** THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 ~ VOL. CCLXXIV NO. 104 WSJ.com HHHH $4.
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pendent think tank in London.
“What unites the popular pro-
tests all over the region is that
people have broken the wall of
fear.”
The latest to fall: Prime
Minister Saad Hariri of Leba-
non, the embattled son of a
political dynasty who agreed
Tuesday to relinquish power
in the face of nationwide anti-
corruption protests over the
past two weeks. Mr. Hariri fol-
lows longtime leaders in Alge-
ria and Sudan who were
pushed from power this year.
Now at risk is Iraq Prime
Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi,
who is rapidly losing political
support after his security
forces used live ammunition,
tear gas and rubber bullets to
crack down on nationwide
protests, leaving more than
200 people dead.
While demonstrators across
the region are facing different
obstacles as they push for
unique demands, especially
Please turn to page AJacques Muyembe Tamfum yielded one of the
new Ebola drugs. Dr. Muyembe had dedicated
years to finding how to save people from the
disease that emerged in 1976 from a remote
village near the Ebola River. He was among
the first scientists to identify the Ebola virus,
which has killed an estimated 3,000 men,
women and children in his country and
threatened many more around the world.
The virus, once thought isolated to remote
areas of central and eastern Africa, proved it
could jump oceans. In 2014, international
travelers spread Ebola to cities in the U.S.
and Europe, including Dallas and Madrid.
Researchers tested four experimental
drugs, and two were most effective.
Please turn to page AFrom a War Zone Came an
Unexpected Cure for Ebola
A clinical trial in Congo proved two new drugs can reduce deaths
Top global auto makers, by
2018 light vehicle salesSource: LMC AutomotiveVolkswagen
Toyota
FCA + PSA
Hyundai
GM
Ford
Nissan
Honda
Renault
Suzuki10.6 million
10.
8.
7.
6.
5.
5.
5.
3.
3.Fiat Chrysler,
Peugeot in Deal
The new company would have
a $48.4 billion market value. BProtesters Fuel Unrest,
Rattling Arab Leaders
BEIRUT—Waves of sus-
tained protests have shaken
entrenched Arab rulers from
Algeria to Iraq, injecting a new
sense of euphoria among ac-
tivists across the region as
more leaders succumb to de-
mands for change.
United in their calls to end
corruption and kleptocracy,
demonstrators are fueling a
new era of unrest that has de-
fied violent crackdowns and
politicians’ appeals to stay
home. They are using lessons
from the Arab Spring, main-
taining a focus on reforms and
trying to avoid the pitfalls that
turned hopeful uprisings in
Syria, Libya and Yemen into
civil wars.
“What we are witnessing in
the Arab world right now is a
continuation of the Arab
Spring of 2011,” said Lina
Khatib, head of the Middle
East and North Africa Program
at Chatham House, an inde-BYDIONNISSENBAUMBUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of
Congo—The Ebola virus kills in terrifying
ways, shutting down the body’s organs and
draining victims of the fluids that keep them
alive. In outbreaks, it has claimed as many
as 9 in 10 patients.
In a medical breakthrough that compares
to the use of penicillin for war wounds, two
new drugs are saving lives from the virus and
helping uncover tools against other deadly in-
fectious diseases. They were proven effective
in a gold-standard clinical trial conducted by
an international coalition of doctors and re-
searchers in the middle of armed violence.
The work of Congolese virologist Jean-BYBETSYMCKAYTrick or Treat
On the 31st?
Horrifying
iiiParents of cranky
children want
weekend Halloween
BYTAWNELLD.HOBBSAn unusual sight is ex-
pected this year on Halloween
night in Clark County, Ohio.
Children out trick-or-treating.
Adults are horrified.
For years—some say de-
cades—towns in west central
Ohio have sent their children
trick-or-treating on the last
Saturday of the month, a Hal-
loween-adjacent event dubbed
“Beggar’s Night.”
The approach avoided a
problem that has bedeviled
parents elsewhere—the
dreaded weeknight Halloween
and the attendant horror of
rousing exhausted and over-
sugared children for school
Please turn to page AWASHINGTON—The Federal
Reserve cut interest rates for
the third time this year but sig-
naled it wouldn’t reduce them
further unless the economy
slowed sharply.
“The current stance of [in-
terest-rate] policy is likely to
remain appropriate” as long as
the economy expands moder-
ately and the labor market
stays strong, said Fed ChairmanBYNICKTIMIRAOSJerome Powell at a news con-
ference Wednesday after the
conclusion of a two-day meet-
ing. He didn’t rule out addi-
tional cuts if that favorable out-
look faltered.
The Fed’s policy statement
also signaled a higher hurdle
for rate reductions after the lat-
est move, which will drop the
central bank’s benchmark fed-
eral-funds rate by one-quarter
point to a range between 1.5%
and 1.75%.
The Fed’s rate-setting com-
mittee had said in June, July
and September it would “act as
appropriate” to sustain the eco-
nomic expansion. The commit-
tee said instead on Wednesday
that it would monitor economicactivity as it “assesses the ap-
propriate path” of rates.
U.S. stocks rose modestly af-
ter Wednesday’s announcement,
with the S&P 500 index up 0.3%
to a new closing high. The yield
on the benchmark 10-year Trea-
sury note fell to 1.801% from
1.835% Tuesday, its largest de-
cline in almost four weeks.
The committee voted 8-2 to
lower the benchmark rate. The
two dissenters preferred to
Please turn to page AFed Cuts Rates, Signals a Pause
Powell indicates current
level will hold unless
economy falters; a new
hurdle is set for trimsNationals Capture Their First World Series, Defeating Astros
DAVID J. PHILLIP/ASSOCIATED PRESS
ONE FOR THE ROAD: Washington topped Houston 6-2 in the deciding game Wednesday night behind the arm of Max Scherzer and bats of
Anthony Rendon and Adam Eaton. This was the first time in Series history that the road team won all seven games. AFederal-funds rate targetSource: Federal ReserveNote: Target became a range Dec. 16, 2008.2008 ’10 ’15 ’%012345Quarter-percentage point drop
1.5%–1.75% rangeRECESSION Consumer spending bolsters
U.S. growth................................. A
Greg Ip: Trump tax cut could
embolden Democrats............ A
Heard on the Street: Shift in
wording speaks volumes... B Facebook profit surges, as
CEO warns on politics........... BTwitter Inc. is banning politi-
cal advertising, taking the oppo-
site position of rival Facebook
Inc. on an issue that is riling
campaigns and prompting so-
cial-media companies to rethink
how to deal with the spread of
potentially false and misleading
information on their platforms.
The decision, made public in
a series of tweets Wednesday
from Twitter Chief Executive
Jack Dorsey, reverberated to
political campaign staffers, digi-
tal media buyers and President
Trump. The timing of Mr.
Dorsey’s announcement—min-
utes before Facebook posted its
quarterly results—highlighted
the two companies’ diverging
positions on what has become a
thorny topic for the industry.
Facebook has been roiled in
recent weeks by lawmakers and
its employees calling for
changes in how the world’s
largest social network company
handles political advertising.
Twitter’s policy will be en-
forced world-wide starting Nov.
22, Mr. Dorsey said. Twitter
also said it would allow some
exceptions, such as ads in sup-
port of voter registration.
“Paying to increase the
reach of political speech has
significant ramifications that
today’s democratic infrastruc-
ture may not be prepared to
handle,” Mr. Dorsey wrote in a
tweet from his personal ac-
count. “It’s worth stepping back
in order to address.”
Political advertising repre-
sents a small portion of Twit-
ter’s overall advertising, people
familiar with the situation said.
Twitter generated $2.11 billion
Please turn to page ABYGEORGIAWELLS
ANDEMILYGLAZERTo Ban
Political
Ads From
Platform
CARErunson
OracleCloud.
Learn more
oracle.com/care
CONTENTS
Business & Finance B
Business News... B3,
Capital Account.... A
Crossword.............. A
Heard on Street... B
Life & Arts....... A11-Markets..................... B
Opinion.............. A15-
Sports....................... A
Technology............... B
U.S. News......... A2-4,
Weather................... A
World News......... A7-s2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights ReservedWhat’s
News
House committees are
seeking to depose Bolton
next week for their impeach-
ment inquiry, after a series
of witnesses testified that he
raised alarms about efforts by
Giuliani and Trump adminis-
tration officials to push for
investigations in Ukraine. A
Trump’s nominee to be
ambassador to Russia said at
his confirmation hearing
that he was aware of a “cam-
paign” by Giuliani to oust the
ambassador to Ukraine. A
Lawmakers looking into
Boeing’s 737 MAX portrayed
a corporateculture in which
senior managers seemingly
ignored alarm bells over
safety, as CEO Muilenburg
faced another grilling. A
Californians faced an-
other day of evacuations and
blackouts as strong winds
fueled a new blaze north of
Los Angeles that threatened
the Reagan Library. A3, B1, B
Jho Low, who is accused
of masterminding the fraud
involving 1MDB, agreed to
forfeit more than $
million in assets U.S. au-
thorities sought to seize. A
Chile’s cancellation of
an APEC summit is compli-
cating efforts by the U.S. and
China to conclude a limited
trade accord designed to
keep new tariffs at bay. A
The Interior Department
is grounding its drone fleet,
citing concerns about the
national security risk from
Chinese manufacturers. A
Gulf nations joined the
U.S. in imposing sanctions on
a financing network controlled
by Iran’s military and several
men linked to Hezbollah. AT
he Fed cut rates for the
third time this year but
signaled it wouldn’t reduce
them further unless the
economy slowed sharply. A
U.S. economic growth
settled in at a lower gear
in the third quarter, rising
at an annual rate of 1.9%. A
The S&P 500 closed 0.3%
higher after theFed meet-
ing, setting a record. The 10-
year Treasury’s yield fell. B
Twitter is banning po-
litical advertising from its
platform, taking the oppo-
site position of rival Face-
book on the issue. A
Facebook’s profit machine
showed little wear and tear
from scrutiny by Washington,
but Zuckerberg said pressure
could soon take a toll. B
Apple is showing it has
life beyond the iPhone, as the
company posted growth in
other gadgets and services. B
Fiat Chrysler and PSA
have agreed on terms of a
merger that would create
an auto giant with a market
value of $48.4 billion. B
VW warned that the down-
turn in theglobal car market
was worsening, but main-
tained its profit outlook. B
The UAW said it has
struck a new tentative la-
bor agreement with Ford. B
China plans to turn on
its first 5G networks Friday,
setting up the country to
leapfrog other nations in
deploying the technology. B
GE reported a$9.5bil-
lion loss amid accounting
charges but raised its cash-
flow outlook for the year. B
Samsung’s profit fell
sharply, pressured by a down-
turn in thechip market. BBusiness&Finance
World-Wide