Good morning. We’re covering an abrupt pause to Ant Group’s I.P.O., a historic election in the United States and tips for staying calm. | |  By Melina Delkic | | | Ant Group’s Alipay has transformed the way people in China interact with money. Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images | | | The dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong — the biggest stock debut in history — was postponed one day after Chinese regulators summoned Jack Ma and other executives of the financial technology giant. | | | The Shanghai Stock Exchange slammed the brakes on Ant’s initial public offering and informed the company that the share sale, which was expected to raise $37 billion, might no longer meet the requirements for listing. On Monday, Chinese regulators had summoned company executives, including Mr. Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba and Ant’s controlling shareholder, for a meeting. | | | Neither the regulators nor Ant have said in detail what was discussed at the meeting. Shortly after the Shanghai exchange’s announcement late Tuesday, Ant said it was suspending the Hong Kong listing as well. The company apologized to investors “for any inconvenience.” | | | Context: The company’s Alipay payment app has more than 730 million users and also serves as a platform for small loans, insurance and investment products. But competing against China’s financial institutions always comes with risk. Ant’s future remains at the mercy of Chinese regulators. | | | Voters cast ballots in Las Vegas, Nev., a state that has voted Republican for many presidential elections but where the polls are now close. Bridget Bennett for The New York Times | | | Americans cast ballots on Tuesday in an election unlike any other, both for its turnout and circumstances. Voters will deliver their verdict in the contest between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. | | | A worker shows how to use a self-administered Covid-19 cheek swab test at a testing site in Chicago last week. Taylor Glascock for The New York Times | | | More than 20 states have set weekly case records, and more than 40 states are seeing a pattern of growing infections. In many Midwestern hot spots, hospitals and health care systems are overwhelmed. | | | The surge came as the Trump administration’s coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, delivered a stark warning to White House officials that the pandemic was entering a new and “deadly phase” that demanded a more aggressive approach. In a private memo, she suggested that President Trump and his advisers focus more on controlling the virus and less on preventing lockdowns. | | ■ Hong Kong will require all travelers arriving from anywhere outside mainland China to quarantine for 14 days at a hotel starting Nov. 13, officials said. ■ Britain will try its first citywide testing in Liverpool, which has been hit hard by the virus. | | | Keith Bradsher/The New York Times | | | Low taxes. Duty-free shopping. Sandy beaches. Beijing wants to turn Hainan Province, an island in the South China Sea, into a shopping and finance mecca and a destination for global companies. | | | PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR | | TEST: Email Marketing 101: Never Sacrifice Beauty for Simplicity | | A drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates and turnkey designs, personalized customer journeys, and engagement segments. It's everything you need to create stunning, results-driven email campaigns in minutes. And with Campaign Monitor, you have access to it all, along with award-winning support around the clock. It's beautiful email marketing done simply. | | | Learn More | | | | Indonesia jobs bill: President Joko Widodo signed a bill that would eliminate labor and environmental protections. Presented as a stimulus package, the law gets rid of mandatory days off for workers and allows businesses to replace full-time employees with cheaper contract workers. Last month, hundreds of thousands of Indonesians took to the streets in protest. | | | Austria attack: A man who opened fire in central Vienna on Monday night, killing four people and wounding 22 others, wanted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State, Austria’s interior minister said. The gunman was killed nine minutes after the attack began. | | | Hong Kong media: The police arrested Choy Yuk-ling, a prizewinning journalist whose work had exposed the authorities’ delayed response to a mob attack on antigovernment protesters last year. The arrest intensified concerns about a crackdown on press freedom in Hong Kong. | | | Getty Images/Getty Images | | | What we’re reading: This FiveThirtyEight guide to when to expect results from each state in the U.S. presidential election. | | | Cook: This election cake is part of a rich tradition in the U.S. that dates back to the 1700s. The recipe starts with a yeasted dough, studded with raisins and pecans, and spiced with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and mace. | | | Watch: “How To With John Wilson” has no stars or any kind of traditional story, and its main character, John Wilson, stays offscreen. The HBO series is “poignant, hilarious and topical,” our comedy columnist writes. | | | Can’t concentrate? Losing sleep? Binge-eating your feelings? Whether it’s because of lockdowns or elections, people around the world are on edge. Here are a few tips from our Well editor on letting go of anxiety and gaining perspective. Hopefully, they will help you calm down a little bit. | | | Interrupt yourself. As you feel your anxiety level rising, try to practice “self interruption.” Go for a walk. Call a friend. Run an errand. “I think people really need to move away from wherever it is they are and break the momentum,” said one meditation teacher. | | | Move for three minutes. It takes just a short burst of exercise — three minutes to be exact — to improve your mood, said Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University whose latest book is “The Joy of Movement.” Do jumping jacks. Stand and box. Do wall push-ups. Dance. | | | Tackle a home project. Get rid of clutter, make a scrapbook, get a new comforter, hang artwork. | | | Unleash the aromatics. Take a lavender foot bath, burn a scented candle or spritz the air with orange aromatherapy. A study of 141 pregnant women found that rubbing or soaking feet with lavender cream significantly reduced anxiety, stress and depression. Lavender baths lower cortisol levels in infants. | | That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. — Melina | | Thank you
Carole Landry helped write this briefing. Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. | | P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today is our live Election Day broadcast — tune in at 4 p.m. Eastern, or 8 a.m. Sydney time.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Election Day enclosure (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The photo editor Sandra Stevenson, who works on this newsletter sometimes, spoke about her role as a photographer on PBS Voices. | | | Were you sent this briefing by a friend? Sign up here to get the Morning Briefing. | | |
