Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) Honda and Nissan are exploring a merger, according to people familiar with the matter, that would create a singular rival to Toyota in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world. 

(2) Federal Reserve officials are likely to lower borrowing costs for a third-straight meeting this week while also signaling fewer interest-rate cuts next year than previously projected.

(3) First it was a collapse in the currency. Now the rest of Brazil’s financial markets are in the cross-hairs as investors lose faith in the government’s ability to contain a deepening fiscal crisis.

(4) UK government borrowing costs rose to the highest level in decades relative to Germany’s, as traders grew increasingly skeptical over how much more easing the Bank of England will manage to deliver next year.

(5) The UK government risks baking in higher energy costs for consumers as it pushes to meet a challenging — and upgraded — target to decarbonize the country’s power supply by 2030.