Model 3 OK'd for production, Tesla says
Tesla Inc. investors, customers and fans got some much-anticipated news on the Model 3 timeline when Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk announced Monday that the model passed all its regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule.
"Expecting to complete" the first car Friday, Musk wrote in a Twitter post. The company will hold a handover party for its first 30 customers of the Model 3 on July 28, he said in a separate post.
The Model 3, the company's most affordable car yet, had been expected to begin production in July, but there had been little news on how the preparations at Tesla's factory in Fremont, Calif., were progressing.
Investors have pushed up shares of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla 69 percent this year in anticipation of the Model 3. The company delivered 25,051 vehicles in the first quarter and aims to make 500,000 in 2018 and 1 million in 2020.
The company now makes two all-electric models: the Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle. The Model 3, which is planned to start at $35,000 before options or incentives, is the culmination of Tesla's 15-year-quest to reach mainstream consumers with a smaller, more affordable electric car.
-- Bloomberg News
Manufacturing index up nearly 3 points
WASHINGTON -- U.S. factories expanded at a robust pace in June, a likely sign of strength for the U.S. economy as new orders, production and employment each improved.
The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 57.8 last month from 54.9 in May. Anything above 50 signals that factory activity is increasing. The measure now stands at its highest level since August 2014, pointing to solid economic growth.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, described the report as "very strong" and said it suggests that the economy is healthy enough for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates.
"This report will come as something of a jolt to investors comfortable with the idea that the economy has slowed to the point where the Fed need take no further action," Shepherdson said.
Fifteen of 18 manufacturing industries surveyed by the institute posted growth in June, including the furniture, machinery, fabricated metals and petroleum and coal sectors. One transportation equipment firm surveyed for the report said "demand is up 5-7 percent." A chemical company said its business globally "continues to show improvement."
-- The Associated Press
Construction spending stays flat in May
WASHINGTON -- U.S. construction spending was flat in May with homebuilding falling again, even as buyers face climbing prices and a shortage of available properties on the market.
The Commerce Department reported on Monday no increase in construction spending in May, which follows a report two weeks ago showing that housing starts fell for the third straight month.
Economists have been expecting housing construction to play a role in supporting overall economic growth in 2017 as demand for homes rises amid low unemployment and rising incomes. However, many buyers have been frustrated by limited inventory and rising prices.
Private residential construction fell 0.6 percent in May, the first decline in that category since April 2016 and its biggest decline since a 0.6 percent drop in July 2014. Nonresidential construction declined 0.7 percent, the fifth straight monthly decline for the category.
Overall construction spending was reported at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.23 trillion, the same as last month's revised figure.
The flat May number follows April's decline of 0.7 percent, which was revised from an originally reported drop of 1.7 percent. Analysts last month said they thought April's dismal number was an anomaly and had expected a modest rebound in May.
-- The Associated Press
French, Chinese firms ink Iran gas deal
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran on Monday signed a $5 billion agreement with France's Total SA and a Chinese oil company to develop Iran's offshore natural gas field, the first such deal with foreign companies since the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Officials in Tehran signed the agreement, which will authorize the firms to develop a portion of the South Pars offshore field that Iran shares with Qatar.
Total has a 50.1 percent share in the deal. The state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. has 30 percent stake and Iran's Petropars has 19.9 percent.
The deal includes 30 wells and two production units.
During the ceremony, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh congratulated all involved in the deal, saying it will lead to "more than $5 billion in foreign investments."
Iran sits atop the world's fourth-largest oil reserves and the second-biggest stores of natural gas. Since the nuclear deal, which saw Iran limiting its enrichment of uranium in exchange for economic sanctions being lifted, the country has quickly increased its crude oil production and sold what it had in floating reserves. Monday's deal will further strengthen its coffers and secure a new supply of natural gas for domestic consumption, beginning in 2021.
-- The Associated Press
Ponzi scheme fraudster given 15 years
DAYTON, Ohio -- A man accused of defrauding nearly 500 people in a $70 million Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $32 million in restitution.
Federal authorities say 55-year-old William Apostelos, formerly of Springboro, Ohio, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Dayton. He pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan.
Authorities say the scheme began in 2009. They say Apostelos operated investment and asset management companies in the Dayton area, receiving $70 million in investment funds from people in 37 states. Court documents say Apostelos paid for personal luxuries with the money instead of making investments.
He said in court that he was "embarrassed and ashamed."
-- The Associated Press
Business on 07/04/2017