Empty Eyes.

Run-off in Brazil.

News Items covers four subjects: (1) World in Disarray, (2) Financialization of Everything, (3) Advances in Science and Technology, and (4) Electoral politics, foreign and domestic. Six days a week, not Sundays. Weekdays by ~6:45am ET. Saturdays, sometime in the morning, usually.

1. For months, pollsters and analysts had said that President Jair Bolsonaro was doomed. He faced a wide and unwavering deficit in Brazil’s high-stakes presidential race, and in recent weeks, the polls had suggested he could even lose in the first round, ending his presidency after just one term. Instead, it was Mr. Bolsonaro who was celebrating. While the challenger, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former leftist president, finished the night ahead, Mr. Bolsonaro far outperformed forecasts and sent the race to a runoff. Mr. da Silva received 48.4 percent of the votes, and Mr. Bolsonaro 43.23 percent, with 99.87 percent of the ballots counted, according to Brazil’s elections agency. Mr. da Silva needed to exceed 50 percent to be elected president in the first round. (Source: nytimes.com)

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2. The OPEC+ oil alliance is planning a substantial cut in production to prop up falling prices, according to people close to the discussions, as the group prepares to meet in person for the first time since March 2020. The oil group, which is led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is expected to discuss a production cut that could total more than 1 million barrels a day at the meeting on Wednesday. This is by far the largest since early in the pandemic and equivalent to more than 1 per cent of global supplies. The move threatens to boost oil prices at a time much of the world is fighting to bring down energy costs and could create a potential rupture with the US, where President Joe Biden has been trying to lower fuel prices for motorists ahead of crucial midterm elections next month. (Source: ft.com)