Tesla's Trunk Flaw Sparks Recall

Photo by Andrew W. / Unsplash

Today is Friday, December 31, 2021.

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Tesla's Trunk Flaw Sparks Recall

Shares of Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) fell 1.46% on Thursday after the electric vehicle maker recalled over 475,000 automobiles due to a pair of potential safety flaws.

Details: The defaults include a cable connected to the rearview camera for the 2017 through 2020 Tesla Model 3s that could be damaged by opening and closing the trunk, as well as latches that were not properly installed on the front trunk for Model S sedans from 2014 or later, according to NPR.

Background: This isn’t the first time that Tesla has faced safety concerns. Regulators are investigating accidents related to its autopilot feature. The company also had to make changes to a video game feature in the car.

Bigger Picture: Recalls are common in the automobile industry. And while this recall is separate from the other issues that Tesla is dealing with, it still calls into question the safety of the company. However, the fundamentals of the company are still the same.

Final Thoughts: Tesla’s stock price is down 2% this month, but up over 46% this year.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: N/A.

Notable IPOs Today: Ascendant Digital Acquisition Corp. III (NYSE: ACDI), RCF Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: RCFA), Arena Fortify Acquisition Corp. Class A Common Stock (Nasdaq: AFAC), Ascendant Digital Acquisition Corp. III (Nasdaq; ACDI), Chain Bridge I Class A Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: CBRG), Blockchain Coinvestors Acquisition Corp. I Class A Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: BCSA).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Deep Sea Vegan (MainVest), Poppilu (Republic), Red Hat Coffee (Wefunder), VUniverse (NetCapital), Moxi on the Rocks (MainVest), Short Creek Farm (MainVest), FluentPet (Republic).

Notable Economic Events Today: N/A.

CDC’s Covid-19 Warning Slams Cruise Stocks

Photo by Arun Sharma / Unsplash

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its Covid-19 travel health notice from Level 3 to Level 4 on Thursday, saying that all passengers, regardless of vaccine status, should avoid cruises.

Background: As of this week, the CDC investigated nearly 90 cruises for potential Covid-19 outbreaks due to the omicron variant.

Numbers: Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) fell 1.11% on Thursday, Carnival (NYSE: CCL) fell 1.25%, and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH) fell 2.59%.

Big Picture: Even though cruise stocks have been awful since the pandemic started, there is a lot of optimism surrounding the comeback of the sector in 2022.

Final Thoughts: Omicron poses a threat to cruise stocks, but is that threat already priced in or not?

Retail Investors Post Record Year

Americans invested more than $1 trillion in equities this year, a new record, with new retail investors entering the market.

Apps: In January, 6 million Americans downloaded a trading app, according to Deloitte. Many of these investors were young and investing for the first time.

Do-It-Yourself: Only about a third of Americans turned to financial professionals last year, according to the National Financial Educators Council. This may suggest that some retail investors would prefer to turn to social media platforms and other online forums for stock advice.

Automate That: The number of Americans using robo advisors increased by 23% since last year, according to Insider Intelligence.

Final Thoughts: One thing that these surveys can't quantify is the long-term impact of the growth of retail investors. In 2022, retail investors will continue to play a big role in the market.

Trends to Watch

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