Big Take

Silicon Valley Elites Want to Block the Sun. Not Everyone’s On Board

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It sounds like science fiction, but it’s real: Venture capitalists, startup founders, and Silicon Valley elites are pouring money into a controversi...

The US Pledged to Contain China’s Tech Ambitions. It’s Not Working

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China is making steady progress in its quest to dominate key industries of the future, despite years of US tariffs, export controls and sanctions.  O...

Wall Street Is Betting Big on a Trump Win

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the US presidential election just over a week away, most major polls, including the latest Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll, show Vice President Ha...

So Your Business Went Viral. Now What?

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For a small business, going viral might sound like a good thing. But when a TikTok video turns a shop into an overnight success, that attention can co...

To Save the Amazon, Brazil Is Betting You Can’t Just Save the Trees

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Decades-long efforts to save Brazil’s Amazon have hit a brutal reality. Impoverished local communities often turn to agribusiness and other industri...

It’s Close. Very Close.

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg News and Morning Consult have spent the past year polling voters in the seven key swing states that could decide the election: Arizona, Geor...

How China’s BYD Became King of the Affordable EV

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Started as a battery company in the 1990s in Shenzhen, BYD is now one of the best-selling EV brands in the world. Once mocked by Elon Musk, the compan...

The Big (Climate) Short

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, investors of all kinds bet big on the future of the so-called Green Economy. But now, some hedge funds are shorting green stocks — ...

What Happens When Your School Thinks AI Helped You Cheat

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The education system has an AI problem. As students have started using tools like ChatGPT to do their homework, educators have deployed their own AI t...

How Courts Are Already Shaping the 2024 US Election

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2023, more than 165 lawsuits have been filed challenging nearly every dimension of this year's presidential election. Across 37 states, includin...

Bloomberg’s Trump Interview: Inside His Economic Vision for a Second Term

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the US presidential election less than a month away, and the economy top of mind for many voters, former President Donald Trump sat down for an i...

How an Infamous Vietnamese Businesswoman Engineered a $12 Billion Fraud

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was convicted in April of orchestrating a $12.3 billion fraud. She was sentenced to death by lethal inject...

Insurers Are Struggling to Keep Up With Disasters Like Helene and Milton

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In recent weeks, two monster storms have pummeled the US. Hurricanes Helene and Milton left more than 200 dead — and early estimates suggest the rec...

How Uber and Lyft Used ‘Lockouts’ to Deny NYC Drivers Millions

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Uber and Lyft promised to give drivers independence and the flexibility to work whenever they wanted. But this summer in New York City, these ride sha...

When Will We Know Who the Next President Is?

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Will we know the result of the 2024 US Presidential election on election night? Or will the new normal look like 2020, when Americans had to wait days...

Could Contaminated Water Dull Perrier’s Sparkle?

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Perrier, the popular French bottled water brand, has long been a symbol of luxury. But it’s now under scrutiny after regulators found trace amounts ...

Inside the Succession Drama at a Hong Kong Property Dynasty

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Adrian Cheng, the third-generation scion of property dynasty New World Development, seemed poised to take over his family’s $20 billion empire. But ...

One Year Later, a Region in Conflict

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel and Israel responded by declaring war. One year later, that war rages on, conflict has spread through the re...

Inside the Deal That Held Off the Dock Workers Strike

05 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shipping ports all along the East Coast and Gulf Coast shut down earlier this week, as the 47,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Associ...

US Tech Is Helping Guide Russian Missiles Into Ukraine

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After a Russian missile hit the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, Ukrainian investigators found the navigation system had components made by four Western c...

Vance and Walz’s New Debate Tactic: Civility

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2024 US election cycle, Tim Walz and JD Vance had two objectives: Keep the momentum going for Ka...

The Escalating Conflict in the Middle East

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Iran attacked Israel for the second time in five months Tuesday, with a volley of missiles coming hours after Israel launched a ground incursion into ...

The Investment Strategy Behind Harvard’s Record Endowment — and How It Fell Apart

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard University’s endowment fund is larger than the endowment of any other university on the planet. That’s, in part, because of a pioneering i...

China’s Economic Crackdowns Are Crushing the Dreams of a Generation

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, China’s central bank announced a stimulus package designed to revive the economy, cutting an interest rate and reducing the amount of...

Harris Gains Edge Over Trump on Economy in New Swing State Poll

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the past year, Bloomberg News and Morning Consult have been polling voters in swing states. Former President Donald Trump has had a consistent lea...

Private Equity, But for Dying Universities

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Skyrocketing tuition costs, COVID and fewer high school graduates have been straining the survival of smaller American colleges, leading many to shut ...

Could the Chinese Yuan Ever Replace the US Dollar?

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Talk of de-dollarization has been gaining momentum among China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa in the wake of significant US led sanctions on ...

The Pager Attack Was a Deadly Warning About Supply Chains

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fighting has escalated in the Middle East after thousands of pagers and walkie talkies held by Hezbollah operatives exploded across Lebanon last week....

The Genius Minds Behind the World’s Best Poker Bots

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Computers have outplayed humans in chess and Go for decades. But poker was long considered unhackable. The game requires not just crunching numbers, b...

Understanding Kamala Harris’ Plan for the Economy

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since Vice President Kamala Harris took over the Democratic presidential ticket, she’s faced criticism from voters who say they don’t know what sh...

The Fed Cut Interest Rates. Now What?

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Reserve announced a highly anticipated rate cut of half a percentage point today — larger than many watchers anticipated. Which industri...

The Fed Finally Seems Ready to Pivot

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in over four years. And there’s debate over how big the cut will...

California’s Controversial AI Bill Could Upend the Industry

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A controversial AI safety bill was just passed by California’s legislature. It’s been spurned by OpenAI and Nancy Pelosi, championed by Elon Musk ...

Buttigieg on Fixing America’s Travel Woes

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The year started with the door of an airplane falling off mid-flight. Frustrations with air travel have mounted since then. It’s up to Pete Buttigie...

Harris Trolled Trump. He Took the Bait.

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a wide-ranging debate on Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly put former President Donald Trump on the defensive. Harris leaned i...

Apple’s Strategy to Rule the World

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Apple is at a turning point. It ascended from a scrappy tech underdog to the most valuable company in the world through selling devices like iPhones,...

Janet Yellen’s Predictions for the US Economy

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s podcast, host David Gura speaks to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about everything from the health of the economy to negotiating with...

Everything Is Content Now. Even Your Layoff

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Eleven million people have been let go in the US so far this year. And the job market they’re entering isn’t easy: the latest jobs report showed t...

Trump Is Behind Harris on Fundraising. Will it Matter?

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With two months until election day, Kamala Harris’ campaign is outpacing Donald Trump's on fundraising. But this late into the race, how much does m...

The Billionaire Brothers Capitalizing on the NFL, Soccer, and Taylor Swift

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Billionaire brothers Clark and Dan Hunt, co-owners of the Kansas City Chiefs, aren’t resting on their laurels after back-to-back Super Bowl victorie...

Seeking Asylum in the US? Good Luck.

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US asylum process is meant to offer a fair shot at safe haven. But new reporting from Bloomberg uncovers how the difference between those who are ...

Elon, Inc.: Grok-Generated Chaos, Cybertruck In Strange Places

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

X users might have noticed a new kind of artificial intelligence-generated image proliferating: strange visions of Elon Musk next to Disney characters...

A Flying Taxi Ride Into the Future of Transportation

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The taxis of the future are already here. And they’re airborne. After years of research and development and billions in investment, autonomous flyin...

What NASA’s Reliance on SpaceX Means for Boeing

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In June, two NASA astronauts flew to the International Space Station on a Boeing spacecraft for a week-long test mission. But problems with the machin...

The Latest Mpox Emergency Was Entirely Avoidable

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The World Health Organization declared the last mpox global emergency over in May 2023. And just over a year later, here we are again. Since the start...

Humans and AI Bots Blur in the World's Call Center Capital

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Call centers in the Philippines, the world’s second-biggest outsourcing center after India, are embracing artificial intelligence - and it’s radic...

Powell Says Rates Are Coming Down: How Low Will They Go?

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The time has finally come for a rate cut. That was the takeaway of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks in Jackson Hole on Friday when he let the world k...

Harris and Trump Make Their Case to Black Voters

24 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, the Democratic Party has counted on support from Black voters. But former President Donald Trump has tried to leverage voter dissatisfact...

Inside Southeast Asia’s Most Notorious Crime Hub

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Chinese businessman persuaded officials to establish a special economic zone in a remote part of Laos. The gamblers arrived first. Then came the dru...

Has Burning Man Burned Out?

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in more than a decade, Burning Man has not sold out.  The gathering prides itself on its counter-cultural roots, and draws tens of...

80% of What We Buy Goes Through Ports. They’re Changing, Fast

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ports often make the news when they break: like the bridge collapse that shut down Baltimore's port earlier this year. But every day, ports in cities ...

What Would It Take to Rebuild Gaza?

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After ten months of fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israel and Hamas could be close to a cease-fire deal. As of Monday afternoon, US Secretary of State An...

ETFs, Explained

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is nearly $13 trillion invested in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. ETFs that mirror the S&P 500. ETFs for gold. ETFs for bitcoin. There’s ...

The US Election Could Hinge on Seven State Economies

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Seven key states will play an outsized role in determining the outcome of the 2024 US election. A new analysis from Bloomberg found that as a group th...

Goodbye Sicily, Hello Sarasota. The Post-Pandemic Travel Boom Is Over

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

That White Lotus-inspired trip to Sicily. The Instagram-perfect Joshua Tree glamping holiday. A party weekend in Miami. Ever since the first lockdown ...

After a Deadly Student Uprising, Bangladesh Starts Over, Again

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After weeks of protests and a brutal crackdown that led to several hundred deaths, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down...

Want Money From the Middle East? There Are New Strings Attached

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The sovereign wealth funds of the Persian Gulf used to be relatively easy places for US firms like Blackstone and Goldman Sachs to raise money. But re...

Why Is Everybody Still Getting Sick All The Time?

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you had the flu recently? Or RSV? Or just... some bug that you can’t quite shake? If so, you’re not alone. Bloomberg’s data team recently d...

Are We in a Recession? The Sahm Rule Says Yes. Its Creator Says Not So Fast

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s Big Take podcast, economist Claudia Sahm explains the Sahm rule: how she came up with the idea, whether or not we’re in a recession, an...

Welcome to Ozempictown, USA (No, It’s Not Hollywood)

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when new weight-loss drugs like Ozempic transform a community? Bloomberg healthcare reporter Madison Muller went to Bowling Green, Kentuc...

$200 Billion, Four Heirs And One Mighty Empire

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gautam Adani, the controversial Indian billionaire, gathered his two sons and two nephews for a family lunch one day and asked them a bombshell questi...

What’s Behind the Global Market Meltdown

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 had its worst day in nearly two years and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed over 1,000 points. Shares on Japan’s...

The Threat of AI-Made Bioweapons

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In April of 2023, a man carrying a small, black box walked into one of the nation’s most secure buildings, right next to the White House. In the box...

Ghost Jobs Are Haunting the Labor Market

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve applied to a job and never heard back, you may have fallen prey to a ghost job — an online listing for a role that never actually existe...

How Companies Gamed the H-1B Visa Lottery

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Each year in April, the US conducts a lottery that shapes the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. And each year, only around 85,000 are granted ...

Japan’s Small Businesses Have a Problem. They Don’t Know How to Raise Prices

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Costs are rising in Japan and small businesses risk being squeezed into oblivion if they don’t figure out how to raise their prices. After decades o...

Behind Trump's Pledge to Make America the "Crypto Capital"

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This past weekend, Donald Trump became the first American president to address a crypto conference, telling an audience in Nashville that “if Bitcoi...

Wall Street’s Great Rotation

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For most of this year, US markets were hitting fresh highs and investors were giddy about the potential of AI to make the world’s biggest tech compa...

On US Trip, Netanyahu Covers His Bases

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to DC was set to be high-stakes, as he arranged to meet with President Biden and former President T...

Why You’ll Want to Know How Your Nurse Practitioner Was Trained

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Americans are more and more likely to get health care not from doctors, but from nurse practitioners. It’s one of the fastest-growing professions in...

Are Cheaper Ozempic Knockoffs Safe?

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cheaper, knockoff versions of Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound are flooding the market, often promoted by telehealth companies in online ads and by influe...

Roblox: The Gaming Platform With a Predator Problem

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With tens of millions of users under the age of 13, Roblox has become the biggest online gaming playground for kids. The company says its combination ...

Biden Stepped Down. Will Democratic Donors Step Up?

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Biden’s decision not to run for reelection leaves the Democratic nominee that replaces him with an unprecedented challenge: running a successful...

K-Pop’s Plan for Global Dominance? Remove the K

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is K-pop even K-pop without the K? A Bloomberg analysis of song lyrics shows that for the first time, almost half of K-pop songs released this year ha...

Silicon Valley’s Shift to the Right

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s pick of Senator JD Vance as his running mate has many in Silicon Valley rejoicing — they see the fo...

Why This Nobel Winner Faces Life In Prison In Bangladesh

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus pioneered micro loans as a tool to fight poverty. Now prosecutors in Bangladesh have linked him and...

Donald Trump Sits Down With Bloomberg Businessweek

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination at the party’s convention this week, just two days after an attempted assassination...

The Trump Shooting Changes Everything About 2024

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Saturday evening, former President Donald Trump was injured in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Even in a country ...

Pulling Off a Rare Olympic Feat in Paris: Turning a Profit

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since the first Olympics were held over a century ago, the Games have been known for dazzling sporting feats…and dazzlingly expensive opening c...

Biden’s Fight to Get Back in the Game

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The fallout from President Joe Biden’s debate performance is continuing to ripple through Washington, as prominent Democrats, donors, and world lead...

Scrappy Drone Startups Are Transforming Ukraine’s Frontlines

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A growing number of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, engineers and tech workers are joining the war effort against Russia, making and delivering a key tool: d...

The Chinese Coffee Chain Beating Starbucks

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s Luckin Coffee is the nation’s top coffee retailer, overtaking even Starbucks. That would be notable itself, but less than 4 years ago the ...

The Lesson From French and British Elections: Incumbents Beware

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

French voters shocked the world on Sunday by rejecting Marine Le Pen’s efforts to see her far-right National Rally party take control of France’s ...

A Conversation With Zelenskiy: Trump, Biden and What’s at Stake for Ukraine

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the US presidential election on the horizon and no end in sight to the Russia-Ukraine war, Bloomberg’s Annmarie Hordern sits down with Ukraine ...

Will Kamala Harris Replace President Biden?

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the fallout from Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate, a leading name has emerged as the president’s natural replacement: Vice ...

How Hackers Held the Car Industry Hostage

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The car sales industry in North America ground to a halt in mid-June after sophisticated cybercriminals took down CDK Global, the software provider wi...

Why China’s Investment Bankers Are Breaking Up With Capitalism

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One after another, bankers at China International Capital Corporation — China’s premier investment bank – are pledging loyalty to th...

Forget Sleep. Who’s Ready to Trade All Night?

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is a growing push from retail traders, international investors, and a few big hedge funds to do something once unthinkable: keep stock markets o...

Democratic Panic Follows the First 2024 Presidential Debate

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From big questions about Biden’s performance that have sent Democrats into panic over whether he should be on the ticket to Trump’s misleading sta...

The ‘Upflation’ Formula: Halve the Ingredients, Double the Price

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve probably felt the pain of inflation. And you’ve also probably heard about shrinkflation — when companies respond to inflation by keeping ...

Hong Kong: Five Years After Anti-China Protests

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Four years after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city, Hong Kong continues to serve as an important financial hub connecting mainland C...

Inside Billionaire Bernard Arnault’s Business Playbook

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

LVMH has a sprawling portfolio of brands synonymous with luxury: Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Bulgari, Celine, Tiffany & Co., Hennessy an...

AI’s Insatiable Needs Wreak Havoc on Power Systems

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AI data centers are huge energy black holes, consuming as much energy as 30,000 homes – and their rapid growth is straining global grids. The number...

Wall Street by Day, Waterdog by Night: The Double Life of a Professional Lacrosse Player

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What do Robert Kraft, Kevin Durant and Joe Tsai – owner of the Brooklyn Nets – all have in common? They’ve decided to go big on a new profession...

The US Housing Affordability Crisis, Explained

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The long tail of the Great Recession and the aftermath of the pandemic have resulted in a major housing affordability crisis in the US — and it’s ...

Inside the Hedge Fund Boot Camps Creating Star Traders

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the $4.3 trillion hedge fund industry has boomed and competition for talent has intensified, firms are turning to a new strategy to get ahead: in-h...

The Big Takeaways From Europe’s Far-Right Shift

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

France’s President Emmanuel Macron shocked the world and sent tremors through global stock markets last week with his decision to call a snap electi...

The Dirty, Deadly Price We Pay for Clean Cars

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Indonesia’s nickel business is booming. The metal is a key component in electric car batteries, but its success has a dark side: the country’s nic...

Why Is Everybody Getting Sick All The Time?

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you had the flu recently? Or RSV? Or just … some bug that you can’t quite shake? If so – you’re not alone. Bloomberg’s data team recent...

Gold Bars, a Secret Recording and a Senate Seat Up for Grabs

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

US politicians just can’t seem to stay out of court. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is standing trial for charges that sound like a TV crime drama:...