Good morning everyone. Congrats on surviving a crazy week, and almost all of January! Get ready for the weekend!
0:05- No gas, no brakes
In a rather unexpected social media post from CEO Mary Barra, GM announced that it is planning on phasing out all gas powered vehicles by 2035, as part of its larger initiative to become carbon neutral by the end of 2040. Currently, more than 98% of GM’s revenue stems from fossil fueled cars, but GM said that they recognized it was necessary to make this decision in order to achieve their goals. Recently GM has invested a significant amount of money in the cause, including a $2.3Bn battery factory in Ohio that will be used in their all electric Hummer later this year.
0:32- Like many things in 2021, the economy is looking up
In the recent GDP report, it was announced that the US economy expanded at an astounding 4% gain over the Q4 2020. Unfortunately this holiday boost was unable to reverse the course of the full year, as the numbers also indicated that the economy contracted at a 3.5% rate for all of 2020. Despite these numbers, experts remain optimistic about the future, predicting a growth rate between 4.3% and 5.1% for 2021 as the pandemic settles down.
0:53- What goes up... must come down
After a chaotic couple of days in the market, $GME, $AMC, $BB, and the rest of the WallStreetBets stocks have begun trending back to previous levels... although not necessarily by investor choice. Early yesterday morning, brokerages started to restrict trading of those securities, only allowing users to sell the stocks without the ability to open new positions. This move sparked serious outrage, even to the point where Ted Cruz and AOC agreed with each other.
1:13- Stress is a powerful force
As it turns out, when people are faced with gigantic stressors (like for example, a pandemic) they turn to familiar vices. After more than a decade of decline in smoking habits, 2020 marked an increase in the deadly habit as levels returned to numbers not seen since 2015. Altria, the largest US tobacco manufacturer, saw its revenue raise 5% over 2020, up to $6.3Bn.
Have a great rest of your day, and we’ll see you tomorrow bright and early!
-The 90 Second News Team
Want the news in a different format? Text Message or Podcast (Apple | Google)
Join our referral program! Sign up here!
Follow us on Twitter, and Facebook!
Have any questions, comments, concerns? Email us at team@90SecondNews.info