Once more, with feeling: foreign election interference is not OK

[Bloomberg]( Today’s Agenda - Foreign election [meddling is as wrong]( as ever. - Don’t be so [quick to blame Iran]( for oil-tanker attacks. - A stumbling equity fund carries [a dire warning for finance](. - Tory leaders are [stuck in Theresa May’s fantasy]( world. - Two years on, Amazon-Whole Foods [has been surprisingly dull]( so far. Trump’s Open Collusion Invitation It’s hard to believe we have to say this again in the Year of Our Lord 2019, but it apparently needs repeating: Foreign meddling in U.S. elections is bad. President Donald Trump, who benefited from Russian meddling in the 2016 election, [said]( yesterday he’d be open to taking more help from foreign sources in future elections. Such an attitude makes the country vulnerable to hostile powers – Russia probably didn’t help Trump out of the goodness of its heart, after all – and weakens public faith in elections, writes Bloomberg LP founder Mike Bloomberg. That’s why, in the past, foreign agents peddling dirt, money or other election assistance were rejected and reported promptly to the FBI, Mike notes. [Trump doesn’t think that’s necessary](. So Congress should pass a law, proposed by Sen. Mark Warner, making it so, Mike writes. In the meantime, [more Republicans should speak out]( against Trump’s unacceptable invitation for more collusion in the next election, writes Jonathan Bernstein. Since he wrote, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney have disagreed with Trump; but GOP leadership – including Mitch McConnell, who [won’t let]( the Senate consider an election-security bill – must set the president straight, Jonathan writes. Rush to Tanker-Attack Judgment When solving a mystery, such as a murder, a Watergate Hotel break-in or an oil-tanker attack, a good question to ask is: Who benefits? Julian Lee asks that after two tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman this morning. The U.S. quickly [blamed]( Iran, but Julian isn’t so sure. Choking off the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz might be one way Iran could strike back at the world for sanctions: But the timing here is all wrong. [Iran would have to be unbelievably clumsy]( to poke the American bear right now; a likelier culprit is some actor that wants to see Iran-U.S. tensions rising, Julian writes. Mission accomplished. Oil prices, which have fallen lately on signs of weak demand, [rebounded]( a bit after the attacks. But Liam Denning notes oil isn’t the only fuel whose price depends on free passage through Hormuz; more than a [quarter of the world’s liquefied natural gas travels]( that way too. A prolonged conflict could have impacts on LNG trade throughout the world, particularly in China, which already has plenty on its plate. Further Energy Reading: Trump [doesn’t need to sanction Russian gas](; the market is already shifting away from it. – Leonid Bershidsky Reasons to Worry About Finance and the Economy If you’re not worried about foreign election meddling or U.S.-Iran tensions, maybe the world of finance can keep you awake at night. A British equity fund, the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, has been struggling with illiquidity lately, at a time when market volatility is low and a vast ocean of liquidity is sloshing around the world, notes Mohamed El-Erian. He suggests this is [a warning of what could happen when markets]( really get into trouble after years of central-bank coddling. There’s an awful lot of risk now hidden away beyond the regulated banking sector, much of it in hard-to-sell assets. Meanwhile, though the market is on recession watch, the consensus seems to be that any near-future downturn would be milder than, say, the Great Recession of a decade ago. Stephen Mihm considers the historical signal being sent by 10-year Treasury yields and suggests [the next recession could be much worse]( than we imagine. One Less Thing to Worry About: One way to hedge CLO risk may be, believe it or not, investing in [parts of other CLOs](. – Brian Chappatta Tory Leadership Race Short on Leadership The U.K.’s Conservative Party is trying to pick a new leader to replace Theresa May. Unfortunately, almost [none of the candidates are saying anything]( more realistic about Brexit than May did, Bloomberg’s editorial board writes. Most are still too cavalier about the risks of a no-deal Brexit and too optimistic about their ability to slice the Gordian knot that defeated May. At least one Tory candidate, Rory Stewart, is talking sense about [the impossible choice facing the party’s next leader](, writes Therese Raphael. His words could come back to haunt front-runner Boris Johnson. Further Brexit Reading: The never-ending Brexit nightmare [makes it hard for the Bank of England]( to respond to rising wages. – Ferdinando Giugliano Happy Birthday, Amazon-Whole Foods Two years ago this weekend, Amazon.com Inc. shocked the world by announcing it was buying Whole Foods. It seemed an apocalyptic moment when Amazon, Destroyer of Retail cast its gaze upon the grocery business. Two years later … [not much has changed](, write Sarah Halzack and Shira Ovide. Whole Foods prices are generally lower, and Amazon has put some Amazon stuff in stores. But industry-changing ideas have not yet appeared. That may be small comfort to British grocers such as Tesco Plc. Amazon has waded into the U.K. grocery business lately, partnering with Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc. Coming as German retailers are already squeezing the market, [Amazon’s arrival is unwelcome](, writes Andrea Felsted. Telltale Charts There's still far [too much lead polluting]( this country, writes Noah Smith. Cleaning it up could curb the crime rates in some of our most dangerous cities. Further Reading Poland [isn’t getting a “Fort Trump](” just yet, but maybe it needs one. – James Stavridis Trump bragging about trying to get a discount on a drug for veterans is the latest example of [his performative approach to high prices](; it sounds good, but accomplishes little. – Max Nisen Sure, Elizabeth Warren has lots of ideas, but [too many are unrealistic](. – Ramesh Ponnuru We’ll need green energy to avoid climate change’s worst effects, but [lower economic growth]( will likely result. – Mark Buchanan Uber Technologies Inc.’s new rider-rating policy [must be watched carefully]( for bias. – Scott Kominers Investors [shouldn’t be so sanguine]( about tech probes, as the discovery of apparently damning Mark Zuckerberg email reminds us. – Shira Ovide Update: Kellyanne Conway vs. the Hatch Act Today a federal watchdog suggested Kellyanne Conway should be drummed from the federal government for violating the Hatch Act. Back in March, Noah Feldman wrote the [act is too vague to be constitutional](. ICYMI The U.S. is [purging Chinese cancer researchers](. LME traders [can’t drink on the job]( any more. Retirees may [run out of money]( a decade before death. Kickers St. Louis Blues fan bets $400, [wins $100,000](. Archaeologists find [3,000-year-old evidence]( of pot-smoking. (h/t Scott Kominers for the first two kickers) AI [generates human faces]( based only on voices. How a negotiation expert would [bargain with a stubborn kid](. Note: Please send retirement money and complaints 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