* Dems perform better than expected but control of Congress still unclear
* European leaders announce funds to help poor nations with climate change.
* China’s inflation shows signs of easing in October
* China’s ‘Zero-Covid’ guessing game is all about one man: President Xi
* Some investors on Wall Street bet Fed funds rate could rise to 6%
* US inflation expected to cool only slightly in Thursday’s October report
* Binance, world’s largest cryptocurrency firm, agrees to buy rival FTX
* Meta is laying off 13% of staff, or more than 11,000 employees
* US small business sentiment remains depressed in October:

Small business owners in US report that inflation is the “single most important problem” by far through October, according to survey data from NFIB:

S&P 500 has historically rallied in the 12-month periods following US midterm elections, according to data from US Bank via Yahoo Finance, which reports: “This is especially the case for the one and three month periods following the midterm elections.”

Tropical Storm Nicole, set to become a hurricane, is about to hit Florida’s east coast: