China may be its own worst Cold War 2.0 enemy

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a leg warmer of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - China [isn’t helping itself win the Cold War](. - We need more data on [risks for the vaccinated](. - The [U.S. had an EU travel ban coming](. - [Warby Parker is a breath]( of fresh air. They’re back. OK, maybe not Goose. Photographer: CBS Photo Archive/CBS/Getty Images Not Necessarily the ‘80s We love our ‘80s nostalgia, don’t we, folks? There’s a [new “Top Gun” movie](. People are wearing [leg warmers]( again. There’s even a new Cold War, including an Olympics to [boycott](. Some things are different this time. Cold War 2.0 involves China, not the Soviet Union. Cold War 1.0 ended shortly after the Soviets lost in Afghanistan. The U.S. [lost]( its Afghanistan war before Cold War 2.0 cranked up. But similar to the Soviets, China has taken to repeatedly punching its own economy in the face. China began this Cold War with arguably more economic clout than the USSR ever enjoyed, with a half-capitalist model better connected to global trade. But Xi Jinping has lately cracked down on private Chinese companies, scaring away foreign investors. After hitting tech, education and video games, [Xi’s next target could be botox](, warns Shuli Ren. Xi’s aim is to reassert the Communist Party’s dominance and ostensibly to make Chinese society more equitable and protective of its children. But Michael Schuman argues [the real effect could be to crush the entrepreneurial spirit that flourished in China]( after Deng Xiaoping’s reforms back in those glorious ‘80s. When China’s government controlled its economy, it was much less dynamic. If China hopes to win Cold War 2.0, it’s embracing the wrong kind of nostalgia. Further China Reading: Xi’s video-game limits [shouldn’t hurt gaming companies too much](. — Tim Culpan Not Enough Information Speaking of the ‘80s, am I the only one that hears The Police’s “[Too Much Information](” in my head all the time these days? No? Just me? I should have that looked at? OK. Anyway, there is too much information about [everything]( these days, but particularly about Covid-19. To be precise, conscientious citizens face a mix of too much, not enough and mis-information about Covid-19 that can leave their daily decision trees looking like this: A huge problem is the [dearth of information about just how safe vaccinated people]( really are, Faye Flam writes. Is immunity waning enough to warrant booster shots? Do the vaccinated still need to wear masks everywhere, or just some of the time? So far, there are far more terrifying headlines about these questions than there are hard, cold numbers. Without them, the output of that decision tree will keep being ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The EU might have just made life a little simpler for Americans by removing travel as an option. The EU slapped fresh restrictions on non-essential travel from the U.S., and Lionel Laurent writes [this was a long time coming](. For one thing, the U.S. tops Europe in cases and lags it in vaccinations: On top of that, the U.S. has stubbornly clung to a ban on Europeans for a year and a half, even when that ban stopped making sense. It’s payback time. Telltale Charts John Authers’ inflation dashboard continues to tell us [not to panic yet about inflation](. In light of this information, Bloomberg Opinion Today maintains its Inflation Threat Level at five (5) Volckers out of 10. Further Reading [Warby Parker’s S-1 is a refreshing look at a rare company]( that’s not overcompensating its C-suite. — Michelle Leder Maybe [investors were OK with Theranos fudging the truth](. Blood-test patients were not. — Matt Levine Democratic extremists may be policy outliers, but they’re pragmatic. [GOP extremists tend to be radicals](. — Jonathan Bernstein How to invest to [avoid worrying about market wobbles](. — Stuart Trow There’s a strong case for [paying young bankers much more money](. — Jared Dillian ICYMI Wells Fargo needs to [pick up the pace](. There's a market for [$8,000-a-week nurses](. Zoom misbehavior has [gotten a lot of people fired](. Kickers A [fake Banksy NFT sold]( for $336,000. (h/t Scott Kominers) A Roman priest’s [remains were found preserved in Pompeii](. Wild [boar open traps to free]( each other. Nandi Bushell finally got to [drum for the Foo Fighters](. Sauce: Sauce: Notes:  Please send fake NFTs and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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