Jaguar Land Rover Boss to Step Down in September

Markets Tumble Worldwide as Fears Over Deadly Viral Outbreak Grow

WASHINGTON—The outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has raised concerns about the disease’s potential impact on the Chinese economy, causing volatility in global stock markets and oil prices. The epidemic that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and spread across the country is expected to hit China’s economic growth, as the panic has weighed on tourism, consumption, and manufacturing. The virus also has spread to other countries, including the United States, rattling investors further. Mounting fears and uncertainty sent major stock markets lower on Jan. 27, with travel, luxury goods, and mining sectors leading the drop. London’s FTSE 100 index slid 2.3 percent while Germany’s DAX index was down 2.6 percent. U.S. shares also lost at the start of the week with the Dow Jones and the S&P…

The boss of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)  will step down from his role at the end of his contract term in September as Britain’s biggest carmaker shows signs of improvement after a torrid 2019 of job cuts, deep losses, and falling sales.

Ralf Speth has led the company since 2010 during which it has pursued a major global expansion with new factories in China, Brazil, and Slovakia putting it on course to make 1 million cars per year.

Signs are seen outside the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Liverpool, northern England, on Sept. 12, 2016. (Phil Noble/ Reuters/File Photo)

But sales ended last year at just over 550,000 vehicles as the firm was slower than some rivals in electrifying its line-up whilst large drops in diesel demand and a slump in China, the world’s biggest autos market, hit its performance.

JLR posted a 6 percent decline in 2019 sales but it has bounced back in China in recent months and overall company sales rose by 1.3 percent in December.

Land Rover Discovery. (Courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover)

Speth will stay on as non-executive vice chairman at JLR and will remain on the board of Tata Sons, the parent group of Tata Motors which owns JLR, the firm said in a statement.

“A search committee has been formed which will work with me to identify a suitable successor in the coming months,” said Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran.

JLR posts third-quarter results as part of Tata Motors later on Jan. 30.

 By Costas Pitas

This article is from the Internet:Jaguar Land Rover Boss to Step Down in September

Fed Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged Amid Concern for Below-Target Inflation

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting body decided Wednesday to keep the benchmark Federal Funds target rate unchanged within the 1.5 to 1.75 percent range. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on Jan. 28-29 to consider economic data before issuing a policy decision on an interest rate hold, cut, or hike. Citing labor market strength, in particular solid job gains and low unemployment, as well as economic activity that “has been rising at a moderate rate,” participants decided to keep rates steady. “The Committee judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate to support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation returning to the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective,” the FOMC said in a statement. Still, the Committee expressed some concern that…