Fox to sell its Sky shares
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox will sell its 39% stake in Sky to Comcast, which recently won a bid for majority control of the satellite broadcaster. Fox’s stake is expected to fetch $15.3bn. More from Axios, CNBC and Reuters.
US interest rates
The Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates for the third time this year, from 2% to 2.5%. The central bank gave a bullish forecast for the US economy, predicting growth of more than 3% this year. It also signaled that rates would rise again in December. More from the Financial Times, MarketWatch and NBC News.
Daimler’s new boss
Dieter Zetsche will retire next year as CEO of Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, with Ola Källenius taking the reins. Källenius, a Swede who’s worked at the carmaker since 1993, will be the first non-German to head the company. More from Handelsblatt, Reuters and TheStreet.com.
Kaepernick didn’t do it for Nike sales: investors
Nike posted strong quarterly earnings, but its shares fell by 3% after disappointing investors who had expected a bigger bump in sales from adverts featuring Colin Kaepernick (and disappointed by tighter margins). Kaepernick is a former American football player turned activist against police shootings of unarmed black men. More from Investor’s Business Daily, the Oregonian and Reuters.
Ireland: alcohol could carry cancer warning labels
Alcohol products in Ireland will carry labels warning about the risk of cancer under a bill proposed by the country’s health minister. If passed, the rules--similar to those for tobacco products--will need EU approval. More from the Irish Times, ITV and RTE.
Skripal suspect is Russian agent, says site
One of the men wanted in the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning has been identified by an investigative journalism site. Bellingcat claimed the man travelling as Ruslan Boshirov is really Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, a Russian intelligence officer. Russia has denied the allegation. More from the BBC and Telegraph.
Brussels moves ahead with backup plan in case Brexit talks fail
The EU has accelerated its no-deal Brexit contingency planning. European Commission officials have confidentially floated a plan to let Brussels, in case of a hard Brexit, enact emergency rules within 5 days. More from the Financial Times and Guardian.
Third Kavanaugh accuser
A third woman, Julie Swetnick, has come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, the US Supreme Court justice nominee. She said Kavanaugh was present at parties in the 1980s where women were targeted with alcohol so they could be gang raped. Kavanaugh said in a statement: “This is ridiculous and from the ‘Twilight Zone’. I don’t know who this is and this never happened.” Kavanaugh has denied the two previous allegations. More from the Guardian, New York Observer and Vox.
Tampon ban lifted for now
Prison officials in the US state of Virginia have temporarily (but not permanently) suspended a ban on women using tampons and menstrual cups when visiting inmates, as reported by Newser. The ban was meant to prevent drugs being smuggled into prisons, but advocates say it violates the privacy rights of women visitors.
Spy test
If you like brainteasers, The Times has published questions from the British secret service admissions test.