China

DETROIT: Ford Motor Co on Thursday more than doubled the amount of money it plans to invest on electric and autonomous vehicles, to US$29 billion, even as it posted a fourth-quarter net loss of US$2.8 billion. The No. 2 U.S. automaker also said the global semiconductor chip shortage could lead to a 10per cent to 20per cent loss in first-quarter production, resulting in a potential hit to operating earnings of US$1 billion to US$2.5 billion. But its shares gained 1.5per cent in after-hours trading as the fourth-quarter operating results and 2021 profit forecast were above Wall Street's expectations. "If EVs continue to quickly gain favor, especially with commercial customers, we want to be clear that we will not cede ground to anyone," Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told reporter...

The U.S. sent two aircraft carrier strike groups for joint operations in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, the Navy said, as new President Joe Biden shows no signs of backing down from Beijing’s growing maritime assertiveness in the area. The dual carrier operations in the flash point waterway were the first there since last July and come just under three weeks since Biden was sworn into office on Jan. 20. The new administration has called China the United States’ “most critical challenge” and “most serious competitor.” Tuesday’s exercises saw the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Nimitz strike groups conduct “a multitude of exercises aimed at increasing interoperability between assets as well as command and control capabilities,” the U.S. Navy said. Rear Adm. Doug Verissimo, comman...