Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The final hearing

The Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection is to hold what may be its final public hearing Thursday at 1 p.m. In it, the bipartisan House panel probing the brazen attack on the US Capitol by Donald Trump’s followers may reveal new email and video evidence. It could corroborate testimony by Trump aides that he knew violence was afoot in Washington that day, that he sought to stoke it and then later refused to order the rescue of members of Congress or his own vice president. The committee, which may make criminal referrals to a Justice Department already investigating the matter, has alleged that Trump was at the head of America’s first attempted coup, a sprawling conspiracy involving fake electors and so-called militia groups—members of which have been indicted for seditious conspiracy. The Jan. 6 panel plans a final report by the end of the year, but may release an interim version ahead of the midterm elections. Many Republican candidates continue to falsely claim Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was marred by fraud. —David E. Rovella

The Biden administration released an assessment of American national security Wednesday, one which prioritized threats presented by China ahead of a nuclear saber-rattling Russia. But the report also noted that domestic terrorism and efforts within the US to undermine democratic institutions are critical threats that need to be faced. Inflation was also singled out as a key economic challenge.

The Fed is very worried about inflation. The central bank’s top officials have committed to raising interest rates to a restrictive level in the near term and holding them there to curb price rises, according to the minutes of a recent meeting.

Janet Yellen is worried about Treasuries. The Treasury secretary cited concerns about the potential for a breakdown in trading as her department leads an effort to shore up that crucial market. “We are worried about a loss of adequate liquidity in the market,” Yellen said Wednesday. The balance-sheet capacity of broker-dealers to engage in Treasuries market-making hasn’t expanded much, while the overall supply of Treasuries has climbed, she noted. But she made sure to emphasize that tackling inflation remains the administration’s biggest priority.

Janet Yellen, center, outside the White House in Washington on Oct. 7. Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg

Wall Street is worried about, well, everything. Stocks fell with investors seemingly bracing for Thursday’s reading on consumer prices. Treasuries gained. Meanwhile over in the UK, markets were roiled once again by confusion over the country’s policies. Here’s your markets wrap.

In what could be seen as an accusation or a warning, Vladimir Putin said any energy infrastructure in the world is at risk after the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. The attacks, deemed state-sponsored sabotage by European and US authorities, were an act of terror that set “the most dangerous precedent,” the Kremlin leader said Wednesday. “It shows that any critically important object of transport, energy or utilities infrastructure is under threat” irrespective of where it is located or by whom it is managed, he said. Putin blamed the US, Ukraine and Poland, calling them “beneficiaries” of the blasts. The US and its allies have suggested Russia may have been behind the attack. While European nations who have sanctioned Russia brace for a winter with limited energy supply, Putin is reportedly facing new losses to the Ukrainian military as it slowly recaptures lost ground in the southeast, as well as more severe US economic sanctions over his killings of civilians. But Russia has increased its shipments of fuel to the Ukraine border, potentially part of a new effort to slow the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

A Ukrainian flag waves on a street of the recently liberated village of Vysokopillya, in the Kherson region, on Sept. 27 Photographer: Genya Savilov/AFP

Apple targets its sole unionized store. The computer and gadget maker is withholding its latest employee benefits from staff who work at this unionized retail store, a move that could potentially inflame labor tensions at the technology giant. Apple blames collective bargaining.

Far-right conspiracy theorist and online retailer Alex Jones must pay $965 million in damages to families ravaged by his repeated lies that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, in which two dozen young children and teachers were shot dead, was a hoax. The trial, which took place about 20 miles from where the shooting occurred, was the second to hold Jones financially accountable for his Sandy Hook lies. In Texas he was ordered to pay almost $50 million in damages to the family of a first-grader killed at Sandy Hook. That verdict could be reduced under Texas laws capping damages. In Connecticut, Jones faces the possibility of an even greater penalty if the court opts to award punitive damages under a state law that forbids using false statements to sell products.

A makeshift memorial near the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, after the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting. Source: Bloomberg

Bloomberg continues to track the global coronavirus pandemic. Click here for daily updates.

• Even a small nuclear test by North Korea would be a big US worry.
• Intel plans mass terminations of employees amid a PC slump.
• Los Angeles councilmember Martinez resigns after racist comments.
• Hedge fund managers paid to be geniuses aren’t showing they are.
• Musk’s Twitter buyout gambit is getting costlier by the day.
• Bloomberg Opinion: The rich are living in a different economic world. 
• At Frieze London, huge crowds mask an uncertain art market outlook.

More than 2 ½ years into a pandemic that’s known to have killed at least 6.5 million people and likely many millions more, vaccines, boosters, ambivalence and most importantly the pursuit of tourist dollars have finally prevailed—at least when it comes to the travel industry. There are now more countries and territories, some 118, that will welcome any US traveler without restrictions than there are those that still have Covid-19 precautions.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan maintained some of the most stringent travel curbs before dropping them completely in September.  Photographer: Peter Adams/Stone RF

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