Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - ‘Economic coercion’

Group of Seven nations are looking to send a signal to China this month by announcing a joint effort to counter “economic coercion.” While member states want to better coordinate their responses to Beijing’s economic practices, signing off on tangible measures is proving more complicated. Officials are said to be wrangling over how tough to be in their messaging, particularly on specific tools that could be deployed. The US has advocated for other G-7 nations to take a stronger position when leaders meet next week in Hiroshima, but European countries would prefer to focus on coordination and general warnings. The debate reflects the dilemma facing the US, Europe and China’s neighbors like Japan on how to deal with Beijing’s growing clout—especially when their supply chains remain so interlinked with the world’s second largest economy. —David E. Rovella

The most urgent question in the Washington showdown over the federal debt limit is one the US Treasury refuses to answer: what happens if it runs out of cash? While lawmakers and administrations past have come close to failing to address the debt limit in time—hours away in the 2011 instance—they’ve always reached a deal before the Treasury’s cash balance became too low to make all federal payments coming due. This time, some observers say, could be different.

BlackRock is shaking up its $300 billion alternatives business as the firm seeks to build more focused teams for private credit and direct equity strategies. Jim Keenan, who led global credit, will now focus exclusively on private credit, according to a memo to employees Thursday. Leveraged finance, high-yield and more liquid credit strategies will sit alongside traditional fixed-income strategies and be overseen by Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income.

Jim Keenan Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

Higher mortgage rates are another potential risk facing the economy if the US defaults on its debt. Mortgage rates could soar to 8.4% if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, pushing the mortgage payment on a typical home 22% higher and cooling property sales.

Elon Musk said he will step down from the helm of Twitter and transition to executive chair and chief technology officer of the social media company. The billionaire owner said a new female chief executive officer, whom he didn’t name, will start in about six weeks.

Ontario’s securities watchdog suspended the registration of Emerge Canada, an investment firm known for selling Toronto-listed versions of Cathie Wood’s popular exchange-traded funds. The Ontario Securities Commission said the firm has failed to comply with its capital requirements since at least September and ordered it to wind down, or find another company to take over its activities.

Cathie Wood Photographer: Hugo Amaral/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Lyft is officially discontinuing shared rides, the latest change the ride-hailing company’s new chief executive is making in a bid to revamp the platform to compete with Uber. “The problem with shared trips is that they take people out of their way,” David Risher said in an interview Thursday. “At some point you have to pay attention to what your customers want.”

Credit card rewards are presented as a perk for healthy financial behavior, Erin Lowry writes in Bloomberg Opinion. You can even transcend to the level of a travel hacker by learning how to manipulate the system to pay for first class flights or stays at luxury hotels. However, Lowry writes, we all know financial institutions are not going to offer a product long-term that is a loss generator.

• Turkey’s markets rally as candidate withdraws days before vote.
• Europe’s drought-riven future is here, decades earlier than expected.
• Ken Griffin’s hand-picked math prodigy runs a market-making empire.
• Jamie Dimon says US needs to “finish” the bank crisis.
• The plot to steal the other secret inside a can of Coca-Cola.
• NYC, Chicago clash with White House as migrant surge hits finances.
• The $105,000 Lotus Emira looks like a supercar—for half the price.

Johnson’s baby powder has long been the healthcare giant’s iconic product. But in recent years, it’s triggered an uproar. Tens of thousands of lawsuits were filed against Johnson & Johnson alleging the talc-based version was tainted with cancer-causing asbestos. Plaintiffs contend internal documents suggest the company knew of its health risks for decades. The company denies that the product, which it says it’s discontinuing this year, contained asbestos or causes cancer, and has pointed to its many legal victories and case dismissals. On this episode of Bloomberg Investigates, we show how the seeds of the controversy were planted decades ago. And in doing so, explore how Johnson & Johnson was among a group of companies and agencies that funded controversial experiments performed on mostly Black inmates that, among other things, compared the effects of talc and asbestos on humans.

Johnson & Johnson has proposed an $8.9 billion settlement of claims related to its talc-based baby powder product. Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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