Testing times for the US, UK and Brazil: Weekend Reads

The UK got another prime minister in Rishi Sunak, after the short-lived but turbulent administration of Liz Truss. Sunak must now deal with [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( The UK got another prime minister in Rishi Sunak, after the short-lived but turbulent administration of Liz Truss. Sunak must now deal with a mounting cost-of-living challenge even as he seeks to [rein in government debt](. President Vladimir Putin lashed out at the US and Europe over his [war in Ukraine](, heaped praise on Saudi Arabia and reiterated support for China’s claim to Taiwan as he [sought to cast]( Russia as a champion of conservative values against Western liberalism. He denied intending to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Brazil heads into a [divisive runoff vote]( on Sunday. The final presidential debate last night saw President Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva [exchange accusations]( of corruption and call each other “liar.” Elon Musk wasted no time taking complete control of Twitter. The billionaire appointed himself CEO, dismissed senior management, and began reshaping strategy at one of the world’s [most influential]( social media platforms. President Joe Biden [denounced a hammer attack]( on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, blaming it on extremist rhetoric and urging Americans to reject “political violence.” The man who police said assaulted Paul Pelosi, 82, is linked to personal blogs that railed against the government and espoused [far-right conspiracy theories](. The midterm elections are just 11 days away. Delve into these and more of our top political stories in this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Sunak departs Downing Street for his first Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg [Click here]( for this week’s most compelling political images. And if you’re enjoying this newsletter, [click here]( to sign up. Musk's Twitter Roils With Hate Speech as Trolls Test New Limits A tide of slurs and racist memes on the platform sparked concern the site is entering an era of [hateful speech](. Twitter has long wrestled with how to enforce content policies fairly. But as Musk, a self-styled “free speech absolutist,” took over the company, some conservative officials, partisan extremists and conspiracy peddlers saw reason to celebrate the change. - [Jillian Deutsch]( explains how Musk’s plans for Twitter might hit a [major hurdle](: the European Union. A screen grab of Musk carrying a sink as he enters the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. Source: AFP/Getty Images One Missile Shook Ukraine’s Grain Trade. Another Might Kill It Andriy Vadaturskyy was in France when he got the call he’d feared: A Russian missile had destroyed his parents home in Ukraine, killing them. His father was the revered founder of one of the country’s largest agricultural businesses, who sought a permanent fix to Russia’s hold over grain exports out of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. As [Marc Champion]( and [Daryna Krasnolutska]( write, that [made him a target](. A portrait of Oleksiy Vadaturskyy and his wife Raisa during a commemorative service in Kyiv on August 5. Photographer: Future Publishing/Future Publishing Putin’s Threats Worry NATO as Sign of Russian Desperation Ukraine’s allies are increasingly concerned that desperation in the Kremlin over battlefield failures may lead Russia to escalate its war, possibly using a [massive attack]( on a target like a dam or even a weapon of mass destruction. For now, NATO sources say there is no sign Moscow is actually making preparations for such a strike. - Read our [exclusive story]( on how US officials have been forced to scale back a plan to impose a cap on Russian oil prices. - Our reporters around the world discussed the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine, and [you can listen via this link](. The American middle class faces the biggest hit to its wealth in a generation going into the midterms, though it is also entering the vote richer than it has ever been thanks to a decade of cheap money and the wealth boom it fed. That’s the conclusion of a Bloomberg News examination — [you can delve into the data and interviews with middle-class Americans here](. - Our new podcast The Big Take launched this week, hosted by [Wes Kosova](. You can listen and subscribe on [iHeart]( and [Apple](. Xi’s Total Control in China Injects More Risk Into Chaotic World Minutes after pulling off a power play that stunned even seasoned China experts, a smiling Xi Jinping gave an optimistic outlook for the years ahead. But, as [Rebecca Choong Wilkins]( writes, many China watchers are [now worried]( that nobody will tell Xi when he’s wrong. - Former leader Hu Jintao’s [mysterious exit]( from the Communist Party’s most important political event continues to stoke debate. - China’s marriage of communism and capitalism has long powered its economic rise and lined the pockets of money managers around the word. Those [ideologies have now clashed]( in a spectacular stock market blowup. - [Read how]( Xi’s leadership shakeup has shattered decades of succession rules. Saudi Swagger Stands Apart in World of Doom-Laden Forecasts Pessimism about the state of the world was front and center as leaders of global finance gathered in Saudi Arabia this week, but with the host nation a [striking exception]( to the general gloom. The kingdom is enjoying its moment, with oil money driving the fastest growth rate in the Group of 20 major economies, and a sense that Saudi Arabia is in the ascendant. Suella Braverman, the self-appointed “Queen of the Brexiteers,” gave Sunak key support in his push to become Tory party leader and prime minister. But as [Alex Wickham]( lays out, it has caused him trouble ever since. Sunak [controversially reappointed her]( as home secretary, less than a week after she was fired by his predecessor over a security breach. - Sunak is both the first person of color and the first Hindu to take the top job. He is at the same time a symbol of how far the UK has come on race and [how entrenched]( the economic and class barriers to social mobility have become. - Sunak’s elevation means his family is — in nominal terms — the [wealthiest to occupy 10 Downing Street](. - The share of people struggling in the UK [to make ends meet]( has doubled in the last year. Meanwhile the National Health Service faces an [unprecedented crisis](. US Allies Fear Trump Whiplash, Eye Midterms for Political Clues America’s closest allies are nervously watching the midterms for any signals that voters could return Donald Trump to the White House in two years. [Saleha Mohsin]( reports exclusively how officials from Europe and Asia are flying into [battleground states]( to augment the traditional work of consulates and embassies in trying to decipher the political contests. - For months, a [persistent group of election skeptics]( has inundated local election officials with public records requests, seeking data they believe will prove the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The requests emanate from a single home in Florida. The last time leaders got together for a climate summit the backdrop was already tense — but that might still prove to be the good old days as Egypt prepares to stage COP27. As [Marc Champion]( and [Salma El Wardany]( write, Russia’s war in Ukraine has [supercharged an energy crisis]( that risks shredding COP26’s most concrete achievement: a global consensus to cut down on coal. Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [What a “Saudi First” Policy Means for Oil and Power: Javier Blas]( - [Sunak Must Toughen Up Support for Ukraine, Europe: Martin Ivens]( - [Brazil Gets the Election Finale It Didn’t Need: Clara F. Marques]( - [False Spin Wins Future Political Battles: Jonathan Bernstein]( As Bolsonaro Cuts Into Lula Lead, Battle for Key State Heats Up Minas Gerais is a [must-have state in Brazil’s elections](, and where marketers and pollsters — and candidates — spend their time. Hundreds of miles north of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and as big as Spain, it splits Brazil down the middle. [Martha Viotti Beck]( lays out the role the state may play in the runoff election.  - Bolsonaro [ratcheted up attacks]( on Brazil’s electoral authority after it denied a request to investigate radio stations for allegedly giving preference to his opponent. - Tensions from the election are [spilling into the workplace](. Simone Andrade sells products with political motifs on the streets of Belo Horizonte. Photographer: Ana Caroline de Lima Student Debt Headaches Return for Millions Despite Biden Relief Biden’s plans to wipe out up to $10,000 on many individual federal student loans — and in some cases up to $20,000 — will be welcomed by close to 40 million Americans who are in line to benefit as soon as this month. But [Mackenzie Hawkins]( writes that tens of millions will see a return of [student debt burdens]( in the new year, creating more financial headaches and hardship at a time of economic uncertainty. Just six weeks before EU sanctions on Russian oil come into effect, [insurers are still unclear]( as to exactly how they will work. At the heart of the uncertainty is a continued lack of detail surrounding US-led plans, endorsed by Group of Seven nations, to cap the price of Russian oil exports. Explainers of the Week - [What's a ‘Dirty Bomb’ and Why Is There Concern in Ukraine?]( - [New Covid Boosters Aren’t Better Than Old Ones, Study Finds]( - [All About CFIUS, the Watchdog Biden May Use to Review Musk’s Ventures]( - [What Sunday’s Bolsonaro-Lula Runoff Means for Brazil]( Biden Wary of US Troops for Haiti Aid Mission as Crisis Worsen 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 needed to avoid collapse. [Josh Wingrove]( and [Iain Marlow]( report from their sources that the US is searching for options — including potentially a mission led by another country. Haitians protesting high prices and shortages burn tires on the streets of Port-au-Prince in July Photographer: Richard Pierrin/AFP/Getty Images And finally … Surging tensions with China have spurred Taiwan to boost its defenses. Now it’s heeding the lessons of the war in Ukraine to address a weakness: the [fragile undersea infrastructure]( that connects it to the internet. Taiwan has 14 subsea cables stretching thousands of miles and directly linking Asian nations including China to the US and other parts of the world. A disruption in a conflict with China could result in Taiwan getting cut off. Taiwan’s Navy detonates explosives during a drill in July, Photographer: Annabelle Chih/Getty Images AsiaPac Like getting this newsletter? 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