1 Tesla pips GM, becomes most valuable US car maker
(Straits Times) For the first time in the era of the modern automobile, the
most valuable US car maker is not based in Detroit. Silicon Valley's Tesla
overtook General Motors on Monday to become the US car maker with the largest
market capitalisation as the century-old automobile industry increases its
reliance on software and cutting-edge energy technology.
That milestone is likely to be on the minds of Tesla
chief executive Elon Musk and GM chief executive Mary Barra as they and other
CEOs visit the White House on Tuesday to discuss tax reform and infrastructure
with President Donald Trump.
Helped by an analyst's recommendation, Tesla rose
3.26 per cent to a record high of $312.39 on Monday. Its market value of $50.887
billion exceeded GM's by about $1 million. Over the past month, the luxury electric
car maker has surged 35 per cent as investors bet that Musk will revolutionize
the automobile and energy industries.
The Palo Alto, California company is rushing to
launch its mass-market Model 3 sedan in the second half of 2017 and quickly
ramp up its factory to reach a production target of 500,000 cars per year in
2018. Last year it sold 76,230, missing its target of at least 80,000 vehicles.
By comparison, GM sold 10 million cars and Ford sold 6.7 million.
Proponents believe Tesla, which is not profitable,
argue its stock price is justified based on long-term expectations for Tesla's
growth. They also point to opportunities from Tesla's acquisition last year of
money-losing solar panel installer SolarCity and Tesla's Nevada battery cell
plant aimed at driving down manufacturing costs.
2 Global executions fall 37% (BBC) The number of
executions recorded worldwide in 2016 fell by 37% on the previous year, human
rights group Amnesty International says. At least 1,032 people were executed
last year, down from 1,634 in 2015, Amnesty said.
The fall was largely driven by fewer deaths recorded
in Iran and Pakistan. China is believed to have executed more than all
countries combined but has not been included in the figures given the lack of
reliable data, the group adds.
The US was removed from the top five for the first
time since 2006, according to Amnesty. Despite fewer executions, Iran and
Pakistan remain in Amnesty's top five list, along with China, Saudi Arabia and
Iraq. Pakistan's execution rate dropped from 326 recorded deaths in 2015 to at
least 87 the following year.
In Iran, at least 567 people were executed last
year, compared with 977 in 2015. Amnesty reported a surge in executions in 2015
but said the reasons were unclear. The majority of those killed, the group
said, were convicted of drug charges.
Amnesty said that China remained the world's top
executioner but said that secrecy around the death penalty made it difficult to
confirm the figures. In Europe and Central Asia, Belarus and Kazakhstan were
the only two countries in the region to use the death penalty On the other
hand, 104 countries were recorded to have abolished the death penalty in law or
practice. Back in 1997, that figure was 64.
3 No income tax for Saudi citizens (Khaleej Times) Saudi
Arabia's finance minister has said that citizens would not pay taxes on income
and Saudi companies would not see their profits taxed under sweeping economic
reforms being introduced in the Kingdom.
The collapse in oil prices after mid-2014 has pushed
Saudi Arabia to contemplate a radical overhaul of all parts of its economy,
including new taxes, privatisations, a changed investment strategy and sharp
cuts in government spending.
Mohammed Al Jadaan sought in a statement to allay
concern that people would be taxed as part of the ambitious reform plan. Saudis
currently do not pay any income tax, nor are Saudi companies taxed on their
profits. He also said a value-added tax planned for 2018 would "not be
raised above 5 per cent before 2020".
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council are aiming
to introduce a 5 per cent value-added tax at the start of next year to raise
non-oil revenues. But economists and officials in some countries have said
privately that simultaneous introduction in all countries may not be feasible. That
is because of the complexity of creating the administrative infrastructure to
collect the tax and the difficulty of training companies to comply with it in a
region where taxation is minimal.
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