the bottom line

DETROIT:

Even though gasolinepowered SUVs are what people are buying now, General Motors is betting that electric vehicles will be all the rage in the not-too-distant future.

The Detroit automaker is promising two new EVs loosely based on the Chevrolet Bolt in the next 1-ó years and more than 20 electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2023. The company sees its entire model lineup running on electricity in the future, whether the source is a big battery or a tank full of hydrogen.

“We are far along in our plan to lead the way into that future world,” product development chief Mark Reuss said Monday at a news conference at the GM technical center north of Detroit. (AP)

NEW YORK:

Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday that it acquired New York delivery company Parcel as it girds to compete with Amazon and other supermarkets for home delivery of groceries.

The purchase of Parcel, a Brooklynbased specialist in same day, overnight and scheduled deliveries of perishable and non-perishable items, adds to WalMart’s push into e-commerce following the $3.3 billion purchase of Jet. com in 2016 and other smaller acquisitions.

Many analysts expect stiff competition among supermarkets in home delivery of groceries following Amazon’s purchase this year of Whole Foods Market. (AFP)

DETROIT:

General Motors and Ford each posted strong US sales in September, confirming expectations that the industry would rebound for the month.

GM reported Tuesday that sales rose 11.9 percent to just over 279,000, while Ford sales rose 8.7 percent to just over 222,000.

Fiat Chrysler reported a 10 percent decrease to 174,000 on a planned reduction of sales to rental car companies. (AP)

WASHINGTON:

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected New Zealand-based internet mogul Kim Dotcom’s challenge to the US government’s bid to seize assets held by him and others involved in the now-defunct streaming website Megaupload.

The justices left in place a lower court ruling that the US government could seize up to $40 million in assets held outside the United States as part of a civil forfeiture action being pursued in parallel with criminal charges for alleged copyright violations and money laundering. (RTRS)

NEW YORK:

A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit by two former corporate investigators who accused GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) of misleading them into investigating a whistleblower in China, leading to their arrest amid a bribery scandal involving the drugmaker.

US District Judge Nitza Quinones Alejandro in Philadelphia on Friday threw out the case by British investigator Peter Humphrey and his American wife, Yu Yingzeng, who were arrested in 2013 in China after GSK hired them to look into a former employee.

The judge said a US Supreme Court ruling barred lawsuits filed under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) over injuries that occur entirely outside the United States such as this one involving incidents in China. (RTRS)

NEW YORK:

General Electric announced Monday that Director and Chairman Jeffrey Immelt had stepped down nearly three months earlier than expected.

The engineering giant’s board named current CEO John Flannery as chairman and president, effective immediately, the company said in a statement.

Flannery had taken over Immelt’s role as CEO at the start of August but Immelt had been expected to stay on as president and chairman until the end of the year. (AFP)

LONDON:

Former Tesco chairman Richard Broadbent will be a witness in the trial of three former executives accused of fraud and false accounting at Britain’s biggest retailer, a court heard on Monday.

Christopher Bush, 51, who was managing director of Tesco UK; Carl Rogberg, 50, who was UK finance director; and John Scouler, 49, who was UK food commercial director, all deny charges of fraud and false accounting.

In the second day of opening arguments at London’s Southwark Crown Court lead prosecutor Sasha Wass told the jury they would hear evidence from Broadbent, who chaired Tesco from 2011 to 2015. (AP)

LONDON:

Britain’s Britvic Plc announced the closure of its Norwich factory on Tuesday, putting 240 jobs at risk and prompting fellow consumer goods producer Unilever to warn it might follow suite with a neighbouring plant.

Britvic said it would transfer the production of its Robinsons and Fruit Shoot brands from the Norwich site, which is co-owned with Unilever, to plants in East London, Leeds and Rugby.

Unilever, which makes famous English mustard brand Colman’s on the same site in Norwich, said it was launching a review of its production at the plant, with options including closure. (RTRS)

LONDON:

Heating and plumbing products supplier Ferguson reported a near 25 percent rise in full-year trading profit from ongoing business, as a strong US performance offset weak British growth.

The group, which changed its name from Wolseley this year, said trading profit from ongoing business rose to 1.03 billion pounds ($1.36 billion) in the year to July 31, from 827 million pounds a year earlier. (RTRS)

THE HAGUE:

Refresco, Europe’s largest juice and soft-drink maker, said Tuesday it has received an improved takeover bid from Paris-based investor PAI Partners worth 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion).

The Dutch independent bottler, which works with brands as Innocent and Del Monte, fended off an initial offer from the private equity firm in April worth 1.4 bn euros.

The Rotterdam-based Refresco said its board will now “carefully review the proposal, taking into account all Refresco’s stakeholders”. (AFP)