| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a "Friends" reunion of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Today's Agenda Outdated. Photographer: Bettmann/Bettmann/Getty Images That '70s No-ShowFor decades America has been dominated by an '80s-nostalgia-industrial complex, just as Dwight D. Eisenhower prophesied. Now nostalgia for the '90s is also a thing, what with the "Friends" reunion and all. The one decade nobody seems to want revived is the '70s. In fact, the hot new 2020s fad is worrying that a snoring Fed and a free-spending President Joe Biden will bring back the hyperinflation and double-digit interest rates of the 1970s, apparently history's worst decade. But just like "Friends" wasn't that good (fight me!), the '70s weren't that bad. And the people running the economy learned some hard lessons in that decade, lessons many of us have apparently forgotten, writes Ramesh Ponnuru. Now they know price controls won't kill inflation dead, but merciless Fed rate hikes will. Markets sure seem unbothered about inflation, John Authers notes. Maybe it's just the fact that summer is almost here. Or maybe it's because there's no real evidence of it in the data. The aggressive facial hair and bell-bottoms of the '70s may come back, but Whip Inflation Now buttons probably won't. Back to the Lab Theory2021 is the year when conspiracy theories go mainstream. First the government admitted UFOs are real. Now Biden has given credence to the idea Covid escaped from a Chinese lab. Normies dismissed this when his predecessor suggested it, possibly because it just seemed to be another in a years-long string of paranoid, xenophobic rants. But the idea might not be so wacky; terrifying diseases do tend to evolve legs and walk away from labs with unnerving frequency, writes Stephen Mihm. China, which denies it oopsy-daisied Covid into the world, could possibly put the controversy to rest by releasing lab data, writes Eli Lake. If it keeps refusing to do so, then at some point we have to wonder what it's hiding. Biden should keep pressing. The truth is out there ('90s show). The Greening of Corporate AmericaYou know the times they are a-changing ('60s song) when Ford shares jump because it's promising electric vehicles and Exxon shares jump because it has some climate activists on its board. But here we are. Ford, of the gas-guzzling Fords, yesterday announced aggressive plans to electrify some of its thirstiest models, and investors applauded, notes Chris Bryant. That should encourage more such behavior. If Ford can deliver, it can revive its somnambulant stock price. And also, you know, help keep our grandchildren from an apocalyptic future. A caveat: Anjani Trivedi warns investors could be disappointed if carmakers don't offer realistic details about how much electrification will cost and how achievable it really is. Investors were thrilled, and Exxon's CEO was probably really mad, about that company's loss to a tiny hedge fund in a proxy fight yesterday — though Matt Levine notes the tiny hedge fund had massive allies. Its victory is a warning to CEOs everywhere that shareholders can fire them if they don't do what they want. Increasingly, they want them to do green stuff. Telltale Charts Defined-benefit pension funds are nearly out of a deep hole, and they're wisely locking in gains, writes Brian Chappatta.  Diamond hands, to the moon, et cetera, but GameStop's comeback story has a Best Buy problem, writes Tae Kim.  Further ReadingA bill meant to spur innovation actually spurs a lot of waste and bureaucracy. — Bloomberg's editorial board SPACs need more regulation to protect investors and get the best deals to market. — Chamath Palihapitiya Merrick Garland's fight to protect Bill Barr is actually a refreshing sign of normality. — Noah Feldman A labor shortage will make traditional retirement spots such as Florida more expensive and less appealing. — Conor Sen We haven't solved the vaccine blood-clotting problem just yet. — Sam Fazeli Biden's new crypto-reporting rule won't boost tax revenue from crypto. Better taxpayer communication will. — Alexis Leondis ICYMIJamie Dimon is shockingly not a fan of Biden's tax plan. Cathie Wood still believes. Seaweed can save us. Kominers's Conundrums HintLove wordplay and/or chemistry? Then don't forget to try out this week's Conundrum. If you're having trouble figuring out which reaction mechanism to use where, here's a few to get you started:
"BRED + PLANETARIUM = ?" uses the mechanism of "YEATS + STEWARD = YARD"
"SOIL + DUMB = ?" uses the mechanism of "AIMS + RANT = AIRMAN"
"BAD + LANCE = ?" uses the mechanism of "ONE + STAG = ONSTAGE" — Scott Duke Kominers KickersHot new ocean menace: sea snot. (h/t Scott Kominers) Galapagos tortoise thought extinct for 100 years is not. Birders are big bullies. Javier Báez bullied the entire Pittsburgh Pirates. Here's the New York Times summer reading list.  Notes: Please send reading lists and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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