TOP NEWS
* The FBI raided the home of the United Auto Workers president on Aug. 28 in a "series of raids" across Michigan related to the federal corruption investigation linked to the union, The Detroit News reported. Agents used search warrants to investigate UAW President Gary Jones' house and the UAW Black Lake Conference Center, the report said, adding that the 1,000-acre retreat is financed with interest from UAW's $721 million strike fund, bankrolled by worker dues. The California home of former UAW President Dennis Williams was also searched, the report said.
* Amazon.com held preliminary investment discussions with Indonesian ride-hailing company PT Go-Jek Indonesia, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. One of the sources reportedly said the companies talked about an arrangement wherein Amazon would "make a sizable investment" in the company to tap into Go-Jek's delivery network in Indonesia.
CARMAKERS
* Peugeot SA's U.K. workers could take control of a plant in Cheshire if the French carmaker abandons the site under a no-deal Brexit, Bloomberg News reported. The Ellesmere Port site produces PSA's Vauxhall-brand vehicles and employs 1,000 workers.
* Private equity firm Investindustrial received acceptances from shareholders to buy a 4.84% stake in U.K.-based carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC, which it listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2018. The firm's Strategic European Investment Group SARL subsidiary will buy a total of 11,046,629 shares. It includes the previously announced acceptances for about 3% of Aston Martin stock. The company said it will pay £10.00 per share, more than twice the price of carmaker's shares at the close of trading Aug. 28.
* Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. unveiled Service on Wheels, an automotive maintenance and repair service that can travel directly to a customer's doorstep. The new initiative can perform periodic maintenance and repair services for Maruti Suzuki passenger vehicles.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
* IONITY, an electric-vehicle charging joint venture between Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co., Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Daimler AG, will team up with Finnish food retailer Kesko to open high-power charging stations at Kesko's K Group stores in Finland. IONITY will install its high-power, cross-brand all-electric compatible stations at stores from Helsinki toward Tampere and Lahti.
* AUDI AG will price a cheaper variant of its e-tron electric SUV at $55,000 in Norway, Electrek reported, citing the Volkswagen brand's website. The e-tron 50 will feature a shorter range and a smaller 71 kWh battery pack compared to the e-tron 55, which features 204 miles of range and 95 kWh battery pack.
* Tesla Inc. unveiled an insurance policy for its car owners called Tesla Insurance, which provides comprehensive coverage and claims management with rates up to 20% to 30% lower owing to their advanced car technologies and safety features. The program will initially be available to customers in California and will later be expanded to more U.S. states, the EV manufacturer said.
* Struggling electric-vehicle startup Faraday&Future Inc. said it will make a restructuring-related announcement on Sept. 3, but did not confirm reports that it is planning a restructuring that would see CEO Jia Yueting step down from his post. Faraday said Jia is continuing to pay back his debts and that it began restructuring in late 2018.
* The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will test automobiles fitted with cameras instead of rearview mirrors to see how lane changes and driving behavior changes depending on different visibility systems, Reuters reported.
* Michael Grimes, a former senior United Auto Workers union official, pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering, The Detroit News reported. Grimes, the ninth person charged in an ongoing federal investigation into bribery between the union and automakers, is still expected to plead guilty Sept. 4, the report added.
* Toyota Motor Corp. said it is recalling about 135,000 vehicles in the U.S. over issues with the airbags that replaced faulty Takata Corp. airbags. The recall involves certain Corolla 2003-2008 models and Matrix 2005-2008 models. The front passenger airbag in the recalled cars, which were previously recalled to replace defective Takata airbags, might be damaged. The airbags might not inflate properly, causing a risk of occupant injury in a crash.
* Kia Motors America Inc., the U.S. arm of South Korean carmaker Kia Motors Corp., will recall a total of 30,168 Kia Telluride mid-sized SUVs with defective seat belts, according to documents from the U.S. Department of Transportation's NHTSA.
* Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook on German automotive supplier Continental AG to negative from stable, citing the negative environment for the wider European automotive parts sector. The rating agency said it took into account public statements of other auto-parts suppliers in Europe.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* Major Japanese automakers, including Toyota, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., saw domestic sales and global production grow year over year in July.
* Car production in the U.K. fell 10.6% year over year in July to 108,239 automobiles, marking the 14th month of consecutive decline, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed. Though local demand increased 10.2% year over year to 21,381 vehicles, exports fell 14.6% to 86,858 vehicles on weakened European and Asian demand.
* The Chinese luxury vehicle market continued to grow in July, despite an overall downturn in the automotive sector, Gasgoo reported. Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand sold 59,435 vehicles in July, up 13% year over year; Audi sold 56,365 vehicles, up 6%; and BMW sold 51,377 vehicles, up 16.4%. Toyota's Lexus brand saw sales climb 6% to 16,110 automobiles, and General Motors Co.' Cadillac brand sold 12,706 vehicles, up 2.8%.
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The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.34% to 25,703.50, and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.09% to 20,460.93.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 1.07% to 7,190.97, and the Euronext 100 rose 1.47% to 1,057.66.
On the macro front
The GDP report, the international trade in goods report, the jobless claims report, the corporate profits report, the retail inventories [Advance], the wholesale inventories [Advance], the Pending home sales index, the EIA natural gas report, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
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