As companies seek to close growing gaps in skills and talent,

Deloitte US CEO Jason Garzatus believes it's important for organizations to understand their baseline of skills.

There's so many organizations that can't ask and answer the fundamental questions about how much computer science or data management skills do I have or AI development skills in a given domain? By performing a

skills inventory, leaders can truly understand where their efforts should be focused. Being blind

to those gaps is the real miss. Visit Deloitte.com to learn how your enterprise can help successfully

cultivate talent. Here's your midday brief for Monday, October 27th.

I'm Zoe Colkin for The Wall Street Journal.

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, which is expected to produce catastrophic

floods and cause heavy infrastructure damage across Jamaica.

The National Hurricane Center is projecting flash floods

and a life-threatening storm surge to sweep the southern coast with up to 40 inches of rain

expected in parts of the island. The Jamaican government has issued mandatory evacuation orders

for seven vulnerable communities. Storm models also predict Melissa will strike Haiti and the Dominican Republic by midweek.

Japanese Emperor Narohito welcomed President Trump to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, a soft power

gesture intended to warm relations. The two leaders met for about 30 minutes behind closed doors,

with Trump calling the emperor a great man as he departed.

The royal treatment is a variation on what has become a recurring strategy in which hosts

provide lavish receptions to soften up the visiting U.S. president, with the goal of winning

relief from U.S. tariffs and lessening the demands that go with them.

And speaking of tariffs, the baby apparel company Carter's has been hit hard,

forcing the retailer to close approximately 150 North American stores

and reduce its office workforce by about 15%, eliminating roughly 300 positions.

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