Raphael Stevens

In this articleFTSLAGMFord’s all-electric F-150 will be called Lightning. The all-new F-150 Lightning will be revealed May 19 at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn and livestreamed.FordDETROIT – Ford Motor’s upcoming all-electric F-150 pickup truck will be called Lightning, a name used by the automaker for street performance trucks in the 1990s and early 2000s.Ford released the name Monday along with plans to unveil the truck at 9:30 p.m. EDT on May 19. The reveal will take place at the company’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. It will be broadcast across social media platforms as well as 18 high-profile public spaces such as Times Square in New York City and Las Vegas Boulevard, the company said.All-electric pickups are expected to be important growth areas for automakers in the coming years, particularly for commercial business to rental fleets, companies and governments. Ford has promised its pickup will be a true work truck in an attempt to differentiate it from other competitors such as the Tesla Cybertruck or GMC Hummer EV.Ford CEO Jim Farley gave a nod to Tesla as well as Toyota Motor for their contributions to electrification in a press release on Monday announcing the company’s plans.”Every so often, a new vehicle comes along that disrupts the status quo and changes the game … Model T, Mustang, Prius, Model 3. Now comes the F-150 Lightning,” Farley said in a statement. “America’s favorite vehicle for nearly half a century is going digital and fully electric.”Farley said the F-150 Lightning will be able to “power your home during an outage; it’s even quicker than the original F-150 Lightning performance truck; and it will constantly improve through over-the-air updates.”Production of the pickup is scheduled to begin next spring at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan, Ford said. It’s expected to arrive in dealerships by mid-2022.The F-150 Lightning is due out months after other electric pickups such as the GMC Hummer EV, Tesla Cybertruck and start-ups such as Rivian and, potentially, Lordstown Motors. All of the vehicles aside from Lordstown’s Endurance pickup, which is targeted at fleet customers rather than individual consumers, are expected to be “lifestyle” vehicles rather than work trucks. General Motors also has confirmed plans for an electric Chevrolet pickup that’s expected to be focused more on traditional truck customers than lifestyle buyers.Correction: Ford used the Lightning name for street performance trucks in the 1990s and early 2000s. A previous version of this article misstated when it was last used. More

Cybersecurity provider Cloudflare has observed a significant rise in threats toward its customers in recent months, CEO Matthew Prince told CNBC on Monday.Prince’s comments, made in a “TechCheck” interview, came just days after a ransomware cyberattack hit Colonial Pipeline, leading the company to proactively halt operations on a key piece of U.S. petroleum infrastructure. Some parts of the pipeline are already back online, the company said in a statement Monday, with “the goal of substantially restoring operational service by the end of the week.””I think it’s actually a real concern right now that we’re seeing across the board more and more critical infrastructure being targeted by these sorts of attackers,” Prince told CNBC.A relatively new hacker group known as DarkSide is responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack, according to the FBI.”I think what’s going on, anecdotally, is that attackers think their time may be coming to an end with, around the world, governments thinking of cracking down more and more on these cybersecurity incidents,” said Prince, who co-founded San Francisco-based Cloudflare in 2009.”They seem to be unleashing everything, so in the last six months, we’ve seen a dramatic uptick in attacks against our customers,” Prince added, saying the world is currently experiencing an “unparalleled amount of cybersecurity activity.”The SolarWinds hack, which hit U.S. government agencies and major tech companies, is another high-profile cybersecurity incident that’s surfaced in recent months. That incident became public in December, and the U.S. has since said Russians were likely behind it.Shares of Cloudflare are down about 9% so far this year, although the stock remains up more than 160% in the past 12 months.David Kennedy, a former NSA hacker who is now founder and CEO of security firm TrustedSec, echoed Prince’s assessment of the cyber landscape, telling CNBC the level of ransomware attacks is particularly worrisome.”A lot of these companies, the only result they have is to pay the ransom to recover their entire business. These are big businesses. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars of companies that are impacted by ransomware. It is out of control,” Kennedy said Monday on “Power Lunch.””It is one of those things where not just DarkSide, but all these other ransomware groups are making hundreds of millions of dollars a year off of ransomware,” Kennedy said, adding that there’s “no sign” of any slowdown. “In fact, we’ve seen a 300% increase this year alone in ransomware activity, and it’s just happening all the time, unfortunately.” More

Marriott International CEO Tony Capuano told CNBC on Monday the distinction between business and leisure travel is fading, a welcome development for the hotel operator as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.People going on vacations and other personal trips has led the hospitality industry’s rebound from the Covid-induced damage that hit more than a year ago. The return of trips for corporate purposes is crucial for a complete comeback, though, and there have been questions about how long it will take for that to return to pre-pandemic levels — if ever.”We do think you’ll see a steady return of business,” Capuano said in an interview on “Squawk on the Street,” noting that, in mainland China, business-travel demand in March was 5% above where it was in March 2019. China’s economic recovery timeline is generally thought to be several months ahead of the U.S.However, Capuano said Marriott could benefit from a broader shift in the way corporate travel is viewed after the pandemic, when many white-collar employees are expected to have greater flexibility around going into the office following the necessary embrace of remote work due to Covid.As more people return to the office, business travel will pick up, Capuano said. “The thing that will be interesting to watch, I think it’s going to be less clear what the trip purpose is,” he said.”Increasingly we’re seeing folks that say, ‘I can blend trip purposes. I can combine leisure with business travel.’ And we think that’s really good news for our hotels across the country,” said Capuano, who has led Marriott since February. He took over for the late Arne Sorenson.Capuano’s comments Monday came shortly after the Maryland-based company reported first-quarter financial results. Marriott’s adjusted earnings per share of 10 cents topped consensus estimates of 4 cents, according to FactSet, while quarterly revenue of $2.32 billion was below projections of $2.38 billion.Marriott shares fell by more than 3% Monday to trade around $142 apiece. The stock is up about 7% year to date. More

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives an update on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic during a virtual news conference inside 10 Downing Street, in central London, Britain, March 18, 2021.Tolga AkmenLONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that England will be moving to the next stage of its coronavirus lockdown easing program on May 17.Indoor facilities such as movie theaters and hotels will reopen, but with some capacity limits in place. Pubs and restaurants will be allowed to welcome customers inside again, and indoor household mixing will be allowed to resume for groups of up to six people.People will also be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to 30 people.Johnson said social distancing rules will remain for public places, but people can make their own judgement in private.When asked about hugging, Johnson said at a news conference Monday, “People should do it if you think it’s appropriate, if you think the risks are very very low.””But you should exercise care and common sense. And clearly with unvaccinated people there must be a greater risk of transmission than with those who have had vaccination,” he added.Johnson was heavily criticized for the initial response to the coronavirus pandemic, and with more than 127,000 reported fatalities, Britain has one of the worst death rates in Europe and the world.But Johnson has also been at the forefront of a successful vaccination campaign, with more than 50% of the country’s population now having received at least one dose of a vaccine.International travel is able to resume next Monday in most circumstances, although quarantines and testing would be required on return to the U.K., for the most part. The government has said it hopes to lift all restrictions on social contact by June 21.Around midday Monday, the U.K.’s chief medical officers agreed to lower the country’s Covid-19 alert level from 4 — which means transmission is high or rising exponentially — to level 3, which means the epidemic is in general circulation.— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article. More

Rajasthan Royals player Ben Stokes during the practice session ahead the IPL match against Kings XI Punjab at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on Sunday, March 24,2019.NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesThe remainder of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) cannot be completed in the country, says Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).The IPL was suspended indefinitely last week following a number of positive coronavirus cases among the teams.The country is currently struggling to contain the virus, with more than 360,000 new daily cases confirmed on Monday.Ganguly told Sportstar magazine: “There are lots of organisational hazards, like 14-day quarantine. It can’t happen in India.”This quarantine is tough to handle. [It’s] too early to say how we can find a slot to complete the IPL.”Thirty-one matches remain to be played in the tournament, with the regular season originally scheduled to end on May 23, and qualifiers and eliminators taking place before the final on May 30.Warwickshire, Surrey and the Marylebone Cricket Club are all understood to be willing to host the remaining matches in September, but a BCCI official told Reuters that offer had yet to be discussed.The whole of the 2020 IPL was played in the UAE because of Covid.The IPL’s statement last week confirming the suspension of the tournament said: “The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL.”This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and wellbeing of all the stakeholders in mind.”These are difficult times, especially in India, and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times.”Three Australian cricketers – Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye – had already cut short their IPL season to head home, while India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had taken a break to spend time with his family.Read more stories from Sky SportsJuve face Serie A expulsion if ESL plans persist – Italian FAIs Canelo unbeatable? | Saunders faces quit claimAmad and Shoretire in Man Utd contention vs LeicesterMeanwhile, Ganguly revealed India are likely to field a second-string side for a tour of Sri Lanka in July featuring three ODIs and five T20Is.Virat Kohli’s Test side will travel to England in early June ahead of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton, before a five-Test series against England, starting in August.The trip to Sri Lanka will take place between those engagements, but Ganguly’s indication is that few of Kohli’s team will be in the squad. More

In this articleROKURoku’s riveting earnings report has some traders doubling down on the streaming stock.They include Piper Sandler’s Craig Johnson, who told CNBC that Roku shares still offered opportunity after their 11.5% surge in response to earnings on Friday.Roku in the first-quarter report posted its highest revenue growth rate since its 2017 IPO. Loop Capital Markets upgraded the stock to a buy with a $450 price target after the results, citing its impressive platform growth, increasing market share and the overall shift to digital streaming.”There’s no question the primary trend is still higher for Roku,” Johnson, his firm’s senior technical research analyst, said Friday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.””From my perspective, the stock has gotten oversold. It seems like a pretty good entry point and a pretty good upgrade here for Loop,” he said, adding that the shares have fallen to their 200-day moving average.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsWith the company looking ahead to revenue growth north of 40%, “the stock probably is still a buy and any move above 362 on the charts is going to reverse that short-term downtrend, setting itself up … for a move back to 480, which would be a nice return from here,” Johnson said.Roku shares fell more than 3% in early Monday trading to around $306.89.Though Roku’s earnings report and growth profile are notably strong, Danielle Shay, director of options at Simpler Trading, was concerned about the long term.”Right now, it looks good, but what about three, four, five years down the line?,” she said in the same “Trading Nation” interview. “They run the risk of becoming like a TiVo or a VCR that no one’s going to need when over time, TVs simply just become smart TVs.”Roku will likely have opportunities to incorporate its operating system into those devices, but that won’t stop the streaming wars from progressing, Shay said.”There’s going to be a lot more competition in this space and right now, [Roku’s] coming up against some serious overhead resistance. So, I’m not a fan of Roku here,” she said.Instead, Shay suggested investing in the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC), an exchange-traded fund that tracks key stocks in the streaming space including Netflix, AT&T, Disney, Discovery and ViacomCBS.”That way, you’re trading the streaming wars as a whole and not just putting your money into Roku, which runs the risk of becoming redundant,” Shay said.Disclaimer More