U.S. automaker General Motors and Korean chemical giant LG Chem will invest $2.3 billion by 2023 in a new joint venture to create battery cells for electric cars in Lordstown, Ohio.
Construction of the battery cell factory is expected to begin mid-2020 and will create 1,100 jobs, which GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra called a “significant investment.”
Barra told reporters Thursday, “General Motors believes in the science of global warming” and is, therefore, investing in creating high quality, reliable vehicles.
“What you’re hearing from GM is a commitment to electric vehicles ... to drive adoption,” she said.
GM is still on track to have 20 million electric cars on the road by 2023, Barra said, and the plant will “play a key role” in the company’s goal to move toward “a world with zero emissions.” The new plant will have an annual capacity of more than 30 gigawatt hours.
The new facility will be built in the Lordstown-area where GM closed a production plant in March. The closure marked a loss for President Trump, who had worked to keep the site open in an effort to support American manufacturing. It also created concerns about the communitiy’s economic future, which relied heavily on the plant for employment.
While Barra said Ohio had “earned [the project] because of their capabilities,” Barra confirmed the state had offered the company incentives but did not offer further details.
“We think as we do this in a joint fashion ... [it]will allow us to win in the electric vehicle space,” said Barra. “We think we can bring together the expertise of both our companies and advance it more quickly.”
Further, she said, “We believe it will accelerate EV adoption,” and called this a “critical juncture to create an all-electric future.”
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
