As universally expected, the Fed’s Open Market Committee delivered its third interest rate cut of 2019 yesterday, though it did so while signaling that it’s likely to pause before taking action again and “is now shifting into a more patient mode” – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

Markets generally approved despite Chair Powell’s hints at hawkishness – WSJ and Bloomberg and Barron’s

On the heels of Zuck’s very public campaign to keep campaigns on his social media platform, Jack Dorsey is taking a completely opposite approach, announcing on Wednesday that Twitter “would ban political ads on its platform,” commenting that “the reach of political messages ‘should be earned, not bought’” – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

Growing regulatory pressure has prompted cigarette-maker Altria to cut the value of its $13 billion investment in e-cig company Juul by nearly 2/3 – WSJ and Bloomberg

US federal prosecutors have reached a tentative deal with Jho Low, the “fugitive financier” at the center of the 1MDB money laundering scandal “that toppled a prime minister and rocked Goldman Sachs,” in which he’ll give up claims to nearly $900 million in assets (while allowing him to reserve some $10-15 million to pay for his legal fees) – NYTimes and Bloomberg and Law360

Deutsche Bank’s restructuring efforts continue to take a bite out of the bank’s bottom line, with the German institution reporting a second straight quarterly loss this week – WSJ

Fiat and PSA’s boards have each given the nod to the recently disclosed planned merger between the automakers, a deal worth nearly $50 billion – Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ

Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson took the stand in NY state court yesterday to deny charges that the company misled investors about global warming under his watch – Law360

Different legislative body. Same CEO. Same collective ire from both sides of the aisle – NYTimes

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the prospect of a November signing date for the first phase of a US/China trade deal, an ambitious target only complicated by the cancellation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile next month due to recent riots and protests there – NYTimes

Not everyone’s so optimistic – Bloomberg

Quick reminder: there’s still time. Don’t be the worst tonight – MarketWatch

Happy Halloween!