Bloomberg Tesla Inc. shares dropped as much as 3.7 percent after the company reported third-quarter delivery and production figures that analysts described as solid, yet firmly within expectations. “Even bears expected an unusually strong third-quarter delivery result given extraordinary measures to produce, sell and deliver units,†according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. Tesla shares closed down 3.1 percent, after ...
Read More »Aston Martin’s trading debut flops
Bloomberg Aston Martin’s trading debut floundered after investors balked at a valuation that had put the UK luxury carmaker on par with larger and more profitable Italian competitor Ferrari NV. The stock fell as much as 7.5 percent in London on Wednesday from its initial public offering price of 19 pounds ($24.70), a figure that gave the Gaydon, England-based company ...
Read More »Why lots of Americans are sour on economy
As Americans become more negative about the state of their society, a number of people have tried to cheer them up by reminding them of the improvements made, both inside their society and out. The Cato Institute’s Human Progress project puts out a steady stream of data about improved living standards and social indicators in the US and around the ...
Read More »Tesco’s battle in the aisles goes global
It’s been a long time since the UK was the undisputed star of the show for Tesco Plc. But Britain’s biggest retailer on Wednesday announced a step-up in domestic same-store sales growth to 2.5 percent in the second quarter of its financial year. A strong showing from the recently acquired Booker Group Plc, a British wholesaler, and an increase in ...
Read More »Japan’s automakers can’t escape US car sales woes
Automakers in the US just had a bad month. Buckle up: It’s going to get worse. Sales cratered in September. Toyota Motor Corp.’s dropped 10 percent, Honda Motor Co.’s were down 7 percent, Ford Motor Co. posted a decline of about 11 percent and Nissan Motor Co. saw deliveries fall 12 percent. A worsening US auto market should be no ...
Read More »Nafta is dead. What comes next looks awfully familiar
On Monday President Donald Trump announced the end of Nafta, the trade agreement he’s repeatedly called a “disaster†for US workers, and hailed its successor, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as the greatest trade deal ever seen. As you might therefore expect, the new agreement is just a lightly tweaked version of the old. Despite the president’s theatrics, Nafta lives on. ...
Read More »Europe teaches Uber to do business better
On Monday, Uber returned to Dusseldorf, Germany, a city it was forced to abandon in 2015. This is a victory both for German regulators and for Uber, or rather, for its new version under Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi. It shows that the San Francisco-based company can actually function as a tech platform, rather than as a taxi business that pretends ...
Read More »Apple is looking down on ads but takes billions from Google
What if everyone is wrong about Apple Inc.’s most closely watched growth business? Investors have been obsessed with what Apple calls its “services†segment — a grab bag that includes the company’s cut of iPhone app sales; the AppleCare warranty program for devices; and subscriptions for internet add-ons including Apple Music, iCloud digital file storage and perhaps soon a Netflix-like ...
Read More »India strikes uncomfortable balance on biometrics
India’s extraordinary attempt to give every resident a biometric ID, the Aadhaar project, has just been declared constitutional — in part — by the country’s Supreme Court. It was hard to imagine any other outcome; too much time and money had been spent on Aadhaar, and too many of India’s poorest people had waited patiently in line for their chance ...
Read More »US stocks, dollar rise on data; Italian bonds gain
Bloomberg US stocks rose towards records and the dollar gained after upbeat private jobs data bolstered confidence in the world’s largest economy. European assets firmed on news the Italian government may rein in spending. The S&P 500 Index headed for a record close as technology and financial shares advanced. Italian debt jumped after four days of selling and the Stoxx ...
Read More »