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GM, UAW resume talks amid strike; Shanghai issues autonomous car testing permits

TOP NEWS

* General Motors Co. offered to allocate an electric pickup to its Detroit-Hamtramck site and a battery plant at Lordstown, Ohio, as labor talks with United Auto Workers resumed hours after the union started a nationwide strike, Automotive News reported, citing sources. The Ohio site was shuttered earlier this year and the plan to close the Detroit site was pushed back to 2020. The strike will reportedly cost GM up to $100 million each day and could stretch several weeks, experts told S&P Global Market Intelligence. Separately, President Donald Trump offered federal mediation and said he hopes both parties can come to a deal quickly, The Detroit News reported.

* Shanghai issued permits to ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co. Ltd. and carmakers SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd. and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG to start testing connected and self-driving vehicles, China Daily reported. BMW and the Chinese companies can test a fleet of up to 50 vehicles within the city.

CARMAKERS

* British chemical company Ineos' CEO Jim Ratcliffe will announce a deal to build SUVs in Bridgend, the Welsh town where Ford Motor Co. plans to close its engine plant, the Financial Times (London) reported, citing sources. Ineos, which is expected to announce the deal within the week, will invest £600 million to enter the carmaking industry, the report said.

* Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. has narrowed its search for a new President and CEO down to 10 candidates and will name Hiroto Saikawa's successor by October-end, The Japan News reported, citing sources. Echoing previous reports, insiders said restructuring head Jun Seki and Nissan China's top executive Makoto Uchida are strong candidates, along with COO and current interim boss Yasuhiro Yamauchi.

* General Motors and Indian IT services company Tata Consultancy will team up on global vehicle engineering. Under the terms of the partnership, the Michigan-based automaker will sell some of its assets in its technical center in India and transfer more than 1,300 employees from teams focused on propulsion systems, vehicle engineering, controls development, testing, creative design and other special projects at the center to Tata Consultancy.

* Peugeot SA's Opel brand rolled out the myDigitalService, which allows owners to track their vehicles at an Opel workshop, across 20 European countries including Germany, Spain and Italy.

* Winnebago Industries Inc. agreed to acquire recreational vehicle manufacturer Newmar Corp. for a total consideration of approximately $344 million. Winnebago said the consideration consists of $270 million in cash and 2 million Winnebago shares, equal to about 6% of the company, issued to Newmar shareholders.

ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

* European carmakers are holding talks with Western Australia mining firms in hopes of finding new sources of lithium, cobalt and other minerals necessary for new-energy vehicles, the Financial Times (London) reported, citing Western Australia's Minister for Mines Bill Johnston.

* Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said the electric-car maker is expanding its service center network "at max speed" and confirmed reports that it will build more centers in Europe, including Belgium, Germany and Spain.

* Chinese electric-car maker BYD Company Ltd. said it signed a pact with the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council to hire up to 1,000 unionized workers to build its SkyRail coach and bus factory in Lancaster and Los Angeles.

* NIO Inc. said Hsien Tsong Cheng stepped down as CEO of its tech arm, XPT, and as executive vice president. Cheng will stay on as XPT Chairman, the Chinese electric-car maker said.

* U.S.-based Waycare, a smart mobility company that uses cloud data for traffic management, said it will team up with U.K.-based connected vehicle data company Wejo and use the latter's data to improve its traffic management platforms in Nevada.

MOBILITY SERVICES

* HSBC upgraded Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.'s ratings to buy from hold, CNBC reported, citing a note by analyst Masha Kahn. HSBC believes that the ridesharing business and food delivery service can be profitable for the companies, especially "if both pull back on sales & marketing and leverage the fixed cost base," Kahn reportedly wrote in the note.

POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY

* Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said it plans to reconfirm that the U.S. will no longer place tariffs on Japanese vehicles and auto parts, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump said it had reached a deal with Japan, but did not specify if it will push through with imposing 25% national security tariffs on its auto sector. In August, Trump said "auto tariffs are never off the table" and that he will keep using them to improve the U.S. trade deals.

AUTO PARTS AND EQUIPMENT

* Swedish auto technology company Veoneer Inc., which develops self-driving and safety products for vehicles, said it won a production contract to build thermal cameras for level 4 autonomous vehicles from an unnamed carmaker. Veoneer said the automaker will fund its engineering activities.

AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL

* Australian automotive retailer AP Eagers Ltd. said it acquired over 90% of local rival Automotive Holdings Group Ltd., triggering a compulsory buyout of AHG's remaining shares. AP Eagers said remaining AHG shares will be suspended on Sept. 24, with AHG to be removed from the Australian stock exchange on Sept. 27.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

* Hedge fund Elliott Management invested an undisclosed amount in CNH Industrial NV for a 3% stake in the tractor and truck manufacturer controlled by the Agnelli family, which also controls Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the Financial Times (London) reported.

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The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 1.23% to 26,790.24, and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.06% to 22,001.32.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.16% to 22,001.32, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.03% to 1,084.79.

On the macro front

The Redbook Index for retail sales, the industrial production report, the housing market index and the Treasury International Capital report 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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