Tesla Halts Berlin Production

And, Apple's aerospace board member.

Today is Friday, January 12, 2024.

The Early Bird Index today is 64.16.

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Tesla Halts Berlin Production

The shipping chaos in the Red Sea has reportedly forced Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) to make some short-term changes to avoid the disruption.

Details: Reuters reported on Thursday that Tesla is suspending most car production at its factory near Berlin from January 29 to February 11 due to the attacks on trading vessels in the Red Sea. Tesla has not publicly commented.

Background: Tesla is now the first major company to disclose an interruption due to the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea, which has stemmed from the recent Hamas-Israel war.

Zooming Out: Freight prices have jumped due to the conflict. Shipping across the world now takes longer and is more expensive. 

Stock Price: Tesla is down 16% in the last 6 months.

Final Thoughts: We’ll see what kind of impact this reported production halt will have on Tesla. The EV giant reports earnings on January 24.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK).

Notable IPOs Today: N/A.

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: The Kentucky Hug (Wefunder), True Love Body Piercing (Mainvest), Launch Cart (Netcapital), GenesisAI (Netcapital), Hubb Kitchens (Mainvest), The Modern Rose (Mainvest), Blue Wire (Wefunder).

Notable Economic Events Today: Producer Price Index / Core PPI (8:30 a.m. ET), WASDE Report (12:00 p.m. ET).

Apple's Aerospace Board Member

There’s a reshuffling of board members for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as the company deals with increased technology competition.

Details: Apple nominated Dr. Wanda Austin, former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, to join the board of directors. The company touted Dr. Austin’s decades of science and technology.

Also: Board members Al Gore (yes, that Al Gore) and James Bell will retire. Apple’s policy is that board members cannot stand for reelection after reaching age 75.

Bigger Picture: The board member changes came as Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) briefly unseated Apple as most the valuable public company on Thursday. A big reason for that is because of Microsoft’s recent growth in artificial intelligence, an area that Apple needs to catch up on.

Stock Price: Apple is down about 2% in the last 6 months.

Final Thoughts: Apple will report earnings on February 1. The results should include details about iPhone sales during the holiday season.

Tupperware Delays Earnings

Shares of Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP) fell 3.68% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company said that it would delay its financial results again because it has not found an auditor.

Stock Price: The stock is down 56% in the past year.

Final Thoughts: Tupperware has been going through some rough times. The company had a leadership change a few months ago.

Big Car Event: Detroit Auto Show will return to former January slot (Crain’s Detroit Business)

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