Jaguar Land Rover sells record 583,313 cars in 2016 www.reuters.com

Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) (TAMO.NS) sold a record 583,312 cars last year as the Indian-owned firm continues its rapid expansion with the aim of building 1 million vehicles a year at the turn of the decade.

Despite redesign, Camry’s reign as top-selling U.S. car in jeopardy www.asahi.com

DETROIT--America's favorite car is under attack.

The Toyota Camry has been the nation's top-selling vehicle for 15 years, if you exclude pickup trucks. Now it's in danger of losing its crown, a potential victim of the SUV craze. And even a much-anticipated revamp to be unveiled Monday may not be enough to keep the competition at bay.

Toyota's own RAV4 small SUV and Honda's CR-V have racked up impressive sales gains as buyers shift away from passenger cars toward the higher-sitting and more versatile SUVs. The CR-V, for instance, outsold the Camry for an uncharacteristic five months last year.

The Camry, last reworked four years ago, has made a living by being a solidly reliable if dull ride for people who simply want to get from place to place. It's not much fun to drive, and in the past its looks were compared to an appliance by some analysts. Although styling has improved, it's still square-looking when compared to competitors such as the Honda Accord or Chevrolet Malibu.

Toyota promises big changes when it shows off the eighth-generation Camry at Detroit's auto show. Few details have been released, but executives say the 2018 Camry will get a more rounded look. New engines and transmissions are expected with sportier handling.

Dealers have heard this before. Toyota promised big changes with a 2013 model year redesign, but executives conceded they didn't want too much change, fearing that they'd alienate loyal Camry buyers.

Stu Stewart, general manager of his family's Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Florida, says close-up pictures of the new car he saw at a recent dealer meeting give him hope that this version will live up to its billing. "I'm excited to see something pretty sporty," he says.

But a sportier look may be too little to help the Camry or any midsize car given the seismic consumer shift to SUVs.

Five years ago, midsize cars made up 15.8 percent of U.S. auto sales, says Tom Libby, an industry analyst with IHS Markit. This year the market share fell more than three percentage points to 12.5. During the same five years, small SUVs rose from 12.7 percent of U.S. sales to 18.7 percent, Libby says.

A Camry with nicer styling, improved engines and reduced weight for better fuel economy will help, but Libby sees no sign of the trend away from cars changing. "That's all they can do," he says of Toyota, adding that the company must be prepared should the market shift back, perhaps if gas prices shoot higher.

The midsize car market is still huge, Libby says. Although sales fell more than 8 percent last year, Americans still bought over 3.2 million of them. Toyota sold more than 400,000 Camrys annually from 2012 to 2015, but sales dropped 9.5 percent to about 389,000 last year, according to Ward's Automotive. By comparison sales of the RAV4 rose almost 12 percent in 2016 to 352,000, while Honda's CR-V posted a 3 percent gain to just over 357,000. If Camry sales this year fall by the same amount as 2016, and the CR-V and RAV4 grow even slightly, both will pass the Camry.

Michael Kranjec, sales manager at Adams Toyota in Lee's Summit, Missouri, near Kansas City, says that in the past, Toyota has discounted the Camry to keep it No. 1. But with the market shift, he doubts that will be enough in the future.

Still, he hopes Toyota will set the Camry apart from competitors, which he says all look alike. "I'm hoping it's waking up some of the designers," he said.

Citic, Carlyle to buy stake in McDonald's China, HK businesses for $2.08 billion www.reuters.com

Citic Ltd (0267.HK) and Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) would buy a majority interest in McDonald's Corp's (MCD.N) mainland China and Hong Kong businesses for $2.08 billion, the companies said.

Indian state leases land for uranium exploration www.mining.com

Welcome to Oyu Tolgoi Supplier’s Forum www.ot.mn

Oyu Tolgoi invites interested parties to register for the Supplier Forum to be held on 31 January, 2017 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Oyu Tolgoi Supplier Forum is designed to:

Australia predicts a dramatic fall of iron ore prices www.bbc.com

Shares in Australian mining companies have fallen after the government forecasted a dramatic decline in iron ore prices.
The government forecast an iron ore price of $46.70 a tonne by 2018, almost half the current level of $80.
The current price is supported by resurgent demand from China.
But the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science said that demand is unlikely to continue over the coming years.
The department also lowered its forecast for iron ore exports by 2% to 832.2 million tonnes for the fiscal year 2016-17.
Australia is the world's biggest supplier of iron ore and shares in the country's main mining companies fell after the report was released.
Hardest hit was Fortescue Metals which fell more than 3% in early trade, while commodity giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto also saw their shares prices drop.
In its forecast early last year, the department had predicted an iron ore price of $44.10 per tonne, but an increase in Chinese demand spurred the price to above $80.

Mongolia to repay USD 580 million loan in first quarter of 2017 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ “Mongolia will pay back a loan of USD580 million in the first quarter of this year. The Government has found a solution to repay the loan without delay, not causing pressure to the economy or imposing burden on the people. We will repay it on time” stated Prime Minister J.Erdenebat.

On January 06, in his speech addressing to a two-day seminar of Chairmen of Citizens representative meetings and Governors of provinces and the capital city, the Prime Minister also made a denial to information about Government’s intend to sell 49 per cent of Tavantolgoi deposit with USD400 million and it would be sold to one company.

“I state that this information is false. The Government has established a working group, whose suggestions and conclusions will be submitted to the Parliament for discussion. We will not be making decisions that do not meet the interest of Mongolian people regarding this world scale deposit” said PM J.Erdenebat.

Fiat Chrysler commits $1bn to US plants www.bbc.com

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced a $1bn (£816m) investment to produce three Jeep models in the US.
Under the plan it will also move the production of a Ram pickup truck from Mexico to the US.
The location of car production has become a sensitive issue, as President-elect Donald Trump is critical of firms that have moved production to Mexico and has threatened to impose tariffs.
However, BMW has told the BBC it will go ahead with a new plant in Mexico.
The German car giant is spending $1bn on a new factory at San Luis Potosi to make its 3 Series cars for sale across North America.
BMW sales and marketing director Ian Robertson told the BBC that the firm was "absolutely" committed to the facility.
He added that the company was investing a similar sum of money in a plant in South Carolina and pointed out that BMW was the biggest exporter of cars from the US.
President elect Donald TrumpImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
The president-elect has threatened car makers with a "border tax" if they make cars in Mexico and sell them in the US.
Last week Ford cancelled a $1.6bn plan to build a plant in Mexico and instead decided to expand operations in Michigan.
Ford boss Mark Fields said the decision was partly due to falling sales of small cars and partly a "vote of confidence" in Mr Trump's policies.
On the same day as Ford's announcement, Mr Trump had criticised General Motors on Twitter for making cars in Mexico and importing them into the US.
"General Motors is sending Mexican-made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers tax-free across border. Make in USA or pay big border tax!" he tweeted.
Job creation
FCA said its announcement was the second phase of a plan, first outlined in January, to expand in the market for pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
It will invest in a plant in Michigan, so that it can produce two new Jeep SUVs and take on the production of a Ram truck, currently made in Mexico.
An Ohio plant will be retooled to make a new Jeep pickup truck.
As a result, FCA says that 2,000 jobs will be added.

Samsung Executives to Be Questioned by Korean Prosecutors www.bloomberg.com

Samsung Electronics Co. executives have been summoned by South Korean special prosecutors amid a widening influence-peddling scandal that brought about South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.

Baidu, CITIC approved to set up China's first independent direct bank www.xinhuanet.com

BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Internet giant Baidu has been approved to open a direct bank, finally joining its tech counterparts in offering banking services.