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The OPEC + group decided on Wednesday to impose another 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) increase in its total oil production in April, despite rising oil prices after a key member of the pact, Russia, invaded Ukraine.

During a brief OPEC + ministerial meeting, ministers decided to continue with the monthly increase agreed last summer, in a move widely expected by analysts.

In the days leading up to the meeting, OPEC + sources and analysts signaled that there would be no change in the pact’s production plan, despite soaring oil prices, which are now well beyond those comfortable for major oil-consuming countries, including the United States.

The problem with increasing production more than planned – even if OPEC + wanted – is that only Saudi Arabia and the UAE actually have the capacity to do so, but a large increase in production by these two influential OPEC members would mean a critical reduction in reserve production capacity. world Wide. Others most often do not have the capacity to pump their quotas, and the gap between the monthly nominal increase of 400,000 barrels per day and the actual increase rises to as much as 900,000 bpd in January, according to the International Energy Agency.

The OPEC + meeting on Wednesday decided to leave the plan as it is and did not mention the Russian war in Ukraine, which was the reason why oil prices jumped to over $ 100 a barrel last week for the first time since 2014 and continued. to Grow $ 111 Early Today.

OPEC + said in a press release after a record brief meeting that “it was noted that the current fundamentals of the oil market and the consensus on its prospects point to a well-balanced market and that the current instability is not caused by changes in market fundamentals but by current geopolitical developments. . “

According to the production schedule for April provided by OPEC, the collective quota of the OPEC + alliance is 41.697 million barrels per day. The pact’s leaders, Saudi Arabia and Russia, have a quota of 10.436 million barrels a day in April.

Oil prices continued to rise, with Brent reaching $ 112 and crude oil WTI $ 110 a barrel half an hour after OPEC + closed.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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With these revisions, the increase in jobs in February was actually the weakest since August, although it exceeded expectations.

“You can see in all the data that the huge upheavals and fluctuations in the first days of the pandemic will affect measurements and seasonal adjustments,” Richardson told CNN Business. That is why the revisions in economic models are so great at the moment.

But instead of losing faith in the ability of economists to forecast, we need to keep the perspective, Richardson urged.

Last year, the US economy still added more than six million jobs, and 2022 is expected to be another strong year for the labor market as employers continue to struggle with labor shortages.

Weekly unemployment claims are returning to pre-pandemic levels, reflecting that companies are reluctant to lay off workers, Richardson added.

In February, the leisure and hotel sector added the most positions – 170,000. None of the main sectors lost their jobs, although growth was low in education as well as in mining.

In terms of business size, large companies with more than 1,000 employees have added the most staff, while small companies with up to 49 employees are cutting jobs.

The ADP report tracks private sector employment and is not linked to the official number of government jobs scheduled for Friday morning. Economists polled by Refinitiv forecast 400,000 jobs for the government report. However, the report on private wages is closely monitored and is considered key to the US labor market.

The company also raised its forecast for the production and profitability of electric vehicles. Electricity is expected to account for a third of global sales by 2026 – or a total of around two million EVs – and half of global sales by 2030, up from the previous 40% target. Ford also raised its forecast for the operating profit margin to 10% by 2026 from the previous 8% target.

The plan is one of the company’s boldest steps to date with CEO Jim Farley to accelerate the development of new battery-powered models. This also comes when investors raise Tesla’s ratings Inc.

and other start-ups that are not burdened by a legacy business and focus solely on the sale of electric vehicles.

Shares of Ford were ahead by about 5% at $ 17.55 in morning trading. Before Wednesday, shares fell by about 20% year-on-year.

Mr Farley, who took the top spot in 2020, has repeatedly said that the business of developing and selling electric vehicles is significantly different from his conventional gas engine operations, which require new technical expertise and a separate sales strategy. .

“Our legacy is holding us back. We had to change, “he told a news conference on Wednesday.

Ford needs to continue producing gas and diesel vehicles – which today provide its entire end line – to boost profitability as it sharpens its focus on battery-powered vehicles, which it expects to boost growth over the next decade. . Said Farley. He said the new structure would help Ford reduce complexity and reduce annual costs by $ 3 billion from the gas engine business by focusing more closely on reducing quality issues and simplifying the model range.

Ford said the part of the business that will focus on electric vehicles and digital innovation will be called the Ford Model e. The other side, Ford Blue, will work to improve the profitability of its internal combustion engine vehicles.

Mr. Farley will serve as President of Ford Model e, while continuing as Chief Executive Officer. Ford Blue’s business will be led by Kumar Galhotra, now the company’s president for America and international markets.

The reorganization plans follow speculation among investors and the media about whether Ford can separate its electric vehicle business as a way to unlock value.

On Wednesday, Mr Farley said his team had considered a spin-off, but decided the company was able to fund the transition to EV without using the capital markets. He also said Ford needed a division focused on future technologies such as batteries and software, as well as the engineering and manufacturing experience of Ford’s legacy business.

“New startups would like to have our company’s industrial know-how,” he said. “Why separate Model e and risk it?”

Ford CFO John Lawler later added that there were no ongoing plans to separate or create another way for investors to bet on the EV part of Ford’s business, such as stock tracking.

“Once we start counting segments, you’ll be able to see value creation in each of the divisions,” he said. “We have to get credit for that.”

In the last few years, many of the world’s largest carmakers have set out strategies to shift capital spending to electric vehicles and digital services that are expected to generate revenue after initial sales. Ford, General Motors Co.

Volkswagen AG

pouring billions of dollars into battery plants and new electric vehicle factories as they race to launch more electric vehicles, which now account for only about 4% of U.S. car sales.

The creation of separate divisions by Ford goes further than most other car companies. Rival rivals, for example, split the management of their electric vehicle and internal combustion businesses in 2019 and set up new digital innovation and EV charging infrastructure, but focused on separate divisions with their own profit and loss statements.

Leaders of GM and other carmakers said they were open to options, but that there was too much overlap between the EV and the internal combustion parts business to separate one or the other.

On Tuesday, jeep maker Stellantis NV told investors it expected electricity to account for half of its sales in the United States and all of its European sales by the end of the decade.

Barclays analyst Brian Johnson said Ford’s actions should give investors a better idea of ​​the efficiency of electric vehicle operations and should accelerate Ford’s plans for electric vehicles. But as it seems unlikely to lead to secession in the short term, “we consider the message neutral,” he said.

Last year, Ford’s range included only one electric vehicle: the Mustang Mach-E. Ford sold about 27,000 SUVs last year, or 1.4 percent of U.S. sales. By comparison, Tesla sold about 352,500 vehicles in the United States last year, according to research firm Motor Intelligence. Tesla does not distribute deliveries by region.

Ford is adding to its EV offerings in the coming weeks, including the introduction of an electric version of its Transit cargo van. The F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the country’s best-selling pickup, is scheduled to go on sale this spring. Ford has said it will spend $ 30 billion on electric vehicles by 2025.

As estimates by Tesla and other electric car manufacturers have risen over the past few years, investors have questioned whether traditional car companies can set aside their assets for electric cars to boost their ratings.

Bank of America analyst John Murphy said the Ford overhaul should help Ford attract talent to help it move into electric vehicles and digital services. He also said it could reduce Ford’s capital costs by potentially allowing it to use the green bond market, which is issued to fund environmental projects.

Write to Mike Colias at [email protected]

Фor for the past five months, Anna Hokuf has lived in her car with her cat after leaving a violent home environment. Trying to save enough money to secure an apartment that does strange things while homeless is difficult enough for the 19-year-old. Now rising gas prices have made everything almost impossible.

“I don’t have the ability to save a lot of money, and gas prices are as high as almost $ 4 a gallon, it really makes you homeless difficult,” said Hokuf of the Lihai Valley, Pennsylvania region. “I have to keep my car turned on all the time to keep warm and keep my cat warm, which consumes more gasoline and causes tension in my car.”

It takes about $ 60 to fill the Hokuf’s car tank and about $ 40 a day for gas to keep warm at night. Food options are limited because it has no way to heat food. She bathes and washes periodically when she manages to find enough money for a hotel room for one or two nights. “Unfortunately, all the money I can get usually goes to petrol or food for my cat,” she said.

Gas prices have risen over the past year and are expected to continue to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine further disrupts oil production, a production that already suffers from the effects of Covid-19. Last week, the price of oil reached its highest level in more than seven years, and the war threatens to inflame the already alarming problems of the United States with inflation.

The Biden administration has vowed to take action to curb rising gas prices by imposing economic sanctions on Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer and exporter. So far, the sanctions have not covered the Russian oil and gas industry, as Europe is heavily dependent on it and this would lead to an even bigger jump in oil prices.

According to the American Automobile Association, the average gallon of gas in the United States was $ 3,619 as of March 1, compared to $ 2.72 per gallon a year ago. The states with the highest average gas prices include California at $ 4,837 per gallon and Hawaii at $ 4,565 per gallon, with Arkansas having the lowest at $ 3,243 per gallon.

Oil companies have reaped huge profits from rising gas prices in the past year, with the top 24 oil companies reporting $ 174 billion in profits in the first nine months of 2021 as companies turned down requests to increase oil production to mitigate price increases.

Rising gas prices, meanwhile, are disproportionately hurting low-income Americans, especially the growing segment of the homeless population in the United States who live without their vehicles.

In Michigan, a young woman living outside her car who asked to remain anonymous made money by delivering food and groceries through concert apps, spending from $ 10 to $ 15 a day to $ 100 a day on gasoline. They have been living in their car since the end of December, after losing their jobs in September and unable to afford to stay in their apartment. They rely on membership in the Planet Fitness gym to bathe regularly

“I have to idle for heating when I’m in colder areas, it definitely affects my gas consumption,” they said. “I don’t have the most credit, so buying a home is out of my reach right now, and with rents skyrocketing and the most demanding income being two to three times higher than rent, it’s impossible to find something affordable. “

Louis Vashiomiati of Auburn, Washington, moved into his van about two months ago when his landlord for three years chose to sell the house where he rented a basement and he could not afford to move to a new apartment in the area. as rents have risen in the last year.

“It’s the most stressful thing I do every day,” Vashomiati said. I didn’t know how much gasoline would cost when I moved to my van.

He spends about $ 40 a day on gasoline, much of which is used to keep warm in the winter. He is currently working in retail and struggling to save money on high gas prices, as apartments in his area require rent for the first and last month in addition to a deposit.

Rising gas prices are also significantly hurting rideshare drivers, who are already operating at low profit margins.

Ben Valdes, a part-time Uber driver in Los Angeles, California, has reduced his working hours for six years to only when there is a higher price, as gas prices in the area have reached about $ 5 a gallon.

“With rising gas prices and declining demand, I’m just starting to see fewer and fewer reasons to drive,” said Valdes, who spends $ 35 a night driving to $ 75 to fill his gas tank. . “A lot of drivers are starting to feel the pinch. Indeed, it is very expensive to put gas. “

Advertising jobs in a restaurant seems to attract workers to Oceanside, California, USA, May 10, 2021. REUTERS / Mike Blake

WASHINGTON, March 2 – Private employers in the United States hired more workers than expected in February, and data for the previous month were revised sharply higher to show strong job gains instead of losses, in line with other reports. who paint an optimistic picture of the labor market.

The national ADP employment report on Wednesday suggests that the economy is on a solid footing as the winter wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the Omicron variant subsides. But some economists have expressed concerns about the report’s credibility due to the sharp upward revision of January data.

Private wages rose 475,000 last month. Employers added 509,000 jobs in January, instead of laying off 301,000 workers, as originally reported. Economists polled by Reuters predicted that private wages would rise by 388,000 jobs.

“Huge audits undermine ADP’s credibility,” said Michael Pierce, a senior economist at Capital Economics in New York. “Honestly, with a reported decline of 301,000 in January, revised to a profit of 509,000, ADP figures are as much noise as signal.”

However, ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said the audits were part of the process, drawing parallels with the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the closely monitored monthly employment report.

“If you look at the last three months, like November, December (data), the BLS has also significantly revised their numbers in 2021,” Richardson said. “I think the important thing to remember is the general trend. Both NER and BLS show more than 6 million jobs created in 2021. “

The ADP report was developed in conjunction with Moody’s Analytics and was published before the more comprehensive and closely monitored BLS employment report for February on Friday. He has poor records predicting the number of private salaries in the BLS employment report due to differences in methodology.

While the ADP’s initial estimate showed that private wages fell for the first time in a year in January, the BLS reported that the private sector had hired 444,000 workers, with major upward revisions to increase employment in November and December.

RELIABLE PREDICTOR

“The ADP report is not always a reliable predictor of BLS data, but it suggests that our expectations for Friday are quite reasonable,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

According to the ADP report, large companies accounted for almost all profits in February, with small business employment down 96,000. Businesses continue to report difficulties in finding workers. At the end of December, there were almost a record 10.9 million vacancies.

Tightening labor market conditions are leading to higher inflationary pressures. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Wednesday that the US Federal Reserve would continue with plans to raise interest rates this month, but Russia’s war against Ukraine has made prospects “very uncertain”. Read more

Economists expect up to seven interest rate hikes this year. Shares of Wall Street traded higher. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. US government bond prices have fallen.

“We expect small effects on the US labor market, but there are high risks of deterioration in the coming months,” said Gus Focher, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “These include a recession in Europe, even higher inflation due to rising energy prices and the growing likelihood that the Fed will be forced to raise interest rates so aggressively to fight inflation that the recovery is stalled.

Indications are that the companies maintained a strong hiring rate in February. Data from Homebase, a payroll planning and tracking company, showed a significant increase in the number of employees and the number of hours worked in mid-February.

According to the UKG workforce activity report, shift work in February recorded its biggest monthly gain since the spring of 2020. The workforce management software company said the jump meant that the impact of COVID’s Omicron option 19 on the hourly shift is over.

This is in line with expectations for another month of solid profits in February. According to a study by Reuters economists, wages in the non-agricultural sector are likely to have increased by 400,000 jobs after rising by 467,000 in January. Private wages are projected to increase by 378,000 in February.

Report by Lucia Muticani; Edited by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ritchie

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Polestar, the Swedish manufacturer of electric cars, has announced a new roadster concept called the Polestar O2. The hardtop convertible, which debuted in Los Angeles today, is designed to showcase the automaker’s connected aluminum platform, which it produces domestically, as well as some more bizarre innovations such as an integrated drone for aerial photography.

This is the second concept of the company, which is a joint venture between Volvo and the Chinese parent company of the car manufacturer Geely. And this is a tribute to the company’s roots as a productive selection of Volvo, which has since been redesigned as an EV-only brand.

At first glance, the Polestar O2 seems to be extremely fun to drive. We haven’t seen an electric two-seater sports car introduced after the Tesla Roadster – and even Elon Musk’s next-generation version of his company’s first production car has been postponed until 2023. Most major sports car makers like Lamborghini and Ferrari are still working. on its first electric models, leaving Polestar with its dynamic-looking concept.

As this is just a concept, the company does not release any of the specifications of the Polestar O2, such as time 0-60, battery capacity and range. But in an interview, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlatt said the modularity of its connected aluminum platform allows for a bigger battery even within a shortened wheelbase.

“Over 110 kilowatt hours of battery power, we can still pack without any compromise in this short wheelbase,” said Ingenlat.

O2 shares many design features with Polestar’s first concept, the Polestar Precept, including sharp-looking lines and a light signature that reflects Volvo’s Volvo origins. The body of the car is low and wide, with an aggressive stance and compact orientation of the cabin. Polestar calls it the “classic proportions of a sports car” with a more modern electric feel – and it’s hard to argue with that.

“We wanted to make sure that people understood that architecture was capable of serving sports cars like this,” Ingenlat said. “The high-torque, high-power P10 engine we developed for the Precept will find a home in all our products in the highest-performance version … And of course, it can be packed in the roadster here.”

O2 is also an opportunity to demonstrate the environmental qualities of Polestar. The interior is made of a new thermoplastic mono-material, which describes the use of a single basic material for the production of various components. In this case, recycled polyester is used as the sole material for all soft interior components, such as seat foam, glue, 3D braided fibers and non-woven laminate. Polestar says this simplifies recycling and is a step towards “greater circulation” while reducing weight and waste.

“This is an idea we would definitely like to put into production,” Ingenlat said of the use of monomaterial in the interior. “This is how we really use these concept cars to fulfill this ambition and inject energy into the organization to really strive to make it possible.”

And the vehicle’s chassis is designed to make recycling easier. Different grades of aluminum are labeled, which allows them to be recycled more efficiently and retain their properties.

Network view

The most distinctive feature of the Polestar O2 is the inclusion of a “cinematic drone” so that owners can take pictures while driving on a crooked mountain road, for example. The drone – which is also a concept – was developed in collaboration with the consumer electronics brand of Aerofugia Hoco Flow. (Aerofugia is the company founded after Geely acquired the Boston-based vertical takeoff and landing company Terrafugia.) It is designed to be used while the car is moving to record driving sequences.

Ingenlat described the perception of European sports cars, driving on this winding mountain road can be “very old-fashioned” and out of touch with today’s concept of shared experiences.

“We challenged our team and said, ‘Look, guys, how would a modern guy respond to this?’ He said. “The drone is definitely the vehicle for creating memories, for shared moments, for capturing this experience that you have, together with your partner in the car, and the drone can take pictures of you. It can take really exciting dynamic photos of the car or be very relaxed.

Ingenlat said the technology that would integrate the drone into the vehicle was “very feasible”, with the drone following the car at speeds of up to 100 km / h. After shooting, the drone can return to the car autonomously. And videos can be edited and shared directly from the 15-inch central display when the car is parked. Ingenlatt described it as less distracting to the driver than trying to take pictures with your smartphone.

Polestar is already committed to turning its first concept, the Precept, into a production car, the Polestar 5. Could the same happen to the Polestar O2? “Opportunity? Definitely, “Ingenlat said. “I am trying very hard to provoke this issue. I want to make this offer with this car and I will be happy to confirm it in the future. “