Kevin Ross on LinkedIn: Donald Trump admits EV flip-flop was a quid pro quo to secure Elon Musk’s… (2024)

Australian defense chief defends updated military deal with US, UKhttps://ift.tt/7qmah1xDefenseAustralian defense chief defends updated military deal with US, UKBiden letter says agreement will allow nuclear material to be given to Australia Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles speaks during a meeting with Canada's Minister of National Defense Bill Blair, not seen,in Vancouver, Canada on Aug. 8. (Photo byThe Canadian Press via AP) © APSHAUN TURTON, Nikkei staff writerAugust 9, 2024 15:35 JST | AustraliaSYDNEY -- Australia's top defense official on Fridaypushed back againstcriticism that the planned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines would leave the country beholden to the U.S.The comments came amid revelations thatthe U.S., U.K. and Australia had inked an updated AUKUS agreement that allows Australia to formally receive nuclear reactors, material and equipment while meeting "the highest" nonproliferation standards. It was signed earlier this week,Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Friday, and details were included in a letter U.S. President Joe Biden sent to Congress.Nikkei Asian Review, now known as Nikkei Asia, will be the voice of the Asian Century.Celebrate our next chapterFree access for everyone - Sep. 30Find out moreBusiness Newsvia Nikkei Asian Review https://ift.tt/fOo5GpjAugust 8, 2024 at 11:41PM

Colin Huang, the founder behind Pinduoduo and Temu, overtakes bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan as China’s richest personhttps://ift.tt/yhfWEk7After several moderately successful ventures in gaming and e-commerce, Colin Huang got sick and retired. At one point, the young entrepreneur stayed home for a year thinking about his next move.The former Google engineer eventually started Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform known for selling dirt-cheap products with massive promotions, in 2015. He quickly ascended the ranks of the world’s richest people, with his net worth peaking at $71.5 billion in early 2021.Like many so-calledCovid billionaires, his fortune collapsed just as fast as it was made, tumbling 87% in the span of about a year. Huang’s decline was especially stark as the slowing global pandemic coincided with China’s abrupt crackdown on the country’s private sector.Then something surprising happened: Huang’s PDD Holdings Inc. staged a comeback. Not as big as before, but steady, with its expansion outside of China under the Temu brand name helping counteract a persistently weak domestic economy.As a result, Huang, now 44, has become China’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. With a $48.6 billion fortune, he displaces Zhong Shanshan, the country’s bottled-water king who has held the top spotsince April 2021.Huang’s remarkable ascent has been fueled by China’s changing shopping habits after the nation’s real estate crisis morphed into a prolonged slowdown. He’s also the first tech tycoon to top the wealth rankings in more than three years, after governmentpressureon private businesses ensnared rivals like Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Along the way, Huang has also drawn protests from suppliers for driving down prices and set a punishing work schedule for his own employees.“Ma and Jeff Bezos have been corporate leaders in their moments, but the times have changed and Huang is seeing great success with a different, less visible approach,” said Brock Silvers, managing director at private equity firm Kaiyuan Capital.Representatives for PDD didn’t respond to requests for comment.Math ProdigyUnlike Ma, the English teacher-turned-founder of Alibaba, Huang represents anew generationof Chinese tech entrepreneurs who started their careers with global opportunities.At 12, his prodigious math talent earned him a place at the elite Hangzhou Foreign Languages School, where he was classmates with the children of China’s political and social elite. After graduating with a computer science degree from Zhejiang University, he left China in 2002 to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin.Two years after graduating, he moved back to help set up Google China. He founded his first company in 2007, then sold it in 2010 to start a new one that helped companies market themselves on websites like Alibaba’s Taobao or JD.com. When anear infectionled him to retire in 2013, he hatched ...

Friday, August 9, 2024: Your Horoscopehttps://ift.tt/OcodBueYou may battle conflicted emotions and second-guess yourself this morning. Thankfully, the moon mingles with animated Mars, instilling you with resilience and vitality. Jupiter in Gemini offers optimistic and lively assistance in this cosmic mix. Whatever’s troubling you will quickly be forgotten once you leap into your daily activities.Your charismatic side emerges this afternoon; you’ll have no trouble inspiring people to trust your leadership. Flex your charm and creativity as the moon in graceful Libra coordinates with the sun in expressive Leo. Your confident, considerate, and polite guidance is exactly what people need.Aries (March 21-April 19)Don’t hold back your thoughts. Your direct and compassionate advice will make your loved ones feel seen and understood.Taurus (April 20-May 20)Things are coming together the more you trust yourself. Stick to your healthy lifestyle and balanced routine. Soon, people will turn to you for encouragement.Gemini (May 21-June 20)Your elegance and charm are irresistible today. Take advantage of this by making the first move to get everything you desire. Ask your crush on a date. Flirt with an alluring stranger.Cancer (June 21-July 22)Everything you create or achieve is informed by the nature of your internal world. Strengthen your comfort and inner peace and you will overcome barriers to success.Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)Your friendly and diplomatic attitude is gaining the attention of like-minded people. Move toward people, groups, and communities that demonstrate fairness and cooperation.Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)Believe in your ability to take the reigns and steer your life in a new direction. Maintain a calm and balanced attitude toward your money and resources, and you will make decisions that benefit your future as much as your present.Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)Don’t just talk the talk — walk the walk. The best way to inspire people is to be a living example. Wear your heart on your sleeve and live by your morals and values.Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)You are taking courageous action to push forward with your head held high. Commend yourself for handling and processing your feelings more smoothly than you would have in the past.Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)Your ability to consider both sides of the story is making you popular with friends and followers. Direct this positive energy toward repairing an alliance and mending your relationships.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)Trust your instincts that are tugging you toward exploring career changes, but release any expectation that today’s actions will have a long-lasting effect.Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)Open your heart to new experiences, cultures, and environments. When you do, you will be led toward creative and romantic opportunities that are better than you expected.Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)Have the courage to address imbalances ...

Kursk residents recorded a video for Putin, saying Russia's military chiefs are lying that Ukraine's attack is 'under control'https://ift.tt/ZkjNHemOfficials say Russian leader Vladimir Putin, pictured here attending a remote meeting from Moscow, has been personally overseeing the response to Ukraine's attack in Kursk.GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesUkraine launched a rare attack into Russian territory on Wednesday, pushing into the Kursk oblast.On Thursday, several dozen people in Kursk posted an urgent plea for help to Vladimir Putin.They claimed to Putin that he's been lied to by his officials that Ukraine's attack was under control.Residents in Russia's besieged Kursk oblast have published an appeal for help from the country's leader, Vladimir Putin, saying the fighting there is far more intense than military leaders are letting on.More than two dozen people from the Sudzhansky district gathered in a video published on Thursday, saying Putin had been undersold on how dire the situation is for local civilians as Ukrainian troops force their way past the border."These lies enable the local residents to die. The Chief of the General staff recently told you that the situation is under control," one of the residents said in the video, according to a translation from CNN."But today, huge furious battles are underway in the Sudzhansky and Korenevsky districts," she said.The clip was disseminated on the Russian Telegram channel Native Sudzha, which covers news in the region.The residents said they've been rendered homeless by Ukraine's attack and said they had to rely on news from Telegram channels instead of local officials.Many said they were unable to bring their travel or identification documents with them because of how quickly they had to evacuate, and said authorities should have known Ukraine was building its forces on the border."We are left alone with children without a place to go, without compensation, without any money. We escaped with only clothes on our backs," said one woman, according to CNN's translation.One man addressed Putin directly, claiming that people from Guevo, a town in Sudzha, had not been evacuated by officials and were left stranded amid the fighting.Guevo is reported by open-source intelligence to be one of over a dozen Russian villages now under Ukrainian control.Russia's Defense Ministry and the press team for Putin's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.Ukrainian troops push into KurskKyiv's forces launched an incursion into Kursk on Wednesday, with some Ukrainian armored vehicles spotted fighting up to nine miles deep into Russian territory.Russia has said Ukraine launched the attack with some 1,000 troops and about 40 armored vehicles, including tanks. The Kremlin called the assault a "large-scale provocation."Russian authorities released footage of an attack on Ukrainian vehicles i...

Shares in Indian e-scooter maker Ola jump 10% after tepid debuthttps://ift.tt/LhKf0aHIPOShares in Indian e-scooter maker Ola jump 10% after tepid debutSoftbank-backed startup yet to make profit despite accelerating sales Bhavish Aggarwal, founder ofOlaElectric, speaks at a newsconference on July 29 ahead of the company's IPO launch in Mumbai. © ReutersSAYAN CHAKRABORTY, Nikkei staff writerAugust 9, 2024 14:09 JST | IndiaBENGALURU -- Shares in Indian scooter maker Ola Electric Mobility rose 10% after its tepid market debut on Friday, underscoring investor optimism that the Softbank-backed startup will turn profitable on the road ahead.The South Asian nation's first electric vehicle stock opened flat at 76 and was trading at 83 10:10 a.m. local time on Friday. That compared to an issuance price of 76 rupees, which was a 22% discount to the valuation in the high-profile company's last round of private funding. The oversubscribed initial public offering had valued Ola at $4.3 billion.Nikkei Asian Review, now known as Nikkei Asia, will be the voice of the Asian Century.Celebrate our next chapterFree access for everyone - Sep. 30Find out moreBusiness Newsvia Nikkei Asian Review https://ift.tt/lghwJp4August 8, 2024 at 10:14PM

7 must-have gadgets for your desk to make you more productivehttps://ift.tt/1qcr0CtTime is money. Spend a little to save a lot with a macro pad, a smart notebook, and other efficiency boosters.Whether you’re working from home, in a traditional office, or part of a hybrid experiment, your desk serves as the command center for your daily operations.Business Newsvia Fast Company https://ift.tt/2HlPBKWAugust 8, 2024 at 10:06PM

The beloved Ford Capri is back—or is it? Why every new electric car is an SUV, and why it shouldn’t behttps://ift.tt/JrU1MlXThe new electric Ford Capri has been one of the most controversial vehicle launches this year. Despite a wholehearted endorsem*nt from the soccer legend Eric Cantona, most feedback about the new car from the BlueOval has been negative. Only some of this is because the Capri update is electric; mostly people don’t like the fact that it’s an SUV.36Ford Motor’s rank on the 2024 Fortune Global 50017Ford Motor’s rank on the 2024 Fortune 500This isn’t the first time Ford has taken one of its beloved brands and turned it into an electric SUV. The Mustang Mach-E arrived with great controversy as well. But Ford isn’t the only company focusing on SUVs for its electrification strategy. This is a common theme across most automakers.There are several reasons why so many EVs are SUVs. Developing a car with a new drivetrain such as an all-electric vehicle costs a lot, and SUVs tend to command a price premium, enabling some recoup of that investment. It’s also much easier to hide the weight gain from the huge battery pack required to provide a decent range inside the SUV format than in a compact hatchback. Then there’s the popularity factor. Automakers want to shift cars, obviously, so they will go for formats that sell well. According to JATO Dynamics, SUVs had 51.1% of the European market in April 2024. The U.S. market is even better, with SUVs gaining 53.5% of U.S. car sales in 2022. From this perspective, automakers are simply giving people what they want.A 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle (EV).Graham Hughes—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesBigger is better?It’s worth underlining where the popularity of SUVs came from, however. In the 1970s, the first U.S. auto pollution regulations were drawn up. At that time the only people driving heavy vehicles like trucks had commercial purposes, so the fuel efficiency rules for them were more lenient. Automakers spotted this loophole, created a consumer vehicle that was also a truck, and the gas-guzzling SUV was born. Consumers ended up loving these large, spacious vehicles despite their lack of fuel economy. This is also despite the fact that vehicles with a hood height more than 40 inches are 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes, and are more likely to roll over in an accident due to high center of gravity while inflicting more severe injuries because of their weight.SUVs had 51.1% of the European market in April 2024.According to JATO Dynamics.This penchant has been carried forward to electrification, which brings us back to the Ford Capri. If you were born long enough ago to remember the original car in its heyday, the new electric SUV version doesn’t have a lot to do with that. It’s not a two-door 2+2 fastback. It’s not even meant to be that sporty.“Clearly, it doesn’t look like the last Capri that left the production line in the 80s,”...

Ola Electric surges in India’s biggest listing in two yearshttps://ift.tt/PVk0p4TOla Electric, the largest electric two-wheeler maker in India, jumped as much as 10.8% on its public debut Friday in what is the biggest listing among Indian firms in two years. Shares of the Bengaluru-based firm, which counts SoftBank and Temasek among its backers, jumped to 84.21 rupees ($1), higher than the upper price band of 76 Indian rupees. The company filed for an IPO at a 26% lower valuation than the $5.4 billion it achieved in a funding round in October 2023, and significantly below the $6.5 billion to $8 billion range initially targeted for the IPO. Ola Electric has emerged as the dominant player in India’s electric two-wheeler market, commanding a 46% market share in the year-to-date fiscal year 2025, despite a recent dip to 39% in July. Ola launched its first electric scooter in December 2021 and sold more than 330,000 units in the financial year ending March. But the company is not profitable. It generated revenues of 50 billion rupees ($626.3 million) and reported an EBITDA loss of 13 billion rupees ($162.8 million) and a net loss of 16 billion rupees ($200.5 million) during the same period.Ola Electric’s strategic initiatives include the development of its own battery cell technology and manufacturing capabilities, with plans to expand capacity to 20GWh by the second quarter of 2026. This vertical integration is expected to provide greater control over quality, supply, and costs.The electric vehicle market in India is poised for substantial growth, with Macquarie projecting a gradual increase in the share of electric two-wheelers. Estimates suggest market penetration rates of 7%, 10%, 13%, and 16% for fiscal years 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 respectively. This contrasts with more optimistic forecasts of 41-56% by fiscal year 2028 in Ola Electric’s own prospectus, highlighting the ongoing debate about the pace of EV adoption in India.Recent reductions in government subsidies for electric two-wheelers have impacted the sector’s growth trajectory. Despite this, the Indian electric vehicle market has witnessed a consolidation trend, with the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a measure of market concentration, rising from 1,200-1,330 in fiscal years 2022-2023 to 2,810 in the June quarter, surpassing the 2,160 figure for traditional internal combustion engine two-wheelers.Business Newsvia TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/August 8, 2024 at 09:50PM

How the Olympics Mascot, Phryge, Went From Bizarre to Belovedhttps://ift.tt/OlgU4N9Some think it’s a cross between the Eiffel Tower and a beret. Others see it as a goofy, red French Smurf. Most people can’t even pronounce its name.It’s Phryge (pronounced freej), the official mascot of the Paris Olympics. Mocked by the French when it was unveiled, it has become the hottest-selling item in town — and a symbol of the transformation of France’s perception of the Games from an unwanted nuisance to an unqualified triumph.At the Olympics megastore on the Champs-Élysées, 15,000 shoppers stand in a line nearly five blocks long every day to snap up Phryge in its many iterations (Posing as the Mona Lisa! Running with the Olympic flame!) and to buy millions of euros’ worth of official Olympic-branded merchandise.“J’adore!” said Jenny Prudhomme, a native of southern France who works as a volunteer at the Games. She exited the store on a recent afternoon with a red tote bag featuring the google-eyed mascot, which is modeled on the Phrygian hat, a symbol of the French Revolution. “It represents France, but more than that, it’s a souvenir of the Olympic Games, which have made us so proud,” she said.With only a few days left until the Olympics close, French pride has bubbled over with a burst of unexpected enthusiasm that gripped Paris as soon as the Olympic cauldron was lit. An earlier deluge of grumbling gave way to a flood of excitement as nearly a million tourists descended the first week, and France won a record number of medals at packed events, many of which included the mascot energizing the crowd.Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.Business Newsvia NYT > Business https://ift.tt/nKgXPLhAugust 8, 2024 at 09:12PM

China Battery Tech Reflects Research Boom and Big Spendinghttps://ift.tt/vrOwQEdChina’s domination of electric cars, which is threatening to start a trade war, was born decades ago in university laboratories in Texas, when researchers discovered how to make batteries with minerals that were abundant and cheap.Companies from China have recently built on those early discoveries, figuring out how to make the batteries hold a powerful charge and endure more than a decade of daily recharges. They are inexpensively and reliably manufacturing vast numbers of these batteries, producing most of the world’s electric cars and many other clean energy systems.Batteries are just one example of how China is catching up — or passing — advanced industrial democracies in its technological and manufacturing sophistication. It is achieving many breakthroughs in a long list of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to drones to high-efficiency solar panels.Beijing’s challenge to the technological leadership that the United States has held since World War II is evidenced in China’s classrooms and corporate budgets, as well as in directives from the highest levels of the Communist Party.A considerably larger share of Chinese students major in science, math and engineering than students in other big countries do. That share is rising further, even as overall higher education enrollment has increased more than tenfold since 2000.Spending on research and development has surged, tripling in the past decade and moving China into second place after the United States. Researchers in China lead the world in publishing widely cited papers in 52 of 64 critical technologies, recent calculations by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute reveal.Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.Business Newsvia NYT > Business https://ift.tt/nKgXPLhAugust 8, 2024 at 09:12PM