Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day.

On today's podcast:

(1) The Republican Party’s generational collapse in this week’s midterm elections ushered in a wave of finger-pointing largely aimed at the Oval Office, exposing deep fissures within the party and opening the door for 2028 hopefuls to hone their message.

(2) Elon Musk’s Texas-based empire is coming under investor scrutiny after Democrats clinched unlikely wins in his adopted state on their way to taking control of Congress.

(3) Wall Street’s biggest trading desks are urging clients to increase their exposure to US stocks, betting that lackluster investor positioning leading up to the midterm elections has created room for a year-end rally.

(4) France is bracing for a day of strikes and demonstrations over the cost of living, extending more than a month of protests, as parliamentary talks over next year’s budget remain deadlocked.

(5) The Bank of England looks ready to raise interest rates by a quarter point to 4%, its first hike in more than three years.

(6) Artificial intelligence skills are no longer optional for the hundreds of thousands of young Britons seeking their first job, according to data from recruitment platforms that show how the technology is deciding who gets a foothold in the toughest labor market in decades.

(7) From an apartment building in Romania to a parked car in Lithuania, drones from the war in Ukraine have increasingly been inflicting damage along NATO’s eastern flank this year. The heightened risk is now spawning a small, but growing area of the insurance business.

Podcast Conversation: I’m a Proud Prepper and You Should Be Too