* Hurricane Nicole weakens to tropical storm over east-central Florida
* Ukraine peace talks still unlikely as Russia retreats from key position
* Binance abandons FTX rescue, leaving crypto exchange on brink of collapse
* US 3mo-10yr Treasury yield curve stays negative, returning to 2-1/2 year low:

US debt ceiling in focus as Republicans looks set to take over the House. “If Republicans win the House and Democrats retain the Senate, we envision an emboldened GOP calling for spending cuts as a pre-condition for agreement to raising the debt ceiling,” say Anna Wong and Andrew Husby of Bloomberg Economics. “Brinkmanship on that debate could see borrowing costs rise, tipping the economy from a short and mild recession next year into something more damaging.”