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Trade Wars
Existing Home Sales Rise in October
Existing home sales rose 1.2% to a 4.1 million-unit pace in October, the second straight monthly gain. Although resales remain sluggish relative to historical norms on account of adverse affordability conditions, activity has trended higher in recent months alongside a modest easing in mortgage rates. Increased supply is another support factor, with better availability pulling prospective buyers off the sidelines and keeping home price appreciation moderate.
October's gain in existing sales is consistent with the recent drift higher in mortgage applications for purchase, suggesting home sales will continue to gradually improve from a low level over the next several months. While there is further scope for improvement in the months ahead, we do not anticipate a strong rebound as elevated homeownership costs remain a constraint. What's more, the bulk of mortgaged homeowners still hold sub-5% mortgage rates, well below where mortgage rates currently prevail. Since we do not expect mortgage rates to ease much more over the next few years, the mortgage lock-in effect will likely continue to limit new supply.
Read more at Wells Fargo
Novartis To Build Manufacturing Hub In North Carolina, Creating 700 Jobs
Novartis will expand its operations in North Carolina and build a manufacturing hub there as part of a planned $23 billion of U.S. infrastructure investment over the next five years, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company said on Wednesday. The expansion is projected to create 700 new positions at Novartis and more than 3,000 indirect jobs across the supply chain by 2030, the company's statement said.
The announcement follows a preliminary deal struck by the U.S. and Swiss governments last week to cut U.S. tariffs on Switzerland to 15% from 39%. Central to the deal is a pledge by Swiss companies such as Novartis to invest $200 billion in the U.S. by the end of 2028. Novartis said the new hub, expected to open in 2027 or 2028, will comprise two new facilities in Durham, North Carolina, for biologics manufacturing and sterile packaging, and a site in Morrisville for solid dosage production and packaging. The expansion is designed to increase the company's manufacturing capacity so that all of its key U.S. medicines can be produced domestically, it said.
Read more at Reuters
Moderna Expands mRNA Manufacturing In US At Site In Norwood, MA
Vaccine maker Moderna has announced a $140 million US manufacturing expansion at its existing Moderna Technology Center (MTC) in Norwood, Massachusetts. The project is envisioned to strengthen the company’s US manufacturing network and will support clinical and commercial supply of the firm’s mRNA production. Construction has already begun, and the company projects the expansion to be completed by 2027.
Although Moderna played a crucial role providing mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has struggled through a series of highs and lows in the years since. In 2024’s shareholder letter, CEO Stéphane Bancel admitted that US sales had dropped due to an influx of competition in the market while global sales were seeing mixed results. Those issues led to a decrease in R&D and manufacturing spending. Nevertheless, the company has forged ahead with manufacturing projects in the UK, Australia, and Canada to go along with its US plans.
Read more at BioProcess International
GE Appliances Invests $150 Million in U.S. Suppliers in Reshoring Push
GE Appliances said it has awarded $150 million in contracts to American suppliers as it prepares to move manufacturing of some product lines to the U.S. from China. The 22 suppliers will provide steel, resin, parts and components for GE Appliances to make washers and combination washer-and-dryer machines at a renovated factory in Louisville, Ky. GE Appliances, owned by China’s Haier Smart Home, said the suppliers are located across 10 states, including four suppliers in Kentucky, four in Tennessee and three in Indiana. The value of the contracts ranges from about $330,000 to roughly $41 million.
The contract awards come as companies increasingly seek to work more closely with their suppliers to help cut costs, control exposure to tariffs and avoid disruptions like those seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ashley Eckert, senior director of sourcing at GE Appliances, said the company’s new contracts are part of a shift to involve vendors from the beginning of development rather than waiting until designs are complete.
Read more at the WSJ
Ford, Novelis Restore Operations After Another Oswego Plant Fire; Supplies To Ford Resume As Normal
Ford Motor Company and Novelis on Saturday issued a joint statement confirming that operations at Novelis’ Oswego aluminium plant have restarted after a fire incident on November 20. The facility was evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported among employees, contractors or first responders. The fire was contained quickly, allowing the plant to restore critical functions sooner than expected.
Novelis said its cold mill and heat-treatment lines were back online as of Saturday morning, enabling the company to resume shipments of finished aluminium to Ford. The restart is expected to minimise disruption across Ford’s supply chain, which relies heavily on Novelis for automotive-grade aluminium used in several vehicle programmes. Ford said the incident does not alter its full-year 2025 outlook. The company reaffirmed its adjusted EBIT guidance of USD 6–6.5 billion and adjusted free cash flow of USD 2–3 billion, signalling confidence that the supply disruption will remain limited.
Read more at Zee Biz
UPS Plane-Crash Probe Identifies ‘Fatigue Cracks,’ Metal Stress
Federal investigators probing the crash of a United Parcel Service cargo jet that killed 14 people in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month found signs of metal fatigue and stress in hardware that connected an engine to the plane, according to a preliminary accident report published Thursday. Investigators “found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure” in a part of the engine mount that linked the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter’s left engine to the wing, the National Transportation Safety Board report said. Video footage of the plane’s takeoff showed the General Electric engine aflame before it detached, shot above the fuselage and hit the ground.
The NTSB’s preliminary report stopped short of identifying what led to the metal components showing signs of fatigue and stress, or identifying a probable cause. Final conclusions are expected about a year after the accident. It wasn’t clear whether the metal fatigue should have been caught during earlier maintenance, whether inspection protocols need to be changed, or if such components should undergo more frequent checks.
Read more at the WSJ
Humanoid Robots Edge Closer To Manufacturing Safety
Humanoids are in a development mode, and many wonder when the reality of humanoids will affect manufacturing. Is it reality or science fiction? Boston Dynamics’ humanoid is Atlas. Atlas has been under development since 2013. In 2014, it was a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project. One of the drawbacks has been starting with hydraulic actuators. In 2024, using 3D components, the Atlas system moved to all electric actuators. Some say that Atlas is the most advanced humanoid in existence. Dexterity, movement and environment, as well as how a robot behaves in an environment, are directly related to safety.
To compile the inputs of all the sensors to allow for a humanoid to process its environment, software is key. Artificial intelligence should allow us to manage this. The hardware and software are constantly changing, but hardware is to a point that human-like movement has been obtained. Behavior and safety are more complex than the technology. How do you model behavior that allows a robot to do a task? I say model, because tasks should be adaptable and the goals in the humanoid arena are human interfaces that allow the robot to be taught by vision and showing. These are the same goals used to teach humans a repetitive process.
Read more at Control Design
Geothermal’s Time Has Finally Come
The future of clean energy is unfolding on a desert plateau about four hours north-east of Las Vegas. Dotted around the spectacular sands near Milford, Utah, are nearly two dozen wells, each reaching deep into the Earth where the rocks are permanently hot. Jack Norbeck says that his firm, Fervo, has “acquired over half a million acres of geothermal mineral rights across the US, which we see as over 50 gigawatts of opportunity”. Fervo is a buzzy geothermal-technology startup backed by Google and other high-powered tech investors that wants to turn a once-neglected source of energy into a powerhouse. The privately held firm will start producing electricity next year in the first phase of a 500-megawatt deal with the power division of Shell, an oil company, and with a Californian utility. That is the largest commercial contract agreed for geothermal electricity in the industry’s history.
Because geothermal can offer clean energy around the clock, it is a perfect match for the incessant power-guzzling of data centres. That explains why Google, Meta and other purveyors of artificial intelligence keen on carbon-free but “firm” power are supporting geothermal innovations. Geothermal’s environmental credentials are stellar. Like wind and solar, it emits virtually no greenhouse gases during its operations. And, because Earth’s deep rocks are hot all the time, geothermal can provide reliable electricity around the clock, unlike the other intermittent renewable sources of energy. It can also provide clean heat and serve as grid-scale energy storage.
Read more at The Economist
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