Month: January 2023

Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation and grandson of the company’s founder, is stepping down after leading the world’s largest automaker for 14 years, according to Nikkei Asia. 

Chief Branding Officer Koji Sato will replace Akio Toyoda on April 1. The plan is to “fully remodel” the automaker as a mobility company and accelerate the electrification of vehicles under Sato’s leadership. 

Toyoda has led the company that pioneered hybrid cars with its Prius model since 2009 and will become chair. Sato is currently the chief branding officer and head of the Lexus unit. The handover is primarily due to Toyota’s slow adoption of electric vehicles. 

“Because of my strong passion for cars, I am an old-fashioned person in regards to digitalization, electric vehicles, and connected cars. I cannot go beyond being a car guy, and that is my limitation,” Toyoda told reporters.

“The new team can do what I can’t do . . . I now need to take a step back in order to let young people enter the new chapter of what the future of mobility should be like,” he continued. 

One of Toyoda’s mishaps was the botched launch of the company’s first mass-produced EV, the bZ4X, which was immediately recalled after its launch last year. He also has had a staunch view that hybrids are much better than EVs, which likely led to the management reshuffle. 

“The mission of the new team, led by new President Sato, is to fully remodel Toyota as a mobility company,” Toyoda emphasized.

Tatsuo Yoshida, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said today’s announcement is a total “surprise.” He noted, “Toyoda’s choice to remain as chairman will help maintain the company’s business strategy and continuity.”

Toyoda’s slow move toward all-electric vehicles probably cost him the top spot. 

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

GOP Senator Rand Paul has joined others in promoting an updated bill to reinstate military service members who were previously fired for refusing to comply with the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandate.

The legislation, named the Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots (AMERICANS) Act of 2023, includes a requirement that the Secretary of Defense offer reinstatement to active members who were removed from duty for not taking the shots.

Senator Paul noted “The COVID-19 vaccine mandate has ruined the livelihoods of men and women who have honorably served our country. This inept bureaucratic policy should have never been imposed, and while it has since been rolled back, we still have service members who have not been rehired, promoted, or received back pay and benefits.”

He continued, “The AMERICANS Act will address these issues and others that the Biden administration has failed to consider at the expense of service members’ lives and our nation’s national security interests.”

Senator Ted Cruz, who is also co-sponsoring the bill added “Our military continues to feel the effects of the Biden administration’s reckless, misguided, and now-prohibited vaccine mandates.”

“I’m glad that we were able to remove the COVID-19 vaccine mandate last Congress, but there is more work to do,” Cruz urged, adding “The AMERICANS Act would correct the wrongs done to unvaccinated service members who were discharged for exercising their conscience.”

As they noted in their statements, the Senators were previously successful in getting the mandate scrapped by threatening to block the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Representative Dan Bishop, who has introduced a companion bill in the House, also noted that “While last year’s NDAA directed that SECDEF rescind the DOD’s authoritarian COVID vaccine mandate, it didn’t prohibit the DOD from issuing a similar mandate in the future.”

He continued, “The bill also didn’t provide any meaningful remedies for service members who were kicked out due to the mandate. This is completely unacceptable. Sen. Cruz and my bill, the AMERICANS Act, will close these glaring loopholes and bring justice to military members who were purged by Secretary Austin’s egregious vaccine mandate.”

Specifically, the legislation will require the Department of Defense to:

• Reinstate any service member separated solely for COVID-19 vaccine status who wants to return to service, crediting the service member with the time of involuntary separation for retirement pay calculations;

• Restore the rank of any service member demoted solely for COVID-19 vaccine status, compensating the service member for any pay and benefits lost due to that demotion;

• Adjust to “honorable” any “general” discharge given to a service member solely due to COVID-19 vaccine status;

• Expunge from a service members’ record any adverse action based solely on COVID-19 vaccine status, regardless of whether the service member previously sought an accommodation;

• Make every effort to retain service members not vaccinated against COVID-19, providing them with professional development, promotion, and leadership opportunities equal to that of their peers; and

• Provide a COVID-19 vaccine exemption process for service members with natural immunity, a relevant underlying health condition, or a sincerely held religious belief inconsistent with being vaccinated.

The Military Times estimates that more than 3,400 troops were “involuntarily separated from the service” due to non-compliance with the vaccine mandate.

Despite Republican attempts to stop mandatory vaccines for active duty personnel, and to uphold exemption rights, the Biden administration has continually pushed for dishonourable discharges and even court martialing for troops who disobey orders to get the shots.

US natural gas futures erased some losses but still hovered sub $3 per million British thermal units after federal regulators approved Freeport LNG’s request for a partial restart of operations at the liquefied natural gas export terminal on the Texas coast. 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Freeport LNG’s request to restart operations. Freeport was granted approval to   begin the “cool down” of its Loop 1 transfer piping and restart the terminal’s boil-off gas management compressors and other piping. 

Here’s what Houston-based energy firm Criterion Research told clients: 

The FERC has formally granted Freeport LNG approval to “commence commissioning, including cooldown, of Loop 1 LNG transfer piping and commissioning and reinstate service of the boil off gas (BOG) management system.” The letter was dated January 26, 2023 and the approval was based on an inspection conducted by the FERC and PHMSA onsite on January 25, 2023.

Moving forward, Freeport will need to request and receive approval for any further activity. This includes securing permission to “reinstate service for Loop 1 LNG circulation to enable ship loading to Dock 1 and to cooldown, recommission, and reinstate service of the liquefaction trains, including rundown piping to tanks.”

Based on Freeport’s initial request this week, the Loop 1 and BOG work will now take 11 days, placing the completion of that process on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Recall earlier this week. Freeport released a statement that it “has completed repairs to the Export Facility on Quintana Island, Texas, performed safety reviews, revised various procedures, implemented new safety systems and performed necessary training in order to safely begin to resume initial operations at its Export Facility.” 

Freeport’s LNG net flows show some signs of life after being halted last June when an explosion rocked the facility and brought it offline. 

Even after the news, US NatGas futures are still deep in the red and sub $3 — mainly because of increased production, ample supply, and a mild winter. 

The question remains if NatGas prices will finally find a floor if Freeport begins a partial restart — considering the facility is one of the biggest export terminals in the US. 

By Simon White, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and analyst

Optically strong US growth data does not take 2023 rate cuts off the agenda.

My colleague, Ed Harrison, reckons the Fed rate cuts in 2023 are likely off the table.

In the words of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction: “Allow me to retort.”

The first release of 4Q22 GDP just came out, ahead of expectations, at 2.9%.

The problem with a lot of economic data is it is lagging and frequently revised.

GDP is one of the more lagging economic series. But if we look at what is leading lately, the figures point to significant growth deterioration over the next six to nine months. This is plenty of time for the Fed to stop hiking and begin cutting before the year is out.

The largest percentage-point contribution to fourth-quarter GDP was the change in private inventories. This is one of the most volatile GDP components. On top of that it lags inventory-to-sales ratios, which have risen sharply. Inventories are likely to be strongly negatively contributing to GDP growth by the second or third quarter.

Within GDP, non-residential investment has so far held up well, while residential investment has collapsed with the effect of higher rates. But non-residential investment almost always goes the way of residential investment within the next six to nine months.

Private consumption in 4Q22 came in softer than expected and should continue to weaken as the year goes on. With investment falling too, GDP overall will be in a much weaker state before year-end.

Further, the Fed doesn’t hang around for too long once it does its last hike.

Going back to 1971, in mean terms there’s only about one month between the last hike and the first cut, and in median terms, it’s a bit over four months.

It’s far from inconceivable that lagging data such as GDP and employment are deteriorating enough by the summer to lead the Fed to cut rates by October.

This is not much different from the market outlook, which has the first full 25 bps cut priced by the November meeting.

There is good risk-reward for betting there will be an earlier cut, as data could worsen more quickly than the above analysis would suppose.

Moreover current data could be revised lower, as so often happens in downturns.

Rate expectations are little changed since the GDP release, so perhaps the market isn’t paying too much attention to what’s happening behind it…

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A California judge on Wednesday halted the state’s so-called COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation law, which was challenged by doctors in two lawsuits, claiming it violates their constitutional rights.

In Hoeg v. Newsom, five doctors alleged that the state law, AB 2098, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. A separate related lawsuit, Hoang v. Bonta, makes similar allegations.

Both lawsuits sought a preliminary injunction to prevent California from enforcing the law.

The five doctors, Tracy Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Aaron Kheriaty, Pete Mazolewski, and Azadeh Khatibi, filed their lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials, including the president and members of the Medical Board of California.

They argued the law prevents them from providing information to their patients that may contradict what the law permits or prohibits. They also alleged the law was used to intimidate and punish physicians who disagreed with prevailing views on COVID-19.

Judge William Shubb, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in his ruling (pdf) it was plausible that the medical board would determine their conduct violates AB 2098, and therefore the doctors’ fears are reasonable “given the ambiguity of the term ‘scientific consensus’ and of the definition of ‘misinformation’ as a whole.”

Shubb noted that this weighed in favor of the plaintiffs having standing.

“Because the definition of misinformation ‘fails to provide a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited, [and] is so standardless that it authorizes or encourages seriously discriminatory enforcement,’ the provision is unconstitutionally vague,” Shubb wrote. “Accordingly, the court concludes that plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their vagueness challenges.”

The Law

Newsom signed the bill into law in September 2022, and it took effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

The law defines misinformation as “false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus,” and prohibits physicians from disseminating “misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the development, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.”

Doctors who deviate from the established U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance by attempting to assess and advise their patients as individuals may run afoul of the new law.

The state medical board is required by law to act against any licensed doctor charged with unprofessional conduct.

The court’s ruling effectively halts the law while the legal challenge plays out.

The legal organization representing the doctors said their clients were put in a difficult position, fearing repercussions for acting in the best interests of their patients by giving them honest information, depriving them of their right to receive advice and hear treatment options without fear of professional discipline.

According to American Civil Liberties Alliance (ACLA), the First Amendment, which protects Americans’ rights to free speech and expression, applies to minority views and majority opinions.

The doctors alleged they have been threatened by other doctors and individuals on social media to use AB 2098 to have their licenses taken away, according to ACLA.

Read more here…

Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation and grandson of the company’s founder, is stepping down after leading the world’s largest automaker for 14 years, according to Nikkei Asia. 

Chief Branding Officer Koji Sato will replace Akio Toyoda on April 1. The plan is to “fully remodel” the automaker as a mobility company and accelerate the electrification of vehicles under Sato’s leadership. 

Toyoda has led the company that pioneered hybrid cars with its Prius model since 2009 and will become chair. Sato is currently the chief branding officer and head of the Lexus unit. The handover is primarily due to Toyota’s slow adoption of electric vehicles. 

“Because of my strong passion for cars, I am an old-fashioned person in regards to digitalization, electric vehicles, and connected cars. I cannot go beyond being a car guy, and that is my limitation,” Toyoda told reporters.

“The new team can do what I can’t do . . . I now need to take a step back in order to let young people enter the new chapter of what the future of mobility should be like,” he continued. 

One of Toyoda’s mishaps was the botched launch of the company’s first mass-produced EV, the bZ4X, which was immediately recalled after its launch last year. He also has had a staunch view that hybrids are much better than EVs, which likely led to the management reshuffle. 

“The mission of the new team, led by new President Sato, is to fully remodel Toyota as a mobility company,” Toyoda emphasized.

Tatsuo Yoshida, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said today’s announcement is a total “surprise.” He noted, “Toyoda’s choice to remain as chairman will help maintain the company’s business strategy and continuity.”

Toyoda’s slow move toward all-electric vehicles probably cost him the top spot. 

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

GOP Senator Rand Paul has joined others in promoting an updated bill to reinstate military service members who were previously fired for refusing to comply with the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandate.

The legislation, named the Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots (AMERICANS) Act of 2023, includes a requirement that the Secretary of Defense offer reinstatement to active members who were removed from duty for not taking the shots.

Senator Paul noted “The COVID-19 vaccine mandate has ruined the livelihoods of men and women who have honorably served our country. This inept bureaucratic policy should have never been imposed, and while it has since been rolled back, we still have service members who have not been rehired, promoted, or received back pay and benefits.”

He continued, “The AMERICANS Act will address these issues and others that the Biden administration has failed to consider at the expense of service members’ lives and our nation’s national security interests.”

Senator Ted Cruz, who is also co-sponsoring the bill added “Our military continues to feel the effects of the Biden administration’s reckless, misguided, and now-prohibited vaccine mandates.”

“I’m glad that we were able to remove the COVID-19 vaccine mandate last Congress, but there is more work to do,” Cruz urged, adding “The AMERICANS Act would correct the wrongs done to unvaccinated service members who were discharged for exercising their conscience.”

As they noted in their statements, the Senators were previously successful in getting the mandate scrapped by threatening to block the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Representative Dan Bishop, who has introduced a companion bill in the House, also noted that “While last year’s NDAA directed that SECDEF rescind the DOD’s authoritarian COVID vaccine mandate, it didn’t prohibit the DOD from issuing a similar mandate in the future.”

He continued, “The bill also didn’t provide any meaningful remedies for service members who were kicked out due to the mandate. This is completely unacceptable. Sen. Cruz and my bill, the AMERICANS Act, will close these glaring loopholes and bring justice to military members who were purged by Secretary Austin’s egregious vaccine mandate.”

Specifically, the legislation will require the Department of Defense to:

• Reinstate any service member separated solely for COVID-19 vaccine status who wants to return to service, crediting the service member with the time of involuntary separation for retirement pay calculations;

• Restore the rank of any service member demoted solely for COVID-19 vaccine status, compensating the service member for any pay and benefits lost due to that demotion;

• Adjust to “honorable” any “general” discharge given to a service member solely due to COVID-19 vaccine status;

• Expunge from a service members’ record any adverse action based solely on COVID-19 vaccine status, regardless of whether the service member previously sought an accommodation;

• Make every effort to retain service members not vaccinated against COVID-19, providing them with professional development, promotion, and leadership opportunities equal to that of their peers; and

• Provide a COVID-19 vaccine exemption process for service members with natural immunity, a relevant underlying health condition, or a sincerely held religious belief inconsistent with being vaccinated.

The Military Times estimates that more than 3,400 troops were “involuntarily separated from the service” due to non-compliance with the vaccine mandate.

Despite Republican attempts to stop mandatory vaccines for active duty personnel, and to uphold exemption rights, the Biden administration has continually pushed for dishonourable discharges and even court martialing for troops who disobey orders to get the shots.

US natural gas futures erased some losses but still hovered sub $3 per million British thermal units after federal regulators approved Freeport LNG’s request for a partial restart of operations at the liquefied natural gas export terminal on the Texas coast. 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Freeport LNG’s request to restart operations. Freeport was granted approval to   begin the “cool down” of its Loop 1 transfer piping and restart the terminal’s boil-off gas management compressors and other piping. 

Here’s what Houston-based energy firm Criterion Research told clients: 

The FERC has formally granted Freeport LNG approval to “commence commissioning, including cooldown, of Loop 1 LNG transfer piping and commissioning and reinstate service of the boil off gas (BOG) management system.” The letter was dated January 26, 2023 and the approval was based on an inspection conducted by the FERC and PHMSA onsite on January 25, 2023.

Moving forward, Freeport will need to request and receive approval for any further activity. This includes securing permission to “reinstate service for Loop 1 LNG circulation to enable ship loading to Dock 1 and to cooldown, recommission, and reinstate service of the liquefaction trains, including rundown piping to tanks.”

Based on Freeport’s initial request this week, the Loop 1 and BOG work will now take 11 days, placing the completion of that process on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Recall earlier this week. Freeport released a statement that it “has completed repairs to the Export Facility on Quintana Island, Texas, performed safety reviews, revised various procedures, implemented new safety systems and performed necessary training in order to safely begin to resume initial operations at its Export Facility.” 

Freeport’s LNG net flows show some signs of life after being halted last June when an explosion rocked the facility and brought it offline. 

Even after the news, US NatGas futures are still deep in the red and sub $3 — mainly because of increased production, ample supply, and a mild winter. 

The question remains if NatGas prices will finally find a floor if Freeport begins a partial restart — considering the facility is one of the biggest export terminals in the US. 

By Simon White, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and analyst

Optically strong US growth data does not take 2023 rate cuts off the agenda.

My colleague, Ed Harrison, reckons the Fed rate cuts in 2023 are likely off the table.

In the words of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction: “Allow me to retort.”

The first release of 4Q22 GDP just came out, ahead of expectations, at 2.9%.

The problem with a lot of economic data is it is lagging and frequently revised.

GDP is one of the more lagging economic series. But if we look at what is leading lately, the figures point to significant growth deterioration over the next six to nine months. This is plenty of time for the Fed to stop hiking and begin cutting before the year is out.

The largest percentage-point contribution to fourth-quarter GDP was the change in private inventories. This is one of the most volatile GDP components. On top of that it lags inventory-to-sales ratios, which have risen sharply. Inventories are likely to be strongly negatively contributing to GDP growth by the second or third quarter.

Within GDP, non-residential investment has so far held up well, while residential investment has collapsed with the effect of higher rates. But non-residential investment almost always goes the way of residential investment within the next six to nine months.

Private consumption in 4Q22 came in softer than expected and should continue to weaken as the year goes on. With investment falling too, GDP overall will be in a much weaker state before year-end.

Further, the Fed doesn’t hang around for too long once it does its last hike.

Going back to 1971, in mean terms there’s only about one month between the last hike and the first cut, and in median terms, it’s a bit over four months.

It’s far from inconceivable that lagging data such as GDP and employment are deteriorating enough by the summer to lead the Fed to cut rates by October.

This is not much different from the market outlook, which has the first full 25 bps cut priced by the November meeting.

There is good risk-reward for betting there will be an earlier cut, as data could worsen more quickly than the above analysis would suppose.

Moreover current data could be revised lower, as so often happens in downturns.

Rate expectations are little changed since the GDP release, so perhaps the market isn’t paying too much attention to what’s happening behind it…