Seeking attention

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/20565602.91461/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9icG9saXRpY3M/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB217bcb25 [Get the newsletter]( Donald Trump’s to-do list keeps getting longer as November approaches. The president is grappling with managing America through a global pandemic that has [carved a giant hole]( out of the U.S. economy and a backlash over his handling of nationwide protests sparked by the killing in police custody of George Floyd. Tensions with China are running high and a crucial initial trade deal with Beijing is looking frayed, risking even greater damage to both the U.S. economy and [stock market]( sentiment, key measures to watch when it comes to Trump’s re-election prospects. And now there’s [another trouble spot]( brewing: North Korea. The [nuclear-armed regime]( doesn’t like being out of the limelight for long. Leader Kim Jong Un above all craves attention. And with everything else going on, North Korea has fallen off the radar a bit. So Kim is throwing his toys around. North Korea says it’s shutting a liaison office with South Korea and severing a leaders’ hotline, putting pressure on Seoul to break with Washington’s efforts to isolate the country. The question is how much of an issue it might become for Trump. For now, North Korea has confined itself to testing short-range ballistic missiles. But if it were to resume atomic tests, or launch a long-range missile, it would draw Trump into the fray. Reminding Americans that Trump has held two summits that produced very little in terms of North Korean disarmament could be Kim’s biggest weapon in the coming months. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Officials at an opening ceremony for the joint liaison office with South Korea in Kaesong, North Korea, on Sept. 14, 2018. Photographer: AFP via Getty Images Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines [Stimulus doubts]( | Some Republicans doubt whether the U.S. needs more stimulus to boost the economy after a surprise rebound in the job market. While Trump’s White House is looking to spend as much as $1 trillion more, some of his party’s Congress members are concerned that, with the U.S. facing its biggest budget deficit since World War II, more time is needed to allow the $3 trillion that’s already been approved to have an impact. - [Read how]( Europe is going all in on climate issues with its virus recovery plans. [Easier said than done]( | While the U.S. has talked about bringing supply chains home from China and floated the need for friendly nations to help produce essential goods, officials in Asia say any broader effort to overhaul product pipelines is wishful thinking so far. It’s more likely the Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate a change that was already driven by market forces, as rising wages and costs in China push lower-value manufacturing to Southeast Asia. - Chinese telecoms giant Huawei owns the [most patents]( on 5G technology, ensuring it will get paid despite U.S. efforts to erase it from the supply chain. [Statist vision]( | Argentine President Alberto Fernandez is planning to seize crop trader Vicentin SAIC in a move reminiscent of the nationalization drive during the administration of his deputy, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. It’s sure to ring alarm bells in soy markets and raise questions about how Argentina will lure private-sector investment at a time it’s negotiating the restructuring of $65 billion in overseas debt. [Fresh tensions]( | Armed men loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar entered Libya’s biggest oil field and ordered staff to stop working, threatening a tentative revival in exports from the conflict-ravaged North African country. The Sharara field had recently resumed production following a five-month halt, after Haftar accepted an Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire [to end the war]( he launched more than a year ago to seize the capital, Tripoli. A fighter supporting Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord in the town of Tarhuna, about 65 kilometres southeast of Tripoli on June 5, after the area was taken from forces loyal to Haftar. Photographer: Mahmud Turkia/AFP via Getty Images [Fugitive’s vow]( | Once among eastern Europe’s richest people, Vasil Bozhkov — a Bulgarian tycoon dubbed one of the nation’s “most notorious gangsters” — is stuck in self-imposed exile in Dubai. Although he’s facing 18 criminal charges, including four cases of murder-for-hire, he now wants to enter politics, topple the government and return home. What to Watch - Trump is expected to sign legislation passed by the House that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials over [human rights abuses]( against Uighur minorities, but no date has been set. - The U.K. and Japan [start trade talks]( today in a bid to replace the free-trade agreement they have through the European Union, following Britain’s departure from the bloc. - U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will discuss plans to [ease the lockdown]( with his cabinet today after the lowest-reported daily death toll from the virus since restrictions were imposed. - Iran has sentenced a man to death for providing the CIA and Mossad with intelligence that [led to the killing]( of a top Iranian general in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad’s international airport. [And finally]( ... U.S. Attorney General William Barr contradicted his boss by saying on Fox News last night the Secret Service told Trump to enter a secure part of the White House as large protests unfolded outside. The president has denied going to the bunker for his safety, calling it a “false report.” The dueling versions of what happened center on May 31 as demonstrations spread over the death of George Floyd, an incident that has prompted House and Senate Democrats to propose a sweeping [police reform bill](. Secret Service Agents on the roof of the White House as Trump, not pictured, returns after posing with a bible outside a church on June 1. Photographer: Shawn Thew/Bloomberg  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022