This week we kick off with an exclusive peek inside the lab at the center of the Covid-origin debate, and our revamped
Covid Resilience Ranking reveals big changes as the world seeks to return to normal.
Money is a big theme as we take the temperature of markets and find warning signs, while we finish a whirlwind tour of obscene home prices with a look at an
odder market than most. We learn how billions are at stake in a diversity battle, review an alleged
snake-oil scheme and seek a fortune pillaged from the Philippines.
As a new country tops our
superyacht leaderboard, we see the
robot-boss future of capitalism and review the challenges piling up for Chinese communists. A millennial warns us not to obsess about money, and the founder of a cult beauty brand says it’s time to stop worrying about wrinkles.
As we slide toward Saturday, we get zapped by a Zombie, check out the best Bordeaux and chomp on a simple sandwich. And Happy Fourth of July, America! Liven your table up with these brilliant banquets. —Adrian Kennedy
Did the coronavirus emerge from the wild or leak from a lab? Danielle Anderson, the
last and only foreign scientist to work in the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s BSL-4 lab gave Bloomberg an insider’s perspective. She says half-truths and distorted information have obscured an accurate portrayal of a top-class facility with strict and extensive protocols to contain pathogens. “What people are saying is just not how it is.”
The Chinese Communist Party celebrated 100 years this week and comrade-in-chief Xi Jinping made clear it’ll stay in charge. He pledged to build the “Chinese dream,” warned foreign foes not to break upon the “steel Great Wall” and committed to unification with Taiwan. But growing apathy among China’s youth and the
crackdown on Hong Kong show the party’s biggest challenges come from within. “It’s a hard question:
Can you reform yourself?” asked one Chinese observer.
Pre-pandemic, the Grenon family and their Genesis II Church allegedly earned $30,000 a month selling
toxic chlorine dioxide as a miracle cure. That tripled nearly overnight when Covid-19 hit, thanks in part to absurd comments from Donald Trump, until U.S. and Colombian authorities stopped the scheme under Operation Quack Hack. Bloomberg Businessweek took a deep dive into the bizarre saga, and found Genesis II still boasts active chapters in over a dozen countries.
Handling the Covid Era
A divide between the rich and poor has become increasingly apparent on Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking
Our Covid Resilience Ranking is back, with new metrics tracking progress in opening up economies and borders to more travel and commerce. The U.S. leaps to No. 1, ahead of New Zealand, while France and Spain are in the top 10 as they welcome vaccinated visitors. Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan slide on the list due to strict border controls. See our methodology here.
Robots aren’t just replacing workers, they’re firing them. Neddra Lira lost her Amazon Flex delivery job after an algorithm decided she was underperforming, just a day after assessing her as “great.” Turns out, Amazon is at the
forefront of a trend to use machines to manage human resources. “It just wasn’t fair,” said the mother of three. “I nearly lost my house.”
Delving once again into the bubbly world of home prices, we looked at markets from Canada to China and found the same thing: Would-be buyers are making wild offers for homes they’ve never even seen to avoid missing out. One example? Bidding wars for the bungalows of Boise (above), where prices jumped 42% in the past year.
And check out a red-hot market that’s defying more odds than most, including a declining population, low wage growth and the constant threat of
invasion from China.
Even if you own your own home, you may not feel wealthy, writes Erin Lowry, author of “Broke Millennial,” who has advice on how to break out of the belief that
we’ll be satisfied if we just have a bit more. Focus on the baseline income you need for the life you want, stop comparing yourself to others, and put money in insurance and rainy-day funds to reduce stress.
But if you do become rich, you may like to know that Greece topped the
Bloomberg superyacht leaderboard for the first time ever, with at least 194 giant vessels offshore as billionaires compare the size of their boats.
What’s behind all this wealth? Global IPOs raised a record $350 billion in the first half of 2021,
enriching entrepreneurs and bankers alike. One bad sign: Almost 100 unprofitable U.S. firms from GameStop to AMC held secondary sales since the end of March —
almost twice as many by profitable ones. And KKR is taking a breather after a $60 billion buyout binge. “We have to slow down a little bit to
protect the human element from crashing,” says dealmaker Philipp Freise.
Vinnie “the Microwave” Johnson went from being a key basketball player for the Detroit Pistons to owning one of America’s biggest Black-owned auto suppliers. But he’s battling to
keep his firm’s official “minority” status, which helps it win contracts with big automakers, because of a dispute over a largely White executive team at the Black-led company.
When Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, fled in 1986, they stuffed a U.S. Air Force plane with cash, jewels and gold bullion,
part of a haul of up to $10 billion siphoned from one of Asia’s poorest countries. We talked to the victims of his abuses as the revival of the Marcos dynasty adds political significance to the quest for restitution.
Cristina Fogazzi’s sarcastic blog about beauty challenged the idea that women should be young, thin and perfect. The 47-year-old has since built a 50 million-euro beauty brand and is among a new breed of fashion mogul who says woman want realism. “There is no cream able to make stretch marks disappear. Same thing for wrinkles, I am afraid,” she says. “Believe me, whoever promises otherwise is talking nonsense.”
What better drink for an apocalyptic age than the Zombie. Jeff “Beachbum” Berry says he has the
original 1934 recipe for this fabled blend of three rums and sundry other flavors. He’s now selling a starter bottle for home bartenders. But line your stomach first with a recipe from Farmer Lee Jones for a simple tomato sandwich.
As America gears up for its Independence Day, we look at the delicious ways in which
immigrant communities are livening up the traditional menu of hot dogs and hamburgers. And wine critic Elin McCoy tasted more than 350 bottles, half-bottles and 100-milliliter tubes of 2020 Bordeaux to arrive at 19 favorites from the third in a trilogy of good years. “
2020 is the grand finale, the fireworks,” says Veronique Sanders of Haut-Bailly.
It’s time to Power On. A new weekly newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman will deliver Apple scoops, consumer tech news, product reviews and the occasional basketball take. Sign up to get Power On in your inbox on Sundays.
