Business Briefs – October 2, 2017

Tesla Reports Record 3Q Deliveries, But Model 3 Lags

DETROIT (AP) – Tesla Inc. says it delivered a record number of vehicles in the third quarter even though it made fewer of its new Model 3 sedans than anticipated. Tesla delivered 26,150 vehicles in the July-September period, up 4.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

Tesla missed its third-quarter production goals for its new Model 3 sedan, leaving customers and analysts to wonder if the company will meet future targets for the hotly anticipated electric car.

Catalonia Urges Mediation With Spain in Secession Dispute

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Catalan separatists called for international mediation with the Spanish government as they pushed ahead Monday with plans to declare unilateral independence this week after a violent police crackdown scarred a disputed independence referendum. The referendum debacle only deepened Spain’s most serious political crisis since democratic rule was restored in 1978. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called Monday for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to accept international mediation.

Tax Plan Gets Mixed Small Business Reception

WASHINGTON (AP) – Small business groups are split over the Republican-backed tax overhaul plan. It would change the way company owners like sole proprietors and partners are taxed. They’re currently taxed at rates up to 39.6 percent, and for some, at a higher rate than the maximum 35 percent corporations pay. Under the proposal, the tax 25 percent rate on these businesses would still be higher than the proposed corporate rate of 20 percent. Some business advocates are objecting to the continuing disparity.

FDA Acts to Encourage Generic Competition for Complex Drugs

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opens a new front in its efforts to reduce high drug prices by increasing competition. It’s focusing on medicines so complex to make that they don’t easily face generic competition. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday that complex drugs and drug-device combinations often don’t get generic competition after their patent expires, as happens with pills.

Equifax: 2.5 Million More Americans May Be Affected by Hack

NEW YORK (AP) – Credit report company Equifax is now saying an additional 2.5 million Americans may have been affected by a massive security breach, bringing the total possibly impacted to 145.5 million people. Equifax said the company it hired to do an examination of the breach has concluded its investigation and plans to release the results “promptly.”

Former Equifax Chairman Apologizes for Data Breach

WASHINGTON (AP) – The former chairman and CEO of Equifax is apologizing for a data breach in which the sensitive information of 140 million Americans was stolen. In prepared congressional testimony, Richard F. Smith said the millions of Americans affected by the data breach are not just numbers in a database, but friends, family, neighbors and members of his church.

Supreme Court Term Begins With Case of Workers’ Rights

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has opened a high-profile term with a case about employees’ rights that could affect an estimated 25 million workers. Justice Neil Gorsuch, in his first full term on the bench, was silent during an otherwise lively argument in which the justices seemed closely divided.