Top Financial Media Stories Thursday, September 15: US Railway Companies, Unions Reach Tentative Agreement, Tesla To Wind Down Stores In China's Flashy Malls, Netflix Could Face Legal Action Over South Korean Crime Drama And More..

US Railway Companies, Unions Reach Tentative Agreement Averting Catastrophic Strike

• Today morning, the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and the economy, after 20 hours of talks. Railroad stocks gained after the news.
• The tentative deal averts a freight railroad strike that had threatened to cripple the U.S. supply chains and push prices higher for many goods. 
• The potential strike by the U.S. rail workers threatens to delay consumer goods sailing from China, affecting global supply chains trying to recover from disruptions due to the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war.

 

Reuters

Tesla Rethinks China Sales Strategy, Wants To Wind Down Stores In Flashy Malls

• Tesla Inc TSLA is re-evaluating how it sells electric cars in China and is considering winding down some showrooms in flashy malls in cities like Beijing that witnessed a slump in traffic during pandemic restrictions. 
• China is Tesla's second-largest market.
• The shift would focus more on stores in less-expensive suburban locations that can also provide repairs. The move comes in the wake of Tesla working to meet Elon Musk's target of improving service for existing customers, many of whom have complained of long delays.

Swiss Competition Commission Investigates Novartis' Patent Use To Fend Off Competition

• The Swiss competition commission (COMCO) has initiated an investigation against Novartis AG NVS over the alleged unlawful patent use to reduce competitive pressure.
• "The company allegedly attempted to protect its drug for the treatment of skin diseases against competing products by using one of its patents to initiate litigation proceedings," COMCO said.

Netflix Could Face Legal Action Over South Korean Crime Drama In Suriname: What You Should Know

• Suriname is considering legal action against the producers of South Korea's hit Netflix Inc NFLX series "Narco-Saints," which it believes fosters negative images of the nation by portraying it as a "narco-state." 
• The show, based on real-life events from about two decades ago, narrates the story of a man who joins a secret mission to capture a Korean drug lord operating in Suriname.

Lufthansa Explores Partial Sale Of Aircraft Business As It Battled Strikes, Workforce Shortage

• Deutsche Lufthansa AG DLAKY looks to talk with private equity investors in December regarding a partial sale of its aircraft maintenance business Lufthansa Technik.
• The board aimed for a €6 billion - €8 billion valuation.
• Since the Covid-19 outbreak, the aviation sector has been in complete disruption. Airlines had to boost their battle plans to counter this summer's travel turmoil due to a perfect storm of strikes and workforce crisis.

 

Wall Street Journal

Amazon Faces Regulatory Heat For Anticompetitive Strategies On Third-Party Sellers, Wholesalers

• California state attorney general prosecuted Amazon.com, Inc AMZN for allegedly inflating prices, stifling competition, and violating the antitrust laws with third-party sellers' and wholesalers' contracts.
• A 2020 investigation triggered the lawsuit. Attorney General Rob Bonta sought to halt Amazon policies that prevented merchants from offering lower prices through competitors' websites.
• The wholesalers were subjected to penalties lest Amazon lowered its prices to match those of competitors, and its profit margin fell below a specified minimum.

 

Benzinga

Tesla Vs. Fisker Vs. Rivian Vs. Lucid: Analyst Weighs In On EV Makers As Adoption Shifts To Top Gear

• The adoption of electric vehicles is progressing at a faster-than-expected rate, given automakers' thrust to EV transitioning, governments' mandates to ban ICE vehicles, and massive capital infusion into the space sector, an analyst at Needham, said in a note.
• Needham's Vikram Bagri upgraded Tesla Inc TSLA shares from Underperform to Hold as part of transitioning primary coverage from analyst Rajvindra Gill.

Coinbase's New Feature Rates Politicians Based On How Pro-Crypto They Are

• Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc COIN is rating political candidates on their outlook towards cryptocurrencies in a new feature on its mobile app.
• In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the cryptocurrency exchange's new integration would give its 103 million users a way to gauge the crypto sentiment of political leaders across the U.S. 

Shell Appoints Wael Sawan As Successor To Longtime CEO Ben van Beurden

• Shell Plc SHEL has named Wael Sawan, the company's head of integrated gas and renewables, as its next chief executive, as longtime CEO Ben van Beurden will step down.
• Mr. van Beurden was already a 30-year veteran of Shell when he was promoted to CEO in 2014.

Google Parent Slashes Projects At Product Innovation Unit By 50% Amid Pivot To Artificial Intelligence

• Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL has told the employees at its in-house R&D division, aka Area 120, that the number of incubator projects is being cut from 14 to seven.
• Google has since then reportedly confirmed the development in a statement to the media outlet.
• Employees at the shelved projects have been asked to find new jobs within the company by the end of January 2023 or face the prospect of termination.

Tesla Has A 'Competitive Moat' In This Area — Ford, GM Now Have A Chance Of Breaking It, Thanks To Biden: Analyst

• According to a Wedbush analyst, the Biden administration's incentives for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure will help address a significant shortcoming faced by the EV industry.
• The U.S. government announced $900 million in grants for EV chargers across 35 states as part of the $7.5 billion in funding allocated through the "Inflation Reduction Act" passed in August, analyst Daniel Ives said in the note.

Apple Website Briefly Looked Like 'Craigslist' As It Suffers Peculiar Glitch

• Apple Inc's AAPL website and Store appeared to suffer from technical glitches at 12:39 a.m. EDT Thursday.
• The website's home page was noted as loading, but it did not feature any images, and there was no clarity on the nature of the technical issue that affected it.
• Real-time problem and outage monitoring service Downdetctor's data indicated that Apple Store — operated on the website — saw outages peak on Wednesday around 11 p.m. EDT.

Ford Unveils Seventh-Generation Mustang ICE - What Are The New Features?

• Ford Motor Co F has unveiled its next-generation Mustang sports car to appease sports car enthusiasts.
• The new Mustang has two new engines, a 2.3-liter EcoBoost and the Mustang GT's most powerful 5.0-liter Coyote V8 ever.
• "Investing in another generation of Mustang is a big statement at a time when many of our competitors are exiting the business of internal combustion vehicles," said CEO Jim Farley.

As Ethereum Merge Happens, Another Crypto Sees Unexpected 66% Rally: Vitalik Buterin Says 'Celsius' Converted To 'Fahrenheit'

• The native token of the Celsius Network (CEL/USD) unexpectedly rallied 66% immediately after the Ethereum (ETH/USD) Merge, confusing many market participants.
• CEL surged from around $1.9 to a high of $3 within 60 minutes of the Ethereum Merge on Sept. 15.
• Some traders reported that CEL reached higher levels on certain crypto exchanges, with one account of the token hitting $6.08 on OKX and another saying that the token breached the $8 mark on Huobi.

Be Your Own Model - Walmart Launches New Virtual Try-On Feature For Shoppers

• Walmart Inc WMT has rolled out a virtual try-on tool to bring the in-store fitting room experience to online shoppers.
• The experience allows customers to use their photos to visualize better how the clothing will look on them.
• With Be Your Own Model, a customer sees an ultra-realistic simulation with shadows, fabric draping, and where clothing falls on their figure in seconds.

Photo via Pixabay