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Mid-terms elections

For many Americans, Tuesday’s congressional midterm elections are a referendum on Trump’s divisive persona, hardline policies and pugnacious politics. But at a Trump rally on Sunday in a crowded airport hangar in Macon, Georgia, and at other such events, the elections are a far different proposition.

Beyond the vegan meatballs and “Medicare For All” T-shirts, there was something else notable at a Democratic rally last week in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland: direct, no-holds-barred condemnation of the president.

Trump and Obama made dueling election appearances on Sunday, offering sharply different views on the country’s problems but agreeing on the high stakes for voters in the final 48 hours of a tight campaign.

Buy the dollar but sell FAANGs, buy real estate and machinery, but sell the overall market. Or, do nothing at all. Investors heading into Tuesday’s U.S. congressional elections are trying to fathom how best to predict the outcome and profit from it.

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10:26 AM - Nov 2, 2018

World

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to lower tariffs, broaden market access and import more from overseas at the start of a trade expo designed to demonstrate goodwill amid mounting frictions with the United States and others.

Iran said it would defy the reimposition of more U.S. sanctions, condemning as “economic war” Washington’s attempt to curb Tehran’s missile and nuclear programs and weaken its influence in the Middle East. Nearly 40 years after the 1979 Islamic revolution saw the exit of Western oil companies from Iran, the Iranian oil sector faces yet another costly disruption after a series of interruptions from war, sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

Saudi Arabia told the United Nations it would prosecute those responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate, and defended its human rights record.

Lawyers for two Reuters reporters jailed for seven years in Myanmar lodged an appeal against their conviction on charges of breaking the country’s Official Secrets Act. See our coverage of the case.

Commentary: After heavy losses in regional elections, German chancellor Angela Merkel announced her decision to leave politics when her current term ends in 2021. What will Merkel’s decision mean for Germany - and for Europe as a whole? “Merkel has been a formidable political figure in her 13 years as chancellor,” writes columnist John Lloyd. Nevertheless, “she leaves her country more divided, the EU weaker, than either were when she came to power.”