Category Archives: Business

Business

Ford unveils new Expedition Timberline; adds hands-free driving

Leave a comment

2022 Expedition Timberline SUV

Ford

DETROIT – Ford Motor on Wednesday unveiled a new off-road Timberline model as part of its updates to the 2022 Expedition SUV.

The new model features a freshened exterior design, increased ground clearance and other off-road features such as upgraded tires and a heavy-duty skid plate to protect the undercarriage of the vehicle.

It is the second Timberline model after Ford introduced the trim on the 2021 Explorer SUV with similar features.

2022 Ford Expedition Timberline SUV

Ford

With the new Timberline trim, Ford wants to capitalize on increasing sales of SUVs and demand for off-road-capable vehicles. The looks and features of such vehicles have become more popular with mainstream consumers in recent years.

The Expedition Timberline will be powered by Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine that produces 440 horsepower and 510 foot-pounds of torque.

“Timberline sets a new standard with full-size SUV customers who need more passenger space, great off-road capability and a basecamp for life’s journeys,” Mike Kipley, Ford Expedition chief engineer, said in a statement.

In addition to the Timberline trim, Ford also introduced a blacked-out “Stealth Edition Performance Package.” Ford also will offer its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system on its top-end Expedition Platinum for 2022.

The BlueCruise system allows for hands-free driving on more than 130,000 miles of dedicated highways in North America. It controls the vehicle’s speed and steering, while also monitoring the driver’s attentiveness through an infrared camera system.

2022 Ford Expedition “Stealth Edition Performance Package”

Ford

Ford’s system is similar to General Motors’ Super Cruise technology and would also compete against Tesla’s Autopilot.

The 2022 Expedition is assembled at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, and will go on sale in the first quarter of next year.

The company did not announce pricing for the 2022 Expedition. The vehicle currently starts at between $50,000 and $75,000.

Read original article here

Business

Bitcoin falls as crypto gets caught up in Evergrande selloff

Leave a comment

The digital currency has dropped 5.7% in the last 24 hours, and was trading at $42,955 per coin as of 2:43 am ET on Tuesday, according to cryptocurrency tracker Coindesk.

Earlier, it was down as much as 12%.

Other cryptocurrencies are tumbling, too. Ethereum and dogecoin have each declined 4.4% and about 6%, respectively, in the past 24 hours.

The fall followed a major drop in US stocks on Monday, as Wall Street’s fears turned to China. Investors have been uneasy over the deepening crisis of Evergrande, a massive Chinese property conglomerate that’s at risk of defaulting.
It was the worst performance since May for the S&P (SPX) and the Nasdaq (COMP), while the Dow (INDU) logged its worst day since July.
Experts have characterized Evergrande’s struggles as a major test for Beijing, with some worrying about whether the company risks creating China’s Lehman Brothers moment. While other analysts have said it’s far from certain that Evergrande’s crisis will become a similarly far-reaching event, the crisis has sent shockwaves across the world.
The property firm, which is struggling to manage its $300 billion mountain of debt, was supposed to pay the interest on some of its bank loans Monday, according to Bloomberg. Evergrande did not respond to a request from CNN Business for comment about those payments.
Interest on two of its bonds worth more than $100 million is also due later this week, according to Refinitiv. Shares of Evergrande fell 5.7% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, extending Monday’s losses.

Even though the company primarily serves mainland China, investors around the world are worried. The massive amount of money borrowed by Chinese companies has long been considered a looming threat to market stability. Now investors fear the exposure that banks might have to Evergrande and companies like it.

US banks fell on Monday, with Goldman Sach (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) among the Dow’s worst performers.

The issue had already weighed on Hong Kong markets earlier in the day, as Chinese banks, insurers and other real estate companies were slammed.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst of the Americas at Oanda, said on Monday that bitcoin was no different from other assets.

“The fallout from the Evergrande is putting a tremendous dent in risk appetite that is sending everything lower,” he wrote in a note to clients.

Moya noted that cryptocurrencies had performed well this year, “despite all the volatility.”

“So it should not surprise Wall Street they are the first asset sold in the beginning of China-driven market selloff,” as investors aim to cash in, he added.

Others have taken the occasion to double down. Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador who is known for his bullish stance on bitcoin, tweeted Monday that “we just bought the dip.”

The country purchased 150 bitcoins, and now holds 700 coins, he added.

Earlier this month, Bukele announced that El Salvador had become the world’s first country to adopt the digital currency as legal tender.

-— Anneken Tappe and Laura He contributed to this report.



Read original article here

Business

Bitcoin attempts recovery as Evergrande-led selloff eases

Leave a comment

A representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin is seen in this illustration taken August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Sept 21 (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency prices bounced off 1-1/2 month lows on Tuesday as a heavy selloff overnight linked to concerns about a possible loan default by property developer China Evergrande (3333.HK) eased slightly, but investors braced for more volatility.

Bitcoin , the biggest and the best known cryptocurrency, traded around $43,000, recovering from a fall to $40,192 earlier in the session. It hit a four-month high of $52,000 on Sept 6.

Smaller rival ether , the coin linked to the Ethereum blockchain, rose 1% to $3,012 after falling below $3,000 for the first time since early August.

Global markets started the week on a turbulent note after fears that Evergrande’s troubles could lead to a fallout for the Chinese and global economies prompted a selloff in riskier assets.

“We can’t take a very positive view just as yet until we get through the next few days,” said Matthew Dibb, chief operating officer at crypto index fund provider Singapore-based Stack Funds.

“This is purely sentiment driven right now, and it’s actually been off very low liquidity,” he said, adding that it would be better to wait on the sidelines as crypto markets will continue to be affected by the contagion.

The drop in cryptocurrencies comes at a time when institutional interest in the space has risen and made it more mainstream, with many investment banks taking a more bullish stance.

Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

Business

US coronavirus: The FDA could authorize Covid-19 vaccines for young children in weeks, expert says

Leave a comment

“It is conceivable that by Halloween, we could see shots going into arms, but it’s going to take a number of weeks for that process to work its way through,” Dr. James Hildreth, a vaccine adviser to the FDA, told CNN’s Don Lemon Monday.

That process is happening as the second highest total of new cases in children was reported last week and cases among that group continue to rise exponentially, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics published Monday.

In Pittsburgh, officials at UPMC Children’s Hospital said they are seeing an “historic” number of children coming to the Emergency Department. A tent was set up outside the emergency room Friday to help accommodate more patients, the hospital said in a social media post.

Currently, the youngest Americans eligible for vaccination are 12-year-olds, and the vaccination rate of adolescents is still inching toward the halfway mark, according to a CNN analysis of data from the CDC.

Trials are currently underway for younger children, and Pfizer/BioNTech announced in a news release Monday that a Phase 2 of 3 trial showed their two-dose vaccine was safe and generated a “robust” antibody response in children 5 to 11.

The expansion of vaccine access would be important both for protecting children and for ending the hold the virus has on the US for everyone, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Peter Hotez said.

“Ultimately, if we’re serious about halting this epidemic in the United States, we need 85-90% of the US population vaccinated,” Hotez said. “That means all of the adults, all of the adolescents and large numbers of young kids.”

But there is still a big challenge ahead: getting the doses into kid’s arms, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Johnathan Reiner said.

While some parents are eager to vaccinate their children, others are more hesitant.

“While it seems like a guarantee that parents would give their kids this vaccine, we’re going to have to do a much better job educating a very diverse group of Americans that this vaccine is safe and effective,” he said.

But while health care professionals talk with families about the decision, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said she thinks it is OK that some parents are not ready.

“I understand that some of them may not want to go first,” Wen said. “There’s another segment of parents who are really eager, who would do anything to have their kids be vaccinated. Let them go first.”

Changes to school policies

As the vaccine process plays out, schools are navigating how to manage students’ safety on campus.

New quarantine protocols for students and faculty of Miami-Dade County Public Schools went into effect Monday, lessening how long staff members and high school students need to quarantine if exposed to Covid-19 from 10 days to 5 days, as long as they have a negative test and are symptom free.

Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said masks are still required for all teachers and students but indicated it’s something they will continue to look at as the year goes on.

“These are metrics that we are advancing to our task force … to be considered as the gatekeepers of a further relaxation of protocols,” he said.

New York City officials also reduced quarantine time for exposed students, allowing masked unvaccinated students in a classroom to forgo quarantine if there was exposure within the classroom and they were distanced three feet away.

Beginning next week, however, schools will increase student testing to once a week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

And in North Carolina, the Union County Public School Board voted Monday to amend its controversial protocol that stated “all students and staff who do not have a positive COVID-19 test or symptoms should return to school or work immediately” — even if they were a close contact of a positive case of Covid-19,
The vote upheld two amendments — one halting all staff responsibilities regarding contact tracing and quarantining for students and staff and another requiring students and staff who are symptomatic or who have tested positive for Covid-19 to stay home. The board will recognize quarantines of people in close contact with a positive case, it said in a news release.

Boosters could expand to more populations, Fauci says

Booster vaccine doses have been another consideration to bolster protection against the virus and while the population under consideration for authorization to get them is limited, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the group could expand.

FDA vaccine advisers voted Friday to recommend emergency use authorization of a booster dose of Pfizer’s vaccine for people 65 and older and those at high risk of severe Covid-19. The FDA has yet to act on that recommendation.

But Fauci told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the FDA will be following incoming data from the US and Israel in real time and will adjust any authorizations accordingly.

“The waning of protection, particularly against severe disease in younger groups, would trigger the FDA to look at that and see if they want to expand the recommendation to go much younger than 65,” Fauci said.

If that data does come in, “then I think it’s likely, as we go on over the coming weeks, we’ll see more and more of an expansion of the recommendation for the boosters for those individuals,” Fauci said.

Those who received the Moderna or one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for their initial vaccine, “have not been forgotten,” Fauci noted.

“The data associated with the boosters in those individuals will be coming to the FDA, I would imagine in a couple to three weeks,” he said. “They will examine it in the same way as they did before, and hopefully, they will get a recommendation that would provide equity among people who have had different products in their vaccination regimen.”

CNN’s Jen Christensen, Jacqueline Howard, Amanda Sealy, Lauren Mascarenhas, Elizabeth Stuart, Kristina Sgueglia

Read original article here

Business

Don’t expect Beijing to provide direct support to Evergrande, says S&P

Leave a comment

Outside the China Evergrande Group Royal Mansion residential development under construction in Beijing, China, on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.

Gilles Sabrie | Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Chinese government is not likely to step in to give direct support to debt-ridden developer China Evergrande Group, according to S&P Global Ratings.

“We do not expect the government to provide any direct support to Evergrande,” said the S&P credit analysts in a Monday report. “We believe Beijing would only be compelled to step in if there is a far-reaching contagion causing multiple major developers to fail and posing systemic risks to the economy.”

“Evergrande failing alone would unlikely result in such a scenario,” they added.

Even in Evergrande’s home province, the developer is insignificant to Guangdong’s vast local economy — it is not too big to fail.

Fears over a potential contagion from Evergrande into the broader Chinese economy and beyond dragged down the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong by more than 3% on Monday. The sell-off continued across the globe.

Evergrande is the world’s most indebted developer and has racked up about $300 billion in debt. It is due to make a number of interest payments for its bonds starting Thursday. S&P said a “default is likely” on those payments.

“We believe the Chinese banking sector can digest an Evergrande default with no significant disruption, although we will be mindful of potential knock-on effects,” S&P said.

In Tuesday morning trade, shares of Evergrande in Hong Kong fell about 4% — its seventh straight session of declines, though far less than the over 10% decline on Monday.

Evergrande’s chairman tried to reassure markets on Tuesday, and said the firm will fulfill its responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions, Reuters reported Tuesday citing local media.

‘Not too big to fail’

S&P analysts likened the Evergrande fallout to the case of Chinese bad debt manager Huarong, which sparked a market rout earlier this year when it failed to report earnings on time and its U.S. dollar-denominated bonds plunged.

“We don’t expect government actions to help Evergrande unless systemic stability is at risk,” S&P said. “A government bailout would undermine the campaign to instill greater financial discipline in the property sector.”

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

Instead of a bailout, Beijing might facilitate negotiations negotiations and funding to ensure individual investors and homebuyers are “protected as much as possible,” the analysts said.

“The government is willing to help, but also wants events to take their course. Even in Evergrande’s home province, the developer is insignificant to Guangdong’s vast local economy — it is not too big to fail.”

Read original article here

Business

COVID-19 Statistics | Sept. 20, 2021 | Lost Coast Outpost

Leave a comment

Three deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded in Humboldt County since the most recent report Friday. One was a person in their 40s, one in their 60s and one over the age of 80. Department Operations Center staff share their sympathies with the family, friends and caregivers of those who have died.

Also since Friday, two hospitalizations have been reported, one county resident in their 60s and one in their 70s. Eighty-four new cases have been reported. A total of 8,182 residents have tested positive for the virus.

Pfizer announced Monday that internal trials have shown that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11, and that the company would seek authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of the month for emergency use in this age group.

There is currently no strict timeframe for this process. Pfizer signaled that it would file its application by the end of the month, and FDA officials have said they would evaluate the data “hopefully within a matter of weeks,” according to news accounts.

Pfizer vaccines are already available to residents 12 and older. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available to adults 18 and over.

In other vaccine news, an advisory committee voted Friday to recommend the FDA approve COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for people 65 and older, immunocompromised individuals and those working in specific high-risk settings.
 
 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP will meet to discuss the recommendation Wednesday and Thursday, and the FDA is expected to make a final decision in the coming days. If approved, the booster could be received as soon as six months after the second shot. More information will be released as it becomes available.

Testing for COVID-19 is now available at most Public Health vaccine clinics, where residents will have the option of getting tested, vaccinated or both. As always, testing and vaccination services are provided free of charge. Combo clinics will be held this week in Weitchpec, Willow Creek, Garberville, Blue Lake, Arcata and Eureka.

COVID-19 testing continues in Eureka from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week at the Wharfinger Building at 1 Marina Way. The test site is operated by OptumServe and located in the Bay Room on the lower floor of the building. The site is closed from 11 a.m. to noon and 4 to 5 p.m. for staff meal breaks. Walk-ins are welcome, but preregistration is recommended. Sign up at lhi.care/covidtesting.

Public health officials continue to urge residents to get tested, particularly unvaccinated individuals, those experiencing symptoms, and those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.

Walk-ins are welcome at most locations, and appointments can be made in advance at MyTurn.ca.gov. For instructions in English and Spanish on how to use My Turn, go to humboldtgov.org/VaccineInfo. 

See the schedule below for specific clinic dates, times, locations and available services:

Weitchpec — Tuesday, Sept. 21, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
     Yurok Tribe Weitchpec Office (State Route 96)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson/Moderna
     PCR and rapid testing available

Willow Creek — Tuesday, Sept. 21, 3 to 5 p.m.
     Public Health (77 Walnut Way)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson/Moderna
     PCR and rapid testing available

Garberville — Wednesday, Sept. 22, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
     Public Health (727 Cedar St.)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson/Moderna
     PCR and rapid testing available

Blue Lake — Thursday, Sept. 23, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
     Blue Lake Resource Center-Skinner Store (111 Greenwood Road)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson/Moderna
     PCR and rapid testing available

Arcata — Thursday, Sept. 23, 4 to 6 p.m.
     Arcata High School (1720 M St.)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson
     PCR and rapid testing available

Arcata — Friday, Sept. 24, 9 a.m. to noon
     D Street Neighborhood Center (1301 D St.)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson/Moderna
     PCR and rapid testing available

Eureka — Friday, Sept. 24, 1 to 4 p.m.
     Transition-Age Youth Division (433 M St.)
     Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson/Moderna
     PCR and rapid testing available

Vaccination is also available at local pharmacies. To check availability of a specific vaccine, visit vaccines.gov, or text your ZIP code to 438829 to locate a pharmacy offering vaccines nearby. Most pharmacies allow walk-ins.

Pfizer is authorized for those 12 and older, and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are authorized for people age 18 and older. County residents age 16 and 17 can receive a vaccination at Public Health clinics without a parent or guardian physically present as long as they have a signed consent form. Children under 16 still must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.

While some fully vaccinated individuals have experienced post-vaccination infection, health officials overwhelmingly agree that vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the incidence of severe outcomes.

Full protection from vaccination is achieved two weeks after receiving the second dose of a two-dose series or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.

View the Data Dashboard online at humboldtgov.org/dashboard, or go to humboldtgov.org/DashboardArchives to download data from a previous time.

For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or by contacting covidinfo@co.humboldt.ca.us or calling 707-441-5000.

Sign up for COVID-19 vaccination: MyTurn.ca.gov
Check for vaccine availability at a local pharmacy: Vaccines.gov
Local COVID-19 vaccine information: humboldtgov.org/VaccineInfo
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/Dashboard
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
###



Read original article here

Business

Holiday bummer: Now prices are soaring for Christmas trees and decorations

Leave a comment

Some large sellers of artificial trees say they are increasing their prices by double-digit percentages and are blaming unduly high shipping costs tied to the ongoing global supply chain mess.

“We’ll have to raise prices. For trees, it’ll be on average about 20% higher,” said Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill. The company, based in Redwood City, California, does more than $200 million in direct-to-consumer annual sales of artificial Christmas trees and other decorations in the United States.

“Even then it won’t cover our own costs because we’re paying as much as 300% more per shipping container this year,” said Harman.

Months and months of shipping disruptions resulting in part from pandemic-triggered overseas factory shutdowns, port congestion and shipping container and labor shortages have caused delays for products ranging from laptops to sofa sets.

Now, with the year-end festive season around the corner, suppliers of seasonal decor are also anxious about having enough products on hand to meet demand.

National Tree Company in Cranford, New Jersey, is a large wholesaler of artificial trees and other holiday decor such as ornaments, wreaths and inflatables Santas to retailers like Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT) and Amazon (AMZN).

Chris Butler, the company’s CEO, expects shoppers will be keen to indulge in decorations to celebrate, especially after another challenging year in a pandemic.

“From a macro perspective, we expect demand for our products will be up 25% over last year,” said Butler. “We expect to sell roughly 1.5 million to 2 million artificial trees this year.”

But he worries that if demand is too robust, he might not be adequately stocked to meet it because of shipping delays. The bulk of the company’s products are made in China.

“We think we are 10% below where we typically are every year with our inventory of trees, wreaths and garlands,” he said. Butler said National Tree Company is raising its wholesale tree prices by 20% to 25% because of exorbitant freight costs. Retailers, in turn, might pass along some of this price increase to consumers, he added.

“We didn’t have any products to sell”

The industry group American Christmas Tree Association estimates the overall size of the US market for artificial Christmas trees to be somewhere between $1 billion to $2 billion annually.

At Balsam Hill, delays in receiving inventory have already created unprecedented setbacks.

In mid-August, the company sent out its fall products catalog. Besides Christmas products, the business also sells fall decor items like wreaths for the front door or porch, which it imports from China along with most of its other fall products and the Christmas trees.

“For the first time ever for us, the catalog was out, and we didn’t have any products to sell,” said Harman. “Our shipments didn’t arrive on time. We’re still trying to figure out exactly where the products are. Are they still on the water or stuck in ports? If this keeps happening, we could go out of business.”

Some inventory has arrived. “It’s about 12 out of 50 products listed in the catalog,” he said. “Our overall daily sales are significantly down because we don’t have items to sell.”

He hopes to be in a better position with Christmas trees “because we do bring them in throughout the year,” he said. But even so, Harman said Balsam Hill’s tree inventory is running about 22% below last year’s level and overall inventory of holiday seasonal decor is down 42% year-over-year.

“What we’re most concerned about are decorations like ornaments, tree skirts and wreaths,” he said. “We source these products worldwide. Even if one or two containers with those items get delayed, we may not have a whole category of items.” Harman said holiday ornament supplies are 50% below last year’s levels.

Treetime, a direct-to-consumer seller of artificial Christmas trees and decorations based in Lake Barrington, Illinois, said it has incurred a more than a 500% jump in shipping costs this year.

The company designs and manufactures its own brand of pre-lit and unlit trees that cost $100 to over $1,000 depending on the height and design. Its trees are also made in China.

“We’re absolutely trying to absorb some of the tremendous freight cost increases ourselves,” said Laurie Kane, co-owner of Treetime. Some of it, she said, will hit consumers’ wallets.

“We’re increasing our prices, but we’re trying to hold it to under 20%,” she said.

Kane is keeping a close eye on holiday shipments, which should have arrived by now by haven’t.

For Kane, it’s critical that the inventory comes in by Thanksgiving.

“The misconception is that people start decorating in December, but it’s really by November end,” she said. “December is when you buy the presents. Will anyone want our products if they come in later than that? That’s the biggest challenge for us.”

Read original article here

Business

Jeff Bezos pledges $1 billion to conservation through Bezos Earth Fund

Leave a comment

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announces the co-founding of The Climate Pledge at the National Press Club on September 19, 2019, in Washington.

Paul Morigi | Getty Images | Amazon

Jeff Bezos on Monday pledged to give away $1 billion in grants this year with a focus on conservation efforts.

The pledge comes through the Bezos Earth Fund, which the Amazon founder and chairman started in 2020 to execute his $10 billion commitment to fight climate change. The Bezos Earth Fund has pledged to donate about $1 billion a year to activists, scientists and other groups working to address the globe’s climate crisis, with a goal of spending $10 billion by 2030.

Following this year’s focus on conservation, the fund said that in the coming years it intends to support efforts around landscape restoration and food system transportation.

The latest round of grants will be used to “create, expand, manage and monitor protected and conserved areas,” the Bezos Earth Fund said in a release. To start, the fund plans to focus on Central Africa’s Congo Basin, the tropical Andes region and the tropical Pacific Ocean, all of which are key areas for biodiversity and carbon stocks, or the amount of carbon stored in things such as vegetation, soils and oceans.

“The natural world is not better today than it was 500 years ago, when we enjoyed unspoiled forests, clean rivers and the pristine air of the pre-industrial age,” Bezos said in a statement. “We can and must reverse this anomaly.”

It is not yet known which organizations will receive the grants. The gifts will be prioritized in areas where local communities and Indigenous peoples are a main focus of conservation programs, among other considerations, the Bezos Earth Fund said.

Earlier this month, the fund said it would give away $203.7 million by the end of the year to organizations advancing climate justice, among other causes. That’s after it awarded $791 million in grants last year to 16 organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Nature Conservancy.

Read original article here

Business

The 2022 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro’s Payload Can’t Beat The Ranger

Leave a comment

Photo: Toyota

The new Toyota Tundra is a big truck, no doubt about it. Well, it is a full-size pickup, which means that most drivers would expect correspondingly big numbers on its spec sheet, but the ’22 Tundra is beat by some smaller trucks in important specs, such as payload. Any single Ranger that Ford currently makes has a max payload higher than Toyota’s gnarliest new Tundra, the TRD Pro.

The TRD Pro has a max payload of 1,455 pounds, as Expedition Portal noted. The Ranger, on the other hand, will support from 1,478 pounds up to 1,905 pounds, depending on the trim. Notice that the term carmakers usually steer you towards is “up to.”

Photo: Ford

The new Tundra’s payload rating is up to 1,940 pounds, but the TRD Pro will carry much less. Funny how the “up to” phrase doesn’t apply to price, though. When discussing price, the clause is almost always “starting at.” Toyota is not the only company that does this; all carmakers do this. Phrases like “up to” and “starting at” are common practice.

But it’s a practice that, in this case, can make the Tundra’s specs confusing to those who aren’t familiar with pickups. There’s a difference between trucks that can tow and haul, and those that are considered performance trucks. The Tundra TRD Pro is very much in the performance camp.

G/O Media may get a commission

Photo: Toyota

The TRD Pro is powered exclusively by a hybrid drivetrain in the new generation model, which means the latest off-road Tundra in the lineup has to account for an electric motor and a battery. In that sense, it’s one of the few production models in the world that’s an off-road specific hybrid pickup.

If you take a look at the specs something like the Ford Raptor, you’ll see that it has an even lower payload spec of (a measly) 1,400 pounds. Clearly, there’s an inverse relationship here between off-road and and payload capabilities. But the problem with the ’22 Tundra and current Ranger is that even the Tundra’s max payload of 1,940 pounds isn’t far from the Ranger’s max of 1,905 pounds.

I’m unsure this is going to help the Tundra get out from under the shadow of the last generation’s criticisms, which mostly had to do with its towing and payload ratings being significantly lower than it rivals.

Really, though, what are you hauling that’s more than 1500 pounds anyway? 

Photo: Toyota

Read original article here

Business

Royal Dutch Shell Is Selling Its Permian Basin Oil Holdings to ConocoPhillips

Leave a comment

HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell sold its oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, the biggest American oil field, to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash on Monday.

The deal marks a turning point for Shell, which had put considerable effort into developing the 225,000-acre field since buying it from Chesapeake Energy nine years ago, expanding its production to about 200,000 barrels a day.

The sale is the latest sign that Shell, like other European oil companies, is under pressure to sell off oil and gas production and move toward producing cleaner energy in response to growing concerns about climate change among investors and the general public.

Shell is retreating from the Permian as American shale oil production is recovering. The field yielded 4.7 million barrels a day in August — more than 40 percent of total American oil output and a nearly 400,000-barrel-a-day increase from January. Rising oil prices have enticed crews to return to the fields, where they use hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as fracking — to blast open shale rocks and force oil out of the ground.

A wave of acquisitions in the Permian began last year with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic as companies sought to cut costs. The scale of the Shell deal is similar to Conoco’s acquisition of Concho Resources for $9.7 billion in October, a deal that made Conoco a major player in the Permian, which straddles Texas and New Mexico. In April, Pioneer Natural Resources bought DoublePoint Energy for $6.4 billion.

With the acquisition of Shell’s acreage, Conoco consolidates its position as a top-tier Permian producer along with Pioneer, Occidental Petroleum, Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

Shell’s sale of its West Texas Permian holdings, which provided an estimated 6 percent of the company’s global oil and gas production last year, had been expected for months. Shell recently sold its stakes in offshore oil and gas fields in Malaysia and the Philippines. Its American operations include offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico along with refineries.

Shell has been talking about cutting emissions since 2017, and it has accelerated its shift to cleaner fuels over the last two years, although not enough to satisfy many environmentalists. In addition to a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, it has set a target of reducing oil output up to 2 percent a year by 2030 through divestments and lower investments in exploration and production.

“We are very excited to enhance our position in one of the best basins in the world,” said Ryan M. Lance, Conoco’s chief executive. He hailed the deal as “a unique opportunity to add premium assets.”

Shell said it viewed the deal as “a compelling value proposition.”

“This decision once again reflects our focus on value over volumes,” Wael Sawan, Shell’s upstream director, said in announcing the deal. He said Shell had reviewed multiple strategies and options for the Permian acreage.

Shell said cash proceeds from the transaction would fund $7 billion in distributions to shareholders as well as efforts toward “the energy transition.”

Shell plans to increase its investments in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies to roughly 25 percent of its budget by 2025.

At least some of the money from asset sales goes into Shell’s power businesses, including electric vehicle plug-in points, battery businesses and utilities. This week, Shell announced plans to build a biofuels facility in the Netherlands to use waste from used cooking oil and animal fat to make cleaner diesel and aviation fuel.

At least some of the impetus for Shell’s shedding of hydrocarbon assets came from a decision by a Dutch court in May ordering the company to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 45 percent by 2030 compared with 2019 levels, before the pandemic slashed oil and gas demand. Shell is appealing the ruling.

When Shell or other oil companies sell a field or petrochemical plant, the transaction does not automatically mean that global emissions will be reduced since other companies routinely pick up the production.

In a recent article on LinkedIn, Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, wrote that if Shell stopped selling transportation fuels “it would not help the world one bit” because “people would fill up their cars and delivery trucks at other service stations.”

Shell, like the entire oil and gas industry, has suffered through a rocky time of late. The pandemic forced the company to cut its dividend last year. But with oil and natural gas prices recovering, the company has returned to robust profitability, reporting earnings of $5.5 billion in the second quarter, up from $638 million a year earlier

Stanley Reed contributed reporting.

Read original article here