China has rolled out its strongest measures yet to repair its collapsed housing market, unveiling plans to buy up unsold homes and ease mortgages. Reddit (RDDT) shares are soaring after the social media platform agreed to share content with OpenAI. Boeing (BA) is holding its annual shareholder meeting today, and outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun’s position on the company’s board of directors is a topic of discussion. The vote by about 5,000 employees at a large Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama to form a union and become represented by the United Auto Workers union ends today. And the IEA says the world lacks enough critical minerals to accelerate the transition to clean energy. U.S. stock futures are little changed after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated from their all-time highs and the Dow passed the 40,000-point milestone. Here’s what investors need to know today.
1. China rolls out measures to repair collapsed housing market
China has taken its strongest steps yet to repair its broken housing market, easing mortgage regulations and encouraging city and local authorities to buy up unsold homes and replace them with affordable housing. . But it’s unclear how the country’s cash-strapped local governments will raise enough money to finance the acquisition. China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has lowered the minimum down payment ratio while eliminating the floor on mortgage interest rates. It is also providing 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) in funding to government-backed companies to buy excess inventory from developers. Bloomberg. China’s housing slump has depressed consumer spending, and the country has increased exports to boost growth, raising suspicions from the United States that it is releasing excess production capacity.
2. Reddit soars as social media platform partners with OpenAI
Shares of Reddit (RDDT) soared 9% in pre-market trading after the social media platform agreed to share content with OpenAI. The partnership with ChatGPT will allow ChatGPT owners to use Reddit content to train artificial intelligence (AI) models in exchange for providing Reddit users and moderators with specific features powered by his OpenAI. . Additionally, Reddit will also add his OpenAI as an advertising partner. Reddit struck a similar deal with Alphabet’s (GOOGL)-owned Google earlier this year to make its content available for training to the internet search giant’s AI models, such as Gemini, via the platform’s application programming interface (API).
3. Boeing shareholders vote on Calhoun’s board position
Boeing (BA) will hold its annual shareholder meeting today. The aircraft maker continues to grapple with the fallout from a number of safety-related incidents, which have led to CEO Dave Calhoun stepping down at the end of the year. One issue in the shareholder vote will be whether the outgoing CEO will remain on the board. Proxy advisor Glass Lewis recommended that shareholders vote against Calhoun’s re-election, citing dissatisfaction with the aircraft maker’s efforts to change its safety culture. The company has been under pressure since January when an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane had a door plug pop out mid-flight, significantly slowing production this year and facing numerous regulatory investigations. has been done.
4. Voting on whether to unionize at Mercedes factory in Alabama has ended
Voting ends today for about 5,000 workers at a large Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama to form a union and be represented by the United Auto Workers union.The Alabama victory marks another boost for the UAW following a victory last month at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee that gave the union its first contract at a foreign-owned auto plant. Organized labor has historically struggled to win gains in the South.
5. The world lacks enough critical minerals to enable a smooth transition to clean energy, says IEA.
A report by the International Energy Agency says there is a shortage of critical minerals to ensure a smooth transition to green energy. IEA Director-General Fatih Birol said: “Safe and sustainable access to critical minerals is essential for a smooth and affordable transition to clean energy.” “Global demand for technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries is growing rapidly, but it cannot be met without a reliable and expanding supply of critical minerals,” the report said. The IEA analysis showed that the projects would be sufficient to meet only 70% of copper and 50% of lithium requirements in 2035. Copper and lithium are key components of electric vehicles.
