Kia’s KV7 Concept Features Gull-Wing Rear Doors
Kia Motors announced on Friday it will unveil its KV7 concept car at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 10.
The box-shaped crossover features a high ceiling for a more spacious interior and rear seats that can swivel 360 degrees. While the front doors open normally, the rear passenger doors open gull-wing style, lifting upwards and out.
“This is a concept car, and the upwards-opening rear doors will not show up on mass-produced cars in the near future,” the automaker said. “But other features and the exterior design are very similar to a new crossover utility vehicle which will be launched in September next year.”
Immediate-Delivery Gold Climbs to Record on European State-Funding Concern
Gold climbed to a record on concern that some European governments may struggle to raise funds, boosting demand for the metal as a haven investment. Silver climbed to the highest price since March 1980.
Immediate-delivery gold gained as much as 0.3 percent to $1,413.47 an ounce, and traded at $1,410.38 at 1:39 p.m. in Seoul. The December-delivery contract also climbed to an all- time high of $1,413.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York.
“Money is heading toward gold because the euro is falling and the dollar is poised to fall,” said Chris Yoo, head of global derivatives at Samsung Futures Inc. in Seoul. “In addition, gold is being supported by strong physical demand.”
Ireland is seeking support from the European Union this week to avoid a Greek-style bailout as investors have shunned buying the country’s bonds. Gold reached a previous record in June when investors were concerned that Greece may go bankrupt.
The euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar as Portugal prepared to sell as much as 1.25 billion euros ($1.74 billion) of debt tomorrow.
FDA commissioner says agency needs more authority
Food and Drug Administration chief Margaret Hamburg said Monday her agency is limited by law to a mostly reactive stance on food safety and argued that it needs a more “preventive approach.”
Giving a series of network interviews in the wake of the egg and salmonella breakout, Hamburg said the FDA is taking the issue “very, very seriously.” At the same time, she said Congress should pass pending legislation that would provide her agency with greater enforcement power, including new authority over imported food.
“We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable,” Hamburg said as she discussed the approximately 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning and the recall of roughly a half-billion eggs from two Iowa egg distributors.
Gold Drops Most in Three Weeks as Equities, Commodities Slide
Gold prices fell the most in three weeks amid a drop in equities and commodities on mounting evidence of an economic slowdown.
Global stocks retreated after employment and manufacturing data heightened concern that the U.S. may be tipping back into recession. Reports next week may show U.S. home sales fell, Japanese export growth slowed and German business weakened, economists said. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials dropped to the lowest level since July 29, while the dollar advanced.
“Gold is suffering along with everything else,” said Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago. “This is general-asset liquidation based on stocks breakdowns.”
U.A.E. Sees ‘Good Progress’ in RIM BlackBerry Talks
The United Arab Emirates is making “good progress” in talks with Research In Motion Ltd. to solve a dispute over the government’s ability to monitor BlackBerry handset communications, the ambassador to the U.S. said today.
The Persian Gulf state, home to Middle East business hub Dubai, plans to suspend some BlackBerry services from October unless it gains access to the communications. India and Saudi Arabia this month reached agreements with RIM on data access.
“Talks are going on and doing quite well,” Yousef Al Otaiba, the U.A.E. ambassador to the U.S., told reporters in the capital Abu Dhabi. “Hopefully we will reach a conclusion in the near future.”
Dollar Declines Most in 14 Months on Signs of Economic Slowdown
The dollar fell the most against the euro in 14 months and dropped to the lowest level this year versus the yen as economic reports added to evidence that the U.S. recovery is losing momentum.
The greenback touched a level weaker than $1.30 versus the shared currency as minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting last month indicated policy makers trimmed their forecasts for growth. The euro rallied for a third straight week against the dollar before partial results of stress tests on the region’s banking system due on July 23.
“It’s really dollar weakness based on some evidence the economy is slowing,” said Vassili Serebriakov, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York. “The economic indicators are pointing strongly toward slower growth in the second half of the year.”
The dollar declined 2.24 percent, the most since May 2009, to $1.2930 per euro yesterday, from $1.2641 on July 9. It touched $1.3008 yesterday, the weakest level since May 10. The U.S. currency dropped 2.3 percent to 86.57 yen, from 88.62 yen, after reaching 86.27 yesterday, the lowest level since Dec. 1. The euro was little changed at 111.96 yen, compared with 112.01.
China Stocks Fluctuate After Economic Data; AgriBank Advances
China’s stocks fluctuated after data showed economic growth slowed in the second quarter and inflation unexpectedly moderated in June. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. rose on the first day of trading.
Poly Real Estate Group Co. paced gains by developers on speculation the data allow the government to wind back tightening measures that have made the benchmark stock gauge Asia’s worst performer in 2010. Agricultural Bank, the world’s biggest initial public offering this year, added 1.5 percent. Zijin Mining Group Co. dropped 2.3 percent after saying the securities regulator is investigating the company over a waste leakage disclosure.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, fell 1.52, or 0.1 percent, to 2,468.93 as of 10:50 a.m. The data’s release at 10 a.m. drove the gauge to a gain of 0.6 percent from an earlier loss of 1 percent. The CSI 300 Index advanced 1 percent to 2,678.7.
China’s G.D.P. Grows 10.3 Percent in Quarter
China’s economy has slowed from its blistering pace of growth earlier this year as the government strove to ward off inflation and rein in a runaway property market, government data showed on Thursday.
The nation’s gross domestic product rose 10.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, compared to an 11.9 percent increase during the first quarter.
Industrial output last month also signaled more moderate growth.
Production rose 13.7 percent in June compared to the same month last year, down from a 16.5 percent increase in May over the same month in 2009.
Inflation cooled to 2.9 percent in June, down from 3.1 percent in May and below the government’s official target of 3 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Economists largely applauded the slower growth, saying the government needed to rein in lending and tame property prices after the galloping economic expansion in the first quarter, which was the highest in three years.
G-20 Moves Toward Deficit-Tackling Targets, With Flexibility
Group of 20 leaders are poised to endorse targets to tackle deficits while giving nations flexibility on when to start balancing their books, according to officials with knowledge of drafts of the final statement.
Leaders will agree today on the need to cut deficits, while urging countries with the most precarious fiscal positions to accelerate their plans, according to the officials who declined to be identified by name because a final version of the statement hasn’t been completed.
The G-20 has to bridge a gap between leaders such as President Barack Obama who want to focus on growth and officials such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel who favor budget cuts.
“Discussions in the G-8 have shown that it is possible to reconcile some conceptual differences,” European Commission President Jose Barroso told reporters in Toronto yesterday. “We expect the G-20 to agree on concrete targets for deficit reduction and the stabilization and reduction of debt.”
Toyota and Tesla Partnering to Make Electric Cars
Tesla Motors Inc. said it is partnering with Toyota Motors Inc. to make electric cars at a recently shuttered auto plant in Fremont, Calif., in a deal the two companies said also involves Toyota putting $50 million into Tesla.
The cars will be made at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., known as Nummi, a joint venture between General Motors Co. and Toyota in Fremont that had closed earlier this year, Tesla officials said in a statement.
Under the deal, Tesla will build its electric car, the Model S sedan, and future vehicles in a factory where Toyota until last month had manufactured the Corolla and Tacoma vehicles. Tesla officials said they chose the Fremont plant over rival opportunities in two Southern California cities, Downey and Long Beach, in part because of “the turnkey” nature of the former Nummi plant. Tesla officials also cited the plant’s proximity to its headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.