By Alec Hogg
In today’s global business headlines:
- The price of Tesla shares continued to fall last night, taking its fall in the three trading sessions of March well into double digits. The stock has lost $40 a share, around 15%, since founder and CEO Elon Musk announced on his blog last Thursday that the electric car maker would close all its retail outlets and shift to online-only sales. The decision, described as a way to cut costs, was a surprise to everyone outside of Musk’s inner circle, as Tesla had opened 27 new retail and service centres in the December quarter, pushing the network to 378 locations worldwide. Also, in its annual report released nine days before Musk’s blog, the company said bricks and mortar were an important part of its sales strategy. The company is wasting little time in executing Musk’s instructions – this week Tesla has already closed its stores in Honolulu and Palm Springs.
- Although hopes are high for a deal to end the trade war, tensions between America and China are sure to be tested after evidence surfaced of widespread hacking of US military secrets by Beijing. The cybersecurity unit of consulting firm Accenture disclosed last night at least 27 US universities had been targeted by Chinese hackers. According to Accenture’s iDefense unit, the hacks were part of a scheme to steal research about maritime technology for US military use. The Wall Street Journal, which has reviewed the findings, says iDefense picked up that universities including MIT, Penn State, Washington and Hawaii were targeted because of their research hubs which focus on undersea technology. Some of these universities also have contracts with the US Navy.
- Former Nissan and Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn was yesterday granted bail of $9m, ending his 107 day jailing after his shock arrest last November on charges that he understated his pay and manipulated the company’s financial statements. This was the third attempt by Ghosn’s lawyers to get their world-famous client out of prison. The motor industry icon has maintained his innocence throughout and said in a statement yesterday he was “totally committed to vigorously defending myself in a fair trial against these meritless and unsubstantiated accusations.” Ghosn says he is the victim of a plot by Nissan executives who oppose his planned full merger between the Japanese car maker and its French partner Renault.
- In South African news, the country’s official economic growth rate for 2018 closed at 0.8%, half that of its population expansion and well down on the 1.4% of 2017. Figures released by Stats SA yesterday revealed that fixed investment in the economy contracted for the fourth straight quarter. Overall GDP growth in the three months to end December was almost one and a half percent, better than the 1.2% expected by economists Bloomberg surveyed. With Treasury estimating 2019 growth of a modest 1.5% – fractionally under the rate of population expansion – the country is heading for its sixth successive year of under 2% economic growth.
