Bolsonaro’s son leaves Brazil despite Supreme Court order
In its Oct. 28 What’s News newsletter, The Wall Street Journal reported that a 45-year-old senator, son of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, crossed into Argentina late Tuesday before boarding a private jet that took his family to the U.S. via Ecuador, defying a Supreme Court order barring him from leaving Brazil. Bolsonaro faces criminal investigations into alleged financial crimes, which he has dismissed as part of a political witch hunt against his family by left-leaning justices.
Also in the same edition, Barry Wolf, who has led a law firm for 16 years, said on a firmwide call that management is recommending the firm’s dissolution, with a partner vote expected in the coming days, according to a person familiar with the matter. The discussions follow an exodus of many of the firm’s highest earning partners and failed merger talks that left the firm in a precarious position. A wind-down would mark an extraordinary fall for a firm with some 1,200 lawyers worldwide that had been among the most well-regarded and profitable in the industry, the newsletter said.
On interest rates, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate in a range between 3.75% and 4%, approving the decision on a 10-2 vote, the newsletter reported. Fed governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase. The committee’s policy statement nodded subtly toward another increase. In September, most officials projected they would raise rates at least once more this year, at either this week’s meeting or the one that concludes Dec. 9.
In corporate results, parent company Alphabet reported 25% revenue growth for the quarter, driven by gains in its cloud division, but revenue from search advertising, long a major cash cow, decelerated. Google’s free cash flow went further into negative territory at $9.1 billion, a far bigger loss than analyst expectations, reflecting the cost of the AI build-out. Microsoft’s Azure cloud business grew 48%, propelling its revenue to $92.28 billion, up 19% for its fiscal first quarter, handily beating Wall Street’s expectations.
The newsletter also reported that Vice President Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s top security body and previously the longest-serving commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter. One person said the letter was sent at President Trump’s direction, and Trump is aware of the outreach. Vance is testing whether Tehran and Washington could find enough common ground to persuade Trump not to give a final order for a short, intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks.
Separately, Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, a longtime shareholder in the struggling fast-food chain, is leading a group that has offered to pay $7.35 a share in cash for Wendy’s, a 20% premium to the prior close, the newsletter reported.
On politics, Republicans are grappling with the president’s low approval ratings with young men, who played a pivotal role in helping elect him to a second term, the newsletter said. A year ago, WSJ’s Eliza Collins spoke with a group of them about how Trump was doing so far. The newsletter said it checked back in with them to chat about his job performance since then and look ahead to the 2028 race.
On consumer products, the newsletter asked readers whether they would buy an iPhone Duo, amid reports from some early buyers of faulty hinges and broken screens. Patrick Casey of Illinois said he has bought one and that it is not scheduled to be delivered until on or around Dec. 22, adding that he has “gotten nervous now with this problem with the hinge rearing its ugly head” and is “thinking seriously about canceling my order until this problem appears resolved.” He said he has never had a problem with an Apple product, “but there’s always a first time, right?” Serge Jean of Haiti said he would not buy the new iPhone Duo right now, saying the foldable design is “interesting and innovative” but that first-generation devices often come with durability and reliability concerns that need time to be proven in real-world use. He said he currently owns an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which already meets all his needs with excellent performance, camera quality and battery life, and that for him “there is not enough added value yet to justify upgrading.” The newsletter said the responses were condensed and edited.
In sports, the newsletter profiled Chip Kelly, who has spent a career competing for national championships and reimagining offensive play-calling. In his first season as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator, he has dusted off a playbook from the 1950s to turn the Wildcats into an unlikely juggernaut.