Tesla to build first European factory in Berlin - BBC News

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Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, has said Berlin will be the site of its first European factory as the carmaker's expansion plans power ahead.

Mr Musk said the firm would also build an engineering and design centre in the German capital.

Tesla previously said it aimed to start production in Europe in 2021.

The moves come as the firm, which has also invested heavily in a Chinese factory, faces intensifying competition in the electric vehicle industry.

Mr Musk made the announcement at an awards ceremony in Germany on Tuesday.

"Everyone knows that German engineering is outstanding and that's part of the reason we are locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany," he said.

Mr Musk said the facility would be located near the new Berlin airport and later gave more details on what the factory would produce on Twitter.

The focus on Germany comes amid rising appetite for electric cars in Europe.

Over the coming years, the biggest electric car production plants will be in Germany, France, Spain and Italy, industry analysis showed.

Some 16 large-scale lithium-ion battery cell plants are confirmed or due to begin operations in Europe by 2023.

China push

Tesla's European plan comes as the carmaker also moves ahead with a $2bn (£1.6bn) factory in Shanghai.

The firm is looking to ramp up production in China, the world's biggest car market, where sales have been hurt by tariffs triggered by the US-China trade war.

The Shanghai facility will produce Model 3 and Model Y cars. The automaker reportedly showed off its new China-made vehicles to local media this week.

Still, Tesla has struggled with years of losses, fuelling investor doubts and casting a shadow over its shares in recent years.

The firm has yet to turn an annual profit, although it recorded positive results in the final two quarters of 2018.

Last year, Tesla took aggressive steps to slash expense, cutting thousands of jobs and reining in other spending.

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2019-11-13 03:51:17Z
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S&P 500 climbs above key 3,100 level as Wall Street marks records ahead of Trump speech - MarketWatch

U.S. stocks drifted higher on Tuesday as investors reacted to reports that President Donald Trump would announce the delay of new auto tariffs on Europe during an anticipated speech scheduled to begin at noon in New York.

How are major benchmarks performing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.10% rose 66 points, or 0.2%, at 27,756, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.24% advanced 15 points at 3,102, a gain of 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.37% added 46 points, or 0.5%, at 8,509.

All three benchmarks were trading above their previous record closing levels, with the Dow and S&P 500 carving out fresh intraday records as well.

On Monday, the Dow finished up around 10 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27,691.49, the S&P 500 index declined 6 points, or 0.2%, to 3,087.01, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 11 points, or 0.1%, to 8,464.27.

What’s driving the market?

Markets have been keenly focused on trade negotiations between the U.S. and two of its major counterparts, Europe and China.

President Donald Trump is expected to put off for another six months a decision on whether to place tariffs of up to 25% on European auto imports. The president may also provide updates on negotiations between Beijing and Washington when he delivers a speech at the Economic Club of New York at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.

“The White House has until tomorrow to make its call, and there is talk the decision will be pushed back,” wrote David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, in a daily research note, referring to the decision on European auto imports. “Traders are cautiously optimistic, hence stocks are higher this morning.”

Comments on trade will be closely watched after Trump, over the weekend, said discussions with China and the U.S. were going “very nicely,” but cautioned that recent reports about an agreement to roll back tariffs, as a part of a preliminary trade resolution, weren’t accurate.

“During the past couple of trading sessions, fear has creeped in that phase one of the U.S.-China trade talks seems to be delayed if not in danger of not coming to fruition,” Kristina Hooper, chief global markets strategist at Invesco told MarketWatch.

“Now there are concerns that he might go ahead and raise tariffs next month,” on China, she added. “Markets want to hear that that’s not the case and they want to hear that progress is being made on phase one.”

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida theorized about global bond yields remaining around historically lower levels "that are substantially lower than the precrisis experience, and thus substantially closer to the effective lower bound for the policy rate than they were before the crisis,” in prepared remarks at a policy conference in Zurich.

The Fed No. 2’s comments speak to challenges that the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee faces in the coming months as it weigh attempts to stave of a recession, with federal-fund rates at a 1.50%-1.75% range after three straight cuts by policy makers in as many meetings.

Clarida’s remarks also come a day before Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is slated to speak and take questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Check out: Need to Know: Political headlines keeping you up? Focus on the data, says UBS portfolio manager

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares of Dow component Walt Disney Co. DIS, +1.44%  rose 1.5% Tuesday, on the day of the debut of Disney+, the company’s new subscription video streaming product, despite reports of some access problems being experienced by users.

Tyson Foods Inc. TSN, +6.21% stock rose 4.9% Tuesday, even after the meat producer reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales that missed estimates.

Dean Foods Co. DF, +2.29% has voluntarily filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, with the dairy company saying it was working toward an “orderly” sale of the company. Trade in the stock was halted, but had fallen 79% year-to-date.

CBS Corp. CBS, -2.97%  shares fell 3% Tuesday morning after the media company reported third-quarter profits that beat Wall Street forecasts, but revenue that fell short of estimates.

Shares of Advance Auto Parts Inc. AAP, -8.06%  fell 8.3% after the automotive-products retailer reported third-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations but same-store sales that missed.

D.R. Horton Inc.’s DHI, +0.87%  stock rallied 2.3% Tuesday after the home builder reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales and earnings that beat estimates and provided an optimistic outlook for 2020 revenue.

How are other assets trading?

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.08% fell slightly to 1.939%. Bond markets were closed Monday in observance of Veterans Day.

December gold GCZ19, -0.17%  on Comex fell $3.20, or 0.2%, to $1,454 an ounce, hanging around a three-month low, according to FactSet data.

West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery CLZ19, +0.16%  popped 0.7% higher to $57.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after shedding 0.7% on Monday.

The ICE U.S. dollar index DXY, +0.08%, a gauge of the greenback’s performance against six major rivals, was up 0.1%, recovering some its losses from a day ago.

In Asia overnight, the China CSI 300 000300, +0.02%  gained less than 0.1%, and the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.17%  rose 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.52%  added, despite fresh protests flare-ups, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index NIK, +0.81% advanced 0.8%.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600’s SXXP, +0.38% gained 0.4%

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2019-11-12 15:58:00Z
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Dean Foods files for bankruptcy, in talks to sell substantially all of its assets - MarketWatch

Dean Foods Co. DF, +2.29% has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, with the dairy company saying it was working toward an "orderly" sale of the company. The company, which brands include DairyPure, Land O Lakes and Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, said it has secured commitments for $850 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to support its operations during the process. The company said it has been in advanced discussions with the Dairy Farmers of America Inc. regarding the potential sales of substantially all of its assets. "The actions we are announcing today are designed to enable us to continue serving our customers and operating as normal as we work toward the sale of our business," said Chief Executive Eric Beringause. "Despite our best efforts to make our business more agile and cost-efficient, we continue to be impacted by a challenging operating environment marked by continuing declines in consumer milk consumption." The stock, which was halted for news, had closed Monday at 80 cents. It had plunged 79% year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.20% has climbed 23%.

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2019-11-12 12:15:00Z
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Europe stocks inch higher before key Trump speech on China - MarketWatch

European stocks edged higher on Tuesday ahead of a critical speech on China trade relations from President Donald Trump, supported by generally well-received earnings.

The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.22%, which finished Monday only 2% below its record close, increased 0.12% to 405.81.

The German DAX DAX, +0.55%  increased 0.29% to 13236.76, the French CAC 40 PX1, +0.23%  gained 0.15% to 5902.52 and the U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, +0.36%  rose 0.28% to 7349.30.

Trump at 12 p.m. Eastern is due to deliver a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “Whatever the tone of the remarks, the effect on markets is likely to be short term. We are just a tweet away from a policy change, and the next communication on trade could reverse market assumptions,” said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Vodafone Group VOD, +2.85% VOD, -0.68%  rose 1% as the U.K.-based mobile-phone operator lifted its guidance for fiscal 2020 adjusted earnings to imply 2% to 3% organic growth. Its first-half organic adjusted Ebitda rose 1.4% on 0.3% growth in service revenue, helped by gains in South Africa, Spain and Italy.

Infineon Technologies IFX, +6.94%  climbed 5% as the German chip maker reported better fourth-quarter revenue and operating profit than forecast, helped by its unit that produces chips for smartphones. Infineon’s outlook implies strong sales growth in the second half of its fiscal year, according to Gianmarco Bonacina, an analyst at Equita, the Italian broker.

B&M European Value Retail BME, -5.21%  tumbled 7.3%. The discount retailer experienced a worse than expected 2.8% decline in adjusted pretax profit as the company reported “continued disappointing financial performance in Germany” and slowing same-store sales growth at its U.K. stores.

Electrocomponents ECM, -11.10%  shares slumped 13.6% as the distributor of industrial and electronics products said the second half started with “modest growth” with “ongoing softness in electronics.”

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2019-11-12 10:00:00Z
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Chinese tech will face tough US restrictions regardless of any trade deal, economist says - CNBC

Huawei and other Chinese tech companies will be subject to tough restrictions from the United States irrespective of any future trade deal, an economist told CNBC Tuesday.

The two largest economies in the world have been at odds over their trade links for about 18 months. Their tit-for-tat tariff dispute escalated in May, when the U.S. took steps to ban Huawei from selling its technology in the U.S. market.

"Even with a phase one trade deal or even a complete trade deal, our conviction is that tougher restrictions from the U.S. on technology will continue," Tao Wang, chief China economist at UBS, told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche.

Speaking at the UBS European Conference, Wang said that the U.S. decision to ban Huawei was a "catalyst to show that actually the dispute on the trade front has spread to other areas, like technology."

In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the U.S. telecoms sector was experiencing a "national emergency." "Foreign adversaries are increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology and services," Trump said in the order.

According to Wang, the national security argument makes it more difficult for the U.S. to change its position on Chinese tech.

"Once you mention that, I think it's very difficult for any politician to say 'I don't care about national security.' It is going to be difficult to actually reverse," she said.

Last month, Trump said that the U.S. and China have put together a "very substantial phase one deal" and that "phase two will start almost immediately" after the first part is signed. According to the U.S. president, the first part of the deal is about "60%" of the full agreement. For now, there is no scheduled date nor place for the first signing between China and the U.S.

China could grow 5.7% in 2020

According to UBS, China is set to grow at a pace of 5.7% in 2020, after the U.S. administration decided in October not to implement more tariff increases on Chinese goods. The bank's forecast assumes there won't be an escalation in trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

At the same time, UBS has also noted that the several increases in tariffs throughout 2019 have impacted investment into the Chinese corporate and manufacturing sectors. Property starts and investment are also likely to weaken modestly in 2020 as a result of trade uncertainty, it said.

Wang told CNBC that overall the Chinese growth rate in 2020 will depend on the trade war. She said that if the latest round of potential duties were removed, alongside the September tariffs, "China has a pretty decent chance of getting to 6% (GDP in 2020)."

LIANYUNGANG, CHINA - NOVEMBER 09: Cars sit parked before shipping aboard at a port on November 9, 2019 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province of China.

VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images

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2019-11-12 09:56:00Z
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US futures point to slightly mixed open - CNBC

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Tuesday morning.

Around 5:40 a.m. ET, Dow futures indicated a positive open of about 15 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.

Market players remain focused on China-U.S. trade news, amid some concerns regarding plans to sign a trade deal in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump said Friday that he had not agreed to scrap tariffs on Chinese goods. His comments followed news earlier last week, from the Chinese commerce ministry saying that both sides had agreed to cancel existing tariffs in phases.

On Tuesday, President Trump will be speaking at the Economic Club of New York where he could give clues the status of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

Instability in Hong Kong is also on investors' radar. Hong Kong's main index, the Hang Seng, rose fractionally Tuesday. This, after dropping 2.5% on Monday amid further protests.

On the data front, the calendar is thin, with only the National Federation of Independent Business small business optimism survey due at 6 a.m. ET.

In corporate news, CBS, Nissan, Datadog, and DR Horton are reporting Tuesday.

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2019-11-12 06:38:00Z
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Explainer: What a roll-back of Trump tariffs on Chinese goods may look like - Reuters

(Reuters) - The latest bargaining chip in U.S.-China negotiations to cool a 16-month-old trade war is whether President Donald Trump would roll back tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports, and how soon.

FILE PHOTO: A 100 yuan banknote (R) is placed next to a $100 banknote in this picture illustration taken in Beijing November 7, 2010. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/File Photo

The Trump administration began imposing the tariffs in July 2018 on industrial components and technology goods from China. After Beijing retaliated with higher duties on U.S. farm goods, Trump struck back with more tariffs - many already enacted, some still threatened - under which the vast majority of Chinese imports could be affected by the end of 2019.

As U.S. and Chinese negotiators close in on a “phase one” trade deal, expectations are rising that at least some of these tariffs will be removed.

China’s Commerce Ministry and a U.S. official said on Nov. 7 that a deal would include tariff rollbacks, but Trump undercut the idea after pushback from China hawks in his administration, saying he has not decided to do so.

Following is a look at current and planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, listed in reverse chronological order. Trade experts say the most recent tariffs would be the likeliest to be removed.

DEC. 15 TARIFFS, $156 BILLION "LIST 4B" here

The United States is scheduled to levy 15% tariffs on about $156 billion of Chinese products on Dec. 15, including cellphones, laptop computers, toys and clothing - known as “List 4B.”

People briefed on the trade talks say the United States has effectively agreed not to proceed with this round of tariffs as part of the phase one trade deal. A U.S. official has said the fate of these tariffs would be considered as part of the final negotiation over the deal’s text.

CANCELED OCT. 15 RATE INCREASE

After an early October round of talks led to a White House handshake on the interim deal with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, Trump decided not to proceed with an Oct. 15 increase on tariffs on about $250 billion worth of Chinese goods to 30% from the 25% rate already imposed.

If talks to complete the text for the phase one trade deal collapse, Trump could move to reimpose this increase. Affected goods range widely from industrial components and semiconductors to furniture and building materials.

SEPT. 1 TARIFFS: $125 BILLION, "LIST 4A" here

The United States imposed a 15% tariff on about $125 billion of goods on Sept. 1, 2019, including flat-panel television sets, flash memory devices, smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones, bed linens, multifunction printers and many types of footwear.

Trump imposed these tariffs, and set the Dec. 15 duties in motion, after a late-July round of negotiations failed to result in a major increase of Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods. The phase one trade deal now being discussed would roughly double such purchases from pre-trade-war levels over a period of time, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

People familiar with the discussions say that China has asked for these Sept. 1 tariffs to be removed as part of the deal and the request is being considered.

MAY 10 TARIFF RATE INCREASE

On May 10, 2019, Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from 10% after China pulled back from a proposed deal that U.S. officials said was nearly completed.

The higher tariffs applied to nearly 6,000 products that were originally taxed in September 2018, from computer modems and routers to vacuum cleaners, lighting fixtures and furniture.

The U.S. trade representative’s office issued exclusions on hundreds of these products in September 2019, including some computer circuit boards, laminated wood flooring and dog collars.

SEPT. 24, 2018, $200 BILLION TARIFF ACTION: "LIST 3" here

Trump imposed tariffs on a $200 billion list of Chinese imports on Sept. 24, 2018, after Beijing retaliated against an initial U.S. volley of tariffs with its own duties on American farm products and manufactured goods.

This list of product tariffs, and the two previous lists below, may be the least likely to be rolled back, trade experts and people familiar with the talks say, adding that keeping some tariffs in place would maintain leverage over China for future negotiations. Trump has said he will not do a complete rollback of tariffs on Chinese goods.

AUG/SEPT 2018 TARIFFS, $50 BILLION "LIST 1" here "LIST 2" here

The first U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports imposed in the summer of 2018 covered $50 billion of Chinese goods considered core to U.S. “Section 301” allegations that China systematically steals and forces the transfer of American intellectual property to Chinese firms.

These initial lists were composed primarily of Chinese-made industrial components, machinery, semiconductors and other non-consumer goods aimed at inflicting pain on Chinese exporters while minimizing the impact on U.S. manufacturers.

The “List 1” tariffs on an initial $34 billion in Chinese goods were imposed on July 6, 2018, while a second list of $16 billion “List 2” tariffs went into effect on Aug. 23, 2018.

Reporting by David Lawder and Heather Timmons in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Leslie Adler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-11-12 06:05:00Z
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