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Why it is nearly unattainable to discover a automobile for lower than $30,000

Why it's almost impossible to find a car for less than $30,000

Car buyers like luxury

Well before the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer tastes increasingly began to shift from sedans to more expensive SUVs and trucks. Then car buyers piled on options like high-tech touchscreens, ambient lighting, 360-degree cameras, and heated and cooled seats.

“There’s a feature war going on,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds.

In response to increased demand, dealers began stocking more cars with all the trimmings, he said, and automakers upgraded their lineups with high-end packages or trim levels and reduced the range of lower-priced cars.

“It only makes sense to keep increasing the price to add more features and increase the size of the vehicle with each redesign,” Drury said.

Car prices near a record high

According to Edmunds, the median transaction price for new cars in May was $47,892, near an all-time high. Now, 10% of all vehicles sold cost more than $70,000, up from 3% five years ago.

On the other hand, fewer options are available at lower prices. Edmunds found that just 0.3% of new vehicles sold cost less than $20,000, down from 8% five years ago.

As a result, more car buyers are pulling out of the new car market, Ryan said.

This is how you get the best used car for your money

Instead of buying a new car, budget-conscious buyers are buying older cars with more mileage, which means their running costs will increase, Ryan said.

“Those who are least solvent get the car that costs the most to own.”

In an iSeeCars study, more than two million cars were analyzed to find out which used models have the lowest price and offer the longest remaining lifespan.

Here are the 10 models that performed best.

Ford Tremendous Responsibility Vehicles get high-tech options

2023 Ford Super Duty F-350 Limited

ford

DETROIT — Let’s enact a scene: A pickup driver and his spouse, in reverse, try to align the hitch ball on the pickup with a hitch on the trailer. “A little to the left. No, your left. No, YOUR left. OK, now a bit right. never mind Let’s try again.”

The reason for this is, among other things, the well-known headaches Ford engine improves the technologies of its most expensive pickups to make the vehicles more manageable for newer owners and alleviate the biggest problems of experienced truck drivers.

The Detroit automaker is adding features to its 2023 Ford Super Duty lineup to increase transaction prices of the trucks and alleviate difficulties with some of the vehicles’ most important functions: towing and carrying/hauling.

“This is really about making the truck safer for our customers, for the equipment and for everything you’re towing. It’s about productivity. It’s about usability. It’s about saving marriages,” said Tim Baughman, general manager of Ford’s commercial business. “I’m sure we’ll save a few marriages with our new attaching trailer features, depending on what they’re doing now can.”

Many pickup truck owners, especially newer ones, have trouble figuring out how much weight they can safely load into their vehicles or hitch trailers to their trucks, according to Ford.

The latter challenge in particular can create relationship problems, as it may take two people and multiple attempts to correctly position the trucks and trailers for towing – as in our all-too-common but fictionalized scenario above.

“Our team is obsessed with our customers,” Baughman said. “This is about customer understanding and customer obsession. And everything about this truck is purpose-built for that purpose.”

According to Ford, 96% of its customers tow its F-250 to F-450 Super Duty pickups, the larger siblings of the well-known F-150 trucks. A majority also use the vehicles to haul heavy loads in the backs of vehicles, which start at around $44,000 and can cost upwards of $103,000 depending on the model.

Ford uses technologies such as new camera functions, automated assistance systems and intelligent taillights to assist with hitching and transporting.

Easy tow bar setup

Ford’s new Pro Trailer Hitch Assist makes this process easier. The truck automatically backs up and aligns the hitch ball with the trailer hitch. The feature is standard or available on multiple models starting at $1,035.

“It’s supposed to help relieve the pain,” said Aaron Bresky, Ford Super Duty’s chief technology officer. “People need to tow for leisure and work, and the more we can alleviate the pain, the more natural it becomes.”

The 2023 F-Series Super Duty trucks can tow between 14,000 and 40,000 pounds, depending on the truck.

Ford’s Pro Trailer Hitch Assist automatically reverses the truck and aligns the conventional hitch ball with the trailer hitch.

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Integrated light scales

Beyond towing or hitching, Ford’s Super Duty pickups can haul a lot themselves, up to 8,000 pounds depending on the model. This includes all people, cargo and any objects that may be in the pickup truck bed.

However, it can be difficult to estimate or calculate how much you are transporting, especially if there are passengers in the vehicle or you don’t know how much your load weighs.

Ford’s answer to this problem is called “Onboard Scales with Smart Hitch” and was first introduced on the F-150 2021. The system uses scales in the vehicle to determine the total payload or the total weight of the vehicle.

Drivers can determine the payload using the vehicle’s infotainment screen or app, but Ford also offers a more unique way to do this. The vehicle’s taillights illuminate at varying levels of intensity to let the owner know how close they are to reaching the vehicle’s total load limit.

If the vehicle exceeds the permitted payload, the top bar will flash, alerting the owner that they may need to reconsider what they are transporting or give up a passenger or two.

The taillights can also be used to balance a trailer with the vehicle, also known as trailer nose weight.

The on-board scale with Smart Hitch is available for $650 on Lariat models and is standard on high-end trucks.

Newly available “Onboard Scales” measure and display the approximate weight of the payload in the Ford trucks. Charging information is displayed on the central touchscreen, in the FordPass app or in the truck’s smart taillights.

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tailgate camera

The simplest new feature is a reversing camera mounted on top of the vehicle’s tailgate. While it faces the sky when the gate is open, when the tailgate is lowered it provides a clear view of what’s behind the vehicle, giving the owner extra eyes when transporting something longer in the vehicle’s bed.

While all new vehicles are required to have backup cameras, Ford is the first manufacturer to implement such a camera, useful when the tailgate is open. Standard rear view cameras on American pickup trucks face the ground when the tailgate is down.

The option also has built-in sensors that work with the camera to alert the driver when their lowered tailgate approaches an object.

The new reversing camera and sensors are standard on higher-end trim levels, but not available on entry-level and lower-priced vehicles.

Ford has installed a camera and sensors in the tailgate of its F-Series Super Duty pickups for use when the tailgate is open.

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Medicare will enable drug corporations to barter drug costs

Medicare will allow drug companies to negotiate drug prices

Hundreds of 1199SEIU healthcare workers held a rally and blocked 3rd Avenue where some were arrested. They were protesting health care cuts in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Medicare budget.

Lev Radin | flare | Getty Images

Medicare announced Friday that it will give drug companies an opportunity to publicly discuss historic drug pricing negotiations under the program. The move eliminated a confidentiality obligation that the industry says violates the First Amendment in lawsuits filed this month.

In initial guidance released in March, Medicare prohibited the industry from publicly disclosing information about the lower price the federal government originally offered for drugs targeted under the program and the government’s rationale for choosing that price point.

Medicare also banned the companies from disclosing verbal conversations during the negotiation phase. Also, companies must destroy all information within 30 days if the drug is no longer selected for negotiation.

In the revised guidance released Friday, Medicare said a company “may, at its discretion, publicly disclose information about ongoing negotiations.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, gave Medicare the power to negotiate prices directly with drug companies for the first time. The program is the central pillar of the Biden administration’s efforts to bring soaring drug prices in the United States under control

Merckthe US Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Myers Squibb and industry lobby group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America petitioned federal courts this month to declare drug pricing negotiations unconstitutional.

Merck, the Chamber and Bristol Myers Squibb argued in their lawsuits that Medicare issued a gag order that effectively barred the companies from publicly disagreeing with the federal government’s position in violation of the First Amendment.

However, the industry’s lawsuits also focus on broader claims that the program violates due process and confiscation of private property without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Health and Social Affairs Minister Xavier Becerra promised on Friday to continue negotiations despite complaints from the pharmaceutical industry.

“Pharmaceutical companies have had record profits for decades,” Becerra said in a statement. “Now they are lining up to block the work of this government to negotiate better drug prices for our families.

“We’re not going to be deterred,” Becerra said

By September, HHS will publish a list of ten high-priced drugs that will be selected for trial. The companies have to decide in the following month whether they want to take part in the negotiations.

Drug manufacturers who choose not to participate face heavy financial penalties. You can avoid these penalties by opting out of Medicare and Medicaid drug rebate programs.

The companies have argued that exiting the rebate programs is not a viable alternative because the programs account for almost half of the country’s annual prescription drug spending.

Charlie Sheen’s daughter Sami shares her ‘riskiest’ OnlyFans pic but

Charlie Sheen's daughter Sami shares her 'riskiest' OnlyFans pic yet

you could say that Sami Sheen is very transparent about her OnlyFans career.

After all, the 19-year-old daughter of Charlie Sheen And Denise Richards shared in a recent tweet what she described as her “riskiest content yet.”

“Totally see through top,” she captioned a photo of herself in a black see through bodysuit embellished with jewels. While the model revealed her nipples, she cheekily remarked, “I know you want to see them.”

In the past, Sami has pointed out why she doesn’t often “show the nips” on OnlyFans, a subscription-based platform known for hosting adult content. While preparing for a photoshoot, she noted in a June 8 TikTok, “I know you’re probably thinking, ‘How the hell are you a sex worker if you’re censoring these?’ But trust me, I have my ways.

“I still show pretty much everything,” the content creator continued. “I just want to wait until the girls are done so I’m completely confident with everything I’m showing.”

Biden denies involvement within the alleged removing of son Hunter’s board of administrators

Biden denies involvement in the alleged removal of son Hunter's board of directors

President Joe Biden furiously denied on Wednesday that he was involved in an alleged crackdown on a Chinese businessman by his son Hunter Biden.

“NO!” President Biden snapped at a reporter on the White House lawn when asked if he was “sitting there” or “involved” when his son sent a threatening WhatsApp text message to businessman Henry Zhao on July 30, 2017.

“No, I wasn’t, and I won’t be,” the president said as he headed to the White House to fly to an event in Chicago.

The White House for the past few days has declined to comment on the WhatsApp message and to answer questions about whether Hunter Biden’s alleged claim that he was with the President when he sent it is true. The White House previously stated that President Biden was not involved in Hunter’s business venture.

The WhatsApp message came days after Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two tax offenses in federal court in Delaware.

Former IRS agent Gary Shapley told the House Pathways and Appropriations Committee last month that an IRS search warrant uncovered Hunter Biden’s WhatsApp message to Zhao about a proposed energy deal, according to a statement released last week.

In that message, Hunter told Zhao, “I’m sitting here with my father, we’d like to understand why the commitment hasn’t been fulfilled.”

At the time the news was published, Joe Biden was a private who had recently served twice as vice president. Before that, he was a US Senator from Delaware for decades.

“Tell the director I want to fix this issue now, before it gets out of hand, and do it tonight,” Hunter Biden wrote to Zhao, per the transcript.

“And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make sure that between the man sitting next to me and anyone he knows, and my ability to hold him forever, a grudge you will regret if you have not followed my direction.”

“I’m sitting here waiting for the call with my dad,” Hunter Biden wrote.

Hunter Biden attends an official state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on June 22, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Stefanie Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images

Hunter Biden’s attorney, Christopher Clark, responded to the publication of the news in a statement to Fox News last week by noting that his client was in the midst of addiction at the time of writing.

“Biased and politically motivated selective leaks have plagued this issue for years. Not only are they irresponsible, they are illegal. A close scrutiny of the document, released yesterday by a very biased individual, raises serious questions as to whether this is what he claims.” “It is dangerously misleading to draw any conclusions or conclusions based on this document” said Clark. “The DOJ’s investigation covered what was a time of turmoil and addiction for my client.”

Clark added that “any verifiable words or actions of my client in the midst of a horrific addiction are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”

Shapley, the former IRS agent, testified that the Justice Department “slowly advanced” a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden that began in 2018, gave him “preferential treatment” and “did nothing to avoid apparent conflicts of interest” in the investigation.

While Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to the willful non-payment of taxes for 2017 and 2018, Shapley testified that there was evidence she should face criminal charges on his 2014 tax return as well.

Shapley said the Justice Department would have indicted someone this year “in every other case I’ve ever worked on with similar factual patterns, similar tax evasion, and similar taxes due and owed.”

The DOJ said that U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss made the prosecution decisions in the case against Hunter Biden, and not Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was appointed by President Biden. Weiss was appointed to office by then-President Donald Trump and was allowed to remain there to continue the investigation into Hunter Biden.

Weiss told the House Judiciary Committee in a June 7 letter, “During my tenure as U.S. Attorney, my decisions — and in this matter they must be made — have been made without regard to political considerations.”

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund seeks better portfolio resilience in risky markets

Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund seeks greater portfolio resilience in volatile markets

Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional is rebalancing its investment portfolio to make it more resilient to market volatility, according to its chief executive.

Khazanah’s net asset value fell 5% year-on-year to 81 billion ringgit ($17.4 billion) in 2022, reflecting downtrends in the global market, the fund said in March. The Kuala Lumpur-based fund invests more than half of its portfolio in public markets.

“Our focus here is to look at how we can be a little more resilient in the market,” Khazanah chief executive Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir told CNBC Monday on the sidelines of the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur.

“Given the volatility in the market, we are still in the process of rebalancing our portfolio,” he added.

Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional is strengthening its investment portfolio to be more resilient in volatile markets, according to its chief executive, Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Khazanah posted net income of 1.6 billion ringgit ($343 million) in 2022 — more than double its net income year-on-year and its fourth straight annual profit after an unprecedented slump in 2018.

In comparison, the MSCI World Index plunged more than 18% in 2022, and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index plunged 20% over the same period.

At the end of 2022, Khazanah said that 55.9% of its portfolio was invested in Malaysian public markets and 13.4% in overseas public markets. Almost a quarter of its portfolio was invested in private markets, more than half outside of Malaysia, with 8% invested in real assets.

“The use of assets actually offers great potential,” said Wan Zahir, pointing to investment opportunities in a volatile market environment.

Stock picks and investment trends from CNBC Pro:

“In this current moment when you look at industry consolidation…or we know there’s a rising interest rate environment and companies are going to be under pressure – especially if you look at consumer companies or companies that are heavily indebted,” he said.

Inflation rates have remained persistently high around the world, despite multiple rate hikes, as central banks attempt to rein in years of super-loose monetary policy following the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Rate hikes and rising yields have hurt many companies.

“But it’s saying to CEOs and companies: How can I actually lower my costs?” said Wan Zahir.

“So if you look at areas like business services, that’s where you could see opportunities in private equity as well.”

Some Republican presidential candidates are calling for stricter federal abortion limits

Republican presidential candidate and former US Vice President Mike Pence gestures during the National Celebrate Life Day Rally commemorating the first anniversary of the US Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Women’s Health Organization, which upheld the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision in Washington was lifted, USA, June 24, 2023.

Evelyn Hockstein Reuters

Two Republican presidential candidates for 2024 on Sunday voiced their opposition to abortion to mark the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson overturning Roe vs. Wade.

Presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence described last year’s landmark decision as “a historic victory” that condemned Roe vs. Wade to “the cinders of history.”

Pence earlier this week urged all GOP candidates to commit to a nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks – but he said on Sunday it was also important to “stand with compassion”.

“With 62 million unborn lives lost and almost as many women enduring two generations of abortion, I think we have a message of grace, we have to carry a message of kindness,” Pence said in an interview with the US New York Times broadcast. “Fox News Sunday.” “This is how we’re going to win hearts and minds. For me it’s so much more important than politics, but I also think it’s a winning subject.”

Pence said that a national 15-week limit “would bring American law into line with most countries in Europe that literally ban abortions after 12 to 15 weeks.”

His call for tougher restrictions comes despite a recent nationwide poll by NBC News showing that 6 in 10 voters remain opposed to the Supreme Court overturning the national abortion right. According to NBC News, the poll included nearly 80% of female voters ages 18 to 49, two-thirds of suburban women, 60% of independents, and a third of Republican voters who disapproved.

Pence also said he “strongly supports” Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s efforts to delay military promotions due to the Department of Defense’s abortion policy, including a recent decision to reimburse military personnel for out-of-state abortion expenses travel.

“We simply cannot allow the federal government to directly or indirectly subsidize abortion in this country, and that includes the Pentagon,” Pence said.

Another guest on the Fox program, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), contradicted this comment. “We [Democrats] “Support Roe vs. Wade,” Cardin said. “We thought that was established law. It was law in force for almost 50 years. The Supreme Court decision was a radical decision that nullified women’s right to make their own health care choices.

That right “should not be subject to what the state legislatures do,” Cardin said. “This is a personal decision that women make with the advice of their doctors and their families. And we don’t think we should try to tell women when they can make those choices.”

But at least one Republican candidate said Sunday he is unlikely to go along with Pence’s idea. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who announced his candidacy for president earlier this month, said that while he supported the decision in Dobbs, he would oppose the concept of a state ban on abortion until a “national consensus is reached.” ‘ developed on this subject.

“Conservatives like me have argued for 50 years that this is not a federal matter. It’s a state matter. The states should decide that. The Dobbs case a year ago gave us the opportunity to let each state make that decision,” he told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

“I hope to see that when each of the 50 states, but more importantly, the people of each of the 50 states, decide on this issue, then a national consensus can develop,” Christie said.

“If a national consensus develops, I have no problem with the federal government stepping in and confirming that national consensus.”

Netflix rebounds once more whereas conventional media outages mount

Netflix rebounds again while traditional media outages mount

Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, left; David Zaslav, CEO and President of Warner Bros. Discovery, center; and Bob Bakish, President and CEO of Paramount Global.

Getty Images

Companies and industries have ups and downs. The old media industry is in a valley.

The first half of 2023 was a colossal disappointment for media executives, who wished for a rebound this year from a terrible 2022, when a drop in streaming subscribers drove down ratings Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery And Paramount Global about half.

Instead, investors are once again excited about Netflix’s future prospects as the company cracks down on password sharing, potentially leading to tens of millions of new signups. Netflix stock has surged over the past five months, outperforming the S&P 500.

Meanwhile, the old players can’t avoid each other.