Business

At the Aspen Ideas Festival on Friday, Ford CEO Jim Farley announced that the company plans to launch a $30,000 all-electric vehicle that will be profitable in about two and a half years. Farley provided limited additional details about the vehicle, which is being developed by a specialized team within Ford. He said its main competitors will be Chinese automakers such as BYD and a planned entry-level electric car from Tesla, the leading U.S. electric vehicle maker. Farley said Ford is focusing on smaller electric vehicles rather than larger, all-electric trucks and SUVs, which have historically been the company's main profit drivers. He said larger vehicles "will never be profitable." "To get a profitable electric vehicle, automakers have to make a significant shift. The first thing we ha...

HBC, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, has announced its acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group for $2.65 billion. The merger will unite two iconic luxury retailers under one roof. The new entity, Saks Global, will include Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Richard Baker, CEO of HBC, expressed his excitement about the merger, highlighting the benefits it envisions for customers, partners and employees. He emphasized the potential for technological advances to transform the luxury retail experience. Major leadership changes include Marc Metrick, currently CEO of Saks.com, who will become CEO of Saks Global. Ian Putnam, president and CEO of HBC Properties and Investments, will oversee Saks Global’s real estate and investment businesses, both of which wil...

A key economic measure from the Federal Reserve revealed Friday that May's inflation rate was the lowest in three years. A report from the Commerce Department indicated that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month and by 2.6% year over year. This annual figure was a slight decline from the April level. Both numbers met Dow Jones expectations. May saw the lowest annual inflation rate since March 2021, marking the first time this economic cycle that inflation has fallen below the Fed’s 2% target. Including food and energy prices, headline inflation remained stable on a monthly basis and increased by 2.6 percent from a year earlier, in line with expectations. "This is further evidence that monetary policy is working and that in...

On June 21, 2024, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing celebrated its 24th listing anniversary, amid growing optimism about the future of the city’s IPO market. In an interview with CNBC, George Chan, global head of IPOs at EY, expressed confidence that the Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) market is set to see substantial improvement over the next five years, starting in the second half of this year. Chan noted that while it may take a few years to reach the peak levels seen in 2021, the trend is clearly positive. “I see light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Over the past three years, factors such as high interest rates in the United States, increased regulatory scrutiny, slowing economic growth, and geopolitical tensions between the United States and China have dampened IPO activi...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the progress made over the past year in tackling inflation, but stressed that more confidence was needed before considering a rate cut. "We've made quite a bit of progress in getting inflation back to our objective," Powell told a central bank forum in Sintra, Portugal. "The latest inflation readings, and to a lesser extent the previous one, suggest that we're returning to a disinflationary path. We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2% before we begin the process of reducing or easing policy." Powell spoke alongside European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde and Brazilian central bank governor Roberto Campos Neto at an event hosted by the ECB and moderated by CNBC...

Shares of Chinese electric car makers started the new year on a downtrend, facing stiff competition and ongoing price wars that are eroding automakers’ profitability amid weak overall market sentiment. Hong Kong-listed shares of Nio and Xpeng have fallen more than 18% and 16%, respectively, while Li Auto has fallen 12% so far this year. BYD and Zhejiang Leapmotor have fallen nearly 2.5% and 12%, respectively, in 2024. Bernstein analysts noted in a recent report on China's electric vehicle industry: "We expect competition within the domestic market to remain intense, putting pressure on pricing and profitability." Morgan Stanley also highlighted these concerns about competition in its note on Wednesday: "Investors remain cautious as the Chinese auto market has had a volatile start to the y...

Starbucks locations across the country are rolling out new measures to streamline drink ordering and reduce wait times. The revamp comes as the coffee chain anticipates a surge in mobile app orders. At the heart of this initiative is Starbucks’ “siren craft system,” a set of procedures designed to make baristas’ jobs easier and speed up service. More than 10 percent of Starbucks’ 10,000 locations have already adopted the system, which reorganizes the production sequence for hot and cold beverages. The company aims to roll it out across North America by the end of July. Starbucks executives believe these changes are crucial, especially after a disappointing second quarter in April, when U.S. same-store sales fell 3% and foot traffic fell 7%. As a result, the company lowered its 2024 foreca...

General view of the Bank of England building in London. LONDON – The Bank of England announced its decision to keep interest rates stable at its June meeting, but described the choice as “finely balanced” after the UK reached its 2% inflation target. Money market prices indicated around a 50% chance of a rate cut in August as investors interpreted a subtly dovish message. The central bank's key rate stands at 5.25%, its highest level in 16 years, and has been held since August. Seven members of the monetary policy committee voted to hold the rate, while two supported a 25 basis point cut, mirroring the outcome of the May meeting. A basis point represents one hundredth of a percentage point. In its statement, the MPC stressed that inflation had reached the central bank's target an...

Wan Gang, the visionary behind the rise of electric vehicles in China, sees European collaboration as a promising path forward. HEFEI, China — Wan Gang, widely recognized as the architect of China’s electric vehicle (EV) strategy, suggested Wednesday that Chinese investment in Europe’s EV sector could benefit both regions amid ongoing trade disputes. “I think the governments of China and the European Union are now considering how, through negotiations, they can combine investment with commodity trade,” said Wan Gang, the current president of the China Association of Science and Technology. Wan made the remarks through an official English translation during a panel at the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” meeting in Dalian, China. Representatives from China’s Foreign Ministry and the E...

General view of the Bank of England building in London. LONDON – The Bank of England announced its decision to keep interest rates steady at its June meeting, but described the move as “finely balanced” after the UK hit its 2% inflation target. Money market prices pointed to a nearly 50% chance of a rate cut in August, as investors interpreted a subtly dovish message. The central bank's key interest rate stands at 5.25%, its highest level in 16 years, held since August. Seven members of the monetary policy committee voted in favor of maintaining the rate, while two supported a 25 basis point cut, mirroring the outcome of the May meeting. One basis point represents one hundredth of a percentage point. In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee stressed that inflation had reached the c...