BUSINESS - Page 22

A handful of asset management firms hoping to be among the first to win regulatory approval to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the spot price of bitcoin updated their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday and Friday, as market participants said a decision from the regulator might be imminent. By late Friday afternoon, BlackRock Asset Management (BLK.N), VanEck, Valkyrie Investments, Bitwise Investment Advisers, Invesco Ltd (IVZ.N), Fidelity, WisdomTree Investments, and a joint venture between Ark Investments

Alphabet’s Google has agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people who thought they were doing their browsing privately. The case, filed in 2020, accused the tech giant of using sophisticated cookies, analytics, and apps to monitor online activity even when Google Chrome browsers or other software indicated they were running in “Incognito” or “private” mode. Plaintiffs said that monitoring private sessions allowed the company to amass an “unaccountable trove of information,”

Tesla is expected to post another record quarter for electric vehicle (EV) deliveries. Still, it will likely fall short of an ambitious 2 million annual internal target that CEO Elon Musk touted at the beginning of the year. The carmaker posted record production in the third quarter but missed analysts’ delivery expectations as it struggled with softening demand and factory upgrades. The Austin, Texas-based company sold 435,059 vehicles to customers last quarter, falling behind Q2’s record of 466,000 and well

Denmark’s Maersk has scheduled several dozen container vessels to travel via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the coming days and weeks, further indicating that global shipping firms are returning to a critical trade artery. The world’s top shipping companies, including container giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, stopped using Red Sea routes after Yemen’s Houthi militant group began targeting vessels earlier this month, disrupting global trade. The US-led military campaign to protect ships — Operation Prosperity Guardian — is

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi took the wraps off its first electric vehicle on Thursday and promptly announced it was aiming to become one of the world’s top five automakers. The SU7 sedan is a highly anticipated model expected to make the most of its shared operating system with the company’s popular phones. The car is scheduled to go on sale next year in China, where it will face off against established automakers such as Geely and Warren Buffett-backed BYD and

One of the companies that took on the responsibility of building the fast, pod-based transportation system envisioned by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is calling it quits. It’s shutting down, selling off its assets, closing offices, and laying off employees. All formal operations will end on December 31. At that point, all of Hyperloop One’s intellectual property will be shifted to its majority stakeholder, Dubai-based port logistics firm DP World. That includes a short test track outside Las Vegas

Three-plus years ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk surprised the industry by announcing that his company would build an electric pickup truck with no windows and a stainless steel body that looked nothing like a Ford F-150. The resulting Cybertruck, which rolled onto the stage in a show with smoke, strobe lights, and balls of fire, was instantly polarizing. And for good reason. The vehicle looks like something straight out of the sci-fi film Blade Runner and instantly became the stuff

Russia has handed out more than $12 billion in state subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine cut off supplies of critical parts and maintenance services. The country faces the daunting task of developing its industry with domestically sourced parts while buying aircraft from foreign lessors to avoid seizing more of its fleet. The Kremlin has targeted producing more than 300 new aircraft in 2023, including the new Sukhoi Superjet

The electric carmaker is skipping its employee’s yearly merit-based stock compensations. Four salaried employees from different departments told Bloomberg News that Tesla managers informed them this year that they would not receive the annual equity grants usually given to top performers. The Company did not explain the change or say how many employees were affected. In previous years, the Company has offered these awards alongside salary adjustments. The equity takes about four years to vest fully, meaning workers must stay

Panasonic, the Japanese manufacturing giant, said on Wednesday that Oklahoma was no longer a candidate for a new battery plant. The state offered a multibillion-dollar incentive package to land the project at its MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor. Gov. Kevin Stitt could not discuss the deal’s details because of non-disclosure agreements with Panasonic, but state officials praised it as a “megadeal.” The company’s decision comes after a year of turmoil for Panasonic. The company encountered difficulty at its Gigafactory in