Stellantis chief Carlos Tavares has resigned amid reports of disagreements over strategy at the carmaker.

In October the firm had outlined a departure plan for its CEO which said he would retire at the end of his CEO term in early 2026. However, the company said in a statement that the board had accepted his resignation with immediate effect.

Last month Stellantis reported third quarter shipments (vehicles delivered to dealers, importers and fleets ahead of retail and revenue recognition) down by a fifth after a particularly sharp drop in North America, where it has said it is taking corrective actions to reduce inventory.

It has also slashed its 2024 profit outlook on higher costs in the US market. Stellantis' stock has plummeted this year, contrasting with the performance of Detroit rivals Ford and General Motors.

Stellantis said the process to appoint a new CEO ‘is well under way, managed by a Special Committee of the Board, and will be concluded within the first half of 2025’. Until then, a new Interim Executive Committee, chaired by John Elkann, will be established.

Tensions reportedly rose as the board believed CEO Tavares focused on short-term fixes rather than long-term strategy, leading to his abrupt resignation.

Analysts and shareholders called for fresh leadership, and Tavares, known for clashes with US unions and the Italian government, faced criticism over production cuts and union contract issues.

UAW President Shawn Fain criticised Tavares for leaving behind "a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots."

Remarks from Stellantis’ Senior Independent Director, Henri de Castries, hinted at internal disagreements between major investors and the CEO. He said: “Stellantis’ success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the Board and the CEO. However, in recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the Board and the CEO coming to today’s decision.”

Chairman John Elkann said: “Our thanks go to Carlos for his years of dedicated service and the role he has played in the creation of Stellantis, in addition to the previous turnarounds of PSA and Opel, setting us on the path to becoming a global leader in our industry.

“I look forward to working with our new Interim Executive Committee, supported by all our Stellantis colleagues, as we complete the process of appointing our new CEO. Together we will ensure the continued deployment of the company’s strategy in the long-term interests of Stellantis and all of its stakeholders.”

If you're a dividend investor, you've likely considered buying British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI), if you don't own it already.

As a dividend stock, the tobacco giant looks about ideal. British American Tobacco offers an appealing dividend yield of 7.9%, and it has the safety of a recession-proof business, as tobacco sales are generally unaffected by the broader conditions in the economy. That makes British American Tobacco a lot more reliable for dividend income than other high-yield stocks like, say, a mortgage REIT.

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However, the stock's performance has been less reliable. While British American Tobacco is up this year, it's been flat over the last five years.

So what will the new year bring for the high-yield tobacco stock? Let's take a closer look at the buy, sell, and hold arguments for 2025.

Buy British American Tobacco?

Perhaps the best reason to buy the stock is its dividend. British American Tobacco is unlikely to deliver strong growth stock that drives its share significantly price higher.

However, the company does offer a well-funded dividend that currently pays nearly 8%. Additionally, the company has steadily raised its dividend over its history, though its recent hikes have been modest.

Another reason to buy the stock is that the pivot to next-gen products in tobacco is picking up steam, though Philip Morris is leading that charge with its products like Zyn nicotine pouches and IQOS heat-not-burn tobacco sticks. British American Tobacco hasn't been as successful as its top rival, but Philip Morris's growth is still an indication of the opportunity in front of BAT.

The company has struggled with illegal competition in the U.S. in the vapor market, as its vapor units sold actually fell 9% in the first half of the year. Heated products like Glo, its competitor to IQOS, have also struggled, with organic volume down 1% in the first half of the year.

On the other hand, oral nicotine pouches have been a bright spot for BAT, driven by Velo, as the category saw organic unit volume growth of 52.4% in the first half, though it's still the smallest of its three new categories.

Sell British American Tobacco?

About a year ago, BAT took a massive write-down on its U.S. cigarette business, including brands like Camel and Newport that it acquired in its merger with RJ Reynolds.

The impairment charge was roughly $32 billion and shows that headwinds from the core cigarette business are likely to weigh on the company's overall growth, even if it finds success in new categories.

(Reuters) - Tesla's (TSLA) market capitalisation increased by the most among top global companies in November, boosted by expectations the automaker will benefit from CEO Elon Musk’s close ties with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Tesla's stock price was up over 1% before the bell on Monday.

The company's market value surged 38.1% to $1.1 trillion last month on reports that Donald Trump's transition team plans to relax federal regulations on self-driving cars, potentially simplifying the rollout of autonomous vehicles.

Optimism around holiday shopping helped boost Walmart's market value by 12.9% to $743.5 billion, following the company's third upward revision of its annual sales and profit forecasts, driven by increased online and in-store purchases of groceries and merchandise.

JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) market value rose 12.5% to $703 billion, as it was announced that CEO Jamie Dimon will continue leading the bank and with investors confident that Trump will bring favourable policies for lenders.

Improving retail sales pushed Amazon.com's market value up 11.5% to $2.2 trillion, after it reported higher-than-expected profit growth. Similarly, Visa saw its market value increase by 8.3% to $617.5 billion, as resilient consumer spending pushed it to a strong fourth-quarter profit.

Reports that U.S. authorities ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to halt shipments of advanced chips to China, a move aimed at curbing exports of critical technologies, helped wipe 5.1% off its market cap, which fell to $793.5 billion.

AI bellwether Nvidia's market value rose by a modest 3.9%, slowing from October's 9.3% increase as its revenue growth forecast failed to excite investors.

(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

(Bloomberg) -- De Beers has cut diamond prices by more than 10% across the board as the world’s biggest producer abandons attempts to put a floor under the slumping market.

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The diamond industry has been struck by one of its deepest and most prolonged slumps in decades. What started as a post-pandemic slowdown has spiraled as inflation hit customer purchases, before a collapse in China’s luxury market further eroded demand. Man-made diamonds have also continued to undermine prices.

As rough diamond prices in the secondary market — where traders and manufacturers buy from each other — have steadily dropped through most of the year, De Beers attempted to hold the line. The unit of Anglo American Plc offered its customers more flexibility and the right to refuse goods rather than lowering prices.

Yet on Monday, the company capitulated on that position at its final sale of the year. De Beers cut prices by 10% to 15% for most of the goods it sells, according to people familiar with the situation. That’s the first major price cut since the start of the year and a historically large reduction.

A spokesman for De Beers declined to comment.

The slump in the diamond market comes at a difficult time for De Beers. Its owner, Anglo American, is looking to exit the business as part of a radical restructuring after fending off a $49 billion bid from BHP Group earlier this year.

De Beers wields considerable power in the rough-diamond market. It holds 10 sales each year in which the buyers — known as sightholders — generally have to accept the price and the quantities offered.

Still, even after the steep cut in prices today, the company’s stones are still more expensive than the going rate in the secondary market, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. The company also removed some of the flexibility it had offered at previous sales.

De Beers typically reserves aggressive price cuts as a last resort. While it keeps pricing secret, the across-the-board cut this month is hefty.

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(Reuters) -Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, the company said on Monday, following a tumultuous period for the chip pioneer that has struggled to keep up in the AI era with players like Nvidia dominating the market.

The company named Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner and senior executive Michelle Johnston Holthaus as interim co-chief executive officers while its board conducted a search for a new CEO.

Shares of the company rose nearly 5% in premarket trading. They have lost more than half of their value this year.

Gelsinger was appointed as CEO in 2021 to spearhead a transformation of the chipmaker which was once at the helm of the U.S. semiconductor industry but ceded its manufacturing lead to players like Taiwan's TSMC.

"While we have made significant progress in regaining manufacturing competitiveness and building the capabilities to be a world-class foundry, we know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence," Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board, said in a release.

Under Glesinger, Intel undertook a costly turnaround centered around making the company a contract manufacturer for other chip firms and reinvigorating its technological lead.

The company's board has formed a search committee to appoint Gelsinger's successor.

(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)