Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren joined forces to beat back lower-polling moderates during part one of this week’s Democratic presidential debate. At one point, Sanders smacked down a rival who questioned his description of single payer health care, roaring “I wrote the damn bill.” On Wednesday night, former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden and Senator Kamala Harris will be among the 10 candidates participating in part two. —David E. Rovella

Here are today’s top stories

As was widely expected, the Fed cut interest rates Wednesday for the first time since the financial crisis. For months, U.S. President Donald Trump had been clamoring for a rollback, leveling unprecedented attacks on the central bank and Chair Jerome Powell. 

But the quarter-point cut wasn’t enough for Wall Street. Stocks dived as Powell appeared to dent hopes that the move was the beginning of a trend. He instead called it a “mid-term policy adjustment.”

The U.S. Treasury Department announced plans to maintain record debt sales as Congress and Trump continue a spending frenzy that’s widening the deficit even as economic growth remains solid.

Hiring at companies accelerated in July for a second month, according to a private report released ahead of Friday’s official jobs data.

Almost a decade after fund manager Jeffrey Epstein was first accused of preying on young women, the alleged sex trafficker still had access to Apollo Global Management’s billionaire chairman, Leon Black.

On Tuesday, the U.S. said Chinese troops were congregating near the Hong Kong border as protests there escalate. On Wednesday, Beijing ratcheted up tensions on another front, suspending a program that allowed individual tourists from 47 Chinese cities to visit Taiwan.

What’s Sid Verma thinking about? The Bloomberg cross-asset editor is thinking about how the Fed, which has a decidedly domestic mandate, made its rate cut based not on America’s economy but a perceived, future threat emanating from abroad. The Fed always mulls the international landscape, but Sid says it feels different this time because there’s no overseas flash point.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• Singapore rich kids get penthouses while their parents skirt taxes.
• Boris Johnson goes to Belfast and leaves everyone cold.
• Oil tanker transponders are vanishing in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Businessweek: Targeting single family homes to ease the shortage.
• Senator Amy Klobuchar is urging a progressive “reality check.”
• An electric makeover of your old diesel car costs only $5,600.
• There’s big trouble in the rarefied world of professional lacrosse.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Work Wise 

The New Path to CEO May Be Your Side Hustle

You know today’s job scene: long hours, low raises, zero job security. You could grind out 60-hour weeks for years only to find yourself suddenly laid off. It’s tough enough to stay sane in such an unforgiving environment, but what if you’re one of those ambitious types who actually wants to climb the company ladder? You will need to branch out when the work day is done.

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