In brief: Texas still has a shot at landing Tesla battery plant
May 7, 2014 Updated: May 7, 2014 11:48 p.m.
FILE - In this March 17, 2014 file photo, Tesla representative John Van Cleave, right, shows customers Sarah and Robert Reynolds, left, and Vince Giardina, a new Tesla all electric car, at a Tesla showroom inside the Kenwood Towne Centre in Cincinnati. Tesla reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File)Al Behrman/STF
While Tesla Motors may still be considering San Antonio for its $5 billion "gigafactory," competition for the plant grew stiffer Wednesday after the electric car maker said California was back in the running.
But Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk said during an earnings call with analysts that California remained in the "improbable," but not impossible, category for its lithium-ion battery factory - not because of economic incentives there but because of the time it takes to secure regulatory approval in the Golden State. Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada are also in the running.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla also said it lost $49.8 million in the first quarter as it accelerated the development of its new crossover, the Model X. Revenue grew 10 percent to $620.5 million in the latest quarter.
Fed chair says job market is far from satisfactory
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the U.S. economy is improving but noted that the job market remains "far from satisfactory" and inflation is still below the Fed's target rate.
Speaking to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, Yellen said that as a result, she expects low borrowing rates will continue to be needed for a considerable time.
Federal official sees no need to park GM cars
DETROIT - U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says there's no need for owners of recalled General Motors cars to stop driving them.
In a letter to senators, he said that government engineers have found that if owners follow GM's advice, there's little safety risk to driving the cars.
GM is recalling 2.6 mil-lion cars worldwide to replace ignition switches that can suddenly slip out of the run position and shut off the engine. That can knock out power-assisted steering and cause crashes. GM says at least 13 people have died in crashes from the problem.
GM urges owners to remove everything from key chains, which Foxx says should sufficiently mitigate the risk until switches are replaced.
DirecTV is working with advisers including Goldman Sachs Group to evaluate a possible combination with AT&T, the Wall Street Journal reported.
U.S. productivity fell in the first quarter while labor costs rose, reflecting the economic slowdown caused by harsh winter weather. The Labor Department said productivity declined at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the January-March period, after growing 2.3 percent in last year's fourth quarter.
Consumers increased their borrowing by the largest amount in more than a year, using credit cards and taking out more auto and student loans. Borrowing increased $17.5 billion in March, up from a gain of $13 billion in February, the Federal Reserve reported.
From staff and wire reports