Crypto bros can’t afford Rolexes any more

Plus: Gas isn't so painful. [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an Audemars Piguet of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Crypto’s crash is [making watches cheaper](. - [Gas prices aren’t as important]( these days. - The [ECB can’t even see the curve]( anymore. - [Climate disclosure is good]( for companies. Source: Igor Makic/r/wallstreetbets Source: Igor Makic/r/wallstreetbets Watch Out Everything is terrible, but at least the crypto crash is refilling our nation’s Strategic Schadenfreude Reserve. Nouveau riche who have spent years telling us to “have fun staying poor” are now apparently returning, Lambo dreams in tatters, to the [job market](. This is good news for people worried about tight labor supply fueling inflation. It’s also a boon for people shopping for ludicrously expensive watches, admittedly a much smaller demographic. I thought I was indulging when I bought myself an Apple Watch, but that thing is a Casio in a spinny rack at Sears (ask your parents) compared to your typical Rolex or Audemars Piguet. But anyway, [luxury watch prices have recently fallen]( from “mortal soul” levels to more reasonable “firstborn child” levels, Andrea Felsted writes, thanks to crypto bros being carried out on their shields. Now’s your chance to buy a Patek Philippe Nautilus for just — hahaha this can’t be right — $192,800? That’s almost as much as I paid for a JPG of a cartoon ape! With the stock market woozy and a recession supposedly looming, you might want to hold out for even lower prices — or for your cartoon apes to recoup their losses, whichever comes first. Wealthy people who chose to make their money the old-fashioned way, in stocks, have it a little bit better. Alexis Leondis points out that if you have a big portfolio and need to raise a ton of cash to buy a house, you can always [borrow against your holdings](. Rates for such shenanigans are far lower than the typical mortgage rate right now. Just don’t go, uh, ape. Gas Lighting Because gasoline prices are displayed in massive signs all around us, they are America’s most obvious bellwethers of inflation and, apparently, our national mood. It doesn’t help that TV news crews are drawn to them like bottle flies to a landfill. But Robert Burgess is here to tell you [gas prices get too much attention](. Yes, fuel is a big expense for many low- and middle-income people who must drive to earn a living. But as a percentage of our overall expenses, gasoline is nowhere near as meaningful as it was, say, 10 years ago: Plus, consumers have more stimulus checks, wage hikes and savings to help them weather the storm this time around, Bob notes. No wonder that, based on my rigorous scientific study of the traffic in suburban New Jersey, there are still too many dang people on the road. Telltale Charts You hear a lot about how the Fed fell behind the curve on inflation, but the ECB doesn’t seem to be aware a curve even exists. Euro-zone inflation just hit a [record high]( of 8.6%, thanks to President Joe Biden’s stimulus the Ukraine war, and [the ECB is twiddling its thumbs](, notes Marcus Ashworth. Is it too much to ask to at least make interest rates not negative anymore? Further Reading Companies may grouse at [new SEC climate-disclosure rules](, but they’ll help them and investors in the long run. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Biden is catering too much to extremists and [not trying to find a realistic compromise on abortion]( rights. — Matt Yglesias [India can’t make its army leaner]( because it’s the only source of jobs for so many young men. — Mihir Sharma Erdogan won very little for [making himself a nuisance again to NATO](. — Bobby Ghosh You’ll likely get reinfected with Covid, but [there’s hope in new vaccines]( and the slow accretion of immunity. — Therese Raphael and Sam Fazeli Thinking like a freelancer can [help you prepare for a recession](. — Erin Lowry ICYMI Europe is a [terrible place to travel]( right now. In fact, [better just avoid all airports](. Home sellers are [suddenly cutting prices](. The new dump of ([very long]() “[Stranger Things” episodes broke Netflix](. Kickers Delta offered passengers [$10,000 to get off a flight](. (h/t Scott Kominers) Happy [Bobby Bonilla Day]( to all who observe. Source: ESPN Source: ESPN Area dog walker finds [massive jellyfish](. What’s with all the [weird wrong-number texts](? Notes: Please send $1,193,248.20 per year 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 Opinion Today newsletter. 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