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    EV charging needs big improvements soon if the auto industry’s transition is going to work

    Automakers are spending huge sums to bring a slew of new electric vehicles to market over the next few years while Tesla has a big head start.
    But Americans are still hesitant to buy in, and largely because of concerns around charging.
    There’s a groundswell forming to expand and improve the U.S. charging landscape, but experts agree there’s a long road ahead.

    A charging port is seen on a Mercedes Benz EQC 400 4Matic electric vehicle at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 13, 2019.
    Mark Blinch | Reuters

    There’s a looming problem with the auto industry’s grand EV plans.
    Automakers are spending huge sums to bring a slew of new electric vehicles to market over the next few years. Ford Motor alone expects to spend more than $50 billion through 2026 to ramp up EV production around the world. General Motors said it will spend $35 billion through 2025, and Volkswagen said it expects to spend almost $200 billion on EVs and related software through 2028.

    But Americans are still hesitant to buy in, and largely because of concerns around charging.
    Survey after survey has shown that worries about charging — specifically, public charging — is holding buyers back from electric vehicles.
    A June study by Cox Automotive found that 32% of consumers who were considering an EV cited a “lack of charging stations in my area” as a barrier to purchase. A Consumer Reports study in April found that “charging logistics” and “purchase price” were the two biggest factors holding consumers back. And an April poll by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 47% of U.S. adults said it’s not likely they would buy an EV as their next car, with nearly 80% saying that a lack of charging stations was a factor.
    Despite the United Auto Workers’ concerns about Detroit’s transition to EVs, and the union’s ongoing strike, there’s a groundswell forming to expand and improve the U.S. charging landscape. President Joe Biden has pushed the issue, working with Congress to deliver major incentives to improve public charging, and rival automakers have struck rare partnerships to help establish a single charging standard and reduce pain points for EV drivers.
    But the question remains, how long — and how severely — will charging hamper the EV revolution, right as its finally picking up steam?

    How and where do I charge my EV?

    Public charging stations aren’t quite like gas stations, in the sense that many EV owners only use them occasionally. Most EV owners do most of their charging at home, with a Level 2 home charger provided by the automaker or a third party.
    That won’t work for everyone, of course. And even EV owners who charge at home use public chargers on occasion.
    Some EV motorists charge at work. Workplaces that have employee parking often have chargers available, as do a growing number of hotels, shopping centers and other places where people might park an EV for a few hours.
    Often called “destination chargers,” these charge at rates similar to what you’d get with home chargers, adding around 35 miles of range per hour. You may need an app from a charging company to use them, but the process is mostly painless — assuming the chargers are working.
    Destination chargers can be a great way to add some range if you’re planning to be parked for a while. But on a road trip, you’ll want a fast charger.

    A guide to charging your EV at home

    The vast majority of EV owners — about 83%, according to a JD Power study in March — do most of their charging at home. Home chargers that can fully charge your EV overnight aren’t expensive, and they aren’t hard to set up. Here’s what you need to know.
    First, know your chargers: Most EV makers, and several third-party manufacturers, offer so-called “Level 2” chargers that plug into 240-volt outlets. A Level 1 charger plugs into a regular 110-volt household outlet and is really only applicable for emergencies.
    Next, know your needs: A portable Level 2 charger, which you can install yourself, provides about 20 miles of range per hour and can work well for overnight charging at home. A dedicated 240-volt Level 2 home charging station, installed by an electrician in your garage or other covered area, will give you around 35 miles of range per hour.
    Third, know your price point: A portable Level 2 charger will run you anywhere from $300 to $700, while a professionally installed 240-volt Level 2 could cost upwards of $1,000.

    Modern fast chargers deliver much more power to your car’s battery than the chargers that most EV drivers use at home or work, enough to charge your car to 80% in roughly half an hour, more or less.
    While the cost of fast-charging varies with time of day and location, it’s usually cheaper than a tank of gas.
    And though Tesla drivers have it relatively easy, finding a charger that works with other EVs away from home — and specifically, finding one that is working — can be a frustrating experience.

    Why do Teslas have it so much easier?

    According to the U.S. Department of Energy, almost 21,000 of the roughly 33,000 public fast chargers currently up and running in the U.S. are Tesla Superchargers. Those chargers, like Tesla’s own destination chargers, use a unique plug design called NACS, short for North American Charging Standard.
    Tesla originally built its Supercharging network to overcome potential buyers’ concerns about charging on road trips, back when there were few fast chargers available in the country.
    The network’s extent and reliability became a key part of Tesla’s early sales pitch to customers hesitant to take the leap to a fully electric EV, and it has continued to play an important role in its success.

    A view of Tesla Superchargers on February 15, 2023 in San Rafael, California.
    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

    The charging option for most everyone else — called the Combined Charging System, or CCS — is harder to come by and often unreliable.
    The shortcomings of CCS have been a growing concern for global automakers — and the Detroit companies in particular — as they spend billions on new EVs. Simply put, America’s patchwork of CCS chargers offers spotty coverage, hard-to-use devices, and, too often, chargers that are broken.
    CCS charging operators like ChargePoint and EVgo have recently begun taking major steps to improve the “up time” of their chargers, or the percentage of time the charger is available for use.
    But the reliability issue remains a big one. In a study last year, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley checked 675 CCS fast chargers in the Bay Area and found that almost a quarter of them weren’t functional. More recently, an August 2023 study by JD Power found that customer satisfaction with public CCS chargers — both destination chargers and fast chargers — has fallen sharply over the last few years, with reliability ranking as a key issue.
    “The reliability of public chargers continues to be a problem,” said Brent Gruber, who leads JD Power’s EV practice. “The situation is stuck at a level where one of every five visits ends without charging, the majority of which are due to station outages.”
    Notably, that JD Power study also found customer satisfaction with Tesla’s proprietary fast-charging network to be much higher than the CCS alternatives.
    Not to mention, there are fewer than 12,000 CCS fast chargers across the U.S. today.

    What about a single charging standard?

    Tesla has begun bringing its rivals into the fold.
    The EV leader and Ford surprised the automotive world in May when they announced they had struck a deal to give Ford EV owners access to more than 12,000 Tesla superchargers in the U.S. and Canada starting in early 2024.
    Ford also said that it will make the NACS charging port standard on its EVs starting in 2025. (Owners of older Ford EVs will be able to use the Tesla chargers with an adapter.)
    It might seem strange for one of the world’s oldest automakers to partner with the EV maker Tesla instead of building its own charging network. But as Ford finance chief John Lawler explained at a June conference that the tie-up makes sense for Ford and its customers.
    “We’re going to build things where we think we can be differentiated,” Lawler said. “We’re going to partner where it’s really good for our customers and where we can scale quickly. Opening up the Tesla charging network to our customers, that’s about them and it scales very quickly for them. Their options are much greater.”
    A flurry of similar deals between Tesla and other EV makers, including GM, Volvo Cars, Polestar and Rivian, were announced in the weeks that followed.
    “We’re deeply honored that Ford, GM, Mercedes and many other [automakers] have signed up to use our connector and gain access to our charging network,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the company’s most recent earnings call. “We strongly believe in helping other car companies to accelerate the EV revolution and just trying to do the right thing in general.” 

    The broad uptake of Tesla’s charging tech is generally good news.
    The company’s network consistently scores well for reliability. Its NACS plugs are also considerably smaller and lighter than CCS fast-charging plugs, which can be cumbersome for older or disabled drivers to use.
    What’s more, Tesla’s chargers all work the same way, whereas CCS chargers from rival companies may have very different procedures. And, unlike most CCS fast chargers, Tesla’s billing is simple and seamless: Owners simply plug in, charge up and drive away, with no special apps or credit cards required.
    While it’s not yet clear how the process will work for drivers of other EVs, it’s expected to be similarly painless once the driver (or the car) is signed up with Tesla.
    Meanwhile, progress is being made on formalizing the NACS plug design as an industry standard. SAE International, which sets key engineering standards for the auto industry, said on June 27 that it’s working on official performance and safety standards for NACS charging plugs and that it expects to issue them within six months.
    Charging networks and charger manufacturers are also responding. EVgo said in June that it will start deploying NACS connectors on the high-speed chargers in its U.S. network later this year. ABB, a Swiss maker of industrial equipment including commercial EV chargers, said on June 9 that it will offer NACS plugs as an option on its chargers as soon as testing and validation of the new connector is complete, likely in a few months.
    And ChargePoint, which installs and manages chargers for other businesses, said its clients can now order new chargers with NACS connectors and that it can retrofit its existing chargers with the Tesla-designed connectors as well.

    Long road ahead

    Tesla’s decision to open its network to other automakers — and the companies’ willingness to accept the invitation — will give drivers of non-Tesla EVs a lot more options for charging on the go.
    But most experts agree that the U.S. will need many more fast charging stations as the EV transition continues to unfold.
    A provision in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, provides $5 billion in subsidies to states for EV charging stations and related infrastructure between 2022 and 2026. The stated goal is to accelerate the installation of 500,000 new EV chargers across the U.S. by 2030, with at least one station every 50 miles along major highways.
    The states in turn have been handing that funding out to companies that are building charging stations — with a few catches:

    Companies are to build chargers that are convenient, affordable and accessible to the broadest number of people.
    The states must ensure that some charging stations are built in less dense areas, like rural regions and tribal lands.
    Charging companies must provide customers with real-time updates as to whether the station is occupied or out of service.
    There must be at least four 150-kilowatt CCS fast-charging ports per station.
    Charging operators can’t require drivers to sign up for memberships to access chargers.
    Chargers must have ports that can be used by “the broadest number of vehicle owners.” Specifically, proprietary charging stations that can only be accessed by one company’s vehicles will not qualify for funding.

    That last provision goes a long way to explaining why Tesla decided to open up its charging network to other automakers in a big step forward for EVs of all kinds.
    And while the UAW is currently concerned about the industry’s plans to transition to EVs — not least because EVs have fewer parts and require fewer workers to build than do internal-combustion vehicles —it’s likely that those concerns will be addressed. It’s a safe bet that EV adoption will accelerate over the next few years as dozens of new EV models hit U.S. dealerships.
    But while many more EVs are on the way, the charging infrastructure buildout is still in its early stages. It will be several more years until fast chargers are available and convenient everywhere in the country. More

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    China VCs have a big problem — and it’s not just a drop in U.S. investor appetite

    Among China-focused investment firms, only four U.S. dollar-denominated venture capital funds established between 2015 and 2020 have at least returned investors all the money they put in.
    That’s according to a new report “China’s Private Capital Landscape” from Preqin.
    While those funds may have a few more years to go before they really need to show performance, their difficulties so far reflect a lack of IPOs — even before the latest market slump.

    Pictured here is Shenzhen in southern China. The city is sometimes considered China’s Silicon Valley.
    Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    BEIJING — In the years since Alibaba’s U.S. listing in 2014, early-stage investing has drawn tens of billions of dollars into China with relatively little to show for it.
    Among China-focused investment firms, only four U.S. dollar-denominated venture capital funds established between 2015 and 2020 have at least returned investors all the money they put in.

    That’s according to a new report “China’s Private Capital Landscape” from Preqin, an alternative assets research firm. Alternative assets include venture capital, but not publicly traded stocks and bonds.
    Preqin looked at an industry metric called distributed paid-in capital (DPI) and listed the 10 funds in the category with the highest DPI.
    The other six have yet to give investors back all their money, not to mention any excess returns, the report showed. Preqin doesn’t track every single China VC fund, and only included those with data as of the end of last year or more recently.
    While those funds may have a few more years to go before they really need to show performance, their difficulties so far reflect a lack of IPOs — even before the latest market slump.

    “The most important trend is the switch of the investment cycle,” Reuben Lai, vice president, private capital, Greater China at Preqin, told CNBC in a phone interview earlier this month.

    From around 2015 to 2018, fundraising in China “flourished,“ he said. Now, “people are focusing more on investment itself and exiting, the returns.”
    In the world of early-stage investing, “limited partners” (typically institutions) give money to “general partners” (venture capital funds) to invest into startups. Once the startups go public or get acquired, it allows the funds to “exit” — and make a return they can share with the limited partners. The funds also earn asset management fees in the interim.
    Fengshion Capital Investment Fund, LYFE Capital USD Fund II and GGV Capital V were the only U.S. dollar-denominated VC funds established between 2015 and 2020 that gave their investors back all their money — and then some, the Preqin data showed.

    The market is tough. Not a lot of companies are able to get to the IPO stage.

    Reuben Lai

    The 10th best-performer, BioTrack Capital Fund I, only returned 8.1% of capital to its investors as of March, about five years since the $186 million fund was launched.
    The same trend held true for U.S. dollar-denominated private equity funds established in that same 2015 to 2020 period — just four giving investors back more money than they’d put in, Preqin said.
    The outperforming funds were: Loyal Valley Capital Advantage Fund I, Hillhouse Fund II, Oceanpine USD Fund I and HighLight Capital USD Fund II.
    Sequoia didn’t make the top 10 lists for highest DPI, according to Preqin’s data. The Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund V ranked 6th on another metric, internal rate of return (IRR) among U.S. dollar-denominated private equity funds established between 2015 and 2020.
    IRR is an estimate of expected annual returns based on cash flows and the valuation of unrealized assets.
    Several of the funds with high DPI also did well on an IRR basis, the Preqin report showed.

    IPO alternatives

    Far more money, however, is still waiting to be returned to investors.
    Private equity funds in China have about $1.3 trillion in assets under management, with at least $20 billion to $40 billion in exits every year, Alex Shum, a managing director at TPG NewQuest, said in early September at the AVCJ conference in Beijing, a major annual gathering of China-focused venture capital firms.
    That means existing assets need roughly 20 to 30 years to exit, he said, noting the need to diversify away from IPOs to mergers and acquisitions, or general partner-led deals — or deals that involve the sale of an investment fund between different limited partners.
    Preqin’s Lai said there’s been an uptick in such general partner-led deals.

    “The market is tough. Not a lot of companies are able to get to the IPO stage. With the elongated fundraising period … people have to hold onto the portfolio a bit longer,” said Lai. “Hence they have to switch the owner using a secondary fund, transaction it to somebody else.”
    Lai said it’s difficult to know what the returns on such transactions are.
    “It’s a pretty secretive thing. People don’t want people to know they are doing secondary returns because it means they are doing badly,” he said. “We’re seeing [sellers] offering a more generous discount compared to the previous few years. People are, I guess you can say, more desperate.”

    Another option is selling the company to one listed on China’s mainland stock market.
    Jinjian Zhang, founding partner of venture capital firm Vitalbridge, said last week at the AVCJ conference that his firm sold an investment to a listed company in March, about three months after the initial deal.
    That deal was one of 10 projects he said the fund invested in during the second half of 2022, as soon as the Shanghai lockdown was lifted.

    For a long-term investor, today part of [the situation] is regulation, but part of it is the emotions brought about by regulation.

    Jinjian Zhang
    founding partner, Vitalbridge

    In 2021, Zhang said Vitalbridge raised more money than it had aimed to, but the firm generally held off on new investments because the market was overvalued. Zhang said people who provided investment term sheets hadn’t actually seen the projects in question, and startups were demanding excessively high prices.
    In the two years since, sentiment has shifted dramatically with a slew of regulation aimed at education, gaming and internet platform companies.
    This year, Beijing has signaled a softer stance.

    Read more about China from CNBC Pro

    The U.S. and China last year also reached an audit agreement that reduces the risk of Chinese companies having to delist from U.S. stock exchanges.
    Several China-based companies, mostly small, have listed in the U.S. so far this year.
    “For a long-term investor, today part of [the situation] is regulation, but part of it is the emotions brought about by regulation,” Zhang said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
    “So at this point, [if you] look beyond regulation to do a 10-year VC fund, there are lots of opportunities,” he said. “We are focused on what those opportunities are, not what the sentiment around regulation is.” More

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    Stellantis could close 18 facilities under UAW deal — here are the full details of its latest offer

    Stellantis’ latest offer to the United Auto Workers could lead to the closure of 18 facilities but also repurpose an idled vehicle assembly plant in Illinois, sources told CNBC.
    The proposal was made before the start of targeted UAW strikes against Stellantis, Ford and GM.
    The plans would likely affect thousands of UAW members, shrink the automaker’s North American footprint and create a new “modernized” parts and distribution network, sources said.

    United Auto Workers members attend a solidarity rally as the UAW strikes the Big Three automakers on September 15, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan.
    Bill Pugliano | Getty Images

    DETROIT — The most recent contract proposal by automaker Stellantis to the United Auto Workers union could lead to the closure of 18 U.S. facilities, but it could also bring new investments and repurpose an idled vehicle assembly plant in Illinois, sources familiar with the discussions told CNBC.
    The plans would likely affect thousands of UAW members, shrink the automaker’s North American footprint and create a new “modernized” parts and distribution network, which company and union leaders were at odds over, the sources said.

    A focal point of the plan is possible closures of 10 “Mopar” parts and distribution centers, which are scattered across the country, to consolidate them into larger Amazon-like distribution centers, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private and ongoing. The proposal included a potential “Mega Hub” at Belvidere Assembly, which the automaker indefinitely idled in February.

    Three sources said other manufacturing facilities included in the proposal are Tipton Transmission Plant in Indiana; the partially decommissioned Trenton Engine Complex; the already idled Mount Elliott Tool & Die in Michigan; and the idled Belvidere Assembly. Also included were a Detroit warehouse, office space and the automaker’s North American headquarters and technology center, a massive 500-acre campus in metro Detroit formerly used as Chrysler’s world headquarters.
    The last piece of the offer involving its North American headquarters comes as companies adjust to remote or hybrid work, and attempt to realign their physical footprints following the coronavirus pandemic.

    The sign is seen outside of the FCA US LLC Headquarters and Technology Center as it is changed to Stellantis on January 19, 2021 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
    Jeff Kowalsky | Afp | Getty Images

    In 2021, Stellantis said it wanted to have a majority of its salaried employees work remotely most of the time, including the then-17,000 employees in North America. Following those plans, the company confirmed it was “evaluating how we work to enable our teams to be their most innovative, creative and efficient. That analysis includes potential adjustments to our real estate portfolio.” Stellantis said the facility would “continue to be our North American headquarters and North America technical center.”
    It’s not guaranteed the facilities would close under a labor deal; however, Stellantis is required to include potential closures or sales of any location where a UAW member works, a company source said. The Detroit Free Press reported in 2022 that the company could lease a portion of the headquarters complex.

    The 18 potential closures were part of a Thursday night proposal by Stellantis to the union, which began to launch targeted strikes against the Detroit automakers after contracts expired later at 11:59 p.m. Negotiations between Stellantis and the UAW reconvened Monday morning.
    Stellantis also included its proving grounds in Arizona in the proposal, but said operations would continue with any sale, two of the sources said.
    Stellantis described Monday’s talks with UAW leaders as “constructive and focused on where we can find common ground.”
    “We continue to listen to the UAW to identify where we can work together and will continue to bargain in good faith until an agreement is reached. We look forward to getting everyone back to work as soon as possible,” the company said.

    Belvidere Assembly

    The Belvidere, Illinois, plant is one of the largest points of contention between the automaker and union, which is now on the fourth day of targeted strikes at three major assembly plants. The union is striking one plant each at Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Motor, but has threatened additional work stoppages will occur, depending how negotiations go.
    Reopening the Illinois plant would be a major win for UAW leaders, but they have concerns about employment, uprooting workers and families, along with pay and automation, according to two of the sources.
    Specifically, they worry new facilities may not employ as many union members as the assembly plant and current parts and distribution centers, they said. Mopar jobs also pay less than positions at traditional assembly facilities such as Belvidere, which was producing Jeep Cherokee SUVs until its idling in February.
    Two sources said the parts proposal for Belvidere has been one of several discussions regarding the plant, and the offer could change, based on the talks. Discussions have also taken place about using part of Belvidere — a nearly 5 million-square-foot facility — for electric vehicle battery components, they said.

    Stellantis North American Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart, who is overseeing the UAW talks, said the company needs to “modernize” the Mopar facilities. Without disclosing exact details, he said those plans would not impact employment.
    “We need to make investments into Mopar,” Stewart said during a media roundtable Saturday. “In a lot of cases, it … doesn’t make sense to make those investments in the location that they’re in.”
    Stewart, without disclosing details of the plan, described the company’s proposal for Belvidere as a “very compelling offer.” However, he said it was contingent upon the union agreeing to a tentative deal before a strike.
    “So we will have to revisit all of those items, but very compelling solution for that, which was rejected,” he said Saturday.
    Stellantis’ most recent proposal to the UAW included raises of nearly 21% over the course of the contract, including an immediate 10% pay increase, and would end wage tiers for some workers in addition to other bonuses and benefits. Benefits in the proposal are in line with other offers from GM and Ford.

    UAW Vice President Rich Boyer addresses union members during a “Solidarity Sunday” rally on Aug. 20, 2023 in Warren, Mich.
    Michael Wayland / CNBC

    UAW Vice President Rich Boyer has stressed that the Belvidere plant is a make-or-break issue. He even encouraged a crowd Friday during a rally with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to chant “bull—-” at the offers of the Detroit automakers.
    “I want the world to hear this: This is about the working class. This is about the haves and have-nots, and we’re tired of not having anything,” Boyer, who leads Stellantis negotiations, said during the rally.

    Mopar

    The company’s current proposal would establish new Mopar facilities in Fishkill, New York, and Macon, Georgia, and move work from several facilities in Michigan to its Trenton North plant, located southwest of Detroit, according to two sources.
    The Mopar facilities that could close include Atlanta PDC; Boston PDC; Centerline Warehouse & Packaging; Chicago PDC; Marysville PDC; Milwaukee PDC; New York PDC; Orlando PDC; Sherwood PDC; and Warren PDC.

    Mopar is a combination of motor and parts, which was formed nearly a century ago. Stellantis says it has 20 U.S. Mopar parts and distribution centers and more than 2,000 active employees in the unit.
    Mopar was an expected major growth area for company predecessor Fiat Chrysler, which established a growth plan for the employees and facilities. But the sites were set up before Amazon’s major push for mega distribution centers, which have changed how many of them do business.
    Stellantis’ proposal also includes the elimination of wage tiers within the Mopar division. Those employees’ pay currently ranges from about $17 an hour to more than $30 an hour. The offer also includes a moratorium on selling or spinning off the Mopar operations through the term of the four-year deal.
    “We’re taking it seriously responsibly, and we’re trying to find creative solutions for each of those. We listened, we continue to listen. We continue to bargain in good faith,” Stewart said. “It really is about a win-win. You know, it’s not about warfare.” More

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    Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Marathon Petroleum, Tesla, Moderna and more

    In an aerial view, the Valero Houston refinery is seen on August 28, 2023 in Houston, Texas.
    Brandon Bell | Getty Images

    Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
    Oil stocks — Petroleum refiners Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum gained 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively, as West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude prices reached their highest levels since November, 2022. The oil services ETF and S&P 500 Energy Index both rose 1%.

    Arm Holdings — Shares declined 7.4% on the back of the company’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut Thursday, when it surged nearly 25%. Bernstein initiated coverage of the chip designer with an underperform rating on Monday, saying it’s “too early” to name Arm an AI winner. Needham initiated coverage of the chip designer with a hold rating on Friday, saying Arm’s valuation looks “full” in a post-smartphone era.
    Moderna — The pharmaceutical company lost more than 8% Monday, making it the biggest decliner in the S&P 500. Co-founder and board chairman Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares for approximately $1.64 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Pharmaceutical peer Pfizer said in a press conference Monday that it expects a 24% vaccination rate for Covid-19 shots in the U.S. this year. Moderna’s updated Covid vaccines have been approved in both the U.S. and the U.K.  
    Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker slipped 3% after Goldman Sachs lowered its earnings estimate. Analyst Mark Delaney cited the potential for further price cuts and lower margins as reasons for the reduction.
    PayPal — The payment platform slipped 1.5% following a downgrade to market perform from outperform by MoffetNathanson. The firm said PayP still faces challenges as a new CEO takes the helm.
    Ralph Lauren — The luxury retailer saw its shares rise 0.7% after Guggenheim upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The Wall Street firm said Ralph Lauren’s earnings are set to benefit from several cyclical tailwinds, including clean inventories, lower freight expenses and lower cotton cost, adding that the recent pullback has provided an attractive entry point.

    Enphase Energy — Shares lost 2.6% after Citi lowered its price target on shares to $170 from $209 while keeping its buy rating. The new price target implies 41% upside from Friday’s close.
    Tenable Holdings — Shares gained 2.6% after TD Cowen initiated coverage of the cybersecurity stock with an outperform rating. Cowen said Tenable appears well positioned to benefit from tailwinds in a total addressable market of $25 billion.
    Vertex — Shares of the tax software stock climbed 2.4% Monday. Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Vertex on Monday with an overweight rating. Analyst Chris Quintero highlighted the growth opportunity for the company following a strong investment cycle.
    DoorDash — Shares of the food delivery service ended flat Monday, after adding as much as 1.6% midday. Mizuho upgraded the company to buy from neutral in a Monday note, citing continued market share gains.The company also expanded its partnership with Aldi to allow alcohol orders, in addition to adding new grocery providers, including Lowe’s Markets and Eataly.
    Micron Technology — The stock gained 0.9% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the memory and storage semiconductor maker to buy from hold on Sunday, and also raised its target price. The firm said Micron’s pricing power in direct random access memory is hitting an inflection point, and could push the company to beat expectations for its fiscal first-quarter revenue and earnings guidance in November.
    Paramount Global — Shares of the entertainment company fell 3.2% Monday. Raymond James began research coverage with a market perform rating, while giving peers Disney and Warner Bros Discovery outperform ratings.
    Simply Good Foods — Shares of the food and beverage company added 3.6% following a Morgan Stanley upgrade to overweight from equal-weight on Monday. The investment bank bumped up the stock’s price target to $40 from $37, citing Simply Good Foods’ diverse product offering and shifting consumer preferences to healthier choices as catalysts.
    Iridium Communications – The satellite company’s stock jumped more than 5% following an upgrade from Deutsche Bank to buy from hold. The firm said it sees an attractive entry point for Iridium shares, which have plunged 19.4% quarter to date. 
    ASGN — Shares of the digital innovations solutions company rallied nearly 3% Monday. Wells Fargo started research coverage with an overweight rating on the company, encouraging investors to buy the dip. The stock is little changed in 2023.
    — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Brian Evans, Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han, Pia Singh and Michelle Fox contributed reporting More

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    in Business

    Writers union will resume strike negotiations with studios this week

    The Writers Guild of America said it will return to the negotiating table with Hollywood producers on Wednesday as the production shutdown drags on.
    AMPTP, which represents studios, confirmed the upcoming negotiations, providing no additional comment.
    SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, has not yet indicated a time in which they would return to the negotiating table.

    Members of the Writers Guild of America East are joined by SAG-AFTRA members as they picket at the Warner Bros. Discovery NYC office on July 13, 2023 in New York City.
    Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

    The Writers Guild of America said Monday that the union will resume negotiations with Hollywood studios on Wednesday as a shutdown of productions across the TV and movie business drags on.
    The announcement comes on the 139th day of the strike, which began May 2. The union told its members to continue joining picket lines as the talks resume. “You might not hear from us in the coming days while we are negotiating, but know that our focus is getting a fair deal for writers as soon as possible,” WGA said.

    A spokesperson for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the companies, confirmed the talks but offered no further comment.
    Dual writers’ and actors’ strikes have halted the production of several big-name shows and films such as “Stranger Things,” Disney and Marvel’s “Blade,” AppleTV+’s “Severance” and Paramount’s “Evil.” Production companies have also taken a financial blow as a result of the strikes. Warner Bros. Discovery warned investors last week of a $300 million to $500 million hit to its earnings, due to the ongoing strikes.
    There may be more labor unrest to come in Hollywood, too. In a first for visual effects workers, Marvel Studios VFX artists voted unanimously last week to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union. Now, the newly formed union is pursuing negotiations with Marvel, which is owned by Disney, to draft a contract.
    Elsewhere, actor Drew Barrymore and comedian Bill Maher faced widespread criticism when they announced the return of their talk shows despite the WGA strike. Both Barrymore and Maher reversed their decisions this week following the backlash.
    The last time WGA went on strike in 2007, an agreement was reached after 100 days after the work stoppage bled into February 2008. The WGA represents 11,500 screenwriters for film and television.

    The WGA is calling for standardized compensation and residuals for streaming and theatrical releases. It also wants increased contributions to the pension plan and health fund. Furthermore, as artificial intelligence has gained prominence in the last year, the union is calling on the AMPTP to regulate the use of material produced using AI.

    What about the SAG-AFTRA strike?

    Despite the apparent progress being made between the WGA and the AMPTP, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which started striking July 14, has not indicated a time in which they would return to the negotiating table.
    SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, media presenters, dancers, and more media professionals. SAG-AFTRA is currently granting some independent projects based within the U.S. the ability to begin production as part of an interim agreement.
    SAG-AFTRA’s willingness to negotiate with the AMPTP could hinge on the result of negotiations with the WGA.
    “SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating team remains ready at a moment’s notice to go back to the bargaining table to secure a righteous deal,” the labor union said in August. “Unfortunately, as we’ve seen from the recent news out of the WGA negotiations, it appears the AMPTP is still unwilling to make the concessions necessary to make a fair deal that would bring the strikes to a close.”
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The AMPTP is currently negotiating with striking writers and actors in Hollywood. More

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    Americans plan to keep cutting back on spending through the holidays, new survey says

    The vast majority of adults (92%) have reduced their spending over the past six months, according to a poll fielded on behalf of CNBC by Morning Consult.
    Looking ahead to the all-important holiday shopping season, a warning for retailers: More than three quarters of all U.S. adults surveyed (76%) plan to cut back on spending for non-essential items.
    Higher-income Americans, meanwhile, are starting to feel a little better about the economy.

    U.S. consumers have cut back on spending this year, and they plan to continue to do so through the holidays, a new CNBC-Morning Consult survey has found.
    The vast majority of adults (92%) have reduced their spending over the past six months, according to a poll fielded on behalf of CNBC by Morning Consult, a company that conducts survey research to inform decision-making. The poll surveyed 4,403 U.S. adults between Tuesday and Thursday.

    Consumers remain cautious in their spending and they’re being more discerning about where and when to part with hard-earned cash. Inflation has come down, but remains stubbornly high. Broader economic uncertainty and labor unrest, amid striking auto workers in Detroit and writers and actors in Hollywood, have put consumer companies on watch.
    The most common categories for spending cuts over the past six months were clothing and apparel (63%), restaurants and bars (62%), and entertainment outside the house (56%), a pattern that held steady from our June survey. The next biggest categories for cuts were groceries (54%), recreational travel and vacations (53%) and electronics (50%.)

    Shoppers along the Magnificent Mile shopping district in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. 
    Jamie Kelter Davis | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Looking ahead to the all-important holiday shopping season, a warning for retailers: More than three quarters of all U.S. adults surveyed (76%) plan to cut back on spending for non-essential items and 62% expect to cut back on essential items “sometimes” or “more often” over the next six months, the survey found.
    Just how acutely consumers reported feeling the impact of the current economic situation varied among socio-economic groups. And it wasn’t always those making the least that reported feeling most pinched.
    More than half (55%) of households earning $50,000 or less (lower-income) said they’re feeling the impact of the economy on their personal finances, while 61% of households $50,000 to $100,000 (middle-income) and 46% of households making at least $100,000 (higher-income) reported the same.
    This marks a significant improvement in sentiment for higher income households from our prior survey. In June, more than half of higher-income consumers (55%) said they were feeling a negative impact on their finances. Higher-income households are in fact moving toward feeling that the economic situation is having a positive impact (30% in September, up from 21% in June.) More

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    Pay secrecy norms have ‘simply lost their teeth,’ say experts. Here’s why

    A pay transparency law in New York state took effect on Sunday. Certain employers are required to disclose a salary range in job advertisements.
    California, Colorado and Washington state have adopted similar laws since 2021. Various cities and municipalities have passed laws, too.
    In August, 50% of online job listings advertised salary, up from 18.4% in February 2020, according to Indeed Hiring Lab data.

    Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

    Pay transparency is on the rise for job applicants — and momentum suggests that trend will continue, experts said.
    In August, 50% of online job listings advertised salary, up from 18.4% in February 2020, according to Indeed Hiring Lab, the economic research arm of career site Indeed. Such businesses disclose an exact salary or a salary range.

    The growth is largely attributable to recent pay transparency laws enacted by states and municipalities. In addition, job seekers also recently had historically high leverage as employers clamored to hire workers at the reopening of post-pandemic economy.
    “With the growth of such pay transparency, the lingering norms and policies around pay secrecy have simply lost their teeth,” Tomasz Obloj and Todd Zenger, professors at Indiana University and the University of Utah, respectively, recently wrote in Harvard Business Review.
    More from Personal Finance:Tipping in restaurants falls for the first time in yearsThe wage gap costs women $1.6 trillion a year, new report findsWomen are likely to face financial curveballs in retirement
    It appears pay transparency rates “will continue to climb,” said Cory Stahle, an economist at Indeed.
    The Indeed stats don’t include ads that post only a maximum salary, due to the ambiguity of the practice, Stahle said. (Those might say a worker can earn “up to” $20 an hour, without stipulating a floor, for example.)

    New York just adopted a pay transparency rule

    New York on Sunday became the latest state to adopt a pay transparency law. Employers in the state with at least four employees must make a “good faith” salary disclosure in job postings.
    It joins California, Colorado and Washington state, as well as New York City.
    The pay transparency movement is relatively new. Colorado was the first state to pass such a law, in 2019, and it took effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

    Other local governments — like the city of Ithaca, along with Albany and Westchester counties in New York, and Jersey City in New Jersey — have enacted pay transparency laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
    Other states have taken “a slightly more flexible approach,” NCSL said.
    For instance, states and municipalities such as Cincinnati and Toledo in Ohio; Maryland; Connecticut; Rhode Island; and Nevada have passed laws that allow employers to disclose salary ranges to job applicants upon request, according to the National Women’s Law Center.
    A “profusion” of websites — like Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com, and Salary.com — have also provided “rather open access to employer pay information,” Obloj and Zenger said.

    There are pros and cons

    Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

    Greater access to salary information in job postings poses clear benefits for both workers and businesses, experts said.
    For instance, transparency can help close persistent pay gaps, especially for women and people of color, said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, a career and money coach.
    “It levels the playing field,” she said. “At least they have a starting-off point.”
    Salary information also reduces frictions in applying and hiring, since workers can more easily filter and determine the jobs for which they’d prefer to apply, Stahle at Indeed said. It also might help young workers and recent graduates when doing career planning, he said.

    It levels the playing field. At least they have a starting-off point.

    Mandi Woodruff-Santos
    career and money coach

    Further, 75% of job seekers are more likely to apply for a job if the salary range is listed in the posting, according to a 2022 Indeed survey. Fifty-six percent are more likely to apply for a company — even if they don’t recognize the company name — if the salary range is listed, Indeed found.
    However, there may be drawbacks.
    For one, pay transparency may lower overall wages of the broader population of employees, even while raising them for the “inequitably underpaid,” Obloj and Zenger said. That’s because, data suggests, employers might push back against salary negotiations and the practice may therefore “lower employees’ relative bargaining power,” they said.
    The practice might also lower worker productivity and change workers’ on-the-job priorities, the duo wrote.

    ‘There’s still plenty to negotiate’ beyond salary    

    Of course, applicants aren’t necessarily beholden to the salary or the pay range posted on a job ad, Woodruff-Santos said. They can ask for more.
    “I wouldn’t take it as the final, final word until you’ve asked and they’ve told you,” she said.
    Even if there’s not wiggle room on salary, “there’s still plenty to negotiate,” Woodruff-Santos added.
    The “big whale” is work-from-home flexibility, which isn’t a direct form of financial compensation but offers value to many workers, she said.

    Workers might also be leaving money on the table when quitting an old job, and a new employer can help eat some or all of that financial cost, she said. For example, workers might have to pay back a signing bonus if they depart an employer before the end of a contract period; they might also have an unvested 401(k) match or restricted stock units, for which a new employer may be able to offer financial compensation, Woodruff-Santos said.
    Workers may also be able to negotiate a relocation-benefit package if they must move for a new job, or a professional-development budget allowing them to attend conferences or classes to invest in their skills.
    They should also generally consider other forms of compensation when applying for a job: wellness benefits like mental health services; health insurance; commuter benefits; tuition reimbursement; retirement benefits; and dependent-care flexible spending accounts, for example, Woodruff-Santos said. More

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    New York is cracking down on illegal weed stores as legal market struggles to take hold

    New York state officials have begun ramping up efforts to stop the sale of marijuana by unlicensed operators, who are circumventing tax requirements and undermining the state’s legal weed rollout.
    An estimated 1,500 unlicensed retailers are selling weed in New York City.
    The city is going after landlords, too, issuing fines of up to $10,000 to those who knowingly lease commercial property for illegal weed sales.

    A pedestrian passes a smoke shop in New York City on June 16, 2023. New York authorities are cracking down on unlicensed smoke shops that are selling cannabis.
    Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    New York officials are ramping up efforts to stop the statewide proliferation of unlicensed smoke shops selling marijuana, as the state struggles to boot up its legal marketplace.
    Since cannabis became legal in the state in 2021, thousands of unlicensed vendors selling marijuana, edibles, vape products and more have been undermining the state’s legal weed industry, with the issue being most pronounced in New York City. Currently, there are just 23 legal dispensaries open across the state, with only nine in New York City.

    A new report by New York City’s Independent Budget Office determined that an estimated 1,500 unlicensed retailers in the city may hold as much as $484 million worth of marijuana products. If all those items were sold legally, the sales would generate $19.4 million in revenue for the city, the report found.
    The state has started to crack down on the unlicensed shops by increasing inspections of stores, which can face fines or closure. But its effort has only begun to chip away at the vendors, particularly in New York City.
    “We’re getting to as many as we can,” said Daniel Haughney, enforcement director at the state Office of Cannabis Management, in an interview with CNBC.

    A notice from New York state’s Office of Cannabis Management posted in a storefront window in New York City announces the seizure of “illicit cannabis” at the business, June 16, 2023.
    Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    The state is employing increasingly aggressive tactics to curb the growth of weed’s black market, which consumers often turn to for cheaper, untaxed product. Cracking down on the stores is not only a legal consideration but also an economic one, as illicit sales do not bring revenue to the state. New York imposes a retail tax of 13% on all marijuana products and an additional tax based on potency levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, marijuana’s psychoactive component.
    In addition to skirting the tax system, smoke shops operating illegally may also pose significant health risks. A 2022 study commissioned by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association that reviewed products from 20 illicit stores in New York City found about 40% contained harmful contaminants such as E.coli, lead and salmonella.

    The state’s Cannabis Control Board announced Tuesday that it will make more licenses available by opening up applications to the general public as well as large multistate manufacturers and medical companies. Previously, retail licenses were limited only to applicants with prior marijuana-related convictions, under the state’s Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary, or CAURD, program. The move is expected to add more legal shops to the state.

    How New York’s illegal weed crackdown is working

    Haughney said his team, with the help of the Department of Taxation and Finance, has been increasing inspections at storefront businesses “throughout the entire state.” Officials began ramping up efforts in June.
    “We’re hitting them with everything that we can,” he added.
    If an illegal business fails to comply with violation notices and cease-and-desist orders, it can be subject to a seizure of product, closure of a store and daily fines that can reach $20,000.
    The crackdown has moved beyond the operators of the stores.
    In August, New York City enacted legislation that targets landlords who knowingly lease commercial real estate to unlicensed sellers. Under the bill, landlords can be fined up to $10,000 for raids on their property that yield illegal weed.
    The Real Estate Board of New York supported the city’s bill, saying it provides “much-needed enforcement” that will “improve streetscapes” across New York City’s five boroughs.
    “This commonsense law will keep bad actors out of commercial spaces and help ensure that real estate brokers and property owners are working with properly licensed retail establishments,” the board said in a statement to CNBC.
    With each of these measures, Haughney said his team is beginning to see “more and more compliance.”
    “As you see enforcement continue and as more and more licenses are issued for legal operators, you’ll see a shift happen where you’ll see less and less of the illegal shops,” said Haughney.
    Illicit sales, while boosted by the delay in openings of legal dispensaries, are expected to drop in the coming years from an estimated $7 billion annually in 2023 to a projected $3 billion by 2030 in New York, according to New Frontier Data, a marijuana research firm. More