Bloomberg Opinion

bloom.bgAnthropic's ‘Hellish’ Difficulty Is Its Unknowable DemandLeafing through Anthropic PBC’s wordy prospectus for its imminent public listing, one cannot help but be impressed by this young company’s accomplishments — both technological and financial.

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The danger for Anthropic is investing too little and giving its rivals an opening, or spending too much and putting its financial health in peril

Bloomberg Opinion reposted

Admiral James Stavridis, USN, Ret.

@admiralstav.bsky.social

The Houthis hit Riyadh’s airport this month and threaten the Red Sea lifeline that keeps Saudi oil flowing. Time for a new coalition. My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

bloomberg.comSaudi Arabia Needs a New Coalition Against the HouthisSaudi Arabia has a serious problem with Houthi insurgents in its large, mountainous and inhospitable neighbor to the south, Yemen. The Saudis have been fighting there in support of the internationally...

Bloomberg Opinion reposted

Dave Lee

@davelee.me

bloomberg.comWhy I’m Excited About a Bucket of White PaintThe latest innovation in climate tech comes in a humble package

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the, er, frontier lab. Dario Amodei preps investors for a rough ride. My @opinion.bloomberg.com take on the Anthropic S-1. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Bloomberg Opinion reposted

Liam Denning

@liamdenning.bsky.social

Cleantech lives - and it’s flipping the script on energy where it matters: Emerging markets @opinion.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Bloomberg Opinion reposted

Bob Burgess

@bobburgess.bsky.social

White paint has never been so exciting - or critical to our future www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

bloom.bgHigher Airfares Are Here to Stay. That’s Not a Bad ThingNo one wants to pay more to fly, but travel-hungry US passengers are giving airlines little reason to halt price increases. Air travel demand is holding up and encouraging carriers to raise fares faster and further to make up for soaring jet fuel costs. Once up, prices will likely stay there even after the energy crunch subsides.

Higher jet fuel costs are prompting airlines to raise fares. Just don't expect prices to drop once the energy crunch subsides

bloom.bgCockroach Cleantech Is Flipping the Script on Fossil FuelsDespite the mass extinction event known as the second Trump administration, cleantech lives. Renewable energy deployment is breaking records, even in the US, and more than one-in-four of every new passenger vehicle sold worldwide now sports a socket. This reflects two things. First, neither President Donald Trump nor the US, powerful as they are, can negate basic scientific and economic forces. Second, Trump’s own actions have strengthened those forces.

Despite Trump's proclivities, batteries are becoming a foundational technology for this century, similar to internal combustion engines in the last one

bloom.bgNew Hampshire Loves the Sununus. That’s Not Enough in 2026There’s nothing wrong with John E. Sununu’s Senate campaign that a Kamala Harris midterm election wouldn’t have fixed.

Political dynasties don't mean much in a midterm campaign driven primarily by voters' deep frustration with Trump

bloom.bgHollywood’s Female Executives Are Easy Targets in a CrisisMonday officially marked the end of Bela Bajaria’s 10-year run at Netflix Inc., where the content boss spearheaded some of the streaming giant’s biggest hits.

A handful of women who have made it to the very top in Hollywood have found themselves unceremoniously swept out in the entertainment world’s great reshuffling

bloom.bgThe White House Will Fail to Overturn Any ElectionsIf you’re a lawyer and your client tells you to file a meritless case, you’re supposed to say no. The US Justice Department is apparently not constrained by this ethical obligation.

Trump’s regular efforts to subvert American democracy haunt our politics, but from a legal standpoint, they've been failures

bloom.bgThe Political Breakdown That Dare Not Speak Its NameThe most pressing policy question facing the US — how to restore fiscal control — has been conspicuously absent in campaigning for the midterm elections. Neither party is willing to frame a plausible way to solve the problem, so they’ve seemingly agreed not to discuss it. Their silence is an abject failure of governance. One wonders how much longer Washington will be able to get away with it.

The most pressing policy question facing the US — how to restore fiscal control — hasn't been asked, much less answered, in the midterm elections

Did you barely make it through the sweltering summer? Something as simple as paint might be the solution to keeping your house up to 20 degrees cooler, says @lararhiannon.bsky.social 🎥

bloom.bgWhy I’m Excited About a Bucket of White PaintThe latest innovation in climate tech comes in a humble package

Read the column: bloom.bg/4yJ4QoK

bloom.bgTrump Should Do a Helmut Schmidt When He Meets Xi and PutinFor reasons that could range from good to atrocious, President Donald Trump wants a three-way summit with his Russian and Chinese counterparts when the three men are in Shenzhen next month for an economic forum.

As during the Cold War, Washington could threaten to deploy new nukes while simultaneously urging talks to get rid of them altogether

bloom.bgJohn Healey’s First Budget Is a Chance to Clear the ClutterBritish budgets have come to resemble an overstuffed toolshed: Each finance minister adds a new shelf, and nothing is ever thrown out. New Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey could start by clearing the clutter.

UK fiscal policy has become larded with cost and complexity. The new finance minister can use his first budget to show what he's willing to throw out

bloom.bgLabour's Finance Gurus Are Both Worth Listening toWhen Andy Burnham sought the UK premiership in the summer, he corralled two finance heavyweights to bolster his credentials — Jim O’Neill, an ex-Conservative minister and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. alumnus, and former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane. As he marks 100 days in office today and ahead of his first budget on Wednesday, Burnham would do well to heed his erstwhile advisers’ warnings that Britain’s central problems — weak growth, spiraling public spending and soaring debt — re

Labour should heed warnings from Jim O'Neill and Andy Haldane that Britain’s central problems — weak growth, spiraling public spending and soaring debt — remain unaddressed

bloom.bgBritain’s China Contortions Are Inviting Disaster“Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its borders. There is therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce.”

Andy Burnham’s ambition to undo Brexit could be thwarted if Germany and France see the UK as a Trojan Horse for Chinese cars

bloom.bgBe-Bop-a-Lula, Brazil’s Black MondayMarket plunge after election surprise could lead to another Lula buying opportunity.

Be-Bop-a-Lula, and Brazil’s Black Monday could end up being another buying opportunity, John Authers writes

bloom.bgWhy I’m Excited About a Bucket of White PaintThe latest innovation in climate tech comes in a humble package

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The latest innovation in climate tech comes in a humble package

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One in four iPhones is made in India, but imported parts and costly subsidies complicate the success story. @andymukherjee70.bsky.social takes apart an iPhone to explain why copying China's manufacturing model may not pay off 🎥

bloom.bgApple’s iPhone Factories Won’t Make India the Next ChinaHigh-tech manufacturing in India, backed by billions of dollars in government subsidies, has attracted both cheerleaders and critics.

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Read Andy's column bloom.bg/3W7NWmb

bloom.bgLula’s Win Shocked the World, Especially MarketsDid the Brazilian president’s new smartphone turn the tide?

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Did Lula’s new smartphone turn the tide in Brazil?

bloom.bgThe Number 4 That Gave the Internet a Panic AttackTrust on the internet is supposed to be one of the marvels of modern cryptography. A malicious website may try to impersonate your bank or email provider, but web browsers are designed to block the fake. The encryption behind the padlock in the address bar is so strong that even supercomputers running for millennia wouldn’t be able to break it.

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A firm entrusted with securing the internet generated a private key that was the number 4. That's not the most troubling part of the story

bloom.bgMalaysia’s AI Export Boom Is a New Chance at StardomMalaysia’s export machine is in formidable shape, giving a country that once aspired to become an advanced economy a second chance at stardom. As a sometime sharp critic of the ebbs and flows of global capitalism, the nation should seize the opportunity and worry about an AI bust later.

Globalization has staying power and Malaysia is hitching a ride. Chip exports are giving the country a second wind

bloom.bgAnthropic Raises ConcernsAlso share classes and fake polls.

Also share classes and fake polls.

Lula’s shock win in Brazil against Bolsonaro triggered an investor reaction for the ages. But @jpspinetto.bsky.social thinks markets are overacting 🎥

bloom.bgSun Tzu Has an Escape Route for US-China BiotechThe ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu once wrote that when confronting an adversary, it’s important to leave them an escape route to avoid an intractable fight. Washington and Beijing seem to have taken this advice to heart in the biotech industry at a time when both sides are being pressured to cut ties completely.

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The US and China have found an escape hatch for the biotech industry at just the right time. It's a good outcome

bloom.bgAnthropic Is Bringing the ‘Anti-Sell’ Strategy to Its IPOIn the introduction to Anthropic PBC’s filing for its initial public offering, published on Monday morning, the AI lab’s co-founders talk about the “anti-sell” they give prospective employees. It’s described as “a pitch deliberately designed to be unappealing to those who are a poor fit … while appealing to the type of person we want to hire.”

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Anthropic's IPO risk factors run to 94 pages and more than 70,000 words as the AI lab seeks to temper investor expectations

bloom.bgPaxton Should Stop Playing the God Card Against TalaricoChristianity is front and center as early voting begins in the Texas Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico. Unfortunately, religion is being treated as another weapon in America’s polarized political fight, not as something independent and powerful enough to slice through our partisan nonsense.

The Texas Senate race has devolved into a debate over who's a real Christian

bloom.bgSaudi Arabia Needs a New Coalition Against the HouthisSaudi Arabia has a serious problem with Houthi insurgents in its large, mountainous and inhospitable neighbor to the south, Yemen. The Saudis have been fighting there in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government for more than a decade, but the stubborn Houthi rebels — with enormous support from Iran — continue to threaten Yemen’s stability and attack Saudi Arabia directly.

It could enlist Pakistan’s mountain troops, Turkey’s navy and European forces — and maybe even quietly cooperate with Israel

bloom.bgThis Consumer Watchdog Should Be a Normal AgencyMost Americans are ill-equipped to understand the dizzying array of financial products they encounter. Many struggle to contend with payday lenders, credit reports or novel payment apps. A growing share are falling behind on their debt. Meanwhile, a record $16 billion was lost to fraud last year. If only there was a federal agency empowered to protect consumers from predatory financial actors.

A Republican bill to reform the CFPB isn't perfect, but it's a good place to start

bloom.bgThe War Bump Is a False Victory for S&P 500 ProfitsEarnings season is upon us, and Wall Street expects companies in the S&P 500 Index that aren’t tied to artificial intelligence to rake in profits. That would be good news if it pointed to a broadening out of earnings growth, but instead the gauge is in a Pyrrhic boom created by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. It’s a bump that we’ll pay for later.

Profits for energy, aerospace and defense companies are soaring, but it's a parasitic boom that we'll pay for later

bloom.bgMarkets Are Mispricing Brazil After Lula’s Epic ComebackWell, it seems we wrote Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s political epitaph way too early.

Don't sell your Brazilian shares just yet. A changed political landscape and big fiscal challenges will force Lula to be less lefty and more pragmatic and market-friendly

bloom.bgGucci’s Parent Is Risking the Patience of Shoppers and InvestorsLuca de Meo’s honeymoon at Kering SA is over.

Kering's CEO is finding that running luxury labels is different from managing auto brands

bloom.bgHealey’s Bank Taxes Come With A SweetenerUK Chancellor John Healey looks set to hike bank taxes in Wednesday’s budget, but industry bosses seem unusually sanguine. Behind the scenes, British lenders are likely assuming the favor will be repaid with lighter regulation as the government scrambles to stimulate growth.

There's a reason bank CEOs aren't blowing their tops over UK plans to increase taxes

bloom.bgIsrael’s Next Leader Can Make Big Changes With Small ChoicesOn Route 60 in the West Bank, sandwiched between the Palestinian village of Al Lubban Ash Sharqiya and the Jewish settlement of Eli, Muayyad Hussein feels under siege in the roadside kiosk he’s run for some 30 years. First, settlers set the unit on fire. Then they robbed his stock. Then, this month, on Oct. 7 of all days, they hammered a thicket of Israeli flags six-to-ten deep across his shop front and to either side as police looked on.

If Israel's opposition wins, there are some small but critical steps to take to halt the downward spiral of violence and hate

bloom.bgStarlink Doubts Have Put a Rocket Under SpaceX’s RivalsWhat does a technological kill switch look like? Ask Ukraine. Reports of speed restrictions on its military use of Elon Musk’s satellite network Starlink, essential for fending off Russian aerial assaults, have reminded America’s allies that they rely far too much on access to critical tech that they ultimately don’t control.

Europe has alternatives to Elon Musk's Starlink. Even Jeff Bezos would be a more equal partnership

bloom.bgSurfing the AI/Bond Wave in Increments of FearA post-election Iran war escalation could lead to a wipeout on oil prices.

AI and the bond market are creating a giant wave that adrenaline junkies are surfing, John Authers writes. The undertow is the oil price

bloom.bgRamaswamy’s Attack Ad Isn’t the Only Cloud Hanging Over OhioUgly politics and the promises of AI are front-and-center in the state’s potential shift purple.

Ugly billboards and even uglier politics might turn Ohio purple

bloom.bgThe US-China Tech Cold War Is Moving UnderseaWhen Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles described the seabed as a battlefield at a regional defense gathering in Singapore earlier this year, he was preaching to the converted. The security of undersea cables — which carry more than 95% of data flows and trillions of dollars of daily financial transactions — was already top of mind for the senior military brass, geopolitical analysts and government ministers in the room.

The internet is taking a detour around China. As tech giants reroute subsea cables to avoid geopolitical risks, they’re reshaping Asia’s digital map for decades to come

bloom.bgBali’s Tourist Paradise Is Stuck in a Gasoline QueueIf you’re hoping a trip to Bali might give you a relaxing taste of paradise amid the turmoil of 2026, you might want to think again. Ripples from the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz are lapping Indonesia’s prime tourist destination. Things may get a whole lot worse before they get better.

Queues in Bali show how Indonesia's gasoline subsidies are making things worse

bloom.bgA 50% Yield? The AI Trade Is Getting WildFor crazy rich Asians, a selloff in AI-related stocks presents new trading opportunities. Volatility has become their friend.

Hong Kong’s private wealth managers are dangling seductive structured products to clients in the wake of CoreWeave's stock plunge

bloom.bgThe New ‘Sense and Sensibility’ Channels Our Money Anxiety“What have wealth or grandeur to do with happiness?” teenaged Marianne Dashwood rhetorically asks in Jane Austen’s 1811 novel, Sense and Sensibility. Her prudent sister Elinor replies: “Grandeur has but little, but wealth has much to do with it.”

Jane Austen adaptations work best when they feel current, and the new “Sense and Sensibility” fits the bill

bloom.bgTrump’s Voter Fraud Show Comes to CaliforniaDonald Trump has spent the past six years trying and failing to prove that Democrats are stealing elections by letting noncitizens vote in big numbers. There’s a mountain of evidence showing that doesn’t happen. But it’s easy to understand why most Americans have little confidence the president will accept the results of next month’s midterms — especially if Republicans get shellacked.

Don’t be fooled by the spectacle

bloom.bgHow Women Voters Could Swing the SenateWhile manosphere bros were pollsters’ demographic du jour in 2024, and they continue to be a coveted voting bloc, it is women who will likely determine the outcome of the 2026 midterms. Women consistently vote at higher rates than men. The 2018 elections, President Donald Trump’s previous midterm, saw the largest gender gap of any midterm since 1978. Pollsters and strategists are always asking what women want, targeting them with specific appeals and treating the bloc as a monolith, complete wit

Women vote at higher rates than men, especially when Donald Trump is in the White House

bloom.bgThe Gulf State Militaries Are Looking Very HollowThe Gulf is in turmoil. Saudi Arabia, which for decades has dominated the region, using its oil wealth to command the attention and often obeisance of half the world, is tottering on its foundations. Civilians are being killed, US personnel evacuated. Its principal airports are intermittently closed by Houthi missiles. The rich are taking flight as best they can, and overseas pilgrims are wary about visiting.

It has been a cruel revelation for the Gulf states in recent months how little Donald Trump is able to do for them

If America were a stock, would you buy, hold or sell? Our columnists and subscribers weighed in 🎥

bloom.bgAmerica’s Children Can Do Without Elon Musk’s PromisesThe SpaceX CEO’s pledge to hand out shares to kids doesn’t exactly ring of sincerity.

Elon Musk could do with some good PR. His recent announcement — giving kids stock in SpaceX — is probably just the latest in a history of empty promises

bloom.bgOnly New Laws Can Stop Political CorruptionIf you think President Donald Trump’s administration has a corruption problem, you are not alone: Even many Republicans are worried. But if you think the way to address it is simply to prosecute the offenders, you are sadly mistaken: As recent events illustrate, it will take new laws to bring the wrongdoers to justice.

If you think the way to address the Trump administration's corruption is simply to prosecute the offenders, you are sadly mistaken