Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated while leaving a political rally less than two weeks before the vote as a wave of political and drug violence roils the Andean nation.

Villavicencio, an anti-graft crusader and journalist, was murdered while leaving a school in Quito. President Guillermo Lasso confirmed the killing in a statement, and pledged to bring the culprits to justice. https://trib.al/xpq0iEy

📷: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images

New restrictions: President Joe Biden imposed limits on US investments in China as part of a push to restrict the country’s ability to develop next-generation military and surveillance technologies that might threaten US national security. https://tinyurl.com/yc8kbpv6

Steady rates: India leaves its key interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting, signaling rate setters will act if food-driven inflation surges. https://tinyurl.com/by29jnvw

Tumbling riches: Asia’s once-richest woman has lost more wealth than any other billionaire in the world in just over two years as her Chinese property development company falls deeper into a debt crisis. https://tinyurl.com/ye6pnw4z

Soaring rice prices: A surge in rice prices to the highest level in almost 15 years is renewing fears that food costs are going to get a lot more expensive for the world’s poorest people. https://bloom.bg/3qvyJvx

Ousted Niger leader faces supply cuts: The leaders of a military coup in Niger are depriving ousted President Mohamed Bazoum of food, water and electricity at an army camp where he’s been held captive for the past two weeks. https://bloom.bg/3QAPyjC

Iran turns to South Africa for swift BRICS entry: Iran has asked South Africa’s government to support its “accelerated membership” of BRICS, as the five-nation bloc prepares to hold a summit later this month. https://bloom.bg/45pSrb9

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Time bomb: President Joe Biden blasted China’s economic problems as a “ticking time bomb” and referred to Communist Party leaders as “bad folks,” his latest barb against President Xi Jinping’s government. https://tinyurl.com/pwsk7xaz

Penny stock: Country Garden, formerly China’s largest developer by sales, has become a Hong Kong penny stock amid increasing scrutiny of its operations and mounting liquidity concerns. https://tinyurl.com/4h7vtkh5

Greener travel: Brace yourself for even higher airfares. Passengers are on the hook for aviation’s $5 trillion carbon cleanup. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/32b3x5f2

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Former South African President Zuma released: President Cyril Ramaphosa granted clemency to his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, who had been convicted of contempt of court. Zuma's initial arrest two years ago led to violent protests across South Africa that resulted in the deaths of over 300 people. https://bloom.bg/47pdT1J

Standby troops for Niger: 15 West African states have activated a standby military force with the potential to intervene in Niger and overturn a coup that occurred in July. The states aim to increase pressure on the junta to relinquish power and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held hostage since the takeover. https://bloom.bg/3KZ1mIT

South African Expats are flocking to this tiny Irish Sea island: The Isle of Man now hosts the largest population of South African expatriates outside of the British Isles. In the 2021 census, South Africans accounted for 1,218 residents. https://bloom.bg/452HZ9L

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Investors retreat: Foreign investors are losing interest in China, and hedge funds that target the world’s second-biggest economy are paying the price. https://tinyurl.com/bde6amu6

Long search: A $4.3 billion India fund's long-drawn hunt for a new chief executive officer is raising concerns among investors, sources say, potentially posing a risk to the government’s plans for the business. https://tinyurl.com/4j8cm9fn

Price wars: Tesla rolled out a new round of price cuts in China, sending auto stocks tumbling on concerns the move will re-spark a bruising price war that had showed signs of abating. https://tinyurl.com/4dv53xkw

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Niger junta vows to prosecute president: Niger’s self-declared military leadership vowed to prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, even as it said it’s prepared to reopen talks with a West African regional economic bloc that has demanded the junta cede power.  https://bloom.bg/3OzkYnR

BRICS to discuss accelerated use of local currencies:  The BRICS group of emerging-market nations will discuss deepening the use of local currencies in trade between member states at a summit in South Africa next week, the nation’s ambassador to the bloc said. https://bloom.bg/3QxImog

Mastercard to buy stake in MTN’s fintech unit: MTN, Africa’s biggest wireless carrier, said Mastercard agreed to take a minority stake in its financial-technology business, which the company values at $5.2 billion. https://bloom.bg/3sgEJJ5

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The threat of war with China is the defining issue in Taiwan's presidential election. Lai Ching-te, frontrunner in the polls, might be the one to lead Taiwan during this uncertain period.

Read The Big Take https://trib.al/9HCjHff

Donald Trump was indicted in Atlanta over efforts to undo his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, adding a fourth criminal case against the former president as he campaigns for the White House.

The indictment charges Trump and 18 other defendants, including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former senior Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. Read about the charges: https://trib.al/x72tT27

Nigeria inflation: Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to a fresh 18-year high on surging transport costs and food prices, adding to pressure on the central bank to raise borrowing costs when it meets next month. https://bloom.bg/446r5FL

Naira loses key support: Nigeria’s naira has lost an essential source of support after the central bank’s long-delayed financial statements revealed that effective foreign-exchange reserves at its disposal were much lower than previously disclosed. https://bloom.bg/3KHm9QL

Uganda's anti-LGBTQ law: Uganda's central bank is set to hold its key interest rate for a fifth time in a row after the World Bank’s decision to halt new funding to the country for its passage of anti-LGBTQ legislation led the local currency to weaken and because of new inflationary pressures. https://bloom.bg/3OWzqre

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FYI: We've launched a new Telegram channel focused on bringing you the latest crypto news as it happens.

Join the Bloomberg Crypto Telegram channel here: https://t.me/bloombergnewscrypto

Diversifying supply chain: Apple's partner is kicking off production in southern India to deliver iPhone 15s just weeks after they start shipping from factories in China. https://tinyurl.com/5erj5rfw

Curbing selloff: Chinese authorities asked some investment funds to avoid net selling stocks this week as a market selloff deepened, sources say. https://tinyurl.com/5575w8nn

Drawing scrutiny: The recreational marijuana industry is pouring money into products with high THC levels, and early-to-legalize states are rethinking their laws because of it. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/2s47n8cs

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Nigeria Eurobonds: Nigeria’s eurobonds were the worst performers in emerging-market credit for a second day on Wednesday, after the government said it will suspend increases to gasoline prices even against the backdrop of rising crude. https://bloom.bg/3L5QkBF

Rand swings: Rand traders are starting to look to next year’s South African election, betting that it will bring with it whispsaws in the currency. https://bloom.bg/3YDwZNB

Miners face class action: BHP, South32 and a unit of Seriti Resources may face a class action from coal miners with lung disease in South Africa who worked at the companies’ operations over the last six decades. https://bloom.bg/3QBxgi5

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Debt restructuring: Chinese $137 billion shadow banking giant Zhongzhi, whose cash crunch has fanned contagion fears, is planning to restructure its debt and has hired KPMG for an audit, sources say. https://tinyurl.com/y49nmt7c

Cheapest tickets: Cathay Pacific plans to start selling some of its cheapest tickets in more than three-and-a-half years on Thursday, offloading 100,000 round-trip economy seats at steep discounts. https://tinyurl.com/5c549urd

Crypto hell: It was "Vicky’s" job to defraud people through social engineering. But what started as a game of cat and mouse with a scammer became a descent into crypto hell. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/4tbr42h9

Coup threatens regional chaos: Tensions are ratcheting up in West Africa, with foreign powers jockeying for position in what was the last bastion of stability in a hotspot of jihadist activity. https://bloom.bg/3QH2hB4

Kenya 'Hustler Fund':  Kenya is in talks with the World Bank and European Union to ramp up its “Hustler Fund” project that is already providing cheap credit to more than 20 million of the country’s poor. https://bloom.bg/44c30xl

Barbeque Index shows food inflation slowing: Food prices increased at the slowest pace in at least nine months as the cost of cooking oil plunged, Bloomberg’s Shisa Nyama Index shows, vindicating the central bank’s decision to leave its benchmark rate unchanged after overall inflation slowed. https://bloom.bg/47EGRKX

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Hiring for India: UBS plans to rebuild its team in India as it prepares to create more products to compete for managing the wealth of rich Indians. https://tinyurl.com/pj72anx5

Crisis widens: China’s state-owned property developers are warning of widespread losses, fueling concerns that the housing crisis is expanding from the private sector to companies with government backing. https://tinyurl.com/3vd9ws9a

EV graveyards: A subsidy-fueled boom helped build China into an electric-car giant. But that lightning-fast development also left behind plenty of casualties with obsolete cars piling up in cities. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/5e3fwh7b

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Xi's visit to South Africa:  Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS summit in South Africa next week, a rare journey abroad for the leader who has preferred to stay home this year amid mounting political problems. https://bloom.bg/47wqnVn

Senegal leader hunger strike: Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, widely seen as the main challenger to the ruling coalition in presidential elections next year, has been hospitalized. https://bloom.bg/3P00NAS

Zimbabwe carbon credit regulations: Three months after Zimbabwe roiled the $2 billion carbon credit market by suddenly canceling projects and claiming half of all proceeds, the country now says it will accept a smaller share of revenue and has begun the process of reinstating scrapped projects. https://bloom.bg/45dF5Pv

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Battery factory: Tata Sons is in discussions with multiple startups as the conglomerate seeks technical know-how for its $5.1 billion UK battery plant. https://tinyurl.com/55xprbyc

New world order: The world’s leading emerging market powers have complained for years about being sidelined by wealthy nations. Now they are mounting their most ambitious challenge yet to the status quo.
https://tinyurl.com/bp7b3jhj

Running it cold: Xi Jinping’s quest to rewrite the playbook that drove China’s economic miracle for a generation is facing its sternest test yet. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/5ec65xxm

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BRICS expansion: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed support for an expansion of the BRICS group of emerging market powers, which will gather for its annual summit in Johannesburg this week.  https://bloom.bg/3OK4kSp

Somalia suspends social media: The Somali government has suspended TikTok, Telegram, and 1XBET, a gambling company, arguing that they are used by terrorists and groups that promote immorality in the East African country. https://bloom.bg/3P2u1iw

World Bank's decision to pause Uganda funding: Academic experts are questioning the role of the World Bank after its decision to halt new loans to Uganda following the introduction of harsh anti-LGBTQ laws in the country. https://bloom.bg/3E0PLVL

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