Trump's Iran plan: Everyone's out of the loop

Today's Agenda Trump needs to figure out what his Iran policy is. The Fed has created an army of zombie investors. Slack's non-IPO wasn't such a bad idea. Facebook's Libra could do some good. Fog of Iran War II: The En-Thickening Wow, just 24 hours ago we were asking whether America was about to go to war with Iran or not. The sun had barely risen on the new day when we got our resounding answer: REPLY HAZY, TRY AGAIN LATER. After sending mixed signals about whether the U.S. would retaliate for Iran's attack on an American drone, Trump reportedly ordered a military strike and then called it off at the last minute. Any decision to spare lives and consider proportionality here is welcome; although it spoils the effect to do so not long after hurriedly making the opposite decision. This adds to a long chain of behavior that has everybody flummoxed about Trump's goals on Iran, Bloomberg's editorial board writes. It's also the latest sign of the chaos marking this administration at every level, starting with the six-months-and-counting void at the top of the Pentagon. At some point it will lead to a real disaster, costing real lives. Trump's indecision and disarray also won't win him any credibility points with Congress or foreign allies, with whom he is already deep in the red, writes Jonathan Bernstein. And allies are what he needs to maintain maximum pressure on Tehran, writes James Stavridis. Alienating them – as Trump has so far done – makes war more likely, not less, James writes, and the window for a non-military response is closing rapidly. Fortunately, the next phase of the U.S.-Iran confrontation could easily involve something short of full-blown war, writes Eli Lake. But any military action may play into the hands of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, giving his crumbling popularity a much-needed boost, writes Bobby Ghosh. If Trump really showed patience last night, then he may need more of it – if he wants to avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, that is. Further Tension Impact Reading: Refinery blowups and Gulf near-misses are the wrong sort of fuel for oil prices. – Liam Denning Risky Medicine for Economic Illnesses If dodging an escalation between the U.S. and Iran by this much bothered stock-market investors, then you wouldn't know it by today's placid action. Maybe everybody's still high from the Federal Reserve's latest strong hints of sweet, sweet stimulus. You feel like a broken record saying it, but this party will surely end at some point. Right? Until then, central bankers have created vast armies of what Brian Chappatta calls "zombie investors." They have to buy everything in sight, from ultra-junk-rated subordinated Greek bank debt to grease-stained IOUs of Some Guy in Hackensack, because safe stuff pays nothing and the Fed protects everything else. In the words of Some Guy in Hackensack, "Whaddaya gonna do?" Meanwhile, to help its own flailing economy, China is pumping liquidity into the very shadow banking system that has caused trouble in the past, write Shuli Ren and Anjani Trivedi. Yeah, something's got to give.    Further Zombie Finance Reading: The bond market's getting a bit greedy. – Robert Burgess When even Indonesia turns dovish, you know the whole world is easing. – Dan Moss  Give Us Some Slack (Stock) But maybe sanity can still be found in financial markets. Slack Technologies Inc. went public yesterday, not with an obnoxious, hyped, badly-priced IPO, but by simply … starting to sell the stock, and at a reasonable price. That went pretty well for everyone involved, notes Matt Levine. It was very boring, of course, but that's a plus these days. Conor Sen sees it a little differently: Slack's non-IPO is the latest example of Silicon Valley trying to have things its own way. In this case, Slack cut out Wall Street middlemen, who seldom garner much sympathy. But this same ethos, Conor writes, often leads tech to mistreat workers, customers, municipalities and more.  Libra Rising Facebook Inc.'s plan to release a crypto currency called Libra makes many people nervous. But maybe we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it, Bloomberg's editorial board writes. Yes, there are many risks regulators must address. However, digital currencies generally can be good things, and killing Facebook's might set back progress. Whether Libra succeeds of not, Lionel Laurent notes the very idea of it raises an important issue for central bankers around the world: how to integrate big tech companies into the financial system. With their growing data and power, they'll increasingly encroach on banking's territory. Telltale Charts America has a lot of breweries these days, but some cities have far more seasonally-appropriate double bock IPAs than others, observes Justin Fox.  Rest easy, fashion world: Amazon.com Inc.'s sketchy StyleSnap feature suggests it won't be disrupting your business any time soon, writes Sarah Halzack. Further Reading Makers of airplanes and automobiles must deal with the growing shame around driving big cars and taking faraway vacations as the planet roasts. – Chris Bryant  Trump's immigrant detention centers aren't close to being Nazi death camps, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't wrong to call them "concentration camps." – Leonid Bershidsky  Andrew Yang and other backers of universal basic income keep making bad arguments. – Noah Smith  Americans have a long history of dumbly working long hours and refusing to take vacations. – Stephen Mihm  ICYMI USC dad pleads guilty in college-bribery case. Toys 'R' Us is coming back. Area billionaire says life is hard. Kickers FINALLY, there's a Taco Bell hotel. (h/t James Greiff) Congratulations to Dr. Marijuana Pepsi. (h/t Scott Kominers) Information is like snacks and drugs to the brain. Update: Cell phones probably aren't making our kids grow horns. Photos of the week. Note: Please send tacos and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. New to Bloomberg Opinion Today? Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. FOLLOW US SEND TO A FRIEND You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022