Volvo plans U.S. factory to build sales
Volvo Car Corporation plans to spend about $500 million to build its first auto factory in the U.S. in a bid to revive sales, which have tumbled over the past decade.
The plant will start operation in 2018 and produce vehicles built with the same underpinnings as the XC90 sport utility vehicle, Gothenburg, Sweden-based Volvo Cars said Monday. The company has drawn up a list of possible sites and will decide later on the plant's location, size and models.
"The U.S. is an absolutely crucial part of our global transformation," Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. "Today's announcement makes it perfectly clear that Volvo is in the U.S. to stay."
The Swedish carmaker, which was bought by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. in 2010, is seeking to revive its prospects in the U.S., where sales last year totaled about 56,000 vehicles, less than half the brand's peak in 2004.
-- Bloomberg News
Death toll from ignition switches hits 77
DETROIT -- Families of at least 77 people killed in crashes caused by defective General Motors ignition switches will get compensation from the company.
Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was hired by GM to compensate victims, updated the total Monday. It was up from 74 last week.
An additional 141 injured people are eligible for compensation.
The fund received a total of 4,342 claims by the Jan. 31 deadline. Of those, 1,263 are still under review. Feinberg said more than half are ineligible or lack documentation.
GM knew about problem with switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade but recalled them only last year. They can slip out of the "on" position, which cuts off the engine, knocks out power steering and turns off air bags.
-- The Associated Press
SEC charges exec, firms with fraud
WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators have filed civil fraud charges against prominent Wall Street executive Lynn Tilton and her investment firms. They are accused of concealing the poor performance of fund assets linked to risky securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the action Monday against Tilton and her Patriarch Partners group of investment firms, based in New York. The SEC said Tilton and the firms have misled investors and wrongly collected nearly $200 million in fees and other payments.
The agency said Tilton violated her fiduciary duty to clients, the legal obligation of investment advisers and managers to put their clients' financial interests first.
An attorney representing Tilton and Patriarch Partners did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
-- The Associated Press
Ford to bring back Lincoln Continentals
Ford Motor Co. said Monday that the Lincoln Continental is coming back after a 13-year hiatus. A concept version of the full-size Continental will be shown at the New York auto show this week. The production car goes on sale next year.
Lincoln, Ford's luxury division, was founded in 1917 by Henry Leland, the former manager of General Motors Co.'s Cadillac division. Leland named the company after his hero, Abraham Lincoln. Initially, the company made motors for World War I airplanes, but by 1920 it was making luxury cars. In 1922, Lincoln declared bankruptcy and was sold to Ford, which wanted to acquire a luxury nameplate. Henry Ford's son, Edsel, became Lincoln's president.
Edsel Ford was more interested in style and design than his father. "Father makes the most popular cars in the world. I want to make the best cars in the world," he once said. In 1938, he asked the design team to make him a European-style convertible for his vacation in Palm Beach. His friends were impressed, and he soon put the Continental into production.
Continental sales peaked in 1990. Lincoln's last Continental rolled off a Michigan assembly line in 2002.
The Continental's return is part of a multiyear overhaul of the Lincoln brand, which includes several new models and a push into the Chinese auto market.
-- The Associated Press
U.S. repeats warning on China-led bank
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Monday reiterated concerns that a China-led infrastructure bank will fall short of international standards even as the rest of the world's biggest economies sign up for the initiative.
"We very much welcome China's increased participation in infrastructure investment, and the concerns we've raised about the needs for standards continue," Lew told reporters in Beijing after a day of meetings there with leaders including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
European nations including Germany and the U.K., along with other U.S. allies such as Australia and South Korea, are seeking to join the new institution in defiance of U.S. warnings that it may lack the standards of institutions such as the World Bank. Japan is likely to join the infrastructure bank within a few months after pressure from companies there, according to the nation's ambassador to China, the Financial Times reported Monday.
-- Bloomberg News
RadioShack creditor cancels new bid
NEW YORK -- RadioShack creditor Salus said it won't improve its bid as it fights with another buyer, hedge fund Standard General, for the electronics chain.
Salus had failed to win an auction for the assets of the Fort Worth-based electronics retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in February. RadioShack instead chose a $160 million bid from hedge fund Standard General that consists mostly of credit on debt it is owed.
That proposal would keep 1,743 stores open and preserve about 7,500 jobs.
In a letter filed with the bankruptcy court in Delaware, Salus said it changed its mind on improving its offer after learning of unspecified new developments.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 03/31/2015