Adele’s ‘25’ on track to break sales records
NEW YORK — When Adele released her new album, "25," on Friday, it was sure to be a hit. The only question was how big. After an opening weekend that included her performing on "Saturday Night Live," the album is set to make a historic arrival on the charts. According to industry sources polled by Billboard magazine, "25" seems set to sell at least 2.5 million copies in the United States the first week. That would be the highest weekly sales for any album since at least 1991. The album is number one on Apple's iTunes chart in 110 countries. BuzzAngle, a tracking service, estimated that by Saturday the album had sold 1.9 million copies. The album has rekindled debate over the role of streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal, which have tens of millions of subscribers but have been criticized by many artists over the royalties they pay. Adele did not release her album on streaming outlets, perhaps as a strategy to preserve its large expected sales.
NEW YORK TIMES
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Fiat Chrysler dealership employees can earn college degrees for free
WASHINGTON — One of the largest US carmakers, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is offering a free college education to dealership employees and their families, in partnership with Strayer University. The program is available to 180,000 employees at the 2,600 FCA North America dealerships that sell Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge vehicles, and to about 700,000 family members. It's part of an effort to retain staff and create a better-educated workforce, said Al Gardner, an FCA executive. Participants can earn bachelor's and master's degrees, at no cost and debt-free — meaning dealership workers won't cover any out-of-pocket expenses. At Starbucks, for example, employees can get a degree from Arizona State University, but they pay a portion of the tuition and receive reimbursements at the end of each semester. FCA dealerships will pay a flat fee to allow employees to participate. Strayer, a for-profit education giant, offers studies in fields like business and criminal justice.
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WASHINGTON POST
Average US gas price falls 11 cents
CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average price of gasoline plunged 11 cents over the past two weeks, to $2.14 a gallon, analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday, as crude oil prices continue to fall. Lundberg said prices may continue to go down in December. The average price in the United States is 70 cents per gallon below what it was a year ago. In the lower 48 states, the highest average price of regular gasoline was $2.76, in Los Angeles. The lowest was $1.79 in Indianapolis. New data on Massachusetts gasoline prices will be released Monday. Last week, the state average fell 1 cent to $2.08 a gallon, according to AAA Northeast.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
UMaine simulator tests equipment bound for the high seas
ORONO, Maine — Builders of everything from cruise ships to oil rigs ask the same question: Will their work stand up to the sea? A miniature indoor ocean at the University of Maine could make for a lot less guessing. The Advanced Structures and Composites Center is ready to unveil a $13.8 million expansion that director Habib Dagher said will simulate a stormy ocean. The facility will be able to simulate waves more than 100 feet tall and winds of more than 200 miles per hour on scale models, using a 100-foot pool with 32 fans and 16 paddles. The W2 Ocean Engineering Laboratory will test the seaworthiness of structures like boats; offshore wind farms; oil and gas equipment; and bridges. It will also be able to use models of coastal cities to simulate how they would be affected by sea level rise. ''We're already getting calls from a lot of wind energy folks. There's no facility that can do this right now,'' said Anthony Viselli, manager of the facility.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oil slump idles 100 vessels in Norway
OSLO — The number of idle Norwegian offshore oil vessels has gone from zero to 100 in just a year. And "the worst is still to come," said Sturla Henriksen, chief executive of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association. With Brent crude slumping below $45 a barrel, from $115 about 18 months ago, Norway's offshore fleet, the second-biggest after that of the United States — it consists of seismic surveyors, drilling rigs, and supply ships — is being hit by a drought of new contracts and a plunge in rates as oil explorers slash investments and put off drilling. Investments by oil companies in Norway will fall 19 percent next year and a further 11 percent in 2017, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association forecasts. Statoil ASA, operator of more than 70 percent of the country's production, is cutting spending 18 percent this year. By the time the market turns, as many as 20 floating rigs may have been scrapped permanently in Norway and the United Kingdom, Nordea Markets analyst Janne Kvernland said. "We'll have a graveyard out in the North Sea," she said.
BLOOMBERG NEWS