** Citigroup (C) has unveiled its top stock picks for 2024. Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, Citi analysts have named Delta (DAL), United (UAL), Boeing (BA) in aviation, General Motors (GM) for autos, and regional lender KeyCorp (KEY) among stocks it expects to outperform in the new year.
** The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has noticed an increase in energy consumption among the six states it serves in the last few years. Officials expect to double or triple the grid in the future, but the current grid took 90 years to create.
** No indoor or outdoor burning is allowed in the entire South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County and non-desert areas of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Only those who rely solely on wood to heat their homes and communities above 3,000 feet are exempt from the ban. Gas and other non-wood-burning fireplaces are not restricted.
** A Tesla engulfed in flames on the side of a highway required firefighters to use 36,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze, Alabama officials said. The fire resulted from a crash at about 11 p.m. on Christmas Day, the Pine Level Fire Department said in a news release the following morning.
World
** Led by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023, a trend that if amplified will help Earth turn away from fossil fuels and prevent severe warming and its effects. Clean energy is often now the least expensive, explaining some of the growth.
** Shell plc SHEL, a British multinational oil and gas company, and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (“NGC”) secured a 30-year license to produce natural gas off the Venezuelan coast. This deal marks a significant step for Venezuela, potentially paving the way for its first export of vast offshore gas.
** Russia has redirected its oil exports from Europe to China and India, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday, almost two years after Moscow was hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
** China’s BYD is poised to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest electric vehicle seller. When it does – most likely in the current quarter – it will be yet another another sign of China’s growing clout in the automotive industry.
** Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority announced Wednesday it would lift an operational ban on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture after demanding counterterrorism measures.