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California sues to retain emissions waiver; GM strike enters 2nd week

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California sues to retain emissions waiver; GM strike enters 2nd week

TOP NEWS

* California asked a federal appeals court to vacate a Trump administration rule issued a day earlier that revoked the state's long-held authority to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles. Joined by 22 states, the District of Columbia, and the cities of New York and Los Angeles, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra delivered a lengthy rebuttal to the legal justification for the regulation, which was jointly issued Sept. 19 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

* The nationwide strike at General Motors Co. entered the second week as the carmaker failed to reach a settlement with United Auto Workers over the weekend. While the two sides made some progress over the weekend, they remain at odds on several key issues when they returned to the bargaining table Sept. 23, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Separately, two unnamed union leaders told the Detroit Free Press that workers could remain on strike until members vote instead of when a tentative agreement is reached, which could further extend the strike by at least another week.

CARMAKERS

* As the United Auto Workers and General Motors work to reach a deal on their new four-year contract, approximately 4,500 members of Canadian trade union Unifor have been temporarily laid off as production was idled due to a shortage of parts at the automaker's Oshawa assembly plant in Ontario.

* An 11th former United Auto Workers official was charged in an ongoing federal corruption investigation, according to court documents. Jeff Pietrzyk, the former top aide to former UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division.

* Fitch Ratings affirmed Toyota Motor Corp.'s long-term foreign and local-currency issuer default ratings at A+ with a stable outlook, citing the Japanese carmaker's resilient earnings and cash flows.

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said Paul Alcala will retire as COO for Asia-Pacific excluding China, effective Sept. 30. The carmaker's APAC COO, Massimiliano Trantini, will replace Alcala on an interim basis while also serving as president of GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co. Ltd., the joint venture between Fiat Chrysler and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd.

* Indian carmaker Tata Motors Ltd. is aiming to expand in Africa and sees South Africa as "strategically extremely important" to grow its presence in the continent, The Economic Times reported, citing Rudrarup Maitra, head of commercial vehicles segment at the company.

* South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor Co. will be implementing cost-cutting measures to cope with declining sales, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a company spokesperson. The spokesperson reportedly said the Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. subsidiary will reduce benefits such as education expenses for childcare and medical coverage but does not have plans for layoffs as of now.

ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

* South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. and Irish auto parts producer Aptiv PLC have teamed up to form a 50/50 autonomous driving joint venture, valued at a total of $4 billion. The combined entity, which will employ about 700 people, will focus on developing level 4 and 5 autonomous technologies. The JV will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020.

* Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery turned down Tesla Inc.'s request to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit over CEO Elon Musk's $2.6 billion compensation package, Reuters reported. The judge reportedly ruled that the company's board of directors must defend the case.

* Officials from various countries, including the U.S., will meet in Tokyo this week to set an agenda to power 10 million vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell technology in the next 10 years, the Nikkei Asian Review reported, citing unnamed sources. Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Isshu Sugawara will also put forward a goal to increase the number of hydrogen fueling stations to 10,000 in the next decade, the report said.

MOBILITY SERVICES

* Honda Motor Co. Ltd. launched Japan's first scooter-sharing service in partnership with SoftBank Group Corp.-backed startup OpenStreet, the Nikkei Asian Review reported. Users will reportedly pay ¥160 for every 15 minutes of use and ¥20 per kilometer driven, on top of a monthly membership fee of ¥1,000.

POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY

* Germany introduced a €50 billion package of measures to reduce carbon emissions, including a new carbon dioxide pricing system and a higher air traffic tax, Reuters reported. Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert Diess welcomed the government's move to allow a CO2 allowance trade, saying all polluters must be "treated equally."

* The local government of Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province will assign 100 officials to act as government liaisons to 100 companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd., Global Times reported, citing sources. The chosen representatives will reportedly enable the enterprises to facilitate communication with the government on policy interpretation and project implementation.

* The European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom reinforced a pledge to impose tariffs in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to hit the bloc with levies on automotive goods, Bloomberg News reported. Malmstrom reportedly said during a conference, "We firmly reject that we are a security threat. … If there will be tariffs there, we would take countermeasures."

* The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association issued a statement warning of "catastrophic consequences" in case of a no-deal Brexit. The group said the disruption due to production stoppages could result in losses of €54,700 per minute, as "the U.K.'s departure from the EU without a deal would trigger a seismic shift in trading conditions," impacting consumer choice and affordability on both sides.

AUTO PARTS AND EQUIPMENT

* Michigan-based auto-parts maker DexKo Global Inc. said it acquired Safim SpA, a maker of hydraulic braking system components, for an undisclosed sum.

* Swedish automotive safety systems manufacturer Autoliv Inc. said Christian Hanke, its interim CFO and vice president of corporate control, resigned, effective March 18, 2020. The company will continue the search for a permanent replacement for the CFO position.

AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL

* Chinese car dealer Uxin Ltd. posted diluted loss per share of 41 fen for the fiscal second quarter of 2019, compared with a diluted loss of 1.54 yuan per share in the year-ago quarter. During the three months ended June 30, the company incurred a non-GAAP adjusted net loss of 332.9 million yuan, versus 399.4 million yuan in the previous-year period.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

* Autonomous-truck maker Beijing TuSimple Future Technology Co. Ltd. raised an additional $120 million as part of its extended series D funding round, bringing in a total of $215 million from United Parcel Service Inc., CDH Investments, Mando Corp. and Sina Corp., Forbes reported. The startup reportedly plans to use the additional funds for research and development and expansion of its artificial-intelligence-enabled 18-wheeler fleet.

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The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 0.81% to 26,222.40.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.53% to 7,305.56, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.86% to 1,089.26.

On the macro front

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index and the PMI Composite Flash are due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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