P2JW289000-6-A00100-17FFFF5178F ****** THURSDAY,OCTOBER 15,2020~VOL. CCLXXVI NO.90 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 28514.00 g 165.81 0.6% NASDAQ 11768.73 g 0.8% STOXX 600 370.62 g 0.1% 10-YR. TREAS. À 2/32 , yield 0.721% OIL $41.04 À $0.84 GOLD $1,901.30 À $12.80 EURO $1.1748 YEN 105.16 Goldman What’s News Earnings Soar 93% Business&Finance Amid the oldman said itsthird- Gquarter profit nearly dou- bled, the latest confirmation Recession that even in apandemic and arecession, Wall Street canstill makemoney. A1 Big-bank profits BofA’s profit fell 16% in the third quarter, though affirm resilience as the bank indicated it is well traders reap gains, positioned to weather the coronavirus recession. B1 loans get paid back Wells Fargo said its earnings dropped 56% in BY lIZ HOFFMAN OL the latest quarter but sig- PO naled it was prepared for a S Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wave of soured loans. B6 PRES said itsthird-quarter profit S/ Morethan 100 employees nearly doubled, the latest con- of Wells Fargo were fired firmation that even in apan- forallegedly defrauding a demic and arecession, Wall O-REYNOLD pandemic-relief program. B6 Street canstill makemoney. Goldman’squarterly profit of Starbucks said it would CABALLER $3.62billion on revenue of mandateantibias training for $10.78billion wasbetterthan executives and tie their pay stock analystshad forecast and to boosting minority repre- ANDREW Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, finishes her second day of questioning. sharply higher from ayear ago. sentation in itsworkforce. B1 Sincethen, the global economy Amazon struck adeal with has crashed, political turmoil the NFL to stream aplayoff has continued and interest game this season, deepening BarrettClosesOut Testimony, rateshavedropped to near therelationship between the zero—all thingsthat should league and the company. B1 dent Wall Street profits. And yetthe nation’sbiggest VistaEquity CEO Smith banks remain profitable.Their has reached a$140million On Track forSenateApproval securities-trading desks have, settlement with the Justice remotely,hummed back to life. Department, ending ayears- Big corporatebankruptcies long criminal taxprobe. B6 BY JESS BRAVIN thought Iwould resolvea beforethe court next month. nificanceofthe nomination to have leveled off.Depositorsha- U.S. stocks fell,with the case…it would be short- They also drilleddeeper into different audiences.Tothe ven’t pulled their money. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq WASHINGTON—JudgeAmy circuiting that whole process the legal arcana that define Su- broader public,which has Theemergencyloans they retreating 0.6%, 0.7% and Coney Barrett faced questions through which Ishould go and preme Court doctrine,attempt- seen Democratsportray the made to big companies in the 0.8%, respectively. B12 ranging from the constitu- have an open mind and be ing to paint JudgeBarrettasa nominee as aright-wing ideo- spring have largely been paid tionalityofMedicaretothe open to persuasion,” Judge threat to aswath of widely ac- logue,they stressed Judge back,thanks to appetitefrom United Airlines said it extent of pressfreedom at Barrettsaid, under friendly cepted rights. Barrett’spromises to impar- bond investorsand support is positioning itself to ride her Supreme Court confirma- questioning from Sen. John Thehearing is expected to tially apply thelaw,freeof from the Federal Reserve. And out a long downturn in air tion hearing Wednesday, but Cornyn (R., Texas). wrap up Thursday, and the com- anypersonal agenda. they have added only modestly travel, as the company President Trump’spick to In the SenateJudiciary mitteeisexpected to vote on Republicans cited JudgeBar- PleaseturntopageA2 posted a$1.8billion loss. B3 succeed the lateJusticeRuth Committee’ssecond of two the judge’snomination Oct. 22, rett’s nomination as an epochal Acriminal probe intoaN Bader Ginsburg repeatedly days questioning JudgeBar- with afull Senatevoteinthe moment forsocial conserva- Heard on the Street: Goldman alleged bribe to secureabail- said it would be improper to rett,Democratic senators week beforeNov.3elections. tives.“This is the firsttime in adds polish to trading........ B13 out of troubled Ohio nuclear disclose her views on matters pressed the judgeonarangeof Republicans,whose control American historythat we’ve BofA’s profit falls, but plantsislooking at the energy she said she could be called contentious issues while again of the Senateall but ensures nominated awoman who’s un- reserves shrink.......................... B1 firm that prosecutorssay sup- upon to decide. highlighting the fateofthe Af- JudgeBarrett’sconfirmation, ashamedly pro-lifeand em- Wells Fargo posts 56% drop plied some of the money and “If I were to just say how I fordable CareAct, which comes focused on signaling the sig- PleaseturntopageA4 in earnings ................................. B6 now owns the facilities. B3 World-Wide Europe Daily confirmedCovid-19 casesper million people,seven-dayrolling average Outpaces 200 Two U.S. Hostages Barrettfaced questions ranging from the constitu- U.S. Rise tionality of Medicareto 150 EU* Freed From Ye men the extent of pressfree- Months after U.S. dom at her confirmation flattening the EU countrylockdowns begin hearing,but the Supreme curve of 100 In Prisoner Swap Court nominee repeatedly coronavirus said it would be improper infections by to disclose her views on imposing strict 50 matters she said she could lockdowns, Europe ReleasefromEUlockdowns begins BY DION NISSENBAUM forSandraLoli, aU.S.humani- be called upon to decide. A1 is seeing cases tarian worker held hostageby rise, overtaking TwoAmericans held hos- the Houthis for16months,and TwoAmericans held hos- the U.S. in a key 0 tage by Iran-backed Houthi Mikael Gidada, aU.S.business- tage by Iran-backed Houthi metric that tracks March April MayJune July Aug. Sept. Oct. militantsinYemen were freed man held formorethan ayear, militantsinYemen were freed its spread. A9 in aU.S.-backed trade that re- said Kash Patel, adeputy assis- as part of aU.S.-backed trade *Includes the U.K. Note:DataasofOct. 13, Spain data Oct. 12 that returned over 200 of the Source:European Centre forDisease Prevention and Control turned morethan 200 of the tant to President Trump who group’sloyaliststothe frac- group’sloyaliststothe frac- worked on the deal. tured Middle East country, TheHouthis also returned tured Middle East country. A1 U.S. and Saudi officials said. the remains of Bilal Fateen, a New coronavirus cases ARoyal Oman Air Force thirdAmerican they had held. appeared to be accelerat- TheVerdictonTrump’sEconomy, plane carrying the two Ameri- U.S. officials provided only ing in the U.S. this week. cans and the remains of athird limitedinformation on the Meanwhile, Europe over- flew out of Yemen’sHouthi- three Americans,but said they took the U.S. in a key met- Before the Coronavirus and After controlled capital of San’a, on worked urgently to securethe ric that tracks the spread Wednesday, hoursafter the jet deal because Ms. Loli’s health of the pathogen. A7, A9 and acompanion flight brought wasindecline.The deal also Biden holds an 11-point the militantsback to the coun- included deliveryofmedical tryafter yearsstuck in Oman. aid for Yemen. lead over Trump lessthan Covid dashed growth and a job market that had lifted many people Thedeal secured freedom PleaseturntopageA8 three weeks from Election Day, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of BY JON HILSENRATH ployment to depths unseen in post-Depres- sion records before reversing itself quickly registered voters finds. A6 Donald Trump has presided over two but only partially, leaving the U.S. with an Twitterand Facebook economies during his time in office. outlook that’s especially hard to forecast. took the unusual step of lim- In the first, which lasted until March, the The two economies will be factors driving iting the sharing of NewYork economy reached historic milestones for the choices voters make in November. The Post articles that made new jobs, income and stock prices. While it’s de- reality for Mr. Trump: Many achievements of allegations about Biden that batable whether it was the best U.S. econ- his first economy have been wiped out by the Biden campaign denied. A4 omy ever, as the president has said, it was the second. Pelosi and Mnuchin con- without question good and getting better for The president’s economic record never If your critical PleaseturntopageA10 tinued to haggle over policies millions of Americans. including testing strategy The second part, which arrived with Covid-19, was historically bad. It sent unem- Biden holds double-digit lead in poll................... A6 in their talks over another applications are coronavirus relief package, while closing some distance failing, so is your on how much to spend. A3 INSIDE Goodbye, Florida. Hello, Winter. Afederal prosecutor’s Covid Strands Canada Snowbirds reviewfound no improper business. activity in Obama adminis- iii tration officials’ “unmask- ing” requestsaround the Closing of land border thwarts seasonal NETSCOUT vigilantly guards time of the 2016 election. A6 J the critical applications of the WS migration of retirees to balmy places CONTENTS Opinion.............. A15-17 R Arts in Review... A13 Personal Journal A11-12 FO world’s largestcompanies. Business News.. B3,6 Sports....................... A14 AK BY PAUl VIEIRA heit. Their destination is sunny CZ Crossword.............. A14 Technology............... B4 Mesa, Ariz., wherethey owna YM TM Equities.................... B10 U.S. News............