Your Weekend Reads From Bloomberg Politics

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s opening salvo on corporate taxes, stockpiling in Britain and why throwing a party may help save civilization are among our best reads from Bloomberg Politics over the last seven days. We also took a look at a couple of tycoons – one living in luxury under house arrest and another under probe in the prime minister’s villa – and how climate change is hitting industry in Europe’s biggest economy.

We hope you have a relaxing Saturday and enjoy these and other features that we saved for your Weekend Reads.

- Dear readers, next week world leaders and decision makers descend on the Swiss town of Davos for the 2019 World Economic Forum, which begins on Tuesday. This year we'll bring you real-time coverage that you'll be able to follow on our website.

On Taxes and So Much Else, Ocasio-Cortez Is Just Getting Started
Ocasio-Cortez just moved the Overton Window – the range of ideas that are at any given time considered worthy of public discussion – on tax rates significantly to the left. But as Peter Coy and Katia Dmitrieva explain, she’s just getting started with a push toward more liberal policies that include Medicare and free tuition for everyone.

Government Shutdown a Double-Whammy for American Nail Maker
The government shutdown is adding to the woes of U.S. companies already paying duties for their steel and aluminum. Joe Deaux tells the story of Mid-Continent Steel and Wire, which warned in October that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will force them to continue cutting workers – and it still can’t get an answer on the tariff exemptions they’re seeking.

The Great British Stockpile: How U.K. Plc is Hoarding For Brexit
Britain is getting a taste of wartime stockpiling again. Alex Morales and Joe Mayes report that, with the divorce date from the European Union just 10 weeks away, companies are busy turning the country into a warehouse as executives prepare for the economic chaos that the government and opposition parties have yet to demonstrate they can avoid.

Battlefield of Trump's Trade War Forges a New Chinese Economy
Wenzhou, a city made famous by the billionaire entrepreneurs it spawned during the heyday of China’s manufacturing ascent, has an air of crisis, caught in a barrage of shocks that are hammering the nation's mighty industrial machine. Take a look at how the U.S. trade war, weak domestic demand, rising costs and government crackdowns on shadow financing and pollution are all taking a toll.

Prisoner in Vancouver: Huawei CFO Awaits Fate in Splendor
A day in the life of Meng Wanzhou lets her leave her $4.2 million mansion, a GPS monitor strapped to her ankle, to tour shops and restaurants in a chauffeured SUV until an 11 p.m. curfew. Natalie Obiko Pearson reports how the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. is spending her house arrest in Canada at the center of a complex power game between the U.S. and China.

A Billionaire Prime Minister, a Coder and a Probe Into EU Funds
The Czech Republic's billionaire prime minister, Andrej Babis, is at the center of an investigation into conflict of interest concerning Agrofert, a media, agriculture and chemical conglomerate that he founded. Peter Laca, Lenka Ponikelska and Michael Winfrey explain why auditors from the European Commission arrived in Prague last week to assess his ties to the company.

Europe’s Most Important River Is Running Dry as Glaciers Shrink
After a prolonged summer drought, water traffic at one of the shallowest points on the Rhine river ground to a halt for nearly a month last year, choking off a critical artery for Germany’s industrial machine. As William Wilkes, Vanessa Dezem and Brian Parkin write, it’s the latest sign of how even advanced industrial economies are increasingly fighting the effects of global warming.

Macri Has an Ace Up His Sleeve as Argentina Heads to Elections
After a dismal 2018, when the peso plunged, the economy returned to recession and the government sought a record bailout from the International Monetary Fund, there are few signs of unrest in Argentina. Daniel Cancel writes how that may bode well for President Mauricio Macri, who’s ramping up infrastructure spending as he seeks to become the first non-Peronist to finish a term since 1928.

And finally ... You should host a party – our civilization depends on it. Ben Steverman reports how warnings are intensifying from sociologists who are fretting over our fraying social bonds. According to research last year in the Public Policy & Aging Report, social isolation is a public-health threat worse than obesity or smoking.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net

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