| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a Megazord of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Today's Agenda Keeping some people up at night. Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America Fear of a Sanders Planet A presidential candidate who gives party regulars the hives racks up wins in early voting states. His more-conventional rivals seem much more electable on paper, but are too busy beating up on one another to stop him. This describes then-candidate, now-President Donald Trump in 2016. And it's starting to describe the front-runner to be his Democratic opponent in November, Senator Bernie Sanders. He won the New Hampshire primary last night, a week after winning the popular vote in Iowa's caucus. In neither case did he get more than 26% of the vote, and he basically split each race with the centrist Pete Buttigieg. Behind them were at least three other viable centrist candidates. If you could combine the top four centrists into one Megazord Democrat, then they might crush Sanders. But Megazord technology still has a long way to go, as does the human ego. So Sanders is basically waltzing to the nomination, writes Ramesh Ponnuru. It may already be too late to stop him. Jonathan Bernstein somewhat disagrees, saying the race is more up in the air than ever after New Hampshire. He doesn't consider Sanders's showing very strong, and none of his rivals stand out as a unifying alternative yet. But, again, you could have said the same thing about Trump for much of 2016. Centrists and some Wall Streeters are freaking out about the prospect of a self-described (Democratic) socialist even being the nominee, much less winning the White House. But Nir Kaissar points out that a Sanders presidency could be very good for the stock market if he can enact even some of his spending plans. Remember, Trump was supposed to tank stocks, too, but then he blew up the budget deficit, installed a captive dove at the Fed and, presto, record stock prices. It's something else he and Sanders might end up having in common. (Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg wasn't on the ballot in New Hampshire, but is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.) Further 2020 Reading: Trump ran on "carnage" in 2016. Will a more upbeat message resonate in swing states in 2020? — Michael R. Strain Coronavirus Fear: The Re-Fearing Whenever we get to hyperventilating about the coronavirus, seemingly reasonable people pull the brown-paper lunch bag from our faces and tell us the flu is far deadlier, so shut up. But David Fickling explains that no, in fact, coronavirus is more troubling than the flu. It's got a much higher rate of deaths per infection, for one thing. And it's still possible it could spread around the globe and kill millions. Back to the lunch bag! Most of the coronavirus cases, and nearly all of the deaths, have been in China so far. The autocratic regime there has had no problem enforcing harsh quarantines that might limit the disease's spread. But the jury's still out on that. Although it's easy to think China's whole central-planning thing gives it an edge in responding to such crises, the reality is a lot messier, writes Shuli Ren. For one germane example, see the country's chaotic, patchwork approach to addressing a surgical-mask shortage, which is itself causing more problems. Bright-Side Coronavirus Reading: Even More to Fear: Trump Unleashed Trump's Tuesday Afternoon Massacre at the Justice Department extended into Wednesday morning, as the Treasury Department torpedoed the nomination of a former DOJ prosecutor for a new job. It just so happens she ran the office that indicted Trump ally Roger Stone. Trump is no fan of that case, as he made clear yesterday, resulting in the speedy resignations of four prosecutors. The Stone case grew out of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, which was built to be free of political interference. Those days are long gone, notes Noah Feldman. In commandeering Stone's prosecution, Trump has attacked the rule of law on which our democracy rests. But this will be the new normal now that Trump feels unbothered by such trifles as impeachment. Republicans could stop him if they wanted, and occasionally they even do. But they are generally too weak, writes Jonathan Bernstein. Trump is also acting out of weakness, but it's the whole country that suffers. Telltale Charts Wall Street has long been able to cash in quickly on low interest rates. New technology means Main Street can do the same thing now with relatively speedy mortgage refinancing, writes Brian Chappatta. Trump's tariffs have not helped the American steel industry at all, notes Justin Fox, writing, "nostalgia seems like a counterproductive motivation for industrial policy." Further Reading Carl Icahn has revived Xerox Holdings Corp., and a merger with HP Inc. is probably next. — Joe Nocera Value stocks are almost as cheap as at the peak of the dot-com bubble. — John Authers Deutsche Bank AG was able to issue risky CoCo bonds for the first time in six years; investors naturally couldn't resist. — Marcus Ashworth and Elisa Martinuzzi The U.S. can help Ericsson and Nokia compete with Huawei without actually buying them. — Alex Webb Trump's latest Fed pick doesn't share his and Jerome Powell's easy-money leanings. — Karl Smith Trump is considering pulling the military out of Africa. That would leave a big void for China to fill. — James Stavridis ICYMI Bosses are still dating employees in the #MeToo era. Climate change has put rivers in the sky to drench us. Tired: marijuana stocks. Wired: psychedelic stocks. Kickers Scientists find a repeating radio signal from deep space. (h/t Scott Kominers) The last woolly mammoths were a genetic disaster. (h/t Mike Smedley) People born blind are mysteriously protected from schizophrenia. Beer waste can save millions on water treatment. Note: Please send radio signals and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. |
Post a Comment