‘Fired up’ Verstappen takes Japanese GP pole position

Saturday, 23 September 2023, 18:55:57
SUZUKA: A “fired up” Max Verstappen took pole position on Saturday for the Japanese Grand Prix, as he looks to take a giant stride towards a third-straight world title this weekend. The Red Bull driver bounced back from a fifth-place finish at last week’s Singapore Grand Prix to top the timesheets ahead of McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Verstappen said “Singapore didn’t happen” after he roared round the Suzuka circuit in a fastest time of 1min 28.877sec — 0.581sec quicker than Piastri. The runaway championship leader warned there was more to come in Sunday’s race, saying he was “very fired up to have a good weekend here”. “As soon as we put the car on the track it’s been very enjoyable to drive, very predictable, which I think is the most important,” said Verstappen. “Lap after lap in qualifying was getting better.” Verstappen, who leads teammate and nearest rival Sergio Perez by 151 points in the championship standings, cannot clinch the title on Sunday but a favourable result can set him up to seal the deal at the Qatar Grand Prix next month.
— Kuwait Times

Federal investigators will look into fatal New York crash of a bus carrying high school students

Saturday, 23 September 2023, 00:18:41
Federal investigators promised a thorough investigation into what caused a charter bus carrying a high school marching band to veer off a New York highway in a wreck that killed two adults and seriously injured other passengers . “Our goal is to find out what happened, why it happened, and to make safety recommendations to reduce the chance that this sort of accident never happens again,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator John Humm said at a press briefing Friday in Middletown, New York. The charter bus, one of six carrying students from Farmingdale High School, was about 30 minutes from its destination at a band camp in Pennsylvania when it crashed on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City. The two adults who died were band director Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, and Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale, a retired teacher who was serving as a chaperone on the trip. Eighteen people — 16 students and two adults — remained hospitalized as of midday Friday, according to Bruce Blakeman, the county executive of Nassau County, where Farmingdale High is located.
— WNYT

Check Out What Whales Are Doing With RACE

Thursday, 21 September 2023, 21:46:30
Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Ferrari (NYSE: RACE ). And retail traders should know. We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga. Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don”t know. But when something this big happens with RACE, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen. So how do we know what this whale just did? Today, Benzinga ”s options scanner spotted 11 uncommon options trades for Ferrari. This isn”t normal. The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 45% bullish and 54%, bearish. Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 8 are puts, for a total amount of $346,590, and … Full story available on Benzinga.com
— Benzinga

Why the UAW Strike Could Boost Auto Stocks

Thursday, 21 September 2023, 17:20:02
The Big 3 is in a labor bind…and some investors are starting to bet against General Motors (NYSE: GM ), Ford (NYSE: F ) and Chrysler owner Stellantis (NYSE: STLA ) as the United Auto Workers strike drags on. Ford, GM and Stellantis are among the top 10 most shorted auto stocks as of Sept. 18, according to research from S3 Partners , a firm that tracks bearish bets on Wall Street. Ford is the third most shorted auto stock. GM is seventh and Stellantis is tenth. These stocks could become even bigger targets of short sellers if the strike doesn’t end soon. “The length and severity of the UAW strike will be the driving force behind increased short selling in the Big 3,” said S3 analysts in a report. “We should expect short selling to ramp up as the strike continues,” they added, noting that auto inventories could be affected. “Short selling will help grease the skids for downward stock price movement.” But is a bet against the Big 3 a strategy that could backfire like an old truck engine?
— InvestorPlace

Sebastian Vettel makes surprise Suzuka appearance as the four-time F1 world champion visits former team Ferrari ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Thursday, 21 September 2023, 10:40:31
OLLIE LEWIS IN SUZUKA: Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel paid a visit to former team-mates ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix getting underway.
— Daily Mail Online