Electric Cars

5 Things to Watch This Week

Nobody can predict all the news that will move the markets in a given week, but here are a few things we do know will help shape the week ahead on Wall Street.

GM's Not Unplugging Chevy Volt ... But It's Low on Juice

Bad news for GM: The Chevy Volt still isn't selling the way the automaker hoped it would, so it's temporarily halting production of the battery-powered hybrids for five weeks. Worse news for GM: Shutdowns like this only make the Volt a harder sell.

3 Reasons Why You're Not Buying an Electric Car

The electric car has arrived, but odds are that there isn't one in your driveway. Several factors have gotten in the way of the eco-friendly automotive revolution, but at least now we can ask conspiracy theorists -- who argue that oil companies and the government are blocking plug-in cars from the road -- to leave the room and take their tinfoil hats with them. The electric car is here; drivers simply don't want them yet.

U.S. Employment Figures Buoy Nikkei, Buffett's BYD Boosts Hang Seng

A slight slip in the price of oil allowed Japanese investors to focus attention on positive employment figures out of the U.S., boosting the Nikkei 225 Index by 0.9%. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng also Index added 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.4%.

How a Google-Backed Startup Aims to Save Energy

Billions of dollars of electricity is wasted annually by inefficient power-conversion systems. But a fledgling company called Transphorm believes its technology can cut electric bills significantly -- and hike mileage for hybrid electric cars and boost output flowing from solar panels.