A US mining firm central to the Trump administration's critical minerals push, overstated its experience, per @reuters.com.
Virtus bought Chemaf's mines for $30 million + claimed a track record in Congo from running a Cu + Co processing plant. But it hadn't acquired the plant, idle since 2012.
At the Beijing auto show, China's automakers delivered a message to premium German brands Porsche, Mercedes + BMW: "We're coming for your customers."
Not the least with #EV models that are better equipped, equally stylish + less expensive than the Germans.
Will they handle as well? Does it matter?
U.S. EV sales in March rebounded from February, covering both new + used models.
"High gas prices can’t be ignored, but the year-over-year story provides better perspective. As expected, the used #EV market continues to expand in a very positive way."
Q1 mkt share v Q1-2025: 5.8% v 7.5%. (1/2)
So Texas is Awl Country, is it?
TWO-THIRDS of active TX oil wells (99,000) produce < 10 barrels of oil a day. To remain “active,” a well must produce 5 bbl for 3 consecutive months or 1 bbl in each of 12 months.
Why? The cost of plugging a well is slightly higher than pumping a mostly dry one. Oh.
Love wins.
"Outside [the AI bubble], they present as another familiar + unwelcome spectacle: a group of powerful men, all proclaiming, one after the other, that he alone can fix it."
A wry, sad, mildly disturbing piece on today's AI titans + their talk about what "we" must do while they all loathe each other.
Atop the American Library Association's "Most Challenged Books" list for 2025: "Sold" by Patricia McCormick, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky + "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe.
They educate readers about awkward, concealed, difficult truths that make many uncomfortable.
This excellent thread has a lot more detail on the IEA report.
The largest single contributor to 2025 global energy-supply growth, per IEA: #solar power. Its annual Global Energy Review reports more than 25% of new energy supply added last year was solar.
It is the first time in history that a renewable has led global energy growth, more than fossil fuels.
This is a genius bit of engineering and the sort of thing a country serious about assisting farmers and tackling energy shortages would be working to put over every canal
In your OTHER vehicle ... DUH.
Nope. The "crossover" name was invented not for the reasons you cite, but to distinguish utility vehicles based on CAR platforms (e.g. Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape) from those based on old-skool, body-on-frame TRUCK platforms.
Mostly an industry term; shoppers don't seem to use it much.
(2/2) "... ethics + personal conduct going forward.
"Rooting out 'Trumpism' in the functioning of the U.S. government is going to be a process that extends far longer than Trump’s own term in office."
"We must, going forward, make white collar crime enforcement great again."
"Taken together, these 5 scandals — none of which are really getting any sustained media attention — show how corrosive this second Trump administration has been to the most basic fundamentals of good governance + how hard — but necessary — it will be to restore principles of impartiality..." (1/2)
COMMIE !!!
Little incentive for landlords to be proactive + add complication until the lack of #EV charging starts to impinge on the desirability of the properties. Which will be a while at the mass-market end, though in high-end urban rentals it's becoming a more standard expectation now.
(2/2) Categorizing crossovers as cars rather than light trucks ...
"... would reduce most manufacturers’ average fuel economy ratings. Sedans could help offset the change."
ENTIRELY missed this wrinkle to the current administration's proposed, cough, revisions to CAFE.
"The proposal would reclassify many crossovers + small SUVs as passenger cars instead of light trucks, making them subject to higher (CAFE) standards."
Which could bring back sedans. (1/2)
[GIFT LINK]
Big IF, since the buyers more eager to save $$$ have lower incomes, meaning in the U.S. they're far more likely to live in Multiple-Unit Dwellings (vs individual homes with dedicated off-street parking) where charging is far, FAR harder.
Average cost for a (U.S.) gallon of petrol: ~ $4
Average cost for a kilowatt-hour: $0.18 (though varies by almost an order of magnitude from lowest to highest)
But, but, BUT ... the salient Q for #EV sales in the U.S.
From my colleagues at @insideevs.com.
Not to mention a rather large unusual event ...
Sales of battery electric vehicles in Europe's main auto markets jumped by almost a third in Q1, after the war in Iran caused the highest spike in gasoline prices in years + drivers looked to full #EV models as alternatives to combustion engines.
Argument in @nytimes.com oped ...
Middle-income American consumers should have the option of buying new, low-cost Chinese cars, because among other reasons, buying older, used cars is an economic "trap” as their repair costs soar.
Discuss.
[GIFT LINK]
What kind of un-American Socialistic Communistic seditionistic twaddle is THAT, son? Of course THEY NEED TO WORK HARDER.
U.S. New Car Debt Grows Deeper as Loan Terms Stretch Longer.
Edmunds' new Negative Equity Report for Q1 makes sobering reading. More than 3 in 10 buyers are underwater on the car they want to trade in.
Gee, perfect for entering a potential recessions / correction / era of stagflation / fresh hell.
In September, Florida dissolved the Trump Presidential Library Fund for failing to file mandatory reports.
That means $63 million pledged by 4 media firms—Paramount, ABC News, Meta + Twitter/X—remains unaccounted for.
Per this scoop, those firms now refuse to say where the money went.
"The Pentagon’s purchasing chief, Stephen Feinberg, is known in Detroit as the former head of Cerberus, the private equity fund that acquired Chrysler + ran it into bankruptcy."
Ex-Reuters Detroit reporter Joe White is ALWAYS worth reading for his decades of background ... and occasional zingers.
