Biden needs a win

[View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( It’s a less-than-ideal scenario for Joe Biden. Instead of heading abroad with a deal on his legislative agenda in hand, the U.S. president is leaving for the Group of 20 summit in Rome and COP26 climate change meetings in Scotland against a backdrop of continued squabbling among fellow Democrats in Congress. Biden’s struggle to deliver on his domestic priorities has fueled doubts among friends and foes that the U.S. can lead the world in the post-pandemic economic recovery, fighting climate change and other key issues. But zoom out, and his predicament might not be as problematic in the long term as it seems today. Key reading: - [Biden Makes Final Push for Economic Deal Before European Summits]( - [Biden Lacks Crucial Climate Deal He Sought as COP26 Summit Nears]( - [Biden’s Tax Plan Gets Shredded Down in Battle to Raise Revenue]( - [Biden Preps Liberals for Letdown as Economic Plan Dashes Dreams]( - [Sinema Offers Support for Taxing Top Earners in Democratic Plan]( This week has yielded potentially significant breakthroughs with key lawmakers on both the tax and spending portions of the president’s agenda. While his tax plan is getting a wholesale revamp, a proposal for a new levy on billionaires was on a list of revenue-raisers that Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a crucial swing vote for Democrats, said she could support. Biden, who will meet with House Democrats today before traveling to Europe, has been working hard to prepare his party’s progressives to get far less than they wanted from his economic plan. Ultimately, voters will weigh in a year from now on the success of the president's first two years during midterm elections that will determine whether Democrats keep control of Congress. There’s still time for Biden to pull off a win, but the clock’s ticking. — [Kathleen Hunter]( Biden trying to drum up support for his economic program in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 20. Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg Click [here]( to see our Bloomberg Politics website and share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Not so fast | Biden and other heads of government will endorse a [revamping]( of international corporate-tax rules in Rome, though the plan has a long way to go to become a reality. Talks over important aspects won’t conclude for many months, and may determine whether the U.S. Congress gives approval that could make or break the deal internationally. Spending spree | U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak appears to have [embraced]( surging inflation by laying out budget plans to raise wages, cut taxes for poorer Britons and invest in public services. As [Philip Aldrick]( reports, the move, which surprised economists, will push growth above capacity for the next three years, driving up inflation while shrinking borrowing. As the cost of living surges across much of the world, governments aren’t leaving the job of containing inflation to their central banks. [Ben Holland]( reports how new policies aimed at [tamping]( down prices are being wheeled out across the globe, from Biden’s supply-chain task force and Europe’s energy subsidies to Argentina’s across-the-board controls.  Easing pressure | President Vladimir Putin ordered Gazprom to start [refilling]( its European gas-storage facilities from Nov. 8, sending prices lower in anticipation of long-awaited additional Russian supplies. The continent started the winter heating season with the lowest inventories in more than a decade. World leaders are running out of time to make a climate breakthrough at the COP26 talks. You can [sign up now]( to get the latest from Glasgow in your inbox every day from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [China Has Started Making the Mistakes of the Soviets: Hal Brands]( - [Tax and Spend is Back in Britain: Therese Raphael]( - [Erdogan Leads Turkey Deeper Into Crisis: Bobby Ghosh]( Nuke talks | Iran said yesterday it had agreed with the European Union to [restart]( talks with world powers before the end of November on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, and a date for the negotiations would be announced in the next week. U.S. officials also said they would discuss Iran with European allies at the G-20 meeting. Keeping control | Sudan’s army conducted a new wave of [arrests]( of opponents of Monday’s coup, shrugging off African Union and World Bank suspensions and pressure from the U.S. as it looks to consolidate control. Cities countrywide were rocked by protests, strikes and civil disobedience as Sudanese challenged the takeover that’s thrown the North African nation’s democratic transition into chaos. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here]( or check out prior episodes and guest clips [here](. Today watch for an interview with Republican nominee for New York City mayor, Curtis Sliwa. What to Watch - China is striving to contain a fresh Covid [outbreak]( that has spread to nearly half of the country. - The U.S. has cut its [diplomatic]( staff in Russia by about 90% in the last four years as relations languish, according to a senior State Department official. - The U.K. government hit back at France over proposed [retaliatory]( measures in a fishing dispute amid rising post-Brexit tensions between the two countries. - Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa may face early elections after parliament [rejected]( his minority Socialist government’s 2022 budget. And finally ... Changing weather patterns may force as many as 86 million Africans to [migrate]( within their own countries by 2050, according to a World Bank study. The population movements in areas of West Africa and the Lake Victoria basin could start in less than a decade, as people dependent on agriculture and fishing seek to escape water scarcity, flooding, heat stress, and rising seas. Destroyed buildings following a cyclone that hit Beira, Mozambique in 2019, killing at least 700 people. Photographer: Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg  Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022