Wednesday newspaper round-up: Walmart, Wrightbus, British Steel
Walmart has sued Tesla, saying solar panels supplied by the electric carmaker were responsible for fires at about seven of its stores. The fires destroyed significant amounts of store merchandise and required substantial repairs, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket losses, according to a lawsuit filed in a New York court on Tuesday. – Guardian
Fast-growing UK tech companies secured a record £5.5bn in foreign investment in the first seven months of this year, according to research for the government’s digital economy council. The study for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) body revealed that the UK has overtaken the US for the amount of investment per capita. – Guardian
One of China’s biggest engineering companies has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to save “Boris Bus” maker Wrightbus. Weichai, part of giant state-owned conglomerate Shandong Heavy Industry, is in detailed discussions to buy the struggling bus company, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. It has lodged a bid believed to be in the region of £50m for the 73-year-old company. – Telegraph
A Turkish pension fund's deal to rescue British Steel from insolvency has come under fire from a major newspaper closely connected to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Monday’s edition of Sabah said Oyak, the pension fund owned by the Turkish military, had numerous "unanswered questions" about its swoop on British Steel, including its failure to disclose how much it was paying for the troubled UK manufacturer. – Telegraph
A minibond company that has raised more than £25 million from savers and which is linked to the scandal-hit London Capital & Finance closed to new investors after an intervention from the City watchdog. Blackmore Bond is an unregulated firm that until earlier this year had been issuing high-interest bonds to raise money to finance property developments in Britain. – The Times
President Trump confirmed yesterday that his administration was examining “various tax reductions” as it seeks to extend America’s long-running economic boom. The president, who has already made income tax cuts that will cost the US Treasury about $1.5 trillion, again reiterated his desire for the Federal Reserve to make a “substantial” reduction to its base interest rate, having called for a one percentage point cut on Monday, from its range of 2 per cent to 2.25 per cent. – The Times