U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to cooperate with the timing of the impeachment inquiry as Democrats warned him of the potential consequences. Pompeo is now a central figure in the probe since it was revealed he was on the line when President Donald Trump asked the president of Ukraine to reanimate unsubstantiated allegations tied to former Vice President Joseph Biden. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Attorney General William Barr personally asked foreign officials to aid him in investigating the origins of Robert Mueller’s probe of alleged collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin. The president has sought to undercut the origins of the special counsel’s probe of Russia’s effort to throw the 2016 election. —David E. Rovella

Here are today’s top stories

Trump and his allies are scrambling to identify the whistle-blower who triggered impeachment, blowing up years of precedent aimed at promoting government accountability. One Republican said the whistle-blower deserves to be protected while others criticized him for including secondhand accounts. The intelligence community’s inspector general said the whistleblower law doesn’t require first-hand knowledge. 

The State Department approved a $39 million sale of additional Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. This deal is separate from the $250 million of congressionally authorized military aid that was held up by Trump until after the July 25 call in which he sought Ukraine’s help with Biden.

Communist China’s 70th birthday was marked by the first police shooting of a protester in Hong Kong as democracy demonstrations intensified. According to one account, video showed the 18-year-old, who remains in critical condition after surgery, on the ground with blood “spilling from his chest.” Trump congratulated President Xi Jinping on China’s anniversary, which was celebrated in Beijing with a big military parade.

The global economy flashed grim warnings Tuesday as a wave of data showed manufacturing slumping, exports falling and sentiment sliding . In America, the news is particularly bad , thanks in part to the trade war. Stocks tanked.

Norway unexpectedly took almost $400 million from its sovereign wealth fund in August. The mystery is what the Nordic country did with it.

Credit Suisse exonerated Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam as one of his key allies took the fall for a corporate spying scandal.

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is still focused on how Beijing’s domestic policies suppress the well-being of Chinese and American workers. By subsidizing elites, China pushes capital abroad, boosting U.S. real estate prices and the dollar while making it harder for Americans to afford homes or remain competitive. But Joe notes there’s a key beneficiary to all this suffering by people who work for a living in both countries: bankers. The Trump administration’s idea of putting limits on Chinese listings on U.S. exchanges may have actually helped address this, but the White House has been backing away.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• There’s another Trump administration whistleblower—at the IRS.
• A month before the Brexit deadline, Boris Johnson is in trouble.
• Bonds got a taste of what happens when central banks retreat.
• Bitcoin isn’t the world’s most used cryptocurrency. This is.
• Senator Bernie Sanders raised $25.3 million in the third quarter.
• Schwab slashed online stock and ETF fees in a growing price war.
• Yes, robots are hurting your pay check.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

Why Midcentury Modernist Architecture Persists

The cult of midcentury architecture has been going on for so long that its aesthetic is indistinguishable from contemporary design. White walls? Check. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows? Check. Spare interiors with judicious flourishes of wood and marble? But of course. Bloomberg Pursuits explores why this style remains so pervasive.

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