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Jul 24, 2024 • 4 min read

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Secret Service Director Resigns:

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned amid escalating pressure following a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, PA, last weekend, which highlighted critical vulnerabilities in the Secret Service's operations. On Monday, Cheatle appeared before Congress to address the incident, acknowledging that it was the “most significant operational failure in decades" for the agency. During the testimony, she faced intense questioning from both Republican and Democratic representatives.
Cheatle’s reluctance to provide detailed answers further intensified the criticism, with representatives from both parties calling for her resignation. Initially, Cheatle defended her position at the hearing, claiming that she was the most qualified person to lead the agency and address the issues. Despite her defense, the mounting bipartisan pressure proved overwhelming. Cheatle ultimately resigned on Tuesday morning, conceding to the demands for new leadership in the wake of the agency's critical failure.

General Motors, Tesla, Alphabet, Earnings:

General Motors (GM) reported strong second-quarter earnings with revenue hitting $47.9 billion, a more than 7% increase compared to the previous year and above the $45 billion expected by Wall Street, according to FactSet estimates. Earnings per share were $3.06, surpassing the $2.71 expected by analysts and marking a 60% increase from 2023. Net income grew 14% to $2.9 billion, up from $2.5 billion. These updates come as GM restructures its self-driving car division and its business in China.
Tesla's second-quarter earnings showed a profit of 52 cents per share, with total revenue of $25.50 billion, a small increase from $24.93 billion last year. However, Tesla's automotive sales fell by 7%, from $21.27 billion last year to $19.9 billion this quarter. Despite this drop, Tesla earned $890 million from regulatory credits, more than three times what it earned last year.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported strong results for the second quarter. The company's revenue grew by 14% to $84.74 billion, compared to $84.19 billion in the same period last year. Revenue from Alphabet's cloud computing services increased by 28.8% to $10.35 billion, showing strong demand for these services.

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