How does a political hit job boomerang? As Joshua Green reports in Bloomberg Businessweek, like this: Right wing financier Rebekah Mercer funded operatives who took aim at former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, seeing him as the likely frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic nomination. They hoped their dirt-digging would yield results similar to those that helped damage the last nominee. But thanks to President Donald Trump, who is publicly seeking foreign assistance in a frenetic quest to besmirch Biden with unsubstantiated claims tied to Ukraine and now China, what might have been a repeat of 2016 is instead a fast-moving congressional impeachment inquiry. —David E. Rovella

Here are today’s top stories

Friday is jobs day and it’s looking ugly. The last few times U.S. payroll forecasts were this low, hurricanes pummeled the nation and the federal government shut down. This time, Trump’s trade war is doing the pummeling and the lights are switching off for American manufacturing.

Vanguard is coming for currencies, testing a new way for asset managers to avoid big investment banks.

Senator Bernie Sanders will be on stage at a Democratic debate in Ohio Oct. 15 after having had surgery to clear an artery blockage.

The fight between Hong Kong residents and China over democratic reforms, inflamed by the point-blank shooting of a protester, may intensity further now that government seeks to ban face masks in public.

Meanwhile, the cash is streaming out of the former British colony and into Singapore, where Goldman Sachs says some $4 billion has found a new home.

If you like Irish whiskey and U.S. trade tariffs, you will now be forced to choose.And while much of Silicon Valley refuses to play catch with the administration, a few rich fans of Trump are making drone-killing robots for the Pentagon.

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is expressing optimism in the face of Wednesday’s big selloff. A 3.8 percent gain in homebuilder Lennar Corp. is emblematic of the whole sector of late, Joe says. As Conor Sen writes for Bloomberg Opinion, a tug-of-war is emerging in which weak manufacturing and a weak global economy are up against a rebounding real-estate market. The question is which will win?

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• How private equity firms won the financial crisis.
• An early bitcoin millionaire has soured on cryptocurrency.
• Zimbabwe is rolling out its new dollar notes.
• Meanwhile, in your latest Brexit news, Boris has a Plan B.
• Radio stations face a $1.5 billion lawsuit for playing and not paying.
• Ken Griffin just paid $125 million to get his name on a museum.
• What do you do when you crash a $3 million sports car?

What you’ll want to read tonight

You Can Uber, Uber, Uber All the Way to JFK

Uber Technologies is now offering its Uber Copter service in New York to all Uber riders. Previously, only members of Uber’s top two tiers, Platinum and Diamond, could use the service. For about $225, even you can get the three-leg treatment. First an Uber picks you up and brings you to the helipad; then the flight. Finally, when you land at JFK, another Uber picks you up and brings you to your terminal.

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