Something for the weekend
(Bloomberg) — Now what? As you savor some respite from the working week, you can be forgiven for wondering what will blow up next. Relax. Beyond the fretful world of finance, there is still much to dream of. Today’s briefing brings you movie stars and ivory towers, exotic wildlife and delicious seafood dinners.
First though, if you’re still a bit punch drunk from the past two weeks and wondering what just happened, this is what just happened. John Authers and Isabelle Lee take us on a Cook’s tour of the chaos, from the efforts to stem the rot by Credit Suisse’s embattled chief Ulrich Koerner to some dubiously useful information on the borrowing habits of blue-footed boobies.
Watch out for a possible deal this weekend with UBS, which may buy all or parts of its smaller rival, with special attention on what becomes of Credit Suisse’s “crown jewel.”
While US authorities agonize over how to sort out the banking turmoil without the state wielding a heavy hand, China continues down the opposite path. To gauge just how far the pendulum in Beijing has swung back in favor of central government control, take a look at what’s happening to the stocks of its once-derided state-owned enterprises.
Silicon Valley Bank, Signature, Credit Suisse. Is there anywhere in the Western banking world that isn’t feeling the stress of the latest wave of turmoil? Well, down on Main Street…
And of course there’s still the ongoing fallout in the world of digital assets. On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court will get its first taste of crypto, with plenty more coming along. It is, says American University’s Gerard Comizio, “just the tip of the tip of the iceberg.”
The London Metal Exchange is also lurching through one crisis after another, the latest being the discovery that some bags of nickel held in one of its approved warehouses were actually full of stones.
Elsewhere, much of the planet is still rebounding from Covid. There’s a $100 billion race among universities from the US to Australia to recapture overseas students now that travel restrictions have ended. And colleges are doubling down on the strategy that cost them dearly during the pandemic.
On Monday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping makes his first state visit to Russia since it invaded Ukraine, in a show of support for President Vladimir Putin. Beijing describes it as “a journey of friendship.”
In Thailand, election fever is growing, with political parties competing for votes by offering billions of dollars’ worth of incentives. How would you like to have your wages doubled and be given monthly cash handouts, get some free land and a subsidy for your mortgage, receive better healthcare and lower electricity bills and be encouraged to grow cannabis?
Finally, with some environmentalists calling for a revolution in our diets to reduce the agricultural effects of climate change, here’s one delicacy that seems to be thriving in a warmer world.
Have a gastronomic weekend.
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