Automobiles
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FILE PHOTO: A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sign is seen at its U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
April 2, 2019
(Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV on Tuesday reported a 7.3 percent fall in U.S. sales in March, hit by lower sales of its Fiat cars and Chrysler vehicles.
The No. 4 automaker in the United States said it sold 200,307 vehicles in March, compared with 216,063, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chairman John Elkann attends the 89th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland March 5, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
April 2, 2019
MILAN (Reuters) – The chairman of Exor John Elkann said the Italian holding group’s commitment to carmaker Fiat Chrysler remained unchanged.
In a letter to Exor shareholders, Elkann, who is also chairman of Fiat, said the next 20 years for the automotive industry, like its first 20 years, would see a greater level of change than during the intervening 100.
“We are determined that we and Fiat Chrysler will play our part actively and ambitiously in this new and exciting era,” he said in the letter which was published late on Monday.
Exor is Fiat’s biggest shareholder.
Recent media reports have said France’s Renault could be eyeing a bid for Fiat while in March the president of Peugeot family holding company FFP said he would support a new deal and suggested Fiat Chrysler was among the options.
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes)
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FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn sits inside a car as he leaves his lawyer’s office after being released on bail from Tokyo Detention House, in Tokyo, Japan, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
April 1, 2019
By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume
PARIS (Reuters) – Renault has alerted French prosecutors after uncovering suspect payments to a Renault-Nissan business partner in Oman under former Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, two sources told Reuters on Monday.
The findings have emerged from an internal investigation launched by the French carmaker in the wake of Ghosn’s November arrest in Japan for suspected financial misconduct at alliance partner Nissan.
A Renault investigation has established the company paid out millions of euros described as dealer incentives to Omani distributor Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA) over a five-year period starting around 2011, according to the sources, who were briefed on the probe in detail.
Nissan previously established its own regional subsidiary made questionable payments of more than $30 million to SBA, as first reported in January.
Evidence sent to French prosecutors late last week shows that much of the cash was subsequently channeled to a Lebanese company controlled by Ghosn associates, according to the two sources. The total sum paid out by Renault is in the double-digit millions, one said.
Renault had no immediate comment, spokesman Frederic Texier said. The French financial prosecutor’s office did not respond to requests for comment. SBA could not be reached for comment. Ghosn’s French lawyer and a U.S.-based spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume; Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Alexander Cornwell and Tuqa Khalid; Editing by Mark Potter)
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FILE PHOTO: People shop at Macy’s Department store in New York City, U.S., March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
April 1, 2019
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February, the latest sign economic growth has shifted into low gear as stimulus from $1.5 trillion in tax cuts and increased government spending fades.
The weak report from the Commerce Department on Monday joined a raft of other soft data, including housing starts and manufacturing production that have left economists anticipating a sharp slowdown in growth in the first quarter.
The loss of economic momentum also reflects higher interest rates, slowing global growth, Washington’s trade war with China and uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union. These factors contributed to the Federal Reserve’s decision last month to abruptly end its three-year campaign to tighten monetary policy.
The U.S. central bank abandoned projections for any interest rate hikes this year after increasing borrowing costs four times in 2018.
Retail sales dropped 0.2 percent as households cut back on purchases of furniture, clothing, food and electronics and appliances, as well as building materials and gardening equipment. Data for January was revised higher to show retail sales increasing 0.7 percent instead of gaining 0.2 percent as previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales rising 0.3 percent in February. Retail sales in February advanced 2.2 percent from a year ago.
The surprise drop in sales in February could partly reflect delays in processing tax refunds in the middle of the month. Tax refunds have also been smaller on average compared to prior years following the revamping of the tax code in January 2018. Cold and wet weather could also have hurt sales.
The February retail sales report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government that ended on Jan. 25. March’s retail sales report, which was scheduled for publication on April 16, will be released on April 18.
The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies after the report. U.S. Treasury prices pared losses.
BROAD WEAKNESS
Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales fell 0.2 percent in February after an upwardly revised 1.7 percent surge in January. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product.
They were previously reported to have rebounded 1.1 percent in January. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity. The sharp upward revision to core retail sales in January was insufficient to reverse December’s more than 2.0 percent plunge, leaving expectations for tepid GDP growth in the first quarter intact.
Growth estimates for the January-March quarter are as low as a 0.8 percent annualized rate. The economy grew at a 2.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter after expanding at a 3.4 percent clip in the July-September period.
In February, sales at building materials and garden equipment and supplies dealers tumbled 4.4 percent, the biggest drop since April 2012. Receipts at clothing stores fell 0.4 percent and those at furniture outlets dropped 0.5 percent.
Sales at food and beverage stores declined 1.2 percent, the biggest drop since February 2009. Receipts at electronics and appliances stores fell 1.3 percent, the largest decline since May 2017.
But consumers bought more motor vehicles, with sales at auto dealerships rebounding 0.7 percent after declining 1.9 percent in January. Households also spent more at service stations, likely reflecting higher gasoline prices.
Online and mail-order retail sales rose 0.9 percent. Sales at restaurants and bars edged up 0.1 percent and spending at hobby, musical instrument and book stores increased 0.5 percent.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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FILE PHOTO: People shop at Macy’s Department store in New York City, U.S., March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
April 1, 2019
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February, the latest sign economic growth has shifted into low gear as stimulus from $1.5 trillion in tax cuts and increased government spending fades.
The Commerce Department said on Monday retail sales dropped 0.2 percent as households cut back on purchases of furniture, clothing, food and electronics and appliances, as well as building materials and gardening equipment. Data for January was revised higher to show retail sales increasing 0.7 percent instead of gaining 0.2 percent as previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales rising 0.3 percent in February. Retail sales in February advanced 2.2 percent from a year ago.
The surprise drop in sales in February could partly reflect delays in processing tax refunds in the middle of the month. Tax refunds have also been smaller on average compared to prior years following the revamping of the tax code in January 2018. Cold and wet weather could also have hurt sales.
The February retail sales report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government that ended on Jan. 25. March’s retail sales report, which was scheduled for publication on April 16, will be released on April 18.
Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales fell 0.2 percent in February after an upwardly revised 1.7 percent surge in January. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product.
They were previously reported to have rebounded 1.1 percent in January. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity.
The sharp upward revision to core retail sales in January was insufficient to reverse December’s plunge, leaving expectations for tepid GDP growth in the first quarter intact. The report joined a raft of other data, including housing starts and manufacturing production.
Growth estimates for the January-March quarter are as low as a 0.8 percent annualized rate. The economy grew at a 2.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter after expanding at a 3.4 percent clip in the July-September period.
The loss of momentum is being driven by the waning fiscal boost, higher interest rates, as well as slowing global growth, Washington’s trade war with China and uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union.
In February, sales at building materials and garden equipment and supplies dealers tumbled 4.4 percent, the biggest drop since April 2012. Receipts at clothing stores fell 0.4 percent and those at furniture outlets dropped 0.5 percent.
Sales at food and beverage stores declined 1.2 percent, the biggest drop since February 2009. Receipts at electronics and appliances stores fell 1.3 percent, the largest decline since May 2017.
But consumers bought more motor vehicles and spent more at service stations, likely reflecting higher gasoline prices.
Online and mail-order retail sales rose 0.9 percent. Sales at restaurants and bars edged up 0.1 percent and spending at hobby, musical instrument and book stores increased 0.5 percent.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) ((Lucia.Mutikani@thomsonreuters.com; 1 202 898 8315; Reuters Messaging: lucia.mutikani.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
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FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo
April 1, 2019
By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh
(Reuters) – European shares were on course for their biggest daily gain in eight weeks on Monday, as a surprise recovery in China’s factory data and signs of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks boosted investor sentiment on the first trading day of second quarter.
Following the best quarterly performance in four years, the pan-European index climbed 0.9 percent at 0922 GMT, with all major sectors higher.
While gains spread across all regional bourses, Germany’s trade-sensitive DAX outperformed with its 1.3 percent rise, helped by 3 percent jump in auto stocks which were set for their best daily surge since Jan. 4.
Peugeot SA rose about 3 percent while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gained 1.6 percent on a report that the two companies are exploring a partnership to share investments to build cars in Europe.
European chip stocks were another bright spot after better-than-expected results from Apple-supplier Foxconn Industrial.
Shares in Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Infineon Technologies, Ams AG and Siltronic AG and STMicroelectronics N.V. rose between 3 percent and 5 percent.
The upbeat mood spilled over from Asian markets, after both official and private surveys showed factory activity in China unexpectedly grew for the first time in four months in March.
China’s economic data comes on the heels of fresh concerns over a slowing world economy that resurfaced last month after the U.S. Federal Reserve abruptly ended its plans for policy tightening this year and signals from the bond market of an imminent recession.
“The economic growth in China will strengthen from here and that is the strongest signal which is driving the markets today,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at TF Global Markets (UK) Ltd in London.
In contrast, markets seemed to shrug off a survey that found factories in the euro zone had their worst month in March for almost six years. Another survey showed Germany’s Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to an 80-month low reading of 44.1.
“The German number is nothing short of a disaster. We are talking of recession territory over here and this is a huge concern for the European Central Bank. But for the markets today, the focus is on China and the optimism around it,” Aslam said.
Adding to the buoyant mood, China said over the weekend that it would continue to suspend additional tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts after April 1, the latest sign of optimism as the world’s two largest economies work out a deal to end their trade dispute.
Swiss logistics group Panalpina jumped 14 percent on bowing to an increased 4.6 billion Swiss francs ($4.6 billion) bid from Danish rival DSV, ending a more than two-month takeover battle designed to build scale in the consolidating transport sector.
EasyJet slipped 7 percent, among the biggest decliners on the STOXX, after the British low-cost airline warned that demand and pricing were suffering from Brexit jitters and a weaker economic outlook.
Ryanair Holdings also shed over 3 percent.
London’s FTSE 100 and the Dublin bourse, often seen as a barometer for Brexit sentiment, rose 0.7 percent each.
Britain’s exit from the European Union was in disarray after a third defeat of Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal left her under pressure from rival factions to leave without a deal, go for an election or forge a much softer divorce.
Parliament will vote on different Brexit options on Monday and then May could try to bring her deal back to a vote in parliament one more time, possibly as early as Tuesday.
Goldman Sachs says the balance of risks around Brexit outcomes is tilted toward a softer, longer departure from the European Union, after a May’s withdrawal agreement was rejected for a third time.
(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Graff and Jon Boyle)
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U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
March 31, 2019
By Julia Harte and Tim Reid
WASHINGTON/EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) – The U.S. government cut aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras on Saturday after President Donald Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States and threatened to shutter the U.S.-Mexico border.
A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across the southern border in recent days. On Friday, Trump accused the nations of having “set up” migrant caravans and sent them north.
Trump said there was a “very good likelihood” he would close the border this week if Mexico did not stop immigrants from reaching the United States. Frequent crossers of the border, including workers and students, worried about the disruption to their lives the president’s threatened shutdown could cause.
At a rally on the border in El Paso, Texas, Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke denounced Trump’s immigration policies as the politics of “fear and division.”
A State Department spokesman said in a statement it was carrying out Trump’s directive by ending aid programs to the three Central American nations, known as the Northern Triangle.
The department said it would “engage Congress in the process,” an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers’ approval to end funding that a Congressional aide estimated would total about $700 million.
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump’s order a “reckless announcement” and urged Democrats and Republicans alike to reject it.
Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday that the United States was paying the three countries “tremendous amounts of money,” but received nothing in return.
Mario Garcia, a 45-year-old bricklayer in El Salvador, said he was setting off for the United States regardless of the president’s threat to close the frontier.
“There is no work here and we want to improve (our lives), to get ahead for our families, for our children. I don’t give a damn (what Trump says), I’m determined,” Garcia said.
Garcia was one of a group of at least 90 people who left the capital San Salvador over the weekend on buses heading north, in what locals said was the tenth so-called caravan to depart for the United States since October.
The government of El Salvador has said it has tried to stem the flow of migrants.
Trump, who launched his presidential campaign in 2015 with a promise to build a border wall and crack down on illegal immigration, has repeatedly threatened to close the frontier during his two years in office but has not followed through.
This time, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other U.S. officials say border patrol officers have been overwhelmed by a sharp increase asylum seekers, many of them children and families who arrive in groups, fleeing violence and economic hardship in the Northern Triangle.
March is on track for 100,000 border apprehensions, Homeland Security officials said, which would be the highest monthly number in more than a decade. Most of those people can remain in the United States while their asylum claims are processed, which can take years because of ballooning immigration court backlogs.
Nielsen warned Congress on Thursday that the government faces a “system-wide meltdown” as it tries to care for more than 1,200 unaccompanied children and 6,600 migrant families in its custody.
Trump has so far been unable to convince Congress to tighten asylum laws or fund his border wall. He has declared a national emergency to justify redirecting money earmarked for the military to pay for the wall.
Mexico has played down the possibility of a border shutdown. Its foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said the country is a good neighbor and does not act on the basis of threats.
It was not clear how shutting down ports of entry would deter asylum seekers because they are legally able to request help as soon as they set foot on U.S. soil.
But a border shutdown would disrupt tourism and U.S.-Mexico trade that totaled $612 billion last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A shutdown could lead to factory closures on both sides of the border, industry officials say, because the automobiles and medical sectors especially have woven international supply chains into their business models.
(Reporting by Julia Harte and Richard Cowan in Washington, and Tim Reid in El Paso; Additional reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez, Julia Love in Mexico City, Omar Younis in San Diego, and Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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FILE PHOTO: Fiat Chrysler assembly workers work on a partially assembled minivan at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, February 9, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
March 28, 2019
(Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Thursday it will eliminate one shift at its Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant where it builds minivans, resulting in the loss of 1,500 jobs.
The Italian-American automaker said in a statement the elimination of a shift, which will take effect on Sept. 30, was to address slowing global demand. The company said it would offer retirement packages to eligible employees and attempt to place indefinitely laid off hourly employees in open full-time positions. Earlier this week, Canadian media outlets reported Fiat Chrysler would idle the plant for two weeks in April, the third time this year the plant has been temporarily closed.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Staff
March 28, 2019
By Agamoni Ghosh
(Reuters) – European shares rose on Thursday as signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks helped investors look past worries over global growth and Britain’s chaotic effort to leave the European Union.
The pan-region STOXX 600 index rose 0.2 percent with Frankfurt’s trade-sensitive index climbing about 0.4 percent.
China has made unprecedented proposals on issues like forced technology transfers as it works with the United States to end their trade war, U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. In addition, Premier Li Keqiang said China would expand market access for foreign banks and insurance companies.
Basic resources led gains on the STOXX, but banking stocks fell as bond yields, and what they say about expectations for global growth, continued to decline.
“European stocks are slightly higher. It seems almost a battle of ideas,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist, eurozone at Rabobank in Utrecht. “In the background you have Brexit and not less important are trade talks between China and the U.S. and the slowdown in China.”
Britain’s exporter-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent as sterling weakened after Prime Minister Theresa May failed to sway hard-line opponents of her proposed Brexit agreement, leaving the process deadlocked.
“In general, markets still assume that a Brexit deal will take place or you will get a prolonged delay. The ‘no deal’ is not completely ruled out, but it’s certainly not the basic scenario for market participants,” said Mevissen.
Efforts to persuade lawmakers to back May’s deal will continue on Thursday, but it remains uncertain how, when or even if Britain will leave the EU.
In the euro zone, German biotech company Evotec lead gains on the STOXX, rising 4.5 percent after its results beat expectations. Tobacco stocks Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco gained about 2 percent after Citi upgraded each to “buy”.
Car makers extended gains from Wednesday but Fiat Chrysler Automobiles slid 1 percent after Nissan Motor Co’s chief executive said he was unaware of discussions about its French partner Renault SA making a bid for the company.
Adding to its woes, the Italian carmaker’s German rival Volkswagen said it was not interested in a partnership with the company.
Shares of 1&1 Drillisch, a unit of United Internet, fell 12 percent after the telecom service provider issued a disappointing profit outlook.
Debenhams dropped 23 percent after the retailer said its bondholders agreed to change the terms of some of their bonds, a move that could end a bid from Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct and wipe out shareholders.
(Reporting by Agamoni Ghosh and Medha Singh, editing by Larry King)
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FILE PHOTO: Nissan Motor Co Ltd Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa speaks at a news conference in Yokohama, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 12, 2019. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
March 28, 2019
TOKYO (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co CEO Hiroto Saikawa said on Thursday he was not aware of discussions about the possibility that its French partner Renault SA was considering a bid for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
When asked by reporters whether he had heard about the talks, cited in a media report the previous day, Saikawa responded: “Not at all”.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Renault intends to restart merger talks with Nissan within 12 months, after which it would set its sights on a bid to buy Fiat Chrysler.
Saikawa also said that the company would “seriously consider” recommendations by an external committee on how to improve Nissan’s governance, after the group announced the findings of its investigation of the company.
(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Writing by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
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