BUSINESSSaturday, April 15, 2017 9

Washington

Tesla founder Elon Musk said the electric car startup is set to launch its first semi-truck in September, moving for the

first time into that segment. Musk said this in a tweet, offering few details about the plan, although he has spoken in the past about moving into the truck segment. “Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job,” he wrote on Twitter.

New York

Vogue Arabia, the style bible that sought to put the Middle East on the international fashion map, has dismissed

and replaced its Saudi princess editor after just two editions. The announcement came one day after Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, who previously set up a members-only fashion business introducing edgy designers to the Gulf, said that she had been sacked.

Elon MuskCEO, Tesla Motors and CEO & CTO, SpaceX

Tesla plans for semi-truck launch Vogue Arabia replaces Saudi princess It’s ok to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket,”

© GRAPHIC NEWSSources: *India Today (state excise departments), †World Health Organisation,‡2015-16 National Mental Health Survey, §Euromonitor International

While most of India’s 1.3 billion population are lifetime abstainers,per capita intake has increased from 1.6 litres in 2005 to 4.6 litres in 2015

and rural consumption has surged to more than 11 litres a year

States where alcohol is banned

Bihar

Manipur

Gujarat

Maharashtra: 21 for beer, 25 forspirits

KeralaBan duein 2025

Nagaland

18 21 25Legal drinking age

30%: Three in 10 drink alcohol†

Total drinkers: 390m50-70 million: Classified as havingharmful drinking problems‡

Most popular drinks

India’s spirits market (2015)§

Diageo37.7%

PernodRicard13.2%

Allied Blenders& Distillers11.6%

Others32.3%

RadicoKhaitan 5.2%

€28.53billion

1

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

10.

State revenue from alcohol*(Rs crore, 2015-16) 1 crore = 10m rupees

Tamil NaduHaryanaMaharashtraKarnatakaUttar PradeshAndhra PradeshTelenganaMadhya PradeshRajasthanPunjab

€4.3bn€2.9bn€2.6bn€2.2bn€2.0bn€1.9bn€1.8bn€1.1bn€810m€725m

29,67219,70318,00015,33214,08312,73912,144

7,9265,5855,000

Wine 0.1% Indian Made ForeignLiquor (spirits) 93.1%Beer 6.8%

2 5

3

4

76

8

9

10

© GRAPHIC NEWSSource: Wire agencies Pictures: AP, Getty Images

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered investigations into eight ministersin President Michel Temer’s cabinet and dozens of lawmakers allegedly

linked to the country’s biggest ever corruption scandal

Mar 2015: Supreme Courtapproves inquiry into 34 seniorpoliticians suspected of involvementwith Petrobras scheme

Jun: Brazilianconstruction bossMarcelo Odebrecht(right) arrested afterhis company isfound to have bribedofficials to win inflatedcontracts fromPetrobras

Investigation leads to arrest ofPaulo Roberto Costa (above),former director of state-run oil giantPetrobras. Costa testifies thatcompany channelled dirty money toruling Workers’ Party and its allies

MichelTemer

Jan 2017: Confessions by 77Odebrecht executives provide floodof new allegations and reveal firmpaid bribes for contracts in severalother countries. Odebrecht expectedto pay at least $3.5bn in settlementwith Brazil, Switzerland and U.S.

Apr 11: Supreme Court opensprobes against 108 politicians,including Temer’s chief of staffEliseu Padilha and ministersof foreign affairs, agriculture andtrade. Further 201 investigations,targeting figures such as Lulaand Rousseff, to be determinedby lower courts

May: Congressvotes to suspendLula’s successor,Dilma Rousseff,for manipulatinggovernmentaccounts. Temertakes over but iscaught up inscandal as severalof his ministers areforced to resign

who held officefrom 2003-2010when much ofcorruption is saidto have takenplace. Prosecutorsaccuse Lula oftaking bribes inform of real estate

Mar 2016: Police question formerpresident Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,

Mar 2014Operation LavaJato (Car Wash)begins as routinemoney launderingprobe of servicestation in Brasilia

Washington

US inflation dropped in March for the first time in more than a

year on the back of falling auto and fuel prices, the Labour Department reported yesterday.

While the annual trend in the Consumer Price Index  was still upward, the monthly decline could reinforce the US Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates only gradually.

Meanwhile, falling auto sales helped drive down retail spending for the second consecutive month, even while sales remain well above the level recorded a year ago,  according to a separate report from the Commerce Department.

Analysts had been expecting the CPI price measure in March to remain unchanged over the prior month, but instead it fell 0.3 per cent, its first monthly decline since February 2016. 

The index was still up 2.4pc over March of last year, but that was slower than the 2.7pc rise in February which

was a five-year high.The falling price of fuel was the

largest contributor to the decrease last month, but even excluding the more volatile food and fuel categories, the so-called core CPI was still down 0.1 percent, the first monthly drop since January 2010.

Core CPI was up two percent year-over-year, slowing from 2.2pc in the prior month, and the second straight decline.

Measures of inflation closely watched by US central bankers have been rising slowly since mid-2016 and the Fed has twice raised its benchmark interest rates since December to prevent inflation from getting too far beyond its two percent target. 

March also saw another contraction in retail sales, which fell 0.2pc in the month, as US consumers shelled out $470.8 billion, according to a seasonally adjusted estimate.

The decline followed February’s 0.3pc drop and was a tenth of a point

below an analyst forecast.Year-on-year, March retail sales

were up 5.2pc over the same month in 2016.

Excluding  the more volatile auto sector, which saw a 1.2pc decline, retail sales in March were flat over February. 

Despite the consecutive monthly declines, the auto sector still shows signs of strength. Sales for motor vehicle and parts dealers in the first quarter of 2017 are 5.4pc higher than the same period last year and up one percent over the prior quarter.

Among the gainers, electronics and appliance stores had their best month in nearly two years, with sales volumes rising 2.6pc. Clothing and accessory stores saw their fastest monthly increase since February 2016, up one percent.

So-called nonstore retailers, such as internet businesses, continued to rise, adding 0.6pc in sales for the month, which put them up 11.9pc over March 2016. (AFP)

US inflation, retail sales dip in March

Traders works on the floor at the closing bell of the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange