Democrats signaled they would consider Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s offer of a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling into December, a tactical retreat by the Kentucky Republican that would alleviate the immediate risk of default, but raise the prospect of another bruising political fight near the end of the year. Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden enlisted Wall Street to help him pressure Republicans to stop blocking efforts to suspend the debt ceiling, warning that the GOP was on course to triggering the first-ever default in American history.  —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

It’s getting more expensive to protect against the possibility of a U.S. default, with less than two weeks until Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the nation will hit its debt ceiling. 

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, along with Senator Kyrsten Sinema, has been a key obstacle to passage of Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic agenda. Now the West Virginia Democrat has indicated he would block an avenue Biden floated to prevent a default.

Joe Manchin Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Despite looming regulation from Washington and an outright ban in China, crypto fans are talking up Bitcoin again as the price of the volatile asset keeps climbing. 

The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency is now the world’s 20th-biggest by market value and has more than tripled in the past week. Why you ask? In part, because of Elon Musk’s puppy.

Sweden and Denmark halted Covid-19 vaccinations with Moderna’s shot for younger people citing potential side effects. Romania reported the highest number of deaths since the start of the pandemic as President Klaus Iohannis described the country’s situation as a “catastrophe.”  In North America, the Biden administration is to announce a $1 billion purchase of rapid at-home tests and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a vaccine mandate for people using air and rail. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

A medical staff member attends to a patient in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the Marius Nasta National Pneumology Institute in Bucharest on Sept. 23. New infections in Romania, a country of 19 million, have grown exponentially over the last month as its vaccination rate declined. Photographer: Vadim Ghirda/AP

General Motors said it plans to double its revenue by 2030 as the automaker expands its electric-vehicle lineup, builds out an autonomous ride-sharing business offered by Cruise LLC and pushes into subscription-based services in its cars.

Gas prices fluctuated wildly on Wednesday, having surged a staggering 60% over just two days in Europe. Dutch and U.K. futures fell more than 7%. U.S. natural gas prices also plunged by as much as 8.3% after settling at the highest level in 12 years just a day earlier.

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On Oct. 8, Daniel Craig will make his final appearance as James Bond in the 25th installment of the franchise, No Time to Die. Craig, as Bond, will drive more than just his signature Aston Martin—though there will be several of those, including the iconic DB5. Also in the film are a Maserati Quattroporte, a Land Rover Defender and a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. Those models retail around $100,000, $50,000 and $60,000, respectively, though the ones actually used in the film will probably be worth more—a lot more.

The Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace. Source: Christie's

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