Shutdown Stalemate, Pelosi’s Chance, EU Skeptics: Weekend Reads

(Bloomberg) --

Democrats took control of the U.S. House, ending one-party rule in Washington, amid an impasse over funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall that has left parts of the government shuttered. 

World leaders shared their outlooks for 2019, a year that promises to bring big changes to Europe. These and other topics feature in this week’s collection of Bloomberg’s best political enterprise. 

China Wants to Find More Foreign Buyers for Its Sovereign Debt
Overseas investors have piled in, but now trade concerns are weighing on demand, Tian Chen and Chris Anstey write. 

Pelosi Looks Beyond Probing Trump to Set Democrats’ 2020 Agenda
With the House speaker’s gavel now in hand, Nancy Pelosi has a chance to sketch out a vision of how Democrats would govern if voters award them control of Congress and the White House in 2020. Sahil Kapur and Arit John take a closer look. 

The EU and Euro Keep Surviving Crises and Defying the Doomsayers
As Alan Crawford reports, the pessimists have consistently underestimated the commitment of European Union leaders to holding their bloc together.

A Muslim Goes to Church and Another Storm Erupts in Lebanon
A Lebanese Sunni Muslim lawmaker’s decision to forgo communion during  a New Year’s mass quickly turned into a social-media brawl fueled by the entrenched sectarianism that impedes Lebanon’s progress three decades after its civil war ended. Donna Abu-Nasr explains. 

Trump Took Credit for Stocks Soaring. Blame Him for the Plunge?
America finally has a volatile market to match the man in the Oval Office, Peter Coy writes.

Risks at Home Mount for Greece in Its First Post-Bailout Year
After emerging from its steepest economic crisis in living memory, Greece still has a mountain to climb in 2019 if it’s to consummate its comeback with a sustained return to bond markets, Sotiris Nikas reports. 

Democrats Take a Big Step Toward Protecting the Markets From Trump
Democrats are reimposing an arcane measure called the “Gephardt Rule,” which reduces the likelihood that debt-ceiling brinkmanship will tank stocks, Joshua Green reports. 

The National Rifle Association Pushes Its Pro-Gun Agenda Abroad
The U.S. gun lobby is forging ties in Australia, Brazil and Russia, Neil Weinberg, Polly Mosendz and Bill Allison report. 

Crunch Time for Trump’s ‘America First’ Policy as Deadlines Loom
Trump, who ended 2018 dramatically by ordering U.S. troops out of Syria and accelerating his defense secretary’s resignation, faces an equally tumultuous first quarter of 2019, Nick Wadhams reports. 

And finally…Bloomberg editors and global correspondents have compiled a list of twenty-plus travel destinations to prioritize in 2019. To help you get the most bang for your buck, we’ve accompanied each recommendation with exclusive data from Google and tips from our favorite travel specialists. Start packing: It's going going to be an exciting year. 

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Winfrey at mwinfrey@bloomberg.net

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