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Sen. Lindsey Graham’s new bill to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy divided Republicans on the key election issue, as some strategists questioned whether it would hurt the party in the midterms.
Democrats held up the bill as proof that the GOP seeks to restrict abortion nationwide if it wins control of Congress in the midterms.
The Supreme Court pushed abortion to the political forefront when it struck down Roe v. Wade, overturning decades-old federal protections.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during his news conference on Capitol Hill to announce a national bill on abortion restrictions in Washington on Tuesday, September 13, 2022.
Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call | Getty Images

Republicans are distancing themselves from Sen. Lindsey Graham’s new proposal to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, as Democrats hold up the bill as proof the GOP seeks to restrict abortion nationwide if it wins control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
In Graham’s proposal, Democrats see another chance to leverage an issue that has appeared to boost their chances of holding at least one chamber of Congress.

The South Carolina Republican introduced the legislation less than three months after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, overturning decades-old federal abortion protections — and positioning abortion as a top issue in the midterms.
Graham’s announcement on Tuesday drove a fresh wave of headlines about abortion, as Democrats lined up to condemn the bill that would sharply narrow access to the procedure in blue states. It siphoned attention away from another major headline of the day, a worse-than-expected inflation report that sent stocks plunging and was seen as a blow to the Biden administration’s claims of a recovering economy.
Graham’s approach also contradicted a strategy taken by some Republicans, including those in high-profile races, after the high court’s abortion ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Many in the GOP have argued states, rather than the federal government, should set abortion law.
In Pennsylvania, one of a handful of battleground states that will determine which party wins the Senate, the new bill spurred Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz to say that he would keep the federal government from interfering with state-level abortion rules if elected. But Herschel Walker, the Republican vying for incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock’s Georgia seat in another critical race, said he would back Graham’s legislation.
In both states, the Democratic candidates used the issue to bash their GOP rivals.

“Oz needs to tell us — yes or no, would you support this bill?” Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, said in a statement Thursday morning. “I’ll go first: I’m a HELL NO.”
Graham’s move baffled even some Republican political experts. Some media outlets panned it as an unforced error at a pivotal moment when the fight over the House and Senate appears to have tightened.
“I don’t know why he did it,” said Georgia-based GOP strategist Jay Williams. He suggested that Republicans’ midterm pitch should focus mostly on the economy, where President Joe Biden has scored low approval marks.
“If you’re winning the game, you don’t switch strategies,” Williams said. “If we’re talking about anything else, I think it’s a bad idea.”
Seth Weathers, a former Trump campaign aide in Georgia and political strategist, said he is “a little fearful that the way it’s going to be sold to the public could hurt Republicans in the midterms.”
Julianne Thompson, a political strategist and self-described pro-life Republican, said the economy “is the issue that is winning for Republicans right now and the issue they need to be focused on.”
National GOP groups have hardly leapt to back Graham this week.
Facebook and Twitter pages for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee have not mentioned or promoted Graham’s bill since it was announced. None of those groups’ Facebook pages have launched ads related to the bill, according to the Meta Ad Library.
A Twitter account managed by the RNC tweeted about abortion without mentioning Graham on Wednesday, when it accused a pair of Democrats, Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, of refusing to recognize any limits to the procedure. The NRSC on Wednesday did the same, tweeting a criticism of the abortion stance of Democratic Rep. Val Demings, who is challenging GOP Sen. Marco Rubio for his seat in Florida.
Graham attempted to frame his legislation as a response to Democrat-led proposals to codify abortion protections at the federal level. One such bill, put forward in May in reaction to a draft of the court’s ruling on Roe, failed in the Senate.
“They chose a bill that would not put us in the mainstream of the world but put us in a group of seven nations that allow abortion on demand pretty much up to the point of birth,” Graham said at a press conference Tuesday.
Graham said his bill, which bans the procedure at 15 weeks’ gestation and includes exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother, would set America’s abortion policy at a level that is “fairly consistent with the rest of the world.”
“And that should be where America’s at,” the senator said.
The plan would leave in place stricter state abortion laws. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., has put forward a companion bill for the House.
While the title of Graham’s bill suggests it would bar only “late-term” abortions, it would restrict the procedure nationwide after less than four months of pregnancy, a threshold that falls within the second trimester. Abortions are typically considered “late term” at 21 weeks of pregnancy or later, according to the health-policy nonprofit KFF. But the organization notes that phrase is not an official medical term, and that abortions at that stage are rarely sought and difficult to obtain.
Graham’s bill has virtually no chance of passing the current Congress, where Democrats hold slim majorities in the House and Senate. Republicans hope to take over both chambers in the midterms, when the incumbent president’s party has historically underperformed.
But some forecasters are now favoring Democrats to keep control of the Senate, a shift that has been attributed in part to the high court’s ruling in Dobbs. Republicans are favored to take the House, though the odds have moved slightly toward Democrats after that ruling came out in late June.
Public opinion of the high court sunk after Dobbs, which overturned Roe in a 5-4 vote by a majority that includes three justices nominated by former President Donald Trump. Abortion rights, meanwhile, have spiked as a top issue among voters.
A Fox News poll conducted in September and released Wednesday found 57% of voters support legal abortion in all or most cases, a 13-point jump from May.
The same survey showed that voters’ opposition to the Dobbs decision has only grown in the months since it came out, as respondent disapproval outweighed approval by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. And the survey found that among voters who see abortion as a chief concern, 56% would back the Democrat in their House district, versus 27% who would choose the Republican.
Some Republicans, including GOP candidates in pivotal Senate races, have backed Graham’s new proposal.
“I have always been pro-life,” Rubio said when asked why he signed on to the bill. He pressed reporters to ask Democrats what abortion restrictions they would support, if any.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said he backed the bill. He told CNN that it changes the narrative that Republicans support a total abortion ban “and gives candidates a place to be for something that reflects their views and doesn’t fit the Democrats’ narrative.”
Pennsylvania-based Republican political strategist Christopher Nicholas echoed that view, telling CNBC that Graham’s bill marked “the first strategic response from our side on this issue since the Dobbs decision.”
“It could force the press to get the [Democrats] to acknowledge that the only accepted abortion position on their side is abortion on demand,” Nicholas said.
But other top Republicans either refused to back Graham’s bill or expressed a belief that individual states should set their own abortion laws.
“I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this will be dealt with at the state level,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who would set the GOP’s abortion agenda if the party wins Senate control in November, told reporters Tuesday when asked about Graham’s bill.
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the chairman of the NRSC, did not express support for the bill during an interview Wednesday on Fox News.
“Well, if you go around the country, what people are focused on is the economy, their kids’ education, public safety,” Scott said when asked about the legislation. “With regard to abortion, Democrats are clearly focused on abortion,” he added.
Asked for comment on the reactions to the bill, Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop noted that Rubio “has come on board.”
Republicans have long opposed abortion, and numerous red states imposed blanket bans on the procedure immediately after Roe’s reversal. But as polls show the majority of Americans disapprove of the court’s ruling — and as women reportedly outpace men in voter registrations in key states — many in the GOP have struggled to counter Democrats, who have made abortion a major piece of their message.
“Although abortion is not going to decide the midterms, it has been an issue that Democrats have been fundraising on and using to get more women registered to vote,” said Thompson, the Republican strategist.
“I am very cognizant of the fact that my party needs better messaging on this issue,” along with more women leaders speaking about abortion and related issues, she said.
The RNC earlier this week advised campaigns to seek “common ground” on exceptions to abortion bans, and to press Democrats on their own views, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The national party also encouraged candidates to focus on topics such as crime and the economy, the Post reported.
“The polls must be teaching them something, because I’m not hearing about abortion today,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said on the House floor Wednesday. “What is their position now? America wants to know.”
Some Republican candidates who previously touted hardline positions on abortion during GOP primaries have softened or muted their views as they compete in general elections. As Graham’s bill brought a renewed focus to the issue, Democrats pounced.
“Herschel Walker thinks it’s a problem our country doesn’t have a national abortion ban,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said of his Republican rival in a tweet Tuesday, before posting a video of Walker saying as much.
In Pennsylvania, Fetterman scheduled a press conference with OB/GYNs at Philadelphia city hall to criticize the proposed 15-week abortion ban. He pushed his opponent, Oz, to answer questions about his stance on the bill.
Oz, the Trump-backed celebrity doctor who is trailing Fetterman in the polls, “is pro-life with three exceptions: life of the mother, rape and incest,” his spokeswoman Brittany Yanick said in a statement.
“And as a senator, he’d want to make sure that the federal government is not involved in interfering with the state’s decisions on the topic,” she said.

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Canela Media will launch original content later this month on its Spanish-language streaming service.
Canela.TV is available in the U.S., Mexico and Colombia and counts 23 million unique users.
The move brings Canela Media even further into a crowded streaming ecosystem.

Source: CANELA.TV

An upstart Spanish-language streamer is taking a big step into original content.
Canela Media will debut a daily entertainment news show, “¡Ponle Canela!,” on its streaming platform, Canela.TV, on Oct. 10. “Secretos De Villanas,” a reality series that puts some well-known telenovela actresses under one roof to reveal secrets about their lives and careers, will premiere on Oct. 20.

In launching its own original content, Canela.TV is following in the footsteps of much larger and more mature streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that have historically drawn in audiences with licensed content in the hopes they’ll stick around to watch original series and movies. 
The move brings Canela Media even further into a crowded streaming ecosystem. But founder Isabel Rafferty said the company finds its niche in an opportunity to better serve the Hispanic community in the U.S. 

Lea este artículo en español aquí.

“When I launched Canela there was all this talk about streaming wars, but all the services were focused on just one segment, the general market,” Rafferty said. “Some services might have a section for Latinos, but it was an afterthought, you had to scroll, scroll, scroll, and would be outdated.”
Canela.TV and its ad-supported streaming channels launched in 2020 — shortly after the coronavirus pandemic took hold and viewers began staying home more. The streaming service aims to provide a broad array of free content for Spanish-speaking communities. It currently hosts licensed content from various Spanish-speaking countries and outlets, including classic films, Hallmark movies and more recent competition TV series.
Rafferty said part of her inspiration for launching the site was the relative dearth of options for Spanish-speaking viewers who don’t have a pay-TV subscription or access to well-known networks like Telemundo and Univision.

Those networks and other Spanish-language content have captured some of the fastest-growing traditional TV audiences when it comes to average daily household viewership, according to data provider Samba TV.
“Demand for Spanish-language offerings and original programming has been surging,” said Dallas Lawrence, a senior vice president at Samba TV.
Initially, Rafferty sought out shows and movies from countries like Colombia and Argentina, because much of Hispanic content in the U.S. is based in Mexico. She wanted to showcase different representations of the Latino community, she said. The service has since added 20,000 hours of content.
Canela said its streaming platform, which is available in the U.S., Mexico and Colombia, has 23 million unique users. Similar free ad-supported streaming services like Paramount Global’s Pluto and Fox’s Tubi have said they have nearly 70 million and 51 million active users, respectively.
As its audience grew, Rafferty said, the move to adding original shows became key. Canela secured $32 million in a Series A funding round earlier this year and was able to get started on producing its own content. By the end of 2022, it will have 537 hours of original content. 
“Streaming services, and just media in general, can be hugely capital-intensive businesses, and the way Isabel [Rafferty] went about this — starting with licensed content on a revenue-share basis to build a really huge library with diverse kinds of content — was incredibly smart,” said Susan Lyne of BBG Ventures, an early investor in Canela. 

A still from Entre Fronteras, a Canela.TV original.
Source: CANELA.TV

Rafferty said she thinks it’s important to have an ad-supported platform that offers content for free: Research showed much of the Hispanic community never had pay-TV subscriptions, and Canela wanted to make the content easily available to everyone, she said.
Advertising spots on the platform sell out monthly, she added, and top-tier consumer companies often buy spots. She plans to keep the ad-supported business model for as long as possible, if not forever, she said, even as the service faces growing competition.
Earlier this year Spanish-language news outlet Telemundo launched its own streaming brand, Tplus, as a hub on NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform. Tplus offers original content, which Peacock subscribers can access as part of the $4.99 ad-supported or $9.99 ad-free tiers. TelevisaUnivision similarly launched a free ad-supported streaming platform, called Vix, and in July began offering Vix+, a premium subscription service. 
Major streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max, also offer libraries of Spanish-language content. 
After the initial debut of Canela’s original programming, the company plans to add “Bocetos,” a young adult series that takes place in modern-day Mexico, and “Mi Vida,” a series that revolves around Latino celebrities and their journeys to fame. Those shows are expected later in October and November.
By December, the company will debut a stand-alone streaming service, Canela Kids, for its younger viewers, which will also feature exclusive and original content. Canela.TV has already started adding some children’s programs and says it has seen them become top-watched programming. 
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC, Telemundo and Peacock.

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Floating offshore wind turbines are different to bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines, which are rooted to the seabed.
One advantage of floating turbines is that they can be installed in far deeper waters compared to bottom-fixed ones.
In recent years, a number of big companies have made plays in the emerging floating offshore wind sector.

The Block Island Wind Farm, photographed in 2016, is located in waters off the east coast of the United States.
DON EMMERT | AFP | Getty Images

The White House said Thursday it was targeting 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by the year 2035, as it looks to compete with Europe and Asia in the nascent sector.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is launching coordinated actions to develop new floating offshore wind platforms, an emerging clean energy technology that will help the United States lead on offshore wind,” a statement, which was also published by U.S. Department of the Interior, said.

The announcement said the 15 GW goal would provide sufficient clean energy to power more than 5 million homes. It builds on the administration’s aim of hitting 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, an existing ambition which will mostly be met by fixed-bottom installations.
Alongside the 15 GW ambition, a “Floating Offshore Wind Shot” would “aim to reduce the costs of floating technologies by more than 70% by 2035, to $45 per megawatt-hour,” the statement added.
“Bringing floating offshore wind technology to scale will unlock new opportunities for offshore wind power off the coasts of California and Oregon, in the Gulf of Maine, and beyond,” it said.

Read more about energy from CNBC Pro

Floating offshore wind turbines are different to fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines, which are rooted to the seabed. One advantage of floating turbines is that they can be installed in far deeper waters compared to fixed-bottom ones.
In a fact sheet outlining its plans, the U.S. Department of Energy said around two thirds of America’s offshore wind potential existed “over bodies of water too deep for ‘fixed-bottom’ wind turbine foundations that are secured to the sea floor.”

“Harnessing power over waters hundreds to thousands of feet deep requires floating offshore wind technology — turbines mounted to a floating foundation or platform that is anchored to the seabed with mooring lines,” it said. “These installations are among the largest rotating machines ever constructed.”

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In recent years, a number of large companies have made plays in the floating offshore wind sector.
Back in 2017, Norwegian energy firm Equinor — a major player in oil and gas — opened Hywind Scotland, a five turbine, 30 megawatt facility it calls the “world’s first floating wind farm.”
Last year also saw a number of major developments in the emerging industry.
In Aug. 2021, RWE Renewables and Kansai Electric Power signed an agreement that would see the two businesses “jointly study the feasibility of a large-scale floating offshore wind project” in waters off Japan’s coast.
Norwegian company Statkraft also announced that a long-term purchasing agreement related to a large floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, had started. And a few months later, in Dec. 2021, plans for three major offshore wind developments in Australia — two of which are slated to incorporate floating wind tech — were announced.
When it comes to offshore wind more broadly, the U.S. has a long way to go to catch up with Europe.
The country’s first offshore wind facility, the 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm, only started commercial operations in late 2016.
In comparison, Europe installed 17.4 GW of wind power capacity in 2021, according to figures from industry body WindEurope.
Change is coming, however, and in Nov. 2021 ground was broken on a project dubbed the United States’ first commercial scale offshore wind farm. More

Lunar-focused space company Intuitive Machines announced Friday that it will go public via a SPAC, in a deal that values the venture at about $1 billion.
The merger with special purpose acquisition company Inflection Point is expected to close in the first quarter, with Intuitive Machines to be listed on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol “LUNR.”
Intuitive Machines is the latest space company to go public through a SPAC, and comes after a pause for much of this year after a flurry of the deals in 2020 and 2021.

The Nova-C lunar lander seen on April 26, 2022 during assembly for the IM-1 mission.
Intuitive Machines

PARIS — Lunar-focused space company Intuitive Machines announced Friday it will go public via a SPAC, in a deal that values the venture at about $1 billion.
The merger with special purpose acquisition company Inflection Point is expected to close in the first quarter. Intuitive Machines will be listed on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol “LUNR.”

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“As the United States plans its return to the Moon after a 50-year absence, Intuitive Machines is excited to play a critical role in providing technologies and services to establish long-term lunar infrastructure and commerce,” Intuitive Machines co-founder and executive chairman Kam Ghaffarian said in a statement.
The deal aims to add as much as $338 million in cash to Intuitive Machines balance sheet, although that is dependent on shareholder redemptions.
Intuitive Machines is the latest space company to go public through a SPAC. The announcement comes after a pause in such deals for much of this year after a flurry of space stock debuts in 2020 and 2021. Many of those recently public stocks have taken a beating, with several down 50% or more this year, as investors begin to view the once-hot SPAC frenzy as too risky.
Founded in 2013, Houston-based Intuitive Machines has around 140 employees.
This year, the company expects to bring in $102 million in revenue. It’s forecasting that number to increase to about $291 million in 2023. Intuitive had built a contract backlog worth $188 million as of June and projects it will become profitable in two to three years.

The company has four business units: Lunar Access Services, Lunar Data Services, Orbital Services, and Space Products and Infrastructure. Together, Intuitive Machines is working on a variety of technologies that include propulsion and lunar vehicles.
The company estimates its total addressable market is about $120 billion through 2030, with the vast majority of that coming through lunar services.
One major line of Intuitive’s business is three NASA contracts won under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, worth $233 million combined.
The first mission, known as IM-1, is slated for the first quarter of 2023 and would deliver a combination of science and technology payloads to the moon’s surface with the company’s Nova-C lunar lander. Intuitive plans to fly the cargo flights to the moon annually, via contracts with SpaceX to launch with Falcon 9 rockets.

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It’s possible that seven states — Arkansas, California, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina and Wisconsin — may tax student loan forgiveness.
If you’re living in a state that may tax relief, you should “be prepared” and try to set the money aside, experts say.

If you’re expecting relief from President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans, you may have state income tax liability, depending on where you live. 
While legislation is evolving, it’s possible that seven states — Arkansas, California, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina and Wisconsin — may tax student loan forgiveness, according to a Tax Foundation analysis. 

It depends on state conformity with federal laws, including the provision from the American Rescue Plan of 2021 that makes student loan forgiveness federally tax-free through 2025. 
More from Personal Finance:These states may tax student loan forgivenessWhen to apply for student loan forgiveness — 4 key dates to knowMillions may get a refund for student loan payments made amid Covid
“For the states that don’t conform, things could certainly change,” said Annette Nellen, a CPA and spokesperson for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. “There’s going to be some pressure.”

How state income taxes work

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While some states charge a flat percentage for income taxes, others have a graduated system, increasing your rate as earnings get higher. 
Generally, state taxes start with your federal taxable income or adjusted gross income, explained certified financial planner Larry Harris, director of tax services at Parsec Financial in Asheville, North Carolina. 

After that, state tax returns apply adjustments or subtractions before multiplying your income by the state’s tax rate, he said.
Of course, you’ll need to include the $10,000 or $20,000 in forgiven student debt as taxable income.

How to estimate your state tax liability

In a flat-tax state, you can multiply the forgiven loan amount by the state’s income tax rate for a quick estimate, Harris said. But it’s trickier in states with graduated rates, he said.
For graduated rates, you can plug 2022 numbers into the computation from your 2021 state tax return for an estimate of where your income may fall, Harris suggested.
“It may not be precise, but it will give you an idea,” he said.

How much you may owe for student loan forgiveness

As a general rule, the tax rate only applies to the portion of income which falls into each range. And in some places, you may need to consider local income taxes, too. Here’s a breakdown for each state.
Arkansas
With graduated income tax rates from 2% to 4.9% for 2022, state taxes in Arkansas depend on your earnings, according to a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
“The taxable amount on $10,000 in student loan relief in Arkansas could range from $200 to $490 depending on overall taxable income,” they said.
California

San Francisco
Noah Clayton | Getty Images

California residents also have graduated rates based on taxable income, with percentages ranging from 1% to 12.30%, although the higher tiers may exceed the income limits for student loan forgiveness.
“For example, if a single person has taxable income of $40,000, their next dollar of income is taxed at 6%,” Nellen from the California Society of Certified Public Accountants said.
Indiana
Since Indiana has a flat tax rate of 3.23% for 2022, borrowers can multiply that percentage by either $10,000 or $20,000 for an estimated $323 or $646 of state tax liability, a spokesperson with Indiana’s Department of Revenue said. 
However, Indiana residents may also have to pay county tax, depending on their jurisdiction. There’s a breakdown by county here.  
Minnesota
Minnesota’s income tax rates are also graduated, ranging from 5.35% to 9.85% for 2022. The state’s Department of Revenue is working on an example to share with borrowers, according to a spokesperson.

Mississippi
Starting in 2022, there is no state income tax on the first $5,000 of taxable income in Mississippi. However, a flat rate of 5% applies to taxable income over $10,000, according to the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants.
By multiplying 5% by $10,000 or $20,000 of forgiveness, borrowers may estimate $500 or $1,000 of tax liability.
North Carolina
With a flat tax rate of 4.99% for 2022, $10,000 or $20,000 of forgiven debt may trigger tax liability of $499 or $998, respectively, Harris from Parsec Financial said. 
Wisconsin

Farm near Madison. Wisconin
Ron And Patty Thomas | E+ | Getty Images

Another state with graduated rates, possible tax liability in Wisconsin depends on income, with rates ranging from 3.54% to 5.3%.   
For example, a single taxpayer with a taxable income of $50,000 would have a top rate of 5.3%, explained a spokesperson from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 
“If they have $10,000 in student loans forgiven, their taxable income would increase by $10,000 and their tax would increase by $530 if they have no credits to apply against their liability,” they said.

‘Be prepared’ if your state may tax forgiveness

If you’re living in a state that may tax student loan forgiveness, you should “be prepared” and try to set the money aside, suggested CFP Ethan Miller, founder of Planning for Progress, specializing in student loans in the Washington, D.C., area.
Worst-case scenario: If you save up the money and student loan forgiveness isn’t taxable in your state, you’ll have extra savings, he said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” he added.

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Ford’s redesigned lineup of Mustangs, including a new “Dark Horse” model, will be powered by traditional gas engines without any electrification technology.
Ford CEO Jim Farley believes keeping the iconic American brand gas-powered makes good business sense for the automaker for the foreseeable future.
As competitors move toward electrification, the Ford Mustang could be in a segment by itself in the coming years.

Ford Chair Bill Ford and President and CEO Jim Farley converse in front of newly revealed Mustang Dark Horse at The Stampede in downtown Detroit on Sept. 14, 2022.

DETROIT – Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley was in his element Wednesday night, surrounded by gearheads and the automaker’s new 2024 Mustang models, including a surprise new high-performance version called the “Dark Horse.”
There was no talk of electric vehicles or sustainability during the unveiling for the Detroit auto show. Just revving engines and the screeching of tires, to the applause of hundreds of Mustang owners in attendance.

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The scene unfolded in stark contrast to other recent events for Farley and Ford, which have touted electrification and green goals. That’s because despite the EV transition, Mustang is sticking with gas-powered engines for the seventh-generation vehicle in 2024.
That may come as a surprise, given Ford’s plans to invest $50 billion in new electric vehicles in the years ahead, as well as expected plans for the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro — the Mustang’s largest rivals — to go electric.
So why did Ford stick with gas engines for the new vehicle? Farley said, essentially, because it could … and because it makes good business sense for the foreseeable future.

Sole survivor?

The Ford Mustang could be in a segment all by itself in the coming years, forcing those who still thirst for an American coupe muscle car to come to the brand. That includes non-U.S. customers, who represent about 20% of Mustang’s sales.
“People are leaving the segment, like Dodge, so we have a chance to really present something new about Mustang,” Farley said following the 2024 Mustang debut. “This is going to give us a big advantage because a lot of people still love this kind of car.”

2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Source: Ford

While the American muscle car segment has dwindled from what it once was, there’s still demand for the vehicles, which also can attract attention and new customers for their respective brands.
As Ford invests in EVs, Farley says the automaker will continue to invest in its traditional business. It’s part of the CEO’s new plan to grow sales across its traditional businesses, EVs and commercial vehicles.
Farley and Ford Chair Bill Ford declined to say whether the seventh-generation Mustang is expected to be the last gas-powered version of the car.
“If people don’t want them anymore, it’ll go away, but I personally believe people are going to want this vehicle for quite some time,” Ford said, adding “that day will come with a tear in my eye.”

Mach-E

Farley said a big reason Ford is continuing with gas-powered Mustangs is, ironically, the success of the Mustang Mach-E, an all-electric crossover that first went on sale in late 2020 and has actually outsold the gas-powered version during some months.
The Mach-E, which shares little to nothing with the gas-powered Mustang other than a name, has led Ford to become the second bestselling brand of EVs in the country.
That EV success has given the automaker more flexibility to carry forward with gas-powered models, compared with rival automakers who have to chase electric vehicle sales and regulatory emission credits awarded for them.
Carmakers are required to have a certain amount of regulatory credits each year. If a company can’t meet the target, it can buy the credits from other companies, such as Tesla, that have excess credits.
“The Mustang Mach-E, in a way, created, allowed this car to happen,” Farley said. “Competitors are buying credits for emissions, and they can’t come out with this kind of vehicle.”

U.S. President Joe Biden stands next to a Ford Mustang Mach-E (electric) SUV during a visit to the Detroit Auto Show, to highlight electric vehicle manufacturing in America, in Detroit, Michigan, September 14, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Dodge has said such emissions regulations are among the reasons it’s ending production of its gas-powered Charger and Challenger at the end of next year. Chevrolet is expected to end production of the gas-powered Chevy Camaro in the coming years as part of General Motors’ plans to exclusively offer EVs by 2035.
A spokesperson for Dodge, a division of Stellantis, said in announcing electric muscle cars, the company is “celebrating the end of an era — and the start of a bright new electrified future.”
A spokesperson for Chevrolet said the company doesn’t comment on future production, but added, “Camaro continues to play an important role in Chevrolet’s performance car lineup and remains a vehicle in high demand which our customers love.”
Ford’s largest crosstown rival, GM, which is in the process of sunsetting its gas-powered products, is aiming to better compete against Tesla, the EV sales leader.
Farley, meanwhile, said he wants to grow its traditional business through “opiniated products” that draw debate and attention like the 2024 Mustang, including the new “Dark Horse” variant.
“I had a shirt at the dealer show that said ‘Ford vs. Everyone.’ That’s kind of our attitude,” Farley said. “We want to be a dark horse. We’re a dark horse against Tesla in the EV business. We want to bring a new game.”

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FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that he believes a recession is impending for the global economy.
The CEO’s pessimism came after FedEx missed estimates on revenue and earnings in its first quarter. The company also withdrew its full year guidance.

FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that he believes a recession is impending for the global economy.
“I think so. But you know, these numbers, they don’t portend very well,” Subramaniam said in response to Cramer’s question of whether the economy is “going into a worldwide recession.”

The CEO’s pessimism came after FedEx missed estimates on revenue and earnings in its first quarter. The company also withdrew its full year guidance.
Shares of FedEx fell 15% in extended trading on Thursday.
“I’m very disappointed in the results that we just announced here, and you know, the headline really is the macro situation that we’re facing,” Subramaniam said in an interview on “Mad Money.”
The chief executive, who assumed the position earlier this year, said that weakening global shipment volumes drove FedEx’s disappointing results. While the company anticipated demand to increase after factories shuttered in China due to Covid opened back up, it actually fell, he said.

“Week over week over week, that came down,” Subramaniam said.

The chief executive also said that the loss in volume is wide-reaching, and that the company has seen weekly declines since around its investor day in June.
“We’re seeing that volume decline in every segment around the world, and so you know, we’ve just started our second quarter,” he said. “The weekly numbers are not looking so good, so we just assume at this point that the economic conditions are not really good.”
“We are a reflection of everybody else’s business, especially the high-value economy in the world,” he later added.

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FedEx withdrew its full-year guidance and announced significant cost-cutting measures following what it called softness in global volume of shipments.
The company will close 90 offices, five corporate locations and defer hiring.
First-quarter revenue and earnings per share fell short of Wall Street expectations.

FedEx on Thursday withdrew its full-year guidance and announced significant cost-cutting measures following what it called softness in global volume of shipments.
“Global volumes declined as macroeconomic trends significantly worsened later in the quarter, both internationally and in the U.S.,” CEO Raj Subramaniam said in the release. “While this performance is disappointing, we are aggressively accelerating cost reduction efforts.”

In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Mad Money, Subramaniam said he expects the economy to enter a “worldwide recession.”
As part of these cost-cutting initiatives, FedEx will close 90 office locations, close five corporate office facilities, defer hiring efforts, reduce flights and cancel projects.
FedEx stock fell about 12% in extended trading Thursday.
The updates come alongside fiscal first-quarter earnings that fell well short of Wall Street expectations. The company was scheduled to release results and hold a conference call with executives next week, but issued the report early.
Here’s how FedEx performed in the period, ended Aug. 31, based on Refinitiv consensus estimates:

Earnings per share: $3.44, adjusted vs. $5.14 expected
Revenue: $23.2 billion vs. $23.59 billion expected

The performance led FedEx to withdraw its full-year forecast that was set in June, citing a volatile environment that precluded prediction. The company reduced its forecast for capital expenditure for the year by $500 million to $6.3 billion.
The company cited specific weakness in Asia as well as challenges to service in Europe for its underperformance in the first quarter. While these factors choked shipping volume, the company said operating expenses remained high. FedEx reported an adjusted operating income of $1.23 billion.
For its fiscal second quarter the company expects adjusted earnings per share of at least $2.75 on revenue of between $23.5 billion to $24 billion. Wall Street analysts were looking for Q2 EPS of $5.48 and revenue of $24.86 billion, according to Refinitiv.

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