TOP 5 STOCKS TO WATCHOUT:-

1.TESLA: Tesla Inc delivered a high-performance version of its Model S on Thursday, aiming to reignite interest in the nearly decade-old sedan and fend off rivals such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Lucid Motors in the luxury electric vehicle market.

Tesla  redefined electric cars in 2012 when it launched its high-end Model S with a sleek design and long driving range, and Chief Executive Elon Musk said the new version was designed for a future where cars drove themselves.

“This car crushes,” Musk said at an evening delivery event held at Tesla’s U.S. factory in Fremont, California.

“It’s like, man, this is, just, sustainable energy cars can be the fastest cars, be the safest cars, gonna be the most kick-ass cars in every way.”

Musk’s irreverent attitude and speeches peppered with engineering terms, have given him a star power he uses to draw attention to the brand, allowing Tesla to avoid advertising.

The model is “faster than any Porsche, safer than any Volvo,” said Musk, wearing a black leather jacket, after he drove the Model S Plaid down a test track onto the stage.

He said he expects to produce 1,000 a week next quarter.

Ahead of the event, Tesla raised the price by $10,000 to $129,990 against $79,990 for a long-range Model S.

“The Model S has not been changing a lot in terms of looks over the past almost decade,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director at car information provider Edmunds. “I think Tesla has to offer consumers something more … like new and fun things.”

2.Apple  –Apple Inc has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW AG’s electric car division, to help its vehicle initiatives, Apple confirmed on Thursday.

Kranz, who was most recently the chief executive of electric vehicle startup Canoo Inc , will report to Apple veteran Doug Field, who led development of Tesla  Inc’s mass-market Model 3 and now runs Apple’s car project, the report said. Bloomberg reported the news earlier on Thursday.(https://bloom.bg/3zbslcq)

The iPhone maker’s automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have proceeded unevenly since 2014 when Apple first started designing its own vehicle from scratch.

In December, Reuters reported that Apple was moving forward with its self-driving car technology and targeting to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology by 2024.

 3. VOLKSWAGEN :Volkswagen AG ‘s top U.S. executive met with the head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to talk about electric vehicles and the push toward cleaner cars as the Biden administration works to revise vehicle emissions rules.

Scott Keogh, president and chief executive of Volkswagen  Group of America, spoke with EPA Administrator Michael Regan and reaffirmed the company’s support for an emissions deal with California.

Ford Motor ( Co, Honda Motor Co, Volkswagen and BMW in July 2019 struck a voluntary agreement with California on reducing vehicle emissions through the 2026 model years which would allow them to meet a single nationwide standard.

General Motors Co  on Wednesday threw its support behind the overall emissions reductions in California’s 2019 deal but asked the Biden administration to give automakers more flexibility to hit the carbon reduction target between now and 2026.

Regan has spoken with GM, Stellantis and Toyota Motor Corp executives this week as the EPA plans to announce a proposal to revise the Trump emissions rules.

4.AMAZON :-Amazon.com Inc  said on Thursday some corporate employees will be offered the option to return to office for three days a week and work remotely for the other two days.

Employees in frontline roles such as hardware engineers will continue to work onsite, Amazon said.

Amazon will also give employees the choice to work up to four weeks per year fully remote from a domestic location.

Apple Inc  and Google  have made similar announcements of moving to a hybrid work week this year.

5. ADIDAS – German sportswear firm Adidas , which is seeking to increase the proportion of sustainable materials it uses in its products, is investing in Finland’s Spinnova, a company that makes textile fibre out of wood or agricultural waste.

Adidas has ageed to subscribe for 3 million euros ($3.65 million) worth of shares in the company’s planned initial public offering, bringing the total investment it has secured to 58 million euros, Spinnova said in a statement.

“We are an ideal match with the ambitious and pioneering Adidas sustainability strategy,” Spinnova CEO and co-founder Janne Poranen said.

Spinnova is building its first commercial factory in Finland with strategic partner and wood raw material supplier Suzano, and is also building a pilot facility for fibre production out of leather waste.

It said Adidas wanted to secure access to “significant volumes” of its patented fibre in future.

A 500 million euro sustainability bond Adidas issued last September was five times oversubscribed, with proceeds earmarked for investing in renewable energy production and projects to promote recycled materials.

Adidas has pledged to shift to using only recycled polyester from 2024 and is also involved in research cooperation with another Finnish start-up, Infinite Fiber, to develop a process that can transform used clothes into a cotton-like material.