Honda, Nissan to start merger talks

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are preparing to start negotiations on a possible merger, which could ultimately be expanded to include Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Japan’s Nikkei reported Tuesday.

Such a deal would create an automotive rival to Toyota Motor Corp. that would effectively consolidate the Japanese auto industry into two camps and provide Honda and Nissan with more resources to compete globally with larger peers. The move would follow a decision by the two companies earlier this year to work together on electric vehicle batteries and software.

At that time, Honda Chief Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe floated the possibility of capital tie-up with Nissan.

While Honda and Nissan stopped short of confirming Tuesday’s report, both automakers issued statements that reiterated their previous pledges for further future cooperation.

“We will inform our stakeholders of any updates at an appropriate time,” Honda said in its statement.

The two major Japanese carmakers plan to sign a memorandum of understanding to discuss shared equity stakes in a new holding company under which the combined company would operate, the Nikkei said.

Honda, which has its U.S. headquarters in Torrance, has been shifting gears to boost hybrid gas-electric vehicles even as it spends more to boost all-electric production capacity.

Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi combined sold about 4 million vehicles globally in the first six months of the year, well shy of the 5.2 million that Toyota sold on its own.

November Retail sales rise at healthy pace

Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, providing a boost to the economy in the early phases of the winter holiday shopping season.

Retail sales rose 0.7% in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, a solid increase and higher than October’s 0.5% gain. Sales jumped 2.6% at auto dealers, driving most of the gain. Some of that demand likely reflected a need for new cars in parts of the southeast slammed by Hurricane Helene in October, as well as healthy incentives provided by car dealers. Big discounts at many retail chains also attracted some consumers.

The boost in spending underscores that the economy is still growing at a healthy pace even with higher interest rates, a trend that could cause the Federal Reserve to lower borrowing costs more slowly next year than they have previously signaled. The Fed will announce its latest rate decision today.

At the same time, there were some signs of consumer caution, as sales at grocery stores, clothing shops, and restaurants fell. Outside of car dealers and online retailers, sales gains were modest.

congressional stock trading ban sought

President Joe Biden endorsed a ban on congressional stock trading in an interview that’s being released this week, belatedly weighing in on an issue that has been debated on Capitol Hill for years.

“Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they’re in the Congress,” Biden said.

The interview was conducted by Faiz Shakir, a political adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders, and published by A More Perfect Union, a pro-labor advocacy and journalism organization. The Associated Press reviewed a video of the interview before its release.

The Democratic president spoke to Shakir about his economic legacy, which includes supporting unions and investing in clean energy projects and infrastructure.

Compiled from Bloomberg and Associated Press reports.