In a move officials dubbed a ‘reset,’ the Trump administration said on Wednesday it would gut fuel economy standards, and the rollback was music to the ears of Big Auto executives, who saw immediate gains in the stock market. But what was good for the gas-guzzlers proved to be a high-voltage shock for the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Lower Your Standards

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards have set average fuel economy targets for new vehicles since 1975. The Biden administration proposed incrementally increasing the requirement to 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under Trump said Wednesday it wants to roll that back to 34.5 miles per gallon.

Detroit’s Big Three automakers lined up behind the new proposal, with Ford CEO Jim Farley and Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa joining President Trump at the White House for an announcement and General Motors representatives also on hand. Trump argued that his predecessor’s policy had “forced automakers to build cars using expensive technologies that drove up costs, drove up prices.” The NHTSA estimates the revised CAFE standard would slash the average up-front cost of a vehicle by $900, which the White House said would save Americans $109 billion over five years. On the other hand, it will boost gas consumption: When the NHTSA announced the earlier 50-mpg requirement, it said Americans would save $23 billion at the pump. For now, auto shares are accelerating, though not without concern:

• Ford rose 1% on Wednesday, GM 1.4% and Stellantis (which owns Chrysler) 4.6%. Each easily bested the S&P 500’s 0.3% advance.
• Climate organizations are, unsurprisingly, worried, partly for economic reasons. Andy Su, a transportation attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, criticized the proposal for overturning measures he said would reduce American “reliance on imported oil.” Dan Becker, the director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said weaker fuel standards “[hamstring] us in the green tech race against Chinese and other foreign carmakers.”

Nothing’s Shocking: Ford’s Farley said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call that US electric vehicle adoption may only reach about 5% in the near term, given rollbacks on EV tax credits. The administration also proposed Wednesday to do away with fuel economy standard credits that could be traded among automakers, which the NHTSA called a “windfall for EV-exclusive manufacturers.” Somehow, EV stocks were unmoved, as investors still expect their products to continue gaining steam in other markets and, in the longer term, the US. Tesla shares gained 4% on Wednesday, and Rivian’s climbed 1.7%.

LA-based Capital Group manages $3.3 trillion in assets, but the nearly century-old firm has managed to stay out of the spotlight. Not anymore. On Wednesday, Capital Group and investment firm KKR announced two new funds for retail investors, and Bloomberg reports that there are plans to expand the partnership further next year.

The new funds blend private and public assets as investors increasingly move money into private markets.

Chasing New Money

Capital Group is giving itself a makeover this year, and making sure a new demo of retail investors know about it. In addition to its team-up with KKR, the firm is also expanding its ETF offerings. Capital Group has a marketing campaign planned and, in the meantime, has been announcing its new phase in quirky ways, like putting its logo on a hot air balloon and getting finance execs to play pickleball.

The change-up after a century of success could be a sign of changing times:

• Capital Group’s clients have been withdrawing more money from its equity mutual funds and similar offerings than they’ve been investing annually for the past decade. From 2015 through this September, investors took $122 billion out of Capital Group’s largest mutual fund, the Growth Fund of America, Morningstar found. The fund, which dates to 1973, is the biggest actively managed mutual fund in the US.
• As investors turn away from mutual funds, they’ve been piling into private markets. Deloitte predicts retail investors could pour $2.4 trillion into private capital by 2030, up from $80 billion estimated today. Competitors including Apollo Global Management and Blackstone have ramped up offerings for retail investors, putting pressure on firms like Capital Group to keep up. Following POTUS Trump’s order this fall to let retirement plans invest in private equity, companies like Empower have added private assets to 401(k) plans.

New Century, New Me: Capital Group is undergoing a significant shift under its CEO, Mike Gitlin, who took the position in 2023. And the strategy is showing early signs of success: Two funds started as part of the tie-up with KKR have more than $500 million in assets already. While Capital Group wants to fit in with the new gen of firms (Gitlin’s been appearing on podcasts, if that’s any indication), leveraging its legacy could be key: About three-quarters of US financial advisors have Capital Group products in their portfolios.

Some might call it a pre-Christmas miracle on 34th Street, but Macy’s executives would argue it’s simply the payoff of a solid strategy.

In its third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, the once-mighty retail giant reported its strongest growth in more than three years and its third straight quarterly sales beat. For now, at least, it looks like the company’s turnaround effort is taking hold as well as paying off.

Macy’s Makeover

After shrugging off buyout firms multiple times in the past couple of years, Macy’s has marched toward a simple, and seemingly effective, turnaround strategy: Get smaller, but better. In early 2024, the company said it would close around 150 low-performing locations by 2027; so far this year, it has closed nearly 70. The remaining locations, in turn, will receive a makeover worthy of a Roy Orbison-soundtracked montage.

Macy’s originally dubbed the re-investment effort the “First 50,” as it spruced up 50 strategic locations. Now? The company says a full 125 stores have regained their sparkle in its ‘Reimagine’ campaign, good for roughly one-third of the 350 locations it says it wants to remain open worldwide.

So far, customers seem to appreciate the refreshed shopping experience, though the retailer’s bottom line is still rebalancing from the wave of store closures:

• In the third quarter, companywide comparable sales growth jumped 3.2%, or 3.4% when excluding locations that aren’t a part of long-term plans. Its Bloomingdale’s unit continued its trend of outperforming the namesake stores, posting 9% year-over-year sales growth.
• The better-than-expected quarter allowed Macy’s to raise its guidance for the year, with the company now projecting net sales of $21.48 billion to $21.63 billion, up from a range of $21.15 billion to $21.45 billion. Still, that comes in slightly below last year’s figures; the company is projecting a $700 million net sales decline compared with 2024 due to store closures.

Rain On Your Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Despite the outlook upgrade, Macy’s cautioned it expects “a more choiceful consumer” in the fourth quarter amid tariff-induced price hikes and rising economic anxiety. Still, the company highlighted how its “predominantly middle to upper income” consumer base has remained resilient thus far this year. Translation: It’s not quite a forecast of rain on the company’s annual New York City holiday parade, but perhaps a light drizzle.