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Get Excited? Impeachment Is Here

A hyped new entry in a venerable franchise is finally here, and critics are calling it "unsatisfying" and "a march into the expected." I'm talking not about "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (though it also apparently fits that description) but impeachment.

As of this writing, the House of Representatives was gearing up to make President Donald Trump just the third U.S. president in history to be formally impeached. This outcome became inevitable the day we learned of Trump's efforts to force Ukraine to help him win re-election in 2020. The House vote will be predictably partisan, with a couple of exceptions, as will the Senate's likely verdict on whether to send Trump on a permanent Mar-a-Lago vacation (spoiler: It probably won't).

This is exactly the sort of by-the-numbers outcome Alexander Hamilton feared back when he and other Founding Fathers put together the Constitution, writes Cass Sunstein. They decided to hold impeachment trials in the Senate, hoping decisions there were less likely to "be regulated more by the comparative strength of the parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt." They wanted people who were "sufficiently independent" deciding such cases and figured the Senate would have more of them than the House or courts. That appears to have been wishful thinking.

Further Impeachment Reading:

The Californication Decade

(Sorry for reminding you of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or maybe you're welcome for reminding you of David Duchovny.)

The end of a decade is a time for reflection, and to some of us (OK, to Justin Fox) that means painstakingly compiling state-by-state economic data and looking for patterns. What he found is revealing, especially when expressed by Elaine He in a series of charts like this one:

You may notice income growth in the past decade was concentrated mostly in the West, in proximity to California. This, Justin writes, fits patterns seen in other data throughout the decade: California's tech boom spread prosperity, and maybe some headaches, to its neighbors.

Further Spread-the-Wealth Reading: The government should pump R&D money into colleges in downtrodden cities. — Noah Smith

Tesla and Aramco: Separated at Birth?

In many ways, Elon Musk and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman couldn't be more different. One makes electric cars, the other sells fossil fuels. One got rich founding PayPal and some other stuff, the other was born that way. One smokes pot in public, the other runs a country where alcohol is illegal.

But they share the experience of running corporations with startlingly rabid fan bases and large chips on their shoulders, writes Liam Denning. Musk's company is Tesla Inc., while MBS's is Saudi Aramco. Their lines of business are diametrically opposed, but both exhibit a burning desire to dunk on their haters in the stock market. This sometimes leads to questionable business decisions, but God help you if you mention that on Twitter.

Stop Hitting Yourself, FedEx

Fresh from being kicked in the shins by Amazon.com Inc., FedEx Corp. punched itself in the face for good measure last night. The delivery company cut its earnings forecast for the third time in less than six months, and Brooke Sutherland suggests it may not be done disappointing investors yet. Some consider FedEx an economic bellwether, and sluggish global trade certainly isn't doing it any favors. But the company seems to keep getting in its own way too, Brooke writes; and Amazon's decision to freeze it out of deliveries is the least of its problems.

Telltale Charts

Junk bonds are still junk, but they are no longer priced that way, notes Brian Chappatta. Maybe it's time for investors to think of an upgrade.

Now's the perfect time for the U.K. to issue 100-year bonds to help pay for Boris Johnson's fiscal plans, writes Marcus Ashworth.

Further Reading

Bang & Olufsen is finding nobody wants $3,000 speakers in the age of low-fi streaming music. — Alex Webb

Wisconsin's love affair with Foxconn is falling apart, just as I foretold. — Tim Culpan

The dollar looks like it's going to weaken at just the right time. — Conor Sen

Paid family leave for federal employees is only a good start. — Rachel Rosenthal

ICYMI

SoftBank Vision Fund's culture is something else. (Matt Levine has thoughts.)

How to hack your way into business class for cheap.

Where to eat in Times Square that isn't terrible. (Apparently "nowhere" is not an answer.)

Kickers

Air pollution leads to more depression and suicide.

We're closer to understanding how humans came to the Americas.

Photos of the decade.

The decade in television, including the best and worst shows.

Note: Please send TV scripts and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.

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