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With 2022’s first quarter still taking shape and in spite of the tragic outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, the US economy is showing a strong rebound from pandemic-related shutdowns and the consequent deep recession. The economy has reacted to massive federal spending increases; supply constraints; somewhat chaotic world economic forces; and a persistent, uncertainty-laden COVID-19 pandemic. Along with all this, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation—the result of the massive spending combined with stubborn supply chain issues—is now running at 7.5 percent with little sign of easing any time soon. Now with the Federal Reserve (Fed) committed to calm inflation, a goal made more lofty by the Russia-Ukraine war’s effects on commodity prices, the economy seems positioned to continue growing at a solid pace.
In 2021’s third quarter, real GDP growth hit 2.3 percent, much lower than the 6.5 percent growth registered in the second quarter but closer to what can be thought of as normal. First estimates for 2021’s fourth quarter, released on January 27, were a sizzling 7.0 percent, making third quarter’s weak growth look like an anomaly. The high growth was driven largely by strong consumer spending and businesses replenishing inventories. Annual real GDP growth in 2021 will probably be 5.7 percent, the strongest performance since 1984, when, again, the economy was on the rebound from a serious recession.
Looking further ahead and taking account of the Fed’s plan to slow the economy, Wells Fargo predicts that US real GDP growth will be 3.4 percent in 2022 and 3.0 percent in 2023; the Wall Street Journal calls for 3.3 percent growth in 2022 and 2.4 percent in 2023; and the International Monetary Fund expects to see 4.0 percent and 2.6 percent for 2022 and 2023, respectively. These estimates, along with data for average real GDP growth since 1948, are shown in table 1. As indicated, the US economy is expected to perform at about its historic average.
Real gross output (RGO), which is another important measure of overall economic activity and which includes transactions across the full domestic supply chain, including intermediate goods that are used in producing final products, not just final value added, rose 4.4 percent in 2021’s third quarter, following 19.5 percent growth in the second quarter. RGO is more volatile than GDP but may give a better reading on the zigs and zags of industrial activity. Both measures help to show the difficulties faced by economic agents who are trying to plan production and new investments in a highly unstable economy.
Frankenstein Is Still Here
Yes, America still has what I call a “Frankenstein economy,” meaning that policymakers continue to stitch together rules and actions—some temporary, some not—that seek to define the limits and direction of economic activity. These include shutting down oil exploration on federal land—now reversed by court action—accelerating antitrust action that focuses on the behavior of major social media firms and others, new rules that will regulate cryptocurrencies, transfers of federal funds to states that are yielding some massive budget surpluses, mandates for COVID-19 protective wear across major sectors—altered partly by Supreme Court action—and acceleration of agricultural programs designed to enhance meat production. All of these and more cause the Frankenstein economy to move more or less gingerly and in altered directions. Still, the economy has a force of its own, driven by the decisions and actions of countless purposely motivated individuals and organizations. The economy’s extraordinary ability to roll with the punches continues to impress me.
How This Report Is Organized
This report contains some changes that I hope will make it more interesting and useful to readers. Yes, the report’s main body still examines major economic topics and issues, but faithful readers will see that the State Spotlight section, which focuses on the economy and features of one US state, has been replaced with a section by Stephen Strosko and Thurston Powers on regulation. This new section draws on the extensive research occurring in the Mercatus Center’s highly recognized Policy Analytics project. Each quarter, this new section will report on ongoing work designed to help people understand the effects of regulations not just in the United States, but in other countries.
The report’s next section continues to focus on the national economy, inflation, and reactions to inflation that were featured last quarter. Inflation earns its continuing place on the marquee because actions taken to counter erosion of purchasing power will likely bring serious challenges as this year progresses. This discussion addresses monetary policy actions that are the origin of inflation (after all, the definition of the word is derived from an inflated supply of money) and then expands on what to expect in the months ahead. Any increases in interest rates that might be needed to control inflation can have profound effects on the federal budget, because of massive deficit spending and accumulated federal debt, making it difficult for ongoing government activities to continue unaffected.
A discussion of the White House response to higher prices and the price level and possible changes for trade policy follows the section on inflation. This section explain how politicians may gain by calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate firms and industries that are raising prices and how changes in trade policies always generate winners as well as losers in the domestic economy. Finally, the last section in the report’s main body brings some good news regarding rising entrepreneurship and small business growth. Driven partly by reactions to the pandemic and always by necessity, lots of people who dropped out of the labor force, or were forced out, have opened businesses.
The report winds down with the new section on regulatory studies followed by two book reviews.
The Inflated Economy: The Monetary Chickens Have Come Home to Roost
News that the January 2022 all-item CPI has risen 7.5 percent since January 2021 and that the companion Producer Price Index was up 9.7 percent for the same period put to rest any ideas that inflation was beginning to wither away. What consumers in grocery stores and filling stations have known for months, politicians now had to grudgingly admit: the cost of living is going up, far faster than average wage increases will cover.
It feels a little late in the game to call inflation “transitory.” On average, typical Americans are getting poorer, at least until government rescue payments are figured into the picture. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that President Joe Biden’s popularity ratings have fallen.
Looking through the Money Lens
But whereas White House commentators point to capitalist greed, climate change, and producer collusion as explanations for the higher price level, those who look at the economy through a monetary lens saw inflation coming months ago. For example, in February 2021 Florida State University economist Jim Gwartney wrote an analysis titled “This Time, We’ll Have Inflation, and Here’s Why.” Gwartney focused on the trillions of newly printed dollars that had entered the economy since COVID-19 first reared its ugly head and showed how those trillions would later give birth to inflation. Around the same time, Johns Hopkins University economist Steve Hanke reported a similar analysis and made an inflation forecast that turned out to be quite accurate. In February 2022, Steve Hanke and Nicholas Hanlon reported on work that examines 60 years of data and finds an indisputably strong relationship between growth in the money supply and inflation.
Monetary academics know, as do laypeople, that it takes time for people to spend trillions of newly acquired dollars. And folks who have worked for a living in relevant fields know that sellers, in trying to get more goods on the shelf more quickly to accommodate increased consumer spending, often face higher costs and try to increase prices in order to keep the ship afloat. More money in circulation enables them to do this with greater ease.
Taking a Look at Some Data
I show a crude form of this relationship between time, money, and inflation in figure 1, where, using Fed data, I plot the year-over-year percentage increase for US demand deposits—money in Americans’ bank accounts—and the monthly CPI. The data are for January 2019 through November 2021.
As indicated in the figure, things get interesting long about March 2020, when the pandemic hit hard and the Trump administration shipped out lots of newly printed money. The level of demand deposits, reflected by the yellow line, rises suddenly and then grows apace as additional cash shots in the arm are injected by President Donald Trump and later by President Biden. But what about inflation? The figure shows CPI acceleration that begins to respond about one year after the action in demand deposits. As can be seen, inflation accelerates and continues to do so right up to the present moment.
What about the future? When will the inflation end? This simple analysis shows the growth of demand deposits weakening in recent months, which hints that inflation could diminish when the amount of money in Americans’ pockets is back to normal—around, say, 2023’s first quarter. But that will only hold if the Fed slows down the printing press. Meanwhile, keep your seatbelts fastened.
How Consumers May View the Temporary Income Surge
There is one last lesson to be learned from the January CPI report. Viewing inflation by way of expenditure categories, one can see that its pace was higher for goods than for services. For example, the 2021 CPI was up 12.2 percent for new vehicles, 12.0 percent for groceries, 40.0 percent for gasoline, and 2.5 percent for medical care services. As it turns out, sales of autos in the United States surged more than 100 percent in April and May of 2021, and consumers increased appliance purchases by 140 percent. In the same period, exports to the United States from China shot up more than 100 percent. There is little wonder that supply chains and ports of entry became stressed during this time. Indeed, pressures like these had never been experienced before.
There are lots of pieces to the puzzle that may explain these differences. One relates to economist Milton Friedman’s “permanent income” hypothesis. According to Friedman, one should distinguish between income viewed by consumers as temporary and income viewed by consumers as permanent.
A permanent income increase, or at least an increase that is perceived as permanent, causes consumers to raise consumption levels—and perhaps witness price increases—across a broad range of goods and services. Temporary income increases, such as a one-time stimulus check, may cause consumers to think about replacing major appliances, upgrading the family pickup truck, or replacing the porch furniture while maintaining permanent income-derived spending habits.
To sum things up, when one looks at the latest inflation data, there is one way in which efforts to deal with the pandemic have been costly for all consumers, not just those who lost work and had to rearrange their lives. The politicians were correct when they said the vaccinations would not require payment and that money in the bank would help make life a little easier for a lot of Americans. But later, when confronted with evidence of rising prices, there was more than just a tendency for political leaders to lay the blame on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, China, or greedy capitalists. Their own culpability with the monetary printing presses didn’t come up much.
Now it seems the monetary chickens have come home to roost.
Individuals whose salaries, wages, and Social Security payments are automatically adjusted for inflation have much less to worry about than their neighbors who are on fixed salaries, are facing ballooning grocery bills, and are paying 40 percent more to fill up for the daily commute to work than they did a year ago. On these grounds, inflation may be devastating for some and almost meaningless for others. In a few words, there are differential effects that get larger as inflation increases. Put another way, inflation is a cruel tax that should not be disregarded by those who can do something about it. There is yet one more worry to consider: inflation can be a burden for people who live in states with graduated income taxes and find themselves hit with a heavier tax bill that results from their inflated income. Seven states have no broad-based income tax, and three have a flat-rate income tax, but the rest have rates that rise with income.
Although inflation’s harmful distributional effects can be serious and should, if possible, be avoided by political policymakers, there is yet one more serious matter to consider: the rate of inflation gets captured in interest rates that borrowers must pay, especially for longer-term debt. Common sense says that lenders hope to be paid back with at least as much purchasing power as they had before lending. If inflation is ticking away at 4.0 percent, one expects to see interest rates rise with expectations that inflation will continue. In effect, credit market participants have to guess what that rate will be. In any case, higher interest rates mean higher interest costs to be paid annually on all forms of public and private debt. As a result, mortgage rates rise, all forms of construction suffer, and businesses postpone making large investments in plant and equipment.
Consider the public debt, especially the federal debt that ballooned from large deficits in recent years. (I note that, for 2020, federal revenues were $3.4 trillion, and spending was $6.6 trillion.) Interest on the national debt in 2008 was $253 billion and remained at about that level through 2015. Even though the debt doubled in those years, sharply falling interest rates and low inflation worked to contain the interest cost of the debt. But that was yesterday. Today, America has higher inflation and rising interest rates, perhaps with more to come. For 2021, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates interest cost of public debt was $413 billion. Obviously, each dollar spent on interest is a dollar that cannot be spent providing government benefits and services to taxpayers.
What about the future? Worse or better? Looking ahead, the CBO estimates interest costs on the debt will rise with higher interest rates and continuing deficits. For 2026, the interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note is predicted to be 2.6 percent, versus the current 1.5 percent, and interest on the debt is predicted to be $524 billion. For 2030, if, according to CBO projections, the 10-year note interest rate rises to 2.8 percent, interest costs will hit $829 billion. That’s real money. Just to put $829 billion into perspective—in 2020, the United States spent $714 billion on defense, $769 billion on Medicare, and $914 billion on all nondefense discretionary spending. Back of envelope calculations suggest strongly that some of these other spending categories will have to give if inflation-driven interest costs rise to the CBO-predicted level.
The United States is experiencing an inflationary surge caused fundamentally by the injection into the economy of trillions of dollars without any accompanying production of goods and services that might be purchased with the new dollars. Rising demand and troubled supply are causing costs and the price level to rise. The inflationary forces will be here until the stimulus dollars work their way through the economy and the federal government stops printing more money. Inflation is painful to large categories of people and beneficial to only a few. When inflation becomes captured in rising interest rates, people who borrow must cut back, husband resources, and find ways to conserve cash. As the inflationary process continues, government itself—the source of inflation in the first place—will face hard choices when confronted with high interest costs that go with past deficits and rising debt. And that, as they say, is when the rubber will hit the road.
High Prices, Money for Nothing, and the New Stance on Trade
With the price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump up more than a dollar in the past 12 months and destined to continue rising as the Russia-Ukraine war unfolds, and with consumers fuming about inflation, President Biden chose early on to follow the typical political strategy: blame the problem on gasoline producers and sellers and call on the FTC to investigate the industry for possible price gouging. Putting the industry in the spotlight will call attention to the billions of dollars oil companies are making, humiliate executives for earning so much, and remind ordinary people far and wide that the government will bring relief. It’s good politics. Now, of course, Russia can logically be blamed for making gasoline even more expensive.
Most likely, when all is said and done, the FTC’s investigation will generate some long reports and testimony and identify some anomalies in the pricing data. But in the end, it will show that what America has is a problem of supply and demand.
Calling the FTC Cops
Yes, America has seen this Shakespearean tragedy before, but not always with an ordered FTC investigation. A few weeks ago, rising meat product prices were the burr under Biden’s saddle. Before that, during the Trump era, it was drug prices that had to come down; Canadian wood and dairy prices that needed to go up; and production of aluminum, steel, ventilators, and automobiles that needed fixing.
Long before all this, back in the Reagan years, it was congressional concern about life insurance pricing that led to an FTC investigation. And in the Carter years, it was unhappiness with funeral home pricing and car dealer marketing tactics that led to FTC investigations and rulemakings.
Indeed, the political response to perceived market inequities is so commonplace that regulatory scholars have given the process a name. The late law and economics scholar and FTC official Fred McChesney described it ass a way for politicians to get “money for nothing.”
Let me explain. Politicians need campaign contributions if they are to gain and keep office. Businesses and industries can benefit from government action and need to hold on to earnings as much as possible so that they, too, can keep their places in the sun. A new threat to regulate from inside government itself brings a predictable lobbying response and expenditure. To avoid costly regulation and endless infighting, businesses make political contributions so that the politicians will do nothing. For example, at the moment, high technology firms such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google are under the gun following threats from politicians to impose new antitrust restraints on them. In 2021, Google spent $9.6 million on lobbying expenses, up 27 percent from 2020. In 2020, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft spent a combined $61 million on lobbying activities. The variation in expenditures across firms appears to relate roughly to the extent to which particular firms or activities are currently being targeted for legislative action.
Working the Legislative Trenches
It is well known that, reaching back to John D. Rockefeller’s political battles, the petroleum industry has been a seasoned Washington player. Making regular campaign contributions is standard fare for the industry. The same is true for many other industries. The continual flow of political payments may be thought of as an effort not just to get some new beneficial laws passed, but to avoid the passage of laws and regulations that will prove harmful to the industry. Businesses have every reason and incentive to do this, and they are used to public scrutiny. But one should not always view the political showmanship involved as anything more than it is.
At times, one sees money being spent for nothing; at other times, the funds are spent for something. Meanwhile, politically savvy presidents can look consumers in the eye and say without blinking that they have the people’s back and will put all the power of the federal government to work—night and day—to bring needed relief to today’s pressing problems.
A New Stance on Trade: Shifting from Tariffs to Quotas
During the October 2021 G20 gathering in Rome, the Biden administration celebrated revisions to trade restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports from China, Europe, and most of the rest of the world. But before grabbing confetti and champagne, people should acknowledge that the change will ultimately strengthen participating governments’ hands with importers and exporters. It is not a return to the more open market economy that was present earlier.
Recall that the recent tariff surge started in 2016. A self-styled “Tariff Man,” President Trump saw himself as America’s gatekeeper. He was not reluctant to limit the flow of goods across US borders and tax American consumers by way of tariffs, even as he took pride in successfully reducing other taxes. Trump claimed that when steel and aluminum crossed US borders, tariff revenue would bolster the position of the Treasury. Perhaps it would even help to offset diminished income tax revenues. (These points notwithstanding, tariffs and other trade restrictions are commonly shown to impose costs on consumers.)
The new Rome agreement, which basically excludes China, replaced a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum with quotas that limit the total amount of specific metal products that can enter American markets. It’s not simple. In all, there are 54 distinct quotas for different types of steel and 16 for different types of aluminum. A new crop of US gatekeepers will keep score on who and what is shipping into the country.
Now, when those metals cross the border, there will be no accompanying flow of tariff money to the US Treasury. Instead, higher corporate income and wealth taxes, if approved by Congress, may generate revenues that help replace the diminished tariff flows. Meanwhile, inflation-weary consumers may get a wee bit of relief, given that tariffs are inevitably passed on to them by US importers.
The new steel and aluminum agreement was celebrated by some US manufacturers of metal-using products, organized labor, and the Steel Manufacturers Association—but not by the aluminum industry, which preferred a simple tariff phase out. Dealing with the quotas’ score-keeping complexities raised major concerns for some importing firms, especially smaller ones that lack the specialized personnel for managing such matters. As with most federal regulations, larger firms with more money and compliance personnel will enjoy economies of scale while operating in this more complicated regulatory environment.
All steel and aluminum importers will become more engaged with, and therefore more dependent on, government officials. Opportunities for favor seeking and beneficial political influence will abound.
And unlike tariffs, quota-managed imports strengthen the hands of foreign officials in the countries America imports from. These officials must determine which of their countries’ firms should receive permission to export a limited amount of products, how much those firms will ship, and how it will all be managed. Past US experience with quotas on textiles and apparel and with similar “voluntary restraints” on Japanese automobiles, shows how quotas become marketable across individuals and borders and how decisions became biased.
For example, Hong Kong became a textile and apparel center where quota “owners” profited at the expense of American taxpayers who would have gained from simpler tariff revenues. And in Japan, some smaller auto manufacturers were shut out of the US market entirely, whereas their larger competitors gained sway. Eventually, major Japanese producers built US plants so that they would no longer be affected by tariffs or quotas.
In short, trade restrictions always inspire adaptations and create winners and losers, determined sometimes in unexpected ways.
Biden’s revision of the policy does open the door to America’s markets for tariff-free shipments of some needed basic raw materials, but the complexities involved make it difficult to know whether to celebrate or run for cover. Yes, there will be winners and losers, but it is hard to know which group is largest and which countries will gain the most.
COVID-19, the Search for Workers, and the Starting of New Businesses
My conversations about the economic situation with local South Carolina employers have a common theme. For some, the business outlook is the brightest in recent memory, and in some cases, capacity is sold out for the year ahead, but the availability of labor, lumber, steel buildings, and even doorknobs for completing large apartment projects is as bad as it has been in recent memory. My discussions with construction employers bring back personal memories of the years just after World War II, when new 1946 automobiles were arriving without bumpers or taillights because of the yet-to-be healed supply chain problems. But no one then referred to “supply chains”; they just said, “We can’t get the parts!” As one local executive told me recently, his firm is completing large construction projects with substitute floor tile, doors, and hardware that will have to be replaced later when the right stuff becomes available again. Little wonder that construction costs are rising.
However, while the pandemic is generating pain and anxiety for many, related gales of change are making the economy more productive and may be generating what will be go down as a golden age for entrepreneurship. Let me explain.
In their search for ways to satisfy surging consumer demand, many nimble employers are reassessing worker skills and what some term “adjacent capabilities,” which is another way of saying underutilized or yet-to-be-recognized skills and abilities. The result: more effective deployment of workers and better pay. Whereas expanding businesses normally look for ways to move specialized production capabilities into new product categories, such as shifting production of steel sheeting for automobiles into production of corrugated galvanized steel for industrial buildings, and so improve profits, there is now a push to reposition workers and the workplace itself so that newly emerging crucial needs get satisfied in house. Much of this effort can lead to the discovery of lower costs and even happier employees. In this way, pandemic-induced scarcities and disrupted supply chains may be seen later as the prelude to plenty. Americans should recognize that the noted adjustments are occurring globally, and big changes are assisted by emerging cloud computing, which makes available ultimate IT economies of scale to all who will pay the price and enables a “work wherever you wish” employee deployment.
Increasing New Business Starts
Yet although a sort of pandemic-generated global industrial revolution is occurring, one should not be surprised to know that a veritable explosion of new business starts is occurring in the United States. Indeed, out of necessity, hard times generally cause people to find ways to put bread on the table, sometimes literally, such as when a family decides to turn its kitchen into a bakery and its front living room into a small café. As the old saying puts it, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
A recent 60 Minutes segment zeroed in on Greenville, South Carolina, a burgeoning upstate city, and examined how the pandemic has brought dramatic changes to work and employment patterns. In one of the program interviews, CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker asks Greenville restauranteur Carl Sobocinski about difficulties in finding help and why it seems that a lot of people are just not interested in coming back to work.
Sobocinski responds that he has a different take on the situation: the people he would have been interested in hiring or getting back to work are already working—they have started their own businesses. It turns out that America is experiencing an explosion in small business startups, and pandemic relief is part of the story.
How Big Is the Startup Boom, and Will That Matter?
New business startups are required to register themselves with the Census Bureau and obtain a government-issued official business number. Because of the procedure, the Census Bureau can track and report what is going on nationally, by state, by county, and by business category. In the process, the Census Bureau identifies firms with announced plans to hire workers as “high propensity” applicants. Figure 2 shows data for July 2004 through January 2022. The postpandemic surge is obviously large and without precedent in the 16-year series.
In December 2021 there were more than 419,000 new business applications, up 21 percent from December 2020. As the figure shows, that level of activity was ongoing for most of 2021. Just to make the counting easier, one can round that monthly number to an even 400,000. Annualized, that is 4.8 million startups in 2021. And each of the new businesses has at least one person working. In other words, in 2021 at least 4.8 million people went into business for themselves instead of going to work for someone else. In December 2021, the US labor force counted 85.3 million workers or people seeking work. The number starting businesses is better than 5 percent of the workforce. To add another bit of perspective, in November 2021, there were 11 million job openings waiting to be filled, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of new business startups was a bit less than half the number of open jobs.
The sizable small business surge is apparently large enough to add an optimistic spin to expected growth in bank lending, which, of course, is what drives the economy. In his January comments, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan indicated that the largest part of his bank’s expected 2022 lending volume would be small business driven.
When people see all those “Now Hiring” signs and wonder why labor markets don’t seem to be working so well, they should remember that those who want to put people on a payroll are competing with people who want to be on their own payroll. Of course, everybody knows that that there is high failure rate for new businesses—20 percent fail in the first year, according to some research. By the end of the second year, 30 percent of that first batch of startups will have failed, and after 10 years, just 30 percent of that cohort will remain among the living. Despite those discouraging statistics, however, one can know that the pandemic business startup revolution will leave a mark on the future economy.
RegData Regulatory Spotlight: International Regulatory Trends
Technical Director, Policy Analytics Project, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Database Engineer, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
For a long time, researchers have lacked a consistent way to measure the effects of a regulation on the economy. To solve that problem, the Policy Analytics project at the Mercatus Center has pioneered new ways of measuring regulation and produced unique datasets such as RegData. RegData contains counts of the legally binding terms in regulations, statutes, guidance documents, and other forms of legal text. These data are filtered by industry and by geographic location, allowing scholars make to comparisons of the economic effects of regulation.
Each quarter this section will dive into new data, innovations, and trends on the topic of measuring various forms of regulation from around the world. This quarter we focus on brand-new 2020 and 2021 data on regulatory and statutory codes in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Next quarter we will focus on brand-new 2021 US regulatory data to provide an update on the Biden administration’s regulatory actions.
The final quarter of 2021 was an exciting time for the Policy Analytics project at the Mercatus Center. Not only did the team release updated international regulatory data for Canada and Australia, it also added a dataset for a third country, the United Kingdom. Federal-level findings for both regulations and statutes are displayed in figure 3.
Australia experienced a 1.4 percent growth in regulations and a 0.99 percent growth in statutes. Canada experienced a 0.47 percent growth in regulations and a 0.76 percent growth in statutes. These numbers line up astoundingly well with the regulatory growth trend for the United States. Since 2000, the United States has experienced a consistent year-over-year growth rate of 1.2 percent in regulatory restrictions. The largest deviation from that trend was during the four most recent years of data, 2017–2020, where the average growth rate was 0.18 percent. Next quarter, when this report discusses the release of 2021 data, it will be interesting to explore if this four-year decrease in regulatory growth was a result of a new administration or a new regulatory trend that will span multiple administrations.
The RegData Canada and Australia data series provide more than just federal-level data. The 2021 update for both countries also covers province-level data in Canada and state-level data in Australia. Two articles visualize data for these subnational jurisdictions. The panel data produced by the Policy Analytics project on the subnational jurisdictions of both Canada and Australia allow researchers to ask and answer unique questions about legal document trends. For example, Queensland (a state in Australia) has maintained a higher restriction density, meaning that a greater percentage of the words in statutes and regulations are restrictive phrases than in other jurisdictions within Australia. It is not immediately clear if a greater density of restrictive phrases is preferable. On one hand, Queensland regulations may be more concise and easier to follow; on the other hand they may have a higher number of restrictive phrases than needed, which can have adverse effects on the economy. Maybe this density is an inadvertent effect of economic makeup—Queensland might have more industries that require less verbose regulations.
As mentioned before, the Policy Analytics project is excited to add the United Kingdom to the international RegData datasets. Although 2021 data are not available for the United Kingdom, data for 1992 through 2020 are. The dataset offers insights into the workings of the United Kingdom’s legal system and how it compares with similar systems. One surprising trend in the United Kingdom’s statutory data is the slowing of the annual growth rate of in-effect statutes and restrictions. This shift could represent several different changes in the legislative behavior of the United Kingdom, and the trend begs further exploration.
An additional finding in the UK data that begs exploration is the divergence in the total growth in words and total growth in restrictive phrases since around 2000. From 1992 to 2000, the United Kingdom saw an average of 3 percent growth in word count. At the same time, there was a steady decline in the growth of restrictive phrases, which averaged around 3 percent before the year 2000 and which has averaged less than 1 percent since. The explanation for this divergence could be as simple as a changing trend in statutory language or statutory structure. But is that the entire story? Has there been a shift in the restrictiveness of the United Kingdom’s statutes over the past 20 years, and if so, what effect has this shift had on important economic factors such as business dynamism, regressive effects, and economic growth?
Those who wish to explore these new data more may visit quantgov.org/download-data. Data can be downloaded in bulk, by data series, or even by individual document when using RegHub or the RegCensus API.
Yandle’s Reading Table
Certainly on a timely topic, Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret’s COVID-19: The Great Reset offers a two-part discussion of some of the major forces unleashed by the ongoing pandemic. The book’s first part examines macro forces, specifically economic growth and employment, fiscal and monetary policies, and inflation. This part of the book also looks at how society has changed with respect to inequality, social unrest, and the rise of big government. Sections of particular interest are devoted to the rise of nationalism, new twists and turns taken with respect to environmental use and protection, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the application of technologies for tracing and managing human behavior.
As founder (in 1971) and a major force in the World Economic Forum (WEF), Schwab has seen, heard, and participated in countless presentations and discussions of economic policy and political economy. It should be noted that one of Schwab’s principal purposes in founding the WEF was to promote the concept of stakeholder capitalism. The topic receives heavy treatment in the book. Coauthor Malleret, who is also associated with the WEF, has deep professional experience with think tanks and university teaching and is the producer of the Monthly Barometer, which offers indications of where the world economy might be headed.
I should note that whereas Schwab famously endorses and encourages stakeholder capitalism in normative terms, I do not, but I certainly see the stakeholder model as being a strong one for explaining the way the political economy is working. To my mind, stakeholder capitalism is another way of saying Bootlegger-Baptist capitalism, which is to say a political economy where politicians and rent-seeking economic agents find moral explanations for behavior that engenders broad political support and improves their relative wealth-seeking positions.
Turning to the book’s second section on the micro reset, one finds a rich discussion of how industry has reacted to and changed as result of pandemic forces and how questions of which changes may be temporary and which may be permanent continue to plague business decision makers. The micro reset discussion then focuses on individual behavior; how, perhaps, a more humane society has been affected by the fact that all people together face a common threat; and how, as a result, individuals and communities are confronting what the authors describe as moral choices. The matter of mandatory masks is given as an example of a COVID-19 policy initiative that has yielded a battlefield of debate and moral posturing. Going further with the micro discussion, one finds discussion of the pandemic’s effects on mental health and, ultimately, on how individuals are reevaluating what is important in their daily work and family lives. As I read this last section, I was reminded of Voltaire’s Candide and his end-of-global and almost life-taking-struggle recommendation: that people should stay home and tend their gardens.
Although I found COVID-19: The Great Reset to be a well-written and enjoyable read, I find fault that may be real, but my criticism may be, in a sense, unfair. The book was published in 2020, which means that much of the material found in the book emerged in 2019. Put simply, reactions to the pandemic have changed rapidly and meaningfully in the 12 months since the book was published. In any case, the book can serve as a foundation for generating a healthy discussion of the current pandemic that seemingly will not go away.
Some of my most enjoyable reading adventures have been facilitated by my daughter, Kathryn Smith. A well-established writer herself, she reads widely and then passes along some exceptional books to me. They are not always of the latest vintage, but that, sometimes, makes them all the more interesting. This is certainly the case with Benjamin Woolley’s The Queen’s Conjurer: The Science and Magic of Dr. John Dee, Adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, a fascinating biography of John Dee (1527–1609), who ranked high on the list of Queen Elizabeth I’s scientific and metaphysical advisers.
The setting is 16th-century England and Europe at a time when mathematical science, astronomy, and newly invented instruments for navigating unexplored seas were emerging; yet it was also a time when what might be termed competing séances, astrology, and literal crystal ball gazing sessions were generally accepted as legitimate and useful in the search for gaining an understanding of world forces.
What might be thought of as Dee’s professional lifetime started just 75 years or so following the invention of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press in 1436 and just 50 to 75 years following the discovery of America. Dedicated to accumulating and owning the kingdom’s largest library and highly educated in mathematics, Dee turned down professorships in Paris—after having regularly lectured there on mathematics—and at Oxford in the hopes that he would someday be invited to join Elizabeth’s court as an official member. Alas, this was not to be. Dee nonetheless enjoyed a close friendship with the queen, was a trusted adviser, and was, as the book title suggests, a conjurer. This was a person who practiced magic arts.
For the sake of perspective, one should remember that Dee’s time was when Spain and Portugal were dominant in discovery, laying claim to new territories and bringing home the gold. England, certainly by comparison with those two countries, was poor, practically broke, and racked with highly destructive and divisive ongoing battles between Protestant and Catholic interest groups. Of course, the search for new worlds to claim was driven partly by a yearning for gold, as well as discovery of shorter routes to the spice-producing countries.
Wooley provides a fascinating account of this period and Dee’s leading position in it as part of a formation of a major chapter in the history of science. Yet what one may think of as science, as represented by astronomy, was emerging from the world of astrology, which emphasized locations of constellations, positions of stars and planets, and what those changing positions might portend. Lying inside all this were deeply held religious teachings and a belief—for some, that God himself could be revealed by the patient application of mathematics in deciphering ancient texts and teachings. Among language scholars and mathematicians there were some who believed God spoke to Moses and other Bible characters in their language, which was Hebrew. Following this assumption, the study of ancient Hebrew was seen as a way to tap into ultimate supernatural forces.
Dee was deeply engaged in this effort and was counted as a being skilled in magic—which at the time was about knowledge and the study of hidden forces—but not as one who clung to superstition—which was viewed as being exploitive of ignorance and totally unscientific. It is worth recalling that Dee’s time was also the time of Nicolaus Copernicus, another mathematician whose scholarly research developed the theory and logic for a universe centered on the sun, rather than the Earth. Yes, it was a time of large breakthroughs and, therefore, deep disturbances that rattled the already-shaky foundations of religious institutions and the earthly empires they attended.
Among the more delightful sections of the book, one finds fascinating accounts of expeditions at sea inspired by stories and superstition and assisted by Dee’s newly improved instruments for finding direction. Here one encounters discoveries of regions and people who, by comparison to the Europeans are either primitive and ignorant (in the case of Newfoundland) or highly sophisticated and living in cities larger than London (in the case of Muscovy) . Finally, I should mention that it was Dee who helped influence Queen Elizabeth to enter the global discovery competition and lay claims for major parts of the new world. In making his case, Dee hoped that he would become the great navigator, but it was not to be. Instead, a younger man, Sir Walter Raleigh, became the queen’s choice.
Different from most anything I have read in years, The Queen’s Conjurer carried me into a world and to a time of scientific development that was both fascinating and beneficial in my efforts to better understand my own world, where superstition and religious belief still hold sway.


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Ubisoft has announced an new fan-focused event that is set to visit three U.K. cities during the remainder of 2019. Dubbed the Ubisoft Experience, the developing and publishing giant is aiming to take some of its most beloved titles on the road for a trip through the United Kingdom. While more details about the event are likely to come out as the first stop gets closer, the Ubisoft Experience will offer attendees a chance to play some beloved Ubisoft titles as well as grab some special rewards for attending.
The Ubisoft Experience will be stopping in three cities in the U.K. throughout the remainder of this year. The first stop is planned for August 24 and 25 in Birmingham, followed by a stop in Sydney on September 14 and 15. The final stop on the Ubisoft Experience tour will be in Paris on October 31. That’s right, the final stop will be a spooky one, as it is Halloween. It should be interesting to see if Ubisoft has anything special planned for attendees on that day.
In addition to playing some hit Ubisoft games, those attending will be able to grab some exclusive rewards by downloading a special QR code. These rewards will be merely digital and will be credited to your Ubisoft Club account. When you go into the event, your code will be scanned and credited to your account at the end of the event. You can learn more about getting your exclusive QR code for the event on the Ubisoft website.
You can grab some tickets to the Ubisoft Experience on its website, which offers multiple different ticket packages, starting at around £26 ($32 USD), however, there are some packages that range close to £100. Currently, there are only tickets available for the first stop in Birmingham, but more will undoubtedly become available as the other event dates get closer.

domain: news


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Hyundai Venue 2021 New Review.
Hyundai Motor India’s wholesales in the calm bazaar stood at 51,600 units in February 2021, an access of 28.97 per cent over the February 2020 figures. The auto architect currently sells models like the Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Venue, Hyundai Grand i10 Nios, Hyundai i20, Hyundai Aura, Hyundai Santro, Hyundai Verna, Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Elantra and Hyundai Kona Electric.
The largest-selling agent of Hyundai Motor India in the calm bazaar in February 2021 was the Creta notching up sales of 12,428 units. It was followed by the Venue with 11,224 units, the Grand i10 Nios with 10,270 units, the new i20 with 9,001 units and the Aura with 4,300 units.
The calm sales of the Santro stood at 2,128 units, the Verna at 2,047 units, the Tucson at 152 units, the Elantra at 40 units and the Kona Electric at 10 units.
Hyundai Creta – 12,428 units
Hyundai Venue – 11,224 units
Hyundai Grand i10 Nios – 10,270 units
Hyundai i20 – 9,001 units
Hyundai Aura – 4,300 units
Hyundai Santro – 2,128 units
Hyundai Verna – 2,047 units
Hyundai Tucson – 152 units
Hyundai Elantra – 40 units
Hyundai Kona Electric – 10 units
Hyundai Motor India’s abutting addition will be the seven-seater Hyundai Alcazar. While the SUV will anon accomplish its all-around debut, it will battling the brand of the Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and the Mahindra XUV500 afterward its barrage in India.


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Three European truckmakers, along with Tesla and BYD, dominate a new global ranking of truck brands’ readiness to transition to 100% zero-emission sales¹. Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Scania and MAN all aim to sell only electric or hydrogen trucks by 2040. But green group Transport & Environment (T&E), which compiled the ranking, warned that four major European truck manufacturers lag far behind and risk losing market share to the American and Chinese challengers unless EU truck CO2 standards are tightened.
Scania leads the ranking of truckmakers’ climate ambition and strategies. While it only has a target of 50% of its sales to be electric or hydrogen in 2030, it has a very strong industrial strategy. Mercedes-Benz Trucks, in second place, aims for 60% of its sales to be zero-emission vehicles in 2030. However, there’s a gap between its announcements and its industrial plans. The company has a weaker battery strategy and has yet to secure a supply of battery raw materials. In fourth place, MAN plans a smaller line-up of electric models and has a weaker 2030 zero-emission goal.
Volvo Trucks, the current market leader in zero-emission truck sales in Europe and the US, finishes only mid-table. Despite its ambitious public commitment to reach 70% zero-emission sales by 2030, the company lacks a 100% zero-emission sales target and is investing in gas and biofuels — which still emit CO2. Trailing behind, Renault Trucks aims for half of its sales to be zero emissions by 2030, but it too is hedging on gas and biofuels. IVECO and DAF, which both lack long-term targets and have invested little in battery supply chains and charging networks, are ranked in the bottom half.
Sofie Defour, freight director at T&E, said:
“European truckmakers all claim to be green, but the reality is less than half of them are on track to go to zero emissions and only via voluntary commitments. There’s a huge gap in the truck industry between manufacturers with a plan to fully decarbonise and those without. The EU needs strong truck CO2 standards to bring the whole European industry up to speed.”
European truck manufacturers face stiff competition from Tesla and BYD, which have already proven their ability to rapidly scale up zero-emission manufacturing in the cars market. They have also built strong battery supply chains including securing supplies of raw materials.
California’s 2036 diesel truck sales ban and the US Inflation Reduction Act could lead to truckmakers prioritising vehicle and battery production investments in America, the report also warns. This might result in truckmakers’ current voluntary commitments being changed or delayed. T&E said the EU needs to use the revision of its CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles to signal investment certainty in Europe and ensure truckmakers’ commitments are not abandoned. A higher 2030 target will be crucial to push manufacturers to rapidly improve their industrial strategies in the EU.
Sofie Defour said: “Tesla and BYD are poised to repeat their success in the truck market while Californa has sent a clear signal to truckmakers. That should set off alarm bells for European lawmakers who don’t want investments in manufacturing and batteries to go elsewhere. The EU must use its truck CO2 standards to give certainty to truckmakers to go zero emissions and invest in Europe.”
Earlier this month, T&E launched the Your Heavy Duty campaign, to advocate for higher CO2 reduction targets for European trackmakers to encourage investments, scale up supply and deliver on zero-emission trucks. The campaign is calling on EU lawmakers to:
- Set a CO2 reduction target of -65% in 2030, in line with what leading manufacturers have already announced.
- Set a CO2 reduction target of -100% in 2035 for freight trucks to ensure the last polluting vehicles will be off Europe’s roads in 2050. Without a similar target to California’s 100% mandate in 2036, the EU risks falling behind as major truckmakers could shift investments away from Europe.
- Keep fuels out of the CO2 standards: biofuels and e-fuels are expensive, false climate solutions to decarbonise new trucks. Truckmakers opposed to including fuels in the regulation make up over 90% of the market, with only laggards in favour of such a scheme.
- Extend the scope of the regulation to small trucks, vocational and non-certified vehicles, so that all new trucks are regulated.
¹ T&E ranked European truckmakers’ readiness to transition fully to zero-emission truck sales. The ranking assesses the compatibility of their voluntary zero-emission sales announcements with climate needs, and the extent to which they are aligning their industrial plans and business activity with those targets. It also looks into how European manufacturers perform compared to their counterparts in the US and China, assessing who is best positioned to win the ongoing global race for leadership on commercial vehicle technology. The research ranks individual truck brands rather than OEM groups.
Republished by Transport & Environment.
Your Heavy Duty
Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) are responsible for 27% of climate emissions from road transport in Europe, while only accounting for 2% of the vehicles on the road. Trucks and buses emit four times more CO2 than all flights inside the EU and would be the 6th largest emitter if they were an EU country. Equipped with diesel engines, they increase global warming and pollute the air, causing serious diseases and premature deaths.
If no action is taken, these emissions will continue to grow. The European Commission expects truck activity in the EU to further increase by 40% between 2019 and 2050, while activity from buses and coaches would grow by 10% over the same period.
On the wrong road
To address this, the European Union is proposing targets for truck and busmakers to cut CO2 emissions from new sales by 45% by 2030 and 90% by 2040. They can do this by increasing the share of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) sold, including battery electric (BEVs), fuel cell electric (FCEVs) and hydrogen combustion vehicles.
A climate reduction target of -90% might seem close to full decarbonisation at first sight. But due to a number of shortcomings, the proposal would only reduce emissions from HDVs by 56% by 2050. This falls far short of the EU’s climate ambitions and seriously undermines Europe’s chance to retain its industrial leadership of the sector.
Winning the race
The European Union must cut CO2 emissions of new trucks by 65% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. That’s what it will take for Europe’s truckmakers to win the global competition to reach zero emissions. It’s also necessary for the EU to get the last polluting trucks off its roads by 2050. Trucks are driven for 20 years on average.
This is the YOUR HEAVY DUTY campaign. We want to raise awareness of the major role trucks play in decarbonising our road transport sector. The aim is to show the European Parliament and EU countries why they should vote for higher CO2 standards for truckmakers. Everyone will benefit. Hauliers and freight buyers can accelerate the transition by shifting to zero-emission trucks in their fleets. Drivers and workers will benefit from safer and healthier equipment to work with. Citizens will breathe cleaner air.
Let’s raise our voices and fight together for a better world
Join citizens across Europe in demanding responsible action towards reducing transport emissions by sharing our promotional materials and tagging your EU representatives.
It’s Your Heavy Duty!
Republished by Transport & Environment.
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Anti-EV hit pieces clog the blogosphere like pickup trucks on a Texas highway, but this one sounded much more serious than the usual anonymous speculation. A respected German research institute released a study claiming EVs are dirtier than diesel – music to the ears of many in the German auto industry.
“Considering Germany’s current energy mix and the amount of energy used in battery production, the CO2 emissions of battery-electric vehicles are, in the best case, slightly higher than those of a diesel engine, and are otherwise much higher,” reads the study from the Munich-based Institute for Economic Research (IFO).
Journalists immediately predicted that automakers would use the new study to lobby policymakers to abandon support for EVs. But, as those who follow the EV scene know, dozens of earlier studies from around the world have come to precisely the opposite conclusion. Could this really be a legitimate scientific study?
Nope. The specious study was promptly and definitively debunked. A few days after it appeared, two of Germany’s major media outlets published detailed analyses that exposed a long list of errors and inaccuracies in the report.
The concept of the Long Tailpipe probably sounds plausible to many in Germany, which depends heavily on coal for its electricity, and has one of the dirtiest grids in Europe. However, as regular Charged readers know, earlier studies (see below) have found that, on average, EVs are cleaner than legacy vehicles, even if powered 100% by coal. Furthermore, Germany is steadily cleaning up its gird. By 2030, when many of today’s EVs will still be in service, the country plans to be producing two thirds of its energy from renewable sources. So, the basic premise of the study is misleading at the outset, and authors Hans-Werner Sinn, Christoph Buchal and Hans-Dieter Karl go on to present a litany of incorrect assumptions and unfair comparisons.
EV pundit Auke Hoekstra listed several of these, and wrote that it’s not even accurate to call the piece an academic study. “It is the opinion of three people…none of whom have any background in the (electric) car industry or batteries.” Hoekstra noted that he was not the first to debunk the article – just the first in English (Electrek’s Fred Lambert wasn’t far behind).
Focus, one of the three most widely read German weeklies, compared the IFO study to the infamous “Sweden Study” which was published by the environmental research institute IVL in 2017, and has been resoundingly refuted, as the business newspaper Handelsblatt explained.
WirtschaftsWoche, a German business magazine, pointed out that the IFO article’s conclusions are “in stark contrast to almost all serious international studies that have been done on the subject in the last few months.”
The EV news outlet electrive characterized the IFO article as an “unscientific opinion piece,” and suggests that Sinn and his co-authors began with a conclusion already in mind. In fact, the IFO authors imply as much in the preface to their article [translated from the German]: “We explain the current facts in such detail because we suspect in the claim that e-cars are completely emission-free a purposeful industrial policy deception.”
Dr. Markus Lienkamp, head of the Department of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich, noted (via electrive) that the IFO article was not subjected to any peer review process, and says it belongs in the file with “unscientific conspiracy theories.”
- The IFO piece incorrectly assumes that EV batteries become “hazardous waste” after 150,000 km. However, this is shorter than the typical warranty period for an EV battery (a federally-mandated 100,000 miles [160,000 km] in the US, and 150,000 miles in California). Furthermore, many automakers and others are working on recycling EV batteries, which are still quite valuable after reaching the end of their service lives. Today, the EU prescribes a recycling quota of 50 percent of lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, Li-ion batteries are not officially considered hazardous waste in the US, but the lead-acid batteries used in all diesel vehicles are.
- The report compares a Tesla Model 3 with a 75 kWh battery pack to a Mercedes C220 diesel, an apples-to-oranges comparison. The Tesla vehicle’s power output is up to 473 hp, whereas that of the Mercedes is 194 hp. It’s also worth mentioning that the powerful Tesla is far from the most efficient EV available, whereas the C220 is one of the most efficient diesel vehicles on the German market.
- The IFO authors inexplicably calculate CO2 emissions for Model 3 that are 16 percent higher than the official figures published by Germany’s Federal Environmental Agency.
- The article uses figures from the old NEDC test regimen, which is famously inaccurate, and is in the process of being replaced by the newer WLTP standard. WirtschaftsWoche calls the figures used in the IFO article “fairy-tale values that have nothing in common with reality,” and asks why Dr. Sinn chose to work with “the outdated, demonstrably inferior laboratory standard, where even more appropriate standards such as WLTP or EPA and even empirical consumption values are easily accessible for both vehicles.”
- In its calculations of full-lifecycle emissions, the article includes the emissions from electricity generation for EVs, but does not include the emissions generated in producing and transporting the fuel for diesel vehicles.
- The IFO writers assume that every German EV is powered by the average mix of electricity sources supplying the German grid. In fact, an increasing number of EV drivers use electricity from their own photovoltaic systems. Many German utility customers also have the option of purchasing 100 percent renewably-generated electricity.
As WirtschaftsWoche’s Stefan Hajek put it, the IFO article always assumes worst-case scenarios for EVs and best-case scenarios for diesel vehicles.
The purveyors of the Long Tailpipe myth often claim that this is an issue that’s been overlooked or ignored, but in fact, the issue has been discussed as long as modern EVs have been around, and has been covered very extensively by both the pro- and anti-EV media.
Several recent studies have reinforced the spurious nature of the Long Tailpipe argument. An April 2019 report from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (IFEU) found that “Electric vehicles are already at an advantage over burners today, sometimes more, sometimes less, and the lead will grow.”
The Fraunhofer Institute reported in March that EVs typically produce “28 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than a luxury-class diesel, up to 42 percent less than a small car petrol engine.”
A February report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) examined greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, and found that “a typical electric car today produces just half of the greenhouse gas emissions of an average European passenger car.”
In 2017, a report from Belgium’s VUB University found that “electric cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes than diesel engines, even when they are powered by the most carbon-intensive energy.”
In 2012, a detailed study from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that even if it were charged 100% from coal, an EV would still be cleaner than the average ICE vehicle.
Unfortunately, as Jonathan Swift (apparently) said, “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” Many media outlets reposted the IFO’s disingenuous document, and few of these are likely to issue corrections. Many people surely just read the headline and took it at face value. Fortunately, Focus and WirtschaftsWoche are popular and influential magazines, and one hopes that German EV advocates will soon be forwarding copies of their reports to policymakers.


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Opening date announced for H&M at Willowbrook Mall
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Shortly after the much-anticipated opening of H&M in the Baybrook Mall, shoppers on the other side of town will have their own store as well.
Last month the Baybrook Mall location opened to more than 100 people lined up outside the store. Now they have finally announced the opening date for the second H&M store in the Houston area.
The Willowbrook Mall location opening is planned for noon on June 28.
"After the success of H&M's first debut in greater Houston at the Baybrook Mall just last month, H&M is thrilled to open yet another fabulous location in this fantastic city," says Daniel Kulle, US President for H&M. "Opening H&M at Willowbrook Mall is a sign of our belief in the potential of this great market."
In celebration of opening day, H&M at Willowbrook Mall will offer the first 250 shoppers in line an H&M t-shirt and Access to Fashion Pass, valued from $10 to $300. One winner will receive early entry into the store before the doors open to the public.
H&M at Willowbrook Mall is located at 2000 Willowbrook Mall, Houston, Texas 77070. The store can be reached by phone at 855-466-7467.
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Chargepoint's Stock Could Benefit from High Energy Prices Chargepoint (NYSE: CHPT) is an American electric infrastructure company based out of Campbell, California. It operates the largest network of independently owned charging networks and has a presence in 14...
This story originally appeared on MarketBeat
Chargepoint Opening Points:-Revenue increased by 102% Y-o-Y.
-Network charging revenue grew by 122% and subscription revenue grew by 63%.
-Chargepoint has over 188,000 total charging stations across North America and Europe.
Chargepoint (NYSE: CHPT) is an American electric infrastructure company based out of Campbell, California. It operates the largest network of independently owned charging networks and has a presence in 14 countries. Energy prices are on the rise again, and EV (electric vehicles) companies continue to benefit from the trend as people seek alternatives to gasoline. Analysts estimate that EVs could be anywhere from 3 to 6 times cheaper than gasoline-powered cars. Chargepoint provides a range of EV solutions, from public charging points to home solutions. It also offers subscription services along with charging stations. As macro headwinds mainly energy prices continue to rise the company is likely to benefit as higher energy prices push people towards electric vehicles.
Tailwinds that support electric vehicles:
Macroeconomic headwinds are weighing on gasoline-powered cars.
EV sales are expected to grow at 75%-80% in 2022, with the first quarter of 2022 witnessing 75% growth year-on-year. Gasoline prices are expected to remain high and the increasing cost of a gallon or liter in both North America and Europe has meant consumers are seeking out alternatives. Additionally, global macro factors continue to push up oil prices, with Europe recently cutting its Russian oil imports, and oil producers unwilling to increase supply, analysts increasingly expect oil prices to remain higher for longer, as supply continues to be tight relative to demand. In fact, some analysts have predicted that oil may be headed to $140-150 per barrel in the near term.
Car companies continue to roll out EV models.
Historically, Tesla has been the main producer of electric vehicles. But now more and more competitors are offering alternatives to Tesla. Consumers are increasingly considering EVs as newer models offer both a reasonable range and competitive pricing, helping push the market away from gasoline powdered vehicles toward EVs. Furthermore, the overall EV industry is expected to grow by around 25-30% over the next 8 years. This provides plenty of opportunities for EV charging companies, and subsequently Chargepoint.
A quick overview of Chargepoint's financials:
Chargepoint's revenue increased by over 102% year-on-year for the quarter. Meanwhile, total revenue is expected to come in at $500 million during FY23. Chargepoint's gross margins came in at 20% during the quarter, with network charging primarily affecting the low margins. This would indicate that the company lacks pricing power, and is likely to rely on volume in the long term.
Furthermore, operating losses continued to be high, coming in at $89 million for the quarter. Although Chargepoint is well capitalized with total cash on hand at $540 million, investors will be worried that the company may need to find ways to raise cash in the near future. The company's balance sheet remains strong with a current ratio of 3.5 and a debt to equity of 0.05. Although the company continues to post losses, on a positive note, Chargepoint is expected to become cash-flow positive in the fourth quarter, which should help stabilize the stock.
Should investors consider investing in Chargepoint?
Chargepoint's stock is currently down over 57%, and the stock may be bottoming out. Chargepoint continues to see mostly a buy rating from analysts, with the average analyst's price target of $19.9, which would indicate around a 20% upside from current levels. Regardless, the stock currently trades at a forward P/S of 10, which may make investors think twice about the stock. Beyond the lofty valuations, the broader EV industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, and this is likely to be exacerbated by energy and oil prices. Therefore, should the company execute on costs and get to profitability over the next couple of years it may be able to justify valuations. But, competitors such as Blink and EVgo could continue to affect the lack of profitability, as each of these companies looks to gain market share, thereby keeping charging prices lower than Chargepoint might prefer. While this is great for consumers, investors may not like the pricing war.
Multiple risks remain for investors and Chargepoint's stock. The global economy is slowing and rising interest rates may weigh on consumer demand for automobiles. This could dampen demand for EV vehicles and charging stations. Therefore, the stock could further retreat from its current levels as investors reassess the stock's future.


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Luna Online Double XP Event on Saturday May 29
Luna Online from gPotato is celebrating Memorial Day with a big EXP event. All day Saturday on May 29th, players will enjoy a 2x EXP boost. Since the experience boost is for the entire day, there has never been a better time to log into Luna Online. Additionally, gPotato is offering a special Memorial Day sale in their cash shop by offering a special “6-Hour Grind Pack” (love the name) for the weekend only.
gPotato, the company behind Luna Online, also publishes Allods Online, Aika Online, Fly For Fun, Rappelz and Tales Runner.
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Photo by Johnny Nunez for WireImage via Getty Images.
Beanie Sigel Claims Kanye is Cutting Him a Massive Check for Coming Up with "YEEZY"
Kanye previously admitted his former Roc-A-Fella labelmate came up with the name "Yeezy" when they were working together in the early 2000s.
In case you missed it, Kanye West's Drink Champs interview was brimming with wild takes, claims, and uninterrupted rants. But it appears the weed and liquor weren't doing all the talking.
During the controversy-stirring rapper's mostly-unhinged discussion of the various eras of his career, West revealed the unlikely source of his billion-dollar brand's name when he admitted former Roc-A-Fella labelmate Beanie Sigel was the first person to call him "Yeezy." The artist now known as "Ye" went to explain he'd been attempting to track Sigel down to cut him a check for inadvertently naming the luxury streetwear company that earned West a place amongst the wealthiest people on the planet, likening himself to Phil Knight when the Nike founder retroactively offered 500 shares of the sneaker giant's stock to Carolyn Davidson, the graphic designer who drew up the company's iconic "Swoosh" logo.
And now, Sigel claims an offer is on the table. Rather than release a statement or go through a publicist, Sigel took the stage at a club in his hometown to break the news over the weekend. "I got a call from the motherfucker the other day, Kanye West. He said ‘Sig I owe you $50 million and 5% stock in Yeezy,' Sigel told the crowd, adding how Yeezy brought in $1.7 billion in sneaker sales for Adidas last year. The deal would make the Philly rapper a partial owner of a company that continues to outperform virtually all of its competitors (and doesn't show any signs of letting up.)
You can watch Beanie Sigel make the announcement in the clip below. Hold tight for the imminent arrival of (and subsequent backlash to) a sequel to West's interview, which was teased by REVOLT earlier today.


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Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is replacing Fibre Channel drives in high performance applications such as online transaction processing, real time analytics & streaming media. The key reasons for this transition are that SAS drives have the same or better reliability and data availability characteristics of Fibre Channel drives but are less expensive.
Computer Weekly's CW500 Club heard from IT leaders plotting a roadmap to software-defined everything – this presentation was given by Rob White, executive director of the global database group at Morgan Stanley.
While desktop virtualisation is nothing new, the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the value of providing employees with seamless remote access. In this e-guide we look at the suitability of streaming applications via virtual desktop infrastructure to support employees working from anywhere.


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Doing away with wrapping paper and upcycling discards: How some families are reducing waste this Christmas
SINGAPORE: Ms Sheri Goh has a big family. She has an elder sister and 13 cousins just on her mother’s side. She and her cousins have 12 children among them. This means that Christmas can be a big, messy and wasteful affair.
To make gift-giving more manageable, the family has worked out a strategy. Each child gets three gifts.
“That’s still a huge number of presents with a huge amount of wrapping. Every year, I’ve noticed, we fill two to three garbage bags of wrapping waste,” the 43-year-old told CNA.
Things will be a little different this year.
On the suggestion of a cousin, the family is doing away with the wrapping of gifts. If they must, they are to use newspaper or waste paper. Ms Goh, an editor with a religious publication, will use junk mail she started collecting a few months ago as wrapping paper.
She is also putting more thought into her wrapping.
“Using glue instead of tape makes for easier recycling afterwards. I’m also using ribbons that I already have at home, as well as re-purposed ribbons from various product packaging, to make the presents look nicer,” she said.
“My mom came from a poor family so she's always had the ethos that we should not waste, that we should try to reuse as much as we can,” Ms Goh said.
But giving presents is not the only way to celebrate Christmas, she added. She lamented that it has become too commercialised. This year, she is giving her parents the gift of time.
“My parents and I are giving to each other a road trip up to Malaysia, where they will pay for food and transport and we (she and her husband) will pay for lodging. The gift of time with each other is priceless, doesn’t create any gift-wrapping waste, is definitely something the other party will want and will last forever,” she said.
HANDMADE WITH LOVE
Others are making the effort to create their own gifts. Ms Sheau Chan, 46, has made cardholders using curtain fabric swatches that would otherwise be discarded. Her Christmas cards are made out of sturdy mooncake boxes.
She reuses the wrapping paper from the gifts she receives. She also collects Esplanade concert programmes “because they were quite pretty” to use as wrappers.
Ms Chan, who usually hosts her friends for Christmas, said that she tends to get either bigger or more gifts as the host, but she has told her friends there was no need for that.
“I told them to get me vegetables that last for a long time, or home-made items, because my best friend bakes. They can give me a cauliflower. I’ll be more than happy,” said the events planner.
Similarly, Ms Julia Anna Deufel, 27, is making the probiotic drink, kombucha, and tempeh (fermented soybean cake) to give as gifts.
She asked that her aunt - who often gives her online shopping vouchers - to donate to her diving fund. Ms Deufel is working towards getting certified to be able to plant seaweed and coral while diving.
She will not be putting up a Christmas tree at home this year, a break away from a family tradition. Instead she has a small reusable S$2 tree. Her Advent wreath, which is traditionally used in the lead-up to Christmas, is also not typical. It is made of used wine bottles which also function as candle holders.
"A real wreath will need to come from somewhere where pine trees grow, so it's probably going to come on a plane, with a high carbon footprint," she said.
Practising a zero-waste Christmas is an extension of their daily habits.
For instance, Ms Goh has been using a reusable bag for more than 20 years. Clothes are also always handed down, and some clothes by Madam Chua are still being worn 40 years on.
AMOUNT OF WASTE EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVER FESTIVE SEASON
The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) said the amount of waste generated in Singapore has increased seven-folds over the last four decades.
Coupled with low plastic recycling, tonnes of food waste and the "traditional Asian view of over-preparing festive meals and elaborate festive packaging", the amount of waste is expected to increase over the festive season, the SEC's head of Environmental Certifications Liow Chean Siang.
Through its food loss and food waste study, the SEC found that consumers avoid food waste by keeping unconsumed food, and by not being swayed by promotional offers to buy excess food items that are potentially wasted.
Mr Liow urged merrymakers to adopt these habits, and to adopt the “5 Rs” - reducing, reusing, recycling, refusing and repurposing.
He suggested donating unwanted gifts instead of throwing them away, and reducing the use of gift wrappers.
“Giving pre-loved items as gifts is trending and is gaining larger acceptance in other markets, as more people want to be sustainable and be part of a circular economy where nothing goes to waste,” he said.
He cautioned that as more waste is generated, the impact of climate change such as rising sea level, loss of biodiversity, and changes in crop yield may pose significant risks to the way people live.
But everyone can play a part is trying to mitigate this in part by consuming less and wasting less, he added.
“It is important for Singaporeans to remember that less is always best."


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We’re observing some trends within the digital marketing industry that are already having an impact on budgets and resources – and will continue to in the future. Mobile technologies, contextual marketing and automation tools are altering the MarTech landscape sooner than we expected. Read on to keep yourself abreast of the latest insights from the digital marketing industry.
According to the article, mobile marketing has gained momentum recently. Per IAB, revenue from mobile advertising accounted for 30% of total ad spend in the first half of 2015, and it’s on track to account for more than one-third in the second half of the year. In a new report from BI Intelligence, the article takes a close look at the different mobile marketing tactics being used today, spanning legacy mobile technologies like SMS to emerging capabilities like beacon-aided location-based marketing. It also identifies some of the most useful mobile marketing technologies that mobile marketers are putting to good use as parts of larger strategies.
In this post, analyst Rusty Warner takes a deep dive into why it’s critical for marketers to embrace customer context. According to Rusty, winning in the age of the customer depends on the interactions that people have with brands, and compelling customer experiences materialize only when a firm understands its customers and anticipates their needs. The context of all those interactions determines whether customers will engage and, more importantly, transact with your brand again. Marketing’s job is to harness the power of customer context to create a repeatable cycle of interactions, drive deeper engagement, and learn more about the customer in the process.
Facebook opens Messenger to publishers – Business Insider
At Facebook’s annual F8 conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced new tools that developers can use to harness the power of Messenger, positioning the messaging platform as a way for businesses and publishers to connect with consumers they wouldn’t otherwise reach.
Today the messaging apps have evolved beyond simple tools for communicating with family and friends. They are full ecosystems that include communication, commerce, and more.
Everything the tech world says about marketing is wrong – Tech Crunch
The biggest problem in marketing in the tech world today is that too many marketers do not know the first thing about marketing. Digital marketers — who, as marketers, really should be cynical enough to know better — have fallen into an echo chamber of meaningless buzzwords.
5 Essential Facts for Marketing to Millennials – Huffington Post
Advertising has evolved at lightning speed over the past decade, with millennials – now totaling 77 million (or about one-fourth of the US population) – leading the charge against old ad platforms.
Millennials view traditional forms of advertising as dishonest. When they make purchasing decisions, they rely on the opinions of their friends and family, their own research, customer reviews, and use every tool at their disposal before making a buying decision.
Airports around the world to embrace mobile apps 2018 – Business Insider
According to Skift, an industry intelligence platform provider, by 2018 it is expected that 91% of global airports will have navigation tools within their mobile apps and 83% of the airports will offer mobile notifications about the airport’s status. Another report by Business Insider suggests that mobile will make up over half of all digital bookings (including lodging and airfare) by the end of this year. And this share is forecast to jump to almost 70% by 2019.
It has become more important than ever for travel companies to expand their mobile capabilities in order to better reach their customers.
In a recently released Forrester Research study commissioned by a data management provider (DMP), titled “Put Data Management at The Core of 1:1 Marketing,” 74 percent of all surveyed marketers are employing a “best-of-breed” approach as they mix and match their choice of tools. Only 23 percent are choosing a “full-stack” provider that offers a marketing cloud or suite.
The report points out that high-maturity teams usually have more leeway to experiment, so they could consider different mixes of tools and approaches. In other words, they have the resources and authority to mix and match their marketing stack, which could offer both bigger integration headaches and a more “flexible customization.”


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Today is the beginning of a new month, which means new flavors of the month at Baskin Robbins, and Dairy Queen, and the new $6 footlong at Subway.
Baskin Robbins’ newest flavor evokes some Halloween flair. Their Trick Oreo Treat Ice Cream feature a vanilla ice cream base packed with orange crème filled Oreo cookies, as well as Baby Ruth and Butterfinger candy piece. It sure will give you that sugar rush like the one Halloween offers. For more information, visit www.baskinrobbins.com
Dairy Queen’s Blizzard of the Month features fall favorite pumpkin pie reimagined. Their Pumpkin Pie Blizzard features vanilla soft serve blended with pumpkin pie and topped with whipped cream and nutmeg. For more information, visit www.dairyqueen.com
Lastly, Subway says goodbye to September, its birthday month featuring several $5 footlong. For October, the sandwich chain has narrowed its thrifty selection back down to one special sandwich, but has also upped the price. This month’s $6 footlong is the new Tuscan Chicken Melt featuring herb seasoned chicken toasted with melty cheese on your choice of bread and toppings. For more information, visit www.subway.com


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Stoneacre Motor Group has acquired for an undisclosed sum Richard Rhodes Peugeot in Wigan.
The business, which has represented Peugeot in Wigan for many years is Stoneacre’s third Peugeot acquisition since 2007 and takes its total number of locations to 25, representing 11 different manufacturer franchises.
David Kendrick, transaction manager at ASE, which brokered the deal, said: “From recent activity it appears that a number of groups are back on the acquisition trial, with an increasing number of long established dealers like Richard Rhodes Peugeot looking to exit the sector.
"I believe this will be one of many single site dealers being bought out by the larger groups as consolidation in the sector continues.”
Stoneacre is at number 50 in the newly-published AM100 of the UK's largest dealer groups by turnover. Accompanying analysis also reveals it at number 13 in the return on sale performance at 2.6%, down from 3.7% last year.


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The letter urged Facebook to stop allowing ads for recalled Fisher Price Rock ‘n’ Play Sleepers, linked to more than 100 child deaths, on its Marketplace platform
Tag Archives: Infant Deat
Researchers say the predatory marketing tactics used to promote baby formula has led to a reduction in breastfeeding, which is more healthy for newborns.
More Top Stories
A federal judge has approved a consent decree restricting Philips CPAP sales and manufacturing due to the company's failures to meet U.S. manufacturing standards and to remediate recalled devices properly following a 2021 recall.
A Trulicity lawsuit blames the diabetes drug for gastroparesis side effects which left a woman with permanent injuries and severe pain.
Parties are in Exactech lawsuits are to submit their selections for early knee replacement bellwether trials by April 15,after a judge rejected defendants' request for a stay in the litigation and closed-door settlement conference.


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The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is expected to significantly reduce the tax imposed on smartphones, bringing relief to many consumers burdened by high tax rates previously imposed by the government.
Previously, the government had set a tax limit of 50,000 PKR on smartphones. However, a recent case study conducted by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) revealed that this tax policy generated a substantial revenue of 80 billion PKR. However, with the recent increase in PTA tax rates, the revenue has plummeted to a mere 10 billion PKR. Consumers have been reluctant to pay the exorbitant taxes on smartphones, leading to this decline. The government is now considering reducing the tax burden in the upcoming budget due to the change in consumer behavior.
High taxes on smartphones directly affected their affordability and accessibility for the general public. The increased tax rates inflated smartphone prices, making them less attainable for many people. Reducing the tax rates is expected to ease this financial strain on consumers, making smartphones more affordable and accessible.
The government acknowledges the importance of smartphones in the digital age and their role in promoting connectivity, access to information, and economic growth. By revising the tax structure, the government aims to strike a balance between generating revenue and ensuring affordable smartphones for the masses. Although the specific details of the tax reduction are yet to be announced, industry experts and analysts are optimistic that the upcoming budget will feature a decrease in smartphone taxes. This move is seen as a positive step towards promoting digital inclusion and facilitating the growth of the telecommunications sector.
Lower smartphone taxes will not only benefit individual consumers but also contribute to the overall development of the digital economy. Increased smartphone penetration can drive innovation, support e-commerce, and enhance connectivity across the country. Additionally, reduced tax rates are expected to discourage the gray market for smartphones, encouraging consumers to purchase devices through legal channels.
The government’s willingness to reconsider the tax structure demonstrates its commitment to creating a favorable business environment and encouraging technological advancements. The potential reduction in PTA taxes on smartphones aligns with the government’s vision of a digitized Pakistan and reinforces its dedication to fostering a progressive and inclusive society. As a result, it is anticipated that PTA taxes on the iPhone 14 series and other mobile phones will decrease by over 40,000 PKR, benefiting consumers and promoting the growth of the telecommunications industry.


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UK chancellor Phillip Hammond has served notice to the likes of Facebook and Google of the likelihood that a temporary tech tax on revenues rather than profits could be imposed to prevent existing laws from being circumvented.
The escalating rhetoric comes amid concern that Silicon Valley firms are failing to pay their way and an acknowledgment that any international agreement on the issue remains some way off.
Also in Hammond’s sights is online selling amid similar concerns that businesses such as Amazon and eBay were unfairly minimising the tax paid on transactions by avoiding or otherwise neglecting to pay VAT.
Hammond said: “The current misalignment between where digital businesses are taxed and where they create value threatens to undermine the fairness, sustainability and public acceptability of the corporate tax system."
At the same time Hammond is mindful of the contributions such companies do make to the UK, employing 1.5m people and investing £6.8bn in 2016.


text: What's up? A set of indie developers are selling a package of their games which includes some of the biggest individual games on the market. Gamers can designation their own assay—from 1c to $1,000—pro a call it a day of games that would go to function to sternly $80 if sold separately. Anyone who buys the package can be alert of ameliorate thither themselves as expertly; customers can send any amount of their purchases to two bigger nonprofit groups. The mark-down, nicknamed the "Ignoble Unite" within reach the studios higgledy-piggledy, is certainly epic. The games included in the containerize are Period of Goo, Gish, Lugaru, Aquaria, and Penumbra Overture. Each of these titles has proven to be a unalloyed birch, and the event that five unravel studios are working together to put missing them on tap-tap to gamers in behalf of be that as it may much they spirit to diminish is unusual. As Jeff Rosen of Wolfire explained to Ars in a up to time interview, the close-knit brains of community in the midst indie developers is in the main ethical with a tableau the purchasing's existence.


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In 2008, we wrote that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changed its position on seafood and mercury saying the benefits of seafood outweigh its mercury risks and that people should eat fish regardless of mercury concerns. Now, says Consumer Reports, the amount of <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/toxic_substances">mercury found in canned tuna, which it describes as â€œAmericansâ€™ favorite fish,â€ can be dangerous to certain populations.
According to a review of 42 samples of canned tuna and tuna packaged in pouchesâ€”which were purchased primarily in the New York metropolitan area and onlineâ€”confirmed that more mercury can be found in whiteâ€”also known as albacoreâ€”tuna, versus light tuna, said Consumer Reports. Worse, because of the amount of mercury found in just one serving of tuna, vulnerable groups such as children and women of childbearing age, can easily ingest higher levels of mercury than is considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wrote Consumer Reports.
In early 2004, the FDA and EPA issued advice to pregnant and nursing women, women who might become pregnant, and young children about mercury, describing which fish and shellfish to avoid, reduce, and limit.
Consumer Reports explained that one serving of tuna weighs about 2.5 ounces and that a five-ounce can contains about four ounces of tuna, in addition to liquid.
Mercury accumulates in tuna and fish, in general, in methylmercury, a particularly toxic form of the metal that originates in mercury and is â€œreleased by coal-fired power plants and other industrial or natural sources, such as volcanoes,â€ said Consumer Reports.
For vulnerable groupsâ€”fetuses, nursing mothers, pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and childrenâ€”fish with lower mercury levels and with omega-3 fatty acids should be considered as an easy alternative, said Consumer Reports.
The Consumer Reports testing, which was conducted externally, found that all of the samples tested contained measurable mercury levels from 0.018 to 0.774 parts per million (ppm). The FDA can legally move to have products containing 1 ppm and more removed from store shelves, although it never has, said Consumer Reports, citing an FDA spokesman.
The samples of white tuna tested by Consumer Reports were found to contain from 0.217 to 0.774 ppm of mercury, with an average 0.427 ppm. This means that a woman in a vulnerable group who eats any 2.5 ounces of tuna from the samples tested, would exceed the daily mercury levels deemed safe by the EPA, said Consumer Reports.
Light tuna samples contained 0.018 to 0.176 ppm, with a 0.071-ppm average, which means that the same woman eating 2.5 ounces of light tuna might not exceed EPA limits, said Consumer Reports. Of note, if she ate five ounces, she would exceed the EPA limit for mercury in her demographic.
The Consumer Reports noted that it urged the FDA to issue consumer warnings about the spikes in mercury levels that can occur in canned light tuna; however, no warning has been issued in the four years since the original request was made.
The EPA has said that high mercury levels can damage major organs as well as the immune system, especially in the developing fetus.


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We’ve been whining about wanting to be able to shop H&M online for years now. And finally, someone at H&M woke up and realized that the internet isn’t going away. Just minutes ago, H&M announced via Twitter their e-commerce site is slated to launch in the US in late 2011/early 2012. And we’ve heard from various sources that H&M will launch a one-off plus size line, Inclusive, exclusively on H&M Online. Pretty cool they’re amping it up–next year can’t come soon enough.
If you’re so excited you can’t concentrate on work, check out more recent H&M news: their new shoe collaboration and “Waste” dresses made from Lanvin scraps, to tide you over. Then peruse all of our sales and deals, and our guides to stylish rain boots and leggings for all of these wintry days.


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British Gas freezes prices
11th February 2017 | Residential Energy
The UK’s biggest energy supplier said it would leave standard tariffs on hold until August. This announcement is in light of its rivals announcing price increases this week. British Gas extended a freeze on energy prices as Scottish Power became its latest Big Six rival to announce an increase.
The government said it was “completely unacceptable” that some firms had raised prices. Previously, British Gas had said that it would leave prices on hold until at least March. Now, however, it has said that this will last until August. The move will affect about five million customers.
Wholesale Energy Prices
Rivals have pointed to rising wholesale energy prices as they unveiled a number of price increases. British Gas said its freeze had been made possible by the company cutting its own costs. Mark Hodges, Chief Executive of Centrica (which owns British Gas), said it would give customers on standard tariffs, “peace of mind”.
Regulator Ofgem said its recent analysis did not show a case for significant price increases and urged customers whose prices were hiked “to shop around for a better deal.” It said, “Some suppliers are competing more effectively than others to keep their prices down”.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy welcomed the British Gas price freeze. A spokesman said, “It is completely unacceptable for other suppliers to increase their prices significantly, when Ofgem said there is not case for doing so.”
Scottish Power said it was increasing its standard energy prices by an average of 7.8% from 31 March. The hike will add £86 a year to a typical dual fuel bill.
Scottish Power, owned by Spain’s Iberdrola, said electricity prices would go up by 10.8% and gas prices by 4.7%. It said 1.1 million customers – roughly a third of those signed up to the supplier – would be affected.
More information available on the website below