We Work’s largest investor, SoftBank, is reportedly sketching out plans in which it would drop billions of additional money on the company in return for giving Masa Son control of WeWork “and further sidelin[ing] its founder Adam Neumann.” WeWork’s board is also considering a JPMorgan option, hoping that the bank could help it raise billions through debt offerings – WSJ and NYTimes and Bloomberg
The US and China announced an “interim trade pact” and tariff relief on Friday, a far-from-sweeping deal that came as leaders from both countries “faced mounting political pressures and rising economic worries at home” – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Law360
Your “good to know” for the morning: while apparently on board for phase one, China wants to talk more before signing anything – Bloomberg
Will the truce come in time to reverse the current trend of Chinese shoppers shifting away from American brands? Time will tell, but the US should be worried – WSJ and Barron’s
US Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain has ordered a brief stay until November 6 in the legal action by a collection of 25 states against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family over the opioid crisis. Judge Drain cited “mounting costs of litigation that are siphoning funds that could otherwise go to abate” the crisis as a reason to delay proceedings until defendants come up with a plan to disclose how much money they’ve earned from OxyContin sales – NYTimes
The Libra outflow continues, with Stripe, Mastercard, Visa, and eBay pulling out of the proposed crypto partnership just a week after PayPal became the first company to ditch Zuck & Co. – NYTimes and MarketWatch
Streetwise takes a closer look at the Fed’s recent shift back into the realm of quantitative easing—the central bank’s plan to start buying $60 billion of Treasurys a month, a plan that sure looks like QE despite Chair Powell’s protestations – WSJ
Quarterly earnings reporting season starts again this week, with big banks leading the way. Expectations and reality don’t appear to be in the same place, so get ready for some Wall Street rockiness – NYTimes and MarketWatch
The SEC successfully blocked two offshore entities from moving forward with a $1.7 billion digital token offering “that the agency says violates securities laws.” The Commission argued for the temporary restraining order against Telegram Group’s Grams digital coin offering over the issuer’s failure to register their offers and sales as securities – Law360
The Journal checks in with post-bankruptcy Sears . . . and it’s not very encouraging – WSJ
Volkswagen is reportedly considering spinoff or IPO options for its Lamborghini brand as the automaker looks to shift future focus to its main global brands of VW, Porsche, and Audi – Bloomberg
Some deep Times reporting shows that Microsoft’s Bill Gates had a much closer relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein—one that began after Epstein’s first conviction for sex crimes – NYTimes
California authorities are on the record this weekend with the obvious after electric utility PG&E disastrous planned blackouts in Northern California last week: “This did not go well” – NYTimes
A fascinating account of Sir James Dyson’s (he of the vacuum and bladeless fan empire) ill-fated foray into the world of electric automobiles – Bloomberg