Trump Holds DMZ Summit, Pauses China Trade War

(Bloomberg) --

Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea, a day after he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pushed the pause button on their trade war. Joe Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, got a reality check from his rivals in the party’s first debate, and the flight of millions of people from the collapsing economy in Venezuela reverberated across South America.

Read about those topics and more in this edition of Weekend Reads, and click here for more of Bloomberg’s best political photos from the past week.

Global Headlines 

Trump’s DMZ Summit Shows How Little Kim Has Conceded on Nukes
Trump met Kim for the third time today after a last-minute Twitter invitation that even surprised the North Korean leader. Yet as Margaret Talev and Jon Herskovitz, explain, Trump had something on his mind: critics who say his overtures to Kim haven’t led to any meaningful moves toward ending North Korea’s nuclear program.

Huawei Lifeline Shows Trump Prefers Business Deals Over Cold War
In recent weeks, Trump has drawn the ire of security hawks in Congress for suggesting he could ease his blacklisting of Huawei Technologies Co. to secure a trade deal with China. Shawn Donnan reports that on Saturday he took a big step toward doing just that, signaling that he cares more about selling U.S. products to China than embarking on a clash of civilizations. 

The Issues Dominating the 2020 Democratic Presidential Campaign
For most of the two dozen Democratic presidential candidates, social media has been the preferred platform for announcing policy proposals and clarifying positions. Allison McCartney reports on a Bloomberg analysis that shows since the beginning of 2019, the candidates who qualified for the first debate sent about 24,000 tweets—and about half of them mentioned at least one major campaign issue.

Embattled NRA Loses Its Political Power Broker on Eve of 2020
As the National Rifle Association’s chief lobbyist, Chris Cox pumped more money into Trump’s unlikely election than anyone. As Polly Mosendz, Neil Weinberg and David Voreacos explain, Cox’s resignation on Wednesday comes as the NRA is entering the 2020 race with the president lagging in polls and without the marketing or lobbying power that made it such an effective force for Trump in 2016.

May Is Resigning as U.K. Premier, and She’s Not Going Quietly
Theresa May will stand down as Britain’s prime minister next month but she is not giving up. With three weeks left before she hands over to someone else, the premier is busier than ever trying to build an ambitious legacy. Tim Ross reports.

Endorsed by Trump, Saudi Prince Steps Back Out on World Stage
Seven months ago Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman cut an isolated figure, caught in a firestorm over the murder of columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi. But at this year’s G-20 summit he met with leaders including Putin, May, and India’s Narendra Modi, and, as Cagan Koc writes, had a chummy breakfast meeting with Trump, who called him a friend.

Amsterdam’s Hire-a-Refugee Program Takes On Tight Labor Market
When Rasha Mostafa fled war-torn Syria with her husband and daughter 4 1/2 years ago, little did she know she was going to help Amsterdam with a key economic problem. Yet in many large European cities, migrants are quietly filling gaping holes in the labor market, doing jobs locals just don’t want to do. Ruben Munsterman reports.

Add a Million Venezuelans and Your Economy Looks Very Different
Markets were shocked when Chile cut interest rates this month, but the central bank had a simple explanation: The economy suddenly had a lot more people in it. As Daniela Guzman and John Quigley report, that’s because of the exodus from Venezuela, where about 4 million people fleeing financial and social collapse are showing up across South America.

Billionaire General Bets on Property With Fortune Forged in Oil
Ben Stupples reports on Theophilus Danjuma, the 80-year-old former Nigerian general who’s worth $1.2 billion and whose investment in the Kings Arms Hotel in London is part of a network for holdings spanning at least three continents.

And finally… For the government of the southern African nation of Zimbabwe, the reintroduction of the national currency a decade after its demise marks a return to “normalcy.” Yet for most of the country’s citizens, Antony Sguazzin explains, it’s a bitter reminder of the years of hyperinflation that destroyed their savings and left them bartering for basics. 

--With assistance from Gordon Bell.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kathleen Hunter at khunter9@bloomberg.net

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