US job openings rose slightly in October, enough to to mark a 5-month high, the Labor Dept. reports. “The job market isn’t collapsing but it is certainly losing steam,” said Oren Klachkin, financial markets economist at Nationwide. “We anticipate Fed officials will try to get ahead of labor market weakness with another 25 basis points rate cut tomorrow even as inflation remains above the 2% goal.”

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a third straight cut in interest rates today. Analysts say a “hawkish cut” is likely — a reduction that’s not accompanied by a clear message that another cut is forthcoming. “The likeliest outcome is a kind of hawkish cut where they cut, but the statement and the press conference suggesting that they may be done cutting for now,” said Bill English, the Fed’s former director of monetary affairs and now a Yale professor.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said China should fix economic “imbalances.” Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, said: “Low inflation relative to trading partners has resulted in significant real exchange rate depreciation and this has made China’s exports cheaper, prolonging an excessive reliance on exports and worsening external imbalances.”

Silver rises above $60 an ounce for the first time. “Silver has a big retail and speculative base,” said David Wilson, director of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas SA. “Once you have an upside momentum, it tends to bring in more money.”

Bitcoin miners are increasingly focusing on AI by repurposing facilities. “The change reflects rabid demand among AI companies for data centers equipped to handle the energy-intensive workloads required to train their models,” reports Wired.

US 10-year yield extends recent rise, closing at 4.19% on Tuesday, the highest level in nearly two months: