Bloomberg Opinion

The "Big, Beautiful Bill" included a rural hospital fund that doesn't actually have to help rural hospitals. Read today's editorial: https://lnkd.in/eTRMeAzu

It’s a well-accepted quirk of law that corporations have the right to own property, enter into contracts and sue each other – just like an actual person. So it isn’t too much of a stretch to imagine that rivers, forests and mountains — ecosystems that support a vast range of lifeforms and are vital to the functioning of the world — should also be granted legal rights 🎁 via Bloomberg Opinion https://lnkd.in/dGB-UWrH

From Mike Bloomberg: The president who sped the development of the Covid vaccine might do the same for a cancer cure — if his health secretary gets out of the way. Read today’s editorial: https://lnkd.in/ebJswXqa

COLUMN: Wall Street is giving the Saudi oil giant a thumbs down: Aramco shares plunged to a 5½-year low. The problem, as every other time since the 2019 IPO, is the valuation: it's not the $2 trillion the Saudis want. "By now, investors have learned that lesson: The kingdom is likely to struggle selling more shares in the future. That would be a big setback for the royal family. Before the IPO, Riyadh talked about the possibility of selling small chunks of Aramco every few years to raise funds. From now on, the kingdom would have to settle for selling debt." Bloomberg Opinion #SaudiArabia #oil #Aramco

President Trump's Operation Warp Speed was one of the most extraordinary successes of his first term. Yet Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut funding for mRNA research undermines that progress. Will Trump allow Kennedy to destroy his legacy on health care? https://bloom.bg/4fKuWjl

The president who sped the development of the Covid vaccine might do the same for a cancer cure — if his health secretary gets out of the way, says Mike Bloomberg. Read the column: https://lnkd.in/ebJswXqa

You can now add some risk to your 401(k). President Trump recently signed an executive order clearing the way for Americans to put their retirement savings in private credit, private equity and crypto. Subscribe to Matt Levine's free Money Stuff newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eV55A7pU

From Gucci to Rolex, luxury labels are losing their cultural clout. Mentions of high-end brands in songs have sunk, underlining the sector’s bust. Can they win back young people disillusioned with conspicuous consumption? We combed through thousands of hit song lyrics to chart luxury’s rise and fall. See which brands are hot and which have faded from music in our Bloomberg Opinion feature. https://lnkd.in/ebNgixMT

Homelessness shatters lives and blights communities. Clearing encampments without addressing shortages of housing and care won't work. Read today’s editorial: https://lnkd.in/e-Y-Rn7d

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s recent $29 billion stock award is staggering — not just for its size, which exceeds the GDP of over 70 countries, but because it epitomizes a troubling trend: boards granting enormous equity to CEOs who already own a vast amount of stock in the company. The logic behind these mega awards is supposedly to incentivize performance. But on closer examination, this rationale falls apart. CEOs like Musk already own stakes worth hundreds of billions. Doubling company value doubles their wealth. If billions more are needed to motivate them, the entire premise of incentive compensation collapses. Similar mega grants have been awarded to other executives — from Figma’s Dylan Field to Broadcom’s Hock Tan and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav — many of whom were already multi-billionaires. These packages often serve more as status symbols within CEO peer groups than as genuine motivators. Beyond the wasteful excess, these awards encourage the wrong behavior. Research shows that narcissistic CEOs, who often seek self-aggrandizement, lead companies into greater performance volatility and risk. Boards should be wary of enabling such traits. What can boards do? First, remember their primary responsibility is to shareholders, not the CEO. They must exercise firm judgment and say no to unreasonable compensation demands. More importantly, they should seek leaders who are passionate about their work — not just their wealth. Legendary CEO Alan Mulally, who signed his letters with a sketch of a smiling jumbo jet, exemplifies this ideal. His love for engineering and products drove his success more than money ever could. Boards have the chance to identify such leaders, especially from within their ranks. They should seize it. Mega CEO pay packages may dazzle headlines, but they risk blinding us to the deeper truth: great leadership demands commitment to purpose, not just profit. Read the full article on Bloomberg Opinion: https://lnkd.in/eU-ibJWF