Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Wielding the cudgel

US President Joe Biden blamed Donald Trump for sinking a bipartisan immigration and Ukraine aid bill, saying the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination pressured members of his own party to kill it in order to maximize the usefulness of the immigration issue as a political cudgel. Biden acknowledged the Senate package was all but dead, which jeopardizes the US effort to provide more weapons and support to Ukraine as it increasingly struggles to repel Russia’s almost two-year-old invasion. “All indications are this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor,” Biden said Tuesday from the White House. “Why? A simple reason. Donald Trump.” As for that political cudgel, Biden warned that if Republicans don’t approve the legislative package, he would be the one to wield it against Trump during the 2024 campaign. —Natasha Solo-Lyons

Trump can indeed be prosecuted for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election and block Biden from taking office, a federal appeals court ruled, rejecting the Republican’s claim that a sitting president is immune from criminal charges. The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia moves Trump—the subject of three other felony prosecutions—back onto a path toward trial. However, if he seeks to appeal the decision, it’s possible any trial could be further delayed.

A momentous shift is under way in global markets as investors pull billions of dollars from China’s sputtering economy. Much of that cash is now heading for India, with Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley endorsing the South Asian nation as the prime investment destination for the next decade.

Anticipation is mounting for more forceful Chinese government efforts to end the nation’s stock rout. Chinese stocks extended their rebound after Bloomberg reported regulators led by the China Securities Regulatory Commission planned to update Xi Jinping on market conditions and the latest policy initiatives. The CSI 300 benchmark closed 3.5% higher in its best day since late 2022. Small-cap equities that have so far borne the brunt of the rout also jumped, with the CSI 1000 gauge up 7%, the most since 2008. While it’s unclear whether any new support measures will come out of the meeting, traders are hoping this time will be different.

Xi Jinping Photographer: Florence Lo/AFP

New York Community Bancorp sank by double digits for the fourth time in five days, extending a drop triggered last week by a surprise quarterly loss and move to slash its dividend. Shares of the lender slumped as much as 17% on Tuesday, touching the lowest level since June 2000. The stock has now plummeted more than 50% since its earnings release on Jan. 31, erasing roughly $4 billion in market value. Much of the decline is tied to fears over commercial real estate, but US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says regulators are on the job.

Adam Neumann and other investors including Dan Loeb’s Third Point are exploring an offer to buy WeWork out of bankruptcy. Third Point and Neumann, who co-founded the co-working company, have been trying since December to get information necessary to formulate a bid, according to a letter sent to WeWork’s lawyers seen by Bloomberg News. More recently, they’ve worked to put together a bankruptcy financing package.

Boeing executives have spent the past month grappling with the aftermath of a near-catastrophe on an airborne 737 Max jet. As the US planemaker works through its latest crisis tied to manufacturing lapses, a new risk looms: a labor rift 10 years in the making. Boeing’s largest union is still smarting over a 2014 deal that sacrificed pensions, locked in minimal raises and tied the hands of activists for a decade. Union leaders will demand a 40% pay raise over three or four years, emboldened by a resurgent labor movement, a scarcity of qualified aerospace workers and pressure on Boeing to stabilize work in its factories. As for the door bolts on that Alaska Airlines 737 Max? The news got worse today.

A US National Transportation Safety Board photo shows the door plug on the Alaska Airlines  737 Max 9 missing bolts at Boeing’s factory. Source: Bloomberg

Taylor Swift’s attorneys have threatened legal action against a college student who tracks the pop star’s jet use and that of other rich and famous people. Jack Sweeney, 21, who attends the University of Central Florida, uses publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration to track the private jets of politicians, celebrities, billionaires, Russian oligarchs and other public figures, along with estimates of their carbon emissions. And he has faced off with powerful figures over his online tracking website before. “You should have a decent expectation that your jet will be tracked whether or not I do it,” Sweeney said in a statement. “After all it is public information.”

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Dress watches from the 1960s and 1970s have been the rage for a couple of years now—whether it’s a vintage ’60s Omega Genève with a linen-textured gold dial or a new release such as the Heritage Chronometer Celebration line from Carl F. Bucherer. So what’s next in the retro rotation? The bold, bright chic of the 1980s, of course. Back then, Piaget’s Polo watches were worn alongside G.H. Bass Weejuns penny loafers and colorful polos from Ralph Lauren; they were all proud hallmarks of New England country club elitism and laid-back California cool. This month, the brand is rereleasing its most recognizable watch of the period as the Polo79, with a banded construction that looks like it was carved from one hunk of 18-karat yellow gold.

The Piaget Polo79 Photographer: Rene Cervantes for Bloomberg Businessweek

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