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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Aug. 20, 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

End of a run
Wall Street
closed lower ending a multi-session winning streak. After an eight-day run-up, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2% and 0.3% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2%, snapping a five-day win streak. Boeing was among the biggest decliners, down 4.2%, after finding defects on engine mounting structures on a 777X test plane. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was little changed as investors await minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting due Wednesday. U.S. oil prices fell below $74 a barrel on demand concerns. 

Diabetes risk cut
Eli Lilly‘s weight loss drug tirzepatide, used in Zepbound and Mounjaro, reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 94% in obese or overweight adults with prediabetes, according to preliminary findings from a long-term study. The trial, which studied over 1,000 participants over 176 weeks, also showed sustained weight loss, with patients on the highest dose losing 22.9% of body weight on average. The results highlight the potential of GLP-1 drugs in delaying diabetes and offering significant long-term health benefits for people with obesity and prediabetes. Eli Lilly’s shares rose 3%.

Waiting for Fed cut
Lowe’s has lowered its full-year sales and earnings forecasts as it anticipated weak home improvement spending. CEO Marvin Ellison told CNBC that consumers are waiting for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. “Inflation remains high,” he said. “And big-ticket purchases are being delayed as customers sit back and wait for interest rates to fall.” Lowe’s stock dropped 1.2%.

Shein sues Temu
Chinese-linked fast-fashion retailer Shein is suing rival Temu for allegedly stealing its designs and engaging in counterfeiting, intellectual property infringement and fraud. Shein, which filed the suit in Washington D.C. on Monday, is fending off similar allegations from the likes of Levi Strauss and H&M. Shein claims Temu falsely presents itself as a legitimate marketplace while actively encouraging its sellers to copy designs and preventing them from removing infringing products. PDD Holdings, which owns Temu, dropped 4.5% on Tuesday. 

China EV tariffs
The European Union reduced its planned tariffs on Tesla vehicles imported from China, from 20.8% to 9%. The European Commission hit “heavily” subsidized Chinese electric vehicle imports with tariffs in June, saying they “pose a threat of economic injury” to local EV manufacturers. The EU has also lowered tariffs for other Chinese electric vehicle companies, including BYD, Geely and SAIC.

[PRO] Avoid crowded trades
Morgan Stanley warns that individual investors should be cautious about buying stocks favored by hedge funds. Such “crowded trades” often face high valuations and increased volatility, making it difficult to find new buyers.

The bottom line

As the S&P 500 and Nasdaq failed to extend their recovery rally into a ninth session, it’s worth reflecting on the past few weeks. When asked by CNBC’s Sara Eisen to describe the market’s current state, Holly Newman Kroft of Neuberger Berman Private Wealth said “it’s been a little crazy” this summer.

“We couldn’t have scripted a better start to the summer with equities really rallying and everyone feels good when the market goes up. The last six, seven, eight weeks have been many head-spinning turns of events. We had an assassination attempt. We had a broadening of the market. We had the market pricing in a Trump win, a red wave. Then we had Biden drop out, Kamala come in and now its sort of a dead heat,” Kroft explained.

Kroft said the market is navigating an uncertain environment plagued with volatility. “Two weeks ago, in the face of a not-great-jobs number — it wasn’t bad jobs number but it wasn’t great — we had a knee-jerk reaction in the market. And so on Monday it opened down almost 10%. What’s kind of also mind-blowing is by the end of the week the market was flat.”

With the S&P 500 less than two percentage points shy of its July record high, Kroft sees limited upside and expects more volatility to pick up into the election. What the markets need is for “calmer heads to prevail in the role of the Fed,” she said.

Oppenheimer’s chief investment strategist, John Stoltzfus, said Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday could influence markets, with investors awaiting rate cuts at the central bank’s September meeting.

“With many folks now looking for a cut of as much as 50 bps in September, a degree of hesitancy in the Chair’s remarks could reintroduce some volatility into the market ahead of next weekend,” Stoltzfus wrote in a Monday note. Still, he believes a 25 basis-point cut is more likely, given last week’s stronger-than-expected jobs and retail sales data.

Yung-Yu Ma, investment chief at BMO Wealth Management, believes the Fed’s rate cuts could have a more significant impact than investors anticipate. “We think that the rate cuts are actually going to have much stronger and favorable impact, probably than the markets are pricing in now,” Ma told CNBC’s “Money Movers.”

“Maybe not the first rate cut, but after we get 75 basis points, 100 basis points of rate cuts, we think there’s a lot of pent-up demand lurking beneath the surface,” Ma added.

CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min, Alex Harring, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Yun Li, Melissa Repko, Annika Kim Constantino and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.

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Lotus Cars quietly updates its 900+ hp Eletre and Emeya EVs for 2026

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Lotus Cars quietly updates its 900+ hp Eletre and Emeya EVs for 2026

Lotus Cars’ compelling, high-performance electric sports sedan and SUV received a number of fresh updates earlier this week, but packs superior infotainment tech, styling tweaks, and (of course) a mind-bending 905 electric horsepower. (!)

I haven’t checked the numbers, but I’d bet a dollar or three that Tesla moves more cars in a good week than Lotus sells in a year. Still, Lotus has managed to preserve its reputation as a maker of truly engaging drivers’ cars. Its latest EVs, the Emeya sedan and Eletre SUV, are generally regarded as dynamic, exhilarating machines that credibly carry Colin Chapman’s yellow badge.

For 2026, though, the Chinese versions of the updated Lotus EVs have black badges (the UK versions were announced back in April), but the new doesn’t stop there.

The next update on the list is the addition of 22″, 10-spoke ultralight alloy wheels across the entire Eletre lineup. Both the 600 and 600 SE variants retain last year’s 6-piston fixed front and floating rear brake calipers, while the top-tier 900 model gets a high-performance, 10-piston, carbon-ceramic braking system that’s more than capable of hauling the Eletre SUV down from speed, lap after lap.

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They’ll need those brakes, too – because these things are fast, and getting faster with seemingly every new software update. “Things can always go faster,” reads the official Lotus copy. “The new Eletre and Emeya ‘900’ provide unmistakable evidence, representing superlatives in terms of performance. Both rely on a 675 kW (~915 hp) strong dual-motor powertrain.”

Both Lotus 900s can put that power to the ground effectively enough to rocket from 0-62 mph (100 km) in a well under 3.0 seconds on their way to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph (256 km/h) in the Eletre, and 160 mph (265 km/h) in the Emeya. The 600s aren’t exactly slow, either, packing 405 kW electric motors (~600 hp) good for 0-60 times in the mid 4s.

Inside, the Eletre and Emeya designs carries over without major changes. Lotus enhanced the features list on various trims. The 600 models now include 12-way power-adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, as well as 15-speaker audio systems from KEF. The 600 SE further adds a PDLC smart panoramic sunroof, 20-way power-adjustable front seats, front seat massage function, and active rear-wheel steering.

CarNewsChina reports that the updated 900 model builds upon the 600 SE’s new offerings with an intelligent, active anti-roll control suspension system.

Pricing for the 2026 Lotus EVs starts at 538,000 yuan (74,800 USD) in China, and climbs to over 838,000 yuan (116,500 USD) for the top-shelf Lotus Eletre 900 SUV. All models carry the same two-speed transmission and 112 kWh battery (102 kWh in the UK), good for up to 610 km (~375 miles) of driving between charges.

No word yet on if or when these updates will make it to America.

Electrek’s Take


It wasn’t that long ago that a 900+ hp car was a cammy, rough-riding mess of a machine that you could barely take through a drive thru, but could probably land on the cover of a car magazine. Today, that same 900 hp in a quiet, smooth, reliable EV hardly generates a headline. And, almost in defiance of the “everything just keeps getting more expensive” truism, these mind-bending supercars can be had for less than what cars like this used to cost with gas engines and a third of the power.

How far we’ve come!

SOURCE | IMAGES: Lotus Cars, via CarNewsChina.


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E-quipment highlight: 50 kW portable DC fast charger from Lincoln Electric

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E-quipment highlight: 50 kW portable DC fast charger from Lincoln Electric

The welding equipment experts at Lincoln Electric know a thing or two about high-voltage equipment. Now, they’re bringing that electrical expertise to a whole new market with a portable, self-contained, 50 kW DC fast charger designed to deliver a quick shot of range and get stranded drivers back on the road.

Lincoln Electric’s Velion 50 kW DC fast charger is pitched as a durable, compact mobile charging unit that’s perfect for tow truck operators and construction fleets dealing with vehicles and fleet assets that couldn’t quite make their way back to a charger. So, you’re looking at this and thinking of one of those red, 5-gallon gas tanks that helps get drivers off the highway and to the next exit, congratulations: you get it!

“[Velion is] Designed for flexible, mobile use,” said Bruce Chantry, Vice President, Electric Vehicle Solutions at Lincoln Electric, during a buzzword-packed introduction of the new machine. “Designed in collaboration with the market and leveraging decades of expertise in power electronics, our solution is engineered to provide the flexibility customers need today, with a future-ready design to meet the demands of tomorrow.”

Designed, engineered, and assembled in the United States with over 70% domestic content, the Velion charger meets all National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) and Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements.

LINCOLN ELECTRIC

Lincoln Electric plans to sell the Velion DCFC to municipal fleets and state highway agencies, first, and envisions it being deployed in tough environments like construction sites, emergency response arenas, and complex fixed fleet depots. Car dealerships, museums, and probably ambulances too, could benefit – but I’m sure that’s just scratching the surface.

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Watch the Lincoln Electric launch video for the Velion from earlier this summer, below, then let us know how you’d like to see a mobile fast charger get deployed in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Lincoln Electric Velion DCFC


Velion 50 kW mobile charger; via Lincoln Electric.

The company hasn’t announced pricing or battery energy capacity (in kWh) for the new Velion, but I’d guess it’s something higher than 15 kWh, but less than 20. If you guys have a better guess, I’d love to hear it!

SOURCE | IMAGES: Lincoln Electric.


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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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How CATL is changing EV battery tech in Europe [Video]

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How CATL is changing EV battery tech in Europe [Video]

Electric vehicles have come a long way, but let’s be real—they still have their hangups: “range anxiety,” long charging times, and questions about safety and sustainability. But what if all those worries could be put to rest?

At IAA Mobility in Munich, CATL, one of the world’s biggest battery makers, unveiled a new technology that could revolutionize EVs.

Shenxing Pro: Go Far, Last Long

CATL debuted two versions of its next-gen Shenxing Pro battery. One is all about distance and durability. Picture this: a single charge gets you up to 758 km (or about 470 miles). That’s enough to drive from Houston to Memphis without a single stop. And it’s not just about the distance; this thing is built to last. It promises a lifespan of 12 years or 1,000,000 km, with only around 9% degradation after 200,000 km. That’s a huge leap from today’s EV batteries, which often lose up to 30% of their capacity over the same period.

Fast Charging, Even When It’s Freezing

Tired of waiting around for your car to charge? The second version of the Shenxing Pro is for you. It’s the Super Fast Charging model, designed to get you back on the road in minutes. CATL says it can add a whopping 478 km of range in just 10 minutes under perfect conditions. And here’s the best part: it holds its own in the cold. We all know how much cold weather messes with most EV batteries, but the Shenxing Pro still delivers up to 410 km of range in just 20 minutes at a chilling -20°C. That’s better than many EVs perform in normal temperatures!

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No Propagation 3.0: Safety First

Safety is a top concern with EV batteries, especially the risk of thermal runaway—that’s when one cell overheats and triggers a dangerous chain reaction. CATL’s new No Propagation 3.0 platform is engineered to stop that domino effect cold. It uses special fireproof coatings and a cell structure that quickly cools down and relieves pressure. In the rare event of a problem, the battery can still provide stable power for over an hour. That extra time is a lifeline, giving drivers the chance to get to safety and ensuring critical systems like advanced driver-assistance features stay online when you need them most.

Getting Greener, At Scale

CATL is also tackling the sustainability issue head-on. Through a new initiative called the Global Energy Circular Commitment (GECC), they aim to cut the use of new raw materials by half over the next two decades. They’re already a leader in this space, operating the world’s largest battery recycling network. Since 2024, they’ve recycled over 130,000 tons of used batteries, recovering 99.6% of crucial metals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

The Whole Package

What’s so impressive about the Shenxing Pro isn’t just one feature—it’s everything working together. By improving range, charging speed, safety, and sustainability all at once, CATL isn’t just fixing a single problem; they’re taking on the biggest obstacles to widespread EV adoption. If these batteries live up to the hype, the next wave of EVs could be more efficient, more reliable, and a whole lot greener.

The bottom line? CATL’s latest battery tech in tandem with other commitments could prove to be the building blocks for the next wave of EVs in Europe and beyond.

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