2024-05-10 18:15

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's decision to gut Tesla's electric-vehicle charging team is scrambling plans for rolling out new fast-charging stations and may delay President Joe Biden's efforts to electrify U.S. highways. Last year, the Biden administration announced rules for an ambitious plan to expand the country's charging infrastructure and jump-start EV adoption. Under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, the government is doling out $5 billion to states over five years to build 500,000 EV chargers. EV market leader Tesla, which also operates the largest network of fast chargers - called Superchargers - in the U.S. and is the biggest winner so far of those federal funds, was seen as a crucial part of that plan. Since news of Tesla's abrupt EV charging layoffs surfaced, however, executives at charging companies say they have been receiving phone calls from landlords looking for a new partner for their private charging projects after Tesla pulled out. Now, the charging companies are preparing for Tesla to pull out of the federal program. That, they say, could throw a new wrench into an already-slow rollout. "It's going to delay NEVI rollout. There's no question about it," said Aatish Patel, co-founder of XCharge North America, which makes EV chargers for fleets and charging station operators. If Tesla backs out, then the solicitation by states for NEVI-funded charging projects starts over, he told Reuters. "A lot of these sites aren't going to get built this year, or within the time frames that were initially dictated." Patel said real estate companies representing about 10 non-NEVI sites in Texas, Louisiana and New York had called since news of the layoffs, saying that Tesla was pulling out and they were looking for a replacement. Tesla has won awards to build chargers for 69 of the 501 NEVI-funded sites announced so far, according to San Francisco-based research firm EVAdoption. "I'm speaking to any NEVI sites they've been awarded. They're not going to move forward on those," Brendan Jones, CEO of Blink Charging (BLNK.O) New Tab, opens new tab, told Reuters. Blink has received three inquiries in two states about multiple private sites where Tesla had backed out of since the layoffs, he said. Rollout of the federal program has been already sluggish. Long-awaited rules on eligibility for federal funds were finally laid out early last year. Only a handful of federally funded charging stations have been opened up for the public. PULLING THE PLUG Since the layoffs, Musk in a posting on his social media platform X said Tesla plans "to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations." He did not respond to questions from Reuters on the implications of his decision. In a subsequent post on Friday, Musk said Tesla will spend more than $500 million to expand its fast-charging network this year. A spokesperson for the federal Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, which oversees the NEVI program, said in an email it does not expect individual business decisions to impact EV charging projects funded by the government. States that awarded Tesla NEVI sites are closely monitoring the situation. Colorado will adjust its program as needed, said Kay Kelly, chief of innovative mobility for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Texas - the biggest beneficiary of NEVI funds - said it does not anticipate any impact from Tesla's layoffs. Tesla's change of plans, however, will affect the entire EV industry. Almost all automakers decided last year to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) for their vehicles from next year. That could provide a silver lining for other charging startups - and recently laid-off Tesla employees. "There will be a lot more NEVI sites available if Tesla backs out of projects they have already won, or withdraw their applications," Rick Wilmer, CEO of charging company ChargePoint (CHPT.N) New Tab, opens new tab, told Reuters. "It will be an opportunity for others to jump in and fill that void." Rivals like EVgo (EVGO.O) New Tab, opens new tab are looking to hire those let go by Musk. "If you were impacted by the recent Tesla layoffs, we invite you to explore EVgo's diverse range of job openings," a talent acquisition manager at the charging company said in a post on LinkedIn. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas-ev-charging-team-layoffs-threaten-slow-bidens-program-electrify-highways-2024-05-10/

2024-05-10 17:57

May 10 (Reuters) - McDonald's (MCD.N) New Tab, opens new tab U.S. franchises are considering launching a $5 meal deal, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the fast-food chain looks to draw more inflation-hit customers to its restaurants. Global restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Starbucks (SBUX.O) New Tab, opens new tab have seen lower-income customers opting to eat more meals at home amid a cost-of-living crisis, forcing the companies to offer steeper promotions to attract them to their outlets. McDonald's, which has a higher exposure to the lower-income cohort, saw its global sales growth slowing for the fourth straight quarter. "I think it's important to recognize that all income cohorts are seeking value," CEO Chris Kempczinski said on a post-earnings call last month. Bloomberg News first reported about McDonald's plans. McDonald's shares were up about 2% at $272.80 following the news. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mcdonalds-launch-5-meal-deal-lure-back-customers-bloomberg-news-reports-2024-05-10/

2024-05-10 17:21

May 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit in which Elon Musk's X Corp accused an Israeli data-scraping company of illegally copying and selling content, and selling tools that let others copy and sell content, from the social media platform. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled on Thursday that X, formerly Twitter, failed to plausibly allege that Bright Data Ltd violated its user agreement by allowing the scraping and evading X's own anti-scraping technology. Alsup said using scraping tools is not inherently fraudulent, and giving social media companies free rein to decide how public data are used "risks the possible creation of information monopolies that would disserve the public interest." The judge also said X was not entitled to "de facto copyright ownership" in copyrighted content that X's users made available to the public. Lawyers for X did not immediately respond on Friday to requests for comment. Or Lenchner, Bright Data's chief executive, said in a statement: "Bright Data's victory over X makes it clear to the world that public information on the web belongs to all of us, and any attempt to deny the public access will fail." Alsup said X can try to amend its complaint, which sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for breach of contract, trespass and misappropriation. The San Francisco-based company sued Bright Data last July. In January, another San Francisco judge ruled that Bright Data had not violated Meta Platforms' (META.O) New Tab, opens new tab terms of service by scraping data from Facebook and Instagram. Meta ended its lawsuit against Bright Data a month later. Then in March, another San Francisco judge dismissed X's lawsuit against the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which published articles based on scraped data that faulted a rise in hate speech on the platform. X claimed that the articles were scaring away advertisers, costing it millions of dollars, and has appealed the decision. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022. His other businesses include electric car company Tesla (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab. The case is X Corp v Bright Data Ltd, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 23-03698. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/musks-x-corp-loses-lawsuit-against-israeli-data-scraping-company-2024-05-10/

2024-05-10 15:43

May 10 (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania jury ordered ExxonMobil(XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab to pay $725.5 million to a former mechanic who claimed toxic chemicals in the company’s gasoline and solvents caused his cancer, according to attorneys for the plaintiff. The 10-2 verdict came on Thursday, attorneys said, after a trial in a state court in Philadelphia, where former mechanic Paul Gill alleged he was exposed to benzene in ExxonMobil products while working at a gas station between 1975 and 1980. Following the trial that lasted just over a week, the jury found Exxon liable for negligently failing to warn about the health risks of benzene, which the U.S. Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) has classified as a known carcinogen. The entire verdict was in compensatory damages, according to Gill's attorneys. An Exxon spokesperson called the verdict “irrational” and said the company would ask the court to reverse it, and that it planned to “exhaust all available appeals.” The 67-year-old former mechanic said in his 2020 lawsuit that he used petroleum products to clean car parts with his bare hands, which exposed him to benzene through direct skin contact and inhalation. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer, in 2019. "This verdict is important because it’s a finding that their gasoline causes cancer," said Patrick Wigle, an attorney for Gill, in a statement. "ExxonMobil has known for decades that benzene causes cancer, yet they resisted warning the public and taking basic precautions to warn the public and limit exposure." Benzene is widely used in the United States in motor fuels, as a solvent for resins and plastics, and for other industrial purposes. The EPA, which limits the amount of benzene that is acceptable in fuels, says it also can be found in emissions from burning coal and oil, from car exhaust and from evaporation at gas stations, among other things. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/exxon-hit-with-7255-million-verdict-over-mechanics-leukemia-diagnosis-2024-05-10/

2024-05-10 15:35

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, May 10 (Reuters) - Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan on Friday said it's not clear if monetary policy is tight enough to bring inflation down to the U.S. central bank's 2% goal, and with price pressures still too strong, it is too soon to be cutting interest rates. There are still good reasons to think that inflation will return to 2% in the coming years, Logan told the Louisiana Bankers Association's annual conference. "There are also important upside risks to inflation that are on my mind, and I think there's also uncertainties about how restrictive policy is and whether it's sufficiently restrictive to keep us on this path." The U.S. central bank last week kept its policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell noting a lack of progress on inflation so far this year means rates will likely need to stay where they are for longer than previously thought. "As I think about appropriate policy, I think it's just too early to think about cutting rates," Logan said on Friday. The labor market and the broader economy remain strong, she said, an unusual combination in light of the rapid decline in inflation last year. "But it's not a 'soft landing' until we've landed, and we haven't yet landed," Logan said, referring to a scenario in which inflation falls without triggering a painful recession or major job losses. She added that inflation data, particularly in the first quarter, "was a bit disappointing to us, and it's a good reminder of the work that we still have to do." The Fed's gauge for its 2% inflation target - the year-over-year change in the personal consumption expenditures price index - dropped from a high of 7.1% in mid-2022 to 2.5% in January 2024, and most recently in March ticked up to 2.7%. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment has remained low by historical standards, and at 3.9% in April is only a few tenths of a percentage point higher than where it was when the Fed began its rate-hike campaign in March 2022. As of March, most Fed policymakers still thought the central bank would likely cut rates two or three times this year to avoid letting policy get overly tight and unduly harming the labor market. Logan on Friday did not articulate a view on the potential timing for rate cuts. "I think I need to see some of these uncertainties resolved about the path that we're on, and we need to remain very flexible to policy, and continue to look at the data that's coming in and to watch how financial conditions are evolving and make sure the judgments that we're making are appropriate." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds-logan-says-us-monetary-policy-may-not-be-tight-enough-2024-05-10/

2024-05-10 14:42

MUMBAI, May 10 (Reuters) - Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a senior FIU official said on Friday, as the exchange seeks to resume operations in the country. The exchange was barred from operating in India in December for non-compliance with local regulations as part of the financial watchdog's crackdown on offshore crypto exchanges that were operating in the country without registration. India requires virtual digital asset service providers, like crypto exchanges, to be registered with the FIU as a reporting entity and comply with obligations mandated under the country's anti-money laundering rules. While Binance has registered with the FIU, it can resume operations only after paying a penalty for previous non-compliances, which is yet to be determined, Vivek Aggarwal, director of the FIU said. The FIU had issued show cause notices to 9 offshore cryptocurrency exchanges in December 2023 for non-compliance with local rules. The financial watchdog had also asked the ministry of electronics and information technology to block online access to the exchanges. Offshore crypto exchange KuCoin has also registered with the FIU and has resumed operations after paying a fine of 3.45 million rupees ($41,313), Aggarwal said. Kucoin had announced the registration in March, but had not shared details of the penalty. Binance and KuCoin did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. ($1 = 83.5073 Indian rupees) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/binance-registers-with-indias-financial-watchdog-it-seeks-resume-operations-2024-05-10/