A Hollywood Budget in Hiroshima | Elsewhere in questionable uses of taxpayer dollars, you have this three-minute video of Tulsi Gabbard warning of nuclear Armageddon. I imagine it cost a small fortune to make, what with the bomb simulations, the special-effect flames that engulf the Golden Gate Bridge, the ominous background music that sounds like the Hunger Games had a baby with the Last of Us soundtrack, and the HD footage of her looking wistfully out at the mountains. More bizarre than the overproduced vibes are her words, which warn of “radioactive poison spreading from the air, water and soil” and a nuclear winter “plunging the world into darkness and cold, killing crops and starving billions.” She follows that up with an outlandish claim about global elites and warmongers having five-star nuclear bunkers that can protect them while their megayachts and sports cars disintegrate. Marc Champion was rather unimpressed by her grade-school epiphany about the dangers of nuclear war: “As the principal intelligence adviser to the world’s most powerful man, Gabbard can access vast quantities of information,” he writes. “It’s concerning that she offered no facts, let alone revelations, to support her case or justify making it now. When she wasn’t describing the horrors of nuclear fallout, she was just parroting Kremlin propaganda.” I’m sure Vladimir Putin was just chuffed by that. The Russian president is loaded with nukes, as is is his not-so-new BFF Kim Jong Un. “Gabbard’s intervention makes for terrible policy,” Marc concludes. Bonus Terrible Policy Reading: - Ted Cruz wants the Federal Reserve to stop paying interest to banks to save taxpayers money — an alarming proposal that is sure to backfire. — Jonathan Levin
- As painful as it may be, Republicans should create a smoother on-ramp to the ACA to minimize coverage losses from Medicaid. — Bloomberg editorial board
Monzo, Klarna and Revolut are all planning initial public offerings that will launch in the next year or two. “One specializes in gathering money, another in lending it and a third in moving it around — but which of these three fast-growing fintechs offers the most compelling story to potential public investors?” asks Paul J. Davies. Read his column to find out. One week ago today, Circle — a well-known stablecoin issuer — had its IPO. To say things are going smoothly would be an understatement. Lionel Laurent says the crypto giant “has tripled in value since going public and is worth $23.6 billion (or 150 times last year’s earnings).” From his perch in Paris, however, Lionel observes that the EU is less excited: “Officials fear virtual currencies are a serious financial threat for the continent and an extension of Trump’s ambitions of bringing global trade to heel. And they may be right to worry,” he writes. Oil is about to have another lost decade. — David Fickling Five months makes a meaningful trend, and the Fed has that with inflation. — Allison Schrager The death of public schools feels near, but vouchers aren’t the reason. — Abby McCloskey Prop trading firms are becoming hedge funds, and vice versa. — Matt Levine With friends like Brazil, OPEC+ doesn’t need enemies. — Javier Blas Harvard and Yale will finally lift the veil on private assets. — Nir Kaissar ICE raids send Latino shoppers into hiding. Vibe coding comes for engineering jobs. Natural disasters may shape babies’ brains. Wall Street tackles the boatyard. Pope Leo’s family tree. Love on the spectrum, IRL. Gen Z hates the grid. Climate change changes cheese. | 
