 0.2%, to 16,857.05. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 25.74 points, or 1.2%, to 2,033.94. For the week: The S&P 500 is up 13.83 points, or 0.3%. The Dow is up 24.97 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq is up 122.03 points, or 0.7%. The Russell 2000 is down 36.18 points, or 1.7%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 521.51 points, or 10.9%. The Dow is up 1,021.75 points, or 2.7%. The Nasdaq is up 1,845.70 points, or 12.3%. The Russell 2000 is up 6.87 points, or 0.3%.

New Orleans plans to spiff up as host of next year’s Super Bowl 2024-06-04 20:16:10+00:00 - NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans hosts its 11th Super Bowl next year and the preparations involve showcasing the city’s heralded architecture, music, food and celebratory culture while addressing its myriad challenges, including crime, pockets of homelessness and an antiquated drainage system. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry joined Mayor LaToya Cantrell and a host of other city and state officials on Tuesday at a downtown theater for a news conference to discuss the process, kicking off what the Democratic mayor declared “the Summer of Super Bowl.” Landry, a Republican elected last year with a strong anti-crime message, vowed that the city will be one of the nation’s safest by game day. Road and drainage improvements and the use of state police to help the New Orleans Police Department combat crime are among the efforts. Michael Hecht, the president of a local economic development nonprofit who was recently tapped to coordinate local Super Bowl preparations, listed scores of infrastructure projects planned or under way. They include street and sidewalk repairs, lighting improvements and repairs to the aging system of stormwater street drains and pumps that are under constant strain to prevent flash floods. He also noted efforts by the city and local advocates to close down and clean up homeless encampments and provide safter housing for those in need. Only Miami has hosted more Super Bowls than New Orleans — the two cities will be tied at 11 each once the 59th game is played in February. But it’s been almost 12 years since New Orleans hosted and local officials are eager to show the city off again. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser noted international media would fill much of the city’s huge convention center on the Mississippi River in the week before the game. “We want to make sure we pump some of that great Louisiana food into the convention center and treat them like nowhere else,” he said. Landry and members of his cabinet highlighted the opportunity the game will give the state to show off its vital role as a Mississippi River port and to boost economic development efforts. There was also an opportunity to address a moment that marred the big game the last time it was hosted in the Superdome. Less than two minutes into the third quarter of the 2013 Super Bowl, a partial blackout within the dome delayed the game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers for 34 minutes. Marcus Brown, an executive vice president at Entergy, the company that supplies power to the dome, delivered assurances that that won’t happen again. “We’ve had multiple significant events in the dome to prove and establish that we have the equipment and the redundancies in place to make sure the dome puts this game on without a hitch,” Brown said.

Atlanta water system still in repair on Day 5 of outages 2024-06-04 20:14:19+00:00 - ATLANTA (AP) — Workers continued to install pipes to replace a ruptured water main in Atlanta on Tuesday, as water problems persisted in some parts of the city for a fifth day. “Making progress,” Mayor Andre Dickens told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the site of the ruptured pipe in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. “(I’m) so ready for this to be over. So are the residents around here.” By Monday afternoon, the area under a boil-water advisory was sharply reduced after pressure was restored in many areas following Saturday’s repair of the first mammoth leak, west of downtown. But downtown, Midtown and areas to the east remained under a boil order Tuesday, and water was still shut off in the blocks immediately surrounding that repair site. Workers continued to cut and place new pipes into Tuesday after a leak that sent a gushing river onto the streets of Midtown finally was cut off around sunrise Monday. Some hotels, offices and residences in high-rise buildings across a broader area were still affected Tuesday, because lower water pressure in the system means toilets won’t flush on higher floors and some air conditioning systems won’t operate normally. Norfolk Southern Corp. partially closed its headquarters building about eight blocks from the repair site. The state of Georgia’s office complex downtown was still experiencing low pressure and discolored water, but Gerald Pilgrim, the deputy executive director of the Georgia Building Authority, said “all systems are functioning at safe levels.” “We know results are mixed here in terms of buildings and the experience with water service, water pressure,” said Brian Carr, a spokesperson for the Midtown Alliance, which promotes development in the Atlanta district. Many residents are frustrated with the pace of repairs. Officials have provided no estimates of how many residents are still affected or how many were affected at peak. “In all my life, I’ve never seen a situation like this,” Chris Williams, a Midtown resident, said Tuesday. “This is a pretty big city and this is kind of giving small city vibes. ... Why couldn’t it have been figured out earlier, and how can we not inform more?” Dickens, a first-term Democratic mayor, has faced criticism for being out of town and slow to communicate after the first leak began. Dickens left Friday and stayed overnight in Memphis, Tennessee to raise funds for his 2025 reelection campaign. He said the extent of problems weren’t clear when he left. Spokesperson Michael Smith said Dickens met with Memphis Mayor Paul Young and other leaders, and that he was in “constant communication” with Atlanta officials before returning Saturday. Atlanta’s water outages are the latest failures as cities across the country shore up faltering infrastructure. A 2022 crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, which has a long-troubled water system, left many residents without safe running water for weeks. Other cities including Flint, Michigan, have also struggled to supply residents with safe drinking water. Atlanta voters support improvements: Last month, they approved continuing a 1-cent sales tax to pay for water and sewer improvements. The city that dumped untreated sewage into creeks and the Chattahoochee River until ordered to stop by a federal court has spent billions to upgrade its aging sewer and water systems, even drilling a tunnel through 5 miles (8 kilometers) of rock to store more than 30 days of water. The latest troubles began Friday when a junction of three water mains sprang a massive leak west of downtown. Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. has said that leak was caused by corrosion and was tricky to repair because the three pipes created a confined space for work. Wiggins said city workers still aren’t sure why the Midtown leak began hours later, but it too was difficult to fix because it happened at a junction of two large water pipes, and the valve to turn them off was inaccessible under the gushing liquid.

Viral video of a man driving with suspended license isn't what it seems 2024-06-04 20:13:23+00:00 - The whole world was laughing at Corey Harris, a 44-year-old Michigan man who Zoomed into a May 15 court hearing on charges of driving with a suspended license — from behind the wheel of his car. The judge responded by ordering him to report to jail. “I’m pulling into my doctor’s office, actually,” Harris said when Washtenaw County Judge Cedric J. Simpson asked him if he was driving. “Just give me one second. I’m parking right now.” As comical as the situation may have appeared, this is no laughing matter. Not for the millions across the country who have had their licenses suspended, nor for Harris, who we have since learned should have been free and clear to drive. Harris, who’s become the subject of multiple memes on the internet, appears stunned when the judge calls him out for driving and audibly expresses his frustration when the judge orders him to jail. But as comical as the situation may have appeared, this is no laughing matter. Not for the millions across the country who have had their licenses suspended, nor for Harris, who we have since learned should have been free and clear to drive to a doctor’s appointment or anywhere else he wanted to go. Detroit’s WXYZ-TV says it took “less than five minutes … to search Saginaw County records to see that in January 2022, a judge had rescinded the order that suspended Harris’ driver’s license so he could be reinstated.” That judge’s order was reportedly not properly communicated to the state’s secretary of state’s office. Indeed, Harris, who called the situation “very embarrassing,” told the television station that his suspension “was supposed to have been lifted two years ago, but they didn’t.” Contrary to what people may have assumed, Harris’ license was not suspended for anything related to his driving but for unpaid child support. This is the way it is across the country. States use driver’s license suspensions to enforce unpaid debt. It has become the default sanction without any recognition of its harsh impact on individuals, families or communities and despite unequivocal evidence that, as a policy, it doesn’t work. Suspending a person’s driver’s license deprives them of their livelihood. If the goal is to get someone to pay money, then why would we take away their means of getting to work? Debt-based license suspensions defy logic. As a retired judge, I know that to administer justice requires understanding the full circumstances of those who appear before the court. Judge Simpson, like the rest of the world would eventually do, appeared to jumped to conclusions. He rolled his eyes when he got confirmation that Harris was driving, said, “I don’t even know why he would do that,” and he sent Harris to jail. He was locked up for two days. In the video that his court released, the judge doesn’t take the time to learn the facts about Harris. And his seeming reflexive decision to revoke his bond and order Harris to jail suggests that he hasn’t considered how draconian and counterproductive debt-based suspensions are. As a retired judge, I know that to administer justice requires understanding the full circumstances of those who appear before the court. Of the millions of people in the U.S. who have their license suspended for unpaid debt, the overwhelming majority simply can’t afford to pay what they owe, and suspensions are disproportionately imposed on low-income people and people of color such as Harris, who’s Black. The majority of driver’s license suspensions follow basic infractions, such as a traffic ticket. However, a $100 traffic fine in California carries $390 in additional fees for a total of $490. As the Federal Reserve Board just reported, roughly 40% of Americans do not have ready access to $400 in the event of an emergency, which means many people can’t pay a traffic ticket without sacrificing food, rent or other necessities for themselves or their families. A study of unpaid child support found about 70 percent of past-due child support is owed by parents with no reported income or an income of $10,000 or less per year. Most Americans drive to work and losing their licenses means they often lose their jobs or are forced to take a job at reduced wages. Conservatively calculated, a suspended driver’s license leads to an estimated annual earnings loss of $12,700. In a recent national survey, 99 percent of the parents of minor children had to cut back on at least one essential need in order to pay court-imposed fines and fees. Without a driver’s license, parents can’t legally drive their children to school or a family member to a doctor’s appointment. Indeed, Mr. Harris was driving his wife to an urgent medical appointment when he appeared via Zoom in court. Corey Harris. Honorable Judge Cedric Simpson “What was I thinking?” he said in an interview with WXYZ-TV. “I was thinking about getting my wife medical help. That’s what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I got a suspended license. I don’t care about all that.” This failed policy is also felt across entire communities. In Texas, researchers conservatively estimate that driver’s license suspensions lead to $5.5 billion in lost earnings annually. That’s $5.5 billion that is not circulating through the Texas economy. Conversely, in Phoenix, after roughly 7,000 licenses were restored through the City’s Compliance Assistance program, GDP in the city increased by $149.6 million. Our Constitution prohibits people from being sent to jail for unpaid court debt, unless a judge finds that they have the ability to pay what they owe. Yet people can, and often do, find themselves behind bars. “What was I thinking? I was thinking about getting my wife medical help. That’s what I was thinking. corey harris to wxky-tv They are jailed not ostensibly for the unpaid debt — but because of the sanction imposed for not being able to pay that debt. Because people with suspended licenses often have to drive, they are often stopped by law enforcement and charged with driving on a suspended license, which is a misdemeanor in every state. Consider Harris’ case. Judge Simpson didn’t ask why his license had been suspended nor did he ask whether he could afford to pay what he had owed before sending him to jail. This happens every day in far too many courtrooms in this country. It’s an end run around the Constitution. A growing coalition of legislators, advocates and affected people, spanning the political spectrum, see debt-based suspensions for what they are: unfair, harsh and exceptionally ineffective. They believe licenses should only be suspended for unsafe driving, not for the crime of being poor. In the last five years, over 20 states have reformed or eliminated debt-based driver’s license suspensions, and the legislatures in Delaware and Maryland are currently considering bills to end suspensions for unpaid child support. The rest of the states need to follow, but until they do, we need to remind judges — and the public — of the reality behind debt-based license suspensions and the need to treat everyone with respect and dignity. Harris didn’t deserve to be mocked. And he didn’t deserve to have his license suspended in the first place.

Why India's $12 Million Cricket Bat Industry Is Fueled by UK Trees 2024-06-04 20:01:40+00:00 - Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Twitter LinkedIn icon LinkedIn Fliboard icon A stylized letter F. Flipboard Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Share icon An curved arrow pointing right. Share icon An curved arrow pointing right. Twitter LinkedIn icon LinkedIn Fliboard icon A stylized letter F. Flipboard Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Email icon An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email.

Elon Musk's X is allowing users to post consensual adult content, formalizing a prior Twitter policy 2024-06-04 19:13:00+00:00 - The social media platform X says it will now formally allow people to show consensual adult content, as long as it is clearly labeled as such. The move makes official a policy already in place when the platform was known as Twitter, before billionaire Elon Musk purchased it in 2022. In a recent update on its website, the San Francisco-based company said users “should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression.” Adult material was allowed under the pre-Musk Twitter as well, although there was no official policy in place. X said it is restricting adult content for children and for adult users who choose not to see it. “We also prohibit content promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualization or harm to minors, and obscene behaviors,” X said. It added that it does not allow sharing adult content in “highly visible” places such as users’ profile photos or banners. X’s policy stands in contrast to other social media platforms, such as Meta’s properties — Instagram and Facebook — as well as TikTok and Google’s YouTube. “The platform’s move to allow ‘adult content’ dovetails well with the company’s post-Musk marketing strategy,” said Brooke Erin Duffy, associate professor of communication at Cornell University. “X is unapologetically provocative and has sought to distinguish itself from ‘brand safe’ competitors.” The company appears to be courting people, including creators and artists, who have been marginalized by other social media platforms that have guidelines restricting nudity or sexual expression, she added. The policy applies to real as well as artificial-intelligence-generated material. X is asking users who regularly post adult content to adjust their media settings to place all their images and videos behind a content warning. This requires users to acknowledge that they want to see the posted image before they can view it.

Jon Stewart's reaction to the Trump verdict: Why his hush money coverage criticism has me laughing 2024-06-04 19:05:45+00:00 - There was a moment in Monday night’s episode of “The Daily Show” that must rank among the most interesting of the season, perhaps the entire history of the cult “politainment” program. Host Jon Stewart, who has been in fine form of late, was sparring amiably with Ken Buck, the retired Republican congressman from Colorado. They were discussing, quite compellingly, the aftermath of the conviction of Donald Trump and the media’s coverage of the event. A widely discussed fact about Stewart’s glorious run as host from 1999-2015 was that 12% of online Americans got their news from "The Daily Show." That is to say, a most un-Cronkite-like source was delivering vital information to the nation’s citizenry. And then this happened: Buck, a former member of the Freedom Caucus, sighed: “We went from Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather to entertainment.” Stewart, a little too cheekily for my taste, riposted: “Why are you looking at me? I had nothing to do with this!” I’ve watched Stewart’s reaction to that comment a dozen times. I’ve scrutinized his endearing grin. I watched him pause pregnantly, clench, and then move on. And I still can’t figure out if Jon Stewart was owning up to the fact that Jon Stewart had a whole heck of a lot to do with the evolution (or devolution?) of American and global journalism into a form of entertainment. Comedy Central's “The Daily Show,” with Stewart back in the saddle, at least one night a week, is garnering well-deserved attention and plaudits. It is consistently funny, and Monday’s episode was no exception. Ronnie Cheung, in a cameo, mined comedy gold when he referred to saying the word “Jewish with the hard -ish.” Another visual gag of President Joe Biden as a clueless, '70s-era sit-com character by the name of “Colonel Butters” was brilliant. Yet as regards his critique of the media, Stewart, disappointingly, is once again “bothsidesing.” We’re right back to the criticism that was leveled against him when he returned to the show’s anchor’s desk in February. Stewart is the world’s best-known and most skilled practitioner of “politainment,” a genre that scholars define as “the blending of politics and entertainment” in which the “entertainment industry exploits political topics in various entertainment formats.” A widely discussed fact about Stewart’s glorious run as host from 1999-2015 was that 12% of online Americans got their news from "The Daily Show." That is to say, a most un-Cronkite-like source was delivering vital information to the nation’s citizenry. Stewart’s mastery of the craft inspired many others, including HBO's “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver; Comedy Central's “The Colbert Report;” “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore;” “The Opposition with Jordan Klepper” and TBS's “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.” (All but Oliver's are no longer on the air.) Let’s not forget right-wing mock-ups that Stewart clearly influenced, like Fox’s “Watters’ World” and “Gutfeld!” Globally, there have been localized (or glocalized) versions of “The Daily Show” in Egypt, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Palestine, Romania, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, to name just a few. So, yes, Stewart had something to do with the de-Cronkitization of American journalism and its rather un-Rather-like lurch toward entertainment. This is why his criticism of the media’s coverage of the Trump trial has left me laughing ... and uneasy. In the April 22 episode, he skewered CNN and MSNBC. “This Trump trial is like an open window on a Greyhound bus full of farts,” complained Stewart as he lit up news organizations for their breathless coverage of Trump’s motorcade and his courtroom facial tics. During the special May 9 episode, Stewart bemoaned “nonstop penis-to-penis coverage” in the aftermath of Stormy Daniels’ testimony. And Monday night, Stewart took on the media again. After a montage of talking heads claiming “Americans are living in two different realities,” Stewart concluded, “the news media has decided there is no such thing as reality.” He then offered his ontological corrective: “We are all living in one reality, and it can be the news media’s job to litigate the parameters of said reality.” There are two problems with this claim. The first is that Stewart has made a career out of blurring the parameters of aforesaid reality. Is his show comedy or news? Is he a parodist or an analyst? Are his facts accurate or falsified? Do we take him seriously or are we just supposed to laugh? His wit has contributed to the destabilizing of the very reality he wishes that journalists would restabilize for their viewers. Stewart is conducting a “moral equivalence” routine on “the media” — as if all media outlets do the same hypocritical thing. The second is that Stewart is conducting a “moral equivalence” routine on “the media” — as if all media outlets do the same hypocritical thing. On Monday, Stewart razzed his usual liberal targets. He remarked: “For the left, the conviction [of Trump] was an exercise in concealed and controlled glee. Many took the opportunity to over demonstrate how they took no pleasure from this day that they had been dreaming about since childhood.” What followed were back-to-back clips of Lisa Rubin (MSNBC), Erin Burnett (CNN) and Jamal Simmons (CNN) talking about the sadness of the moment for America. But nothing indicates to me, at least, that these commentators were secretly gleeful. Nor are they wrong, by the way. Yes, there has been some sensationalistic coverage of the Trump trial, on all networks. There have been blatantly partisan interpretations of the event and over attention to silly details (like Trump’s alleged power naps). But there has also been very learned analysis offered by professional jurists. Their work has illuminated the complexities of our legal system and trial proceedings that are difficult for laypersons to understand. The degree of fairness, sophistication and sincerity of analysis from Fox, MSNBC and CNN (Stewart’s primary targets) is vastly different — and it would behoove him to recognize those nuances. It would also be advisable for Stewart to acknowledge some responsibility for helping to create the media environment he bemoans.

Scandinavia ‘way ahead’ of UK in telecoms infrastructure, says BT boss 2024-06-04 18:56:00+00:00 - The Nordic countries are “way ahead” of the UK in telecoms infrastructure and the government should look again at planning laws to help improve poor connectivity, the boss of BT has said. Allison Kirkby, the chief executive of BT, told the Deloitte and Enders media and telecoms conference in London: “What I would say is Scandinavia is way ahead of the UK. Part of that is very much driven by the regulatory environment, the planning environment and the general adoption of digital skills and digital services.” About 80% of homes in Sweden are connected by entirely fibre-optic lines, she said, which are many times faster than older copper wires. She joined BT earlier this year from her former role as the chief executive of the Swedish telecoms company Telia, and has spent the past decade working in Scandinavia. She faces a tough turnaround at BT, which is fighting competition from scores of alternative network providers, or “alt nets”, as it rolls out next-generation 5G mobile and full-fibre broadband across the UK through its Openreach subsidiary. BT has set itself a £15bn plan to roll out full-fibre broadband to 25m homes by 2026. It has reached more than 14m premises, with a further 6m where initial build is under way, and is on track to reach 25m by December 2026. Kirkby was asked at the conference what she was looking for from the government in a general election year, and replied: “Regulatory and fiscal policy certainty.” “We need to look at planning,” she said. “It’s not necessarily market structure that stops the UK having the great networks that I saw in Sweden – a lot of it is restricted by planning. The Swedes, the Norwegians, the Finnish all expected their highways, their trains, to have great connectivity wherever you were, even when you were up in the northern part of the country. A lot of what is not working in the UK is the planning legislation.” Separately Robert Finnegan, the chief executive of mobile phone company Three UK, told the London conference that in his view, “customers would be short-changed” and see less infrastructure investment if the Competition and Markets Authority was to block the proposed merger between Three UK and Vodafone. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Finnegan said: “Well if this merger does not get approved, then nothing changes and the UK will still rank lowly amongst its peers … because people want quality infrastructure when they are investing … Customers will be short-changed … the two smaller players won’t be able to afford to roll out the network and the two big players won’t have the incentive to do so.”

9 things you're probably wrong about when it comes to your car, from maintenance to pricing 2024-06-04 18:46:20+00:00 - Thought: You need an SUV or pickup. SUVs and pickups dominate US roads, and they're getting bigger. Ford It's a controversial one, but perhaps not everyone needs to drive a pickup or an SUV. SUVs, especially, and pickups, too, dominate US roads. But many experts would argue that a number of those vehicle owners don't use those cars to their full extent. There are plenty of people across the country who do drive pickup trucks and use them for hauling, towing, and more. Those vehicles have a distinct purpose for certain lifestyles, careers, and needs. The same can be said for SUVs — whether a driver has a big family, needs to haul a lot on the weekends, or even finds that vehicle to be more accessible, those personal vehicle requirements are valid, and it's important to have affordable options that accommodate everyone and all uses. Others might be able to assess whether they do need that large vehicle. Sedans have largely gone by the wayside, and now cars are just getting bigger (and arguably less safe). Many Americans tend to buy their vehicles for a once-a-year situation — that one road trip or that one move — rather than for their needs a majority of the time, but there may be smaller, and more efficient, options.

‘Arbitrary’ election pledges to cut UK migration will worsen worker shortages 2024-06-04 18:33:00+00:00 - The battle between the Conservatives and Labour to show they are tough on migration risks damaging sectors that are vital to the economy, industry figures have warned. Rishi Sunak unveiled a Conservative pledge to cap visas awarded to migrant workers on Monday, promising “bold action to reduce immigration” amid pressure from a Reform party reinvigorated by the return of Nigel Farage as leader. The prime minister said the number of migrant work visas would fall each year under a Conservative government, although he did not set out a number for the proposed reduction. Speaking days after Labour unveiled its own plan to slash net migration, the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, accused the government of “rehashing” failed policies. Net migration to the UK fell 10% last year to 685,000, after hitting a record high of 764,000 in 2022, according to official figures. As the war of words put migration front and centre of the election campaign, representatives of businesses that employ millions of people in tourism, hospitality, construction and manufacturing warned that politicians were failing to understand the UK’s need for migrant labour. They warned that an arbitrary crackdown could exacerbate skills shortages, constrain output and even force factories to move more rapidly towards automating some roles. “It’s headlines and it doesn’t reflect economic reality,” said Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of the lobby group UK Hospitality, which represents a sector employing 3.5 million people. She said the proportion of UK hospitality staff from abroad had already fallen from 25% to 12% since Brexit, leaving little room for further reduction. Pubs and restaurants have also been forced to reduce hours as they struggle with worker shortages. “There are labour shortages across the economy. It can’t just be arbitrary numbers or arbitrary caps.” The share of workers born overseas has risen over the past two decades from 9% of the workforce to 19%, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, put forward plans to slash legal migration earlier this week, while Reform’s revivified leader, Nigel Farage, has vowed to cut net migration to zero, pilling pressure on the Conservatives and Labour. “All of the main parties are trying to outdo each other and appear tough,” said Nicholls, warning that political rhetoric risked becoming “divorced from reality”. Nicholls stressed the importance of investing in skills and helping people into employment, to ensure any long-term reduction in migration rates did not exacerbate skills shortages. “Looking at one in isolation will result in economic harm,” she said. Tourist hotspots such as the Lake District are particularly vulnerable to any crackdown, according to Gill Haigh, the managing director of Cumbria Tourism. “We’ve got a really sparse population and it’s super-ageing,” she said. “The bottom line is that even if you took every single person in Cumbria seeking work, you would not fill that gap.” She said the shortage of staff was already forcing businesses to close, or cut back services, such as reducing the number of days when they could serve food. In manufacturing, employers are likely to turn to automation if they cannot employ migrant labour rather than paying UK-born workers more, according to David Bailey, professor of business economics at Birmingham Business School. “The government has assumed restricting migrant workers will lead to higher wages and productivity but that doesn’t happen automatically. “You need an industrial strategy to boost investment and training … where we’ve got a terrible record,” he said. “Even greater restrictions [on top of Brexit] would make recruiting workers more difficult and might constrain companies’ ability to increase output. “It also means that companies would have to look at more automation. If you can’t get workers, you have to automate.” The construction sector has suffered a particularly steep drop in employment numbers, according to the Construction Products Association, driven partly by the loss of EU workers since Brexit but also by high levels of retirement among an ageing workforce that is 85% UK-born. “Immigrant labour is likely to be critical to any government that is serious about building substantially more homes as well as more and better infrastructure,” said Prof Noble Francis, the CPA’s economics director. “Training of UK workers is currently insufficient to meet even building what we were building just a few years ago, never mind what we will need to build in the future.” He said relying on domestic apprenticeships to plug the labour shortfall would require “a whole generation” to address the loss of UK construction workers. The head of public policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Ben Willmott, said: “It’s important the immigration system remains responsive to the demands of the economy and is able to address key skills shortages that can prevent the delivery of key public services or hold back growth.”

Owner of UK national lottery operator to sever ties with Gazprom 2024-06-04 18:26:00+00:00 - The billionaire owner of Allwyn, the company that runs the national lottery, will sever his last remaining ties with Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom by the end of June, more than two years after winning the UK’s largest public sector contract. The Czech tycoon Karel Komárek, who owns Allwyn via his Switzerland-based holding company KKCG, has faced scrutiny over his links to Russia since wresting control of the 10-year licence to operate the lottery from Camelot in 2022. Questions from MPs have focused chiefly on KKCG’s Czech business MND, which in turn owns Moravia Gas Storage (MGS), housing the Dambořice underground gas storage facility in the Czech Republic. Until earlier this year, MGS was a 50/50 partnership with Gazprom, which is state owned and controlled. Gazprom is not sanctioned in the UK but many of its executives are. In June 2022, months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and after Allwyn had been named “preferred bidder” for the £6.5bn lottery contract, Gambling Commission staff told MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee that they expected an announcement about plans to end the Gazprom relationship within “days”. However, MND was unable to complete a plan to dilute the Russian energy company’s stake, by issuing new shares, until March this year. Even after the dilution, Gazprom retained a stake of less than 3%. MND has now agreed to buy Gazprom’s remaining 2.63% of the shares in the gas facility, with the deal already approved and due to complete by the end of June, according to a letter seen by the Guardian. Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader who chairs a cross-party parliamentary group examining the gambling industry, said MPs had found it difficult to obtain information about Allwyn’s Russian links from the Gambling Commission. “This matter has finally been resolved but it is highly questionable as to why it has taken so long and deeply concerning that it has been so difficult to just get transparent information about one of the UK’s largest public sector contracts.” Komárek publicly condemned Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine, describing the war as “brutal” in an open letter published in March 2022, as the Gambling Commission was poised to decide whether to grant Allwyn a 10-year licence to operate the lottery. But the lingering link to Gazprom has seen Komárek struggle to fend off concerns about business ties to Russia. A spokesperson for KKCG said it was “pleased to confirm that its subsidiary MND will acquire the remaining 3% of shares in Moravia Gas Storage (MGS), previously owned by Gazprom Export. Following a decision taken at the MGS general meeting, MND will become 100% shareholder in MGS by the end of June 2024. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “The 50/50 MGS joint venture was established in 2013. In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, MND worked in partnership with the Czech state to prevent a strategic national energy asset – MGS holds roughly 12% of the Czech Republic’s natural gas – from coming under Russian control. “This has been achieved after passing through a number of necessary legal and regulatory processes.” Earlier this year, the Guardian revealed that Allwyn’s parent company was borrowing millions from state-owned banks VTB and Sberbank at the time it won the UK lottery contract, although there is no evidence to indicate the loans were used to finance the bid for the lottery directly. The Gambling Commission has previously said that it vetted all applicants for the national lottery licence through the government’s UK Security Vetting service. The regulator said it was satisfied that Allwyn was not in business with any sanctioned entities and that any Russian interests had no bearing on the lottery.

Republican voters have one last chance to rebuke Trump 2024-06-04 18:21:35+00:00 - The 2024 Republican presidential primary ends Tuesday, not with a bang but with a whimper. As Republican voters head to the polls in Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota, the only question is how many will cast their ballots against presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Despite steamrolling his opponents in the first few primaries, Trump has faced a persistent percentage of GOP voters who have cast their ballot for another Republican. Tuesday's primaries will also be the only chance for Republican voters to weigh in before November since Trump was found guilty. Tuesday's primaries will also be the only chance for Republican voters to weigh in before November since Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to an adult film actor. If you were unaware of the primaries, you are not alone, especially since Trump officially became the presumptive Republican nominee March 12. Adding to some of the yawn factor with these primaries is that Trump is unopposed, so there will not be anything to report on in New Jersey or South Dakota. In Montana, Trump is the only candidate on the Republican ballot, with the only other options being “no preference” or writing in a candidate. In New Mexico, the ballot will include Trump, as well as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and an "uncommitted" option. While Haley officially dropped out of the race in March, her name has continued to appear on primary ballots, and she has received a decent percentage of the vote, ranging from 10% to 22%. Voters cast ballots Tuesday in Billings, Mont. Matthew Brown / AP It will not be surprising to see the trend continue Tuesday night, however it is far past the time to stop calling them Haley voters and call these voters precisely what they are: anti-Trump voters. More importantly, do not assume these anti-Trump voters in the spring will automatically be Biden supporters in the fall. It is one thing to cast a protest vote against Trump in a meaningless contest. But for a card-carrying Republican, it's quite another to vote for President Joe Biden when it counts.

GM CEO says committment to all-electric fleet remains firm despite industry-wide sales slowdown 2024-06-04 18:02:00+00:00 - General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the storied automaker's plan to turn its fleet 100% electric will now play out "over decades." In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Barra clarified the company's previously stated intention to eventually phase out gas-powered cars. "I wouldn’t say we’re recommitting," Barra said of the company's pledge, first announced more than six years ago. "You know, we said back in 2018 that we’re committed to an all-electric future. But as we make this transformation, it’s going to happen over decades. And that’s why I couldn’t be more proud of our gas-powered fleet as well." In a statement after this article was published, a spokesperson for GM said the company is actually aiming to exclusively sell electric vehicles by 2035. See more on this story on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT. Barra's remarks come amid a softening sales environment for electric vehicles in the U.S. In April, Cox Automotive reported that Kelley Blue Book data showed that the first quarter of 2024 saw the first quarter-over-quarter decline in EV sales since the pandemic and that sales were up just 3% year-on-year. Last spring, GM announced it was discontinuing its Chevy Bolt EV, which had previously made up the vast majority of the company's electric vehicle sales, in favor of a new EV platform called Ultium that serves as the battery system across its remaining electric fleet. Barra told NBC News that GM now has offerings for virtually any consumer preference, whether it's gas or electric. "I want people to choose an EV because they love every aspect about it," she said. "And if it doesn’t fit their lifestyle, in that same showroom, we’ve got a great gas-powered vehicle that I think will meet their needs." Tesla continues to dominate EV sales in the U.S., and although it has gradually given up some market share, it continues to command 50% of EV purchases. Barra confirmed that GM-made EVs will have access to Tesla charging stations, as well as those managed by Pilot Flying J — something that will help alleviate concerns about EV charger availability. Barra expressed hope that further expansion of the EV charging network will make choosing an electric vehicle easier for consumers. GM has seen success in EVs for at least one its more recent models. Kelley Blue Book data reported by Cox showed about 1 out of every 6 Cadillac purchases is an electric vehicle — the most of any brand not focused entirely on EVs. Cadillac was also one of nine manufacturers that recorded more than 50% year-on-year growth in EV sales. It's indicative of the current trend in the electric vehicle market: They are becoming more popular at the higher end. Cox reported that Cadillac achieved an approximately 500% year-over-year increase in EV sales thanks to robust sales of its Lyriq crossover, which costs $58,590 to $63,190. It stands in contrast to the Bolt, which was previously the most affordable EV on the market. Barra did not directly refer to the Bolt, but said EVs will have to become more affordable if widespread adoption is to occur. "Everyone has been talking about to really drive EV adoption, we’ve got to get to EVs that are affordable," she said. "And when you think this — we’re going to have a model out later this year that starts around $35,000. Then with the tax credit you think about $7,500. This is under $30,000." There are some limits to that $7,500 tax credit so closely associated with EV purchases. Receiving that credit depends on the buyer's income and where the vehicle and its battery components were made. Certain models are excluded from the United States' EV tax credit program. Those restrictions are part of the Biden administration's effort to promote EV and battery components made in the U.S. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has expressed opposition to the Biden administration's EV push, calling the effort "radical." Barra said a second Trump administration would not alter the company's future plans. "We will be just committed because we think in the long term [EVs are] better," she said. "And even right now — I mean, get in an EV and drive it. It’s instant torque. You never have to go to the gas station, especially if you have at your home or where you live, whether it’s an apartment or your house, you have accessibility charging." She continued: "I think over the long term when we have a very robust charging infrastructure, people are going to choose EVs, because they’re better."