| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a debt clock of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Today's AgendaDon't Fear the BookkeeperIt's only natural to fear debt. Nobody wants JPMorgan repossessing their house or Paulie Walnuts breaking their legs or to still be paying off their art history degree in their 50s. The U.S. currently owes $28 trillion and counting. U.S. companies, meanwhile, have $17 trillion in debt. American households have more than $14.5 trillion. Those are big scary numbers with big scary "t" words. But context is everything when it comes to debt. We can all agree $28 trillion buys a whole lot of art history degrees. But it also buys a whole lot of bridges and fighter jets and social safety nets, which we as a society have decided are important things to have. Despite record-high average debt loads, meanwhile, U.S. companies have no trouble paying the bills or raising even more cash from investors, writes Matthew Winkler.  What helps is that these companies, like the U.S. and those of us not borrowing from the Sopranos, are able to borrow at near-record-low interest rates, even after some recent unpleasantness in the bond market. State and local governments, meanwhile, worry less about Paulie Walnuts these days, thanks to a big assist from President Joe Biden's recent Covid relief package. Brian Chappatta notes that Illinois can thank voters in Georgia for that in particular by putting the Senate in the hands of Democrats. Now voting for Georgia Democrats is illegal (OK, not exactly), but Illinois has some breathing room to work off its massive debt overhang. The situation is far less copacetic in the developing world, where countries lack the flexibility to run up huge debt loads. The IMF and World Bank are meeting this week, and Mohamed El-Erian suggests they put debt relief for emerging markets high on their agenda. Otherwise global inequalities will worsen, and the whole world will eventually suffer the pain of somebody else's debt. Archegos ArchegoneDebt can also be scary bad when you leverage to the gills to gamble in the market and then the bottom falls out of your bet and then the lenders want more collateral. It's a tale as old as this newsletter's references. It happened again last week to Archegos Capital Management, which was very bad for Archegos and the overnight success/failure story of its founder, Bill Hwang. It was also muy no bueno for the banks who lent him money, who could face a $10 billion hit. This a touch embarrassing on a few levels for the banks that let Hwang get out of control, Matt Levine writes. And though Archego's disappearing act is nowhere close to threatening a systemic crisis, Bloomberg's editorial board notes it does raise unnerving questions about the vulnerabilities in the system, which could lead to something much more systemic in the future. Further Crisis-Proofing Reading: The SEC's woeful investor outreach about SPACs is unlikely to influence the people who need it. — Alexis Leondis Bonus Editorials: Imagine There's No CovidThough impatience and variants keep jeopardizing America's return to post-pandemic normal, vaccines are bringing something like normal closer to reality. They could, for example, help people safely get on planes and fly places again without vacation-ruining quarantines, write Brooke Sutherland and Sam Fazeli. But we can't rush it, given the migraine-inducing complications involved. The world's tourist destinations should brace for what Conor Sen calls "bleisure" travel — people working while the rest of their families take long vacations. Now that we can work from just about anywhere, WiFi, Zoom rooms and co-working spaces will have to be just about everywhere. Whatever changes this plague wreaks on our society, Stephen Mihm writes, history suggests the most important ones will take years to unfold. Telltale Charts Brands are increasingly not only debranding but blending, or blurring the line between their identities and the real world, writes Ben Schott.  GameStop is finally cashing in on its meme-stonk bonanza to finance a lasting turnaround, writes Tae Kim.  Further ReadingHow Maya Wiley would run New York City. — Howard Wolfson Tribune's board should jump on the chance to not be owned by the vulturous Alden Global hedge fund. — Brooke Sutherland New undersea cables between the U.S. and Singapore will bypass China and give Facebook and Google more control of data flow. — Alex Webb China is building a serious digital challenger to the dollar, and the U.S. is snoozing in response. — Niall Ferguson ICYMIJanet Yellen wants a global deal on corporate taxes. New Jersey will soon open up vaccines to all older than 16. Ships have been stuck off of Los Angeles all along. KickersScientists manipulate antimatter with a laser. (h/t Ellen Kominers) Area man finds 15,000 bees in his car at the grocery store. (h/t Alistair Lowe) Spectators deface graffiti art. (h/t Scott Kominers) AI wrote a new Nirvana song. Notes: Please send antimatter and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
⇉〖OpenLoad〗 2020 Superintelligence PelÃcula Completa En LÃnea released 2020. story: La vida de Carol Peters se trastorna cuando es selecci...
Sitaram Panchal died of cancer at 54 New Delhi: After Inder Kumar’s sudden death, Bollywood industry got another shock this mornin...
Post a Comment