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“Ministers are deliberately misleading the public about the life and limb cover and who is to blame for excessive deaths,” Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said.
Unite National Lead Officer Onay Kasab said that a resolution was “in the government’s hands,” and the dispute would only end when the U.K. leadership enters “proper negotiations” over pay.

COVENTRY, U.K. – Dec. 21, 2022: Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham (centre), joins ambulance workers on the picket line outside ambulance headquarters in Coventry. On Friday, Jan. 20, Unite announced a further 10 days of strikes as a dispute between the government and ambulance escalated.
Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images

LONDON — One of the U.K.’s largest unions on Friday announced 10 further days of strike action over the coming weeks, as a standoff between the government and ambulance workers intensifies.
More than 2,600 ambulance workers in Wales and the West Midlands, North West, North East and East Midlands of England are already set to walk out on Monday as part of an ongoing dispute over pay and staffing.

The newly announced strikes will affect the North West (Feb. 6, 22 and March 20), North East (Feb. 6, 20 and March 6, 20), East Midlands (Feb. 6, 20 and March 6, 20), West Midlands (Feb. 6, 17 and March 6, 20), Wales (Feb. 6, 20 and March 6, 20) and Northern Ireland (Jan. 26 and Feb. 16, 17, 23 and 24).
Further ballots are currently held at four other ambulance trusts that could potentially join the dispute later next month, the union said.

“Rather than act to protect the NHS and negotiate an end to the dispute, the government has disgracefully chosen to demonise ambulance workers. Ministers are deliberately misleading the public about the life and limb cover and who is to blame for excessive deaths,” Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said.
“Our members faithfully provide life and limb cover on strike days and it’s not the unions who are not providing minimum service levels: it’s this government’s disastrous handling of the NHS that has brought it to breaking point.”
The union said that its representatives would be working at a regional level to ensure that emergency life and limb cover will be available during the strikes, while patients in need of life-saving treatment will still be transported to appointments.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has introduced contentious anti-strike legislation to “enforce minimum service levels” across key public services, in a move that unions have lambasted as an attack on worker rights.

The legislation would force some employees to work during a strike. Government ministers have publicly accused ambulance workers of endangering lives by taking industrial action, prompting a widespread backlash from unions and political opponents.
Unite National Lead Officer Onay Kasab said that a resolution was “in the government’s hands,” and the dispute would only end when the U.K. leadership enters “proper negotiations” over pay.
“The government’s constant attempts to kick the can down the road and its talk about one off payments, or slightly increased pay awards in the future, is simply not sufficient to resolve this dispute,” Kasab said.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing and ambulance workers, who are part of the GMB union, are also striking on Feb. 6. The GMB has scheduled further action for Feb. 20, March 6 and March 20.

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Tencent, known as one of the world’s largest gaming and social media firms, invested in Tesla in 2017, taking a 5% stake for around $1.78 billion.
Last year, Elon Musk purchased Twitter, a move investors saw as a big distraction for the billionaire at a time when Tesla needed a steady hand.
David Wallerstein, chief “eXploration” officer at Tencent, said that despite Musk’s distractions, he still counts on the company “to keep blowing our minds with what they do with technology.”

A Tesla store in Changzhou, China, in April 2022. Tencent, known as one of the world’s largest gaming and social media firms, invested in Tesla in 2017, taking a 5% stake for around $1.78 billion.
Sheldon Cooper | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Tesla will “keep blowing our minds” with technology even while CEO Elon Musk is distracted with Twitter, according to the executive to who led an investment from Chinese technology giant Tencent into the U.S. electric carmaker.
Tencent, known as one of the world’s largest gaming and social media firms, invested in Tesla in 2017, taking a 5% stake for around $1.78 billion.

“We saw a huge potential in the company, the category of EVs (electric vehicles) but also a huge amount of respect for the way Elon was driving the company,” David Wallerstein, chief “eXploration” officer (CXO) at Tencent, told CNBC in an interview on Thursday.
As CXO, Wallerstein has the task of investing in emerging technology for Tencent.
He said that when Tencent made the investment, “it wasn’t so clear that they were going to survive and that EVs were going to actually survive.”
Since then, Tesla has become one of the world’s largest electric carmakers. It delivered 1.31 million cars in 2022.

But last year, Musk purchased Twitter, a move investors saw as a big distraction for the billionaire at a time when Tesla needed a steady hand. Tesla stock is down about 62% over the last year.

Wallerstein said that despite the distraction, he is still has confidence in Tesla.
“Certainly, if a leader is get distracted across many companies it’s hard to focus and Elon has a lot of projects. I think they’re still doing great work,” Wallerstein said.
He added that there’s likely to be several competitors but that will “be really good for the planet” as electric car sales rise.
“I would count on them [Tesla] to keep blowing our minds with what they do with technology,” Wallerstein said.
Tencent is a prolific investor in many different industries, ranging from gaming to e-commerce. But the company recently sold some of its stake amid a stricter regulatory environment in China.
But Wallerstein is on the hunt for investments in next-generation areas that could aid the fight against global challenges like climate change. Tencent has invested in companies such as Chinese electric vehicle Nio and German “flying” car company Lilium. More

The FAA says a contractor unintentionally deleted files before the outage of alert system.
Around 10,000 flights were delayed because of the pilot-alerting system outage.

An American Airlines Airbus A319 airplane takes off past the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, January 11, 2023
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that a contractor unintentionally deleted files before an outage of a pilot-alert system that delayed thousands of flights last week.
“A preliminary FAA review of last week’s outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database,” the FAA said. Spokespeople for the agency didn’t provide further detail.

Those notices give pilots safety information such as runway closures.
The FAA reiterated that it hasn’t found evidence of a cyberattack or “malicious intent” and that it is still investigating what occurred.
The agency said it updated lawmakers on its investigation on Thursday. Lawmakers from both parties demanded answers about technology vulnerabilities in the U.S. aviation system.
Airline executives complained about inadequate funding and staffing for the FAA.
“I lay this on the fact that we are not giving them the resources, the funding, the staffing, the tools, the technology they need,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said on “Squawk Box” on Friday. “Hopefully this will be the call to our political leaders in Washington that we need to do better.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on the company’s earnings call on Wednesday the outage and resulting travel chaos “ought to be a wake-up call for all of us in aviation, something many of us in aviation have been saying for a long time…the FAA needs more resources.”

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The global elite at Davos has raised concerns about what China’s reopening might mean for inflation.
Some economists have warned that if this proves to be the case then the U.S. Federal Reserve might have to keep raising rates further.

China’s reopening has been one of the most discussed topics at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

DAVOS, Switzerland — China’s economic reopening might boost global growth, but the business leaders and policymakers at the World Economic Forum this week are also a little anxious on its potential inflationary impact.
China’s decision to welcome tourists again as well as to make it easier for those in the country to travel abroad has been one of the most discussed topics at the Davos gathering in the Swiss Alps.

Overall, this is seen as one of the most important economic events in 2023 and the business community is noticeably excited about making new deals with the world’s second-largest economy.
On the other hand, however, there are concerns about what this means for inflation and the cost of living.
“[If] Chinese demand for other goods starts picking up, if that creates a bigger pressure on commodity prices, for example, natural gas, big issue in Europe, if Chinese natural gas demand increases, because the factories, their households demand more electricity, then it’s going to put pressure on Europe because natural gas, they’re competing [in] the same markets for liquid natural gas,” Raghuram Rajan, former central bank governor of the Reserve Bank of India, told CNBC.
“So China’s opening [is] good news overall, but potentially, the inflationary impact — there could be some,” he said.

The International Energy Agency has warned that European companies might face higher costs when looking to purchase natural gas this year as there will be more competition for the commodity. Inflation has been one of the biggest challenges for European citizens for the last year, mostly driven by higher energy bills.

Speaking on a CNBC-moderated panel, Satish Shankar, managing partner for APAC at consultancy Bain & Company, said: “I think China’s opening will therefore increase consumption in global energy, it could cause some inflation.”
Felix Sutter, president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce said at the same panel that “Chinese energy needs and raw material needs will compete with the European needs, the global needs, so I see inflation relaxation right now, [but] we will see more pressure on inflation in Q3.”
Some economists have warned that if this proves to be the case, then the U.S. Federal Reserve might have to keep raising rates further. “In our view … a stronger China increases the chances of a stubbornly hawkish Fed,” Tavis McCourt, institutional equity strategist at Raymond James, said in his 2023 outlook.
“With China, we do need more of everything — if that drives enough demand to get commodity prices back up closer to where they were in the spring of last year, then that puts the progress we’ve seen on inflation in a much more tenuous position,” he said.

China recently reported a growth rate of 3% for 2022, its second-slowest growth rate since 1976. Nonetheless, shorter-term data has boosted expectations of a better-than-expected recovery with December retail sales and industrial production above consensus.
Standard Chartered Chairman José Viñals told CNBC in Davos this week that China is going to have a very good year and surprise on the upside.
“The Chinese economy is going to be on fire and that’s going to be very, very important for the rest of the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s CEO Jakob Stausholm also sounded positive about China’s economy and its natural impact on global growth, telling CNBC in Davos that he was “absolutely convinced” that China’s reopening will help the global economy.
— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal and Jihye Lee contributed to this article. More

Netflix added 7.66 million paid subscribers during the fourth quarter, more than the 4.57 million Wall Street expected.
This is the first quarter that Netflix’s ad tier is reflected in its earnings.
Founder Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO and will be executive chairman.

Illustration of stock trading graph of Netflix seen on a smartphone screen.
Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Netflix added millions more subscribers in the fourth quarter than Wall Street expected, helping to send shares of the streamer up after the bell despite a big earnings miss.
The company also disclosed that co-CEO Reed Hastings would be stepping down from his position and transitioning to the post of executive chairman. Greg Peters, the company’s chief operating officer has been promoted to co-CEO alongside the already established Ted Sarandos.

Here are the results:

EPS: 12 cents vs 45 cents per share, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue: $7.85 billion $7.85 billion, according to Refinitiv survey.
Global paid net subscribers: 7.66 million adds, compared to 4.57 million subscribers expected, according to StreetAccount estimates.

Netflix’s EPS missed largely due to a loss related to euro-denominated debt, but its margins of 7% still topped Wall Street’s expectations. The depreciation of the U.S. dollar compared to the euro during the fourth quarter isn’t an operational loss.

This is the first quarter that Netflix’s new ad-supported service is included in its earnings results. The company launched this cheaper tier in November, but has not disclosed what portion of the new subscriptions are from users who have opted for this service.
During the company’s prerecorded earnings call, Netflix said that it has seen comparable engagement from its new ad tier members as it has seen with its regular consumers. Additionally, it noted that it has not seen a significant number of people switching plans. So, those who subscribe to its premium and more expensive offerings are rarely bumping down to the cheaper ad-supported model.
“We wouldn’t be getting into this business if it couldn’t be a meaningful portion of our business,” said Spencer Neumann, the company’s chief financial officer, during the call. “We’re over $30 billion in revenue, almost $32 billion in revenue, in 2022 and we wouldn’t get into a business like this if we didn’t believe it could be bigger than at least 10% of our revenue.”

Last quarter, the streamer said it was “very optimistic” about its new advertising business. Going forward, Netflix will no longer give subscriber guidance, although it will still report those numbers in future earnings reports. The rationale is that the company is growing its focus on revenue as its primary top line metric instead of membership growth.
“2022 was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter finish,” the company said in a statement. “We believe we have a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue growth: continuing to improve all aspects of Netflix, launching paid sharing and building our ads offering. As always, our north stars remain pleasing our members and building even greater profitability over time.”
Netflix touted new releases like the television series “Wednesday,” the docuseries “Harry and Meghan” as well as Rian Johnson’s film “Glass Onion” as popular content during the quarter.
The company predicts that revenue growth in the first quarter 2023 will rise 4%, higher than the 3.7% Wall Street is currently projecting. Netflix says this growth will be driven by more paid memberships and more money per paid membership.
Additionally, the first quarter will mark Netflix’s preliminary roll out of its paid sharing program, which aims to make money from users who previously shared passwords with people outside their own homes.
The company said it expects some users who were borrowing accounts to stop watching programming on the platform, because they are not added as extra members to existing accounts or do not convert to paid members.
“However, we believe the pattern will be similar to what we’ve seen in Latin America, with engagement growing over time as we continue to deliver a great slate of programming and borrowers sign-up for their own accounts,” the company said.

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Dow Inc: “I want you to hold on. … Keep it at a 5% yield, buy some more if it goes 5.5%.”

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ABM Industries Inc: “Talk about a boring facilities management company that I like so much. You’ve got a real winner there.”

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Lockheed Martin Corp: “People are worried about the Republicans and defense budget. I’m worried about the Ukrainians and defending them, and I think Lockheed Martin plays a key role.”

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Dynavax Technologies Corp: “As long as you understand that this is a speculative stock and you could lose some money in it, it’s fine by me.”

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MPLX LP: “I like the company. I like the cash flows. I like the pipelines.”

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Enphase Energy Inc: “I think Enphase Energy is the perfect way to be able to play the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

Click here to download Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter.

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Nordstrom said weak sales and a ton of markdowns hurt its results during the holiday season.
The retailer said it had to mark down merchandise more than expected to clear through excess inventory.
Like Macy’s, the department store said shoppers did not spend as freely as in past holiday seasons.

Shoppers exit Nordstrom at the King of Prussia Mall on December 11, 2022 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Mark Makela | Getty Images

Shares of Nordstrom fell Thursday, after the department store chain said it was hurt by weak sales and a lot of markdowns during the holiday season.
The retailer said net sales dropped 3.5% for the nine-week holiday period that ended Dec. 31 compared with the year-ago period. Net sales decreased 1.7% for its namesake banner and 7.6% for its off-price banner, Nordstrom Rack.

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Nordstrom cut its earnings and margin expectations for the fiscal year, which ends in late January. It said revenue growth for the fiscal year will be at the low end of its previous announced range of 5% to 7%. It said adjusted earnings per share, excluding the impact of potential share buybacks, will range between $1.50 and $1.70. That compares with its previous outlook of $2.30 to $2.60.

With the slashed guidance, Nordstrom becomes the latest retailer to flash warning signs about the consumer and preview a tougher year ahead. Earlier this month, Macy’s said holiday-quarter sales would come in at the lower end of its expected range. Lululemon also warned this month that its margins got squeezed during the holiday season, as excess merchandise and price-sensitive shoppers led to more discounts.
In a news release, Nordstrom said it had to mark down merchandise more than expected to clear through excess inventory. Plus, the company said, shoppers did not spend as freely as in previous holiday seasons.
“While we continue to see greater resilience in our higher income cohorts, it is clear that consumers are being more selective with their spending given the broader macro environment,” CEO Erik Nordstrom said in a news release.
While deeper discounts hurt profits, he said Nordstrom will “enter 2023 in a stronger position as we prioritized starting the new fiscal year with clean inventory levels.”

The company expects year-end inventory levels to be down by a double-digit percentage compared with last year and roughly in line with 2019 levels.
Nordstrom will report fourth quarter results March 2.

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Alec Baldwin will be charged in the fatal on-set shooting of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The actor and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed each face two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
If convicted, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, could face five years in prison. Baldwin vowed to fight the charges.

Hilaria Baldwin and Alec Baldwin speak for the first time regarding the accidental shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and wounded director Joel Souza on the set of the film “Rust”, on October 30, 2021 in Manchester, Vermont.
MEGA | GC Images | Getty Images

Alec Baldwin will be criminally charged by New Mexico prosecutors for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust,” authorities said Thursday.
Baldwin, the Emmy-winning star of “30 Rock” and dozens of films including “The Hunt for Red October,” shot the bullet that killed Hutchins. Baldwin said he “didn’t pull the trigger” in an ABC interview. An FBI forensic report obtained by ABC News uncovered that despite Baldwin’s denial, the gun could not have gone off without the trigger being pulled.

Baldwin and the movie’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, each will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. One of the involuntary manslaughter counts is one in which prosecutors will have to prove there is underlying negligence, prosecutors said. This is a fourth-degree felony that carries a sentence of up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
The second involuntary manslaughter charge is one for the commission of a lawful act, a more severe charge which requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death, prosecutors said. This charge includes a firearm enhancement, which adds a mandatory penalty of five years in jail.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be charged under a standard called “charged in the alternative.” If the case ends up going to trial, a jury will determine which of the two charges they’re guilty of.
“Rust” assistant director David Halls signed a plea deal for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, resulting in a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
“If any one of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls — had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple,” Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor on the case, said in a statement Thursday. “The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set.”

The prosecutors’ decision is “a terrible miscarriage of justice,” said Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s attorney. “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys called it a “very flawed investigation” in a statement Thursday.
“Hannah is, and has always been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit involuntary manslaughter,” they said.
Through lawyers, relatives of Hutchins thanked authorities for pursuing the charges.
“It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” attorney Brian Panish said. “We support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law.”
According to documents obtained by the New York Post in September, the office of Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had been waiting to review evidence from an FBI investigation since October 2021 after the accidental shooting took place. Once the office received the evidence, the DA announced that she intended to pursue charges and filed for $635,500 in emergency funding to hire a specialized team, including a new prosecutor, investigator, and spokesperson, to handle the case. The DA received about half of the requested funds.
Hutchins was shot and killed on Oct. 21, 2021, during a scene where Baldwin used a gun that was filled with live bullet rounds instead of dummies, which is against Hollywood film standards. Joel Souza, the movie’s director, was injured by the bullet but later recovered.
Hall, the movie’s assistant director, admitted less than a week after the shooting that he had not properly checked the gun for safety before handing it to the film’s armorer, Gutierrez-Reed, who would pass it along to Baldwin for the scene.
Hutchins’ death amplified a wave of rallying cries for safer filming protocols on movie sets. Her family ultimately sued Baldwin and the film producers in February 2022 for wrongful death. The lawsuit was settled in October and the movie resumed filming with Matt Hutchins, the widower of Halyna, serving as an executive producer.

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