1. The race for driverless cars: SoftBank (The FFTBF) And Toyota (MT) are forming a joint venture that will use driverless car technology to offer new services, such as mobile convenience stores and delivery vehicles in which food is prepared on the go.
SoftBank will own just over half of Monet, the new business, while Toyota will own the rest.
It’s the latest in a series of autonomous vehicle development partnerships announced by tech companies and automakers. SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, its technology-focused investment arm, had already committed $2.3 billion to General Motors’ self-driving car subsidiary GM Cruise.
Wednesday, Honda (HMC) And General Motors (DG) said they are teaming up to create a new generation of fully autonomous vehicles. BMW (BMWYY) has joined the board of directors of Apollo, a self-driving project of the Chinese internet company Baidu (BIDU).
2. Facebook is under investigation: The Irish Data Protection Commission has launched a formal investigation into a Facebook (Facebook) hack that affected up to 50 million accounts.
The Commission will investigate whether the company complied with its obligations under new European data protection laws that came into force in May. Facebook said last week it had closed the gap, but 90 million users were forcibly logged out of their accounts as a precaution.
Irish regulators are investigating because Facebook’s international headquarters are in Dublin.
Many questions remain unanswered about the hack: Who carried it out? And what were they trying to access?
3. Massive bond sales: The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes hit a seven-year high after the release of positive economic data.
U.S. employment data released Wednesday came in better than expected, and the trend could continue Thursday if jobless claims data boost optimism. The strength of the U.S. economy and expectations of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are fueling this trend.
“The underlying message is that the U.S. economy is not just in great shape, it’s on fire,” said Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale.
4. CNN is a real business: On Thursday, CNNMoney becomes the all-new CNN Business, covering the companies, people and innovations that drive business forward.
This new initiative will focus on the biggest financial event of our generation: how technology is disrupting every aspect of the global economy, forcing businesses, workers and society itself to adapt rapidly, or be left behind.
5. Global Market Overview: U.S. stock futures were lower.
European markets fell in early trading after a negative session in Asia. The Shanghai Composite index was closed for a public holiday.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.2% on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq gained 0.3%.
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6. Benefits and economy: Constellation Brands (STZ) will publish its results before the opening. Costco (COST) should follow after the closing.
Actions in Danish Bank (DNS Key) ECB shares opened down 3% after the Danish bank said it had received requests for information from the US Justice Department in connection with its money laundering scandal.
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7. Coming this week:
THURSDAY — Costco (COST) profits; CNN Business launches
Friday — US Employment Report
CNNMoney (London) First published October 4, 2018 at 5:07am ET
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