A losing, humiliated Putin is the most dangerous Putin

Plus: A Soviet revival. [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an autarky of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - A cornered Putin is [the most dangerous Putin](. - Russia is [reverting to a Soviet-era economy](. - Tech giants have [too much power](. - Consumer staples are [the new FAANGs](. Beware the Cornered Putin Many people and organizations, from cereal companies to Hogwarts houses, have animal mascots meant to represent their core values. Sometimes they’re almost too revealing. For example, the animal with which Vladimir Putin has publicly [identified]( is the cornered rat. Not to be confused with Pizza Rat, which is just trying to bring dinner home on the subway, or [Scabby the Rat](, which is just trying to helpfully point out non-union workers, Cornered Rat is the most dangerous rat of all, because it will attack unexpectedly to escape. Putin is cornered in Ukraine, where no amount of war crimes have been able to break the will of a nation he expected to subjugate two months ago. Andreas Kluth sees hints [Putin is now looking for new ways to attack](. Cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria is one. A string of mysterious explosions in Moldova hints at another, darker avenue. And if he gets truly desperate, he has plenty of chemical and nuclear weapons. In a sense, the West is playing a game of chicken to see how much it can damage Russia’s economy and war machine, along with Putin’s standing at home, without triggering a nightmarish response. Russia, deprived of Western goods, must [revert to being the starved autarky]( that made living in the Soviet Union such a pleasant experience, writes Leonid Bershidsky. Unfortunately for the Russian people, the only way to enforce it will be full-on fascism. It’s worth remembering that a young Putin escaped from the cornered rat that impressed him so much by attacking him. We should be so lucky. Bonus Ukraine-War Reading: - The war [is finally waking Japan up]( to the need to arm itself. — Gearoid Reidy - The war should inspire [Americans and Saudis to stop feuding](. —  Bobby Ghosh All That Power Kanye West once recorded a song called “[Power](,” in which he said “No one man should have all that power” — the “man” in this case being Kanye West and the point being that it was good, actually, that he had so much power. It could have been a theme song for his [buddy]( Elon Musk, who has become even more powerful than Kanye in the decade since. He is the world’s richest human, runs one of the world’s most valuable companies, and makes people talk endlessly about him whether they want to or not. It’s exhausting, all the power he has. Soon he will have even more, assuming his deal to take Twitter private goes through. As Parmy Olson notes, the deal will [give Musk untouchable control]( of this influential media platform used by presidents and movie stars. And if Tesla’s soft-as-jello board is any preview, he will have nobody to tell him no. In that, he’s like a lot of other Silicon Valley demigods, from Mark Zuckerberg to Sergey Brin and Larry Page, whose special voting stock gives them overweening power over some of history’s most massive and influential organizations. No one man should have it, but here we are. Bonus Tech-Giant Reading: - If Musk wants Twitter to succeed, he’ll have to make it [less welcoming to crypto scammers](. — Lionel Laurent - Investors might cheer [Meta dialing back its Metaverse spending](, but don’t expect the joy to last. — Parmy Olson Telltale Charts With the economy beset by inflation, war, [wacky]( GDP accounting and more, [consumer staples are the new tech stocks](, write Jonathan Levin and Andrea Felsted. Carvana, the would-be Amazon of cars, has terrible timing and is [now in a huge financial hole](, writes Chris Bryant. Further Reading Washington plans to address [supply-chain and security concerns around China]( will do more harm than good. — Bloomberg’s editorial board  Ron [DeSantis’s solar-friendly veto]( of a utility bill is not so much pro-solar as it is pro-DeSantis 2024. — Liam Denning The bad GDP report makes it more likely [we’re getting a recession this year](. — Gary Shilling [China’s growth should easily top the U.S.](’s this year, thanks to inflation, but it won’t boost Chinese living standards. — Shuli Ren Sports betting offers a chance to [measure psychological effects on markets](. — John Authers Barclays had a great quarter, [aside from one huge, expensive mistake](. — Paul Davies ICYMI [Old-fashioned artillery]( is helping Ukraine beat Russia. The FDA proposed [banning menthol cigarettes](. Eli Lilly says its obesity drug helps patients [lose 20% of their body weight](. Kickers VR researchers figure out [how to simulate kisses](. How [used hotel soap can save lives](. (h/t Scott Kominers for the first two kickers) We’re starting to explore [what’s in the moon’s permanent shadows](. Now there’s a [fungal, compostable styrofoam]( substitute. Notes: Please send used soap and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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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