Ford lost billions of dollars on its electric vehicle (EV) product lines last year, according to corporate documents.
The company lost $4.7 billion on EVs in 2023, a greater loss than the $4.5 billion the company expected it would lose in 2023 at mid-year, according to a summary of the company’s annual earnings. The company pointed to “an extremely competitive pricing environment” as a key reason for the losses.
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We’ve paid much attention to President Biden’s flagging job approval here, in part because it tends to be a strong predictor of how an election will turn out. Biden is marching into this election season as likely the least popular president to face the voters since Herbert Hoover. While he may yet be saved by the fact that he is facing off against Donald Trump, who brings his own baggage to the table, it’s an ominous indicator.
At the same time, the economy is running hot. Growth is over 3%, unemployment is under 4%, and inflation has fallen from its peak. So why the seeming paradox of an unpopular president in a time of strong economic growth, especially when the strength of the economy is itself a traditional predictor of presidential job approval?
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Chinese solar manufacturers are building factories in the U.S. to reap American subsidies created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Companies based in China are responsible for about 25% of the 80 gigawatts in new solar manufacturing capacity announced in the U.S. since the IRA became law in August 2022 and established robust tax credit programs to incentivize domestic green energy production, according to the WSJ. Assuming that the factory construction and expected outputs announced by these China-based solar companies stay on schedule, they could reap a combined $1.4 billion worth of value from IRA subsidies each year.
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The percentage of hourly and salaried workers in a union decreased in 2023, continuing a trend of ongoing decline in the past few decades.
The decline in 2023 was small, from 10.1% of the workforce to 10% even, but the trend is significant. In 1983, about 20% of hourly and salaried workers were in a union, meaning U.S. union membership has halved in about four decades.
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Boeing has discovered additional problems with its 737 fuselages, following a fuselage panel on one of its 737 Max 9s becoming detached last month during an Alaska Airlines flight.
The international aircraft maker said Sunday the new problem is related to drilled holes in the fuselage that were discovered by a supplier employee but is not an “immediate flight-safety issue.”
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Trust in banks has plummeted. From 2019-2022, the percentage of people who believe banks and financial institutions have a positive effect on the country fell among Republicans (from 63 to 38 percent) and Independents (by nine points). The problem grows every time a right-of-center group is debanked. Recognizing the problem, “rebuilding trust” is the theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The path to rebuild trust in finance is simple—keep politics out of banking.
In spite of an alleged priority of building trust, the largest banks are aligning themselves with radical United Nations (UN) climate initiatives linked to radical efforts to reduce Africa’s population and destroy Sri Lankan agriculture.
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In what is sure to have significant implications for millions of American workers, specifically gig economy workers and contractors, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited final worker classification rule in January.
The new rule revises the process to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The government argues the rule is necessary to ensure that all workers are provided fair wages and overtime since independent contractors (people who work for themselves or a business on a contractual basis) are not given the same benefits, such as tax withholdings and paid time off, as traditional employees. However, this argument appears designed to mask the government’s true intention, which is to reduce the number of independent contractors in the country.
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The House Judiciary Committee and the Weaponization subpanel on Monday revealed internal documents secured via the subpoena of Amazon, highlighting the Biden administration’s efforts to address “propaganda” and “misinformation” in books the online retailer sold.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan outlined the effort in an X thread reminiscent of the “Twitter Files” reports that addressed federal involvement with that platform.
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As the world looks for ways to decarbonize energy while keeping energy costs down, nuclear power is getting a second look. But the costs and construction times to build nuclear reactors in the United States raises the risk America may get left behind.
Concerns about the impacts of climate change drove some nations, such as Germany, to pursue a transition from fossil fuels using primarily wind and solar. Researchers such as Mark Z. Jacobson produced studies that claimed the U.S. could achieve 100% of its energy needs from wind, solar and hydroelectric without any fossil fuels or nuclear.
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The U.S. set a new record in January for the total number of Americans employed by the government, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The government added 36,000 new employees in January, with 11,000 in the federal government and 19,000 in local government, totaling 23,091,000, according to the BLS. January’s total outdid the previous record of 23,055,000 that was set in December, marking the third month in a row with a new record.
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