Polls have closed in more than half of all US states in closely watched midterm elections set to reshape Washington and fire the starting gun on the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Tens of millions of Americans flocked to cast their ballots yesterday, in a vote to determine which political party controls Congress for the next two years and to serve as a referendum on Joe Biden’s presidency so far.

According to final polling averages, Republicans are expected to win enough seats in the House of Representatives to regain control of the lower chamber of Congress — which they will use to stymie Biden’s agenda and launch investigations into his administration. Follow the Financial Times’ live midterm elections results tracker and live blog for the latest.

Former president Donald Trump predicted a “great night” for Republicans, as Biden warned Democrats faced a “tough” battle ahead, saying: “I think we’ll win the Senate, and I think the House is tougher.”

US stocks rose modestly yesterday as Americans cast their votes, with Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 adding 0.6 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising 0.4 per cent ahead of inflation data this week. Equities traded lower and currency markets were steady today in Asia.

• The bigger picture: In today’s Swamp Notes, Rana Foroohar explores the Democrats’ main messaging problem. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Thanks for reading FirstFT Europe/Africa — Jennifer

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1. FTX on brink of collapse The crypto industry has been shaken by the near collapse of one of the largest crypto exchanges. FTX, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, clinched a rescue deal with arch-rival Binance after a surge in customer withdrawals sparked a liquidity crisis. For the latest crypto ructions, premium subscribers can sign up to our Cryptofinance newsletter.

• Go deeper: FTX was considered one of the better-managed players in an industry that regulators have called a “wild west”. What happened?

2. Uzbekistan lobbies EU to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov Tashkent is lobbying the bloc to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and his sister as the Uzbek-Russian billionaire struggles to disentangle himself from the fallout of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Usmanov was one of 26 Russians sanctioned by the EU in the immediate days after the invasion.

3. TikTok slashes global revenue targets by at least $2bn The ByteDance-owned platform has cut its worldwide revenue targets for 2022 as it struggles to meet ambitious goals, becoming the latest tech giant to be hit by a global online spending slump. The decision comes as its US operations undergo a big restructuring in response to a slowing economy and depressed digital advertising spend.

4. Jeremy Hunt set to scrap Liz Truss’s investment zones plan The former UK prime minister’s proposal for low-tax investment zones to boost economic growth are due to be axed by the chancellor in next week’s Autumn Statement, according to government officials.

5. Evelyn de Rothschild dies aged 91 The British banker, who expanded the family bank and advised the late Queen Elizabeth II on financial matters, has died “after a short illness”, the family said yesterday.

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(Source: FT, November 9-2022)