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Consumer Reports is giving a big boost to EVs like the Tesla Model 3 and hybrids like Toyota’s models in its list of top auto picks.
The 2023 Consumer Reports 10 Top Picks for cars, trucks and SUVs includes seven vehicles that are either hybrid or fully electric.
Toyota builds four of the 10 models chosen for the list.

A Toyota RAV4 Prime electric car is recharged October 3, 2022 at a charging station at the town hall in Charlotte, Vermont.
Robert Nickelsberg | Getty Images

After years of being touted as a smarter option for car buyers seeking better fuel efficiency and lower costs, hybrids and EVs are getting a big endorsement from Consumer Reports. 
The 2023 Consumer Reports 10 Top Picks for cars, trucks and SUVs includes seven models that are either hybrid or fully electric.

“This really just shows how the market is changing,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports. “Electrification, not just battery electric vehicles, but just electrification, is changing the market and making a lot of really great options.”
Consumer Reports selects top models at a variety of price points based on its testing of new vehicles, with an emphasis on affordability and safety. For 2023, the selection of hybrids and EVs highlight two advantages those types of vehicles often have over models with internal combustion engines: fuel efficiency and reliability. 
“With hybrids, you’re kind of being really easy on the engine, being really easy on the brakes, because you’re actually using the generator and the battery to kind of soften everything,” Fisher told CNBC. “There are less brake problems, less transmission problems, everything is kind of muted. Plus, when you look at the hybrids and who’s producing these hybrids, they generally are from very reliable automakers who have been using this technology for a long time.”

Consumer Reports’ top auto picks for 2023

Under $25,000:Toyota Corolla HybridToyota Corolla Cross$25,000-$35,000:Subaru ForesterToyota Camry HybridFord Maverick HybridNissan Leaf$35,000-$45,000:Hyundai Santa Fe HybridKia Telluride$45,000-$55,000:Lexus NX350hTesla Model 3Source: Consumer Reports

That explains why Toyota builds four of the 10 models chosen for 2023 Top Picks, including the Toyota Corolla Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid and Lexus NX 350h. 

Those models are part of a wave of hybrids that have helped establish Toyota as the leader in this category. Last year, one out of every four vehicles Toyota sold in the U.S. was a hybrid. In the U.S., hybrids and EVs accounted for just over 10% of all vehicles sold last year, according to the auto research firm Edmunds.
Styling and performance of hybrids and EVs now make them more appealing than a few years ago.
“Today, you can really have it all. You can have something roomy, something comfortable, something fuel efficient,” Fisher said. He pointed to the Ford Maverick Hybrid which gets 37 miles per gallon as an example of a hybrid that is changing perceptions. “You don’t have to compromise as much as you had to do in the past.”
Tesla, which sells two out of every three EVs in the U.S., is back on the Top Picks list after being off it last year. Consumer Reports selected the Tesla Model 3 and the Lexus NX 350h as the best choices for vehicles priced between $45,000 and $55,000.
Meanwhile, Consumer Reports ranks BMW as the No. 1 auto brand, followed by Subaru and Mini.
“BMW builds many high-performing, full-featured and reliable models, so it’s not surprising to see it at the top of our brand rankings,” Fisher said in a release outlining Consumer Reports’ selections.

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5 Things to Know

Ford paused F-150 Lightning production due to a vehicle fire linked to a battery issue.
Cisco delivers strong earnings and a good outlook.
Sen. Bernie Sanders hints at a subpoena for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. 

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Muddling through

The bulls are mucking through an inconclusive week. Retail sales came in hotter than expected Wednesday, which should, in theory, feed worries that the Federal Reserve will keep raising rates until morale, er, inflation improves. But stocks still finished the day higher, albeit not by large margins. Investors will chew over more economic data Thursday: the January producer price index report, which gauges wholesale inflation; weekly jobless claims; and housing starts. Follow live markets updates.

2. Electric worry

Ford workers produce the electric F-150 Lightning pickup on Dec. 13, 2022 at the automaker’s Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC).
Michael Wayland | CNBC

Ford halted production and shipments of its fully electric F-150 Lightning pickup after one of the vehicles caught fire earlier this month due to a battery issue, the company said late Wednesday. Ford said it believes engineers have determined the cause of the fire, and that it expects an investigation into the matter to wrap up by the end of next week. Then, Ford said, it would make adjustments to the battery production process, which “could take a few weeks.” The developments come at a difficult time for Ford, which is attempting to turn around its business after posting a net loss for 2022, all while making the transition to EVs.

3. Cisco comes through

A sign bearing the logo for communications and security tech giant Cisco Systems Inc is seen outside one of its offices in San Jose, California, August 11, 2022.
Paresh Dave | Reuters

Computer networking company Cisco’s stock got a decent bump in off-hours trade after a strong earnings report. The company beat on the top and bottom lines, while also raising its forecast for the year. Cisco also said some of its logistics costs came down. Demand is also stable, according to Cisco, even as other tech companies contend with sliding demand for computers and pressures from a slumping ad market. But the company also reported some difficulties. For instance, its hardware and software backlogs are still much higher than usual, and it’s due to limited supply availability, according to CFO Scott Herren.

4. Here’s who helped SBF get out on bail

Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, leaves following a hearing at Manhattan federal court in New York City, January 3, 2023.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried secured his release on bond with the help of two academics at Stanford University. One of them, Stanford Law School dean emeritus Larry Kramer, said he’s close with SBF’s mother and father, who are professors at the law school. “Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close friends of my wife and I since the mid-1990s,” Kramer told CNBC. Andreas Paepcke, a research scientist at the school was the other guarantor whose name was under seal until a federal judge decided otherwise, following a motion by several media outlets, including CNBC. Paepcke didn’t respond to a request for comment. SBF, who has been charged with sweeping fraud and conspiracy counts, was released on a $250 million bond in December. His parents also signed on as guarantors.

5. Sanders vs. Schultz

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (L), Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Reuters (L) | Getty Images (R)

Howard Schultz will soon step down as Starbucks CEO – for the third time – but Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to haul him in front of lawmakers anyway after the executive turned down an invitation to testify next month. While Sanders didn’t outright say he would try to subpoena Schultz, he hinted that it could be in the works. “One way or another, he will be there,” the senator told reporters Wednesday. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who favors unions, chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The panel has scheduled a March 9 hearing on Starbucks’ labor practices. Schultz, who’s also a big shareholder in the coffee giant, has been leading Starbucks’ efforts to counter a unionization push among its baristas, even as the company touts progressive initiatives.
– CNBC’s Sarah Min, Michael Wayland, Jordan Novet, Rohan Goswami and Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.
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People walk along 5th Avenue in Manhattan, one of the nation’s premier shopping streets on February 15, 2023 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

U.S. retail sales in January jumped 3%, versus an expected 1.9%. The figure handily beat a decline of 1.1% in December. Separately, industrial production was flat in January. Analysts were estimating a 0.4% gain.

U.S. stocks ticked higher Wednesday, regaining ground after a brief drop that followed the retail sales report. Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Thursday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surging 2.31%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.71% despite the country’s trade deficit soaring to a record 3.5 trillion yen ($26 billion). Bitcoin jumped to$24,633.31, its highest since August 2022.

“BYD is so much ahead of Tesla in China … it’s almost ridiculous,” said Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman. He called the Chinese electric vehicle maker his favorite stock ever. Berkshire doesn’t seem to like TSMC so much anymore, however, dumping almost 86% of those shares between the third and fourth quarter of 2022.

PRO Investors are “not just fighting but also taunting the Fed,” said JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic, who correctly called the March 2020 bottom. He warned that a sell-off in stocks could happen soon.

The bottom line

It’s as if investors aren’t concerned about inflation and higher interest rates anymore. Strength in the U.S. economy — which would imply further rate hikes — has been translating into gains in the markets.

Yesterday I mentioned how sustained consumer spending might be propping up the economy. Indeed, the year-over-year increase in January’s retail sales — 6.4% — is exactly the same number as the year-on-year rise in the consumer price index. It appears that the prospect of sustained economic growth is injecting optimism into stocks too. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.11%, the S&P 500 added 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.92%.
Recent economic activity and market movement are forcing economists and investors to reconsider the effect of interest rates. The higher cost of borrowing typically slows economic growth by curtailing spending and increasing unemployment which, in turn, depress stocks. Yet “the monthly reports on industrial production, retail sales, and jobs were generally better than expected and point to a pickup in economic activity in early 2023 after a soft patch in late 2022,” as Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, put it.
This topsy-turvy relationship between higher interest rates and a pickup in economic activity is causing some investors, such as the founder of Satori Fund, Dan Niles, to predict that the Federal Reserve might raise rates higher than 6%. And if the price of everything keeps rising even then? It’s hard to imagine what the Fed would do next.
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The FDA is expected to make a final decision on whether to approve the opioid overdose treatment Narcan for over-the-counter sale by March 29.
If the life-saving nasal spray is approved for over-the-counter use, people could buy it in supermarkets, convenience stores or even vending machines.
Opioid overdose deaths spiked 17% during the pandemic from about 69,000 in 2020 to nearly 81,000 in 2021. The infiltration of fentanyl is making accidental exposures more likely.

Narcan nasal spray quickly reverses an overdose from heroin and prescription painkillers. Adapt Pharma, the maker of the drug, is offering it to high schools across the country for free.
Source: Adapt Pharma

The Food and Drug Administration’s independent advisors on Wednesday unanimously recommended over-the-counter use of the nasal spray Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, which would significantly expand access to the life-saving treatment.
Emergent BioSolutions’ Narcan is the most commonly sold treatment for opioid overdoses. The FDA is expected to make a decision by March 29 on whether to allow people to buy the four milligram nasal spray without a prescription. The agency is not required to accept its advisors recommendation, though it typically does so.

“There is no reason to keep this as a prescription, let’s get it out there and save some lives,” said Elizabeth Coykendall, a paramedic at PM Pediatrics in Raleigh, North Carolina and a temporary voting member of the FDA committee.
Emergent BioSolutions said Narcan would be available for the over-the-counter market by late summer if the FDA approves it next month. The company has not yet disclosed how much it would cost.
“We have been working on distribution plans with key stakeholders like retailers and government leaders,” said Matt Hartwig, a spokesperson for the company.
Most states have already issued blanket prescriptions that allow pharmacies to distribute Narcan, generically known as naloxone, without the patient having to present a script. But FDA approval of Narcan for over-the-counter use would allow more people to acquire the treatment more easily in more places.
“If naloxone becomes a nonprescription product, it may be sold in many venues previously unavailable to consumers, including vending machines, convenience stores, supermarkets and big box stores, just like other nonprescription products,” Jody Green, an official at the FDA’s nonprescription drug division, told the advisory committee Wednesday.

Since 1999, more than 564,000 people have died from opioids in the U.S. in three waves — first from prescription opioids, then from heroin and most recently from fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Opioid overdose deaths spiked 17% during the pandemic from about 69,000 in 2020 to nearly 81,000 in 2021.
The Trump administration first declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency in 2017. The Biden administration has renewed the emergency declaration every 90 days since the president took office.
“Each day 187 people will die — this is absolutely tragic as we think of not only the individuals themselves, but the families, the communities, the workplaces. This has profound human impact and we are all impacted from this,” Manish Vyas, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at Narcan maker Emergent BioSolutions, told the committee.
Scott Hadland, head of adolescent medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the widespread infiltration of fentanyl into the nation’s drug supply has increased the risk of overdoses. Many people who are exposed to fentanyl take counterfeit pills that they thought were prescribed but actually contain the highly potent and often deadly opioid, Hadland said.
“And increasingly there are secondhand exposures that are also rising,” Hadland, who participated in Emergent BioSolutions’ presentation, told the committee. “We’re seeing rising overdose deaths among toddlers who are coming across fentanyl in public settings or fentanyl that may be elsewhere in the home.”
Hadland said he tells parents to keep Narcan at their home in case of an emergency. He compared it to a fire extinguisher that families should have for safety reasons but hopefully will never have to use.
“Unfortunately for most young people, families and community members all across this country, current avenues of access are challenging,” Hadland said.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala of the American Medical Association said Narcan should be as easy to obtain as Tylenol to treat a headache or a decongestant for a stuffy nose. Narcan should be just as common in public places as AED devices that are used to treat people suffering from heart attacks, Mukkamala said.
Jessica Hulsey, executive director of the Addiction Policy Forum, told the committee during a public comment section that Narcan needs to be priced affordably at no more than $20 per dose if it’s sold over the counter. This is because Narcan is packaged as single doses and it can take multiple doses to reverse an overdose from highly potent fentanyl, Hulsey said.
Narcan displaces opioids that bind to receptor sites in a person’s nervous system. By displacing and blocking opioids, the nasal spray prevents fatal overdoses by reversing respiratory depression, said Gay Owens, head of global medical affairs at Emergent BioSolutions.
But Narcan has to be administered as soon as an overdose is suspected, which is why it’s crucial to make sure the instructions for using the nasal spray are simple, the FDA’s Green said. The FDA’s advisors grappled with how to make the instructions on the Narcan carton as clear as possible so anyone can use the device with ease in a life-threatening emergency.
In a study sponsored by Emergent BioSolutions, more than 90% of 71 participants understood over-the-counter label directions and used the Narcan device correctly during a simulated overdose emergency using mannequins. The participants included people with varying levels of literacy and both adults and adolescents.
But some participants were confused by the five-step instructions because they were split across the side and back panels of the carton, said Millie Shah, senior pharmacist at the FDA division that monitors errors in administering medicine. This confusion could result in delayed administration or errors in using the Narcan device correctly when time is of the essence, according to Shah.
These instances occurred despite the fact that the participants were allowed as much time as needed to familiarize themselves with the Narcan instructions, which may not be the case in a real-world overdose emergency, according to Shah.
“Therefore, the data collected does not capture this highest-risk use scenario,” said Shah.
The FDA has proposed that Emergent BioSolutions place all five instructions in sequential order on the back panel of the carton and also include instructions in the device blister pack. The company presented a mockup at the advisory meeting, but the FDA said it has not evaluated it yet.

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Ford expects production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup to be down through at least the end of next week to address a potential battery issue.
The updated timing comes a day after Ford confirmed production of the highly watched EV had been suspended at the beginning of last week due to a potential battery issue.
Ford said it believes engineers have found the root cause of the issue.

Ford CEO Jim Farley pats a Ford F-150 Lightning truck before announcing at a press conference that Ford Motor Company will be partnering with the world’s largest battery company, a China-based company called Contemporary Amperex Technology, to create an electric-vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, on February 13, 2023 in Romulus, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images News | Getty Images

DETROIT – Ford Motor expects production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup to be down through at least the end of next week to address a potential battery issue, the automaker said Wednesday.
The updated timing comes a day after Ford confirmed production of the highly watched vehicle had been suspended at the beginning of last week following one vehicle displaying a problem with the battery during a pre-delivery quality inspection.

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Ford said Wednesday it believes engineers have found the root cause of the issue. The investigation into the problem is expected to be completed by the end of next week, followed by adjustments to the truck’s battery production process that “could take a few weeks.”

A Ford spokeswoman declined to disclose additional details of the issue, which led to the production halt as well as a stop-shipment on already-produced trucks.
The battery supplier for the truck is South Korea-based SK On, a spinoff of SK Innovation, which the Detroit automaker announced a joint venture with last year to establish battery production facilities in the U.S.
Ford said it is not aware of any incidents of this issue in vehicles that have already been delivered to customers and dealers. Retailers can continue to sell vehicles that they may already have in stock.
The F-150 Lightning is being closely watched by investors, as it’s the first mainstream electric pickup truck on the market and a major launch for Ford.

The battery issue adds to ongoing “execution issues” detailed to investors earlier this month by Ford CEO Jim Farley that crippled the automaker’s fourth-quarter earnings.
Farley reiterated Wednesday that the automaker needs to do better operationally to be more profitable and bring margins in-line with competitors. He said Ford is less profitable than its legacy peers because it has a cost disadvantage of between $7 billion and $8 billion.
“We can cut the cost, we can cut people, we can do that really quickly and we’ll do whatever we need to,” Farley said during a Wolfe Research conference. “The reality is if you don’t change the efficiency of engineering, supply chain and manufacturing, the basic work statement, the way people work, the efficiency of that it’ll grow back
Farley later added, “This is really about redesigning what we do in the 120-year-old part of the company.”

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Following the midterm elections in November, President Joe Biden faces a GOP-controlled House of Representatives largely opposed to the administration’s climate change and clean energy policies.
The Republican-led environmental committees have started to launch oversight of the administration’s climate agenda and have unveiled legislation aimed to maintain or increase fossil fuel production.
Meet the three GOP leaders who are now heading the key House environmental and climate committees.

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Following the midterm elections in November, President Joe Biden faces a GOP-controlled House of Representatives largely opposed to the administration’s climate change and clean energy policies and efforts to curb the country’s dependence on fossil fuel production.
Although Republicans have a slim majority in the House, the newly GOP-led committees have already started to launch oversight of the government’s climate agenda and have unveiled legislation aimed to maintain or increase fossil fuel production.

It’s unlikely that Republicans will advance major legislation to the president’s desk, but they will conduct oversight hearings on climate and energy legislation and attempt to redirect funding for climate programs under the historic Inflation Reduction Act.
Meet the three Republicans who are now leading key House environmental and climate committees:

Bruce Westerman, chair of House Committee on Natural Resources

Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., speaks during a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on the Save Our Sequoias Act, that aims to protect the trees from wildfires on Thursday, June 23, 2022.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

House Republicans selected Westerman to lead the committee that oversees the Interior Department and the Forest Service and plays a role in dictating policy on issues like mineral resources, wildlife conservation, mining and irrigation.
Westerman, a representative for Arkansas’s 4th Congressional District, has a background in engineering and is a licensed forester. He’s argued the country should focus on advancing technology such as nuclear power and carbon sequestration to address climate change, rather than aggressively limiting the country’s fossil fuel production. He’s also introduced legislation to plant 1 trillion trees globally by 2050 in order to pull carbon out of the atmosphere.
As the Natural Resources Committee chair, Westerman said he would focus on conducting oversight of the Interior Department’s proposed five-year plan for new offshore oil and gas leases in federal waters. The proposal would block all new drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans within U.S. waters but allow some lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and the south coast of Alaska.

“We’re going to be using a lot of oil and gas for the foreseeable future,” Westerman said in a phone interview with CNBC. “Under this administration, they have attacked U.S. production on federal land. That is bad policy, it’s not following the law, and we plan to have oversight.”
Westerman also said he’s open to working with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, on bipartisan permitting reforms for the country’s energy projects. Such legislation includes Westerman’s Building U.S. Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews (BUILDER) Act, which aims to speed up the review process for energy projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“I’ve spoken to Manchin a couple of times — he is willing to work on commonsense solutions,” Westerman said.
While the Natural Resources Committee is one of the most influential panels for environmental and climate policy, the GOP’s agenda will likely be limited by the Biden administration and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Domestic critical mineral production could be an area where Democrats and Republicans might work together. Westerman has called for expanding mining to collect minerals necessary for electric vehicles and other clean energy sources like lithium, copper, cobalt and nickel, arguing that doing so will boost U.S. energy security and limit the country’s dependence on Chinese supply chains.
But Westerman has also emphasized that the U.S. is focusing too much on EV production as a climate solution and he is opposed to the idea of curbing fossil fuel development, both of which are key components of the Biden administration’s climate agenda.
“We need a realistic approach to energy and the environment to address climate issues,” he said. “I want to focus on policies and programs that actually work.”

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) during a House Energy and Commerce Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on April 2, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Zach Gibson | Getty Images

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represents the fifth district of Washington state, is leading the committee at the center of GOP plans to pass energy legislation and conduct oversight of the president’s climate agenda.
Rodgers, who opposed the president’s Inflation Reduction Act, has argued that Democrats are moving forward with the clean energy transition too quickly, making the country more reliant on China for technology like solar panels and EV batteries.
She’s introduced legislation that would limit the drawdown of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the Energy Department develops a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production.
As the Energy and Commerce Committee chair, Rodgers has supported oversight plans that involve investigating climate spending under the IRA as well as legislative plans focused on streamlining permitting to modernize energy infrastructure and promoting carbon capture, nuclear power, natural gas and hydropower.

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For instance, Rogers has highlighted concerns over a Department of Energy loan program aimed at advancing clean energy technology not yet funded by the private sector. The program will be expanded under the IRA.
“The Energy and Commerce Committee is at the center of solving the most important issues facing hardworking Americans – lowering costs, promoting free speech, and preserving free markets,” Rodgers said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the committee reviewed 17 energy bills, including those that would boost mining and oil and gas drilling, curb taxes on the fossil fuel industry and roll back climate provisions under the IRA.
The actions include repealing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion program designed to finance energy-saving projects, as well as eliminating the IRA’s Methane Emission Reduction Program, which imposes a federal fee on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
It’s unlikely, however, that Republicans will have success changing or repealing climate programs under the IRA, since the president has the authority to veto congressional efforts to change climate-spending provisions.

Frank Lucas, chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee

Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images in his Rayburn Building office on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Rep. Frank Lucas, a fifth-generation Oklahoman who operates a farm and cattle ranch, is the new chair of the committee that has jurisdiction over key federal scientific research and development as well as authority over research activities at agencies like the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Weather Service and the EPA.
Lucas has said the committee would focus on issues including securing the supply chain for advanced technologies, renewing U.S. leadership in space and aeronautics and researching ways to make domestic energy cleaner.
“We’ll be focusing on promoting innovative technologies to facilitate our clean energy transition,” Lucas told CNBC. “Our goal is to make American energy cleaner, more affordable and more reliable. So every energy source and technology pathway is on the table in our effort to reduce emissions.”
Lucas has introduced legislation that would make the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — the agency that forecasts weather, monitors storms and researches the impacts of climate change — an independent agency rather than a part of the Commerce Department. The bill would require Democrats’ support to pass.
Lucas said the committee would also conduct “robust oversight” of the spending being distributed to advance the country’s clean energy sector.
“We’ll focus on helping fossil fuels become cleaner and more efficient now, investing in battery storage and other tools to make renewable sources like wind and solar energy more reliable and supporting advanced technologies for nuclear and hydrogen,” Lucas said.
The previous chair of the committee, the now-retired Lamar Smith, R-Texas, had repeatedly questioned the science of climate change and accused federal researchers of manipulating climate research.
In contrast, Lucas has acknowledged the threat of disasters like drought and heat waves that are growing worse with climate change, but has resisted moving to curb fossil fuel production to address the problem.

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People walk along 5th Avenue in Manhattan, one of the nation’s premier shopping streets on February 15, 2023 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

U.S. retail sales in January jumped 3%, versus an expected 1.9%. The figure handily beat a decline of 1.1% in December. Separately, industrial production was flat in January. Analysts were estimating a 0.4% gain.

“BYD is so much ahead of Tesla in China … it’s almost ridiculous,” said Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman. He called the Chinese electric vehicle maker his favorite stock ever. Berkshire doesn’t seem to like TSMC so much anymore, however, dumping almost 86% of those shares between the third and fourth quarter of 2022.

PRO Investors are “taunting the Fed with crypto, meme stocks, and unprofitable companies responding best to Fed communications,” said JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic, who correctly called the March 2020 bottom. He warned that “this divergence cannot go further.”

The bottom line

It’s as if investors aren’t concerned about inflation and higher interest rates anymore. Strength in the U.S. economy — which would imply further rate hikes — has been translating into gains in the markets.

Yesterday I mentioned how sustained consumer spending might be propping up the economy. Indeed, the year-over-year increase in January’s retail sales — 6.4% — is exactly the same number as the year-on-year rise in the consumer price index. It appears that the prospect of sustained economic growth is injecting optimism into stocks too. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.11%, the S&P 500 added 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.92%.
Recent economic activity and market movement are forcing economists and investors to reconsider the effect of interest rates. The higher cost of borrowing typically slows economic growth by curtailing spending and increasing unemployment which, in turn, depress stocks. Yet “the monthly reports on industrial production, retail sales, and jobs were generally better than expected and point to a pickup in economic activity in early 2023 after a soft patch in late 2022,” as Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, put it.
This topsy-turvy relationship between higher interest rates and a pickup in economic activity is causing some investors, such as the founder of Santori Fund, Dan Niles, to predict that the Federal Reserve might raise rates higher than 6%. And if the price of everything keeps rising even then? It’s hard to imagine what the Fed would do next.
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AMC Networks has selected Kristin Dolan, an industry veteran and spouse of interim chairman James Dolan, as its new CEO.
AMC Networks, which owns networks AMC and IFC, is struggling with cord cutting and a tough ad market.
AMC is known for airing “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad.”

Founder and CEO of 605 Kristin Dolan participates in a keynote panel on the future of video at CES 2018 at Park Theater at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on January 10, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images

AMC Networks, the company that owns TV channels like AMC and IFC, named Kristin Dolan its new CEO on Wednesday.
Dolan, who will become CEO effective Feb. 27, has served on AMC’s board and worked closely with the company. She’s an industry veteran, and most recently served as CEO of 605, a data analytics firm that measures audience numbers for TV networks.

She is also the spouse, albeit separated, of James Dolan, the AMC Networks interim executive chairman James Dolan.
“I look forward to bringing my broad experience — across programming, cable operations, and most recently, utilizing data to reimagine television advertising — to leverage AMC Networks’ strong assets, drive the next phase of the company’s growth, and build shareholder value in the coming years,” Kristin Dolan said in a news release on Wednesday, noting AMC is where she started her career.
Dolan held various marketing roles at AMC, when it was known as Rainbow Media, in the early part of her career. She also spent 16 years in various roles at Cablevisions Systems Corp., the cable-TV company once owned by the Dolan family before it was sold to Altice in 2016.
In November, Christina Spade stepped from her role as CEO less than three months after being promoted to the position. That same week, AMC told its employees it would be going through a significant round of layoffs, which amounted to roughly 20% of its U.S. staff, CNBC previously reported.
The Dolan family has been considering the best way to move AMC Networks forward as it deals with cord-cutting and a tight ad market.

In a memo to staff in November, James Dolan said it was the company’s belief that cord-cutting losses would have been stemmed by streaming. “This has not been the case. We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray,” he told staff in a memo at the time.
Shortly after Spade stepped down, AMC announced it would begin a restructuring “designed to achieve significant cost reductions, in light of ‘cord cutting’ and the related impacts being felt across the media industry as well as the broader economic outlook,” according to a securities filing. The company said it expects the restructuring to be completed by the end of this year.
More than half of AMC Networks’ revenue comes from the traditional pay-TV bundle, which has been bleeding subscribers as they opt for less expensive streaming services.
In addition to its linear TV namesake channel, which is known for content like “The Walking Dead,” and recent new series built off the library of the novelist Anne Rice, the company owns streaming services like AMC+ and horror-focused Shudder.
For some time now, AMC Networks has been considered an acquisition target for larger media companies looking to bulk up their libraries.

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