U.S. stocks fell on Friday, closing out a down month and quarter. All three major U.S. indexes were down at least 1.5% on Friday, with the Dow leading the decline at 1.71%. More: - For September, the Dow fell 9.26%, losing 2,930.91 points to close at 28,725.51.
- The S&P 500 declined 9.61%, closing the month and quarter at 3,585.62.
- The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 10.26%, closing the month and quarter at 10,575.62.
- The S&P 500 fell for a third consecutive quarter.
- YTD, the Dow is down over 21%, the S&P 500 is down 25.25%, and the Nasdaq is down over 33%.
- On Monday, the Dow fell into a bear market, a decline of 20% or more from a recent high.
- The S&P 500 fell below its previous 2022 closing low set in June.
- The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 3.802% from 1.496% registered on Dec. 31.
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Toyota reiterated its electric vehicle strategy amid criticism. The Japanese auto manufacturer plans to offer a range of electrified vehicles for the foreseeable future. Toyota said it would invest $70B in electrified vehicles over nine years, of which $35B would go towards all-electric vehicles. More: - CEO Akio Toyoda has built a corporate strategy around the idea that EVs aren’t the only solution for automakers to reach carbon neutrality.
- Toyota plans to offer hybrids, plug-ins, all-electric, and hydrogen-electric vehicles.
- The company plans to present data to the public and government officials on consumer adoption of EVs and the environmental impact of producing EVs compared with hybrid electrified vehicles.
- Toyota noted it launched its Prius model in 1997 and has sold over 20 million electrified vehicles globally since then.
- The automaker said those sales had prevented 160 million tons of CO2 emissions, comparable to the impact of 5.5 million all-electric battery vehicles.
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SoftBank laid off about 30% of its Vision Fund employees as it aims to cut costs. The Japanese investment firm has suffered record quarterly losses amid the tech market downturn. According to sources, about 150 employees were laid off. SoftBank had 500 employees in its Vision Fund division. More: - The cuts are expected to impact all teams globally across the firm’s Vision Fund unit.
- SoftBank reported a record 3.1T yen ($23B) net loss in the June quarter.
- In a meeting with investors, SoftBank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son admitted he should have been more selective, stating he was ashamed of himself for being so pleased by big profits in the past.
- In August, Son had stated the firm would undergo a companywide cost-cutting exercise following the losses.
- SoftBank shares are down nearly 30% YTD.
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Barclays has agreed to pay a $361M fine to the SEC to settle charges over internal control failures related to its unregistered offer and sale of $17.7B worth of securities. The British bank had registered with the SEC to sell up to $20.8B in debt securities but sold about $38.5B worth instead. More: - In July, Barclays had estimated the error would cost the bank about £581M or $700M based on the Pound to U.S. Dollar exchange rate then.
- The estimate included a $200M provision for a potential fine from the SEC.
- The bank had to repurchase the notes at the original purchase price and also paid interest penalties.
- The SEC acknowledged Barclays for self-reporting the mistake and providing meaningful cooperation during its investigation.
- The bank did not admit or deny any wrongdoing.
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JPMorgan Chase plans to hire 2,000 engineers globally by the end of the year amid rising fears about the state of the U.S. economy. The bank hired roughly 5,000 software developers and data scientists in 2021. More: - JPMorgan has about 278,000 employees globally, of which 20% are tech workers.
- In a recent interview, JPMorgan’s global chief information officer Lori Beer said the company is still hiring despite news of layoffs and hiring freezes across the tech sector.
- The bank is hiring for various departments, including general software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
- JPMorgan previously noted it plans to spend about $14.1B on technology this year.
- Earlier this year, the bank outlined some of its tech-focused initiatives, including personalization for its mobile app, improving payments offerings for e-commerce, and modernizing its infrastructure.
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Russia formally annexed four regions in southeastern Ukraine on Friday – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Last weekend, Russia held a referendum vote in those regions asking if they wanted to be a part of Russia. Russia claims about 99% voted in favor. More: - The regions are about 15% of Ukraine’s land area, comparable to Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands combined, or 30% of Germany.
- It is considered the largest forced annexation in Europe since World War II.
- During the annexation ceremony on Friday, President Vladimir Putin said the annexation was permanent and accused the West of trying to subjugate Russia.
- Putin said individuals who lived in those regions were Russian citizens forever.
- Putin asked Ukraine to stop fighting and begin talks but noted the annexed regions were not up for negotiation.
- The United Nations has denounced the annexation as illegal.
- On Friday, the U.S. announced new economic sanctions against Russia in response to the annexation.
- The U.S. expanded sanctions against top Kremlin officials, including their wives and children.
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- Hurricane Ian left at least 21 people dead and millions with power after landfall in Florida on Wednesday. The storm moved back over the Atlantic Ocean, regained strength to a Category 1 hurricane, and made landfall again in South Carolina on Friday near Georgetown. According to tracking site poweroutage.us, about 200,000 in South Carolina and nearly 130,000 in North Carolina were without power Friday afternoon.
- Shareholders of Russian state-backed energy company Gazprom have approved the company's largest ever dividend payout – 1.208T rubles ($21B). At an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Friday, shareholders approved an interim dividend payout of 51.03 rubles ($0.8921) per share.
- Chinese carmaker Geely has taken an 8% stake in Aston Martin. Geely owns carmakers Lotus and Volvo and has a 10% stake in Mercedes-Benz.
- Peloton will start selling its connected exercise equipment and other items at Dick's Sporting Goods. Dick's will offer Peloton Bike, Bike+, Tread, Guide, and other accessories like mats and bike shoes. This is Peloton's first retail partnership with a brick-and-mortar store outside its own stores.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Freelance Writer for Inside.com. She writes the Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, exploring cities, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
