The supply chain doesn’t have to ruin Christmas

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a LOL Surprise OMG doll of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [Holiday sales will be scarce]( this year, too. - But [supply-chain woes may have peaked](. - America no longer has [the tax-shelter moral high ground](. - [Evergrande had it coming](. How the Supply Chain (Sort of) Stole Christmas This holiday season could be a sad one in Whoville if Cindy Lou can’t get her Pop Its and LOL Surprise OMG dolls in time. Or maybe that’s just what grinchy retailers want you to think! After all, holidays CAN be merry, VERY, without any presents at all. There’s no question global supply chains are messed up and that you probably should go ahead and order those gifts much earlier than Dec. 23. Prepare to go light on the Who-pudding and Who-hash, for which your Who-cholesterol will probably thank you anyway. But all the panic we’re feeling about scarcity and empty shelves [gives retailers Mount Crumpit-sized pricing power](, notes Andrea Felsted. Yes, they’re hurrying out Black Friday-style sales events in October to encourage people to beat the rush and get that Snackin’ Grogu on the last slow container ship. But anybody hoping for massive discounts closer to the event could be disappointed, Andrea writes. The good news is that [the supply-chain nightmare might have peaked](, Brooke Sutherland writes, proving once again that if this newsletter writes about something three times in a week, it’s already old news. In her closer-to-the-pulse newsletter, she points out freight costs and U.S. port backlogs have fallen lately, while factories are opening again in Asia. Retailers ordering stuff super-early for the holidays might have added to the logjams, too. That means they could clear even more in a month or two, making hearts and wallets not feel quite so tight. South Dakota to Switzerland: Hold My Wall Drug Beer Switzerland and South Dakota don’t have a lot in common, but they both have mountains, they both start with “S,” and they both share a passion for hiding money from meddlesome authorities. In fact, Switzerland is [no longer]( the world’s capital of sheltering capital; South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming and other U.S. states are. Making this awkward is that the transition happened [while Americans were busy shaking their fists at other countries]( for being tax havens, Bloomberg's editorial board points out. Are we the [baddies](? Yes. It’s past time the U.S. took the same steps to discourage tax dodgers it’s always hounding other countries to take. Bonus Editorial: The IMF and World Bank’s problem is [not government influence but a lack of transparency](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Telltale Charts China has good reason to let Evergrande go bust, writes Shuli Ren. [Developers in China have gotten away with recklessness]( for too long, and examples must be made. You’ll never guess [how the banking boom is going for Goldman Sachs](, Paul Davies writes. OK, you’ll guess. Further Reading Chicago cops say [they’ll hold public safety hostage]( just to avoid getting vaccinated. — Tim O’Brien Donald [Trump has the potential to spoil]( the midterm elections for the GOP. — Jonathan Bernstein Falling [bond yields may reflect President Joe Biden’s]( sagging political fortunes. — John Authers [China’s cruise industry is on the verge of a boom](. — Adam Minter Amazon [Ring cameras automatically recording conversations]( is a huge privacy problem. — Parmy Olson What you’ll get [when you buy a Bitcoin futures ETF](. — Matt Levine The aspirin advice reversal is a reminder [doctors sometimes do more harm than good]( when they push things on healthy patients. — Faye Flam ICYMI The U.S. [opened its borders to vaccinated travelers](. The FDA is reportedly [holding up approving Moderna shots for kids](. But an FDA panel [approved a Johnson & Johnson booster](. Rusty [airline pilots are making mistakes](. Kickers New Zealand city [fires its wizard](. (h/t Mike Smedley) Robot dogs: hilarious. [Robot dogs with assault rifles](: not so hilarious. Maybe Michael Bay was right: We [could nuke asteroids](. Scientists find a [planet that survived its star’s death](. That's not a giant skeleton. [This is a giant skeleton](. Notes:  Please send soup 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. 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