Plus: Renting vs. buying, the promotion gap and more. Bloomberg
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a professional sports franchise of Bloomberg Opinionâs opinions. [Sign up here](. Todayâs Agenda - [Saudi Arabia]( is [playing games](.
- [Lionel Messi]( is moving to Miami.
- [Renting]( is better than buying.
- The [promotion gap]( is real. Saudi Sweat Equity Source: Trung Phan, Twitter I am going to be honest with you: I am not a golf girlie. I wish I was! The [outfits](? So chic. The greens? Impeccable. The clubhouse quesadillas? Divine. But the one time I played nine holes, I got yelled at by some lady who was late for her poetry reading because I was going too slowly. Clearly, itâs not the sport for me. That said, just because I donât know the difference between a birdie and a bogey doesnât mean I havenât been living for the way in which [this LIV-PGA drama]( has unfolded. It honestly has me more hooked than [#Scandoval](. In order to understand this saga, we need to go [back to 2016](, when Saudi Arabia did some self-reflection and realized it was in a rather toxic relationship with oil. Then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ever the dreamer, concocted this thing called the â[Saudi Vision 2030](,â and in it, he basically wrote: LETâS DO SPORTS in all caps. OK, well, no, it was: âWe aspire to excel in sport.â Same difference. The plan from this point forward was simple: Invest less in oil and more in sports â and entertainment, culture, yada, yada, yada. After all, âownership of a professional sports franchise is a key means for wealth to [project status and soft power in the 21st century](,â Adam Minter writes. Saudi Arabia has been gobbling up players and teams in a number of sports, from [football]( to [tennis]( to [golf](. But not all attempts to dabble within athletic arenas have been successful, given the countryâs abysmal track record, which includes 9/11, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and a bunch of other egregious human-rights infractions. The countryâs wealth fund, for example, [casually attempted to buy Formula 1 for a cool $20 billion]( in January to add racing to its portfolio, but Liberty Media refused to sell to the Saudis. LIV â Saudi Arabiaâs challenger to the PGA â was founded in 2021. Itâs essentially the golf equivalent of the highly controversial [European Super League]( â exactly the type of thing that Ted Lassoâs [Rebecca Welton]( [squashed](. From its inception, the PGA has been [morally opposed]( to LIV for the aforementioned reasons. But that hasnât stopped the Saudis from persuading PGA golfers to come to the âdark side,â luring them over with [handsome payouts]( and [giant party planes](. [Tiger Woods]( reportedly [turned down]( between $700 and $800 million, but other players werenât ashamed to take [the bait](: Now, LIV and the PGA are [merging]( to âunify the game of golf.â The reconciliation between the two sworn enemies comes as a [shock]( to many, including [pro golfers]( like [Collin Morikawa]( and [Mackenzie Hughes](, who found out about the deal on Twitter, just like you and me: Stephen Carter asks [the question thatâs on everyoneâs mind](: What happens to the players who chose the moral high ground, rejecting the Saudi-backed tour by staying loyal to the PGA? In the end, [money]( â not morals â won. Capitalism at work, baby! âThe new entity might face lawsuits by golfers who believe they were hoodwinked by the PGA and left millions of dollars on the table,â he writes. But that wonât be the only legal issue afoot: The merger also rings a bajillion [antitrust alarms]( in US and the UK. Even if Saudi Arabia successfully navigates those lawsuits and gets the entire sport of golf within its grip, that wonât be the end. The Saudis will continue to try and buy out other sports franchises using the bottomless brunch money of its sovereign wealth fund. Whether theyâll be successful is another story. Money canât buy them everything â including [Lionel Messi](. Just today, the football superstar [declined to sign on with Saudi Arabiaâs league](, which offered him [$400 million]( for a single season. Instead, Messi is opting to move to [David Beckhamâs]( Florida football club, [Inter Miami](. âIt takes some nerve to [say no to the reported $1 billion]( that the Saudis offered,â Juan Pablo Spinetto writes. But Messiâs decision to join the MLS could change the trajectory of American soccer as we know it. For authoritarian regimes, playing the game â and winning it â is clearly easier said than done. Housing Horoscope Okay, I mean this in the best way possible: Reading a Conor Sen [column on real estate]( is kinda like reading a horoscope, but instead of telling you about your love life, heâs telling you about whether thereâs any hope that youâll be able to [afford a house]( before the next planetary alignment. This time around, it isnât looking promising. He basically says the future of housing is hazier than [the sky today]( in New York: âFor people deciding whether they should buy or continue renting for another year, the good news is that the apartment market is generally becoming more favorable and should continue that way for at least a few quarters ... The bad news is that while the math on buying is bad at the moment, it's not clear when or even if it will get better.â You canât tell me those arenât the words of an astrologist!!! Iâm kidding, obviously. Conorâs predictions are backed by data, not the stars. He points out that [home prices are on the rise again](, despite 30-year mortgage rates hovering around 7%. Thatâs happening at the same time inventory is fast approaching an [all-time low](: This is obviously bad news for people who want to settle down in the suburbs with an HOA fee and a backyard BBQ. But that doesnât mean there wonât be a roof to put above their heads: â[Construction spending by manufacturers]( in the US has more than doubled in the past year, reaching an annual rate of almost [$190 billion]( in April,â Robert Burgess notes. Conor sees this as an opportunity for frustrated would-be homebuyers, arguing that they will soon be able to snag a fantastic deal on a new rental â especially if theyâre living in [Nashville, Charlotte or Austin](. If thatâs not apartment astrology, then I donât know what is: Telltale Chart In case worrying about the pay gap wasnât enough for women, we now have to worry about [the promotion gap](, which Andreea Papuc says is further hindering our progress in the workplace. Although women ask for promotions at around the same rate as men â they are missing out on unsolicited promotions. Andreea says the probability of a man getting a career advancement without asking is 25% higher than for women, which means the promotion process within many workplaces is inherently biased. Further Reading The SEC needs [new rules]( for crypto platforms. â Bloombergâs editorial board [Target shoppers](also frequent Trader Joeâs and Whole Foods â not Walmart. â Leticia Miranda Anyone who tells you thereâs a [generic Ozempic or Wegovy]( is lying. â Lisa Jarvis Chinaâs gotta stop messing with [US military planes and ships](. â James Stavridis Gautam Adani may be ready to move on, but [Indian regulators]( are not. â Andy Mukherjee Latin America should use [the rise of AI]( to narrow the wealth gap. â Juan Pablo Spinetto The [jobful recession](-that-isnât-quite-a-recession canât go on forever. â Justin Fox The Fed is [tweaking the rules]( for banks. Let the games begin! â Paul J. Davies ICYMI The guy from Bobâs Burgers [got arrested](. Instagram has a network of [pedophiles](. Smoke grounded [LaGuardia flights](. [Chris Licht]( didnât last long at CNN. Kickers [Sharks]( are cool with humans. The most [mysterious sandwich]( in Brooklyn. The LA [troll apartment]( of your dreams. Welcome to the [fast fish]( era. Notes: Please send mysterious sandwiches and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. 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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