UBS REPORTS $29B PROFIT:

When UBS agreed to buy its archrival Credit Suisse for a little over $3 billion this spring at the Swiss government’s behest, analysts and investors said that price represented a steep discount. UBS’ latest financial results reflect just how much of a steal it was. On Thursday, the bank reported a $29 billion profit in its second quarter — yes, billion with a “b” — the biggest quarterly profit in banking history.

HYUNDAI, LG INVEST IN GEORGIA:

Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are spending an additional $2 billion and hiring an extra 400 workers to make batteries at the automaker’s sprawling U.S. electrical vehicle plant that’s under construction in Georgia. The announcement Thursday comes three months after the companies first announced a partnership to produce EV batteries for the vehicles Hyundai plans to begin manufacturing at the site west of Savannah in 2025. Expanding the plant’s battery-making operation brings the project’s total investment to more than $7.5 billion and its overall workforce to 8,500.

EUROPE’S INFLATION HELD STEADY:

New numbers show annual inflation held steady in Europe in August. Food prices raced ahead of falling fuel costs, but there was no clarity about whether the European Central Bank can pause its record series of interest rate hikes. The consumer price index for the 20 countries that use the euro currency was unchanged at 5.3 percent from the July reading, Food, alcohol and tobacco prices increased 9.8 percent. That’s according to official figures from EU statistics agency Eurostat.