Rivian to use Tesla superchargers
The most recent manufacturer of electric vehicles to join Tesla’s (TSLA:NASDAQ) Supercharger network is Rivian (RIVN:NASDAQ).
The startup announced a pact on Tuesday to provide owners of its cars access to more Tesla fast-charging stations. This follows recent agreements Tesla made with rivals Ford Motor (F:NYSE) and General Motors (GM:NYSE).
Beginning in 2024, Rivian’s agreement grants its drivers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in the United States and Canada.
As automakers move quickly to embrace the Tesla connector, also known as the North American Charging Standard, or NACS, the move might further confuse the EV charging situation.
Rivian shares increased 5.5% on Tuesday, but are down 11.2% for the week.
Joe Tsai to head Alibaba Group
Joe Tsai, close ally to Alibaba (BABA:NYSE) co-founder Jack Ma is taking the helm of affiars at the Chinese e-commerce giant.
Tsai is replacing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang. Another of Ma’s co-founders, Eddie Wu, will take over as CEO. The changes will be effective on Sept. 10.
Tsai may be able to further Alibaba’s plans to restructure into a number of independent businesses and resurrect its e-commerce operations thanks to his friendship with Ma. The main shareholder in Alibaba, Ma, resigned from his position as executive chairman in 2019..
American depositary shares of Alibaba fell 7.9% in the past week.
FedEx tinkers with $4bn in cost cut
FedEx (FDX:NYSE) plans to reduce costs to counteract declining demand. The massive delivery company reported its quarterly revenue for the third time in a row on Tuesday, and officials don’t see a significant improvement in business anytime soon.
By integrating its Express and Ground networks, the business hopes to reduce costs by almost $4 billion over the following two years. Additionally, FedEx has tried to raise shipping prices while reducing flying hours and parking planes.
FedEx claimed that despite a Covid-driven boost in revenue during which it and rival United Parcel Service (UPS:NYSE) handled an increase in e-commerce orders as more consumers bought online, demand is still low.FedEx shares lost 1.73% within the past week
FTC sues Amazon for ‘misleading’ Prime subscribers
Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission for using “manipulative” methods to sign up customers for the Prime membership programme.
The organisation on Wednesday filed a complaint in federal court charging that the retail behemoth intentionally misled millions of customers into signing up unknowingly for Amazon Prime, which has an annual cost of $139, and made it impossible for them to cancel their subscriptions.
Without their knowledge, Amazon misled and trapped individuals into paying for regular subscriptions, which annoyed them and cost them a lot of money.
— FTC Chair Lina Khan on the commission’s legal action against Amazon
Members of Amazon Prime have access to free two-day shipping as well as additional benefits like music and movie streaming. According to Amazon, there are more than 200 million paying Prime subscribers worldwide.
Amazon shares edged 1.75% higher the past week.
Tough quarter for Darden Restaurants
Rising cost of living is affecting people’s propensity to eat out. Darden Restaurants (DRI:NYSE) reported better-than-expected quarterly profit but its guidance fell short of expectations.
The owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse stated that the last quarter was tough for fine dining during its earnings call with analysts.
While the company’s casual-dining business has led recent growth, diners at Darden’s higher-end steakhouses spent less on alcohol in the latest quarter.
Shares of Darden are down 3.33% for the week.
Overstock shares apart on bid for Bed Bath & Beyond
Overstock.com (OSTK:NASDAQ) shares soared 17% on Thursday after a successful bid for Bed Bath & Beyond’s (BBBY:NYSE) assets.
The $21.5 million bid from the online shopping site includes all the business intellectual property, business data, and mobile platform, plus other assets.
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy in April after successive years of losses and a cash crunch.
The bankrupt retailer had warned of a potential bankruptcy for months and tried to stem losses by closing hundreds of stores.
Overstock.com shares are up 8.2% for the week.