Trump doesn’t have to carry Saudi water

[Bloomberg]( Today’s Agenda - Trump has the [upper hand on Saudi Arabia](, even [when it comes to oil](, but seems not to want it. - Sears is a reminder [nothing gold can stay](, but its parts can feed the [next gold things](. - Even if Beto O’Rourke loses to Ted Cruz, he’s still [done us a favor](. - The government [encourages bad financial behavior](. - If we don’t [convince China to change](, the climate fight is lost. Trump’s Saudi Surrender For someone so famously pugilistic, President Donald Trump seems to be dodging a fight he can easily win. The president today said Saudi Arabia’s king had strongly denied his government was involved in the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashogghi – and then suggested “rogue killers” might be responsible for Khashogghi’s fate. This a) indicates the king knows the journalist is dead, a fact not yet in evidence; and b) is a remarkably weak display of fealty to a kingdom whose human-rights abuses have been condemned from left and right. This weird capitulation came just hours after Trump threatened “severe punishment” if Saudi Arabia were found guilty of Khashogghi’s murder. Bobby Ghosh suggests [Trump wants it both ways](, looking tough while also not scaring off an oil supplier and big-spending weapons-buyer. But Bobby writes Trump can easily afford to be tough with Saudi Arabia – the president is right it wouldn’t last “two weeks” without U.S. help – and he must be tough if he’s to maintain U.S. credibility. Read the [whole thing](. Maybe Trump fears Saudi Arabia will clamp down on oil, jacking up gas prices just ahead of the midterm elections. But even there [Trump has the upper hand](, writes Liam Denning. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says he wants to take Saudi Aramco public at a $2 trillion valuation in the near-ish future. Turning its primary product into a political weapon against the world’s biggest superpower would really dampen enthusiasm for the IPO roadshow, Liam observes. And jacking up oil prices is a good way to hasten peak oil demand. Read the [whole thing](. CNN just [reported]( Saudi Arabia may say Khashogghi died in a botched, unauthorized interrogation and will punish “those involved.” This may sound flimsy and unbelievable, but Trump’s attitude today hints it may be good enough to avoid dire repercussions. Bonus Khashogghi reading: Good on Turkey for blowing the whistle, but its record on protecting journalists is [not much better than Saudi Arabia’s](. – Eli Lake RIP (Sort of) Sears In one of the least-surprising business-news stories in history, Sears Holdings Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This ignominy has been 14 years in the making for owner/Chairman/soon-to-be-former CEO Eddie Lampert and 132 years for the company [Richard Sears started by selling watches]( out of a train station in Minnesota. It’s worth stopping to reflect, as Joe Nocera does, on how Sears’s corporate life span has been unusually long. (And Lampert means to keep a zombie version going for a while longer.) This is also the latest example of how [even the greatest corporate empires eventually fall]( to upstart rivals, Joe writes. Sears was too slow to adapt to changing times. The same could happen to today’s behemoths, including Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. – although it may take another 132 years. Read the [whole thing](, including a tour of a ghastly Sears store. Speaking of those rivals, Sarah Halzack notes even a diminished Sears still does [a lot of business](: That’s an awfully big pie to be divided up between Best Buy Co., Home Depot Inc., Lowe's Cos., along with Amazon, Walmart and a bunch of other rivals. Read the [whole thing](. Twenty-One Days to the Midterms Ted Cruz and other Republicans may cheer Beto O’Rourke’s recent fade in the polls. But the Democrat, whom Cass Sunstein has [called “Reaganesque](,” has still done something [important with his candidacy](, writes Francis Wilkinson. He has exposed how solid-red Texas may be closer to turning purple than many realize. He has shown you can run a high-profile campaign without pollsters or PAC money. Most critically, though, he has shown how to turn anger at Trump into an uplifting, unifying message. Read the [whole thing](. Bonus midterm reading: - [Results in six tough House races]( will reveal the strength of any blue wave. – Al Hunt - Dems [haven’t misspent their massive fundraising haul](, even when giving millions to seemingly doomed candidates. – Jonathan Bernstein Uncle Sam Wants You … to Borrow More Debt, and the overabundance thereof, is a common denominator in most financial disasters, including the latest ones in the U.S. and Europe. And yet the U.S. [government subsidizes debt]( in all kinds of ways, including tax breaks for mortgages and corporate borrowing, possibly teeing up the next crisis, Bloomberg's editors write. “At the very least, regulators should refrain from giving the green light to excessive leverage. Given the Trump administration’s own fondness for debt – witness the government’s [surging budget deficits]( – don’t expect decisive action any time soon.” Read the [whole thing](. Bonus editorial: The government isn’t doing nearly enough to [crack down on white-collar crime](. The Climate Fight Overseas No matter what the U.S. and Europe do, the battle against catastrophic climate change will be lost if [China doesn’t curb its emissions dramatically](, writes Noah Smith. He lays out several ways the U.S. and other developed nations can encourage it to do so. Writing from China, Adam Minter points out that [electric scooters could be vital weapons]( in the fight to curb emissions in China, India and other developing nations. Chart Attack Trump’s defense-spending ramp-up has inspired [a surge in spending on industry deals](, writes Brooke Sutherland. Bank of America Corp. has lost some investment-banking revenue from [playing it safe](, but the rewards may be worth it, writes Stephen Gandel. Quick Hits The little [Chicken War of the 1960s]( had big, long-lasting repercussions. Imagine what Trump’s China trade war will do. – Stephen Mihm The world’s economic leaders are [warning of trouble ahead](. – Mohamed El-Erian Colin Kaepernick isn’t the first athlete to suffer for his politics; but like the others, [history will treat him well](. – Al Hunt Uh, sorry to bother you, but the [housing market may be in trouble]( again. – Lakshman Achuthan Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test is a reminder the [days of DNA privacy are over](. – Noah Feldman Who can [save us from robo-calls](? Why robots, of course. (Includes many fun robot links.) – Scott Duke Kominers The lesson of “First Man” has nothing to do with [who planted the flag]( on the moon. – Ramesh Ponnuru ICYMI Trump’s first-year federal [budget deficit hit a six-year]( high. To slow climate change, [eat less meat](. Century-and-a-half-old [wine is still drinkable](. Kickers In hindsight, maybe the U.S. embassy in Canberra should have just gone ahead with the [cat pajama jam](. It’s a tough time for people in giant foam costumes. One got [punched by a pro boxer](, and then there’s [whatever this is](. Those growing piles of books you’ll never read at least [say something good about you](. (h/t Scott Duke Kominers for the first three kickers) Male [gorillas who enjoy babysitting]( tend to father more babies. Siblings may be [more important than parents](. There’s [no escaping quantum weirdness](, a study has shown. Here’s the [story behind the original “Halloween](.” Note: Please send books, suggestions and kicker ideas to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. Also: Sign up [here for John Authers’s daily newsletter]( on global markets and investment, starting soon. Bloomberg Ideas On Oct. 25, Bloomberg Opinion columnists will participate in three long-form discussions, bringing their unique perspectives on technology, finance, politics, law, business and economics. They’ll cover topics central to the tech industry: how government should (or shouldn’t) regulate tech, the economics of AI, and the state of cryptocurrencies. [Click here if you're interested in attending.]( *** New subscribers can [sign up here](. [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]( [Twitter Share]( SEND TO A FRIEND [Share with a friend] You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022 If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely [unsubscribe](.