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Tesla makes $1 billion profit in record quarter despite parts shortages and drop in bitcoin assets value

July 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment

The company reported $1.14 billion in profits for the second quarter, a tenfold increase compared to the same period last year, when it earned $104 million.

Also on rt.com Why does Elon Musk say he ‘hates’ running Tesla? RT’s Boom Bust finds out

Tesla’s overall revenue stands at $10.21 billion, with gross margins at 28.4%, the highest in the last four quarters.

Tesla had previously reported record deliveries of 201,250 electric vehicles during the period, which was slightly short of the company’s expectations but more than it has ever sold in a single quarter. 

“Public sentiment and support for electric vehicles seems to be at a never-before-seen inflection point,” the company wrote in a letter to investors.

Also on rt.com Tesla shareholders want Elon Musk to pay back $2.6 BILLION carmaker spent on SolarCity

On the down side, Tesla said it lost $23 million due to the value of its bitcoin assets. The company also continues to face parts shortages, especially semiconductors and microcontroller chips, which also affected other carmakers such as General Motors and Ford. A shortage in battery cells forced Tesla to delay the launch of its pickup truck program until 2022.

During a shareholder call on Monday, CEO Musk said many customers ask why the company doesn’t produce its own parts to prevent shortages. He laughed it off, saying, “it’s not like you can just whip up a chip [factory].” Musk noted, however, that Tesla is working with suppliers to address the current shortages.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/530328-tesla-profit-billion-record-high/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Utah Farm Draws a Rare Breed: The American Shepherd

July 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment

“Nobody wants this type of work,” Mr. Stubbs said of herding and farm labor. And most American-born workers haven’t wanted it in a while — at least at the wages that most farmers say they can afford. That is why more than 200,000 temporary foreign farm workers, mostly from Mexico, were allowed into the United States last year to pick cherries, tomatoes and tobacco or to tend livestock. The number of visas issued has more than tripled since 2011, and it increased in 2020 despite the pandemic, after food and agricultural workers were characterized as part of the essential work force.

Mr. Stubbs, 54, started using the agricultural visa program, known as H-2A, eight years ago. Through an agency, he hired a Peruvian, Ronal Leon Parejas, who is still with him.

Before then, aside from family members or the occasional high school student who would pitch in for a few weeks, the only people in recent years willing to herd sheep were Native Americans or undocumented immigrants, Mr. Stubbs said. This year, the Navajo herder who had been working for him needed a knee operation. At 68, he probably wouldn’t be coming back.

“You put a small flock out, but you can’t get labor,” said Mr. Stubbs, who raises his flock for both wool and meat. “It’s putting a hurt on.”

Mr. Stubbs, who was 5 or 6 years old when his grandfather taught him how to move a flock from meadow to creek on the federal forest land where his family has had grazing rights since the 1800s, knows it is a hard and lonely job. His first month herding alone was after eighth grade. “I thought I would die,” he said, even though his mother drove from their farm nearly 20 miles away each day to check on him. “I lost 30 pounds in 30 days.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/business/economy/utah-american-shepherd.html

Filed Under: Economy News

The Travel Industry’s Reckoning With Race and Inclusion

July 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Additionally, although the tourism industry took a hit last year, outdoor activities continued to draw visitors, making outdoor tours like Ms. Bangura’s and Ms. Fisher’s of Beyond the Bell popular. Ms. Bangura said the style of her offerings makes them accessible for all travelers, especially those without access to smartphones for scanning QR codes or those unable to take part in headphone-aided tours.

Among the several kinds of tours and experiences Ms. Bangura has created is Black Monument Avenue, a three-block interactive experience in Richmond’s majority-Black Highland Park neighborhood. Visitors can drive through and call a designated phone line with unique access codes to hear songs, poems and messages about each installation. Every August, she runs Gabriel Week, honoring Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved man who led a rebellion in the Richmond area in 1800.

“I call him brother General Gabriel,” Ms. Bangura said, adding that in her work, she encourages “people to decolonize their history by making sure that history is being told from the language of the oppressed, not the language of the oppressor.”

Walking tours, for those who go on them, also provide a visceral sense of history that differs from the experience of a museum. Even as the National Museum of African American History and Culture has attracted record numbers of visitors to Washington, D.C., tours like Ms. Bangura’s can provide a more local perspective and show visitors exactly where something significant happened.

“We can find community in walking together, we can find community in exploring a neighborhood together, and we can find a sense of where we are, we can find a sense of where folks have been and we can find common ground,” said Kalela Williams, the founder of Black History Maven, a Philadelphia company that primarily offers walking tours of the city that focus on Black history.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/travel/black-travelers-diversity-inclusion.html

Filed Under: Economy News

Crypto rally deflates after Amazon denies report it will accept bitcoin as payment

July 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment

“Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true,” a spokesperson from Amazon said, as cited by Reuters. He admitted, however, that the company is “exploring what [cryptocurrencies] could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”

Also on rt.com Bitcoin bulls back as world’s top crypto surges towards $40,000

Bitcoin surged 15% to over $39,000 on Monday following a report from London’s City AM newspaper stating that Amazon was planning to accept bitcoin payments by the end of the year, citing an unnamed “insider” at the company. Rumors were also fueled after the e-commerce giant recently listed a job posting for a digital currency and blockchain expert, which was seen as a sign that the company plans to work with cryptocurrencies. 

Bitcoin was down some 4% on Tuesday, trading at around $37,000 as of 7:00am GMT. Still, crypto enthusiasts see the recent rise towards $40,000 a coin as a turn towards a bullish crypto market.

Apart from Amazon, a growing number of companies have been looking at cryptocurrencies with increased interest lately. Tesla CEO Elon Musk last week said the automaker may soon start accepting bitcoin for its electric car purchases again after stopping such payments in May this year.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/530321-amazon-denies-bitcoin-payments/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Inflation Has Arrived, but Washington Isn’t Racing to Limit Price Pops

July 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Prices have risen by more than Fed officials expected, based on both their public statements and their economic projections from earlier this year.

Why the big jump? Some of it owes to temporary data quirks, which were expected to push inflation higher this year. Part of it has come as prices for airline tickets, hotel rooms and other pandemic-affected purchases rebound from last year, also as anticipated. But the surprisingly large part of the increase has come from a surge in consumer demand that is straining delivery routes and outstripping available supply for electronics, housing, and laundry machines.

That portion of the inflation is more tied to government policies, which put money into consumers’ pockets — and its future trajectory is a lot less predictable. Economists think the bottlenecks will fade, but by how much and how long it will take is uncertain.

Whether today’s inflation matters and warrants a response will depend on several factors.

If, as the White House predicts, quick price gains fade as the economy returns to normal, they shouldn’t be terribly problematic. Households will likely have to spend a little bit more on some goods and services but may also find that they are earning more. Workers are now seeing decent wage gains, though not quite enough to outpace price gains, and the labor market is expected to continue strengthening as inflation fades.

The biggest price gains have also been concentrated in just a few categories, like used cars. Most families do not buy automobiles that often, so the hit from higher costs will not be as salient for consumers as an across-the-board rapid rise in prices for everything consumers buy, like clothing and milk.

But if consumers and businesses come to expect higher prices and start accepting bigger price tags and demanding higher wages, that could broaden inflation and keep it elevated. That would be a problem. Rapid inflation makes life hard for people who live on savings, like retirees. If it outstrips pay gains, it can erode a consumer’s ability to buy goods and services. And if inflation becomes hard to predict, as it did in the 1970s and 1980s, it makes planning for the future hard for businesses and households.

There are real reasons to worry that inflation could stick around. Supply chain snarls are expected to fade with time, but new Covid variants and renewed lockdowns in some countries could keep global trade chains from getting back to normal. That could keep prices for goods elevated. (On the flip side, Jason Furman at Harvard points out that renewed lockdowns would also probably drag down consumer demand, which could lead to softer price pressures.)

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/business/economy/inflation-rise.html

Filed Under: Economy News

Pop Smoke’s Second Posthumous Album, ‘Faith,’ Hits No. 1

July 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

“Faith,” the second album by the Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke to be released since he was shot and killed in February 2020 at the age of 20, tops the Billboard chart this week, just as the previous one did.

But the difference in listenership was stark: “Faith” opened with 88,000 equivalent album units, including 113 million streams and 4,000 in sales, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm, while “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon,” from last July, was nearly three times more popular in its opening week, earning the equivalent of 251,000 albums sold, with 268 million streams and 59,000 in sales (including now-restricted merchandise bundles).

“Faith” received tepid album reviews, with some questioning its posthumous assembly and the inclusion of more than 20 guests (Dua Lipa, Kanye West, Chris Brown) across the album’s 20 tracks. A deluxe edition adding four more songs was released on July 21, the day before the chart week ended.

Pop Smoke, born Bashar Jackson, once a leader of Brooklyn’s rising drill movement, was killed last year during a home invasion in the Hollywood Hills after inadvertently revealing his address on Instagram. Los Angeles police officers said at a hearing in May that five teenagers had plotted to rob the rapper, coming away only with a watch that they sold for $2,000.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/arts/music/pop-smoke-faith-billboard-chart.html

Filed Under: Media Business

Return to Office Hits a Snag: Young Resisters

July 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Still, that so many young people are working from home is a reversal of longstanding habits, said Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter, the online employment marketplace.

“The norm for so long is that remote work in office jobs has been reserved for the oldest and most senior and most trusted,” she said. “It’s interesting how quickly young workers have embraced this.”

When they work apart, younger employees lose chances to network, develop mentors and gain valuable experience by watching colleagues close-up, veteran managers say.

In some cases, older millennials like Jonathan Singer, 37, a real estate lawyer in Portland, Ore., find themselves making the case for returning to the office to skeptical younger colleagues who have grown accustomed to working from home.

“As a manager, it’s really hard to get cohesion and collegiality without being together on a regular basis, and it’s difficult to mentor without being in the same place,” Mr. Singer said. But persuading younger workers to see things his way has not been easy.

“With the leverage that employees have, and the proof that they can work from home, it’s hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube,” he said.

Fearful of losing one more junior employee in what has become a tight job market, Mr. Singer has allowed a young colleague to work from home one day a week with an understanding that they would revisit the issue in the future.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/business/economy/return-office-young-workers.html

Filed Under: Economy News

Philip Morris claims it wants to ‘solve the problem of smoking’ by ending cigarette sales in UK

July 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Philip Morris’ CEO Jacek Olczak said on Sunday that the plan was part of the company’s strategy to phase out conventional cigarette smoking in the country.

“I want to allow this company to leave smoking behind. I think in the UK, ten years from now maximum, you can completely solve the problem of smoking,” Olczak told the Daily Mail. He noted that the Marlboro brand in particular “will disappear,” leaving consumers the choice between quitting the habit or switching to alternatives, such as electronic cigarettes or heated tobacco devices. 

Under the cover of Covid: Outdoor smoking bans in UK are the next phase of an authoritarian project launched 20 years ago Under the cover of Covid: Outdoor smoking bans in UK are the next phase of an authoritarian project launched 20 years ago

“Philip Morris can see a world without cigarettes – the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone,” the tobacco giant that sold more than a quarter of all cigarettes worldwide last year, said in a statement on Monday, echoing Olczak’s remarks.

The company’s vice-president, Dr. Moira Gilchrist, told the BBC that Philip Morris would welcome a government ban on conventional cigarettes, while stating that “strong regulation” is needed to “help solve the problem of cigarette smoking once and for all.” She also indicated that the company is ready to focus on producing “better alternatives” to conventional cigarettes.

In 2019, UK authorities unveiled a plan to make the country ‘smoke-free’ by 2030 in a move to tackle the causes of preventable health problems. However, two years from the announcement, critics say the plan can hardly work unless tobacco manufacturers themselves fund the strategy.

Britain’s smoking rate dropped by half over the past 35 years, however, according to a House of Lords report, being smoke free means cutting the number of smokers in the population to 5%, while it’s currently about 15%.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/530269-marlboro-uk-disappear-10-years/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

UK looks to ban Chinese nuclear firm from country’s energy projects – reports

July 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

The move could see China General Nuclear (CGN) kicked out of a French-Chinese consortium which is planning to build the £20 billion ($27.6 billion) Sizewell C nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast and another one in Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex.

Also on rt.com London gives go-ahead for £20bn nuclear plant to secure UK’s energy future, reopens talks with French electricity giant EDF

According to both Bloomberg and the Independent, unnamed sources have confirmed a recent report by the Financial Times that first brought to light the UK government’s stance on China’s participation in the projects.

“There isn’t a chance in hell that CGN builds [Sizewell C],” a source cited by the Financial Times claimed, noting that “given the approach we’ve seen to Huawei, [UK authorities] aren’t going to be letting a Chinese company build a new nuclear power station.” The source also revealed that UK authorities were already in talks with the main developer of Sizewell C, the French state-backed company Électricité de France S.A. (EDF), regarding chances to find new partners for the project. CGN didn’t respond to requests for comment on the report, while EDF declined to give any.

Also on rt.com UK government begins purge of China’s Huawei from country’s 5G rollout

The UK and China have been cooperating on nuclear power projects since a deal reached by former Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015. CGN is an investor with a 33% share in the Hinkley Point C nuclear facility in Somerset, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK, currently under construction.

Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian called China and the UK “important trade and investment partners” at a briefing on Monday, noting that as it is in everyone’s interests to cooperate “in the spirit of mutual benefit” the UK should “provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.”

Also on rt.com China is right to expose Britain’s rank hypocrisy, London can’t adopt the moral high ground AND demand special trade deals

The British government has been increasingly critical of China’s policies of late, namely with regard to its stance on Hong Kong, the alleged mistreatment of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, and the handling of the initial Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan province. Boris Johnson’s administration recently blocked China’s Huawei Technologies from taking part in the set up of the UK’s 5G wireless network, while Britain’s national security adviser ordered an investigation into the takeover of the UK’s major chip producer by the Chinese firm Nexperia NV.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/530251-china-uk-ban-nuclear-projects/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Bitcoin bulls back as world’s top crypto surges towards $40,000

July 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

The cryptocurrency pared some of the gains, trading at about $38,300 as of 9:00am GMT, after briefly topping $39,000 for the first time since mid-June. Bitcoin fell below $30,000 last week amid a global stock sell-off, raising concerns that the crypto could fall even further.

With the latest surge, more than $700 million of bitcoin short positions were liquidated on Monday, the most in at least the past three months, data from Bybt.com showed. Bitcoin futures also surged, with over 1,000 contracts traded within 10 minutes.

Also on rt.com Bitcoin plunges below $30,000 amid broader cryptocurrency market sell-off

Bitcoin’s gains were followed by other cryptocurrencies, with the second-most valuable crypto ethereum up around 8% to above $2,300. The entire cryptocurrency market has added over $114 billion in value as of Sunday evening, according to Coinmarketcap.com.

Experts explain the bullishness with several factors, including recent uplifting comments from Twitter, Tesla, and Ark Invest CEOs at a bitcoin conference called ‘The B-Word’. Elon Musk said that Tesla may once again begin accepting bitcoin for its vehicle purchases, adding that both Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX own bitcoin, while he personally has bought bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin.

Also on rt.com Russian central bank warns domestic stock exchanges against crypto-related funds

Also, Amazon Inc. has recently listed a job posting for a digital currency and blockchain expert, seen as a sign the e-commerce giant plans to work with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. An Amazon spokesperson said the company is “inspired by the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space,” and is “exploring what this could look like on Amazon,” as cited by Bloomberg.

The crypto market has recently been hit by concerns over the carbon footprint and energy consumption of bitcoin mining, a regulatory crackdown on the crypto in China, and criticism coming from European and US officials. Bitcoin is still around $27,000 off its mid-April high of nearly $65,000. However, some experts believe that the stresses bitcoin has been under are starting to wear off, indicating a return to the bullish crypto market.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/530222-bitcoin-surges-bullish-crypto-market/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business
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