Emma Tucker

1. FROM MY DESK

Monday's rally pushed the Nasdaq Composite to its first record close since June-a high-water mark for markets. But with a light calendar for earnings and economic data, market attention is quickly shifting to international trade and policy.

President Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly this morning, where investors will watch for signals on tariffs, AI security and energy markets ahead of trade talks between Washington and Beijing later this week.

As Greg Ip writes in our newly relaunched economics newsletter, we're not out of the woods on fuel prices yet. This year's energy surge could deliver a second hit to inflation as costlier oil becomes embedded in downstream goods and services in the coming year. (Sign up here to receive WSJ Economics in your inbox twice weekly.)

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2. TODAY'S HEADLINES

-- Bill Pulte scrutinized the mortgages of Trump's political adversaries-and Todd Blanche.

-- Iran's president is expected to speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, giving Tehran a rare platform to rail against the U.S. and try to sway the world to Iran's side.

-- Trump has repeatedly discussed kicking journalists out of the White House, where they have worked for decades, and moving them to a nearby building.

-- Saudi Arabia spent months trying to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Now there's no way around it.

-- A rocket-supply crunch is prompting a scramble across the space industry.

-- In the Baltics, NATO forces are trying to learn the new way of war.

3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS

Follow our live financial coverage all day.

-- Stocks Spencer Jakab is watching: Talk about a Hollywood ending. Paramount settled an antitrust suit lodged by several states, sending shares of takeover target Warner Bros. up 10.8% on Monday. A timely closing of the megadeal was very much in doubt over the summer. A brave buyer of Warner stock on July 30 could have snagged a 270% annualized return through yesterday. (Get Spencer's Markets A.M. newsletter in your inbox.)

-- The Magnificent Seven is roaring back, fueled by Meta's rally.

-- Apartment-loan woes could mean bargains for real-estate buyers, writes Carol Ryan.

4. READ IT HERE FIRST

In Trump, Xi sees a 'rare window' to convince Taiwan that resistance is futile.

Beijing is intensifying efforts to drive a wedge through Taiwanese society, courting opponents to formal Taiwanese independence and sowing doubts about America's commitment to the island. The goal: to convince more Taiwanese that resistance to Chinese control is futile. Chinese leader Xi Jinping sees an opening because of rising concerns in Taiwan that Trump might be willing to sacrifice support for the island in return for better relations with Beijing. Xi is expected to keep pressing Trump on Taiwan when the two meet in Washington this week, report Lingling Wei and Joyu Wang.

5.

Here's how David Ellison ended his stalemate with California.

Earlier this month, there were few signs that California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison were moving any closer to resolving their differences. Paramount and the coalition of states Bonta was leading in an antitrust suit seeking to block the company's $81 billion merger with (Warner Bros. Discovery) were having on and off settlement negotiations, but little progress had been made, according to people close to the discussions. Last week, Ellison made his biggest concession yet: pledging at least $1.5 billion more on domestic production over five years. He met with officials to finalize terms covering the editorial independence of (CBS) and CNN, worker benefits and the number of films it must release. Paramount expects to close the deal in about two weeks, report Jessica Toonkel and Eliza Collins.

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6. SEE THE STORY

Ari Emanuel opens up about being the real-life Ari Gold and his raw new memoir.

Photo Illustration: Nikki Walker

Endeavor co-founder Ari Emanuel sits down for The Job Interview with WSJ. Magazine to discuss the secret to his success, his unfiltered take on the Ari Gold character in "Entourage" and why he thinks you should pick up the phone. Watch our conversation with Ari here.

7. HAPPENING TODAY

-- Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly and is scheduled to meet with several foreign leaders.

-- Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks at the New York Fed's Treasury Market Conference.

-- Earnings: AutoZone, KB Home

-- Today's paper

8. THE NUMBER

4

The number of employees currently working at Butternut AI, down from a peak of nine after the startup's co-founders laid off five engineers and replaced their workload with 24-hour AI agents. Plenty of startups increase head count at a rapid clip as they aim for billion-dollar valuations and fight for top engineering talent. But a subset of early-stage founders is embracing an ethos derived from an extreme reliance on AI: Stay small for as long as possible.

9. AND FINALLY...

This California surf spot has epic waves-and rusty metal spikes.

Surfers are braving shard-infested waters at Newport Beach's the Wedge. That's not a typo. Southern California's most dangerous surf spot, the Wedge, has become even sketchier in recent months. Nonstop swells combined with a "super" El Niño phenomenon have washed away truckloads of sand from Newport Beach and other parts of the California coast, exposing hazards buried a century ago. They've also delivered some of the best waves anyone here can remember.

10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM

-- Opinion: Trump is giving Xi a king's welcome. The question is whether there will be much substance beneath the surface pomp and bonhomie.

-- WSJ | Buy Side: From choosing the best income options to minimizing tax burdens, retirement requires careful strategizing. The best financial advisers for retirees provide a holistic plan.

Corrections & Amplifications

California's attorney general and Paramount discussed a series of potential concessions as part of advanced settlement negotiations, including a $1.5 billion investment by the company in domestic production, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Sept. 21 edition of this newsletter incorrectly said the investment was in production in California. (Corrected on Sept. 22)

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Today's newsletter was curated and edited by Morgan Smith and Natasha Dangoor in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.