News and analysis

Here are just two pieces of news which came this week, motivating me to buy a stake in General Motors. The first and foremost thing that knocked on my news feed was an announcement that GM signed a deal with Norway's Vianode firm, which is now going to provide the vehicle maker with graphite anode materials. Regular delivery is necessary for GM to succeed in making enough quantities of its own modern electric batteries. The Ultium Cells joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution will produce the EV batteries. What is important is that it is a multi-year effective, from 2027 through to 2033.

The project will not only help to advance GM battery technology to drive greater value to its customers, according to GM's senior vice president Mr Jeff Morrison, but it could also make a quite resilient supply chain through GM for other North-American EV makers. The point is that the entire Western ecosystem depends upon the import of critical graphite-based minerals, while China continues to control nearly 95% of the world's supply of natural graphite. However, Vianode will supply its alternative synthetic graphite. Its plant could be located in either the U. S. or Canada, close to GM facilities. Their plans are to produce 80,000 tons of synthetic graphite per year, which would be enough to supply 1.5 million electric cars. Vianode now has its first production plant in Norway. Besides, synthetic graphite reportedly has a 90% lower CO2 footprint than conventional graphite materials used in the industry, with the production process also scaling up easier compared to a normal mining. The situation will give GM a good chance to compete with Tesla as the undisputed American EV leader, joining the global race for cheaper Chinese competitors, as Chinese EVs would probably face Trump's tariff barriers eventually.

Another news was that the U.S. NHTSA regulator, an abbreviation for The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, closed its probe into GM Cruise self-driving vehicles over pedestrian risks. Concerns and the probe since October 2023 were all about the extent to which GM-produced Cruise robotaxis are taking sufficient precautions after five incidents involving a collision between a Cruise vehicle and a pedestrian, including three that involved injuries. When ending its investigation, NHTSA cited Cruise's November 2023 recall and GM's decision to cease Cruise operations, so that GM was ending its money-losing robotaxi development, with no funding work on self-driving robotaxis after investing more than $10 billion since 2016. It is quite clear that Tesla, which has received the necessary permits, is technologically stronger and is going to develop its robotaxi muscles, will dominate the robotaxi market. However, cutting losses by GM is probably not bad news for GM, following a $500,000 fine because of submitting a report, officially recognized as a false one, in order to influence a federal investigation in November.

Tesla certainly remains the market's favourite, and one of my own favourites as well in 2025 in terms of growing its market share and Elon Musk's political clout. However, GM shares could also climb gradually toward the $60s on the back of the listed news.

Delta Air Lines stock rose markedly by low double digits in the first ten days of the new year. The U.S. carrier has served more than 200 million customers in 2024, when it was also recognized by J.D. Power, a leading American data analytics and consumer intelligence company, for being No. 1 in First/Business and Premium Economy Passenger Satisfaction. Travelers became more willing to spend extra money for swanky seats when meeting a high level of service. Delta is just positioning itself as the nation's premium airline. And what's more important, its Christmas quarter's earnings reportedly surpassed average analyst pool projections. Driven by stronger travel demand, smart financial management and capacity discipline, Delta business provided last three-months' profit of $1.85 per share vs $1.28 at the same period one year ago, compared to $1.75 in consensus estimates. On January 10, the airline industry leader put its future profit levels within a range between $0.70 and $1 per share in the current quarter through the end of March, while analyst expectations were focused on $0.77 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. The starting months of each year always perform worse. It is clear that all carriers made losses in the Covid years of 2020-2022, but Delta profits only recovered into a range from $0.25 to $0.45 in the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, respectively, but Q1 profit numbers varied from $0.75 to $0.96 even in the three blessed years before the pandemic. Delta added that it is forecasting annual earnings in excess of $7.35 a share, which would be the highest in its 100-year history, based on its planned revenue growth of 7% to 9% in the March quarter from a year ago. The announcement could be compared to an adjusted profit of $6.16 a share in 2024. The company happily breaks through ticket prices' rising effects, almost undisturbed by a reduction in airline seats in the domestic market, which was peculiar for most carriers. Thus, new expectations created a fertile ground for setting new price records, even though price movements on Delta charts look most convincing among its other American rivals.

By the way, Citigroup analysts freshly updated their outlook on Delta Air Lines shares to raise their price target to $80 from the previous $77, vs the actual range around $65 per share where the stock just came after a reasonable market correction from last week's and all-time highs. Citigroup said it has included factors like higher revenue per available seat mile, projections of slightly lower fuel prices, increased taxation, a minor rise in share count, and the incorporation of fourth-quarter 2024 results into their financial model, which has projected Delta's profit at $7.49 per share in 2024 and $8.72 in 2025. Delta shares are Buy-rated at Citi, and we agree with their positive estimates in general, while keeping in mind even better price goals somewhere between $82.5 and $85.

Loopring (LRC) is up 4.4% this week, trading at $0.1910, though it lags behind the broader cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin (BTC) has risen by 5.2% to $99,300. Most of LRC's gains occurred on Wednesday following the release of December inflation data in the United States. Core inflation came in unexpectedly lower than both forecasts and the November reading, sparking optimism in the market.

The softer inflation data boosted market sentiment, increasing bets on a quarter-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in March to 27.0%. This encouraged investors to increase their exposure to risky assets, including cryptocurrencies like LRC.

Despite recent gains, LRC remains under pressure, having fallen below the key support level at $0.2000 earlier in the month, with prices briefly heading toward $0.1000. The recovery to near $0.2000 suggests improving momentum, and further upside may be possible if Bitcoin maintains its upward trajectory.

Dogecoin (DOGE) is up 6.3% this week, trading at $0.3560, significantly outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin (BTC) is up 2.9% to $96,990. DOGE has emerged as the best-performing cryptocurrency among the top 10 by market capitalisation.

The rally in DOGE is driven by an improving macroeconomic outlook in the United States, bolstered by speculations that the new U.S. administration will adopt a gradual approach to tariff increases. Adding to the excitement, Dogecoin’s high-profile ambassador, Elon Musk, is reportedly gaining access to U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration, further fuelling optimism around the memecoin.

Speculations that Dogecoin may become the currency for the X platform (formerly Twitter) payment system have also supported the rally. Investors have purchased approximately $570 million worth of DOGE over the last six days, reflecting heightened interest in the token.

From a technical perspective, DOGE needs to break above the $0.4000 resistance level to sustain its upward momentum. A successful move above this level could set the stage for a rally towards $0.5000, solidifying its position as a top-performing cryptocurrency.