[Germany is seriously lagging behind in the electric car race] Barron’s Weekly said that just as the three major U.S. auto giants are struggling to deal with union strikes, German car companies Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW also have their own troubles. — woefully behind in the race to an electric future. Can the Germans catch up? The market thinks it depends on which company. "Volkswagen is like a state-owned enterprise," said Ferdinand Dudenhofer, director of the German Automotive Research Center. "Over time it will become less important." Mercedes and BMW are launching electric luxury models that could challenge Tesla in two or three years. Philip Hawes, head of automotive research for Europe and the United States at Jefferies, said the huge profits from gasoline-powered vehicles give them ample funds to carry out expensive electrification transformation. "They can fund new technologies while also paying dividends, while some pure electric vehicle start-ups are experiencing financing bottlenecks."

Writers Guild of America West: The Writers Guild and Producers Guild negotiated on Friday and will meet again on Saturday.

On September 23, local time, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology announced that the Taal Volcano still maintains a first-level alert level. The alert level for volcanic eruptions in the Philippines is divided into five levels from low to high.

National Hurricane Center: Tropical Storm Ophelia is expected to reach the North Carolina coast early Saturday morning, bringing potentially damaging winds and dangerous damage to parts of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Storm surges and life-threatening flash flooding.

United Auto Workers of Canada (UNIFOR): Ford chapter leaders unanimously support the preliminary agreement previously reached.

European Commission Executive Vice President Dombrovskis: The EU’s recent strategy on economic security aims to reduce risks, but reducing risks does not mean decoupling.

European Commission Executive Vice President Dombrovskis: Global economic growth has slowed significantly since 2022 and may still be weak by historical standards.

European Commission Executive Vice President Dombrovskis: Tensions risk leading to more countries intervening in the economy and triggering a subsidy race.

European Commission Executive Vice President Dombrovskis: The world economy has experienced one shock after another, leading to major changes in economic policies.

Gassco, a Norwegian natural gas transportation management company: The Skalf Oilfield experienced an unplanned shutdown from September 23 to September 24, with a production reduction of 20.4 million cubic meters per day.

Documents show that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.AN, BRK.BN) sold 4.8 million Hewlett-Packard shares.

According to the Iraqi newspaper Al-Sabah: Iraq predicts that the price of Brent crude oil will reach US$100 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Market News: General Motors (GM.N) requires salaried workers to work at parts centers.

According to the Financial Times: British Finance Minister Hunt plans to adjust (government) savings accounts to support companies listed in the UK.

U.S. Trade Representative Dai Qi: The U.S. government shutdown is the biggest challenge facing the EU steel negotiations.

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): As of the week of September 19, the net short position in the Japanese yen was -101,619 contracts.

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): In the week to September 19, U.S. speculators increased their net short positions in the S&P 500 Index CME by 75,634 lots to 340,984 lots, and stock fund managers increased their net long positions in the S&P 500 Index CME by 85,128 lots. The number of hands reached 861307.

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): As of the week of September 19, the net long position of natural gas futures in the NYMEX and ICE markets decreased by 9,096 lots to 12,284 lots.

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): As of the week of September 19, speculative net short positions in COMEX copper futures increased by 2,067 lots to 5,836 lots.