Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - China’s man to watch

Saudi Arabia is dangling economic investment in the sanctions-stricken economy of Iran, its longtime regional rival. There is however one string attached: Tehran must not encourage regional escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. Ever since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, Riyadh has proposed that the Islamic Republic restrain its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. It’s unclear how seriously Iran has taken these overtures, but the conciliatory tone signals a step forward for two countries which have long vied for geopolitical power in the Middle East. Alongside Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s outreach, Saudi Arabia has also been working with Arab allies and the US to stop Iran from “weaponizing” the conflict.

Saudi Arabia has been urging Iran to restrain its proxies in countries across the region in a bid to avoid escalation of the Israel-Gaza war.

The two-pronged approach has given a rare view into Saudi Arabia’s strategy following this year’s restoration of diplomatic ties. The specter of a regional conflict prompted Riyadh to go out of its way to enlist Iran as a co-sponsor of the communique issued at the end of the recent Islamic-Arab summit. The document condemned Israel, which Gaza health officials say has killed more than 15,000 Palestinians during six weeks of war. The United Nations has called Israel’s destruction of Gaza, its response to the Hamas attack in which it killed 1,200 Israelis, a “humanitarian catastrophe.” A six-day truce negotiated by Qatar is set to expire tonight, but negotiators are hoping to extend it. —Margaret Sutherlin

Xi Jinping spent his first decade as Chinese leader accumulating power. Now that he’s installed a trusted loyalist as premier—Li Qiang—he is delegating more. State media revealed Li is overseeing the Central Financial Commission created in March—surprising analysts who expected Xi to take the job. In September, Li became the first Chinese premier to represent his nation at a Group of 20 leaders’ summit, as Xi skipped the meeting amid a geopolitical rift with host India. Li is beginning to look like China’s man to watch.

Xi Jinping (left) and Li Qiang (right) at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022 Photographer: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

The rally that’s driving global bonds to their best month since 2008 gained further traction, with Treasuries climbing on bets the US Federal Reserve will be able to start cutting rates in the first half of 2024—though Fed officials have signaled that cuts aren’t coming so soon. Meanwhile, gross domestic product rose at the fastest pace in almost two years while consumer spending advanced at a less-robust rate. The Fed’s preferred inflation metric was also revised lower, signaling rate hikes are working. Here’s your markets wrap. 

General Motors announced its biggest-ever stock buyback plan—$10 billion in total—sending shares soaring Wednesday. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra promised better days ahead for the automaker in response to critics of its unsteady push into electric vehicles (not to mention robotaxis) and self-driving cars. But while revenue is rising this year, that growth is coming from GM’s gasoline-burning offerings. EV sales have been minimal.

Mary Barra  Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

Federal prosecutors in New York filed a superseding indictment against a man they say worked with an Indian government employee to plot the assassination of a US citizen active in the Sikh separatist movement. The charges are likely to further inflame tensions between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over alleged attempts to kill leading advocates for Sikh independence. In September, Canada publicly accused Indian government officials of involvement in the murder of a Sikh activist there—something India continues to deny. 

SoFi Technologies, the fast growing one-stop shop for financial-services products, is exiting crypto even with token prices surging because of increased scrutiny by banking regulators. The San Francisco-based company told crypto customers Wednesday they will need to liquidate their accounts in coming weeks, or move to crypto exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com.   

Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, is breaking into the upper echelons of US sports team ownership with her planned purchase from Mark Cuban of a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Here are the top 10 richest team owners in America. 

Training the next generation of luxury artisans is a key focus for Tiffany and French parent company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Nowhere is that more apparent than in a Manhattan jewelry studio where future Tiffany artisans are part of an ambitious new apprenticeship program. If the new trainees master their craft over a two-year period, they’ll have the opportunity to remain at Tiffany.

Jewelers at Tiffany’s Jewelry Design and Innovation Workshop in New York Photographer: Adrienne Grunwald for Bloomberg Businessweek

• Disney is no longer considering selling its television networks.
• Wall Street is looking for anyone but Biden-Trump in 2024. 
• US life expectancy rose for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• A US military jet crash off the coast of Japan killed one person. 
• Former US First lady Rosalynn Carter was laid to rest.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Reflecting on Charlie Munger’s principles to live by.
• Hi, it’s me: Taylor Swift is the most streamed artist on Spotify this year. 

Almost three years ago, a group of young women on New York’s Long Island learned their photos were being manipulated and posted online. Some were rudimentary, made with basic photo-editing software. Others were more sophisticated: faces stitched seamlessly onto bodies engaged in sex acts. The victims found out an ugly truth: there’s currently no federal law criminalizing the creation or sharing of fake pornographic images.

Kayla Michelle discovered manipulated images of herself online  Photographer: Shravya Kag for Bloomberg Businessweek Kag

Bloomberg Green at COP28: World leaders will gather in Dubai on Dec.4-5 in an effort to accelerate global climate action. Against the backdrop of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Bloomberg will convene corporate leaders, government officials and industry specialists from NGOs, IGOs, business and academia for events and conversations focused on creating solutions to support the goals set forth at COP28. Register here.