Mayhem continues in July, car sales drop 31% y-on-y

Declining for the ninth consecutive month, domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales dropped 30.98 per cent to 2,00,790 units in July, from 2,90,931 units in the same period a year ago. 

Domestic car sales were down 35.95 per cent at 1,22,956 units as against 1,91,979 units in July 2018, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Tuesday. 

Motorcycle sales last month declined 18.88 per cent to 9,33,996 units for the month as against 11,51,324 units in the year-ago period. 

Total two-wheeler sales in July declined 16.82 per cent to 15,11,692 units compared to 18,17,406 units in the year-ago month. 

Sales of commercial vehicles were down 25.71 per cent to 56,866 units in July as compared with 76,545 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said. 

Vehicle sales across categories registered a decline of 18.71 per cent to 18,25,148 units from 22,45,223 units in July 2018, it added. 

In fact, all vehicle categories witnessed a decline in sales during the month.

Photograph: Reuters.

Donald Trump Reaches Yet Another Bleak Milestone With His Lies

Donald Trump has now made more than 12,000 false and misleading claims and statements since becoming president in January 2017, according to The Washington Post.

Trump’s total of untruths hit 12,019 on Aug. 5, the newspaper’s Fact Checker column reported Monday. It means he’s made an average of almost 13 untrue claims on each of the 928 days of his presidency.

Trump surpassed the 10,000 figure in April.

One-fifth of Trump’s recent misleading statements have related to immigration, reported The Post.

Trump has also used his favorite social media platform, Twitter, to disseminate almost one-fifth of his false claims, the newspaper’s fact-checkers added.

The statistics drew ire among many people online:

• George Conway Uses Power Of Predictive Text To Torch Trump And His Racism
• Cooper Supercut Proves How Trump’s Behavior ‘Is Just Not Normal’ For A President
• Don Lemon Demonstrates How Best To Cut A Trump Rant Short

Google Pixel Owners Asked To Submit Settlement Claims

The U.S. customers, who bought a first-generation Google Pixel or Pixel XL smartphones, have been asked to submit their claims on a Class Action settlement, by October 7.

In the filing, the plaintiffs alleged that these Pixels have a defect that leads to microphone or speaker failures. While denying the allegations, Google in May agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle the case over faulty microphones in the smartphones, which were manufactured before January 4, 2017.

As per the latest available information, the owners, who complained of multiple issues due to faulty microphones, are eligible to get payments of up to $500.

Customers who faced multiple defects may get $500 from Google, while those complained of just one failure will get up to $350. The customers who owned smartphones manufactured before the deadline, but did not report any defects may get up to $20. Those who received a third-party insurance payment for the bad phones will be assessed on individual basis.

The customers can get to pixelsettlement.com to submit their claims by October 7. Those who want to go for other legal action can give up their right to be part of the settlement by the same date.

The payment will be made if the Court approves the settlement and after any appeals are resolved. A Court hearing is scheduled for December 6.

Oil Prices Slide On Demand Concerns

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as worries about demand growth amid a deepening U.S.-China trade war overshadowed fresh efforts by OPEC and its non-OPEC partners to curb supply.

Benchmark Brent crude declined 0.3 percent to $58.38 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 0.25 percent at $54.78 a barrel.

Singapore’s government cut its forecast for economic growth this year to almost zero against a challenging external macroeconomic backdrop and the deepening downturn in the global electronics cycle.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Sunday that fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession are increasing and that it no longer expects a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies before the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

As the U.S.-China trade row casts its shadow over markets, investors are waiting to see whether OPEC will significantly slash production in the coming year to counter sliding demand.

Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of the OPEC, said late last week it is taking steps to keep its crude oil exports below 7 million barrels per day in August and September.

Brookfield to buy 57% in Genworth's Canada unit in $1.81 billion deal

(Reuters) – Asset manager Brookfield Business Partners LP (BBU_u.TO) said on Tuesday it would buy 57% in Genworth Financial Inc’s (GNW.N) Canadian mortgage insurance unit for about C$2.4 billion ($1.81 billion).

Brookfield would buy about 4.9 million common shares of Genworth MI Canada Inc for C$48.86 per share, the company said. [reut.rs/2Z2K7LR]

Advance Auto Parts Q2 adjusted earnings Miss Estimates

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) revealed a profit for its second quarter that climbed from the same period last year.

The company’s earnings totaled $124.82 million, or $1.73 per share. This compares with $117.84 million, or $1.59 per share, in last year’s second quarter.

Excluding items, Advance Auto Parts reported adjusted earnings of $144.06 million or $2.00 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $2.21 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue came in at $2.33 billion, equal to the mark posted in the same period last year.

Advance Auto Parts earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q2): $144.06 Mln. vs. $146.16 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q2): $2.00 vs. $1.97 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $2.21
-Revenue (Q2): $2.33 Bln vs. $2.33 Bln last year.

-Guidance:
Full year revenue guidance: $9.65 – $9.75 Bln