Maui now looks a lot less like paradise

It may be time to give up on the idea of taking a vacation to “escape from reality.” [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a remote slab of volcanic rock, holding Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions, which will be greatly improved once you, distinguished reader, complete [this survey](. Today’s Agenda - Maui’s deadly [flames](. - America’s [luxury comeback](. - The Fed’s [soft landing](. - The UK’s [migrant disaster](. Hellish in Hawaii When paradise on Earth turns into hell. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP Just last week, Maui was a [honeymoon]( destination — a place you daydreamed about while you were at your desk attempting to write a newsletter, maybe. Some even said it was the [happiest]( [place]( in the country. Today, Maui is part of a CNN chyron that reads: “At least [36 people dead]( in catastrophic wildfires.” It’s also “the latest of many reminders in this year of record-breaking heat that no place on Earth will be untouched by an increasingly chaotic global climate,” [writes]( Mark Gongloff, who notes that Hawaii was the only state that had [avoided]( a catastrophic wildfire in the past 30 years — until this week, that is. The sudden nature of the fires has many people asking [what]( [caused]( them. we still don’t know what set off the initial spark, we do know that Maui’s [current conditions]( — dry and windy — are ideal for the spread of a blaze. High winds from far-off Hurricane Dora are fanning the flames across Maui, which was already [abnormally dry]( or totally in drought: “Parched years have [hurt Hawaiian farmers]( and cattle ranchers and sparked [resentment]( toward tourists, who locals say haven’t been asked to sacrifice as much to conserve water,” Mark explains. And even when it does rain, “it increasingly falls in torrential deluges that lead to floods and landslides, like the ‘[rain bomb](’ that hit Kauai in April 2018, dropping a mind-blowing [50 inches]( of rain in 24 hours,” he writes. The question of tourism — whether its benefits outweigh its costs — is a [perennial one](. To Hawaiians, Covid-19 was a reprieve of sorts: For the first time in forever, locals lounged on deserted beaches, drove on less crowded roads, breathed in fresher air and drank cleaner water. But when the state reopened, the number of arriving domestic passengers skyrocketed. Now, more than 80% of Maui residents [strongly agree]( that their island is being run for tourists at expense of locals — and the environment. “In 1959, the state had [243,000]( tourists; in 1990, [7 million](; in 2019, [10.4 million]( — all sharing space with a mere 1.4 million locals,” Adam Minter [observed]( in 2021. Now, thousands of those locals are homeless. “Hawaii, like California and every other state in the union, must be [better prepared]( for disasters made more likely by global heating,” Mark writes. It may be time to give up on the idea of taking a vacation there to “escape from reality.” Big Girl Bags There’s nothing quite like buying your first Big Girl Bag. It’s a religious experience: The rush of adrenaline when the initial whiff of hand-stitched leather hits your nose. The weight on your shoulder as you try it on for the first time in the mirror. The sound of the credit card as it slices through the machine. The feeling of your stretched smile as the sales associate hands you a receipt, your eyes telling them, “Yes, I bought that.” I vividly remember losing my designer bag virginity. I was with my mom in Manchester, Vermont, at the Michael Kors outlet store. We painstakingly browsed through shelf after shelf until I landed on a winner: A silver-tinged mini shoulder bag with twin buckles[1](#footnote-1) that I paid for with money I made babysitting. Looking back, I couldn’t have chosen a more Y2K purse if I tried. It still sits in the closet of my childhood bedroom to this day, a cherished relic of my teenage years: I tell you this story because this morning, Michael Kors’s parent, Capri Holdings, [was bought]( by Tapestry — the owner of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman — for an enterprise value of $8.5 billion. The “combination creates a US luxury powerhouse with more than $12 billion of annual revenue,” Andrea Felsted [writes](. But it’s not the first [consolidation]( this year: “Luxury giants have been snapping up smaller brands even as inflation has potentially [darkened]( the outlook for discretionary spending,” Bloomberg News’s Jeannette Neumann says. The US has long struggled to compete with European behemoths like Kering and LVMH, whose clientele are [rich](, [rich](. “Tapestry and Capri mostly operate in the riskier premium part of the market, not at the very top echelons of luxury,” Andrea explains. That means most of the shoppers they cater to are young — like I was when I snagged that silver bag. But those shoppers are often the first to jump ship during an economic storm. Capri, in particular, was getting lapped by big-time fashion brands like Loewe and Dior — which sell handbags at 20 multiples of the “Big Girl” one I purchased as a teen. Michael Kors “has suffered from years of overexposure, department store woes and appealing to customers who are feeling the pinch,” Andrea writes. As a result, Tapestry offered $57 per share in cash for Capri — a 65% premium to Wednesday’s closing price, but far lower than the $68 it was trading at before the company cut its outlook in February: Together, they will have more financial firepower than before, Andrea says, noting an increase in global reach, “with Capri’s operations in Europe complementing Tapestry’s presence in Asia.” While the enlarged company won’t get rich on selling Big Girl Bags alone, the consolidation gives it a small shot at becoming the US equivalent of LVMH. Bonus Retail Reading: - [Bed Bath & Beyond]( still has to kick some old habits. — Leticia Miranda - Will [L’Occitane]( be able to pass a $6.5 billion smell test? — Andrea Felsted Telltale Charts Is it … Could it be?? A … SOFT ... LANDING?! The CPI rose “[only modestly](” for a second month in a row, and people are cautiously optimistic that those crazy wizards at the Federal Reserve actually might manage to tame inflation without sparking a recession. If Jerome Powell’s Hail Mary of high finance does, indeed, work, Mohamed A. El-Erian says “interest rates would fall in an orderly fashion, stocks would build on their already impressive gains, and highly levered corporate exposures would be normalized methodically.” But it’s no sure thing: Although “there is certainly a lot to like in the latest CPI report,” Mohamed says, [the Fed still has a long way to go]( before it can climb out of its 2% inflation target tunnel unscathed. Ever since Rishi Sunak became prime minister of the UK, conservative crusaders have been [whispering]( three words into his ears: “Stop. The. Boats.” But, c’mon, there have to be better ways to do that than the [Illegal Migration Act](. “Like many rich countries, Britain is grappling with an [influx of migrants fleeing persecution]( or looking for a better life,” Bloomberg’s editorial board writes, which is why the government is installing a range of new restrictions to stop asylum-seekers in their tracks. Not only is Sunak’s plan not working (see: the blue line on this chart) but it’s also incredibly inhumane. Enough so that the home secretary [admitted]( that the restrictions may violate the European Convention of Human Rights. The existence of a proposal to dispatch asylum-seekers to — I kid you not — a remote slab of volcanic [rock]( in the South Atlantic says it all: The Tories have lost the narrative on migration. It’s only going to get worse as the [strain]( grows on the country’s migrant detention centers and its “deathtrap” [housing barges](. Further Reading Which countries will come out on top of the AI revolution? Here are [some clues](. — Tyler Cowen Republicans spent all summer long doing [useless stuff](. What now? — Sarah Green Carmichael India is struggling to sell PCs, and its latest move to [restrict imports]( smells desperate. — Tim Culpan The business of [*not* mining Bitcoin]( could end up being very lucrative. — Matt Levine The Bank of Japan’s [new doctrine]( is as confusing as ever. — Daniel Moss and Gearoid Reidy Italy is messing with investor confidence with its surprise [windfall tax proposal](. — Marcus Ashworth ICYMI An [assassination]( in Ecuador. Small towns [vote]( differently. Hospitals are [closing]( maternity wards. [Organized theft]( is a retail coverup. Kickers The ultra-rich [can’t hear you]( anymore. It’s a [major day]( for [Kaylors](. (h/t Christine Vanden Byllaardt) An [AI meal prep app]( made a recipe for chlorine gas. (h/t Lara Williams) Private [umbilical cord blood]( banking is booming. (h/t Bobby Ghosh) Notes: Please send soundproof windows and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. [1] I found the white version on [Poshmark](. Pair it with this [Cavalli slip dress]( and you, too, can be the It Girl of summer — summer 2004, that is! Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's 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](