Morning Brief: Top Financial Stories Dominating on Friday, April 29

CNBC

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc HTZ chief Stephen Scherr saw a recovery in business travel and possibly choking the already packed supplies of rental cars, CNBC’s Jim Cramer reports.
However, the rebound of business travel is still in its early stages compared to leisure travel, Scherr said.
He saw the in-bound visitor from outside the U.S. come back when complete relaxation of some Covid limitations was in place.

Reuters

Governments are pushing oil and gas producers to increase output, with prices hovering around $100 a barrel amid a worldwide supply shortage, writes Reuters.
The shortage of workers limits how much producers in the U.S. and Canada can increase oil output as governments try to find ways to offset the effect of lost Russian barrels following the invasion of Ukraine.
Oil workers left the industry after the COVID-19 pandemic started. The U.S. unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6%, but there are still roughly 100,000 fewer oil and gas workers in the country than before the pandemic.

The U.S. solar industry cautioned against a significant slowdown in project installations in 2022 triggered by global supply chain disruptions and new U.S. tariffs on panel imports from Southeast Asia.
Southern Company’s SO Georgia Power utility bagged regulatory approval to delay five planned solar facilities adding up to 970 megawatts of capacity by November 2024.
The largest solar trade group looked to slash its 2022 and 2023 solar installation forecasts by 46%.

Tesla, Inc TSLA recalled 14,684 imported and locally made Model 3 cars in China on software problems as previously declared by the market regulator, Reuters reports.
The recall marked Tesla’s second batch of recalls in April.
The regulator said that the lack of a display unit for the speed numbers under Track Mode could mislead drivers and cause collisions under extreme circumstances.

According to sources familiar with the matter, China and U.S. regulators are discussing operational details of an audit deal that Beijing intends to sign this year, in the latest attempt to keep Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges, reported Reuters.
Reuters source stated that a preliminary framework for audit supervision cooperation had been established, with China likely to classify less information as confidential, potentially letting more information into companies’ audit working papers.
China is also considering the details of onsite inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which would provide the U.S. audit regulator access to such data, stated three sources.

Wall Street Journal

The U.S. government could be speeding up a plan to ban menthol cigarettes, according to a new report. Here’s the new timeline and two stocks that could be affected.
The Biden Administration could advance a ban on menthol cigarettes, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The administration under President Joe Biden has worked on pushing forward a plan that was started under President Barack Obama and later shelved by President Donald Trump.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to publish a report on Thursday that would lay out new rules and details for a plan. The plan would lay out the timeline for a national ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

Fidelity Investments recently became the first major retirement-plan provider to allow investors to include a bitcoin account in their 401(k).
A senior administrator at the Labor Department stated that Fidelity Investments’ plan to allow clients to place bitcoin in their 401(k) plans jeopardizes Americans’ financial security.
We have grave concerns with what Fidelity has done,” Ali Khawar, acting assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, stated in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Financial Times

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc RBGLY RBGPF has hiked prices across its product range to pass an increase in raw material costs onto customers.
The move comes after the consumer giant said that inflation on the cost of goods sold has increased from low teens to high teens based on current commodity pricing.
The report noted the price rise is also seen as a way to compensate for a fall in demand for disinfectants now that COVID restrictions have been eased.

Benzinga

Volkswagen Group VWAGY said on Thursday it plans to install up to 8,000 fast charging points for electric vehicles across Europe in partnership with the U.K.-based oil major BP Plc BP.
The deal will see BP deploy the mobile chargers made by Volkswagen at its network of petrol stations.
Up to 4,000 charge points are planned within 24 months in Germany and the U.K., and the rest in other European countries by the end of 2024.

Dogecoin DOGE/USD traded 1.25% higher at $0.14 over 24 hours leading up to early Friday morning.
DOGE traded higher alongside major cryptocurrencies as the global cryptocurrency market cap rose 0.2% to $1.8 trillion at press time.

Apple, Inc. AAPL on Thursday reported better-than-expected quarterly results, hiked its dividend, and announced a $90 billion buyback.
Ordinarily, this would have been a perfect trigger for a rally, but Apple’s stock was languishing following the earnings report.
Read six key takeaways from the company’s earnings call that may have implications for its growth in the future.

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk told bankers he plans to cut jobs and costs at Twitter Inc TWTR to boost its bottom line, as he plans to take the microblogging site private for $44 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Musk did not reveal details about which departments or positions might be affected during the call with bankers, according to the report.
The billionaire entrepreneur, however, discussed ideas to monetize the platform and boost cash flow, including potential subscription services to drive recurring revenue.

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Thursday confirmed the sale of 4.41 million shares in the electric vehicle firm, worth up to $3.9 billion, and said he does not plan to sell more shares.
The billionaire entrepreneur sold shares in multiple transactions, possibly to fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc TWTR.
Regulatory filings showed Musk sold shares at prices ranging from $872 to $976.74 in a set of five transactions.

Walmart Inc WMT has unveiled its activewear and swim brand, Love & Sports, created in partnership with fashion designer Michelle Smith and indoor cycling instructor Stacey Griffith.
The activewear collection is available at Walmart.com and in 1,500 Walmart stores.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons