Did King Charles and Biden wear ties that bind?

Plus: Rent vs. buy, Bitcoin prices and more. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a 2,600-year old sculpture mythologizing Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [The King’s tie]( is the talk of the town. - [Housing prices]( have to come down. - [Bitcoin’s chart]( still looks like a frown. - [Europe’s elderly]( felt inflation all around. Twin Ties In high school, a large chunk of my cousin’s grade all wore the same Hawaiian shirt on picture day as a prank. When I say “the same shirt,” I mean that literally — they passed around a single brightly-colored button-down that was donned in picture after picture. I always wondered why the yearbook photographers didn’t stop it from happening, but they probably thought it was amusing and would [end up in a prominent men’s magazine]( or something like that. Anywho, I was reminded of that Hawaiian shirt when I heard King Charles III showed up in Dubai wearing this bright blue tie to COP28: Now, normally when you see a 75-year-old wearing a tie you look at it once and move on. But not this tie! It appeared to be a special one, with a distinct wavy pattern made up of what seem to be miniature Greek flags. It’s an interesting fashion choice because there’s some major drama going on between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. A few days before the climate summit, Sunak decided to skip a meeting with Mitsotakis because he didn’t want to be drawn into a debate about the 2,600-year old sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles, which Greece wants back from the British Museum. Howard Chua-Eoan says some people suspect the King is sending [a subliminal message]( in favor of repatriation. “Why else would he wear such a sympathetic color so soon after the Sunak vs. Mitsotakis row?” they ask. But Brits are less sure. The King has Greek roots and “could simply have been sporting one of his favorite ties,” Howard writes. Both viewpoints are plausible. But I have a third theory: What if this is the Hawaiian shirt of ties? How else do you explain Joe Biden seemingly sporting [the same one]( on Greek Independence Day earlier this year? I know I’m quickly venturing into [Taylor Swift lyric](-level [territory]( of Reading Too Much Into Things, but I just think it’d be so fun if the Brotherhood of the Traveling Tie was a real secret society that actually existed among heads of state. After all, some people thought Mario Draghi and Christine Lagarde tipped future European Central Bank interest rates with their sartorial choices. Who knows what world leader might be spotted wearing that blue tie next! Essential COP Reading: In all seriousness, we should be paying more attention to climate change and less attention to the clothing choices of Kings, which is why we’ve made our COP28 coverage free for you to read. - The opportunity to avoid irreversible climate damage is slipping away. What matters now is not more commitments and pledges, but [real engagement](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board - The [looming decline in oil and gas output](, rather than a more efficient industry, will make a bigger difference to the planet. — David Fickling - It’s clear that the current format for the UN's climate change summit [isn’t producing]( what we need. — Lara Williams - COP’s [ever-expanding crowd]( risks turning the meeting into another celebrity-studded gathering of rich people. — Mark Gongloff “A lovely [cheese pizza](. Just for me.” If they had filmed Home Alone in the year 2023, would Kevin McCallister be alone in a home at all? Like, maybe he’d be eating his [highly nutritious]( microwavable macaroni and cheese in [an apartment](! The prospect of purchasing [a single-family home]( in the Chicago suburbs seems rather preposterous in today’s environment: Is it time to scream? While the ratio of US home prices to rents is indeed well above the levels that preceded the last housing crash, Justin Fox says [something has to give]( eventually. “The recent divergence between house prices and rents” may be “a case of rational calculation rather than irrational exuberance,” he argues. During the pandemic, people fled apartment-filled cities for cul-de-sacs in the suburbs. Given lingering Covid-y circumstances, it makes sense that demand would be higher for million-dollar [McMansions]( than girlypop shoebox apartments. But when will that demand let up? “The sharp rise in mortgage rates since the beginning of 2022 has made borrowing to buy a house much more expensive, which ought to put downward pressure on prices,” Justin writes. But that’s not happening yet. Prices haven’t adjusted to the new reality, and not very many homes are alone these days as a result: Crash Course “It’s very hard for people who aren’t experts in AI to draw a line between something that might be able to do basic math and something that might destroy the universe." Dave Lee Bloomberg Opinion columnist On the [latest episode]( of Crash Course, Tim O’Brien is joined by tech columnists Dave Lee and Parmy Olson to discuss [Sam Altman’s power struggle]( at OpenAI. Telltale Charts FTX who??? [Bitcoin]( has somehow managed “a spectacular 150% gain for 2023,” Isabelle Lee [writes](. While impressive, it’s still miles away from the near-$69,000 record it set in the heyday of 2021. “As a much-anticipated event called halving nears — a planned reduction in the rewards miners receive — many are on the lookout on how this may affect Bitcoin’s value,” she says. Inflation really knocked Europe’s elderly around (and the entire nation of New Zealand, but I’ll let Dan Moss [explain that to you](). Older people are more likely to own homes, so they “face higher home heating bills when energy prices rise. Overall, in the last several years, a low-income retired household in Italy might have taken income cuts of up to 20%, while a middle-aged household in the euro area might have seen a typical income cut of 5%,” Tyler Cowen [writes](. It’s one of the more upsetting side-effects of Europe’s inflationary saga, to say the least: Further Reading Free read: Smart-bomb chemotherapy [cancer drugs]( finally live up to the hype. — Lisa Jarvis Florida State’s [football snub]( has everything to do with TV money. — Adam Minter With its anti-ESG vendetta, Texas is imposing [socialist-like policies]( on its citizens. — Matthew A. Winkler [Here’s why]( the Premier League is one of the world’s most lucrative sporting enterprises. — Matthew Brooker What if the Supreme Court pushes [the Sackler opioid case]( to Congress? — Noah Feldman You don’t get “Made in the USA” electric vehicles [without China](. — Liam Denning ICYMI Tommy Tuberville [finally lifts]( his hold on [military promotions](. Melania Trump is [hanging out]( with Donald Trump’s enemies? Kim Jong Un cried as he told [women to have more babies](. Liz Cheney says she’s ready to consider [a third-party run](. Kickers All I want for Christmas is [a George Santos Cameo](. I *don’t* want to [snuggle]( my Christmas dinner. A [mystery illness]( has dog owners spooked. This Miami restaurant has a chair where [a rodent pooped](. An influencer ended up with $60,000 of [shrimp and squid](. Notes: Please send 9,990 orders of shrimp paste and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us 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](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. 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. 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