Canadian Prosecutor: Huawei's Meng Wanzhou a Flight Risk

A prosecutor for the Canadian government says the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei has incentive to flee Canada because she faces charges in the U.S. of up to 30 years in prison, and more in Friday’s Markets In Brief.

The prosecutor said at the bail hearing for Meng Wanzhou that she has vast resources and would be motivated to flee Canada and return home to China.

He says the charges Meng is facing in the U.S. have to do with Huawei using an unofficial subsidiary to access the Iran market in dealings that would contravene U.S. sanctions.

Meng is accused of fraud. The prosecutor says she assured banks that Huawei and Skycom were separate companies but he says the U.S. contends that Skycom is Huawei.

MARKETS IN BRIEF

Marlboro Maker Leaps Into the Cannabis Trade With $2.4B

One of the world’s biggest tobacco companies is diving into the cannabis market with a $2.4 billion investment in Cronos Group, a Canadian medical and recreational marijuana company.

Altria, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, is taking a 45 percent stake in the Toronto company.

Cronos said Friday that the Richmond, Virginia, tobacco company will pay another $1.4 billion for warrants that if exercised, would give the Altria a 55 percent majority ownership stake.

Cronos first announced that it was in talks with Altria this week.

Source: Fiat Chrysler to Put Assembly Plant in Detroit Area

Fiat Chrysler will open another assembly plant in the Detroit area, according to a person familiar with the automaker’s plan.

The source says the plant will produce SUVs but did not specify when it will open or how many jobs it will create.

Fiat Chrysler did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The decision comes as other automakers are retrenching. General Motors announced last week that it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs in North America and consider closing five plants as it abandons many cars in favor of trucks and SUVS, as well as autonomous and electric vehicles.

The Detroit News reported Thursday that the company plans to reopen a former engine plant on the city’s east side to build SUVs with three rows of seats.

President Says Fuel Theft Costs Mexico Up to $3.5B Yearly

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says the country loses $2.5 to $3.5 billion annually to fuel thieves who drill illegal taps into government pipelines.

Lopez Obrador said Friday that “there still isn’t an exact figure” on the losses. The state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos company hasn’t given out new figures on pipeline taps since September. The last report indicated that 11,240 taps were found in the first nine months of 2018, or about 41 per day.

The illicit fuel-theft industry involves drilling taps, bribing or threatening oil company employees, stealing tank trucks to carry the fuel and turf battles between rival gangs.

That has caused a surge in the number of homicides in states like Guanajuato, where fuel theft is rampant.

Lopez Obrador has promised stiffer punishments for the crime.

US Backers of Paris Accord Set Up Camp at Climate Talks

Hundreds of U.S. states, cities, businesses and churches are establishing a presence at the U.N. climate talks to show that many Americans remain committed to curbing global warming.

The opening Friday of the U.S. Climate Action Center alongside pavilions from Britain, Poland and New Zealand contrasts with the low-key presence of the official U.S. government delegation.

The administration of President Donald Trump, who has announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, is holed up in a cubicle away from the main concourse. It currently has one public event planned Monday promoting U.S. technological innovations.

The Climate Action Center is backed by a grouping called We Are Still In that wants to maintain the 2015 Paris agreement aim of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).