1. Some US government offices may close from Wednesday as Republicans and Democrats remain divided over federal funding. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said they made proposals to the president on health care, which they think the American people are for. He said if the president will accept some of the things they asked for, a shutdown can be avoided. He said, “but there are still large differences between us.”
2. The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged in September, but a summary of the meeting shows more policymakers are leaning toward a rate hike in the near future. Two policymakers at the meeting did propose raising the central bank’s policy rate, but they were overvoted. However, the summary shows other policymakers indicated the bank will need to soon consider hiking interest rates.
3. Japanese beverage maker Suntory Spirits says it will change its mainstay beer-like drinks to regular beer to tap demand for beer that is expected to grow thanks to a tax. Suntory announced on Monday that the change of its Kinmugi brand will take place in or after October 2026.