The stock market may be trying to tell us something

[Bloomberg]( Today’s Agenda - The stock market, led by [energy stocks](, is trying to tell us something. - Ivanka’s rule-breaking email use is [par for the Trump course](. - Trump’s support may not be enough for [Mohammed Bin Salman](. - The [Bitcoin beatings]( will continue. - We need a [better way of measuring]( the economy’s health. Stocks Hit an Oil Slick President Donald Trump wants rising stock prices and falling oil prices. Apparently he can’t have both at once. The stock market [tumbled hard today](, the sixth decline in the past eight trading days, taking the S&P 500 close to last month’s lows and making the entire year’s trading so far basically a wash. Tech stocks have gotten most of the ink in the latest leg down, but Liam Denning points out [energy stocks took a bigger beating]( than any other sector today and are now as unloved as they were during the financial crisis: Not a great precedent! It doesn’t help that oil prices crumbled today too, with Nymex crude falling nearly 7 percent to its lowest level in more than a year. Trump has been haranguing OPEC to bring oil prices lower, but this amount of pain – along with the plunge in copper prices – suggests [weakness in the global economy](, as Komal Sri-Kumar wrote last week. There are mitigating factors for all of these things. Falling oil demand is due partly to rising energy efficiency, which is [good news]( for the climate, as Nathaniel Bullard wrote last week. And energy stocks are suffering from investors’ PTSD from the oil-price crash of a couple of years ago, Liam notes. Still, these things add up. Throw in tech, copper and [pummeled credit markets]( – to name a few – and the big picture gets uglier. Oh, and [cash suddenly looks like a promising]( investment, notes Brian Chappatta. Again, not a great look. Further Markets Reading: - Investment managers that rode the bull market higher are suffering now. Small and medium firms are especially [vulnerable to being washed away](. – Mark Gilbert - Stagflation wouldn’t necessarily [ruin your portfolio](. – Nir Kaissar But Her Emails (Ivanka Edition) Hey, remember the 2016 presidential campaign? You’re probably trying not to, but it’s impossible to forget Trump’s main campaign slogan that year. No, not “Make America Great Again,” but “[Lock Her Up](,” referring to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server; the FBI decided it wasn’t worth criminal prosecution, but Trump suggested otherwise. Funny story: It turns out Trump’s daughter Ivanka, now a key member of his White House staff, has [also used a private email account]( to conduct official business. This might seem a smidgen hypocritical to you, a person who may think rules apply to all people equally. Tim O’Brien points out Ivanka’s flouting of the law is just the latest example of how she, like her father, considers [rules to apply only to lesser humanoids]( not named Trump (or Kushner). This goes beyond private-email use to all the more serious rule violations at the heart of the ethical rot of Trump’s presidency, Tim notes. Read the [whole thing](. Believing Bin Salman Trump today the extraordinary step of [releasing a long, exclamation-pointy statement]( explaining why he’s ignoring the CIA’s conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This seems to be another case of he-said/the-entire-intelligence-community-said, similar to what happened with Russian interference in the 2016 election. But it’s worth pointing out the [CIA would not have blamed MBS]( if it did not have compelling evidence to back up that claim, writes Bobby Ghosh. You might think there’s some realpolitik behind Trump’s unwillingness to throw MBS under the bus. But Bobby notes the CIA has a little bit of experience with realpolitik; and it wouldn’t have called out MBS if it weren’t confident his remaining in power was critical to U.S. interests in the region. And though MBS has Trump on his side, that may not be enough to alleviate his growing isolation. Read the [whole thing](. Bitcoin Has Further to Fall Bitcoin has been [no safe haven]( from the recent stock-market meltdown. In fact, after tumbling nearly 80 percent from its peak, it is now [back to where it was]( when Jamie Dimon called it a fraud last year. And the [pain may be far from over](, warns Stephen Gandel. He cites a Bitcoin-specific valuation metric called the “network-value-to-transaction” ratio, which is sort of like price/earnings for cryptocurrency. And by that measure, Bitcoin is still awfully expensive, despite its swoon: Just Measuring GDP Isn’t Enough GDP is our primary measure of the economy, but it only tells part of the story. We need a regular report of [how the nation’s economic growth is being distributed]( across income groups, Bloomberg’s editorial board writes. This will help us tell if economic growth is sustainable and how well it’s benefiting all Americans. Because lately it hasn’t been: Further Economic Reading: Does Trump or Obama deserve more credit for the strong economy? How about neither; [Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen and Jay Powell do](, for sticking with stimulus despite panicky doubters. – Noah Smith ICYMI, Ray Dalio Edition Bloomberg Opinion’s Barry Ritholtz sat down yesterday for a long conversation with the always-fascinating hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio at the Bloomberg Opinion Masters in Business event. [Watch the whole thing here](. Telltale Charts Lowe’s Cos. country looks an awful lot like The Home Depot Inc. country, note Sarah Halzack and Elaine He. But where Lowe’s stands alone says a lot about why [it’s struggling to keep up]( with its bigger rival. Working from home is now [more common than commuting]( by public transportation, points out Justin Fox. It will take more than losing Carlos Ghosn to [split up the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance](; the companies have become deeply enmeshed and will be hard to separate, writes David Fickling. Train Reading The big problem with Theresa May’s Brexit deal is that it [makes the U.K. forever a subordinate]( to the EU. That won’t be good for either in the long run. – Clive Crook The China-U.S. rivalry is just that: a [rivalry, not a cold war](. – Daniel Moss Russia and Japan may be about to [finally end World War II]( (yes, really) – but it could require a big sacrifice from Vladimir Putin. –Leonid Bershidsky Letting [a Russian run Interpol]( would be the final nail in that organization’s coffin. – Leonid Bershidsky Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group signing [Taylor Swift is a reputational coup](, but also raises some questions for investors in its upcoming IPO. – Alex Webb Betsy DeVos’s new campus sexual-harassment rules [protect civil liberties](. – Ramesh Ponnuru In art, as in many other aspects of life, it’s not how hard you work but [who you know](. – Faye Flam How to [keep Thanksgiving dinner]( debates civil. – Barry Ritholtz More ICYMI Maybe [don’t eat romaine lettuce]( for a while. Hedge-fund manager [confesses losses]( on YouTube. Kickers Marriage proposal devolves into [otter chaos](. Termites in Brazil have [built a mound complex]( bigger than Minnesota. Finally, scientists have figured out why [wombats poop cubes](. Finally, a decent Thanksgiving recipe: [Hot Cheetos turkey](. (h/t Scott Duke Kominers for the first four kickers) Curling team kicked out of Canadian tournament for [being too drunk](. (h/t Mike Smedley) What is the [correct time to eat Thanksgiving]( dinner? Why “Addams Family Values” is the [perfect Thanksgiving movie](. Note: Please send Hot Cheetos, suggestions and kicker ideas to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. New to Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. [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. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022