Your Weekend Reading: The ‘R’ Word Is Popping Up Everywhere

The US posted bigger-than-expected job gains for June but a dip in participation, which means the tight labor market isn’t running out of steam and the Federal Reserve will stay on course with aggressive rate hikes tofight inflation.While President Joe Biden touted those  employment numbers,Republicans are assailing the White House over high inflation, as are a few Democrats. With Russia cutting natural gas flows to Europe, the broader debate is moving from inflation to recessionasset you care to look at has the “R word” looming large: from copper to oil to fixed income. Whatever shape a recession takes—if one happens—it’s going to hurt. For some, it already feels like it’s here, with many consumers increasingly squeezed. At the end of the day, according to John AuthersBloomberg Opinion, it’s the central banks that got it wrong. 

What you’ll want to read this weekend

Shinzo Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was assassinated on Friday, stunning one of the safest countries in the world. Abe was known for unprecedented monetary easing and regulatory reform—labeled “Abenomics.”

Remember Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter buyout? It’s dead. He said he’s terminating the agreement because the company allegedly made “misleading representations” over the number of spam bots on the service. But Musk does still have Tesla:Check out Bloomberg’s new ratings dashboard to find the right EV for you. Tesla deliveries in the three months to June amid a Covid-related shutdown at its Shanghai factory. The company has decided to fight rather than settle its first trial over a fatal accident involving one of its cars. Meantime, Volkswagen supercharged its battery push, and Geely is launching satellites to support driverless car travel.

Flooding in Sydney tens of thousands of Australians to evacuate their homes, while Italy declared a state of emergency over a devastating drought. As global warming-fueled weather events become more damaging, the European Central Bank is making the climate crisis a key priority. But Russia’s war on Ukraine is thwarting ambitious global climate goals and prompting countries like Germany to fire up coal plants. Biden, who had vowed to block new oil and gas permitting on US public lands and waters, is considering reopening the Arctic oil playbook.

Boris Johnson announced his intention to resign as UK prime minister, capping a dramatic and scandal-ridden three years in office. The candidates vying to replace him face a struggling economy—and ambitious Tory tax cuts that might drive up inflation. 

The meltdown in cryptocurrency markets deepened as major players contended with withdrawal freezes, trading halts, bailouts and, in the case of Three Arrows Capital, a liquidation order. If you’re an account holder at bankrupt crypto firm Voyager, you probably won’t get all your money back. The crypto rout, which erased $2 trillion in market value since last fall, has also disproportionately hurt Black and Hispanic investors. And the dollarsurged to its strongest level in more than two years with speculation it might soon reach parity with the euro, and shorting that currency has become a popular trade. A strong greenback makes it a great time for Americans to travel to Europe. With the extra buying power, perhaps a luxury hotel in Paris’ Marais? Or wine tasting in Kent, the “Garden of England?” But wherever you go this summer, good luck getting there

What you’ll need to know next week

• The latest US inflation reading is estimated to have risen to 8.8%.
• Biden visits the Middle East with his sights on higher oil production
• Wall Street begin reporting quarterly results.
• The UK reports economic data amid political upheaval.
• China to release its GDP with Covid-zero expected to erode growth.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg’s Big Take

In March, Xiang Guangda’s giant bet on a drop in nickel prices went spectacularly wrong. Four months later, the man dubbed the Big Shot has walked away with his multibillion-dollar mining and steelmaking empire intact. His miraculous escape was thanks in no small part to a controversial intervention. Others are still dealing with the aftermath.