Truth and truthiness in Tucker Carlson’s Kremlin interview

Plus: Is it the year of the dragon or the bouncing cat? [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an abbreviated chrestomathy of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Must-Reads - China needs to hear [bad news](. - Is [Xi]( in the Ladies Room? - Japan stays in the picture with [Taylor Swift](. - Germany’s tryst with [hydrogen](. - [Gucci]( wants to save luxury too. - You [betting]( on the Super Bowl? So’s everyone else Tucking into Truthiness in the Kremlin Almost 20 years ago, comedian and late night talk show host Stephen Colbert popularized the word “[truthiness](” to lampoon dubious approximations of fact by politicians, including US presidents. Tucker Carlson used to be the host of an American talk show. He is not a comedian by training, though some would say by inadvertent practice. Still he allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to rehash the truthiness he holds self-evident in their much-heralded talk in Moscow — mainly that Ukraine is an integral part of the Russian motherland and so his violent attempt to reincorporate it was fully within rights. [Says]( Marc Champion: “If those who watch the interview grasp the unhinged nature of Putin’s historical ramblings, then the circus will have been worth airing.” Only once did Carlson push back against Putin’s contentions: when the Russian leader insisted that jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is a spy. Despite sympathy for a journalist, Marc says what Carlson did with Putin is not journalism. There was no attempt at fact-checking. He did not ask Putin about alleged massacres and kidnappings. Carlson also conducted his interview free of risk to his personal safety when he returns to the US. Any Russian journalist who gave the Ukrainian president — an ex-comedian beset by terrible facts on the ground — a similar opportunity to express his views in front of the Russian people would most likely be sharing a cell with Gershkovich or worse. Enter the Year of the Dragon … or the Bouncing Cat? On Monday, Shuli Ren [wrote](that China’s President Xi Jinping “is not known to be swayed by the ups and downs of financial markets. But perhaps he could use the CSI 1000 [the country’s premier small cap stock index] as a barometer for how well his citizens think he is handling the economy. Right now, this indicator is flashing a strong vibecession.” Two days later, in an apparent response to the continuing freefall in that index, Xi [replacedÂ](Yi Huiman as chairman and party chief of the China Securities Regulatory Commission with Wu Qing, a financial regulations veteran known as the “[broker butcher](.” The succession was heralded in the usual shadowy way a year ago, but making it official now — at the height of the market downturn — has more than a whiff of desperation as the country heads into the long holidays celebrating the arrival of the lunar year of the dragon. Indeed, the stock market’s recent rally is looking like a “dead cat bounce” — as John Authers [says](, “the charming Wall Street term based on the fact that even a stiffened feline corpse will rebound just a little if you drop it far enough.” And the Communist Party seems to prefer to obfuscate rather than deal head-on with bad news, as Minxin Pei [says](: “Convinced that pessimism is fueling the selloff rather than poor fundamentals, party leaders have turned to propaganda, censorship and even veiled threats in order to accomplish what limited stimulus measures haven’t: revive faith in the Chinese economy at home and abroad.” “The question now,” says Shuli, “is whether the government’s elusive ‘national team’ will intervene in a meaningful way — and how.” That team isn’t made up of government bureaucrats or regulators. Instead, as Shuli notes, it is a group of institutional investors set up in 2015 to head off plummeting markets — triggered when the value of the Shanghai Composite index almost halved. But can they reverse the slide of the small cap index? In past crises, members of Xi’s national team have mainly brought their powers to bear by buying blue chips. The central government may yet have to use its balance sheet to prop up equity markets. That, says Shuli, “is a political problem that has to be resolved at the very top.” Telltale Charts “You need at least £79,000 ($99,000) to buy a new electric Porsche Taycan in the UK; higher-specification versions of these sporty sedans cost tens of thousands more. However, three-year old Taycans are now available for less than £50,000. A used electric Jaguar iPace SUV – voted World Car of the Year in 2019 — can be yours for under £20,000, and BMW’s boxy i3 electric hatchback is often priced below £10,000 in the second-hand market. ... High depreciation dents fleet owner profits and makes new leases more expensive.” Chris Bryant in “[Secondhand EVs Are Starting to Look Like a Bargain.](” “Everyone loves Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores, known locally as conbini. … The late Anthony Bourdain famously [obsessed]( over the “unnatural, inexplicable deliciousness” of one chain’s egg sandwiches. You’ll find conbini anywhere: Train platforms, hidden inside office buildings or serving patients in hospitals, sometimes even [right beside another store from the very same chain](. ... [But] there are clouds on the horizon in conbini-land. … [I]t’s possible that the golden age of the conbini is already behind us.” Gearoid Reidy in “[There Are Clouds on the Horizon in Japan’s Conbini-Land](.” Further Reading How to survive a [deep fake]( zoom call. — Parmy Olson Football is for [accountants](. — Matthew Brooker Now you’re talking, [Turkey](. — Marcus Ashworth Who’ll make more? A Coder or a [plumber](? — Lionel Laurent [India]( should follow China’s lead in cheaper energy. — David Fickling Walk of the Town: The Queens of Fleet Street Often, when I walk to work, I head straight down to the Thames to stroll by the water. But the other day, I decided to make a left on Fleet Street — built over a river — and head over to the city from there. I’d taken the same route in mid-December and remembered a late Victorian painting of the area. I’ve juxtaposed the 1884 piece by William Logsdail below so you can see how things have changed over 140 years. Fleet Street looking toward St. Paul’s Cathedral Painting by William Logsdail; Photograph by Howard Chua-Eoan The street — once so full of newspaper publishers, it became a metonym for British journalism — is also one of two areas in London where the rivalry between Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots is carved into stone. Soon after you make a left on the corner of Chancery Lane and Fleet, you’ll come upon the church of St. Dunstan-in-the-West, which was established almost a thousand years ago but has been shifted on the site and rebuilt many times. In a niche on its facade is a statue that has also been transported again and again — that of Elizabeth I, reputedly set up in 1586, though some experts contend that what we see today is a 17th century facsimile of the original. Fleet royals: Elizabeth I at St. Dunstan; Mary, Queen of Scots over Pret A Manger Photographs by Howard Chua-Eoan/Bloomberg Not even a three-minute walk from Elizabeth Tudor is Mary Stuart, the exiled queen of Scotland whose claim to the English throne was championed by her fellow Catholic monarchs in Europe. Having fled rebels in her own country, Mary sought refuge in England, where she was locked away in a couple of castles until plots in Elizabeth’s court led to her execution on Feb. 8, 1587. The anniversary this week reminded me of the placement of the statues. Mary’s statue was erected in 1905 by a prominent Scottish admirer; it stands over a Pret A Manger sandwich shop. Where else in London do the two women share space? Westminster Abbey, where both are entombed. Mary’s son James — the Scottish monarch who succeeded the childless Elizabeth as King of England — made sure his mother’s monument was a little higher than her rival’s. It is through Mary and James that the Windsors trace their descent and their hereditary right to the crown. There is so much drama in those genes to this day, but some things have changed: the Fleet Street journalists who cover the royals have moved on to other parts of the city. Drawdown Sometimes you just play with the cards you’re dealt. Thanks for hanging with me. “Life can imitate art. But why is mine always abstract?” Illustration by Howard Chua-Eoan/Bloomberg Notes: Please send hermetic readings and feedback to Howard Chua-Eoan at hchuaeoan@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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