Business News at a Glance

End of an Era as AutoNation Chief Steps Down

Mike Jackson is credited with showing in his nearly two decades as the chief executive and chairman of AutoNation that a large, publicly traded company can make it in the business of selling cars. On Wednesday, Jackson, 69, announced he would step down as chief executive next year, ending one of the longest leadership tenures among Fortune 500 executives. Although AutoNation has run into headwinds as the auto market has softened after its 2016 peak, it is the country’s largest chain of car dealerships and the leading seller of brands including Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota. Jackson will stay on as chairman of the board.

Europe to Investigate Amazon’s Dual Role of Merchant and Platform

For many independent merchants who sell their goods on Amazon, there has long been deep concern that if the e-commerce giant saw a particular product selling well, the company would duplicate it but at a lower price. The European Union’s antitrust chief said on Wednesday there may be reason for worry. Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition commissioner, announced the start of an investigation into whether Amazon is unfairly using data collected about third-party sellers to make its own decisions about products to sell — information that would give it a potentially anti-competitive edge.

Inside Facebook’s Election ‘War Room’

Although it is not much to look at now, as of next week a conference room will be Facebook’s headquarters for safeguarding elections. More than 300 people across the company are working on the initiative, but the ‘War Room’ will house a team of about 20 people focused on rooting out disinformation, monitoring false news and deleting fake accounts that may be trying to influence voters before coming elections in the United States, Brazil and other countries. The company is under tremendous pressure to prevent a repeat of the foreign manipulation that unfolded on the social network during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Gun Promoter Is Charged With Assault of a Teenager

Cody Wilson, whose push to post blueprints for 3D printed guns online has made him a key figure in the national gun control debate, was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a child in Texas. But law enforcement officers said they were having trouble finding Wilson, who missed a flight back to the United States from Taipei, Taiwan, his last known location. A warrant has been filed for Wilson’s arrest, and local detectives are reported to be working with national and international partners to find him. Wilson, 30, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl at a hotel in Austin on Aug. 15 and paying her $500 in cash.

Danske Bank Says Billions May Have Been Laundered at Single Branch

Danske Bank said Wednesday that its headquarters and its Estonian branch failed for years to prevent suspected money laundering involving thousands of customers. The lender said it was unable to estimate the total amount of the suspicious transactions, but its nonresident operation in the Baltic nation improbably had total flows of 200 billion euros, or $234 billion — nearly equivalent to the size of the Danish economy. The chief executive, who had previously headed the bank’s international operations, quickly said he would resign. At least eight bank employees have been reported to the police. About 6,200 customers have been investigated so far, many of them Russian individuals.