Latest Tesla fire caused by running over a metal object

The Tennessee fire represents at least the second incident in which an Model S caught fire after an object struck the underside of the vehicle.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The metal object was a tow hitch, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

"The tow hitch hit the under carriage of the vehicle causing an electrical fire," the Highway Patrol said in a statement. "The driver was able to pull the vehicle over onto the left side emergency lane and come to final rest."

It was the third fire in a Tesla Model S in 5 weeks. No occupants were hurt in any of the incidents.

The first was in Washington state in early October and was also caused by the car driving over a metal object.

The Model S battery pack is contained within the floor of the vehicle.

In the first incident, the fire did not enter the passenger compartment because it was protected by internal firewalls, according to Tesla.

In the Tennessee fire, damage also seemed confined to the front of the vehicle, based on photos supplied by the Highway Patrol.

Tesla has not yet responded to questions about the latest fire or about whether the automaker plans to make any changes to its vehicles.

Tesla (TSLA) said Thursday it was sending people to Tennessee to investigate the incident.

In the second Tesla fire, which occurred in Mexico, the driver crashed into a concrete wall, according to media reports.

The federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided not to investigate the Model S for fire safety concerns after the first incident. The agency said Friday that it has not yet determined whether it will investigate following this latest fire.

"NHTSA is in close communication with Tesla and local authorities gathering information about the incident to determine if additional action is necessary," the agency said Friday.

There are about 19,000 Tesla Model S cars on the road worldwide, according to Tesla.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are about 150,000 vehicle fires annually in the United States, but traffic accidents are involved in only about 4% of those fires. Most vehicle fires are caused by mechanical or electrical problems, not impacts.

In August, the Model S earned the highest score possible on NHTSA crash tests. Two weeks later, Tesla issued a statement pointing out that its crash results were actually the best ever recorded for any car.

First Published: November 8, 2013: 5:17 PM ET

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SAC Capital pleads guilty

SAC Capital's Steve Cohen.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain deferred her ruling on whether to accept the plea until March 14, saying she wanted time to review case documents and ensure the penalties are appropriate.

Prosecutors announced earlier this week that SAC had agreed to pay $1.8 billion to resolve criminal charges and a related civil case. The firm also agreed to close its investment advisory business, meaning it would no longer manage money for outside investors.

"Subject to the Court's acceptance, today four SAC Capital companies pled guilty to serious federal crimes that undermined the integrity of our securities markets," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

The plea agreement would still allow SAC to operate as a "family office," with Cohen and others at SAC investing their own money. The civil portion of the settlement was approved Wednesday.

"We're determined to learn from this and emerge as a different firm," SAC lawyer Peter Nussbaum said at Friday's hearing.

The guilty plea follows a multi-year effort that FBI Special Agent in Charge April Brooks called "the largest insider trading investigation in history."

The probe has already yielded charges against eight current or former SAC employees, six of whom have pleaded guilty. The two others -- Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg -- are awaiting trial.

Government lawyers asserted at Friday's hearing that they could prove additional SAC employees beyond those eight had also engaged in insider trading.

Cohen himself has not been charged criminally. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced civil charges against him in July, accusing him of failing to supervise employees who engaged in insider trading, in a case that is still pending.

This week's plea agreement does not include immunity from future charges for Cohen or any other individuals at the firm

Cohen is one of the country's most famous hedge fund managers, with a net worth estimated at $9.4 billion in September.

Prosecutors accused SAC in their indictment of fostering a culture of insider trading "that was substantial, pervasive, and on a scale without known precedent." The indictment excerpts a number of e-mails and instant messages from SAC traders suggesting they had illicit information from corporate insiders.

"We take responsibility for the handful of men who pleaded guilty and whose conduct gave rise to SAC's liability," the firm said in a statement Monday. "The tiny fraction of wrongdoers does not represent the 3,000 honest men and women who have worked at the firm during the past 21 years. Even one person crossing the line into illegal behavior is too many and we greatly regret this conduct occurred."

Outside investors have already been fleeing SAC in droves this year as its legal problems have mounted. SAC managed $15 billion as of Jan. 1, but that total has since dropped to roughly $9 billion, nearly all of which is from Cohen and his employees.

In March, SAC agreed to pay the SEC roughly $616 million to settle civil charges related to alleged insider trading by employees. That payment will be credited to the amount owed in this week's plea agreement, meaning the firm will pay an additional $1.2 billion.

The decision to charge SAC criminally was a significant step. Prosecutors have generally been reluctant to indict companies since accounting firm Arthur Andersen collapsed a decade ago -- taking down nearly 28,000 jobs -- after being convicted in connection with the Enron scandal.

-- CNNMoney's Aaron Smith and Maureen Farrell contributed to this report

First Published: November 8, 2013: 5:18 PM ET

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Chrysler recalls 1.2 million trucks

Dodge RAM 2500 trucks stand on display during the 2003 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Chrysler believes 453,000 vehicles in that group may have portions of their steering systems misaligned, creating a risk that they could stop functioning and cause accidents.

The automaker said it knew of seven accidents and two injuries associated with the problem.

Related: Latest Tesla fire caused by running over metal object

Among the vehicles covered by the recall are roughly 842,400 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks from model years 2003 to 2008. The rest include certain Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups from 2008 to 2012, Ram 1500 4x4 Mega Cabs from 2008, and Ram 4500 and 5500 4x4 chassis cabs from 2008 to 2012.

Chrysler said it would notify the affected truck owners by mail next month with instructions for making free repair appointments.

In June, Chrysler was forced to recall 2.7 million Jeeps because of a potential fire risk, after initially challenging a recall request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

First Published: November 8, 2013: 6:03 PM ET

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Driverless cars coming to U.K. in 2017

Driverless cars will travel around Milton Keynes in the U.K. by 2017.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The electric powered "pods" can carry 2 people, and will operate on designated pathways in the town of Milton Keynes, north of London.

Twenty driver-operated pods will be tested by 2015, before a fleet of 100 fully-automated vehicles are rolled out two years later.

The pods will travel at about 12 miles per hour and use sensors to avoid obstacles.

Similar vehicles have been operating at Heathrow Airport, taking passengers between the terminal and car park, since 2011.

It's the first time driverless cars will be used in a pedestrianized area in the U.K.

The government said Friday it will provide £1.5 million ($2.4 million) to help fund the project, which involves engineering firm Arup and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Related: Musk says Tesla is at work on autopilot feature

Business Secretary Vince Cable said driverless cars have the potential to "cut congestion and pollution and improve road safety."

Carmakers are pouring money into self-driving vehicles that boast safety and efficiency features.

Japanese giant Nissan (NSANF) said automated cars could be rolling off its production lines by 2020. General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Toyota (TM) and Germany's Audi, part of Volkswagen (VLKAY), are also working on driverless vehicles.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) too, wants a slice of the action. The internet giant has been developing the technology and testing its self-drive cars on public roads for years.

First Published: November 8, 2013: 9:39 AM ET

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Hooray! Stocks gain on solid jobs report

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all modestly higher in early trading. This comes one day stocks tumbled following a surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and stronger than expected U.S. economic reports.

The U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October, according to the Labor Department. That is higher than the 120,000 estimate of economists surveyed by CNNMoney. Revisions showed an extra 60,000 jobs were created in August and September. The gains came despite a partial government shutdown in October, which many economists had feared would hurt the economy.

Separately, the Commerce Department said personal income rose 0.5% in September, while spending edged up 0.2%.

The jobs report and other good economic news has revived speculation on when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back, or tapering, its $85 billion per month bond buying program. Many market experts believe the Fed's stimulus is a key reason why stocks have surged this year.

But bond prices fell, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 2.71%, from 2.61%. Bond prices and rates move in opposite directions. The spike in yields Friday could be another sign that the market believes the Fed will taper sooner rather than later. Yields surged earlier this summer on expectations the Fed would cut back its bond buying sometime this year.

Related: Fear & Greed Index still shows greed

Stocks on the move: Twitter (TWTR) shares fell nearly 3% on Friday morning, their second day of trading. Twitter shares closed at $44.90 on Thursday, a whopping 73% gain from its initial public offering price of $26.

Groupon (GRPN) shares rose despite disappointing earnings and a weak outlook.

Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) reported slightly better-than-expected earnings and sales.

European markets fell in afternoon trading. The Paris stock market tumbled after Standard & Poor's downgraded France's credit rating. Asian markets chalked up big losses despite strong China trade data.

First Published: November 8, 2013: 9:52 AM ET

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What shutdown? Job growth strong in October

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was well above economists' expectations.

Plus, there was more good news about hiring during the late summer. Revisions showed an extra 60,000 jobs were created in August and September.

"The economy seems to be heating up faster than people think. It's incredibly impressive," said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist for TDAmeritrade.

Economists were expecting weak job growth due to uncertainties created by the budget battles in Washington. The federal government shut down on Oct. 1, after Congress failed to agree on a budget for fiscal 2014. The standoff lasted 16 days and left as many as 800,000 federal employees temporarily out of work.

But the Labor Department noted "there were no discernible impacts of the partial federal government shutdown" on the job growth numbers.

The numbers were also strong enough to get Wall Street talking once again about when the Federal Reserve should start slowing its stimulus program. The Fed has been buying $85 billion in bonds each month since September 2012, in an effort to strengthen the job market.

Share your story: What's your biggest job search mistake?

Given the government shutdown, many Fed watchers were starting to think the central bank would continue its stimulus at full blast until at least spring 2014. The Fed next meets at the end of December, and the strong jobs report could mean officials will consider reducing their monthly bond purchases sooner rather than later.

"Once again the U.S. economy appears to be overcoming a summer swoon," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics in a research note. "In our opinion, the data would justify the Fed reducing the pace of its asset purchases in December."

The outlook isn't all rosy though. Overall, the economy has still not recovered all of the jobs lost in the Great Recession.

The jobs report also showed the unemployment rate rose slightly to 7.3%, up from 7.2% in September, but economists expect this to be a passing blip. About 448,000 furloughed federal workers were counted as being on temporary layoff, and the next jobs report, due on December 6, will probably show these people were back at work in November.

Meanwhile, only 62.8% of Americans over age 16 either had a job or looked for one. That's the lowest level since March 1978.

Economists also believe this number was impacted by furloughed federal employees but nevertheless, it has been hovering around the lowest levels since the 1970s for months.

Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, estimates roughly six million workers are missing from the labor force, and if these workers started looking for work again, the unemployment rate would be closer to 11%.

Overall, about 11.3 million Americans were counted as unemployed in October -- 4 million of whom have been out of work for at least six months.

Where are the jobs? Job gains came across a variety of sectors. Retailers added 44,000 jobs, professional and business services also added 44,000 jobs, restaurants and bars hired 29,000 workers and manufacturers added 12,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the federal government cut 12,000 jobs -- a third of which were at the U.S. Postal Service.

Excluding the postal service, federal jobs were at their lowest level since 2009.

First Published: November 8, 2013: 8:46 AM ET

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Economy perked up in the summer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic activity -- rose at a 2.8% annual rate in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

That marked the fastest growth in a year and was stronger than economists had anticipated.

Spending on both housing and commercial real estate boosted growth, as did consumer spending on goods ranging from groceries to cars. Businesses also built up their inventories.

Meanwhile, federal budget cuts held back growth for the fourth consecutive quarter. That said, the drag is starting to wane, and over the summer, state and local governments ramped up their spending and investments enough to compensate for federal cuts.

It's unclear whether that will continue. This report does not yet reflect the government shutdown in October, which put thousands of federal workers temporarily out of a job and halted some government work for 16 days.

"The economy is trying to run at a faster pace, but lawmakers keep throwing up speed-bumps," said Sal Guatieri, senior economist for BMO Capital Markets.

While 2.8% growth is stronger than the 1.9% economists were expecting, it's still not considered robust enough to bring down the unemployment rate fast enough.

Economists generally hope for at least 3% growth each year to bring the unemployment rate down by one percentage point.

At the end of September, 11.3 million people said they could not find work, and the unemployment rate stood at 7.2%.

First Published: November 7, 2013: 9:13 AM ET

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