The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated a preliminary evaluation of nearly 35,950 Ford Flex vehicles in the U.S. due to potential issues with the rearview camera. The agency has received around 23 reports alleging that the rearview camera images in the 2019 model may appear blank, distorted, or flipped.
In another development, Catalent has agreed to sell its oral drug development and small-scale manufacturing facility located in Somerset, New Jersey, to private contract pharmaceutical manufacturer Ardena. Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but it is expected to be finalized by early 2025. Ardena stated that this facility will aid in the commercialization of its oral medications, and it currently employs approximately 200 scientists and technicians.
In the realm of finance, General Motors (GM) has signed a long-term credit card partnership agreement with Barclays Bank. This collaboration allows customers to earn and redeem rewards points for new Buick and Cadillac vehicles, as well as other offerings, including electric cars. Barclays will acquire the credit card program’s receivables from the current issuer next year, as Goldman Sachs transfers its GM credit card business to Barclays. The GM credit card program will continue to be issued exclusively under the Mastercard brand.
On the economic front, S&P Global Ratings warns that defaults on sovereign debt in emerging markets are likely to become more frequent over the next decade. Struggling with substantial debt burdens and elevated borrowing costs, these poorer nations face significant challenges. Despite a global decline in interest rates and some countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka on the brink of averting default, many nations still lack adequate funding to service their foreign currency debt, and their avenues for securing funds are dwindling. S&P highlights that “with rising debt levels and increased interest rates on hard currency debts, we can expect sovereign foreign debt defaults to occur more frequently in the next decade.”
Lastly, Adobe has begun the public rollout of an AI model capable of generating videos from text prompts, entering the competitive landscape of generative AI aimed at revolutionizing the film and television production industry. This technology, known as the Firefly Video Model, will compete with Sora, launched by OpenAI earlier this year, as well as video tools announced by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and Meta Platforms in recent months. Facing larger competitors, Adobe is betting on training its model using proprietary data to ensure that the generated outputs can be legally utilized in commercial projects.
