The business world anticipates change if Democrats win substantially

If Democrats win big, changes could involve data centers, soybeans, Fed control and investigations

If Democrats win substantially in the November 3 midterms, the business world is anticipating change, according to The Wall Street Journal’s What’s News newsletter, curated by Amira McKee and Liz Webber. The newsletter put the condition and the stakes plainly: “If Democrats do win big, the business world is anticipating change, from data centers to soybeans, Fed control to investigations.” The expectation was tied to the election result, not to a settled outcome.

The newsletter reported that the latest polls showed Democrats had a chance to make substantial gains, while Republicans were hoping to rally their base and defend their majorities. Preliminary results from a large national survey showed high fuel and food prices were a top voter concern, and many respondents blamed President Trump. The newsletter described the economy as “front and center” for the midterms, as Trump and the Republicans vied with Democrats over who would control Congress. The first polls were scheduled to close at 6 p.m. ET, and The Wall Street Journal said it would provide live coverage of the midterms and results.

Two of the newsletter’s briefs concerned U.S. security relationships abroad. Israeli officials, including those from the security establishment, were surprised by Trump’s comments, according to a person familiar with the matter. The phasing out of direct U.S. military aid to Israel had been under discussion for months, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly saying the country should eventually wean itself off U.S. assistance. Netanyahu had previously proposed eliminating direct military aid over the next decade. The White House and an Israeli government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The other foreign-policy brief described a change in NATO strategy. For decades, protecting NATO’s European territory centered on the military equivalent of putting up roadblocks. After almost five years of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, NATO strategists said deterring the Kremlin’s conventional forces now requires more active prevention. That entails not just blasting troops that might pour across borders, but also hitting military bases, supply depots and industrial facilities behind the front line, on Russia’s home ground.

Two further items concerned investigations. One followed a Wall Street Journal article detailing Perfect Child’s billing practices for therapy services: the company assured patients they would face little or no out-of-pocket costs, then collected alleged debts from families, including through lawsuits. Agents have contacted some of the company’s clients in recent weeks. A lawyer who said he represented the company declined to comment, and the company’s owner did not respond to requests for comment.

The other involved a jet incident in Palm Beach County. Officials recovered three pieces of the jet’s left elevator between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the site, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The elevator is located on the aircraft’s tail and controls its up-and-down pitch. Federal investigators said the distance indicates that part of the aircraft separated before the plane hit the ground.

On the commercial side, Brookfield, the real-estate developer of the Beaudry apartment tower project in downtown L.A., is walking away from the project rather than refinance the building’s roughly $360 million loan, which would have required tens of millions in additional costs because of high interest rates, according to people familiar with the matter. Beaudry is among the tallest residential buildings in California.

Last week, the newsletter asked whether Alphabet’s transition from search to AI would pay off, and it published reader responses to that question. Trevor Casper of Idaho said, “It’s always painful to have to reshape your core products as the world changes, but Alphabet seems to not only be doing that but taking a leading role on the edge of that transition. Long term, it looks like it’s building itself up for success. Few companies have the resources and means to take that role on the leading edge of AI like Alphabet already does.” Tim Betz of Ohio wrote, “I haven’t done more than a handful of google searches in a year. Why would I? AI does it all. They have to be losing on ads for search, they have to be. I’m surprised it is not way worse. It will be soon.” Dolly Prenzel of Tennessee said, “I don’t care if the transition to AI helps or hurts. At 80 years of age, I plan to use the rest of my life trying to fend off AI.” The newsletter said the responses had been condensed and edited.

On music, the newsletter said that for decades parents were “baffled, if not horrified” by their kids’ musical tastes, from rock and hip-hop to emo and metal. Generations now often share the same preferences, it said. Surveys conducted by the entertainment analytics company Luminate have found that listeners between the ages of 13 and 24 are expressing more interest in songs from the 1990s or before.