EU REJECTS CAR EXPORTS CLAIM

The European Union is rejecting claims that Europe’s car exports pose a threat to the United States after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross ruled that imported vehicles and parts imperil national security.

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Monday that “the EU and the U.S. are security partners (so) neither U.S. nor European products can represent a security threat to the other side.” U.S. President Donald Trump is delaying for six months any decision to slap tariffs on foreign cars, a move that would have hit Japan and Europe especially hard. Trump still hopes to use the threat of auto tariffs to pressure them into making concessions in ongoing trade talks.

JApAn eConomy expAnds 2 perCent, 2nd strAight quArter of growth.

TOKYO» Japan’s economy grew at an annual pace of 2.1 percent in the first quarter, marking the second straight quarter of expansion, according to government data released Monday.

The Cabinet Office said seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, the total value of a nation’s goods and services, grew 0.5 percent in the JanuaryMarch period from the previous quarter.

TeslA fAlls As AnAlyst sAys CompAny fACing “Codered situAtion.”

Tesla Inc. shares plunged below $200 for the first time in more than two years on concerns the carmaker faces a “Kilimanjaro-like uphill climb” to hit profitability goals in the second half of the year.

In a note Sunday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described the electric-car maker’s predicament as a “code red situation” and cut his price target on the stock to $230 from $275. Ives slashed his target from $365 just last month.

Burning CAsh is strAtegy of ChoiCe for China’s Starbucks rival.

The team behind Luckin Coffee Inc. is betting that what worked for them in car rentals will prove a success with java. Their $130 million annual cash burn — and rival Starbucks Corp.’s dominance in the Chinese coffee market — makes it a risky proposition.

For now, American investors seem impressed enough by Luckin’s aggressive expansion plan for the Xiamen-based company to raise a higherthan-expected $561 million in its initial public offering Thursday. The stock jumped 20 percent to $20.38 in New York on Friday, compared with a decline in the S&P 500 Index.