China's adrenaline shot

In what amounts to a massive adrenaline shot for the world’s second biggest economy, China’s central bank unveiled a series of economic stimulus measures on Tuesday. China’s economy has been dogged by a property market crisis, consumer price weakness and rising global trade tensions. And Tuesday’s announcement underscored the mounting alarm within President Xi Jinping’s government over slowing growth and depressed investor confidence. China’s economy sits dangerously close to a deflationary cycle and economists believe the stimulus measures have bought the country some time and helped change the narrative around the slump. Only in the past few weeks have banks from Goldman Sachs to UBS cut their forecasts for China’s economic growth following a slew of bad data that raised alarms about falling prices. Stocks rallied following the news. Here’s your markets wrap. — Margaret Sutherlin

The US Justice Department sued Visa, alleging the global payments giant illegally monopolized the debit-card market. It’s the Biden administration’s first major antitrust case targeting the financial services industry. Antitrust enforcers alleged that Visa, which handles more than 60% of US debit transactions, entered into a series of agreements penalizing merchants who sought to use alternatives and paid potential rivals to stay out of the market. It’s the latest suit that alleges antitrust behavior stifled innovation. The DOJ has taken on Alphabet’s Google and Live Nation with similar suits.

The United Nations General Assembly started Tuesday against a global backdrop of war in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. US President Joe Biden, in his final address to the assembly, defended democracy’s values and his approach to global conflicts. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said today’s landscape of conflict was unsustainable. Thousands of miles away, Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah continue to exchange fire as a wider Middle East conflict simmers. Israel said its attack on Lebanon Monday killed a top Hezbollah commander, but the bombing’s death toll has climbed above 550.

The commercial property market around the US has taken a beating the past several years. Prices are still down 19% from a peak in 2022, but lenders and owners seem ready to cut their losses and jump back in, especially now that the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut in four years is bringing some clarity on the path for borrowing costs and valuations. As interest rates fall, more buyers are coming back and lenders are seeing more interest in deals to offload debt.

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the collapse of the cryptocurrency giant led by Sam Bankman-Fried. Ellison, a key witness for the government, said she was remorseful during Tuesday’s sentencing. The decision means other other cooperators, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, likely will receive jail time.

From artists and creators to executives, directors, musicians, athletes and yes, even a restauranteur, these are the 12 people shaping the future of entertainment and culture. Pay attention to them now so that, when they’re huge, you can say you were fans from the early days.

There’s a sinister new kind of wildfire – one that consumes acres of the Arctic tundra and floodplains of Brazil. It’s little studied and sometimes hard to spot. These fires burn below ground and churn through layers of organic material, emitting massive quantities of atmosphere-warming greenhouse gasses. In the Arctic, 2024 is shaping up to be the worst fire year since 2020, when blazes burning across Siberia consumed 8.6 million acres of tundra and sent emissions surging to a record.

There are 41 days until the US presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris headed to Pittsburgh to pitch her economic vision for America, one that builds on the success under President Joe Biden’s administration. Donald Trump addressed supporters in Savannah, Georgia, saying he’d take other countries' jobs and defending his plans for sweeping import taxes, something economists largely agree will cost the middle class more money.

Champagne is only a 45-minute high speed train from Paris, but has long been an adventure just for the day tripper. But with a new crop of hotels and more welcoming policies at the wineries, longer stays are becoming the norm. History and World War II buffs can visit Reims and its almost destroyed royal cathedral, where French kings were crowned. Nature fans can take in vine-covered hillsides and villages by bike, quad or hot air balloon. And for those who just want to taste the local elixir, many of the almost 400 houses and independent winemakers are finally making it easier to do that, too.

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