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The entry of the Volkswagen-owned brands Audi and Porsche into F1 has been one of the sport’s worst-kept secrets in recent months, and Audi were the first to confirm their plans ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP.
Audi were previously linked with a partnership with McLaren but have reportedly turned their attentions to Sauber, who currently run under the Alfa Romeo banner but have been in talks with other brands.

The luxury brand is expected to have a tie-up with Sauber, although have only announced they are manufacturing engines from 2026 so far.
Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty Images

Audi has confirmed its Formula 1 entry from 2026.
The luxury brand is expected to have a tie-up with Sauber, although have only announced they are manufacturing engines from 2026 so far.

The entry of the Volkswagen-owned brands Audi and Porsche into F1 has been one of the sport’s worst-kept secrets in recent months, and Audi were the first to confirm their plans ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP.
Audi were previously linked with a partnership with McLaren but have reportedly turned their attentions to Sauber, who currently run under the Alfa Romeo banner but have been in talks with other brands.
Audi, whose announcement comes weeks after the 2026 engine rules were confirmed, are planning to develop their own engines, with the chassis still expected to be developed at Sauber’s Switzerland base.
“I am delighted to welcome Audi to Formula 1, an iconic automotive brand, pioneer and technological innovator,” said F1 president Stefano Domenicali.

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“This is a major moment for our sport that highlights the huge strength we have as a global platform that continues to grow.
“It is also a big recognition that our move to sustainably fueled hybrid engines in 2026 is a future solution for the automotive sector. We are all looking forward to seeing the Audi logo on the grid and will be hearing further details from them on their plans in due course.”
Volkswagen’s German rivals Mercedes have dominated F1 for much of the last decade but the manufacturing giant has not previously been involved with the sport.
It has, though, worked with Red Bull in the world rally championship.
It is expected that Porsche will link up with Red Bull, who they have been linked with for several years and who have their own Powertrains Division focused on the 2026 changes.
Speaking about the luxury brands’ potential arrival earlier this year, Lewis Hamilton said: “I think it’s great that we’re going to get new manufacturers within the sport, especially as you see there are several teams who have potential to be top teams but are customer teams, so I think it’s going to be great moving forwards.”
Max Verstappen added: “I think it’s very exciting and very important for Formula 1 as well.
“Of course we have great teams, but to have really great brands behind it is really nice. I’m looking forward to what the future will bring.”

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California, the country’s most populous state and the center of U.S. car culture, is banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035, marking a historic step in the state’s battle against climate change.
The rule will force automakers to speed up production of cleaner vehicles beginning in 2026.
The policy will not ban people from owning and driving conventional vehicles or from selling them on the used market.

California, the country’s most populous state and the center of U.S. car culture, is banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035, marking a historic step in the state’s battle against climate change.
The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board on Thursday, will force automakers to speed up production of cleaner vehicles beginning in 2026 until sales of only zero-emission cars, pickup trucks and SUVs are allowed in the state.

The unanimous vote comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom set a target in 2020 to accelerate the shift away from internal combustion engines. The transportation sector represents the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California, which has suffered from record-breaking wildfires, droughts and air pollution worsened by climate change.
The decision is expected to have sweeping impacts beyond California and will likely pave the way for other states to follow suit. At least 15 states, including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, have adopted California’s vehicle standards on previous clean-car rules.

A charging port on a 2022 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrid vehicle during AutoMobility LA ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, Nov. 18, 2021.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board, said the rule is one of the state’s most important efforts yet to clean the air and will lead to a 50% reduction in pollution from cars and light trucks by 2040.
The policy will not ban people from continuing to drive gas cars or from buying and selling them on the used market after 2035. The rule will also allow automakers to sell up to 20% plug-in hybrids, which have gas engines, by 2035.
But the rule does phase out such vehicles over time, requiring 35% of total new vehicle sales to be powered by batteries or hydrogen by 2026 and 68% by 2030. More than 16% of new cars sold in California in 2022 were zero-emissions vehicles, the state said, up from 12.41% in 2021 and 7.78% in 2020.

“California is once again leading the way by establishing commonsense standards that will transition to sales of all zero-polluting cars and light-duty trucks in the state,” said Kathy Harris, clean vehicles advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Motor vehicles drive on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles, California.
Robyn Beck | Getty Images

California, home to congested freeways and the smog-filled skies over Los Angeles, has considerable authority over the country’s auto industry.
A federal waiver under the Clean Air Act allows the state to adopt stronger fuel economy standards than those of the federal government and it has set the precedent for the rest of the country on how to curb vehicle emissions. 
California’s ability to control vehicle emissions has spurred innovations like catalytic converters that convert toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas into less-toxic pollutants, as well as “check engine” lights. The state established the nation’s first tailpipe emissions standards in 1966.

The Trump administration in 2019 revoked California’s authority to regulate its own air quality, but the Biden administration restored that authority earlier this year.
State officials said the rule is critical to meeting the state’s goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2045, adding that resulting emissions declines would lead to fewer cardiopulmonary deaths and improved health for those suffering from asthma and other illnesses.
However, meeting the timeline will face challenges, including installing enough charging stations across the state and having adequate access to materials needed to make batteries for electric vehicles.

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John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major automakers, said California’s mandate would be “extremely challenging” for automakers to meet.
“Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage,” Bozzella said in a statement. “These are complex, intertwined and global issues.”
The rule comes after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act earlier this month, which provides funding for electric vehicle tax credits and clean vehicle manufacturing facilities. The Biden administration also issued new nationwide limits on tailpipe emissions last year for new cars and light trucks made through 2026.

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Environmental groups praised the decision on Thursday, though some argued that the board needed to set even tougher targets to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. Some groups had previous urged the board to impose a rule to achieve 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030, five years earlier than the actual regulation.
“This rule needed to match the urgency of the climate crisis and instead leaves Californians making sputtering progress in the slow lane,” Scott Hochberg, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said in a statement.
“California needs to act strongly on gas-powered cars instead of ignoring them, and shift to EVs much sooner or watch our climate stability slip away,” Hochberg said.
Daniel Barad, California senior policy advocate at Sierra Club, said in a statement that the rule is “a major step towards breathable air in California communities, and will be critical for the state to meet its climate goals and emission reduction targets.”
“Other states should move swiftly to join California and adopt this life saving rule, which will improve air quality and help slow the climate crisis,” Barad said.

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Williams-Sonoma will soon jump into the virtual world through a collaboration with Roblox, the home retailer’s CEO, Laura Alber, told CNBC’s Jim Cramer.
Roblox is a video-game company that’s especially popular among kids.

Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that the home retailer will soon jump into the virtual world through a collaboration with Roblox, a video-game company that’s especially popular among kids.
Alber’s announcement came one day after Williams-Sonoma — owner of the Pottery Barn and West Elm brands — reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and comparable brand revenue growth. Shares rose 2.2% Thursday as investors cheered the results.

“West Elm is going to be the first home furnishings retailer to provide digital furniture and be a partner with Roblox,” Alber said on “Mad Money.” “I am just so excited to see what that looks and opening up that new world for us.”
The partnership is set to go live later this year, and sales of West Elm-branded digital products will generate revenue for the company, a Williams-Sonoma spokesperson told CNBC.
Other companies that have announced tie-ups with Roblox to help introduce their brands to younger audiences include Nike and Gucci, which is owned by French luxury retail group Kering.

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A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Lansing, Michigan, became the chain’s first location to vote to unionize.
Workers at the store voted 11 to three in favor of unionizing under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The win for Chipotle organizers in Michigan comes on the heels of more than 200 Starbucks cafes in the U.S. voting to unionize in the last 10 months.

A Chipotle Mexican Grill sign is seen in the Park Slope neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Lansing, Michigan, became the chain’s first location to vote to unionize.
Workers at the store voted 11 to three in favor of unionizing under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to the tally conducted on Thursday.

“We’re disappointed that the employees at our Lansing, MI restaurant chose to have a third party speak on their behalf because we continue to believe that working directly together is best for our employees,” Chipotle spokesperson Laurie Schalow said in a statement to CNBC.
Chipotle has five business days to file objections to the election. If Chipotle opts not to file any objections, the National Labor Relations Board regional director will certify the results, and the company is required to start bargaining in good faith with the union.
“Chipotle pulled in revenue of $7.5 billion last year, and just as we’re seeing workers of all ages and backgrounds across the country take on these corporate giants, it’s so inspiring to see Chipotle workers stand up and demand more from a company that can clearly afford it,” Scott Quenneville, president of Local 243, said in a statement. “The Teamsters have these workers’ backs. They’re going to have a union they can be proud of, that knows how to get things done.”
The Lansing location was the second-ever Chipotle restaurant to file a petition with the NLRB to unionize.
In late June, a Chipotle restaurant in Augusta, Maine, became the chain’s first outlet to file for a union election, seeking to organize under Chipotle United, which is not affiliated with any larger unions. The company permanently shuttered the location after the petition was filed, citing staffing problems. Chipotle United has filed a complaint with the NLRB, claiming that the move was retaliatory.
The win for Chipotle organizers in Michigan comes on the heels of more than 200 Starbucks cafes in the U.S. voting to unionize in the last 10 months. Despite recent high-profile efforts, unions are a rarity in the restaurant industry. Only 1.2% of workers at food and drinking outlets were members of unions last year, which is well below the private-sector unionization rate of 6.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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On Wednesday, the prime minister of Japan said his country would restart more idled nuclear power plants and look into the feasibility of developing next-gen reactors.
The plans to pivot back to using more nuclear power have been welcomed by the International Energy Agency.
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday morning, Keisuke Sadamori, who is director of the IEA’s office for energy markets and security, was positive about Japan’s strategy.

This image, from March 2022, shows wind turbines in front of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Japan. The country is now planning to use more nuclear power in the years ahead.
Korekore | Istock | Getty Images

Japanese plans to pivot back to using more nuclear power have been welcomed by the International Energy Agency, with one of the organization’s directors telling CNBC it represented “very good and encouraging news.”
On Wednesday, the prime minister of Japan said his country would restart more idled nuclear power plants and look into the feasibility of developing next-gen reactors. Fumio Kishida’s comments, which were reported by Reuters, build upon remarks he made back in May.

They come at a time when Japan — a big importer of energy — is looking to bolster its options amid ongoing uncertainty in global energy markets and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Thursday morning, Keisuke Sadamori, who is director of the IEA’s office for energy markets and security, was positive about Japan’s strategy.
“This is … very good and encouraging news both in terms of energy supply security and climate change mitigation,” he said, adding that Japan had been “burning a lot of fossil fuels in order to fill the gap from the lack of nuclear power since the Fukushima … accident.”
Fossil fuel markets, in particular natural gas markets, were “very tight,” Sadamori explained, noting that this was especially the case in Europe.
“This restart of the Japanese nuclear power plants would be good in terms of freeing up substantial amount[s] of LNG to the global market,” he said.

Read more about energy from CNBC Pro

Sadamori, who previously held positions in Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and was executive assistant to a previous Japanese prime minister in 2011, was asked about the timeframe for the construction of new nuclear plants.
The new builds, he replied, would take a long time. “I understand that the announcement by … Prime Minister Kishida yesterday was focusing more on the new types of nuclear power plants, including SMRs — small modular reactors.”
“They’re still in, basically, a development stage, so … we need to accelerate those developments,” he added. The more significant aspects were, he argued, the restart of existing plants and the extension of existing plants’ lifetime.

A big shift

If fully realized, the moves being planned by Japan would represent a turnaround for the country’s energy policy following 2011′s Fukushima disaster, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami resulted in a meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Given its recent history, the IEA’s Sadamori was asked about current public sentiment in Japan toward nuclear. “That’s the most difficult part,” he said, adding that the Japanese people still had some concerns about safety.
Citing “difficult energy market situations” as well as Japan’s “very tight electricity market,” Sadamori said public sentiment in the country was nevertheless “changing a little.”
“We are seeing more people supporting the restart of the nuclear power plants, based on … recent surveys by the major Japanese newspapers,” he added.
“So I consider that things are improving a bit, but I think that the … public, local acceptance issue still continues to be a very difficult part of the nuclear restart.”
The importance of public support is emphasized in an outline of Japan’s 6th Strategic Energy Plan. “Stable use of nuclear power will be promoted on the major premise that public trust in nuclear power should be gained and that safety should be secured,” it states.
Japan is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. Under an “ambitious outlook,” its Strategic Energy Plan envisages renewables accounting for 36% to 38% of its power generation mix in 2030, with nuclear responsible for 20% to 22%.

More from CNBC Climate:

While Japan may be refocusing its attention on nuclear, the technology is not favored by all.
Critics include Greenpeace. “Nuclear power is touted as a solution to our energy problems, but in reality it’s complex and hugely expensive to build,” the environmental organization’s website states.
“It also creates huge amounts of hazardous waste,” it adds. “Renewable energy is cheaper and can be installed quickly. Together with battery storage, it can generate the power we need and slash our emissions.”
During his interview with CNBC, Sadamori was asked why focusing on renewable sources and directing investment toward such areas was less viable for Japan than returning to nuclear.
The country, he said, had “very ambitious programs for the expansion of renewable sources.” These included solar photovoltaic and wind, especially offshore wind.
While Europe had “massive” offshore wind resources, Japan was “less endowed with … good renewable sources in that respect.”
To this end, nuclear power, in particular the active use of existing plants, should be “a very important part” of the strategy to lower emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. More

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Shares of Workday surged more than 11% in extended trading Thursday after strong quarterly results.
“This focus on digital transformation; it just remains unabated. Companies are moving more and more things to the cloud. The pace is not slowing down,” co-CEO Aneel Bhusri told CNBC.

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Shares of Workday surged more than 11% in extended trading Thursday after strong quarterly results, and the cloud software firm’s co-CEO, Aneel Bhusri, offered upbeat commentary in an interview with CNBC.
“This focus on digital transformation; it just remains unabated. Companies are moving more and more things to the cloud. The pace is not slowing down,” Bhusri told Jim Cramer on “Mad Money.”

Workday, which makes software that companies use for financial management and human resources, reported adjusted earnings of 83 cents per share on revenues of $1.54 billion. Analysts had expected adjusted EPS of 80 cents on sales of $1.52 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Workday also reaffirmed its full-year guidance, a notable development in the face of concerns that a slowing and uncertain global economy will cause enterprises to rein in their spending.
“There’s no question the macro environment is challenging for the second half of the year. I think it is for everybody,” said Bhusri, who also co-founded Workday. “We had a couple deals slip from Q1 into Q2. Companies will talk about how they’re slipping. We were able to close all those deals that slipped.”
“We pretty much just ran the tables — it was across all products and all geographies,” the executive added, while noting that Workday’s financial applications, which can be used for functions like invoicing and revenue management, were particularly strong. “Maybe there was some pent-up demand there,” he said.
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With this earnings season mostly in the rearview mirror, CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday tried to give investors a better understanding of common terms CEOs have been using.
The “Mad Money” host offered his interpretation of phrases such as “excess inventory” and “elongated sales cycles.”

With this earnings season mostly in the rearview mirror, CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday cut through common C-suite jargon, an attempt to help investors make sense of management commentary.
In particular, the “Mad Money” host focused on four words or phrases that have been thrown around a lot recently:

“Measured”
“Elongated”
“Excess inventory”
“Clearing events”

“We’ve had so many convoluted explanations for disappointing quarters that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s really going on,” Cramer said, before going on to explain how he interprets each of those terms whenever he hears them.

1. Measured

In a “Mad Money” interview Wednesday, Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff told Cramer the enterprise software giant’s customers were being “more measured” in their spending.
Here is Cramer’s translation:

“When you hear Benioff saying the customers are more measured, it means that executives who’d normally agree to take a Salesforce product with alacrity now have to run it up to the CEO, the CFO or maybe even the board of directors,” he said. “It’s amazing to me that even Salesforce, which is so integral to so many organizations, has started running into measured situations, but businesses have gotten more conservative about spending money here — they don’t want to add too many new costs going into a slowdown. … In short, measured means that it’s harder to win business.”

2. Elongated

This one is similar to the first term, but Cramer said he typically views it more harshly. Usually, it’s offered up in the context of “elongated sales cycles.” Hearing management use the term should be cause for caution, Cramer said.

“These companies talk about elongated sales cycles, and you might think that means it’s taking a lot longer to close on a deal. But when you read between the lines, ‘elongated’ is the term they roll out when they can’t close the deal at all.”When you hear the term, you have to recognize that the next quarter will most likely be a disappointment because the elongated deals simply aren’t going to be coming through.”

3. Excess inventory

Many retailers have been talking about excess inventory in recent months. This term might be a little more self-explanatory on the surface: The companies have too much stuff. However, Cramer said the key for investors when they hear it is to go deeper and figure out what happens to the excess inventory.

“What you need to know is whether the excess inventory is being disposed of. For example, Target got rid of all its excess inventory immediately. That was really smart. It allows them to open up their floor space to merchandise that people actually want,” Cramer said. “The other retailers that mentioned excess inventory that didn’t take action still have it. Well, they’ve cut the price to unload it. That kind of dribble out won’t allow them to reclaim key space in their stores to put in better merchandise.”

4. Clearing events

Investors should be intrigued whenever they hear a particular development — like a company preannouncing earnings, for example — be called a “clearing event,” Cramer said.

“That means the company’s set up a new lower, albeit disappointing, benchmark that it thinks it can beat next quarter. The term should inspire you to pull the trigger after the quarter has been reported, certainly not before, because no business ever invokes the term ‘clearing’ — and no investors think of the term ‘clearing’ — if it hasn’t already really reset expectations on the conference call. It’s just too dangerous to do so,” he said.

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Many travelers try to save money by searching the internet for cheaper hotel rates.
But a new study suggests it may not be worth the time — at least in some places.

The travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip compared rates for 950 hotels in 19 global cities on three popular booking websites as well as each hotel’s site.
According to the results published last week, Hotels.com had the best overall rates — but just barely.
Hotels.com had the best rates in 620 instances, which was slightly higher than Expedia, which had the cheapest rates in 579 instances.

Booking directly with a hotel was more expensive, but by only about $6 more on average, according to the study.
“There have been conflicting views on hotel rates, and people … believe that booking through online travel platforms ensured a better rate than the hotel website,” said Shalabh Arora, director of marketing at India’s Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru. “However, it’s not so at Four Seasons where rate parity is taken very seriously.”

He said the hotels’ website has a pop-up function which compares rates offered by the hotel with those on other booking platforms.
Finally, the website Booking.com had the cheapest rates in 72 instances — or about 7% of the time — according to the study.  
“Not only was [Booking.com] rarely the most affordable, but it was also the most expensive option the majority of the time,” according to the published results.
The company’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific Laura Houldsworth responded to the study by email, stating that the company aims “to always be transparent with our customers” and that “our property partners are free to set their own prices on Booking.com.”
She added that “our promise to price match also means that if a customer should ever find a lower price on another website, Booking.com will refund the difference.”

Different booking brands, same parent company

The report found average hotel rates on Hotels.com and Expedia were the same in seven of 19 cities, with overall averages varying by just 27 cents.
“Expedia and Hotels.com often had the same price, especially with the international hotels,” said Sarah Webber, director of marketing for InsureMyTrip.
Both brands are owned by Expedia Group, which also operates other travel booking websites, including Travelocity, Hotwire, Orbitz and CheapTickets.
“Hotels working with Expedia Group distribute their rates across all of our brands,” said Anna Brown, a company public relations manager. “The rate is similar across brands, however various offers … approved by our hotel partners, sometimes create rate differences.”
Brown said rates can also vary through brands’ app-only pricing, while Hotwire’s “Hot Rates” mask hotels’ names prior to purchase in exchange for deep discounts on last-minute bookings.
Booking.com is part of Booking Holdings, which operates Priceline, Agoda and Kayak. Booking Holdings had the highest revenue among all online travel agencies from 2019 to 2021, according to the research company Statista.

Hotel rates by city

The InsureMyTrip report showed significant rate differences in certain cities. For instance, travelers could save as much as $88 per night in Honolulu, if they found the lowest price.
In New York, the report found average hotel rates varied from $293 on Hotels.com to $367 on Booking.com.

The study also found:  

Hotels.com had the cheapest rates in New York City 62% of the time.
Expedia had the cheapest rates in Honolulu 62% of the time and Boston 66% of the time.
Direct hotel bookings were cheapest in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

But rate fluctuations were less pronounced outside of the United States.
Posted rates varied less than $10 per night on average in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul, according to the research.

InsureMyTrip’s study represents a snapshot in time, with the research analyzing rates for a double room for two people booked for the night of Aug. 27, 2022, the firm said.
All searches were conducted on the same day to avoid price fluctuations, since “prices can change quickly and without warning,” said Webber.

Not all hotels or booking sites include the same extras in the final price.

Sarah Webber
InsureMyTrip director

However, the study did not consider whether rates were refundable or included taxes, said Webber.
“To keep the study as simple as possible, we took the price seen on the sites as the final cost,” she said. “So, it’s definitely something to consider as not all hotels or booking sites include the same extras in the final price.”
Other factors, such as prepayment requirements and breakfast inclusions, can affect rates too, which further complicates the hotel price comparison process — for researchers and travelers alike.   More