Own goal

Follow Us Get the newsletter Every time Boris Johnson takes a step forward in his handling of the coronavirus, he seemingly counters with an own goal. The British prime minister has put England into its third lockdown in 11 months to try and combat the virus. The official U.K. death toll stands near 82,000, with hospitals badly stretched. After a series of abrupt and at-times confusing policy U-turns, Johnson has been seeking a reset. A libertarian at heart, he's slowly come around to the need for more rules, even as enforcement in the U.K. lags behind other countries aggressively penalizing those who flout pandemic restrictions. He's now set an ambitious target to vaccinate millions in the next few months, in the hope that some lockdown measures may ease in February or March, and schools can reopen. But given the difficulties with the government's testing and track-and-trace programs, he may be setting himself up for failure on his vaccination metrics. The challenges don't end there. Once again, the government's free school meals program has come under fire from Manchester United soccer star Marcus Rashford, who called the packages "unacceptable" after social media images circulated showing their meager contents. Then there's the revelation Johnson took a bike ride seven miles from his official residence — when government guidelines say outdoor exercise should be limited and people should stay in their local area. It came on the same day Johnson warned a tougher lockdown may be needed if people continue to ignore restrictions. As Tim Ross writes, the risk is that Johnson's actions spark fresh rule-breaking. That could exacerbate the pandemic before vaccination efforts have a chance to take effect. — Rosalind Mathieson Johnson, left, in July 2020. Photographer: Rui Vieira/AFP/Getty Images Tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Impeachment moves | The U.S. House is set to issue a largely futile ultimatum today to Vice President Mike Pence, demanding he invoke constitutional authority to remove President Donald Trump from office. There's little doubt the demand will be spurned, meaning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will go through with a vote on a single article of impeachment as soon as tomorrow. The abrupt resignation of Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf added to the tension in Washington ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week, with thousands of National Guard troops set to be deployed and the FBI warning of armed protests in all 50 state capitals. Days before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Congress scrapped a requirement for a domestic terrorist threat assessment that could have helped shed light on the deadly incident. Persona non grata | The brand at the heart of Trump's career and fortune is in crisis, Max Abelson reports. Trump is being shunned by political donors, tech companies, the American golf industry that brings business to his clubs, and even the Canadian company behind his online stores, following his encouragement of the rioters at the Capitol. Click here for more on how Trump-favored lenders Deutsche Bank and Signature Bank are pulling away from the billionaire president. Derailing Iran | Israel is plotting how to derail one of Biden's signature foreign-policy promises: to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. David Wainer and Ivan Levingston report that officials are weighing whether the sort of public crusade waged against the Obama administration's deal with Tehran or behind-the-scenes engagement will be the most effective strategy with Biden. Losing ledger | Trump tweeted that "trade wars are good, and easy to win" in 2018 as he began to impose tariffs on about $360 billion of imports from China. It turns out he was wrong on both counts. Even before the pandemic, Beijing was withstanding Trump's salvos, and once China got the virus under control, demand for medical equipment expanded its trade surplus with the U.S. despite the levies. President Xi Jinping told Chinese officials he saw "opportunities in general outweighing challenges," a shift from his sometimes dire-sounding warnings of recent months. Coalition teetering | Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government is at risk as a junior partner is considering withdrawing from the coalition amid disputes over how to invest money from the European Union recovery fund. Former premier Matteo Renzi's threat to bring down the administration comes as Italy struggles to contain a second wave of Covid-19, which has infected more than 2 million people and triggered a crushing recession. Paid Post There's a reason over 2.5 million people start their day with Morning Brew — the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be dry and dense...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out. Morning Brew What to Watch Trump plans to tout completed sections of his border wall in Texas today, his first public event since the attack on the Capitol last week. Malaysia suspended parliament in the first nationwide state of emergency in more than half a century, allowing embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to avoid facing an election until the pandemic is over. Turkey and Greece are set to hold preliminary talks this month to tackle differences over maritime boundaries and offshore energy resources for the first time since 2016. In a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's Supreme Court halted the implementation of three farm laws and formed a panel to facilitate talks with farmers who've staged protests on the outskirts of the capital for two months. And finally ... Twitter has banned more than 70,000 accounts dedicated to sharing content of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory that says a cabal of Satan-worshiping cannibalistic pedophiles is plotting against Trump. It's also limiting any Tweets labeled for violations of its civic integrity policy — a key reason it cited in its initial suspension of the president — and monitoring for anything that breaks its rules on hateful conduct, violent threats, and coordinated harmful activity. Trump supporters hold phones with messages referring to QAnon at a campaign rally in Las Vegas in February 2020. Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images North America   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022