🏢 Airbnb's sublease play

Cleaning fee not included… Airbnb has teamed up with building owners across the US to boost the number of rentable rooms on its platform. Airbnb did the legwork in 25 markets and found property owners who’ll allow their tenants to list on Airbnb, sublease-style.

• Less tiptoe, more dough… Renters afraid of getting caught violating lease agreements won't need to secretly Airbnb their places to make extra $$. No more need to tell your neighbors “those are just my French cousins” [laughs nervously].
• Testing, testing: To start, the program includes 175 buildings. Airbnb says participating renters have earned $100/night, on average, by hosting their apartments. But building owners can take up to 25% of the rental host's booking.

There's no place like home… if you can afford one. Homeownership has become even more inaccessible, especially after mortgage rates soared. Last year, over a third of US households were renters. But renting is no bargain, either: while rent prices have been cooling this year, they’re still up 7.5% from last year. The prospect of earning extra income through Airbnb rentals could be welcomed by tenants — and help ease the financial anxiety of committing to one place for a year (especially when the economy’s so up in the air).

It’s the 11th hour for EV taxes… and everyone’s bickering about President Biden’s rules. In August, his Inflation Reduction Act introduced rules that require EVs to be mostly US-made to get $7.5K in green tax credits (all EVs were formerly eligible). But US trade partners like the EU, UK, South Korea, and Japan say “Made in America” rules discriminate against foreign companies — and they’re urging Biden to ease or delay them.

• Strict rules: Based on the current IRA rules, cars need to be built in North America and get 40% of key battery minerals from the US (or allies) to earn the credit starting next month.
• Failing grades: As of now, not a single car model qualifies for the full credit — though Ford and GM say their cars will qualify for half.

“Made in America” mayhem… is escalating. Initially, Biden’s EV enthusiasm boosted investment in electric manufacturing: Kia, Ford, Honda, Tesla, Toyota, and GM all announced additional US EV investments after the IRA’s passage. But now critics say strict rules could discourage future investment — or even start a trade war.

• Cranky carmakers: South Korea-based Hyundai, the #2 US EV seller after Tesla, said the rules are an “astronomical” blow and demanded an exemption.
• Peeved presidents: French President Macron is in the US this week to urge Biden to relax the rules to avoid an EU trade war.

• Play: Netflix hit "Glass Onion” might’ve earned $200M if the streamer had kept it in theaters for more than a week. But Flix execs say it’s more important to keep blockbusters on the platform as subs have slowed this year.
• Stale: DoorDash laid off 1.2K workers, joining a slew of tech companies that’ve cut jobs after they said they over-hired. DoorDash’s sales surged 33% last quarter, but losses nearly tripled as labor costs spiked.
• Brake: Volkswagen and Honda halted production at some China plants as the country’s strict zero-Covid curbs continue. The policy has rattled global supply of everything from chips to plane materials.
• VIP: Delta’s hiking its Sky Club member fees by up to $600 next year, after fliers complained that some of its cushy airport lounges were too crowded. As air travel rebounds, some lounges have seen 130% more traffic.
• Stormy: Salesforce and Snowflake shares sank after the cloud companies gave weak forecasts, despite beating earnings expectations. Also, Salesforce's co-CEO abruptly stepped down, and both anticipated lower Q4 sales.

• Jobless claims
• Earnings expected from TD Bank, Dollar General, Kroger, Ulta Beauty, UiPath, ChargePoint, and Asana

Authors of this Snacks own: shares of Netflix, Ford, GM, Tesla, Spotify, and Delta

ID: 2617572