Forget bears and bulls, we’re in a shrimp market

Plus: A new anti-aging elixir, wildfire madness and more. Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a chilled martini glass full of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - A [raw bar]( a day keeps the recession at bay. - A [taurine pill]( a day shoves the mice anxiety away. - A [wildfire]( a day makes the city streets an ashtray. People Are Still Buying [Shrimp]( Disappointed. Image source: HBO A few months back I told you that food was one of [my favorite economic indicators](. I would like to formally revise that statement by saying that shrimp — the [fruit of the sea](! — is hands down my favorite economic indicator. Crustaceans can be found in every crevice of American culture. Off the top of my head alone, I can recall The Good Place, which featured a [never-ending shrimp dispensary](. On Seinfeld, George Costanza [went wild]( over a bowl of ice-cold shrimp. Drake & Josh had the [Very Big Shrimp](. And let’s not forget [The Jumping Shrimp]( from the essential Disney film Ice Princess. Americans are simply [obsessed]( [with shrimp](! We’ll shell ’em for [breakfast](, [lunch](, [dinner]( and even [dessert](. Plus, it unites generations: Kids will go absolutely feral for a [SHRIIIMP]( [snack](. And [so will Corporate America](, Brooke Sutherland writes: “When business is good and corporations want to spend money at their cocktail parties, they always add raw bars: shrimp, crab, oysters, clams,” Peter Strebel, chairman of Omni Hotels & Resorts, said in an interview this week at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. “When the economy goes south, the extras like that go away. So all of a sudden you’re not doing a shrimp bar. You’re doing cheese, fruit and crudité.” Right now, Strebel says, “people are still buying shrimp.” The suits are still eating [shrimp cocktail](!!! There’s no denying that chilled martini glasses full of spicy red sauce and shrimp are a fundamental pillar of American business. When companies start to skimp on the shrimp, you know it’s bad. But if there’s a massive shrimp statue in the center of your company retreat, well, these are obviously boom times: Double-decker decapods. Source: Shrimpy Shrimp via [Instagram]( “The group events that people were most afraid of during the depths of Covid have bounced back faster than other kinds of business trips. It turns out confabs are much harder to replace with Zoom calls than internal catch-ups or routine client visits,” Brooke explains. Companies are willing to shell out the big bucks on travel so that their employees can binge on prawns together, like one big, happy, jumbo shrimp family: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby claims we’re in a “business recession,” but Brooke says, “the shrimp bar splurges suggest the narrative is a bit more complicated.” Jonathan Levin agrees, noting that “investors (and some economists, too) are [finding fewer excuses for pessimism]( about the economy’s near-term prospects.” As long as the raw bars are raging, we’re gonna be just fine. Skin [Tuck Everlasting]( I’m always amazed at the lengths people will go to avoid wrinkles. They’ll pay thousands for [tubs full of blood cream]( to rub on their décolletage. They’ll hold themselves hostage at night with [“lip tape”]( to avoid mouth-breathing. They’ll acquire special [“sleep crown” pillows]( that promise beauty, for the price of $168. But luckily for them — and their wallets — there may soon be no reason to engage in such activities: A team of researchers at Columbia have been studying an amino acid that could very well be a magic elixir for the youth-obsessed. “[Taurine]( is an essential molecule that our bodies make naturally, and that we also get from foods like shellfish[1](#footnote-1), meat and, in lower amounts, dairy. But as we get older, levels of the nutrient seem to nosedive,” Lisa Jarvis writes. Using mice, worms and monkeys, scientists amassed enough evidence to show that taurine plays a major role in how we age. When their diets incorporated the amino acid … - Mice lived 10%–12% longer than ones that went without. - Worms’ lives were extended by 10%-23%. - Monkeys showed a variety of health improvements. “Importantly, the mice, which were studied most comprehensively, didn’t just live longer — they were healthier,” Lisa notes. Thanks to taurine, they turned into the [Jennifer Aniston]( of mice, adapting “a younger-looking immune system.” Their organs miraculously Benjamin Button-ed themselves, in turn boosting their energy, dispelling their anxiety and trimming their bodies, which kinda sounds like the rodent equivalent of Edward Cullen, except [less sparkly](. Of course, many questions remain, like whether taurine can pull the same tricks in the human body — something that would need multiyear studies involving tens of thousands of people, Lisa writes. But the prospect of a miracle pill is worth exploring, even if we age a bit during the process. Read [the whole thing](. Girl [on Fire]( Perhaps the only upside to the [Canadian wildfires]( are [the memes](. Our [Cheeto-tinged sky]( has inspired [many]( [videos](, including [this one about a local New York City hero](. “I’m not a medical expert, but if tears come to your eyes and your throat starts to tighten as soon as you step outdoors, it’s probably not good,” John Authers wrote in his [signature “Survival Tips” last night](. As of this afternoon, the air in New York City still has that gag-inducing [rancid campfire smell](. And it’s even worse in [Philadelphia](, which hasn’t seen an [air-quality crisis]( like this in at least 24 years. Although the blanket of wildfire smoke has shocked the East Coast, it’s sadly old hat for urban dwellers on the West Coast, many of whom routinely battle amber smog and airborne ash. It’s one reason Mark Gongloff says insurers like Allstate and State Farm are [fleeing California](. “Wildfires have become so common in California that they’ve [upended the industry’s business model](, and evidence is mounting that climate change is playing a significant role,” Bloomberg’s editorial board writes. The state of the insurance market should raise red flags for corporations and policymakers alike. All the [memes]( may be seem funny now, but earth’s rapid descent into the forest inferno is clearly no laughing matter. Bonus Wildfire Reading: What [Australia’s bushfire disaster]( can — and can’t — teach the US. — David Fickling Telltale Charts Sir Richard Branson is struggling to do what he does best: make money. Chris Bryant says [the billionaire’s business empire]( appears to have lost its luster, thanks to a series of bad bets that have sent his stocks — and personal fortune — tumbling. The outcome of a lawsuit concerning a high-speed railway just might make matters worse. Stocks are sorta like video players — I watched VHS tapes when I was a child, DVDs when I was a teen and Apple TV now as an adult. Similarly, in 1990, IBM was the crème de la crème of the S&P 500. “[Now the tables have turned](,” Nir Kaissar writes, “with Apple perched at the top and IBM demoted to 61.” Nature is healing, or something like that: Further Reading Let’s ditch [inheritance taxes](, once and for all. — Merryn Somerset Webb [Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon]( should send a much louder message to China. — Minxin Pei India’s [devastating train crash]( should serve as a painful reminder for citizens. — Mihir Sharma A [tsunami of treasuries]( needn’t be a deathtrap for banks. — Paul J. Davies Turkey’s [new financial team]( will need hazmat suits to calm down the lira. — Dan Moss America's [social safety net]( is deeply dysfunctional. — Kathryn A. Edwards ICYMI [NYC high schools]( will be remote tomorrow. SCOTUS sides with [Black Alabama voters](. Mark Zuckerberg [has thoughts]( about Apple’s Vision Pro. Kickers Medieval [butt music](. An 82-year-old [drug-dealer](. (h/t Andrea Felsted) Get high with [synthetic toad venom](. The [poop-themed dog toy]( saga, explained. Taco Bell’s [vision for vegans](. Notes: Please send deveined shrimp and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. [1] Must be all the shrimp we're consuming! 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. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](