Your Evening Briefing

(Bloomberg) --

One way the rich get richer is by inheriting large sums of money and barely paying taxes on it. Some Americans are projected to inherit a combined $764 billion this year, and they will pay an average tax of just 2.1% on it. Those who can only work and save, meanwhile, will pay an estimated tax of 15.8%. Rapidly expanding income inequality is seen as a key reason for America’s grimly polarized landscape, a problem that looks like it’s only going to get worse.  

Here are today’s top stories

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined President Donald Trump in Washington to announce the latest Middle East peace plan, one constructed without Palestinian input and even more favorable to Israel than past, failed proposals. This one is widely viewed as dead on arrival, though the timing was interesting: Netanyahu was indicted hours earlier by Israeli prosecutors on corruption charges, and Trump’s impeachment trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress is near a critical juncture.

As Trump’s defense case ends, the Senate will soon decide whether witnesses will be heard, specifically National Security Adviser John Bolton. Reports that Trump admitted to Bolton that he was withholding military aid from Ukraine until it opened a probe of former Vice President Joe Biden have jolted proceedings. Trump’s lawyers now contend that even if the president did concede the quid pro quo he has spent months denying, such a smoking gun still doesn’t warrant his removal from office.

U.S. health officials told travelers to avoid all non-essential trips to China and ramped up airport screening as the death toll from the coronavirus passed 100.

Voting begins next week in the U.S. presidential campaign. Senator Bernie Sanders is leading in several states, a list that now includes California. But Iowa’s quirky caucuses are up first.

Outgoing BP CEO Bob Dudley had some curious advice for his Big Oil colleagues, given the climate crisis: Dudley told them not to invest too quickly in cleaner technology.

President Rodrigo Duterte is cracking down on some of the Philippines’ biggest businesses, pushing a populist agenda that’s endearing him to his supporters while putting off investors.

What’s Lorcan Roche Kelly thinking? The Bloomberg cross-asset editor says there’s some goal-post moving by central banks going on. In the U.S., the Fed held a series of events as part of its policy-framework review in which the bank discovered that people generally like their price rises to be small. Officials appear to have reacted to this by moving toward running inflation higher to make up for the extended era of low price rises, perhaps showing that they may be listening but they certainly are not agreeing. 

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• Rockets are dirty. Can space launches get cleaner?
• China wants an apology from a Danish newspaper.
• Why planting a trillion trees should start with small farmers.
• A powerful earthquake strikes near Cuba.
• Everyone’s favorite climate solution has a problem with fire.
• FedEx says it has a plan to battle Amazon shipping.
• The uncle of the “Baby Shark” producer is now a billionaire.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

Having trouble finding a place to sip red wine in hypergentrified San Francisco? Napa Valley winemaker Dave Phinney has a new tourist stop for Bay Area denizens. He partnered with billionaire Gaylon Lawrence Jr. to transform Mare Island into a hip booze destination.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Petri at jpetri4@bloomberg.net

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.