Kia is issuing a new recall of more than 460,000 vehicles over a fire risk after an earlier recall affecting the same vehicles failed to resolve the problem, according to federal regulators.

The recall affects 462,869 Kia Telluride vehicles from the model years 2020-2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Thursday.

Owners are instructed to park outside and away from other cars and buildings due to a risk of fire while driving or parked.

HONDA RECALLING MORE THAN 325,000 VEHICLES OVER POTENTIAL CRASH RISK

The same vehicles were previously recalled in 2024 for the same issue.

If the front power seat slide cover or knob is hit or accidentally struck, the switch can be dislodged, misaligned or damaged, making the seat motor continue to run and causing overheating.

An improper repair under the previous recall also may lead to the motor overheating and catching fire.

Seven seat fires and 11 cases of seat motors melting have been reported.

FORD RECALLS MORE THAN 110,000 MUSTANG VEHICLES OVER WINDSHIELD WIPER, DRIVETRAIN DEFECTS

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Owner notification letters will be sent out Aug. 13.

Owners can then take their vehicles to a Kia dealer, where an electronic fuse assembly will be installed to prevent continuous operation of the seat motor if the seat switch becomes dislodged, internally misaligned or otherwise damaged.

IPO-bound SBI Funds Management on Thursday exuded confidence in the largest asset manager’s Rs 11,600-crore maiden public equity offering sailing through despite prevailing market volatilities.

The entity, which declared a price band of Rs 545-574 per share for the initial public offering, is looking to double the international book to USD 5 billion in three years from the present USD 2.5 billion as part of a revenue augmentation plan, a top official told PTI.

Citing the valuation sought by the fund house as seen from the pricing of the issue and conversations with larger investors, the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Debasish Mishra said the buzz has been good around the issue and the possibility of making good returns will attract investors.

“The market could be volatile, uncertain but a trust is always certain. So, that trust of the confidence of customers who are in the market (will help the IPO),” Mishra told PTI.

It can be noted that after a very strong FY25 which witnessed record issuances, IPO fundraisings have been lackluster since the beginning of the US-Israel campaign against Iran in late February.

SBI MF’s issue is one of the largest in recent times, and is set to be succeeded by mega issuances from largest stock bourse NSE and telco Jio Platforms.
Asked about the revenues being lower than the second largest fund house, the management explained that this is because of managing EPFO (Employee Provident Fund Office) money, where it makes a thinner revenue, but added that newer revenue streams are being chased along with reducing the share of EPFO money in the overall AUM.Mishra said the overall assets under management (AUM) of the company is over Rs 13 lakh crore, of which over Rs 3 lakh crore is EPFO money. Deputy MD and Joint CEO D P Singh said the fund house used to manage 75 per cent of EPFO’s money earlier, which has come down to 26 per cent.

Regulatory restrictions on forms of business had restricted it from launching a portfolio management scheme for long but now the company has entered after a clarification from the RBI, he said, adding that international business is also very important.

SBI MF has an international book of USD 2.5 billion at present and is aiming to double the same to USD 5 billion in the next three years as part of the strategy, Singh said, adding that it will carry this along with its joint venture partner Amundi, which has good presence globally and also by deploying staff in financial centres like New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Apart from this, it is also looking at the alternates business very seriously, and may also be open for growing in the line through an acquisition, Singh said.

Mishra chipped-in that the focus of the company generally is to grow organically but it will not hesitate if an opportunity comes. He made it clear that at present, there is no proposal on acquisition.

Singh said more than a fifth of the overall sales for the company come from parent SBI, and stressed that there are no concerns on misspelling as the largest lender in the country sells the safer hybrid schemes the most.

As for the IPO issue, the management exuded confidence that in the next 3-4 days, it will come out with multiple large names who will be investing in the company through the IPO.

Groww has said direct mutual funds will remain central to its platform and will continue to be free for do-it-yourself investors, responding to confusion around its mutual fund offering after Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath’s recent post on direct plans.

The company said direct mutual funds are “the heart of Groww” and that its existing mutual fund investors will see no change in plans, pricing or experience. Groww said more than 1 crore investors have built over Rs 1.9 lakh crore of mutual fund investments on its platform, making it the largest mutual fund platform in the country.

“For every DIY investor, Groww stays exactly what it has always been: direct, zero-commission, and free. Forever,” the company said. It added that it will continue to launch new features for direct mutual fund investors.

Also Read: Zerodha will keep direct mutual fund plans for free, says Nithin Kamath

The response came after Kamath said Zerodha would continue to offer direct mutual funds for free through Coin. He had said that when Zerodha started the discount broking model in India in 2010, it decided to charge the same fee regardless of trade size because the effort to execute a trade was the same. He said the same logic was applied to mutual funds, and Zerodha did not launch mutual funds until it could offer only direct plans.

Kamath had also said that most direct mutual fund platforms that started around the time Zerodha launched Coin had either disappeared, changed direction or were rethinking their choice of offering direct plans. He added that Zerodha would continue to offer direct mutual funds for free.
Groww, without naming Zerodha or Kamath, said there had been “confusion” and “misinformation” about its mutual fund offering. It clarified that MF Prime is not a shift away from direct mutual funds, but an additional product for a different set of investors.”MF Prime is not a shift. It is an addition — a fully opt-in product for a different cohort: investors who want research-backed guidance on what to buy, hold, exit, and rebalance,” Groww said.

The company said many investors wanted to invest through Groww but held back because they needed help. MF Prime is meant for such users, it said.

“If you are a DIY customer on Groww today, nothing changes for you. Not the plans, not the pricing, not the experience,” Groww said. “Any commentary claiming Groww has changed its approach to mutual fund investing is simply incorrect.”

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He said that productivity, which measures how efficiently people work, has slowed down in the UK.

It is also a particular problem in Wales where it is the lowest of the four home nations and around 15 percent lower than the UK average, external.

People in Wales also earn lower wages than the UK average, and the country has some of the highest rates of welfare claims.

Pill said improving the efficiency of the Welsh economy is the key to raising living standards.

Things like better infrastructure “to link places together” and creating “a better educated workforce” are recognised drivers of productivity.

But he acknowledged that it is “a very difficult thing to deliver” in an uncertain world, where “public finances are constrained” and politicians face “hard decisions”.

Before joining the Bank of England, Pill previously worked at the European Central Bank from its inception through to the Eurozone crisis, when the survival of the single currency was in jeopardy.

He said the ability of a central bank to set interest rates and print money were powerful tools, but they were also blunt tools.

“It doesn’t allow you to solve all problems,” he said.

Pill said countries like Greece, Spain Portugal and Ireland had to go through “a lot of pain”, with politicians making “difficult decisions” about changing their economies.

But “they have come out the other side in stronger shape,” he argued.

Japanese companies are lining up more than £18 billion of investment in British wind farms, infrastructure and financial services. But HMRC’s treatment of visa paperwork and Japanese health insurance risks souring the relationship before the money lands, a leading tax firm has cautioned.

Blick Rothenberg, the audit, tax and business advisory firm, says the Government and HMRC should take further steps to attract and retain Japanese businesses rather than adding to the cost of employing their staff here.

Aliona Le Khak, who has joined the firm as a Director leading Global Mobility services for Japanese clients, said: “To remain competitive on the global stage, the UK needs to ensure that its tax and regulatory frameworks support, rather than deter, inward Japanese investment. Especially in light of the announcement that Japanese firms will invest up to £9bn in UK offshore wind farms and more than £9bn in UK infrastructure and financial services.”

Her warning follows last month’s Downing Street summit with Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi, at which the Government trumpeted agreements expected to deliver more than £18 billion in economic gains and tens of thousands of new jobs.

Chief among the irritants is the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), a regulatory requirement placed on employers who hire overseas workers. HMRC has clarified that the cost of obtaining one should be treated as a taxable Benefit in Kind (BIK), even though the obligation falls on the employer, not the employee.

“Given that visa-related costs are already significant, and often subject to tax gross-up, this treatment further increases the financial burden on Japanese employers expanding into the UK,” Le Khak said.

She added: “Visa costs, including CoS are not taxable when assignees come to the UK for the first time, but if an assignee who is already located in the UK applies for a visa for the first time or applies for a visa extension, it is fully taxable. The Government should consider whether HMRC’s position on CoS is reasonable. The definition of BIK is a non-cash benefit provided to an employee by an employer that holds a monetary value – except a CoS provides no direct benefit to the employee and arguably does not hold a monetary value.”

A second row concerns Kenko Hoken, the employer premiums that form part of Japan’s social security system, which HMRC is seeking to tax in the UK despite assignees typically holding private medical cover while here.

“These premiums do not relate to any tangible UK-based benefit,” Le Khak said. “The Government should again consider if HMRC’s position is reasonable and weigh up the short-term benefit of additional tax take verses the long-term benefits of encouraging international expansion and investment.”

The stakes go beyond two technical disputes. “In recent years, Brexit and the increasing tax burden associated with employing expatriate assignees in the UK has contributed to a noticeable decline in the expatriate workforce across the board,” she said, adding that “many multinational companies are now more inclined to redirect investment and operations to alternative locations, including nearby EU countries that offer more favourable tax regimes for expatriates and lower employment costs.”

It is a familiar refrain. Advisers have previously warned that an expat exit tax could drive foreign investment away from the UK, and an estimated 1,800 non-doms quit the country within months of the April 2025 reforms. Yet the appetite from Tokyo is plainly there: Japanese investors poured almost £118 million into Greater Manchester in a single year.

“This risks undermining the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for international business,” Le Khak said. “Increased costs and uncertainty in tax treatment may prompt companies to reconsider further expansion in the UK.”

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