Half of Cars arriving at dealers are already sold
The tight supplies of new and used cars that have damped auto sales and pushed prices higher are likely to linger well into this year, according to AutoNation, the country’s largest automotive retailer. Half of all new Chevrolets, Fords, Toyotas and other major brands arriving on dealer lots in the next 90 days are already sold, AutoNation said. The market is even tighter for luxury cars: Nearly 3 out of 4 cars arriving at dealers in the next three months will be “pre-sold” — meaning a customer has paid a deposit and is waiting to buy the car when it arrives.
CNN executive was ousted after discussing interview topics with governor
On Tuesday, Allison Gollust, a senior CNN executive, was forced to resign after an internal investigation found a trove of written communications between her and her former employer, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, including messages about subjects that he wanted to be asked about on air during his March 2020 appearance on CNN, according to several people familiar with the matter. The episode is the latest example of how closely entwined CNN’s leadership was with one of the country’s most prominent Democratic politicians. Risa Heller, a spokesperson for Gollust, said the communications with the governor were appropriate.
Rising mortgage rates add to the challenge of buying a house
Home prices remain high, and rising borrowing costs are adding to the challenge of buying a home heading into the traditional spring selling season. The pace of housing price increases may slow from double- to single-digit percentages this year, said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. But prices are still expected to go up, and conditions will probably continue to favor sellers. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage this week rose to 3.92%, the highest rate since May 2019, according to mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac. A year ago, the average rate was 2.81%. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey looks at loans used to buy homes.
DraftKings recruits fewer bettors than expected, despite freebies
It was impossible to watch this year’s Super Bowl without being bombarded with ads for online sports betting services, as the industry seized on a wave of states legalizing its business to capture new customers. But Wall Street has lost faith that one of the giants of the field, DraftKings, which reported quarterly results Friday, will turn a profit anytime soon. The company’s shares are down nearly 72% in the past year, including a drop of more than 21% Friday. DraftKings lost $326 million in the fourth quarter, and had fewer users than expected.
Multinationals in Ukraine are ready for a conflict but staying put
Big U.S. and European companies operating on the ground in Ukraine said Friday that they had contingency plans at the ready in case of a Russian invasion but so far had not ordered the relocation of employees. Even as Western leaders turned up warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin may order an attack on Ukraine, executives at the multinational companies, for the most part, do not believe that Russian troops will actually follow through with a ground invasion, said Anna Derevyanko, deputy director of the European Business Association.
Fed rolls out tough trading restrictions following scandal
The Federal Reserve finalized a new set of ethics rules meant to prevent questionable financial market trading activity by top officials, a sweeping response to a scandal that has rocked the central bank since late last year. Fed officials traded in individual stocks, real estate securities and stock funds in 2020, a year in which the central bank rolled out a range of pandemic response programs that placed officials’ day-to-day decisions at the core of what happened in financial markets. Three high-ranking policymakers resigned earlier than they had planned after news of the trading broke last year and early this year.
Walmart posts higher profit
Walmart navigated rising inflation and fickle consumer confidence in its fourth quarter, as sales rose and profit increased. The nation’s largest retailer said Thursday that its total revenue rose to $152.9 billion in the three months ending in January, up 0.5% from a year earlier, while operating income increased 7.3% to $5.9 billion. The company reported earnings per share of $1.53, which was higher than the $1.50 that many analysts expected. Walmart said that it expected total sales growth of about 4% in the coming year. Its stock price was up 4% at the close of trading Thursday.
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