FILE PHOTO: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) headquarters are seen in Turin, Italy, July 21, 2018. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
(Reuters) - Italian carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) has agreed to pay electric carmaker Tesla Inc hundreds of millions of euros so that the vehicles of Tesla are counted in its fleet to avoid fines for violating new European Union emission rules, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The step will let the Italian carmaker offset carbon dioxide emissions from its cars against Tesla’s, by bringing down its average figure to a permissible level, the FT said.
The report did not mention further financial details of the specific amount that Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay Tesla.
The Italian carmaker formed an open pool with Tesla on Feb. 25, the report added, citing a declaration with the European Commission.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Fiat Chrysler did not directly address the amount that it would pay but added it would “optimize the options for compliance that the regulations offer.”
“FCA is committed to reducing the emissions of all our products...The purchase pool provides flexibility to deliver products our customers are willing to buy while managing compliance with the lowest cost approach,” FCA added in a statement.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong/Mark Heinrich
TOKYO (Reuters) - The wife of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has left Japan and flown to Paris to appeal to the French government to do more to help him, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn accompanied by his wife Carole Ghosn, arrives at his place of residence in Tokyo, Japan, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Japanese prosecutors arrested Ghosn for a fourth time on Thursday on suspicion he had tried to enrich himself at the automaker’s expense, in another dramatic twist that his lawyers said was an attempt to muzzle him.
“I think the French government should do more for him. I don’t think he’s had enough support and he’s calling for assistance. As a French citizen, it should be a right”, Carole Ghosn told the FT in an interview before boarding a flight out of Japan late on Friday.
She said her husband’s previous 108-day imprisonment had left him “a different person” and that normal life under bail conditions had been impossible.
“You could see the fear in his eyes,” as rumors of his rearrest spread last week, she was quoted as saying.
Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, has denied charges against him and called on the French government for help.
Tokyo prosecutors, Ghosn’s lawyer and his spokesperson were not immediately available for comment.
Public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday that prosecutors suspected Ghosn siphoned off part of the payments through a company where his wife is an executive to purchase a yacht and a boat.
The prosecutors asked her to meet them for voluntary questioning as an unsworn witness, but the request was turned down, which prompted them to ask judges to question her on their behalf, the broadcaster said.
Such a request gives judges the power to question on a mandatory basis witnesses who refuse to testify, according to NHK.
Ghosn’s lead lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, said on Thursday prosecutors confiscated Ghosn’s mobile phone, documents, notebooks and diaries, along with his wife’s passport and mobile phone.
The FT said prosecutors had confiscated his wife’s Lebanese passport in a dawn raid on their apartment in central Tokyo on Thursday morning, but did not discover her U.S. passport.
“I’m all alone here. It’s traumatizing what happened,” she was quoted as saying while awaiting her flight. “If my husband is in detention and I’m here, I won’t be useful. I’m going to France . . . and be more useful where I can be.”
Under Japanese law, prosecutors will be able to hold Ghosn for up to 22 days without charging him. The fresh arrest opens up the possibility that he will be interrogated again without his lawyer present, as is the norm in Japan.
The additional charge would likely prolong Ghosn’s trial, which is expected to begin later this year, his lawyer has said, adding that loss of access to Ghosn’s trial-related documents could put his client at a disadvantage in fighting his case.
Ghosn faces charges of financial misconduct and aggravated breach of trust over allegedly failing to report around $82 million in salary and temporarily transferring personal financial losses onto Nissan’s books during the financial crisis.
Released on $9 million bail on March 6, the executive says he is the victim of a boardroom coup.
The scandal has rocked the global auto industry and shined a harsh light on Japan’s judicial system.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill
Project Reo Collective is a coffee shop in San Diego's Paradise Hills neighborhood that had trouble getting a bank loan to expand after a year of operation.
Claire Trageser/KPBS
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Claire Trageser/KPBS
It's not uncommon for people who want to start businesses in lower-income neighborhoods to have trouble getting bank loans. But increasingly, there are investors looking specifically to help businesses in those areas, with the aim of reversing the cycle of disinvestment.
"There's always reasons to say no to a borrower. We are looking for reasons to say yes," says Lauren Grattan, a founder of the San Diego-based investment company Mission Driven Finance. She explained that her company doesn't look at personal credit scores. "We instead look at the validity of the business and how well can you repay from the business earnings."
Her company's goal is to fill the gap between more traditional profit-motivated investing and philanthropy that focuses on economic development.
One business that could have used help like this is Project Reo Collective, a coffee shop in Paradise Hills, a lower-income neighborhood of San Diego.
The coffee shop is situated in a small strip mall near a Mexican restaurant and a cell phone store. On most days, the cafe is filled with people working on laptops or hanging out while drinking Mexican mochas or lavender lemonades.
Two specialties of the Project Reo Collective coffee shop are its lavender lemonade and Mexican mocha.
Claire Trageser/KPBS
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Claire Trageser/KPBS
"Project Reo Collective started out as five families who got together ... cleaning up the neighborhood here," says Tommy Walker, one of the owners. "A lot of people in the neighborhood said, 'We wish we had somewhere to hang out, somewhere we grab a cup of coffee, meet our neighbors, do some homework or study.' "
Walker says that after a successful first year, he went to a bank asking to borrow $4,000 for an espresso machine. But, he didn't have any luck.
"They said, 'No, you guys don't qualify because you haven't been around long enough,' " he says.
A problem of disinvestment
Having trouble getting a small-business loan like this is typical, according to data compiled by the nonprofit Woodstock Institute in a report titled "Patterns of Disparity." It shows that between 2012 and 2016, only about one in five businesses in low-income areas across the United States received bank loans or even business credit cards. That's compared with almost three in five businesses in higher-income areas.
"You have a cycle that kind of perpetuates that neighborhood being less friendly to business," says Spencer Cowan, the researcher who compiled the data. "Businesses don't get started. So employment stays depressed. The job opportunities aren't there in the neighborhood. Businesses that are there don't expand."
He says it can also drive businesses to predatory lending.
That's what happened to Natalie Gill. After running her flower-arranging business out of her home, she wanted to expand to a flower shop and cafe called Native Poppy.
"I had two years of experience with profit, but I got rejected for every loan I tried for," she says.
A normal small-business loan has 5 to 10 percent interest, but she took a loan from an online company. "It was at 18 percent interest, and I had to pay it within three years, which was a risk I was willing to take because I had no other options," she says.
Bank investment vs. community investment
Banks are restricted in whom they can choose for loans, says Carty Davis, an investment banker with C Squared Advisors.
"A bank can't just say, 'I really like this person. I'm going to take a flier on them because I know they're going to be successful,' " he says. "They have a good business plan, but if they don't have equity to put into the deal or cash to put into the deal, it's going to be very difficult to get a loan approved."
Davis says banks have certain criteria that must be met, such as a good credit history. He suggests that if potential borrowers don't have that, they can go to the federal Small Business Administration.
But here's the issue for lower-income communities: Those loans still require big cash down payments or home equity, which business owners may not have.
There are alternative ways of getting financing, such as from a company like Mission Driven Finance. In addition to investing in small community businesses, Mission Driven Finance also helps people looking for small-business loans better understand the technicalities of borrowing money to open or expand businesses.
The point, founder Lauren Grattan says, is to invest in neighborhoods that really need it. Because when businesses succeed, they hire locally and the entire community reaps the benefits.
Lauren Sanchez, who was reported to be having an affair with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, filed for divorce Friday, just a day after Bezos and his wife finalized their divorce.
The Los Angeles-based news anchor, 49, and her husband of 14 years, Patrick Whitesell, both filled out the paperwork. The pair will be seeking joint custody of their two children, who are 13 and 11. Sanchez also has an 18-year-old son with former NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez.
The pair confirmed that they had already separated at the time the affair between Sanchez and Bezos took place.
MacKenzie Bezos announced she had finalized her divorce from her husband Thursday, tweeting out a statement saying Jeff Bezos keeps 75% of the company's shares and full control of the Washington Post.
In January, the National Enquirer informed the Amazon CEO of an impending expose of intimate text messages he exchanged with Sanchez.
“I love you, alive girl. I will show you with my body, and my lips and my eyes, very soon," he said in one text from April 2018. A month later, he wrote: “I want to smell you, I want to breathe you in. I want to hold you tight .… I want to kiss your lips …. I love you. I am in love with you.”
Shoppers are slamming Amazon's Prime member discounts at Whole Foods.Business Insider/Hayley Peterson
Some Whole Foods shoppers say they aren't saving any money with Amazon's Prime member discounts.
"There is no benefit whatsoever," said Claudia Cukrov, an Amazon Prime member who shops at a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York, on a near daily basis.
Spencer Somers said he has stopped scanning his Amazon Prime member code at Whole Foods. "I was scanning it every time, but it wasn’t worth the under $1 savings," he told Business Insider.
Amazon said response to the Prime member discounts has been positive, and that members have saved $100 million at Whole Foods since last summer.
Amazon announced this week that it would slash prices by 20% on hundreds of items and double the number of Prime-member deals available to Whole Foods shoppers.
Some Whole Foods shoppers say Amazon's Prime member discounts are worthless, with customers claiming to save close to nothing on hundreds of dollars of purchases.
"There is no benefit whatsoever," said Claudia Cukrov, an Amazon Prime member who shops at a Whole Foods store in Brooklyn, New York, on a near daily basis.
She said her Amazon Prime member code, which she scans with every Whole Foods purchase, has never saved her any money. She accused Amazon of using the codes to collect data on what she buys, without offering any value in return.
"They are building a full consumer profile on us in the guise of a discount," she told Business Insider.
Amazon rolled out Prime member discounts in Whole Foods stores nationwide last year, about 10 months after completing its $13.7 billion acquisition of the grocery chain in 2017. The discounts consist of weekly rotating specials on a handful of products, as well as an extra 10% off sale items.
Spencer Somers said he was excited when he found out about the new Whole Foods discounts last year. But nearly a year later, he has stopped scanning his Amazon Prime member code at the checkout of the Los Angeles Whole Foods store where he spends upwards of $100 every week.
"I was scanning it every time, but it wasn’t worth the under $1 savings," he told Business Insider. "I know how data collection works. They want to look at my receipt and all the stuff I bought, so if that’s not worth a good amount of savings, then it's not worth me giving to them."
The concerns of Cukrov and Somers are echoed by dozens of complaints on social media.
Ay yo @amazon that Whole Foods “discount” is TRASH!!! It’s a joke, it’s beyond terrible, c’mon now ya’ll!! 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
In a statement to Business Insider, Amazon said shoppers' response to the Prime member discounts has been positive.
"Our Prime customers tell us they love the Prime member discounts at Whole Foods Market. In fact, Prime members have adopted the Whole Foods Market benefit at one of the fastest rates we’ve seen," an Amazon spokesperson said. "Since introducing Prime member discounts last summer, Prime members have already saved more than $100 million shopping at Whole Foods Market. And we expect Prime customers will save even more over the next few months."
Amazon announced this week that it would slash prices by 20% on hundreds of items and double the number of Prime-member deals available to Whole Foods shoppers.
Customers should expect more than 300 Prime-member deals in stores over the next few months, such as a 40% discount on asparagus and strawberries and a 35% discount on all Justin's branded products, the company said.
Whole Foods shared the news with shoppers in an email sent Thursday with the subject line: "Prime Members: You Asked For More Deals."
"Weekly deals for Prime members are growing. As in multiplying. As in more big savings across the entire store. Turn down almost any aisle and — boom — you'll find a way to save," the email stated.
It remains to be seen whether the deals will win back customers who have already stopped scanning the Prime member codes.
"So far I've only gotten a discount on one item I purchased," said Jean-Michel Boudreault, who said he shops at Whole Foods twice weekly in New York City. "It almost seems like a waste of time to pull up the barcode and show it to the cashier each time I shop there."
Here's what shoppers are saying on social media.
They need to do better. My Prime discount was $2.21 on a $252 shop.
Amazon is struggling to convince Prime members to go to Whole Foods. So it's slashing prices - CNN https://t.co/uKe1wez1Qv
One minute you're cool and the next minute you find yourself critiquing grocery shopping experiences and how the Amazon Prime discount doesn't really save you any money at Whole Foods.
Gotten tell you @WholeFoods and @amazon, the #amazonPrime discount at the brick and mortar stores is a case of much ado about nothing. Such a big deal for reliably miniscule savings. Not really worth it.
The "dream" of all these Amazon Prime members now going to Whole Foods or signing up for Prime because of Whole Foods, isn't panning out. You know why? Because there's virtually NO discount with the Prime. I don't even scan mine in anymore. I save like $0.40 on grapes. That's it. https://t.co/FpaRyeZdFn
Anyone else tracking what they have saved with their Whole Foods Amazon Prime discount? Yesterday I bought $70 and got a whopping $0.70 savings. The app continues to be a joke. $AMZN
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Amazon’s acquisition of Eero in February signified another big smart home entry by the online retailer following voice assistants and other connected devices. However, consumers decried the lost of another independent hardware brand. A new report today reveals that Amazon bought Eero in a fire sale, and that Google and Nest posed serious competition.
The acquisition price was never publicly revealed by Amazon or Eero, but Mashable this afternoon reported that it was to the tune of $97 million. The Verge has since confirmed that figure, which is lower than the $148 million that Eero raised in funding from investors.
Ex-Eero employees in today’s report considered Google Wifi to be the “biggest challenge.” The competing mesh networking solution from Made by Google had — and continues to — undercut Eero on price.
Compared to Eero, Made by Google created a single piece of hardware and did not make a distinction between hubs and beacons that are designed to expand existing systems. While Eero has since cut prices, with Amazon like to do the same, $299 still only gets buyers one eero and eero Beacon.
Meanwhile, the Mashable report reveals how Eero tried to “remain a step ahead and diversify” its product lineup. The company was working on a smart home security system called Hive, but the Nest Secure was unveiled in September 2017. The competing project was soon abandoned, with Eero then proceeding to cut staff in 2018.
Both pieces are an interesting look at how hardware is a difficult market, with the Wi-Fi maker at the time of purchase having debt related to manufacturing costs. As a result of paying off $40 million in debt and other transaction costs, the actual sale price is reportedly closer to $54.6 million.
