Emma Tucker
1. FROM MY DESK
Something is missing from this year's midterm campaigns: America's soaring debt. In 2018, 140 political ads mentioned the debt or deficit. This year, just 30 have.
The silence is striking. Federal debt held by the public reached 100% of GDP for the first time in 80 years, while interest costs now exceed military spending. Yet the politicians once willing to sound the alarm-the fiscal hawks-have largely vanished.
What happened? Some retired, lost elections or simply changed the subject. Rising debt without a financial-market revolt robbed hawks of credibility and made prominent economists rethink the conventional wisdom on debt. Richard Rubin and David Luhnow examine how Washington stopped worrying about debt-and what it could cost us. And with Election Day just three days away, follow our live coverage for the latest developments and analysis.
This is an edition of The 10-Point newsletter, a guided tour of the best coverage in The Wall Street Journal. If you're not subscribed, sign up here. If you're reading this in your inbox, tap the headline above for online and audio versions of this newsletter.
2. TODAY'S HEADLINES
-- With disquieting signals of widespread losses in the midterms, the mood among Republicans is grim, and they are scrambling to play defense even in some seats previously seen as GOP strongholds.
-- Polling and politics editor Aaron Zitner breaks down the last WSJ poll before the elections, which shows that 60% of the 1,500 voters we surveyed want the next Congress to be a check on Trump's power during his final two years in office.
-- OpenAI has raised less than half of the $30 billion it had initially targeted for its latest funding round, with market jitters over the AI trade dampening investor appetite.
-- Affordable Care Act plan premiums will rise by 13% in 2027, the second straight year of double-digit increases.
-- Christine Lagarde, the departing European Central Bank leader, is wagering that her brand of politics still has a place in a world increasingly driven by polarization.
3. FROM THE MARKETS
-- In the latest, and biggest, cyberattack on the crypto industry, North Korean hackers ransacked Binance, making off with $6.3 billion in just 20 minutes. Read the inside story of the record-breaking heist that became crypto's biggest nightmare.
-- The cracks in the AI trade multiplied through the week, culminating in a tech selloff Friday that sent the Nasdaq composite to its worst day since June.
4. READ IT HERE FIRST
How Iran battered U.S. bases and caused billions in damage.
Iran's missile campaign against U.S. forces in the Middle East took a turn in July when the regime shifted tactics: Tehran began taking more direct aim at the buildings American troops lived and slept in. The Pentagon has said little publicly about the destruction. But U.S. military installations have lost critical defense systems and suffered billions in damage, and Iranian attacks have forced the U.S. to move troops off several bases. By analyzing tens of thousands of satellite images, the Journal identified hundreds of damaged buildings across more than two dozen installations-offering the most comprehensive public accounting of the war's damage to American facilities to date.
-- Read about how our reporters conducted the investigation.
5.
Why cheap money is drying up for the AI build-out.
For years, the companies behind America's artificial-intelligence boom have raised hundreds of billions of dollars with ease. Now, the balance of power is shifting. Lenders and investors are getting choosier about where to place their bets and are demanding tougher terms, signaling a new phase in the AI build-out. Disappointing earnings reports from technology companies this week prompted a rout in AI-related stocks and bonds, leading Friday to one of the biggest market selloffs since AI-mania began, report Peter Rudegeair, Robbie Whelan and Jack Pitcher.
Make sense of AI's impact on business. Sign up for WSJ AI & Business, a free weekly newsletter packed with news, insights and data from our global team of technology journalists.
6. SEE THE STORY
This is the most important chart in AI, and you probably haven't seen it before.
Published by Anthropic, the chart shows how much of its AI research and development is being done by AI. As recently as March, AI led only 1% of that research. By August, it was leading 26%. As this technology accelerates its own evolution, the risk is that we struggle to keep pace and keep it under control, writes columnist Ben Cohen.
7. HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND
-- Saturday: Trick-or-treaters take to the streets for Halloween. The Atlanta Dream face the Golden State Valkyries in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals.
-- Sunday: Daylight-saving time ends. The New York City Marathon takes place. Formula One's Mexico City Grand Prix is held, and the National Women's Soccer League wraps up its regular season, finalizing the playoff bracket.
-- Today's paper
8. THE NUMBER
$1 billion
That's the annual sales generated by Goldfish, making it one of Campbell's four biggest brands. But the company's sales are falling and its stock has slipped 29% over the past year. Eating habits have changed. People aren't eating as much canned soup and packaged snacks. To appeal to parents, the company has embarked on a five-year quest to reinvent the Goldfish, including by making a gluten-free option of the popular children's snack.
9. AND FINALLY...
Surf communities are selling big waves to homeowners-no ocean required.
Instead of golf courses, ski mountains or lakes, high-end housing developments are offering surfing as the main activity. Thanks to advances in wave-pool technology, man-made surf lagoons are becoming the latest amenity developers are using to lure buyers. But the luxury doesn't come cheap: Capital costs reach up to $350 million for one lagoon with a surf deck.
10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM
-- Opinion: Disappointing earnings reports triggered a selloff in tech and AI shares, while Binance reported hackers pilfered $6.3 billion.
-- WSJ | Buy Side: Don't be fooled by misinformation that often passes as "common wisdom" about car insurance.
ABOUT US
The 10-Point is your guide to The Wall Street Journal's reporting and analysis you can't get anywhere else. Your subscription makes our journalism possible.
Today's newsletter was curated and edited by Bharbi Hazarika and Will Horner in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
Comments