Bloomberg Philanthropies Names Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, DC as Winners in Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge (MikeBloomberg.com)

Mike Bloomberg, Mayor Peduto talk Climate Change Fight in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
“Fighting climate change and growing the economy really go hand in hand, and good mayors know that, even when the White House does not,” Bloomberg said.

Editorial: With the Costs of Brexit Clear, Let U.K. Vote Again (Bloomberg Opinion)
On Saturday, some 700,000 people marched through central London to demand a second vote on Brexit. They’re about the only ones talking sense on the matter. A survey this week showed that if the referendum were held tomorrow, 53 percent of Britons would vote to remain — and only 35 percent would still want to leave. Second thoughts are permitted in democracies. That a slim majority of the U.K.’s population should set such a profound historical change in motion without guardrails or off-ramps defied common sense at the time, and still does. Those taking to the streets have it right: Give the people a second chance.

Midterm Update:
-How Four Democratic Women in Virginia Aim to Spark a Blue Surge (Washington Post)
-Democrats Up in Florida with Two Weeks to Go; Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is up 12 points for Governor (CNN)
Flashback: Bloomberg giving $250K to Gillum as they campaign together in South Florida (Miami Herald)

As Blackstone’s Cost Cutting Looms: Battle Lines Shift as Reuter’s Refinitiv Sets its Sights on Data Giant Bloomberg (Sunday Telegraph – subscription)
–Refinitiv majority owner Blackstone plans to deliver $650m in cost savings while aiming to kick-start stagnant revenue growth.
–The contrast in the fortunes of Bloomberg and Refinitiv is stark in their growth rates: Refinitiv suffered a contraction of 3.1 percent while Bloomberg enjoyed growth of 4.6 percent.
–Analyst: Refinitiv has been “starved of revenue growth” and adds: “Forget about challenging Bloomberg. Can Blackstone open doors that Thomson Reuters couldn’t do on its own? Can they get revenues growing?”
–The hunt for a so-called “Bloomberg killer” is one riddled with failure. Many have been touted as a rising challenger…but few have even laid a scratch on the data behemoth.

Texas Today: ‘Lyin’ Ted’ Gets Boost From ‘Sleazy Donald’ With Texas Rally (Bloomberg)

Voodoo Economics I: Trump’s Magic Math on Jobs from the Saudi Arms Deal (Axios)
President Trump has gone from claiming Saudi purchases of U.S. weapons would generate “over 40,000 jobs in the United States” to claiming Friday that the purchases would generate “over a million jobs.”

Voodoo Economics II: Trump’s Pre-Election Tax-Cut Promise Leaves GOP Leaders Baffled (Bloomberg)

Populists Rebuked: Polish Voters Send Ruling Populists Warning in Regional Vote (Bloomberg)

The week ahead.

Monday, Oct. 22
-U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton meets with his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, as part of an extended trip to Russia and other former Soviet republics.

Tuesday, Oct. 23
-Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks at the University of Toronto annual conference, “Machine Learning and the Market for Intelligence.” Alibaba President Michael Evans will also speak.
-Chinese President Xi Jinping may attend the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. One of the world’s longest spans, it will connect Hong Kong and Macau for the first time.
-Saudi Arabia hosts the Future Investment Initiative, dubbed “Davos in the Desert” despite many executives withdrawing from participation. In Riyadh, through Oct. 25.

Wednesday, Oct. 24
-European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker present conclusions from the Oct. 18-19 summit to the EU Parliament. In Strasbourg.

Thursday, Oct. 25
-Tech earnings day: Twitter, Alphabet/Google and Amazon report earnings.
-European Central Bank policy makers are set to confirm that asset purchases will end this year, reiterating its pledge to keep interest rates at record lows through summer 2019. President Mario Draghi will hold a press conference.

Friday, Oct. 26
-U.S. gross domestic product growth may have slowed in the third quarter, yet remained near its best pace since mid-2015. GDP is forecast at a 3.3 percent annualized pace, less than the 4.2 percent second-quarter rate.
-Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet. Abe’s visit is the first by a Japanese premier in seven years. In Beijing, through Oct. 27.

From NI WEEKAHEAD on the Bloomberg terminal.

Best of late night.

On Stephen Hawkings’ final book which provides short answers to the big questions, including his conclusion that there is no God:

“You’ve got to admit. Him saying what he said is pretty gangster right? Because I mean, him saying there’s no God..right before he dies? It’s easy to say there’s no God when you’re young, but he was 2 minutes from finding out, that’s gangster!”
— Trevor Noah, in his opening monologue on Friday.

“Everybody’s excited: the midterms are 18 days away. I am giddy, with deep concern.”
— Stephen Colbert

“Remember: Women make up more than half of the country. So a little tip to Republicans; if you’re going to pick on a minority, make sure they’re not the majority.”
— Stephen Colbert in his opening monologue on Friday.