| US President Joe Biden is said to be preparing to block Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel. The proposed deal has been subject to a review by the government’s secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and Biden plans to kill it as soon as the committee’s referral lands on his desk—perhaps as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The tie-up has sparked an election-year firestorm in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, where US Steel and the United Steelworkers union that opposes the deal are based. The past two weeks have brought a fresh $1.3 billion commitment from Nippon Steel, a commitment to use an American-majority proxy board and a warning from US Steel that the deal’s death may spell the end of some of its plants. Shares of US Steel plunged as much as 24% in New York after news of Biden’s plan broke. —David E. Rovella US job openings fell in July to the lowest level since the start of 2021 as company firings rose. The decline in available positions coincides with recent data that show the labor market softening, which while part of the recipe for an economic soft landing has heightened concerns the Federal Reserve has waited too long to cut interest rates. It’s expected to do so this month. Verizon is in advanced talks to acquire rival telecommunications operator Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal that could be announced as soon as Thursday. Frontier bills itself as the “largest pure-play fiber internet company in the US.” It reported sales of $5.8 billion in 2023, with about 52% of total revenue from activities related to its fiber-optic products. With demand for data usage expected to continue to grow, telecommunications providers have been bulking up their broadband offerings. Scrambling for new ways to shore up its faltering economy, China is considering cutting interest rates on as much as $5.3 trillion of mortgages to lower borrowing costs for millions of families while mitigating the profit squeeze on its banking system. Chinese regulators are walking a fine line as they attempt to shore up the battered property market while safeguarding the nation’s $66 trillion financial system. Lowering rates too aggressively would pile pressure on the banks, which have already seen their margin tumble to a record low of 1.54% by the end of June, well below the 1.8% threshold regarded as necessary to maintain reasonable profitability.  Unfinished residential buildings on the outskirts of Shenyang, China, earlier this year. Photographer: Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg Ukrainian officials are preparing for the International Monetary Fund this week to push it to devalue its currency faster, cut interest rates and strengthen its tax-raising efforts to fill the country’s budget gap. IMF staff visiting Kyiv are expected to pressure the war-torn country to pursue such steps to continue receiving financial support, as they undertake a scheduled review of a $15.6 billion loan program. US Vice President Kamala Harris called for a 28% capital gains tax rate on Americans earning $1 million or more, touting it as a measure that would ensure the rich start paying more taxes. “While we ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, we will tax capital gains at a rate that rewards investment in America’s innovators, founders and small businesses,” Harris said Wednesday at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Donald Trump, who as president signed into law a $1.5 trillion tax cut package (which largely benefited the rich and corporations), wants to do it again, but this time at a cost of $10.5 trillion over a decade, a sum that would exceed the combined budgets of every domestic federal agency.  Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 30. Photographer: Justin Merriman/Getty Images North America Agricultural commodity traders do well when food inflation surges, and Cargill, the largest privately owned company in America, has enjoyed a biblical bonanza in recent years, Javier Blas writes in Bloomberg Opinion. But as in the Pharaoh’s dream, after the giant basked in seven years of fat profit thanks to pandemic, war and inflation, it now confronts a famine. And what’s bad news for Cargill, Blas writes, is typically good news for everyone else. Princeton University and Yale University reported declines in the percentage of Asian-American students in their freshman class, the first students selected by the schools after the Republican-appointed supermajority of the US Supreme Court said race could no longer be used in making admissions decisions. At Yale, the share of freshman Asian-American students dropped to 24% from 30% a year ago, while Princeton posted a smaller decline, dipping 2 percentage points to about 24%. The share of first-year Black students held steady at both Ivy League schools, accounting for 14% of Yale’s incoming class and 9% of Princeton’s.  The Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut Photographer: Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg The family behind Hermès International is the richest in Europe. The maker of Birkin handbags and silk scarves has been successfully weathering the industry downturn, unlike some of its peers. In fact, it’s accumulated so much wealth that even a distant blood relative can make his children millionaires. Wilfried Guerrand, 53, who oversees metiers, information systems and data on the company’s executive committee, this year donated 450 shares to each of his four children. After gains this year, the stock is worth around $4.3 million, doubling since June 2022.  A shopper with a Hermes branded bag in the Ginza district of Tokyo Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg Get the Bloomberg Evening Briefing: If you were forwarded this newsletter, sign up here to receive Bloomberg’s flagship briefing in your mailbox daily. Bloomberg Tech: Humanity has always relied on technology to drive growth. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, society is being asked to trust tech with economies, media and health like never before. Join visionaries, investors and business leaders in London on Oct. 22 to discuss the risks and rewards of this new age. Speakers include Monzo CEO TS Anil, Cohere Co-Founder and CEO Aidan Gomez, OURA CEO Tom Hale and ASML President & CEO Christophe Fouquet. Buy tickets today. | 
