Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Taxing the rich

US President Joe Biden has gained ground with voters in six of seven key swing states, according to the monthly Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. The shift was significant in Wisconsin, where Biden leads Republican rival Donald Trump by one point after trailing him by four points in February, and in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are tied after Trump held a six-point lead last month. They are also tied in Michigan. The poll showed as well that the progressive rallying cry of “tax the rich” has morphed into a popular policy stance with voters in key states that will decide the 2024 election. Fully 69% of registered voters in seven swing states say they favor higher taxes on billionaires and higher income taxes on people who make more than $400,000 a year. —David E. Rovella  

Biden said on Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers will lead the effort to clear the channel port of Baltimore following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge. A container ship that apparently lost power hit the structure overnight in an incident officials have so far deemed an accident. The bridge allows commercial ships to enter the Port of Baltimore, one of the top ports in the US in terms of volume and value of cargoes. “It’s my intention that federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge,” Biden said in a news conference. “I expect the Congress to support my effort.” 

Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rest on a container ship in Baltimore harbor after the vessel hit the structure. Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Visa and Mastercard agreed to cap credit-card swipe fees—a deal US merchants say will save them at least $30 billion over five years—in one of the most significant antitrust settlements ever. The deal, which is subject to court approval, also would allow retailers to charge consumers extra at checkout for using Visa or Mastercard credit cards. The two-decade long legal fight over credit card swipe fees dates back to before both Visa and Mastercard were spun off by the banks that owned them. The fees, also known as interchange, are a key driver of profit for card-issuing banks and the primary mechanism used to fund popular rewards programs.

Short sellers are still betting billions of dollars that the rally of cryptocurrency-linked stocks, fueled by a surge in Bitcoin, will end. Total short interest has increased to almost $11 billion this year, and more than 80% of it is bets against MicroStrategy and Coinbase Global. Paper losses for the shorts meanwhile have mounted to almost $6 billion. Still, they are doubling down, betting on a crypto collapse.

DS Smith is in discussions to be taken over by International Paper—starting a possible bidding war for the UK packaging company after Mondi earlier this month agreed to buy it for £5.1 billion ($6.5 billion). DS Smith confirmed it’s in talks for a possible all-share offer from International Paper. Earlier, Sky News reported International Paper was considering an offer of £5 billion or more for DS Smith. Shares of International Paper fell as much as 6.5%.

Apple iPhone shipments in China fell about 33% in February from a year earlier, extending a slump in demand for the flagship device in its most important overseas market. In January, the company shipped a total of roughly 5.5 million units, or about 39% fewer than in the prior year. Apple has seen its best-selling product struggle in the world’s biggest smartphone market since the September debut of its latest models. The return of Huawei as a viable rival in the premium phone segment has stolen share away from Apple, too.

One of Wall Street’s favorite financial innovations for helping reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions—a bond market worth $280 billion—isn’t working. A new study found that more than 80% of sustainability-linked bonds (SLB) issued in the last five years aren’t aligned with global climate goals. SLBs are similar to ordinary bonds, with one key difference: They have built-in incentives for issuers to achieve set sustainability targets. But the combination of loopholes and greenwashing has made them less than effective. 

India’s soaring income inequality is among the highest in the world, Andy Mukherjee writes in Bloomberg Opinion. So why would 1 billion voters prefer to make the rich even richer when they start voting next month? Mukherjee says that a new study explains how the current “Billionaire Raj” is more unequal than the British Raj. With Narendra Modi seeking a third term, Mukherjee writes that researchers have corroborated something that’s been evident to economists for some time: Modi’s reign has spawned a tiny class of super-rich.

Narendra Modi, left, and tycoons Kumar Mangalam Birla and Mukesh Ambani. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg

• Top Indian bank faces shareholder backlash over unit delisting.
• Kremlin insiders reject Putin bid to blame Ukraine for concert attack.
• Supreme Court skeptical of abortion pill suit, citing procedural grounds.
• Nvidia traders find reasons to worry beyond sky-high stock price.
• Trump Media whipsawed by volatility in post-SPAC deal debut.
• Bloomberg Opinion: House GOP resignations send very clear message.
• BlackRock’s Fink calls on baby boomers to fix the “retirement crisis.”

The best restaurant in Asia is located in Tokyo, according to this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list—and it’s French. The 50 Best Asia restaurant list is voted on by over 300 anonymous industry experts in the region. There’s no criteria for what constitutes “best” nor does it need to have been open for a certain amount of time or won any other accolades. Restaurants in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Osaka and Singapore, plus more from Tokyo, round out the Top 10.

Sezanne in Tokyo Source: Sezanne

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