Putin orders the expulsion of 755 US diplomats in retaliation for Russia sanctions bill www.businessinsider.com

Moscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said 755 US diplomats must leave Russia and warned ties with Washington could be gridlocked for a long time, in a move Sunday that followed tough new American sanctions.

Tesla's Musk hands over first Model 3 electric cars to early buyers www.reuters.com

FREMONT, Calif. (Reuters) - Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Friday the Model 3 had over half a million advance reservations as he handed over the first 30 to employee buyers, setting the stage for the biggest test yet of the company's strategy to become a profitable, mass market electric car maker.

Outside Tesla's Fremont, California factory, Musk showed off the $35,000 base vehicle with a range of 220 miles (350 km) on a charge that marks a departure from the company's earlier luxury electric cars.
Musk took to the stage driving a red Model 3, and said Tesla has produced 50 of the vehicles so far, including 20 for testing purposes.
Hours before the event, Musk acknowledged it would be "quite a challenge" to build the car during the early days of production.
"We're going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell," Musk told journalists.
The over half a million reservations are up from about 373,000 disclosed in April 2016. Customers pay $1,000 refundable deposits for the car, which is eligible for tax credits.
Any new buyers would likely not receive their car until the end of 2018, Musk said.
A longer-range version of the car is priced at $44,000 and will drive 310 miles (500 km) on a single charge. The cars feature a streamlined dashboard devoid of buttons or knobs, with a 15-inch touchstream display to the right of the driver.
Tesla faces major hurdles living up to the Model 3 hype. The 500,000 vehicles Tesla vows to produce next year are nearly six times its 2016 production.
Were Tesla to produce and sell 500,000 cars per year, the company would likely outsell the BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus brands in the United States.
Production delays and quality issues marred the launches of Tesla's Model S and Model X vehicles, and the company blamed production problems for a shortfall during the second quarter of this year.
Musk has said a simpler Model 3 design will greatly reduce potential assembly-line problems.
Tesla has burned through over $2 billion in cash so far this year ahead of the launch.
A troubled Model 3 launch could heighten the risks for the company, while a steady delivery of Model 3s could generate a stream of cash that would allow Tesla to avoid going again to the capital markets to fund its operations.
Tesla's share price has surged 54 percent since January in anticipation of the Model 3 launch, and Tesla's pricey valuation now exceeds that of traditional rivals like General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.
Until now, Tesla has operated as a niche producer of luxury electric vehicles, with a charismatic, showman CEO who regularly interacts with fans on his Twitter account.
Now loss-making Tesla is trying to move into a different league, building vehicles in high volume for customers able to pay only a few thousand dollars more than the average price of a conventional car or truck sold in the United States.
The Model 3 is part of Musk's broader plan to build a clean energy and transportation company that offers electric semi-trailer trucks, rooftop solar energy systems and large-scale battery storage systems.

Justice ministry to work with UAE Interior ministry www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs plans to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates.

Starbucks to own 100% of its China stores after buyout deal www.bbc.com

Mongolia to draft science-based food safety policy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ General Agency for Specialized Inspection will organize the fifth conference on food safety this October.

Glencore snaps up 49pc of Hunter Valley Operations in $US1bn deal www.theaustralian.com

UPDATE: Glencore has confirmed it had struck a $US1.139 billion deal to buy 49 per cent of the Hunter Valley Operations coal mines from Yancoal Australia and Mitsubishi.

The deal, which is conditional on approvals and the completion of Yancoal’s acquisition of Rio Tinto’s operating stake in HVO as part of a $US2.69bn deal struck last month to buy all of Rio’s Australian thermal coal, is expected to be completed within six months.

Under the deal, revealed by The Australian this afternoon, Glencore has also agreed to subscribe for $US300 million of Yancoal shares in an equity raising to fund Yancoal’s Rio purchase.

Glencore will be the exclusive marketing agent for HVO coal sales into Japan, South Korea and all other countries except China, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia.

Swiss miner and trader Glencore is close to finalising a $US1 billion deal to take a 49 per cent stake in the Hunter Valley Operations that Rio Tinto is selling to Chinese-backed Yancoal Australia as part of its exit of Australian thermal coal

The deal would give Glencore, who Yancoal last month beat in a late bidding auction for Rio’s Coal & Allied assets in New South Wales, access to marketing rights and cost savings that can be achieved with its neighbouring mines.

It would also extend Glencore’s position as the nation’s biggest miner of thermal coal, which is used in power stations.

For Yancoal, it gives access to the same cost savings and means it will not have to raise as much equity to complete its $US2.69bn purchase of the mines from Rio.

It is understood Glencore has agreed to buy a 16.6 per cent stake in the Hunter Valley Operations from Yancoal and a 32.4 per cent stake off Japanese trader Mitsubishi.

The deals are all subject to finalisation of Yancoal’s $US2.69bn purchase of Rio’s Coal & Allied operations in the Hunter Valley, which include HVO and the Mt Thorley-Warkworth mine (which is not thought to be part of the deal).

The price is not known, but based on a $US710 million deal Yancoal struck last month to buy Mitsubishi’s 32.4 per cent stake, it would be worth about $US1.1bn.

Glencore and Yancoal would jointly operate the mine and share marketing rights.

Yancoal went into a trading halt this morning “pending an announcement to the market in relation to a possible major transaction”, while its Hong Kong-listed, Chinese-controlled partner Yanzhou Coal said its board had approved the transfer of a 16.6 per cent interest in the Hunter Valley operations joint venture to an unnamed third party.

The Australian understands the third party is Glencore, which unsuccessfully tried to outbid Yancoal for the Rio assets, pushing the price up by $US240m from the original deal struck with Yancoal.

Glencore has also agreed to buy a Mitsubishi stake that Yancoal had previously agreed to buy.

Yanzhou also said it would also establish a joint venture to operate and manage the assets.

Neither Yancoal nor Glencore would comment further on the deal.

UNDP, SDC and parliament hold a project board meeting www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The board meeting of a project by UNDP, SDC and the Parliament took place on July 27, Thursday.

Turquoise Hill Resources: Catalysts Align In Its Favor www.seekingalpha.com

Since early June Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE:TRQ) has been on a tear, as the stock has jumped from below $2.50 to $3.07 on July 25. This looks like the first time since the commodity super cycle hit a ceiling in early 2013 that a sustainable rebound is at hand. Copper started to slowly drop as early as 2011.

Jeff Bezos Briefly Tops Bill Gates as the World's Richest Person www.bloomberg.com

A surge in Amazon.com Inc. shares Thursday morning in advance of the online retailer’s earnings report briefly propelled founder Jeff Bezos past Bill Gates as the world’s richest person.

Inaugural U.S.-Mongolia Energy Cooperation Dialogue on Energy Security and National Energy Policy www.state.gov