Today’s Economic Shakers

US auto sales decline in March, continuing this year’s downward trend…

The auto industry suffered its third monthly decline in a row as sales slowed to 16.6 million in March, a decline of 0.1 million vehicles as compared to the same period in 2016.

That number left vehicle sales well below analyst expectations, with projections of sales having been pegged at around 17.2 million.

The industry data, which came from sector analyst Autodata Corp, showed that the largest drop in sales was experienced by Kia Motors and Ford Motor Co.

Kia, along with its affiliate, Hyundai, saw its sales fall by 11%, the worst performance of auto manufacturers reviewed in the report. That was followed by Ford, which saw a decline in March sales of 7.2%.

The drop drove down the price of Ford’s stock by as much as 3%, which put the established manufacturer behind upstart Tesla in terms of market capitalization.

The combination of bad news for Ford and positive delivery numbers for Tesla combined to drive up the value of Tesla to the second spot among auto manufacturers, in terms of market capitalization.

Ford and Hyundai weren’t alone in falling sales.

Industry giants such as GM, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota all were in the same boat, with each company missing sales forecasts for the month.

Nissan Corp. was the main outlier among the bunch, with sales increasing by 3.2%. Sales of its popular Rogue vehicle led the charge for Nissan, gaining 43% from the previous month.

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Verizon announces name for its new Yahoo-AOL division: Oath

Verizon has just announced that it will name its newly created division “Oath,” AOL’s CEO confirmed in a tweet on Monday.

The division will consist of its current AOL unit and the newly acquired core internet businesses of Yahoo, which Verizon is in the final process of purchasing for $4.8 billion.

The acquisition by Verizon has been in the works for close to a year, and the sale has been loaded with intrigue and drama, following Yahoo’s reveal that as many as 1 billion accounts may have been hacked, forcing Yahoo to lower its asking price.

Verizon will be acquiring Yahoo’s core internet-related businesses, which fits into its expansion plans. Those include Yahoo’s search engine, its popular email service, and its ad-sales division.

Yahoo retains its investment in Alibaba, a 15% stake that has, to a large degree, kept Yahoo from sinking into even weaker financial straights then it had already fallen.

The investment division of Yahoo that controls the Alibaba stake has become a joint venture with Japan’s SoftBank, and will become known as Altaba upon completion of the merger with Verizon.

Shares of Yahoo were down slightly in Monday trading.