While Americans cut back, China goes full bling

Plus: Pill ban, dollar demise and more. Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a forthcoming debate about Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - China is [spending](. - [The pill]( needs saving. - The dollar’s [dollaring](. - [The rent]( is soaring. China’s Ludicrously Capacious Money Bag Okay, you tell me: Is this a coincidence? Just days after President Emmanuel Macron “kowtowed” — as Andreas Kluth [put it]( — to President Xi Jinping of China, a flood of [French protesters]( stormed the Paris headquarters of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury vendor … which happens to be heavily reliant on Chinese business. Symbolism, baby! It’s a beautiful thing. LVMH reported blowout earnings today, most of which Andrea Felsted says were driven by Asia. As Chinese consumers escaped from the grasp of Covid Zero, they flocked to brands like Dior, Burberry and Loewe[1](#footnote-1). [China’s economic revival is fueling a fashion renaissance]( like no other: This stands in stark contrast to what’s happening in the US. Although American millennials and Gen Z-ers love to [romanticize “old money”]( on TikTok, their urge to splurge on “[ludicrously capacious](” bags is fading fast. But even a protest and a dimming American appetite aren’t about to dim LVMH’s Tiffany-made sparkle. Today’s rally catapulted its market cap to $486 billion, where it [briefly landed a spot]( as the world’s 10th-largest company: France is far from the only place that’s been rocked by protests recently. China, too, has faced the wrath of angry [homeowners boycotting]( their mortgages. Despite that, Shuli Ren says [sentiment is improving slightly](, with 17.5% of households planning to buy a home in the spring. I guess if you can buy a lifetime of Louis Vuitton, you can probably afford to be your own landlord, too. Bonus China Reading: - Xi Jinping doesn’t deserve a free pass on [the Pacific trade pact](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board - [China has regressed]( under Xi Jinping’s rule, and the arrest of two pro-democracy lawyers is the latest proof. — Minxin Pei The Pill It’s official: The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the Texas abortion pill ruling and protect against widespread erosion of the FDA’s power. According to Bloomberg News, Biden’s team “is likely to ask the Supreme Court [to keep mifepristone fully available](while a government appeal goes forward.” Without access to the medication, “[women seeking abortions will suffer needlessly](,” Sarah Green Carmichael writes. Over half of US pregnancy terminations use the pill, as opposed to a procedure. And although there is another abortion drug on the market — misoprostol — it is not a true replacement because it can cause additional side effects like nausea and cramping, two things that sound far more palatable on paper than in real life. “Every time the government makes early abortion harder to get, it pushes some women to get later abortions,” she notes. The longer people wait, the more morally complex and expensive it can get. What’s worse, Julianna Goldman points out, [the American public is not in favor of such a ban](, with 72% of people opposing laws that prevent people from receiving FDA-approved abortion drugs in the mail. The cost of going against public opinion is playing out in real-time: “Women are being turned away from hospitals when they’re having life-threatening miscarriages. Students are deciding whether to apply to colleges based on whether they are in a state where abortion is banned or restricted,” she writes. The will to ignore the masses may come back to bite Republicans, eventually. But until then, we wait. Even as some women can’t afford to do the same. The Undying Dollar People in finance talk about the “death of the dollar” nearly as often as [Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin]( make movies and TV shows … which is to say, [a lot.]( Even if you’ve watched every single episode of “[Grace & Frankie](” six times and went to opening night of “80 for Brady” (couldn’t be me, never), you’ll still be ecstatic to see their latest movie, even if everything but the wigs is basically the same. This also applies to debates about the death of the dollar. And yet: Tyler Cowen says [there’s basically zero chance of it actually happening](. So the next time your buddy goes full dollar death-spiral on you during a round of [Topgolf](, do yourself a favor and AirDrop him [this link](. “If there is any danger here, it is that the forthcoming debate in Washington over the debt ceiling somehow results in a US default. Even if that were to happen, however, it would not be an argument against dollar hegemony … it would just be more proof of the stupidity of America’s politics,” Tyler writes. You see, the dollar’s place as the global reserve currency is as safe as Fonda and Tomlin’s next big paycheck: It’s the center of 88% of all international transactions. The next-closest currency is the euro, at 31%. And China’s yuan is several yard lines behind that, at 7%[2](#footnote-2). There’s no competing with the dollar, and we’re wasting our breath when contemplating its death. You’d be better off attending the funeral in [this movie](, instead. Read [the whole thing](, in all its undying glory. Telltale Charts This is just a theory. But have you seen The Rent in New York City??? She is going CRAZY. Just popping off. Did someone wrong her? Was there a physical altercation on the J Train? Did she not get the job of [rat czar](? To give her credit, if everyone’s forking over their entire paycheck to live in a freaking sunless cubicle, maybe we’ll never want to leave so that we get our money’s worth. The people are off the streets; the rats are gone. There, solved. Thanks to [the $4,175 monthly bill]( for your one-bedroom apartment: To the manufacturing underworld, Fastenal is [Mother](. So when it says “eh, customers aren’t spending as much money lately,” investors tend to jostle their tie knots and read the fine print of the [slide deck](. In the past, the company has served as an economic bellwether for the industrial sector, Brooke Sutherland writes. But whether this [slowdown is a temporary blip or a massive red flag]( is up for debate. Right now it’s not looking too hot: Further Reading This decade-long [study on Parkinson’s disease]( has big payoffs for patients. — Lisa Jarvis The gun debate is worth fighting for, and [Tennessee Governor]( Bill Lee is proof. — Francis Wilkinson Sure, why not. Let’s use Twitter to [trade stocks](. – Matt Levine Mexico is running up its murder tab, and there’s [no military solution]( to stop the carnage. — Shannon O’Neil After the Adani scandal, [India’s relationship with big business]( needs to get less … cozy. — Andy Mukherjee Tim Scott is THE GUY to win the [2024 Republican nomination]( … according to Tim Scott. — Jonathan Bernstein [Childcare is unaffordable](. And even when parents can afford it, sometimes it doesn’t exist. — Kathryn A. Edwards The people who are worried about misinformation also [think they’re above it](. — Faye Flam ICYMI America’s [smallest bank](. [Women]( are out-earning their husbands. London is loaded with [nepotism](. An Air [National Guardsman]( was arrested. Kickers The backyard [bee takeover](. The price of [childhood](. The $29 [ham sandwich](. The black hole’s [AI makeover](. The [Time 100](, feat. [Jennifer Coolidge](. Notes:  Please send ham sandwich secrets and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. [1] Chances are, you’re probably pronouncing “Loewe” incorrectly in your head. No, it’s not “low” or “low-ey.” It is “lo-weh-ve.” The “ve” is completely nonsensical, I know. But that’s the way fashion is sometimes! It makes zero sense! [2] "Since a transaction may involve two currencies, the total may exceed 100%," Tyler [explains](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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