Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Trump’s new nemesis

With Donald Trump running for president again, US Attorney General Merrick Garland turned to a former war crimes prosecutor to take on the role of special counsel in two sprawling criminal investigations of the Republican. One is tied to Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and any broader effort to keep him in power, which the Congressional panel investigating the insurrection has called an “attempted coup.” The other is related to Trump’s possession of highly classified files at his Florida home. The new special counsel, John L. “Jack” Smith, has served as chief prosecutor for a court in The Hague charged with investigating and adjudicating war crimes in Kosovo. A former acting US attorney, he is registered as an independent. “I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice,” Smith said in a statement. “The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch.” —David E. Rovella

Four trends are set to shape the world in the decades ahead: energy cost differentials, rising wages in China, nearshoring supply chains and remote work. For emerging countries with the right natural resources and institutions, that means an opportunity to accelerate up the income ladder. These are the nations that stand to benefit.

Elon Musk tweeted an upbeat message saying Twitter beat its all-time high in usage late Thursday—a day when even more employees joined the massive exodus from the company. And despite his optimism, there were signs the billionaire recognized he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Matt Navarra, a social media consultant and analyst, said it’s true more people are likely on Twitter right now—but it’s not necessarily a sign of sustainable growth. “The analogy people use is ‘rubbernecking,’” he said, “like with a car accident.”

Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos fame was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison Friday for defrauding investors in the $9 billion blood-testing startup that collapsed in scandal.

Elizabeth Holmes outside San Jose, California, federal court on Friday. She was previously convicted of engaging in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors in her company, Theranos. Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Sam Bankman-Fried loved living in the Bahamas. Shacked up in his luxury penthouse with nine FTX colleagues, he could wander Nassau without being hassled. And the Bahamas loved Bankman-Fried, the prestige of his crypto empire and the potential fortunes that it would bring. Now that beautiful relationship is getting some very hard stares.

A CFTC commissioner has urged crypto industry whistleblowers to come forward in the aftermath of FTX’s implosion, saying tipsters have previously received millions of dollars for their help.  

The disillusionment that follows bouts of crypto euphoria is known as crypto winter, Lionel Laurent writes in Bloomberg Opinion. And this one feels like the coldest yet: Every day seems to bring new revelations of bankrupt exchange FTX’s internal dumpster fire and its reach into all corners of the crypto ecosystem, making it look like a blend of Enron and the 2008 financial crash.

Welcome to the most expensive—and arguably most controversial—World Cup ever. The US made the cut, and most Americans can actually bet legally on games for the first time. The oddsmakers say however that one of the more winning bets will be against the US squad. 

Qatar has spent $300 billion getting ready for the World Cup. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg

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• FTX’s point of no return can be traced back to this tweet.
• Sweden says the Nord Stream pipeline was definitely blown up.
• US President Joe Biden may be forced to extend a student-loan freeze.
• Stephanomics: Long is the way out of the global inflation fight—and hard.
• A nation in the crosshairs of climate change wants to get rich on oil.
• Grindr’s biggest investors become billionaires thanks to a stock surge.
• US investors in limbo as Portugal weighs ending the “golden visa.”

Every minute all over the world, commercial airliners are pouring out greenhouse gases. While many consumers aren’t bothered, others would love to feel their flight wasn’t contributing to planetary catastrophe. Now there’s new technology aimed at cutting back on some of the emissions tied to air travel. These software platforms will also eliminate many of those delightful delays passengers regularly face. Sound too good to be true? Maybe. There could be consequences to this new tech that actually make matters a whole lot worse instead of better. 

A new software platform for planning flight routes takes into account weather, turbulence and traffic volume.  Photographer: Hand-out/Alaska Airlines

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The Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit is kicking off in New York on Dec. 7 with in-depth conversations on how companies can meet their ambitious ESG goals while driving business value. Register here.