Tesla is bringing its electric cars to the heart of the oil producing world. The automaker announced Monday that its first official venture in the Middle East will be in the United
Steven Mnuchin had a pretty good weekend.
First the treasury secretary pick advanced a step closer toward confirmation on Friday.
Then his latest movie claimed the top spot at the box office.
Mnuchin is an executive producer on Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Batman Movie,” which pulled in an estimated $55.6 million from U.S. audiences during its opening weekend.
CNN, like Warner Bros., is owned by Time Warner.
The kid-friendly spinoff of 2014’s “The Lego Movie” handily beat its raunchy competitor, Universal’s “Fifty Shades Darker.”
The sequel to 2015’s “Fifty Shades of Grey,” based on a best-selling series of romance novels, debuted at $46.8 million in the United States.
Related: Possible pick for Treasury secretary makes his film debut
Mnuchin is listed as a producer or executive producer on 34 films in recent years, including last summer’s “Suicide Squad,” which brought in $786 million worldwide.
He also produced “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” another Lego franchise spinoff that will hit screens this fall.
Mnuchin is widely expected to be serving as Treasury secretary by then.
Following a 53-46 vote last Friday to break a Democratic filibuster, Mnuchin is scheduled for a final vote before the full Senate at 7 p.m. Monday.
–CNNMoney’s Frank Pallotta and CNN’s Ashley Killough contributed to this story.
CNNMoney (New York) First published February 12, 2017: 5:39 PM ET
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To tackle Thailand’s mounting trash problem, one company is turning to the country’s plant life.
Universal Biopack makes packaging that it sells to restaurants and manufacturers. But rather than plastic, it uses a mixture of bamboo and cassava, crops that are widely found across the country.
After growing rapidly in recent decades, Thailand has become one of Asia’s biggest economies. But like many other countries in the region, it’s been slow to try to combat the millions of tons of trash produced each year.
“Waste management is a big problem everywhere,” said Universal Biopack’s managing director, Vara-Anong Vichakyothin.
Related: The company turning 4 billion plastic bottles into clothes
The company is using a technology devised at a Bangkok university to make its zero-waste packaging. It hopes it will eventually replace many of the Styrofoam boxes and plastic bags that end up in huge garbage dumps across Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.
Its eco-friendly formula took five years to develop and is so adaptable it could end up being used to package things like furniture and even phones. The bamboo it uses comes from leftover scraps from the chopstick manufacturing process.
In the cities of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, where takeout drink containers and noodle packets line the sidewalks, the company supplies restaurants, organic farmers and other businesses in the food and drink industry.
But finding new clients can be tricky.
Takeout food vendors in Thailand want to keep costs down in a competitive business with thin margins. Asking them to spend more on packaging for environmental reasons is a tough sell.
“The local economy still does not support [this technology]” said Universal Biopack’s founder, Suthep Vichakyothin.
But that hasn’t stopping other companies from entering the sustainable packaging market in Thailand. Like Universal Biopack, they’re betting on growing environmental awareness eventually leading to an increase in demand.
To become more competitive, Suthep’s company is investing. It’s aiming to ramp up production by building a partially automated assembly line at its factory near Bangkok and doubling its staffing from 50 people to 100.
The goal is to increase monthly capacity from 300,000 units to one million.
Related: A startup that makes pencils that grow into vegetables
A lot of the demand comes from overseas. One of its customers uses the natural packaging for coconut water it exports.
Universal Biopack says it’s also getting interest in its products from other countries, particularly in Scandinavia.
CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published February 12, 2017: 9:08 PM ET
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Verizon (VZ) is bringing back an unlimited data plan.
Starting Monday, Verizon customers can get unlimited data, talk and text for $80.
The company says the new introductory plan also includes up to 10 GB of mobile hotspot usage, as well as calling and texting to Mexico and Canada. It will also allow customers to stream unlimited HD video, thumbing its nose at T-Mobile’s controversial practice of lowering video quality for some of its unlimited data customers.
Although the new Verizon plan promises “fast LTE speeds,” those using a lot of data may suffer. The company said that after a customer uses 22 gb of data on a line during any billing cycle, it “may prioritize usage behind other customers in the event of network congestion.” That has become standard practice on all networks that offer unlimited data plans.
Related: T-Mobile and Sprint offer new ‘unlimited’ data plans — sort of
Verizon first eliminated its version of an unlimited usage plan in 2011, following similar decisions by other major wireless carriers.
But companies have been steadily reviving such plans.
Verizon first overhauled its data-usage plans last summer when it introduced a new “Safety Mode” plan. That technically gave customers access to unlimited data, but they were subjected to slow-as-molasses speeds after they went over their allotted data.
AT&T similarly eliminated overage fees for customers in September. Like Verizon, AT&T throttles customers speeds once they reach the data limit on their plans. The company brought back unlimited plans earlier last year, but it is only available for homes with both AT&T’s wireless phone service and either DirecTV or U-Verse TV.
Meanwhile, competitors T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S) made their own bids to attract customers looking for “unlimited data” plans.
Nearly all NYC subways get cell service
Last August, Sprint began offering a plan to give customers unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for $60 for the first line, $40 for the next, and $30 for each additional up to 10.
The T-Mobile plan, announced the same day as Sprint’s, charged $70 a month for the first line, the second at $50 and additional lines are only $20, up to eight lines.
CNNMoney (New York) First published February 12, 2017: 7:03 PM ET
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Uber’s top rival in India has some unsolicited advice for the U.S. startup: Go local.
“They have a very cookie-cutter approach in terms of what the model is and how [to] force feed it into any geography,” Pranay Jivrajka, a top executive at Ola Cabs, said on the sidelines of CNN’s Asia Business Forum in Bangalore.
Jivrajka, who until recently served as Ola’s COO, said that Uber should ditch its one-size-fits-all approach and instead try to understand “local nuances” that would help it to identify services that “users and drivers actually want.”
Uber declined to comment on Jivrajka’s remarks.
Uber and Ola have for years waged a bitter battle for supremacy in India, a market with 1.3 billion potential customers. The country has taken on increased significance for Uber after a series of recent setbacks elsewhere in Asia.
The San Francisco-based company suspended its operations in Taiwan last week, six months after it sold its operations in China to local rival Didi Chuxing. Didi, which is taking the fight to Uber in key foreign markets, is one of Ola’s investors.
In India, Uber has often found itself playing catch-up with its Bangalore-based rival. Its most recent local product offering — allowing Indian users to book a car for an entire day — is already offered by Ola in 85 cities.
Ola also lets users book one of India’s ubiquitous three-wheeled auto rickshaws, a service Uber started but then discontinued in 2015.
“What has helped us is having an ear to the ground in terms of understanding what the users want,” said Jivrajka.
Related: Uber’s rivals are teaming up in Asia
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick insists that his company is not prepared to leave India.
“We are losing, but we see a path towards profitability,” Kalanick said during a December visit to Delhi. “We see ourselves being here in the long run.”
Related: Uber suspends its service in Taiwan as fines mount
India isn’t always a straightforward market for either company — tens of thousands of drivers representing both Uber and Ola went on strike in Delhi this week, demanding better pay and benefits. The Delhi government has offered to mediate the dispute.
Jivrajka did not comment on the protests, but said that Ola’s main focus remains bringing more drivers onto its platform.
“We need more drivers because the pace at which demand is increasing is way higher than the way supply is getting aggregated,” he said.
Related: Uber CEO drops out of Trump’s business advisory council
Jivrajka also had some advice for another Silicon Valley giant hoping to enter India: electric automaker Tesla.
“There are no rules on the Indian roads,” Jivrajka said. “One thing a lot of people say is that if you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere.”
— Manveena Suri contributed reporting
CNNMoney (Bangalore, India) First published February 13, 2017: 8:48 AM ET
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It’s a good day for OPEC.
Data published Monday by the oil cartel show its members have largely complied with an agreement to slash production.
The confirmation caps a remarkable year for OPEC, which was forced to devise a plan to boost prices after they fell to $26 per barrel in February 2016.
The price collapse — to levels not seen since 2003 — was caused by months of growing oversupply, slowing demand from China and a decision by Western powers to lift Iran’s nuclear sanctions.
Since then, the market has mounted a stunning turnaround, with crude prices doubling to trade at $53.50 per barrel.
Here’s how major oil producers worked together to push prices higher:
OPEC deal
OPEC agreed major production cuts in November, hoping to tame the global oil oversupply and support prices.
The news of the deal immediately boosted prices by 9%.
Investors cheered even more after several non-OPEC producers, including Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan, joined the effort to restrain supply.
Crucially, the deal has stuck. The OPEC report published Monday showed that its members have — for the most part — fulfilled their pledges to slash production. The International Energy Agency agrees: It estimated OPEC compliance for January at 90%.
UAE energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told CNNMoney on Monday that the results were even better than he had expected.
The production cuts total 1.8 million barrels per day and are scheduled to run for six months.
Related: OPEC has pulled off one of its ‘deepest’ production cuts
Investors upbeat
The OPEC deal took months to negotiate, and investors really, really like it. The number of hedge funds and other institutional investors that are betting on higher prices hit a record in January, according to OPEC.
The widespread optimism is helping to fuel price increases.
Higher demand
The latest data from OPEC and the IEA show that global demand for oil was higher than expected in 2016, thanks to stronger economic growth, higher vehicle sales and colder than expected weather in the final quarter of the year.
Demand is set to grow further in 2017 to an average of 95.8 million barrels a day, compared 94.6 million barrels per day in 2016.
The IEA said that if OPEC sticks to its agreement, the global oil glut that has plagued markets for three years will finally disappear in 2017.
Saudi oil minister: I don’t lose sleep over shale
What’s next?
Despite the stunning growth, analysts caution that prices may not go much higher.
That’s because higher oil prices are likely to lure American shale producers back into the market. The total number of active oil rigs in the U.S. stood at 591 last week, according to data from Baker Hughes. That’s 152 more than a year ago.
U.S. crude stockpiles swelled in January to nearly 200 million barrels above their five-year average, according to the OPEC report.
“This vast increase in inventories is a result of a strong supply response from the U.S. shale producers, who were not involved in the OPEC agreement and who have instead been using the resultant price rally to increase output,” said Fiona Cincotta, an analyst at City Index.
More supply could once again put OPEC under pressure.
CNNMoney (London) First published February 13, 2017: 9:13 AM ET
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Voters in Switzerland have shocked the political establishment by rejecting a reform plan that would have brought the country’s corporate tax system in line with international norms.
The tax reforms, which were widely supported by the business community, would have removed a set of special low-tax privileges that had encouraged many multinational companies to set up shop in Switzerland.
Experts say the future of Switzerland’s tax system is now unclear. The vote result could create headaches for firms that had been banking on their implementation, and deter companies who had been considering a move to the country.
“They do not know what [tax] measures will be available… That is not a very solid basis for making investment decisions,” Peter Uebelhart, head of tax at KPMG in Switzerland, said in a video statement.
Switzerland has come under intense pressure from G20 and OECD nations in recent years to clean up its tax system. The country runs the risk of being “blacklisted” by other nations if it doesn’t change its tax system by 2019.
Many voters rejected the tax reform package over fears it might reduce the amount of revenue collected by the government, according to Stefan Kuhn, head of corporate tax at KPMG in Switzerland. That might have lead to tax hikes on the middle class.
The current tax system gives preferential treatment to some companies with large foreign operations. International tax authorities say the rules amount to unfair corporate subsidies.
Martin Naville, head of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, said it’s possible that voters didn’t understand the complexities of the reforms. The measures were rejected by 59% of voters.
“I think it’s a very bad day for Switzerland,” Naville said. “Clearly, the uncertainty and the credibility in the Swiss [system] has taken a massive hit.”
Related: How Europe’s elections could be hacked
Swiss authorities say they will move quickly to create a modified tax reform proposal. Naville said he hopes new rules are devised within the next few months.
“All stakeholders now have to take responsibility to develop an acceptable competitive tax system, and to regain credibility regarding the famed political stability which gave Switzerland such an advantageous position,” he said in a statement.
Naville hinted that potential tax reforms in the U.S. and U.K. could tempt Swiss-based companies to relocate, putting more pressure on Switzerland’s tax base.
CNNMoney (London) First published February 13, 2017: 10:10 AM ET
Nordstrom. Neiman Marcus. TJ Maxx. And now, Sears and Kmart.
Sears Holdings, the company that owns retail stores Sears and Kmart, reportedly said this weekend that it would remove 31 Trump-branded items from its website.
The company pulled the products as part of a plan to focus on its “most profitable items,” Sears spokesman Brian Hanover told Reuters.
Hanover told the news organization that items in the Trump Home line of furnishings were removed from the company’s website, although they could still be purchased through third-party vendors online. Neither store carried the items in their physical stores, he said.
Searches of the Sears and KMart websites did not turn up Trump Home products, except for those sold by third-party vendors.
In a statement Monday, spokesman Chris Brathwaite distanced Sears from any political controversy and reiterated that many Trump-branded products are still available through third-party sellers.
“In this case, certain products were removed from our websites that included a very small number of Trump products,” he said. “The headlines do not do justice to our business or this specific brand of products that we offer through our marketplace sellers.”
Brathwaite added that the company prefers to focus on its business and “leave the politics to others.”
Related: Is Ivanka Trump’s brand losing its bling?
The move makes Sears the latest to ditch products bearing the Trump name.
Earlier this month, Nordstrom (JWN) cited brand “performance,” not politics, as the reason why it decided to stop carrying Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessories label.
President Trump knocked the department store on Twitter in retaliation. Nordstrom stock jumped 7% in the first two days following the tweet.
Other stores have also sought to distance themselves from Ivanka Trump’s brand.
Neiman Marcus removed the brand landing page from its website, and declined to tell CNNMoney whether it intended to keep Ivanka Trump products in stores or resume online sales in the future.
TJX Companies (TJX), the company that owns TJ Maxx and Marshalls, also said that it had recently told workers not to highlight the first daughter’s brand in stores.
And retailer Belk said last week that it planned to pull Ivanka Trump’s products from its website, but would continue to offer the line in its flagship stores.
Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessories line has taken a hit in recent months.
Online sales of her brand dipped 26% in January compared to a year earlier, according to Slice Intelligence, a retail analysis firm. Slice studied the brand’s sales on five online stores: Nordstrom, Amazon, Zappos, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.
Online sales of Ivanka’s brand had surged in late 2015, and last month’s numbers appear to be more of a “return to reality,” according to Taylor Stanton, Slice’s marketing and communications manager. The brand’s dip in performance was abnormal in light of an uptick in 2016 online sales in the apparel and accessories category, said Jack Beckwythe, a Slice analyst.
Related: Kellyanne Conway unrepentant for Ivanka Trump plug
The Ivanka Trump brand has defended its performance.
Rosemary Young, senior director of marketing at Ivanka Trump, told CNNMoney last week that the brand was growing and experienced “significant year-over-year revenue growth in 2016.”
“We believe that the strength of a brand is measured not only by the profits it generates, but the integrity it maintains,” Young said.
Retailers like Bloomingdale’s, Amazon (AMZN), Lord & Taylor, Macy’s (M) and Zappos all still carry Ivanka Trump products.
Ivanka Trump has taken a leave of absence from her namesake company since her father won the presidency. She has no formal role in the administration but is expected to have a voice on issues such as women’s empowerment and child care.
–CNNMoney’s Jackie Wattles contributed to this story.
CNNMoney (New York) First published February 12, 2017: 3:35 PM ET
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Tesla is bringing its electric cars to the heart of the oil producing world.
The automaker announced Monday that its first official venture in the Middle East will be in the United Arab Emirates.
The first cars — the Model S and Model X — will hit the road this summer.
“Timing seems to be good to really make a significant debut in this region starting in Dubai,” Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
Tesla owners will have access to two existing supercharging stations in the UAE, and Telsa plans to open five more by the end of the year.
Despite sitting on huge oil and gas reserves, the UAE has ambitious plans to go green. Last month it said it will invest $163 billion to boost alternative energy use over the next three decades.
Related: Tesla reveals what it will charge for a charge
It’s the latest in a series of expansion announcements for Tesla. Last week, Musk hinted that Tesla may soon come to India.
Musk has also teased plans to build “heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport” as well developing a ride-hailing network, which could be similar to Uber.
Speaking in Dubai, the entrepreneur expounded on the future of robotics.
“We will see autonomy and artificial intelligence advance tremendously,” Musk said. “In probably 10 years, it will be very unusual for cars to be built that are not fully autonomous.”
Related: Elon Musk’s surprising secret weapon: Trump?
But he also warned of the “disruptive” nature of autonomous vehicles.
“That disruption I’m talking about will take place over about 20 years. Still, 20 years is a short period of time to have something like 12% to 15% of the workforce be unemployed.”
Musk said governments must pay close attention to artificial intelligence, create sustainable transport and be wary of mass unemployment.
“This will be a massive social challenge. Ultimately, we need to think about universal basic income. I don’t think we have a choice,” he said. “There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better.”
— Seth Fiegerman contributed reporting.
CNNMoney (Dubai) First published February 13, 2017: 11:06 AM ET
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