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Mike Magner and Valerie Yurk | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. auto industry faces a triple threat on the road to cleaner cars and trucks: lagging consumer demand for electric vehicles, a potential glut of cheap electric vehicles from China and the possible rollback of Biden administration moves if Donald Trump becomes president again.

All of that is raising questions about whether the EV revolution in the United States could end before it really begins, especially if a victorious Trump follows through on promises to rescind regulations and financial incentives for zero-emission vehicles.

Still, many industry analysts are confident the transition will continue even in a new Republican administration because so many billions of dollars have been invested and the global market is shifting rapidly toward EVs in response to climate change.

A slower pace for EVs in America would further the lead for China, which dominates the global market at 60 percent of worldwide EV sales, according to the International Energy Agency. read more

Brian Niemietz | New York Daily News

Online pharmaceutical brands Hims & Hers are introducing a weight-loss drug containing a compounded form of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, for a fraction of the price.

Both brands, owned by the same company headquartered in San Francisco, plan to provide a one-month supply of the GLP-1 injections for $199.

That same dose of Ozempic reportedly retails for nearly $1,000. Wegovy, a comparable product, is listed at $1,349, according to Quartz.

Hims & Hers shares were up 30% following the announcement. The company intends to provide branded GLP-1 medications to customers with subscriptions once a steady supply becomes consistently available.

The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t grant approval for compounded drugs, but allows them to be distributed with fewer restrictions when shortages arise, as is the case in this situation.

Regulators recommended in January that pharmaceutical customers “should not use a compounded drug if an approved drug is available to treat a patient.” read more

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWallet

College graduation season is underway, and nearly 3.2 million students are slated to pick up their associate or bachelor’s degree diplomas this spring, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. When the cap tosses and festivities wrap up, it’ll be time for job applications, apartment leases — and student loan payments.

It can be challenging to navigate major bills and student debt repayment. This year, new payment plans may complicate matters further.

Investing time now to research repayment options can pay off, says Emma Crawford, a certified financial planner and student loans expert at Perk Planning, a registered financial advisory firm in Madison, Wisconsin: “It’s not easy, but it’s worth it because it can save them a lot of money in the long run.”

If you’re leaving campus this year and starting your first full-time job, here’s how to prepare for impending student loan bills and a new financial reality.

Complete student loan exit counseling

If you have federal loans, you must complete mandatory student loan exit counseling when you leave school. The process takes about 30 minutes and can be done online at StudentAid.gov. Exit counseling will ask you to update your contact information, walk you through how much you owe and explain the basics of student loan repayment. read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)

Former Republican presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has purchased a minority stake in Buzzfeed, the digital publishing company that shut down its media outlet last year.

Shares of the company skyrocketed more than 50% before the market open on Wednesday.

Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in Buzzfeed, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday.

Ramaswamy said in the filing that he believes Buzzfeed’s stock is undervalued. He is looking to speak with the company’s board and management.

Buzzfeed has struggled to prop up sales since it went public in 2021. In late 2022 job cuts began rolling out with the company citing a poor digital advertising environment, then early last year announced that it was shutting down its Pulitzer Prize winning digital media outlet BuzzFeed News.

The corporate parent’s co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said in a memo to staff at the time that in addition to the news division, layoffs would take place in its business, content, tech and administrative teams. read more