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A driver pumps gas at a Sunoco gas station in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. 

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oil prices are on pace to close out the year about 10% lower as bearish sentiment has taken over due to worries that the market is oversupplied from record production outside OPEC.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for February gained 10 cents, or 0.14%, to trade at $71.87 to barrel on Friday. The Brent contract for March rose 12 cents, or 0.16%, to trade at $77.27.

But U.S. crude and the global benchmark were headed for the first annual decline since 2020 despite ongoing geopolitical risk in the Middle East due to the devastating war in Gaza.

Oil prices rose nearly 3% on Tuesday on worries that militant attacks on shipping in the Red Sea would disrupt global trade and crude supplies. However, WTI is down 10.45% for the year, and Brent has lost 9.9%.

While fears of escalation in the Middle East have triggered brief spikes in crude prices, traders are primarily focused on the supply and demand balance.

Record U.S. production

The U.S. is producing crude at a record pace, pumping an estimated 13.3 million barrels per day last week. Output is also at a record in Brazil and Guyana. The historic production outside OPEC has collided with an economic slowdown in major economies, above all China.

OPEC and its allies, meanwhile, have promised to cut production by 2.2 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2024, but traders apparently have little confidence that the bloc’s policy will bring the market into balance.

Oil production outside OPEC, above all in the U.S., is expected to more than cover demand growth in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. Global oil demand growth is expect to fall by half to 1.1 mbd next year, while output outside OPEC is expected grow by 1.2 mbd.

Profound impact on oil

The shift in crude supply from the Middle East to the U.S. and other Atlantic countries is “profoundly impacting the global oil trade,” the IEA said in its December outlook.

The U.S. was responsible for two-thirds of the growth in supply outside OPEC this year. This is challenging efforts by producers in the Middle East to defend their market share and lift oil prices, according to the IEA.

OPEC seems to have little room to maneuver, with production cuts falling on deaf ears. Brazil has agreed to ally itself with the bloc, but it is not clear what that means for markets.

Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub told CNBC in December that U.S. production this year has reached levels that surprised even her. She had a message of caution for the industry.

“It would be prudent of U.S. producers to be careful in terms of putting too much supply in the market,” Hollub said.

The Occidental CEO and Morgan Stanley do see U.S. crude prices bouncing back next year with a barrel of WTI averaging about $80. Wells Fargo has a lower forecast with WTI averaging $71.50 a barrel next year.

Mideast escalation threat

While the market is focused on the supply and demand picture, Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets told investors to watch developments in the Middle East closely.

“Anything that brings more direct confrontation with Iran and the United States is what you have to watch,” Croft said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Three U.S. troops were injured Monday in a drone attack in Iraq carried out by Iran-backed militants. President Joe Biden then ordered retaliatory strikes on militia sites. And attacks by Iran-backed militants in Yemen on vessels in the Red Sea caused global shipping companies to reroute some traffic from the Suez Canal around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

The situation is also escalating on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that his country is facing a “multiarena war” from seven areas: Gaza, the West Bank, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

“If you look at the situation in the Middle East, I think it is far too soon to write off the risks there,” RBC’s Croft said.

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Ford is preparing for an all-new EV at its Louisville assembly plant, but which one?

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Ford is preparing for an all-new EV at its Louisville assembly plant, but which one?

The Louisville assembly plant is scheduled for an extensive retooling starting later this year to produce a new Ford EV model. After the Escape is phased out, Ford will upgrade the facility to introduce an all-new EV.

What new EV will Ford build in Louisville?

Since 2022, Ford has had the same three electric vehicles available in the US. The Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit. However, that could change soon.

According to Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862, Ford’s Louisville plant will likely see some major changes later this year.

Dunn told The Courier Journal that the retooling could take upwards of 10 months. Ford is expected to begin the upgrades in December when the Escape and Lincoln Corsair, which are made at the plant, are phased out.

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Although Ford has yet to confirm the retooling, according to Dunn, the downtime will impact around 2,300 workers at the plant. They are expected to be temporarily laid off during the retooling, but Dunn said they will qualify for supplemental unemployment benefits and will also be able to draw unemployment.

Ford-new-EV-Louisville
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

The upgrades are part of a 2023 UAW and Ford agreement to make the Louisville plant one of three due for a future EV model.

As to which EV, Dunn still doesn’t know, or when Ford will officially announce it. Since Ford already scrapped plans for a three-row electric SUV, that’s out.

Ford-new-EV-Louisville
Ford’s electric Explorer for Europe (Source: Ford)

Ford is planning to launch the first model on its long-awaited low-cost EV platform, a midsize electric pickup, in 2027. But this is expected to be built in Tennessee. A new “digitally advanced” electric van that will be built in Ohio is also due out next year.

2025-Ford-F-150-Lightning
2025 Ford F-150 Lightning (Source: Ford)

So, what mysterious new EV is Ford planning for Louisville? Ford spokesperson Jess Enoch told The Courier-Journal last year that the company is “committed to an all-new electric vehicle” at the plant but said, “We will share details closer to launch.”

The news comes after Ford’s Mustang Mach-E notched its highest first-quarter sales since its launch, with 11,607 units sold in the first three months of 2024. F-150 Lightning sales, on the other hand, fell 7%.

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Eric Trump says he moved to crypto after family business became ‘most canceled company’

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Eric Trump says he moved to crypto after family business became 'most canceled company'

American Bitcoin co-founder Eric Trump: Crypto's the 'future of the modern financial system'

Eric Trump says his family was “the most canceled company, probably on Earth.”

That was then.

With his dad, President Donald Trump, back in the White House, he sees a new money-making opportunity.

“It actually is what drove us toward cryptocurrency,” the president’s middle son told CNBC, referring to the Trump family’s latest business endeavors. “You realize that cryptocurrency was a lot faster, it was a lot more pragmatic, it was a lot more transparent, it was exponentially cheaper.”

In 2022, about two years after the end of President Trump’s first term, two subsidiaries of the Trump Organization were convicted by a jury in New York of multiple crimes, including tax fraud, falsifying business records and conspiracy. The guilty verdicts on all 17 charged counts came three weeks after Trump declared his 2024 candidacy.

Last month, the Trump Organization sued Capital One in Florida over allegedly “unjustifiably” closing more than 300 of the company’s bank accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The lawsuit claimed Capitol One was acting on “unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views.”

Prior to Trump’s return to the White House, the Trump Organization unveiled a new ethics plan that said it would limit the president’s involvement in management decisions and other aspects of the business while he’s in office.

President Donald Trump (2R), flanked by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (L), US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (2L) and White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks (R), attends a the White House Crypto Summit in Washington, DC, March 7, 2025. 

Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images

But crypto is another matter. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump launched meme coins just before the new term, adding billions of dollars of paper wealth to the family’s net worth.

Eric Trump and older brother Donald Trump Jr. are going even bigger. They recently announced plans to launch a U.S. dollar–backed stablecoin through their new venture, World Liberty Financial, and a new bitcoin mining company called American Bitcoin, co-founded with Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot.

Eric Trump described his entry into crypto not as a financial bet, but as a form of resistance, and said the move began during what he calls the “war on the industry.” Banks were closing accounts, the SEC was cracking down on exchanges, and crypto users were being “debanked” for simply holding coins, he said.

“They were going after people,” he said. “They were suing everybody. Banks were closing down people that just wanted to own bitcoin.”

That’s when Eric Trump said he started associating with like-minded people in and around crypto.

“At this point, I know almost everybody in the industry in some way, shape or form,” he said. “I fell in love with the industry, you know, a few years ago, and really dove head in.”

At World Liberty Financial, the Trump brothers are backing a stablecoin play aimed at competing with players like Tether. Eric Trump didn’t have a specific answer when asked how the project would stand out in a crowded field, saying only, “We’re gonna do it better, cheaper, faster, and we’re gonna do it with a lot of passion.”

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Meawhile, he’s working with Genoot to stand up American Bitcoin, a new mining venture that aims to scale quickly, and possibly go public.

Genoot told CNBC he connected with the Trump kids through mutual friends and began trading stories about their paths into crypto, leading to a business alliance.

Genoot said the company is being separated from Hut 8’s broader energy and artificial intelligence infrastructure platform.

“We’re actually carving out the majority of our assets,” Genoot said. “We’re putting them into American Bitcoin.”

Eric Trump, who is co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin, said “every single sophisticated country is using their excess power to mine bitcoin.”

Though his family is closely linked to the current administration’s pro-crypto stance, Eric Trump said he has no role in policy and no contact with the White House. His dad’s presidency was heavily funded by the crypto industry and, since returning to the White House, President Trump has rewarded his backers, signing an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, and pardoning Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht as well as the three co-founders of the BitMEX crypto exchange.

“I don’t have anything to do with government, and frankly, I don’t want anything to do with government,” Eric Trump said.

But he made clear that the U.S. needs a regulatory framework that allows crypto to thrive.

“You better believe that China is running very hard at this. The entire Middle East is running very hard,” he said. “We won the space race. We better win the crypto race.”

WATCH: Eric Trump, Hut 8 CEO outline partnership to launch new bitcoin mining company

Eric Trump, Hut 8 CEO outline partnership to launch new bitcoin mining company: CNBC Crypto World

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Greenlane and Volvo’s bold plan to transform electric truck charging in the US

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Greenlane and Volvo’s bold plan to transform electric truck charging in the US

Greenlane is teaming up with Volvo Trucks North America to make charging heavy-duty electric vehicles (HDEVs) easier and more accessible.

The charging network developer is now integrated into Volvo’s Open Charge service, which gives Volvo customers streamlined access to Greenlane’s public chargers. This collaboration makes Greenlane the first official Charge Point Operator (CPO) in North America to partner with Volvo.

Greenlane is a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America, NextEra Energy, and BlackRock. It’s building a US-wide charging network for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, aiming to reduce costs and simplify switching to electric fleets.

Through Volvo Open Charge, Volvo customers now have real-time access to Greenlane’s network, which means easier access to public charging, centralized billing, and special perks. Fleets won’t have to spend big money on their charging infrastructure. Instead, they can plug into Greenlane’s growing network, which will help cut costs and operational headaches while extending range.

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Patrick Macdonald-King, Greenlane’s CEO, called the partnership “a first-of-its-kind collaboration to deliver public charging solutions tailored to the needs of medium- and heavy-duty fleets.” He said it’s all about making the shift to electric trucks smoother and keeping goods and services moving while progressing toward zero-emissions freight.

Greenlane’s flagship charging site is set to open in Colton, California, in April, with more than 40 publicly accessible chargers for everything from heavy-duty trucks to smaller electric vehicles. It’s part of a larger plan to build a network along the I-15 corridor, with stations roughly 60 to 90 miles apart. Future California locations are planned for Long Beach, Barstow, and Baker.

Greenlane and Volvo will continue integrating new membership features into Volvo Open Charge, such as booking reservations. By letting fleets tap into an existing public network, Greenlane’s services can make the transition to electric trucking less about building infrastructure and more about just getting trucks on the road.

Read more: Greenlane’s flagship electric charging truck stop to open in April


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