SoftBank is acquiring ABB’s industrial-robotics business for $5.4 billion, a bid to combine the potential of artificial intelligence with robots.

The Wall Street Journal’s Dominic Chopping and Eliot Brown write that this is the largest in the Japanese conglomerate’s long and patchy record of robotics investments that includes autonomous floor cleaners and warehouse technologies. It follows billions of dollars of investment in OpenAI and Intel, and the purchase of data-center-chip designer Ampere. CEO Masayoshi Son in January pledged to make a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure with OpenAI, a venture called Stargate.

Swiss conglomerate ABB had been planning to spin off the unit as a separately listed public company next year. The division, which ABB says is the world’s No. 2 robotics manufacturer, is known for making robotic arms used in manufacturing, particularly in the automotive sector. Last year it opened a $20 million expansion to its U.S. robotics headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.

First Brands’ crash into bankruptcy last month has left banks sifting through their exposure to the auto-parts company and its chain of customers and suppliers. The Journal’s Margot Patrick writes that funds run by an asset-management unit of Jefferies Financial are owed around $715 million from companies that bought First Brands’ parts. UBS said funds it operates have exposure of about $500 million.

The disclosures illustrate the tangle of financing that flowed through the closely held company, whose brands include Autolite sparkplugs and FRAM filtration products, which suddenly collapsed last month owing more than $10 billion. The company relied heavily on accounts-receivable-backed financing, supplying products to customers on delayed payment terms and borrowing from outside investors against the billed receivables. First Brands’ new directors are investigating whether customer receivables were all correctly passed onto those with the contractual rights to them, and whether some receivables may have been factored more than once.

General Motors is backing off a controversial plan to use its in-house auto finance company to effectively extend the federal EV tax credit beyond its Sept. 30 expiration. The Journal’s Christopher Otts and Richard Rubin write that GM and Ford late last month used their finance companies to make down payments on many EVs in dealer inventory, hoping to claim the $7,500 credit and pass it onto customers later in the form of lower lease payments.

The plan drew criticism from some GOP lawmakers. Now, GM customers will still get the benefit of the $7,500 discount for leases that start by the end of October, but the company will fund the incentive without claiming the tax credit. Ford didn’t immediately comment on what it has been doing to claim the credits or whether it is changing course.

The global economy is holding up better than expected in the face of higher tariffs, greater geopolitical uncertainty and technological change, the head of the IMF said. (WSJ)

Alternative jobs data from Wall Street firms indicate a cooling U.S. labor market while a federal government shutdown sidelines the official report. (WSJ)

German industrial production unexpectedly declined by 4.3% in August, following a 1.3% rise in July. (WSJ)

The Trump administration said it wasn't planning to impose tariffs on imported generic drugs. (WSJ)

Jewelers, automakers and medical-device makers are having to pay ever higher prices for platinum, which is up 85% so far this year to around  $1,700 a troy ounce. (WSJ)

IKEA acquired Locus, a U.S. logistics company that uses AI to run its platform, for undisclosed terms. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Thousands of flights in and out of U.S. airports were delayed amid staffing shortages at federal air-traffic control facilities. (WSJ)

Glencore will get an Australian government bailout of up to $395 million to keep its Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery open for three years. (WSJ)

Strike action at companies serving the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp is disrupting container handling and increasing congestion at Europe’s two busiest ports. (Journal of Commerce)

The city council of Surprise, Ariz., voted to oppose BNSF Railway’s plans to develop a 4,321-acre $3.2 billion logistics hub about 35 miles from Phoenix, ahead of a Nov. 5 county rezoning vote. (TrainsPRO)

Austral secured a $100 million Australian government loan to support the expansion of its capacity to build U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels in Mobile, Ala. (gCaptain)

Pennsylvania plans to add 1,202 truck parking spaces by the end of 2026 on state-owned land, and at weigh stations and interstate on-ramps. (Transport Topics)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com.

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.