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Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on August 16, 2024. 

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This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our 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

Best week
Wall Street had its
best week of 2024, recovering from a rout earlier this month. For the week, the S&P 500 surged nearly 3.9%, bringing it within striking distance of its July record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw an even more impressive 5.2% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced a solid 2.9%. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell as data eased concerns of an imminent recession.

Oil sinks
U.S. oil prices dropped 2% following reports that Qatar told Iran not to attack Israel amid ongoing Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks. Qatar’s prime minister warned Iranian leaders of the potential consequences of striking Israel when progress is being made, the Washington Post reported, citing diplomats. Talks are expected to resume this week after negotiations were paused on Friday. Hamas did not take part in talks but was briefed by mediators. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday, as efforts intensify to end the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.

Blocked
A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked the launch of Venu, a sports streaming service from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox. Fubo TV, a competitor, filed an antitrust lawsuit, alleging Venu would harm competition. “Today’s ruling is a victory not only for Fubo but also for consumers. This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” Fubo CEO David Gandler said after the injunction. Fubo’s stock surged 16% after the ruling. 

Mpox approval 
Shares of Bavarian Nordic surged 14.8% after the Danish biotech firm submitted data to the European Union’s drug regulator to extend its mpox vaccine approval for 12 to 17-year-olds. CEO Paul Chaplin said the move is key in combating the new clade 1b strain, which primarily affects younger people. “More than 70% of the cases in Africa currently are in people younger than 18, so it’s going to be critical that our vaccine can be used in this younger age group,” Chaplin told CNBC. The submission comes after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak in Africa as a public health emergency. 

Asia markets mixed
After a broad rally last week, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed as investors awaited economic data and central bank interest rate decisions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 snapped a five-day winning streak, sliding 1.7% after core machinery orders fell surprisingly short of expectations. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.85%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 nudged up 0.12%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.93% as JD.com soared 4.4% after posting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. Mainland China’s CSI 300 climbed 0.4%.

[PRO] Bond market rally
China’s central bank aims to curb its bond market rally, sparking concerns about financial stability. Analysts predict a slight increase in 10-year bond yields. Here’s how markets are betting it will turn out.

The bottom line

For anyone waking up in a cold sweat, rest assured — it wasn’t just a bad dream. Global markets did experience a sharp sell-off, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunging 12.4% and unwinding of the yen carry trade dragging Wall Street down with it. However, markets have since rebounded, reassured by signals that Japan’s central bank will not raise rates in such a volatile environment and that the U.S. economy isn’t on the verge of a recession. 

But JPMorgan sees the recent turmoil as more than just a market anomaly. “Many market participants are dismissing the recent blowup of various crowded trades as a fluke or flash cash, but we see it as more of a dress rehearsal for what’s to come,” JPMorgan strategists said in a note.

The financial giant believes that while the risks associated with the carry trade could resurface, the heavy losses investors suffered may temper its future impact, potentially preventing a full-blown market meltdown. Nevertheless, JPMorgan cautions that concerns about economic growth remain a significant threat.

“Looking ahead, until the Sharpe ratios on the carry trades get high, we would not think these would be the catalyst for the next major correction,” the firm said. “Instead, we see the reemergence growth risk as the likely trigger.”

Last week’s U.S. inflation, retail sales and jobs data may have provided some short-term reassurance, but investors are now turning their attention to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Wall Street is eagerly awaiting Powell’s outlook on inflation and the broader economy, as it could signal the direction of interest rate policy — particularly ahead of a possible September rate cut.

Market expectations for a large rate cut in September have diminished. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, investors are still pricing in at least four rate cuts by the end of the year. 

However, Goldman Sachs argues that this level of pessimism may be overblown. “The market is still pricing more cuts than our base case for 2024,” which includes a 25-basis-point cut at each of the next three meetings and beyond, Goldman noted. “Another weak jobs report would put a 50-basis-point cut in September on the table, but we think the markets has been over-weighting that probability.” 

CNBC’s Jeff Cox examines how this past week’s economic data could influence the Federal Reserve’s next move.

CNBC’s Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Spencer Kimball, Brian Evans, Alex Harring, Jeff Cox, Lillian Rizzo, Karen Gilchrist, Sean Conlon, Lim Hui Jie and Weizhen Tan contributed to this report.

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The Kandi 4P golf-cart is an NFL fan’s dream neighborhood cruiser

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The Kandi 4P golf-cart is an NFL fan's dream neighborhood cruiser

Kandi has become fairly well known in the US for its electric golf carts and work-focused UTVs, but the company has teamed up with Lowe’s and the NFL on something more playful: the Kandi 4P electric golf cart. Sold through Lowe’s with official NFL team liveries, this four-seat neighborhood cruiser is aimed less at the fairway and more at cul-de-sacs, grocery runs, and game-day tailgates. I spent time with a Miami Dolphins–themed 4P in South Florida to see what it can really do.

Kandi 4P NFL-edition golf cart video review

Want to see it in action? Or want to see my family decked out in head-to-toe Miami Dolphins gear?

Check out our family testing video below!

Specs, power, and hardware

Despite the “golf cart” label, the Kandi 4P is built more like a small road-going NEV. Power comes from a 5 kW motor and a big 48V 150 Ah lithium iron phosphate battery (around 7.2 kWh), giving it plenty of grunt for neighborhood speeds of around 20 mph and a lot more range than you’d expect from something this size. In practical terms, it just sips energy; I did multiple days of errands and joyrides before even thinking about plugging it in.

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Charging is refreshingly straightforward. The cart uses a J1772 inlet, so you can plug into a normal 120V wall outlet with the included cord or use a typical home EV charger if you already have one. It’s overkill for a golf cart, but in a good way.

Underneath, you’ll find single wishbone suspension in the front, rack-and-pinion steering, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. There’s even a 2-inch receiver tow-hitch rated for 500 pounds of trailer weight and a mounting spot up front if you really want to bolt on a winch.

Features and practicality

Inside, the Kandi 4P feels more like a small EV than a basic cart. There’s a very large touchscreen display with multiple info pages for speed, battery, and system status (and also displays the backup camera). An NFC fob handles “key” duties, and you get proper controls for forward, neutral, and reverse, plus hazards, lighting, and a tilt-adjustable steering column with stalk-mounted turn signals and horn.

The seats are nicely upholstered and genuinely comfortable, with DOT seat belts front and rear, cup holders everywhere, grab bars for passengers, and a built-in Bluetooth speaker for rolling playlists or tailgate anthems. A flip-up windshield can be cracked for a bit of breeze or propped fully open on gas struts, and the hard roof extends enough to keep you fairly dry in the rain. I should know – I had it out driving in multiple rain storms!

Storage is better than you’d expect: a small glove box, a rear trunk, and even a front “frunk.” Between those and the flat floor, we were able to pull off a full grocery run – though we probably should have planned our bag strategy a bit better. We ended up buckling a week’s worth of grocery bags into the back seats, but a tub in the back would make a better storage area for those types of large store runs.

Is it worth it?

At $9,999 through Lowe’s with whichever NFL team’s colors you prefer, the Kandi 4P isn’t cheap in absolute terms, but it’s very much in the mix for modern, nicely equipped neighborhood carts. High-end golf carts can easily run $14,000–$15,000 these days, and they don’t always bring a 7+ kWh LiFePO4 pack, disc brakes all around, J1772 charging, and all the street-legal bits in one package. Add in official NFL team colors and logos and you’ve basically got a rolling fan-mobile that doubles as a genuine second car replacement for many households.

No, it’s not as safe as a full-size car – there are no airbags or crumple zones here. But it does have real seat belts and lights, and it encourages a more aware, less “invincible” mindset behind the wheel. For people living in communities with 25–30 mph streets, these kinds of carts make a lot of sense: lower cost to buy, dramatically less energy use, no tailpipe emissions, less wear on roads and tires, and far more smiles per mile.

Compared to an e-bike, the Kandi 4P wins on weather protection and passenger capacity. Compared to a second car, it wins on cost, efficiency, and fun. And if you’re the type of person who wants to show up to the grocery store or the stadium in a full team-liveried electric cart, this thing absolutely nails the assignment.

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Rumor: Polestar ($PSNY) planning reverse stock split to stay on NASDAQ

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Rumor: Polestar ($PSNY) planning reverse stock split to stay on NASDAQ

In a bid to get it above the $1.00/share NASDAQ-required minimum, fledgling EV brand Polestar ($PSNY) is rumored to be considering a 1:30 reverse stock split that could see the per-share price rocket up to nearly $16.

Geely-owned Volvo spinoff Polestar is working as hard as Tesla to prove that stock prices have little or nothing to do with traditional business fundamentals in 2025.

That’s because Polestar posted a 36.5% increase in retail sales and a heady 48.8% increase in revenue (to $2.17 billion) over the year before, Polestar’s share price has plummeted more than 35% in a matter of a few weeks – culminating in an unwelcome nastygram from NASDAQ threatening to delist the company’s shares from the NASDAQ if they didn’t climb back up above $1.

It looks bad


Via Yahoo!Finance.

To goose the share price, CarScoops is reporting that Polestar aims to move forward with the reverse stock split before the end of 2025. The expected 1:30 reverse split would boost the PSNY price to an estimated $15.90 per share at current prices, keeping the brand well out of risk of a delisting.

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In a reverse stock split, each share of the company is converted into a fraction of a share – so, if a company announces a one for ten reverse stock split (1:10), every ten shares that you own will be converted into a single share. In a 1:30 reverse split like the one rumored here, every thirty shares in Polestar would become a single share.

The reverse split increases share price, but it’s not without risk:

A company may declare a reverse stock split in an effort to increase the trading price of its shares – for example, when it believes the trading price is too low to attract investors to purchase shares, or in an attempt to regain compliance with minimum bid price requirements of an exchange on which its shares trade … investors may lose money as a result of fluctuations in trading prices following reverse stock splits.

INVESTOR.ORG

That’s especially relevant because, despite the increased sales and revenue, the company is also posting increased losses. Through September, the brand posted a $1.56 billion net loss compared to an $867 million loss in the first nine months of 2024. The company is also getting hit hard by Trump-imposed tariffs in the US and increased downward pressure on pricing coming from aggressive post-tax credit discounts from rival brands like BMW and Kia.

If the split does happen, here’s hoping Polestar can make the most of their borrowed time and they don’t end up like Lordstown Motors or Faraday Future – two brands that have pulled similar reverse stock splits with dubious results.

Electrek’s Take


Make the switch to Polestar. Save up to $20,000 on a Polestar 3 lease as a Tesla owner.
Polestar showroom; via Polestar.

Product-wise, at least, Polestar’s future appears to be bright. The new 3 crossover is a viable competitor to the industry-leading Tesla Model Y, and the upcoming Polestar 4 and 5 models seem like winners, too. To drive that point home, Polestar is promoting up to $18,000 in lease incentives to lure Tesla buyers into their showrooms.

You can find out more about Polestar’s killer EV deals on the full range of Polestar models, from the 2 to the 4, below, then let us know what you think of the three-pointed star’s latest discount dash in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

SOURCE: CarScoops; images via Polestar.


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Maybe it really SHOULD have been the new Maxima: meet the Nissan N6 EREV

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Maybe it really SHOULD have been the new Maxima: meet the Nissan N6 EREV

With its sleek, uncluttered styling and more than 100 miles of battery-electric range before the extended range electric sedan’s gas engine kicks on, maybe the new Nissan N6 really should have been the next Maxima!

Struggling Japanese carmaker Nissan is dealing with an aging lineup and a brand identity driven more by subprime financing than any suggestion of reliability or sportiness here in the US – but overseas? The brand is rolling out hit after hit, and the latest Nissan N6 plug-in sedan promises exactly the sort of entry-level panache that could change its American fortunes.

“Under our Re:Nissan plan, we are redefining what Nissan delivers today and beyond,” explains Nissan President and CEO Ivan Espinosa. “It’s about strengthening our core, reigniting Nissan’s heartbeat, and creating products that inspire excitement and trust. It is about a sharper, more focused product strategy, a stronger brand, and a renewed commitment to our customers. Integral to this transformation is China — an essential market whose speed, technological leadership, and customer insights are setting the pace for the global auto industry.”

Developed by the Nissan Dongfeng JV in China, the new N6 is more compact that the well-received N7 BEV. In fact, the new Nissan N6, at 190.1″ long, compares nicely to the 192.8″ length of the most recent (and largest-ever) US Maxima, discontinued in 2023. Like the Maxima, the top-shelf version features modern, near-luxe features like soft, leather-like surfaces, LED mood lighting, multi-way adjustable seats, and mimosas or something.

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Mimosas or something


Mimosas; via Nissan.

The four or five passengers inside the N6 are propelled down the road exclusively by the car’s 208 hp electric motor, which is efficient enough to take you 112 miles on a full charge of its 21.1 kWh LFP battery. Once that charge is depleted, a 1.5L gas engine kicks on as a high-efficiency generator to keep the good times rolling.

Nissan says the N6′ exterior design, “features a V-Motion signature grille and expressive LED lighting at the front and rear.” And says that the car’s crisp lines give it, “a confident, dynamic presence.”

All of which sounds good on its own, but sounds absolutely miraculous when you consider the car’s Chinese price: ¥106,900 – or about $15,000 US for the base Nissan N6 180 Pro, as I type this.

Even with a nearly 100% markup to give it a $29,990 price tag in the US, I think the N6 would be a huge hit in the North American market. And – good news! – thanks to Canada’s apparent willingness to give Chinese carmakers a shot, we might find out if I’m right somewhat sooner than later.

Check out the Nissan N6 image gallery, below, then let us know what you think of the car’s US and Canadian appeal in the comments.


SOURCE | IMAGES: Nissan.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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