Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - ‘Crime against democracy’

The Jan. 6 committee, in a final session announcing the release of its report on the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, recommended Donald Trump be subject to federal prosecution for his actions both before and on that day—in what the panel has called the first attempted coup in America’s 246-year-history. The referral to the US Department of Justice, also a first, is the culmination of a 17-month investigation that was marked by a series of dramatic hearings in which the bipartisan committee laid out its findings in sometimes excruciating detail. The panel voted unanimously on Monday to refer Trump for prosecution on multiple offenses, including insurrection, conviction of which would disqualify the Republican from holding public office. The committee’s referral isn’t binding on the Justice Department, though federal prosecutors have spent much of the past two years investigating Trump and a special counsel now oversees at least two criminal probes of his conduct. That said, the committee’s investigation has at times intersected with that of the DOJ, and the historic nature of the panel’s call to prosecute a former president is unlikely to go unnoticed. Describing the sum of the allegations sketched out in the committee’s findings as a “crime against democracy” and referring to the hundreds of Trump followers already charged and convicted, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin said the US isn’t a country where “foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass.” —David E. Rovella and Natasha Solo-Lyons

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried had indicated he was prepared to be extradited to the US from the Bahamas as soon as Monday, but apparently he caught his lawyer off guard.  

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX, is escorted out of Magistrate’s Court in Nassau, Bahamas, on Dec. 19  Photographer: Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg

The highest interest rates in 15 years are delaying home dreams, putting business plans on ice and forcing many Americans to agree to loan terms that would have been unimaginable just nine months ago. Most of all, the surge in borrowing costs is punishing the cash-poor. And it may get worse as the Federal Reserve carries on with its anti-inflation campaign.

US stocks dropped for a fourth session, with the S&P 500 closing at its lowest level in more than a month, dragged by declines in big-tech firms. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slid 1.4%. Here’s your markets wrap.

US equities are set to end their worst year since the global financial crisis, and—according to Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson—corporate profits may meet the same fate in the new year. An earnings recession “by itself could be similar to what transpired in 2008/2009,” he wrote in a note. That could spark a new stock-market low that’s “much worse than what most investors are expecting.”

Twitter users voted for Elon Musk to step down from his role as head of the social platform in a poll the billionaire entrepreneur said he would respect. If true, that could potentially leave the company without any senior leadership. About 58% of the 17.5 million votes cast were in favor of Musk (who has fired half the company and made a series of very public missteps) stepping back from his leadership role. If Musk heeds the results, it would mark the end of 53 chaotic days at the helm.

Elon Musk. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Employers are cutting salaries in job listings to keep pay down. As more companies disclose pay ranges, especially in places like New York City and Colorado where it’s now required by law, what’s listed as the maximum salary may be closer to the middle. 

Rented housing in London has become more affordable since the first years of the pandemic, thanks in part to remote working and how it has enabled more tenants to live farther from the office. The portion of gross income Londoners spend on rent declined to 39.8% last year from as much as 50.3% in 2017. 

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• Tips for investing in 2023 after lessons from a rough year.
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• Tech’s bust delivers bruising blow to a hollowed-out San Francisco.
• NYC subway riders may face novel service cuts in Covid strategy-shift.

Despite dramatically negative changes in the US housing market, the spending habits of the very rich have stayed remarkably consistent. The top 10 most expensive residential sales this year were—just like last year—spread among New York and the Hamptons, Los Angeles and South Florida. Overall, 2022 was the second-highest year for sales of properties priced at $50 million and higher in history. (The best year ever was 2021.) Last year’s top 10 totaled $1.4 billion. This year’s total is a respectable $1.1 billion, about on par with 2019.

Billionaire’s Row in New York City. The most expensive residential sales this year were spread among New York and the Hamptons, Los Angeles and South Florida. Photographer: Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket

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