China, Russia and Iran are looking to disrupt the U.S. electoral process before November’s vote, including attempts at compromising the private communications of political campaigns and candidates, a top U.S. intelligence official warned. William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said on Friday that federal officials continue to monitor hackers trying to gain access to state and federal networks, including those responsible for managing elections. —David E. Rovella

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Here are today’s top stories

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell waited until a key component of the initial coronavirus rescue package was about to expire before drafting the Republican version of its sequel. His brinkmanship now looks more like a significant miscalculation. Meanwhile, the numbers are in, and it doesn’t look good for the U.S. economy. Also, stocks fell for a second day on Friday as bonds and the dollar slipped.

There’s bad economic news in China, too. Traders, company insiders and overseas investors are fleeing the country’s stock market amid the biggest threat to Beijing’s diplomatic ties with Washington in years. Traders outside mainland China sold more than $2.3 billion worth of Chinese stocks Friday, one of the largest ever outflows via Hong Kong’s exchange links. Some of China’s controlling tech shareholders are getting out as soon as they can.

The tensions behind the selloff keep rising. Chinese security agents, police and soldiers descended on central Chengdu after Beijing’s decision to close the American consulate there in retaliation for a similar move by President Donald Trump three days earlier in Houston.

Sherri Beardan owns a beauty salon in rural Texas. She wears a mask as required while conducting business, but she’s not concerned about health risks and doesn’t believe the coronavirus numbers. “It’s a whole government crock of B.S.,” the 42-year-old says of the deadly pathogen that has killed more than 140,000 Americans, including at least 4,600 in Texas. That state, along with Florida and California, could be on the same horrible path New York was forced down months ago, as deaths in all three jurisdictions continue to rise. The national infection rate also continues to accelerate, and more retailers are requiring customers to wear masks. This is the latest.

Goldman Sachs reached a $3.9 billion pact with Malaysia as the bank sought to resolve its worst scandal since the 2008 financial crisis.

What a difference a year makes—especially when it’s a really, really bad year. Not only is Neiman Marcus now bankrupt, but the luxury retailer said it will permanently close its huge new store in New York City’s Hudson Yards, part of that big new mall that opened in March 2019.

This billionaire created the perfect experiment when he erased $34 million worth of student debt.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• An abrupt exit at Carlyle Group caps a long, strange power struggle.
• The worst for U.S. renters and apartment owners is yet to come.
• Intel plunged as it weighs exiting the manufacture of chips.
• Novavax’s 3,500% surge over a possible vaccine faces its first test.
• London’s Covid-19 safe commute option: open-air buses.
• Dogs can sniff out the coronavirus.
• Businessweek: A stockpicking guru is the focus of a hit Netflix show.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

Caribbean to Americans: Yankee Stay Home

As Caribbean beaches and resorts begin welcoming back international tourists, there’s one group that’s increasingly being left out: Americans. Tropical vacation spots across the region are giving U.S. citizens the cold shoulder amid fears they might spread the coronavirus, cutting Americans off from one of the few regions that was still accessible to them. As the world’s worst country when it comes to infections and deaths from the coronavirus, Americans have become less-than-welcome guests.

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