Environment

CNBC Daily Open: ‘Crazy’ summer

Published

3 months ago

August 21, 2024

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Aug. 20, 2024.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

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.

Environment

Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Published

10 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.

Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.

Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.

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Environment

Chevy EV owners in Texas now get free overnight home charging with Reliant

Published

12 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Chevy EV owners in Texas now get free overnight home charging with Reliant

Chevy EV Texas Reliant — Chevy Blazer EV (left), Chevy Equinox EV (middle) Chevy Silverado EV (right) (Source: GM)

Chevy EV owners in Texas who have Reliant as their electric utility can now charge for free at night with renewable energy.

Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships across Texas are now offering the Reliant Free Charge Nights plan to new EV buyers. With Free Charge Nights, customers can offset their charging costs by receiving credits for electricity used between 11 pm and 6 am. The plan is powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, says the plan is about making power personal: “We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan.”

This collaboration aims to make EV adoption more appealing by making charging cheaper and greener. GM Energy’s chief revenue officer, Aseem Kapur, emphasized that partnerships like this help build the ecosystem needed to support an all-electric future: “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to make EV adoption an easy decision.”

Existing Reliant customers can also sign up for the Free Charge Nights plan. To get started, Chevrolet EV owners need to designate their vehicle on the GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before enrolling in the plan.

Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, serves over 1.5 million customers in Texas, making it one of the largest electricity providers in the state.

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Environment

Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes

Published

14 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes

Texas is about to get a major power boost – a new AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) delivering capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.

NRG Energy is teaming up with Renew Home to bring nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity to the Texas grid by 2035, aiming to make it more resilient while helping residents save on energy costs.

The new VPP will rely on hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and other connected home devices, making use of AI technology provided by Google Cloud. These devices, like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, will be offered to eligible customers at no cost. By automating HVAC adjustments, they help shift energy use to when electricity is cheaper, cleaner, and less strained.

NRG and Renew Home have big plans for the VPP. Starting in spring 2025, the companies plan to roll out the program across Texas, installing these smart thermostats in homes served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Eventually, they plan to add home battery storage and EVs to expand the power plant’s capabilities.

Texas has faced record-breaking energy demands, with peak usage hitting 85 GW in 2023. As the state’s population grows and extreme weather becomes more frequent, VPPs like this one could play a key role in stabilizing the grid. VPPs aggregate a lot of small-scale energy resources, from smart thermostats to home batteries, and use them to help balance supply and demand during times of high stress on the grid.

This nearly 1 GW VPP will be one of the largest of its kind in Texas. NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, calls it a “pivotal step” for improving customer experience while making Texas’ energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient.

In addition to Renew Home, NRG is working with Google Cloud to maximize the power plant’s effectiveness. Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools will help predict weather conditions, forecast renewable generation, and optimize energy usage, all of which will help make energy management smoother for both customers and the grid.

Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, said:

NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program.

This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.

Read: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens

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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.