Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Greed trumps fear

More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdose deaths last year, up 29% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the total deaths were from opioid overdoses—a clear sign that the ongoing crisis only deepened during the Covid-19 pandemic. —Margaret Sutherlin

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

A day after China President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden met virtually, a Congressional panel said the U.S. needs to do more to deter a Chinese attack against Taiwan and strengthen its oversight of Chinese companies. America, legislators warn, faces an increasingly “triumphalist” and “aggressive” Chinese Communist Party.

Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon, speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, said “greed has far outpaced fear” in markets, and investors could face a rocky period as the global economy emerges from the pandemic. Bitcoin slumped and stocks fell on concern that inflation will pose a challenge to the rebound. Here’s your markets wrap. 

David Solomon, at Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Singapore, warns markets will see trouble as the global economy recovers.  Photographer: Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg

Amazon’s spat with Visa took a big turn Wednesday. The delivery giant is in talks to switch its Visa co-branded card to Mastercard. Amazon also said it would stop accepting purchases made with Visa credit cards issued in the U.K. starting next year. It’s the latest escalation by the online retailer in its push against transaction fees charged by payment networks.

White-collar professionals in the most highly taxed U.S. states are set to get some help from Congress, as Democrats look to roll back what they assailed as a targeted tax attack on blue states by Senator Mitch McConnell and the Republican Congress in 2017. Here’s what’s inside the competing plans to lift the cap on state and local tax deductions, or SALT. 

It’s a move that’s almost unthinkable, even for a Wall Street maverick. But beyond the billions of dollars lost earlier this year in the great margin call meltdown, it turns out that Bill Hwang—the man behind Archegos Capital Management—used derivatives to secretly build a more-than 20% stake in a U.S. regional bank, right under the noses of regulators.  

Bill Hwang Photographer: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

It’s looking like Covid-19 may ruin another Thanksgiving. Officials are issuing travel warnings for a second year as cases start to climb in the U.S. for a sixth time. The White House said it will spend billions of additional dollars to boost U.S. vaccine supplies, with the goal of expanding domestic production of mRNA vaccines by one billion doses a year in 2022. In Europe, it’s getting harder to be a vaccine holdout and continue with life as usual as governments issue new restrictions aimed directly at anti-vaxxers. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

Activision investors are fed up with embattled CEO Bobby Kotick over his handling of sexual harassment claims: a group of employees say it’s time for him to step down. New allegations say the CEO was well aware of the misconduct at the time it happened. Now Sony Playstation’s chief is also criticizing Kotick and Activision, which is behind its hits “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft.”

• U.S. and China leaders discussed releasing oil reserves as prices surge.
• Mexico sends 1,500 troops toward Cancun after deadly shootouts. 
• Rivian’s post-IPO rally is over, wiping out $16 billion.
• “QAnon Shaman” gets 3 1/2 years for his role in Jan. 6 insurrection.
• The Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, has a new name.
• Far-right Arizona congressman gets rare censure for violent post.
• The Olympics scrapped controversial new rules for trans athletes.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will be no ordinary hotel when it opens on March 1. The full immersive experience—where guests play a role during their stay—is one of Walt Disney’s most ambitious projects to date. When it opens this spring, guests will pay upwards of $4,809 per double occupancy cabin for two-night voyages that never step foot off Walt Disney World soil. Bloomberg Pursuits got a first look inside.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Photographer: Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.

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