Today's Agenda  Anarchy in the U.K. Kim Darroch was just doing his job. The now-former British ambassador to the U.S. told his bosses, in what he assumed was secrecy, that President Donald Trump and his administration are "dysfunctional," "inept," "incompetent" and "insecure." His candid assessment is shared by many other diplomats and sentient humanoids around the world, including White House staff, as Bloomberg's editorial board notes. But it was leaked, embarrassing Darroch and triggering Trump to have a Twitter fit. That led to Darroch's exit and put another dent in the U.S.-U.K. "special relationship." The episode sends a message to current and future employees of the British government, writes Therese Raphael: Play along with Brexit and its key U.S. supporter, Trump, or get shoved under a red double-decker bus. The leaking of Darroch's memos played all too well into the hands of Brexiteers, who considered him euro-friendly. And chief Brexiteer and future Prime Minister Boris Johnson took Trump's side in the spat. But this also exposes just how a Brexited U.K., far from taking its fate into its own hands, must bow and scrape before Trump in order to survive alone in a harsh world. Try telling that to Johnson and other Brexit die-hards, though. In their delusions of grandeur, they have one very bad thing in common with their former colony India, writes Pankaj Mishra: Both are sleep-walking toward self-destruction, led by demagogues who refuse to face the truth. Further British Reading: The U.K. economy had a decent quarter, but don't be fooled; it's still weak, and a no-deal Brexit will make it far weaker. – Ferdinando Giugliano RIP Fed Rate-Hike Campaign, 2015-18 In congressional testimony today, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he wouldn't quit even if Trump pushed him. But he also made Trump, and financial markets, very happy by all but hand-engraving a promise to cut interest rates later this month, writes Brian Chappatta. This is what markets expected and what Trump has demanded. Now the two big questions are whether the Fed can stop at just one rate cut, and how it can maintain political independence in such an environment. Powell's words sent stocks to new record highs and sank bond yields. This will only make the market even thirstier for sweet, sweet yield. The latest example is a 48-year Italian bond yielding less than 3%, writes Marcus Ashworth. Fingers crossed on getting paid back, or finding a better deal. On the other hand, a recent string of meh Treasury auctions suggests appetite for U.S. debt does have limits, notes Robert Burgess. Good thing the government doesn't need to borrow much. Oh, wait ... Further Economic Apocalypse Reading: Singapore investment giant Temasek Holdings has "secular stagnation" back on its radar, which should worry investors everywhere. – Andy Mukherjee Too Many Streaming Cooks So Netflix Inc. is losing "Friends" to HBO Max, a new streaming service run by AT&T Inc., which might cost you $17 a month. Netflix will also eventually lose "The Office" to NBCUniversal's new streaming service, owned by Comcast Corp., which will cost some additional amount of money per month. Netflix continues to charge $13 a month for what's still on its roster, including "Stranger Things." Meanwhile Walt Disney Co. is launching a Disney+ streaming service that will cost another $7 a month. And these are just the biggest services we could reasonably fit into this paragraph. Are you not entertained and/or confused and/or broke? Tara Lachapelle suggests this foolishness will strain the patience and loyalty of consumers who simply want a) content and b) value. "Wouldn't it be great if there were a way to just package all these services together in a single monthly subscription?" Tara asks. "We could call it Cable Max." Further Musical Chairs Reading: Somehow Dish Network Corp.'s Charlie Ergen has put himself in a position to make or break the T-Mobile-Sprint deal and win no matter what happens. – Tara Lachapelle Telltale Charts A wealth tax might produce disappointing revenue if the rich aren't as wealthy as we think, writes Noah Smith. But it's still worth trying.  Investors who showered frackers with easy money haven't got much to show for it, writes Liam Denning. Maybe that's why the shower is ending.  Further Reading After its painful restructuring, the new Deutsche Bank AG may be safer and better-capitalized, something other European banks should emulate. – Bloomberg's editorial board Trump winning his lawsuit against Obamacare would be disastrous for Republicans, who have no plan for the chaos that would surely follow. – Ramesh Ponnuru Trump should be able to block people on Twitter; a social media feed is a corporate property, not a public space. – Noah Feldman The resignation of Mexico's finance minister suggests investors were right to worry about Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's leadership. – John Authers It will take patience, but Africa and the West must ensure Sudan's long transition to democracy actually happens. – Bobby Ghosh An NHS team-up with Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa won't help the service or patients much; but it will help Amazon. – Lionel Laurent Wind power is cheaper than ever; the problem is getting it to where it's needed. – Peter Orszag ICYMI Labor Secretary Alex Acosta refused to resign. Jeffrey Epstein joins "El Chapo" and Paul Manafort in jail. The Winklevi have thoughts on Facebook Inc.'s new currency. Kickers Humans may have arrived in Europe much earlier than we thought. (h/t Scott Kominers) Area fish eats area shark. (h/t James Greiff) There may be a link between anxiety and allergies. For a long time, Americans were so bored they wrecked trains for fun. Note: Please send sharks and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. New to Bloomberg Opinion Today? Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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