(Bloomberg) -- Hello there.

Elon Musk caught pretty much everyone by surprise this week by reinstating his offer for Twitter, days before he was set to go to trial in Delaware. It appears that the billionaire is running out of ways to get out of his $44 billion contract to buy the social media site, with the court setting a new deadline of Oct. 28 to make good on his promises.

But with Twitter’s share price trading well below the $54.20 offer price, it’s clear questions remain on whether the Tesla CEO has lined up his financing (or if he might yet still change his mind). Even if the deal goes through, banks from Morgan Stanley to Barclays are on the hook for losses of $500 million or more, having committed to provide financing back in April.

Musk is many things to many people but international diplomat probably isn’t high on anyone’s list. This week, he managed to upset Volodymyr Zelenskiy by tweeting out a “peace” plan urging Ukraine to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia that includes ceding Crimea for good. He then followed that up by suggesting Taiwan hand some control to Beijing. Taiwan wasn’t impressed.

US markets pared their weekly gain Friday after September payrolls data that showed resilient hiring and wage increases. The job report suggests that the economic downturn may have been pushed back by another month or so, but one way or another, something’s got to give to bring inflation down, argues Jonathan Levin in Bloomberg Opinion.   

The data further consolidated expectations the Fed will likely stay its course and deliver yet another 75-basis-point hike next month. Officials are closing ranks around a goal of quickly raising interest rates to around 4.5% then hold them there, while being prepared to go higher if elevated inflation fails to show signs of easing, write Craig Torres and Rich Miller.

 The conventional wisdom with stock bulls is that prices will take off when the Fed wins its fight against inflation. But the end of surging consumer costs could unleash another round of bad news for equities, argues Emily Graffeo. 

Meanwhile, pot stocks were among the outperformers this week, after President Biden announced a pardon for marijuana smokers and called for a review of the drug’s legal status. While the excitement was quickly tempered by uncertainties about what changes would be made and how long they might take, the move could well energize supporters who tend not to show up for midterm elections. 

And finally, First Round Capital partner — and former professional poker player — Annie Duke talks to Carol Massar and Ed Ludlow about how quitting can make you a winner, whether in Texas Hold’em or in investing. Bonus: meet the 21-year-old who bested hedge fund titans David Einhorn, Mo Grimeh and even his own boss Boaz Weinstein in a charity poker tournament earlier this week.  

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and we’ll be back tomorrow with a look-ahead to the coming week.

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