GM Ventures, others invest in Israeli EV battery startup Addionics
Addionics raised $39 million from investors including General Motors’ venture capital arm to help commercialize its 3D copper foil product for electric vehicle batteries.
Kia Tasman pickup unlikely to be available in the U.S.
The automaker released video of the off-road capable truck simulating testing in California, but its target markets are overseas.
Small-business lenders share an inside look at the loan process
By Olivia Chen | NerdWallet
Whether you have done it before or you’re new to the process, applying for a small-business loan can be frustrating and difficult to navigate. In the Federal Reserve’s 2023 Small-Business Credit Survey, over half of business owners who reported feeling discouraged from applying for funding cited lender requirements as the reason. With large banks in particular, a difficult application process was one of the top challenges borrowers faced, second only to high interest rates.
To help shed light on the process, we spoke with two small-business lending professionals — who together have nearly four decades of experience working with small businesses — about the funding process, what lenders are looking for and how business owners can approach lenders.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Learn more about each lender after the questions.
What components of a business’s financials do lenders look at?
Alexis Dishman (small business chief lending officer at Community Reinvestment Fund): Each small-business lender will vary, but many will look at the last several years of revenue to get a sense of how the business has performed. For example, is revenue going up? If not, is there a reason for the decline? A lender may use this information to evaluate growth projections for the business to ensure that they’re achievable and ultimately support the repayment of the potential loan.
Prestone scientists working to develop low-conductivity coolant to boost EV efficiency
Low-conductivity coolant in EVs and fuel cell vehicles can increase charging and driving efficiency and reduce fire risk. Prestone, one of the industry’s largest suppliers of factory fill coolant, is developing new coolants specifically for EVs.
NASA, Boeing lay out path for Starliner return after likely source of leak, thruster problems ID’d
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and its two NASA astronaut passengers cannot come home yet, but officials said a decision could come next week on when they could make their return to Earth.
“I think we’re starting to close in on those final pieces of the flight rationale to make sure that we can come home safely,” NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said during a media update Thursday.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the International Space Station on June 6 — one day after launching in Starliner atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. They’re flying on the Crew Flight Test mission, the first human spaceflight for Starliner as part of Boeing’s efforts to play catchup and join SpaceX to provide rides to and from the ISS from the U.S.
While it was originally targeting an eight-day stay on board the ISS, the duo have now been on the station more than 50 days as Boeing and NASA work through issues found during the flight up with both helium leaks and failed thrusters on Starliner’s propulsion system. The earliest Starliner could leave the ISS would likely be mid-September.