Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
U.S.-India Trade Framework Signals Major Shift in Tariffs, Energy, and Supply Chains 
China Extends Gold Buying Streak as Reserves Surge Despite Volatile Prices 
Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026 
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady 
SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off 
American Airlines CEO to Meet Pilots Union Amid Storm Response and Financial Concerns 
Amazon Stock Rebounds After Earnings as $200B Capex Plan Sparks AI Spending Debate 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
Silver Prices Plunge in Asian Trade as Dollar Strength Triggers Fresh Precious Metals Sell-Off 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Dow Hits 50,000 as U.S. Stocks Stage Strong Rebound Amid AI Volatility 
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom 
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates 
Ford Motor Co. is preparing to make a court appeal after a Gwinnett County jury stated it should pay $1.7 billion. The verdict has been delivered last week and it was for a civil lawsuit that centers on the automaker’s Ford F-250 pickup truck that crashed and killed Melvin and Voncile Hill.
As per Fox Business, the case has been going on for years before the jury finally reached a verdict. The more than a billion penalty against Ford Motor is said to be the largest that a jury had ever imposed in the state’s history.
The automaker’s 2002 Ford F-250 model was involved in a car crash in April 2014. Its passengers, a couple named Melvin and Voncile Hill, died when the pickup truck rolled over. The plaintiff’s legal team said that the vehicles’ roofs were “dangerously defective” and this resulted in the demise of the couple.
The children of Melvin and Voncile - Kim and Adam Hill - were named the plaintiffs in the civil case for the wrongful death of their parents. Their lawyer, James Butler Jr., shared that he was shocked by all the evidence presented against Ford. he described the roofs in the F-250 truck as "weak."
On the other hand, Ford Motor's lawyer, William Withrow Jr., continued to defend its client and its engineers during the case’s closing arguments. The automaker’s legal team fight the allegations of “weak” roofs by saying “Ford and its engineers acted willfully and wantonly, with a conscious indifference for the safety of the people who ride in their cars when they made these decisions about roof strength."
The plaintiffs' legal team presented evidence of similar rollover crash incidents involving the pick-up truck. They showed at least 80 documentations of the roofs being crushed and the drivers were either injured or died.
"While our sympathies go out to the Hill family, we do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence, and we plan to appeal," Ford said in a statement in response to the verdict.
The Guardian reported that the hill family decided to pursue the case against Ford Motor to warn other motorists about the pick-up trucks’ roofs. The automaker still insists that its vehicles are of high quality and an appeal is underway to reduce the amount of the fine or even scrap it entirely.
