Harder to ignore

By Friday, Musk says he’ll own Twitter. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( By Friday night, Elon Musk — the world’s richest man with corporate interests across the globe, a hand deep into US defense procurement and a penchant for making geopolitical mischief — says he’ll own Twitter. What Musk would do with the social media platform is unclear, and he’d hardly be the first tycoon in history to wield outsized political influence. Twitter, for its part, isn’t the world’s biggest social network. Key reading: - [Musk Tells Bankers He Plans to Close Twitter Deal on Friday]( - [Musk Tweets Complicate US Diplomacy From Ukraine to TaiwanÂ]( - [Biden Spokeswoman Unaware of Talks on Musk Security Review]( - [Musk Is at the Forefront of a Corporatized Space War in Ukraine]( - [Tweeting Praise for Putin Ally, Musk Wades In on Ukraine Again]( Even so, US officials are nervous and, according to sources, at least discussing the potential for a security review of the $44 billion deal. It isn’t just that Musk could act as Twitter’s gatekeeper and use the platform to promote his business interests, push an agenda on US domestic politics and promote views in direct conflict with US foreign policy. This year alone he has called President Joe Biden “a damp sock puppet,” proposed a Russia-friendly peace settlement for Ukraine, and floated a Chinese protectorate for Taiwan. What makes Musk unique is the sheer range of his assets already with global reach, including the $700 billion EV maker Tesla and Starlink, a satellite network with military applications that’s more capable than any government’s. According to one [calendar]( of worldwide space launches, Musk’s SpaceX will in the final quarter of the year take nine out of 15 planned payloads into orbit. Musk has proved willing to use this influence. He first gave Starlink units to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion; then Ukraine complained coverage was being limited so communications stopped once Ukrainian troops moved into Russian-held territory. Then he threatened, briefly, to stop funding them altogether. From Friday, control of Twitter could make Musk impossible for any leader to ignore. — [Marc Champion]( Branded pillows at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, California. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg [Click here]( to subscribe to our weekly newsletter Next Africa. And if you’re enjoying this newsletter, click [here]( to sign up for Balance of Power. Global Headlines Fragile link | The [founder]( of one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural businesses was killed in a Russian missile strike a day before the Kremlin allowed the first vessel to sail from Odesa under a deal to get Ukrainian grain back into global markets and tame raging food price inflation. [Marc Champion]( and [Daryna Krasnolutska]( report that his son fears just one missile hitting a ship in the sea corridor would be enough to end the trade. - Biden again warned Russia against using a [nuclear]( or radioactive weapon in Ukraine. - Follow our rolling coverage of the war [here](. We will also discuss the latest, including Russia’s claims made without evidence that Kyiv is preparing to use a “dirty bomb,” in a Twitter Space today at 8am ET. [You can listen via this link](. Wheat grain being harvested in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on June 28. Photographer: Julia Kochetova/Bloomberg Familiar faces | New UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak named an [experienced]( Cabinet to tackle what he called a “profound economic crisis,” only to face criticism for reappointing scandal-hit former ministers to top jobs. Jeremy Hunt remains Chancellor of the Exchequer, though Downing Street today delayed the announcement of the government’s spending and tax plan from Oct. 31 to Nov. 17. - Biden congratulated Sunak in a call in which they [discussed]( Russia’s war in Ukraine and challenges arising from China, the White House said. - If you missed our Twitter Space conversation yesterday about the new leadership in the UK, [you can listen back to the recording via this link](. China’s economy slowed in October as car and real-estate sales [weakened]( and global trade and small business confidence contracted, signaling last month’s pickup in activity wasn’t enough to change the country’s grim economic picture. US Midterms latest - [Fetterman’s Uneven Debate Gives Oz Traction in Pennsylvania Race]( - [Floridian Swamps Elections Officials With Demands for Vote Data]( - [Progressives’ Ukraine Misstep Spurs Pre-Election Democratic Rift]( Different game | China’s new top leaders look a lot like the old ones: Seven men in dark suits led by Xi Jinping. But the Politburo Standing Committee unveiled Sunday in Beijing [shattered]( decades of expectations about how power is transferred in the world’s second-largest economy. Rules that had offered some predictability within China’s hierarchy no longer seem to matter. - China said it’s “closer than ever in history” to achieving [unification]( with Taiwan, a democratically governed island. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [The Fed's Cunning Plan to Make You Feel Poorer: John Authers]( - [Xi’s Total Control Over Foreign Policy May Mean War: Hal Brands]( - [Macron, Meloni Bring ECB Its Next Inflation Test: Lionel Laurent]( Running out | European ministers pulled off what one diplomat called a miracle in July when they took just six days to agree to slash gas demand. Ever since, the bloc’s timelines have been slipping, and it now [looks unlikely]( key new measures will be in place for winter. Ministers set a new deadline of Nov. 24 when they met yesterday, yet even if they manage that, some changes won’t kick in until the spring. - The European Commission will lay out plans today to drastically [cut pollution]( levels across the region. Explainers you can use - [What Is a ‘Dirty Bomb’ and Why Is Ukraine Worried?]( - ​​​​[What Are Recessions? Plus Thoughts on the Next One]( - [All About CFIUS, US Watchdog on Foreign Dealmaking]( Challenging times | A laundry list of challenges confronting South Africa is a [massive headache]( for President Cyril Ramaphosa heading into governing-party elections in December and a national vote in 2024. With the economy shrinking, power cuts at a record and towns falling apart, former leaders have joined a chorus of criticism of how the country is being run. - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to announce in his mid-term budget today how the government will deal with its [crisis-ridden]( power utility’s $23 billion of debt. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( on 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](. News to Note  - Biden is weighing a joint effort with neighboring countries to aid Haiti, as [rapidly deteriorating]( safety and health conditions stoke fears that intervention in the Caribbean nation may be necessary to prevent collapse. - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron meet in Paris today to try to [iron out]( tensions over energy and the future of European defense. - Bivalent booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer failed to raise levels of [protective proteins]( against the dominant omicron strains compared with four doses of the original Covid vaccine, a new study indicates. - Billions of dollars of criminal proceeds are [being laundered]( through slot machines in pubs and clubs in Australia’s biggest state, according to an official inquiry that recommends tighter controls on the gaming industry. - Wuhan [locked down]( one of its central districts after Covid cases were found, as China persists with a zero-tolerance approach to the virus almost three years since the pathogen first emerged in the city. And finally … China’s iconic Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River is the world’s largest power plant, but it fell eerily quiet this summer as scorching temperatures and a drought upstream reduced the reservoir and drastically cut its ability to generate electricity. It’s part of a global [hydropower]( crisis being made worse by global warming as heatwaves and droughts shrink rivers that feed reservoirs from California to Germany. Floodwater is discharged from the Three Gorges Dam in August 2020. Photographer: VCG/VCG Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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