Liz Truss didn’t outlast the lettuce

Plus: Russian terrorism. [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a tossed salad of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Liz Truss leaves [her party in a mess](. - Russia is a [terrorist state](. - Tesla might [buy its own stock](. - Hope you [need an apartment](, because we’re building them. Lettuce Prey In an outcome that shocked few, the lettuce won. Six days ago, the UK’s Daily Star tabloid started a live video feed of a head of [lettuce]( with googly eyes, sitting next to a photograph of then-Prime Minister Liz Truss with squintier eyes. Would the lettuce rot before Truss’s premiership? We should have bet money on it, gentle readers, because that lettuce is still crisp enough to make a nice salad, while Truss’s political career is bound for the bin, innit. Truss stepped proudly into office six weeks ago, only to plant her foot on a very large rake. Her departure will make her the shortest-serving PM in British history, beating the record previously held by Sir Neville “Speedy” Walpole-Cratchit, who was sacked after just three months over the Toad-in-the-Hole Unpleasantness of 1824. Truss certainly made the most of her spot of tea in office, trashing her nation’s finances and [her party’s electoral chances]( in short order. New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the BOE have more or less bandaged up the finance bits — though Marcus Ashworth writes there are [more tests coming soon for British gilts]( and the pound. As for the Tories, Therese Raphael writes [they are still very much in the ICU](. Conservatives now must find a PM candidate who can unite them and restore faith in their ability to walk and chew gum at the same time. We’re told some bloke calling himself “[Joris Bohnson](” is interested. But the most sensible choice here is obvious: Give the lettuce a shot. It can’t do any worse. Bonus Old Blighty Reading: UK [consumers face a cold winter]( no matter who is PM. — Andrea Felsted Time to Call a Terrorist State a Terrorist State When nongovernmental organizations such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State use civilian slaughter and threats of WMD as tools of persuasion, we rightly call that “terrorism.” So why don’t we call what Russia is doing in Ukraine by the same name?  Igor Cherkaskyi, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Ukraine, argues the [Kremlin should join Iran and North Korea]( on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, cutting it off from the international financial system. Anything that further isolates Russia can only help. Already Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine face-plant has some Central Asian countries under the tattered Russian umbrella [starting to stretch their running legs](, Clara Ferreira Marques writes. This is an opening for China to gain more influence. But it’s also an opportunity for the West to keep rescuing nations from Russia’s sphere of bad influence. Further Russia Reading: It’s smart for NATO to go ahead with [nuclear war games]( to show Putin it won’t be cowed. — James Stavridis Cash-Needy Tesla May Burn Some Cash Less than two years ago, when Tesla’s stock was soaring, meme-stock mania was in full swing and Elon Musk’s reality-distortion field was at its strongest, the EV maker sold $5 billion in fresh stock to a hungry public. Last night, Musk suggested the company would probably buy it all back. What’s weird is that [Tesla needs all the cash it can get](, Liam Denning notes. It wants to grow sales by 50% a year, the sort of ambition that usually demands the sacrifice of heaps of cash. That would seem to preclude spending said cash on your (admittedly cheaper these days) stock. But Musk has other ambitions, which include buying (admittedly overpriced) Twitter, for which he will probably have to sell some Tesla stock. Why not pump it up a little bit in the interim? Fellas, is it woke to wonder if that’s bad corporate governance?  Telltale Charts The housing market may be teetering on a cliff, but America’s [apartment-building boom]( shows no signs of slowing, writes Justin Fox. Further Reading [Iran's heroic Gen Z protesters]( have exposed the regime's gaping legitimacy void. — Bobby Ghosh Crypto has to figure out the difference between [a hack and a good trade](. — Matt Levine Big Oil is starting to [go big on green gas](. — Javier Blas The US is kidding itself if it thinks [semiconductor independence]( will end its reliance on foreign tech suppliers. — Tim Culpan We just [can’t quit you, QE](. — Dan Moss COLA adjustments make [delaying Social Security benefits]( more profitable. — Alexis Leondis ICYMI The [Fed’s ethics rules]( may have some holes. Republicans [might cut aid to Ukraine]( when they take over the House. Mark Hamill sent [drones to Ukraine](. Kickers The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs [caused a megatsunami]( with mile-high waves. (h/t Ellen Kominers) Government officials fighting the Covid outbreak were [weirdly good at trading stocks](. [Bitemark analysis is garbage](, yet another study has shown. Motorcycles may soon get [safer lighting](. Notes:  Please send bitemark analysis 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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