U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland provided the most dramatic testimony yet in the ongoing impeachment inquiry. The Trump donor said attorney Rudy Giuliani—working at President Donald Trump’s behest—demanded Ukraine’s president do his client a favor if he wanted an Oval Office meeting. Ukraine would have to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joseph Biden, news that would likely damage Biden’s candidacy for U.S. president. Sondland also threw both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo under the proverbial bus, saying they knew about Trump’s plan to invite foreign interference in the 2020 campaign. “The suggestion that we were engaged in some irregular or rogue diplomacy is absolutely false,” Sondland said. “Everyone was in the loop.” —Josh Petri

Here are today’s top stories

The FBI contacted lawyers for the whistle-blower whose complaint kick-started the inquiry. Trump has demanded to know the whistle-blower’s identity despite laws barring disclosure and the allegations having been substantiated by other witnesses and evidence. The FBI is part of the Justice Department, which previously said it found no campaign finance violations in the whistle-blower complaint. 

Federal Reserve officials stressed that risks to the U.S. economy remained elevated as they agreed to put interest rates on hold following their third cut this year.

China President Xi Jinping’s government has a problem: Any strong measures against the U.S. over Congressional support for Hong Kong democracy protesters risks backfiring. The Senate unanimously passed a bill supporting protesters in Hong Kong, and the House plans one, too.

As negotiations continue between the U.S. and China, concerns are growing that efforts to nail down the first phase of a broader trade deal are stalling.

U.K. elections were supposed to settle existential questions over Brexit. Instead they’re raising fundamental issues over the nature of Great Britain itself. Could it be the end of the union? 

Amtrak’s CEO has a plan to make the train operator profitable: chop up long-haul routes and eliminate traditional dining-car service. Train lovers and U.S. senators hate it, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. 

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director thinks you should read this article about anxious rich people creating a surge in demand for safe deposit boxes to store cash and other valuables. Given the inherent cost of storage, it’s a good reminder that, in the state of nature, negative rates aren’t weird at all.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• U.S. stocks dropped as the prospects of a trade deal faltered.
• Amazon is planning to open cashier-less supermarkets next year.
• The rich say politics are spurring them to donate more money.
• Prince Andrew quits public life over his Jeffery Epstein problem.
• Israel may hold its third election in a year.
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg will likely face attacks during tonight’s debate.
• We tried nine vegan and vegetarian turkeys so you don’t have to.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

A Bold Bet on a $1 Billion Department Store

La Samaritaine, part of billionaire Bernard Arnault’s LVMH luxury empire, is set to reopen next April after a 15-year, $1 billion renovation. The store oozes restored Belle Epoque glamour, including ornate frescoes, mosaics and wrought-iron staircases. Such temples of consumption used to drive retailing, but since the Louis Vuitton owner acquired the site in 2001, the industry has been upended. Shoppers have shifted online, and department-store chains have been shutting dozens of stores. Why bet against the retail odds in Paris? In short, because of China.

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