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CNBC Daily Open: November’s CPI’s both good and bad

Published

1 year ago

December 13, 2023

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An Exxon Mobil gas station in Las Vegas on July 25, 2023.

Bridgett Bennett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

Prices mostly in line
The U.S. consumer price index climbed 0.1% in November and rose by 3.1% from a year earlier. The monthly increase is higher than expected, as economists had predicted prices to remain unchanged. The yearly rate, however, is still lower than the 3.2% in October, signaling a steady downward trajectory. A 2.3% drop in energy prices helped keep inflation in check.

Holding pattern
U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors digested CPI data and awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting. Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.56% despite Chinese leaders vowing to boost domestic demand for the new year. In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3% as business sentiment improved more than expected.

Glut of pigs
China’s facing the risk of deflation — and a 31.8% year-on-year plunge in pork prices is adding to the country’s woes. Food makes up an estimated one-fifth of China’s consumer price index basket, with pork being a large component within the food category.

OpenAI’s revenue: $44,486
OpenAI may be valued by private investors at $86 billion, but its revenue from its nonprofit operation in 2022 was just $44,485, according to a filing with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. OpenAI is a nonprofit — but the company launched a “capped-profit” firm, OpenAI Global, which is responsible for ChatGPT and drew billions in investment from Microsoft.

[PRO] ‘Buy the dip’
Investors have been cautious on Asian markets — but Morgan Stanley’s advising its clients that the market is transitioning to a new cycle, which would favor quality assets from those countries. “Our suggested strategy is to buy the dip on Quality Growth stocks in [Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, and EM],” the bank’s strategists wrote.

The bottom line

The U.S. consumer price index report for November came in a smidge higher than expected, compared with the previous month. However, the annual increase, as well as the monthly and yearly core inflation rates came in exactly as expected. That’s both good and bad.

The positives: Investors don’t like surprises. They could swallow the 0.1 percentage point rise in the monthly inflation rate because the CPI, overall, “was very consistent with expectations,” as Adam Crisafulli, founder and president of Vital Knowledge, put it. And November’s annual rate is slightly lower than the previous month’s, showing that disinflation is, indeed, in progress.

On to the negatives. Although the CPI was “somewhat in line,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, the month-over-month figure was “not as good as some might have hoped.” Indeed, that the number was so “consistent with expectations” means it “changes little,” added Crisafulli. Even U.S. President Joe Biden acknowledged that “Despite this progress, Americans still find too many things unaffordable.”

But investors seemed to take the good where they could, pushing stocks higher. The S&P 500 rose 0.46%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.48% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7% Tuesday. All three indexes touched new intraday 52-week highs.

The rally could be spurred by falling oil prices, which means upcoming CPI reports are likely to show faster disinflation. U.S. crude oil dropped more than 3% yesterday, and gasoline prices in the U.S. are experiencing their first year-over-year decline since 2020, according to Citi.

That’s good news for consumers and central bankers worried about inflation, but a blow to oil companies — Exxon Mobil dropped to a 52-week low on flagging oil prices.

Attention now turns to the Federal Reserve’s last rate-setting meeting for the year. While market consensus is for the central bank to leave interest rates untouched, investors will comb through Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference and a new dot plot — a chart that shows each Fed member’s rate expectations — for hints on when the first cut might come.

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HiPhi financially rescued by Lebanon’s EV Electra, BEV development to resume soon

Published

1 hour ago

May 22, 2025

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HiPhi financially rescued by Lebanon's EV Electra, BEV development to resume soon

Remember HiPhi, the ultra-futuristic EV brand led by Human Horizons? It’s been over a year since the company went on a six-month hiatus after failing to find additional funding, but it has reportedly found a savior in a Lebanese investor called EV Electra. EV Electra is taking over a majority stake and plans to resume vehicle development and production in China immediately.

HiPhi was a radical EV marque founded by Chinese startup Human Horizons over five years ago. The startup wowed us early on with a production-ready version of its flagship model, the HiPhi Z GT, complete with automatic suicide doors and a robotic touchscreen that moves independently.

The Z was joined by two robot-centric EV models, the HiPhi X “Super SUV” and the HiPhi Y “LuxTech SUV,” The Z and X EVs were actually certified for sale in Europe while Human Horizons teased a fourth model – a carbon fiber hypercar called the HiPhi A.

In early 2024, HiPhi showed its EV models weren’t just about robotic arms and futuristic designs, but could actually perform. The HiPhi Z shone during a winter range test in total distance traveled on a single charge and had the lowest range loss compared to what its makers advertised.

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Shortly thereafter, however, things went dark. During Chinese New Year, HiPhi announced a six-month shutdown while it searched for more funding. Human Horizons would fail in its search, resulting in the layoffs of most of its staff. That was over a year ago, but the lights at HiPhi’s Chinese manufacturing facility look like they’re about to be turned back on by a foreign financial backer with a cloudy history of its own.

EV Electra already has HiPhi models on its website

As reported by local Chinese media outlet 21jingi, multiple independent sources have stated that HiPhi has received an investment of $100 million from EV Electra, a Lebanese company founded in 2017 by Jihad Mohammad, claiming on its official website to be “the first electric car manufacturer in Lebanon and the Arab world.”

The reports appear accurate, as HiPhi’s three production models now appear on EV Electra’s website (pictured above). According to independent sources, EV Electra intends to help HiPhi maintain its previous production capacity of 150,000 units per year at its facility in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China.

Furthermore, that facility has reportedly already begun the necessary environmental assessment to resume EV production. Former HiPhi employees who did not sign a voluntary resignation agreement are reportedly being invited back to the company, but they are expected to see a 20% pay cut.

As of May 2022, Jihad Mohammad is the legal representative for HiPhi. EV Electra Ltd. owns 69.8% of the brand, while Human Horizons maintains the remaining 30.2%.

EV Electra’s website is quite confusing as it states it has a presence in Canada, Italy, Germany, Turkey, and China, yet its locations page lists footprints in Montreal, Lebanon, and Sweden. In 2023, Swedish media accused EV Electra of passing images of other OEMs’ vehicles off as its own, including the Skywell ET5, the K-1 Attack Rise, and SP:01 from Detroit Electric.

Per its website, EV Electra currently offers four very different models, which are built in Italy, specifically for Lebanon, I believe? This company is unique and confusing, to say the least. Hopefully, HiPhi has found a savior in EV Electra in a deal that works out for both parties. I’m not optimistic at this point.

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Environment

BYD is already taking Europe by storm, and its top-selling EV just landed

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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BYD is already taking Europe by storm, and its top-selling EV just landed

In a “watershed moment,” BYD outsold Tesla in Europe after EV registrations surged over 350% in April. With its top-selling electric car launching this week, this could be just the start.

BYD expands in Europe as EV registrations rise in April

After crushing the competition in China, BYD is now becoming a global phenomenon. Last month, it outsold Tesla for the first time in Europe as several new EV models hit the market.

According to new data from Jato Dynamics, BYD’s registrations in Europe increased by 359% in April compared to last year.

Although those numbers include EV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, even if you look at purely electric registrations, it’s clear that BYD is quickly outpacing the competition.

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BYD registered 7,231 EV models in Europe last month, an increase of 169% compared to April 2024. On the other hand, Tesla registered 7,165 EVs in April, down 49% from last year.

“Although the difference between the two brands’ monthly sales totals may be small, the implications are enormous,” Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, explained. Munoz called it “a watershed moment for Europe’s car market.”

BYD-Europe-EV-registrations — Top 25 most registered EV brands and models in Europe, April 2025 (Source: Jato Dynamics)

BYD officially began selling vehicles in Europe in late 2022, while Tesla has led the European electric vehicle market for years.

Last month, the top registered EVs in Europe included the Skoda Elroq (1), Volkswagen’s ID.3 (2), ID.7 (3), ID.4 (4), and the Kia EV3 (5).

Tesla’s Model Y was the ninth most registered EV in April, with 4,495 registrations, down 53% from last year. The Model 3 came in at number 24, with 2,604 registrations, down 41%. No BYD models placed in the top 25.

Just yesterday, BYD launched what could be its biggest hit so far in Europe, the Dolphin Surf. The Dolphin Surf is the European version of BYD’s best-selling EV, the Seagull, which is sold for under $10,000 in China.

The compact electric city car starts at 19,990 euros ($22,700), undercutting top-sellers including the VW ID.3, which starts at around 30,000 euros ($34,000).

The Dolphin Surf is the latest to join BYD’s rapidly expanding European EV lineup, which now includes a full lineup of premium models (Denzda), ultra-luxury (Yangwang), SUVs, sedans, and entry-level vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

To be fair, Tesla is still ahead of BYD in Europe by a wide margin through the first four months of 2025. However, BYD will likely see more demand with new vehicles rolling out throughout the year.

S&P Global Mobility expects BYD to more than double its sales in Europe in 2025 to around 186,000 units. By the end of the decade, BYD’s volume in Europe could reach around 400,000.

While Tesla faces slower sales over CEO Elon Musk’s political stunts and support for US President Donald Trump, BYD is taking advantage. And it’s not just in Europe.

Earlier this month, BYD had its best sales week of the year in China, with nearly 68,000 registrations from May 5 to May 11. Tesla had just over 3,000 registrations during the same week.

Will BYD continue gaining ground on Tesla and other global automakers with new vehicles rolling out? Let us know your thoughts below.

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Environment

Solar stocks plunge as Republican tax bill worse than feared for clean energy

Published

3 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Solar stocks plunge as Republican tax bill worse than feared for clean energy

Double Black Diamond Solar near Waverly, south of Springfield, Illinois, is set to be the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi River on July 31, 2024.

E. Jason Wambsgans | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Solar stocks plunged on Thursday after House Republicans passed a tax bill that terminates key clean energy credits.

Residential solar installer Sunrun plummeted more than 35%. The legislation ends tax credits for installers like Sunrun that lease equipment to customers.

The GOP bill is a “worse than feared” scenario for clean energy, as it takes a “sledgehammer” to the Inflation Reduction Act, Jefferies analysts led by Julien Dumoulin-Smith told clients in a note.

Some 70% of the rooftop solar industry now uses lease arrangements, making the bill disastrous for companies like Sunrun, Guggenheim analyst Joseph Osha told clients.

Enphase and SolarEdge plummeted about 16% and 24%, respectively, as sales of their inverters would take a hit from lower demand for rooftop solar.

The bill also ends the investment and electricity production credits for clean energy facilities that begin construction 60 days after the legislation is enacted or enter service after Dec. 31, 2028. Those credits have played a key role in the rapid expansion of utility-scale solar projects in the U.S.

Solar stocks exposed to the utility sector tumbled, with Array falling more than 13 % and Nextracker down more than 6%. Array and Nextracker make devices that allow solar panels to track the position of the sun.

First Solar, however, fell just over 3% as the bill left the manufacturing tax credit relatively unscathed. First Solar is the biggest producer of solar panels in the U.S. with a large domestic manufacturing footprint.

“Manufacturing subsidies do not appear to have been touched – good news for FSLR,” Osha said. While the bill is bad for solar, Jefferies expects the Senate to make changes to the legislation.