published Dec 31, 2017 9:00:15 AM, by Albert R. Hunt (Bloomberg View) — All national elections are hyped as seminal. The midterms of 2018 are the real deal. If Democrats win at least one branch of Congress, there will be an investigative feast — with rich targets — of the

published Dec 30, 2017 7:00:14 AM, by Tobin Harshaw (Bloomberg View) — It was another busy year for everybody’s favorite automotive-industry disruptor, space-travel visionary and potential James Bond villain Elon Musk. Tesla surpassed Ford and General Motors in market capitalization; the Gigafactory began churning out lithium-ion batteries; his neighborhood roofing

published Dec 29, 2017 5:00:00 PM, by Brian Chappatta (Bloomberg) — Few bond traders around the world will raise a glass to toast U.S. Treasuries and the dollar this New Year’s Eve. Among the countries represented in the Bloomberg Barclays global sovereign-debt index, U.S. obligations had the worst 2017 total

published Dec 28, 2017 2:58:37 PM, by Tim Loh and Christopher Martin (Bloomberg) — The arctic blast that’s turning the eastern half of the U.S. into a giant icebox this week has been good news for oil and coal. Plants are using the most fuel oil in three years to

published Dec 28, 2017 7:38:03 PM, by Edvard Pettersson (Bloomberg) — The estate of Michael Jackson looks to have escaped a possibly hefty penalty for allegedly undervaluing the late singer’s assets. A U.S. Tax Court judge denied the Internal Revenue Service’s bid to provide additional evidence in a case that

published Dec 28, 2017 6:06:23 PM, by Crayton Harrison (Bloomberg) — Netflix Inc.’s ambitious attempt at a big-budget film, “Bright” starring Will Smith, drew an enough viewers in its first three days to rival the opening-weekend audiences of several top Hollywood movies this year, according to Nielsen data. “Bright” got

published Dec 27, 2017, 5:03:38 PM, by John Voskuhl (Bloomberg) — Taxpayers can deduct their 2018 state and local property taxes on their 2017 returns if they pay those tax bills before the end of the year — and only if the taxes were assessed before 2018, the Internal Revenue

published Dec 26, 2017, 1:46:58 PM, by Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. looks like it’s having a not-so Merry Christmas. Analysts lowered iPhone X shipment projections for the first quarter of next year, citing signs of lackluster demand at the end of the holiday shopping season, and the company’s

published Dec 26, 2017, 7:45:56 AM, by Henry Meyer (Bloomberg) — President Vladimir Putin is using the threat of additional U.S. sanctions to encourage wealthy Russians to repatriate some of their overseas assets, which exceed $1 trillion by one estimate. Putin told lawmakers late Monday that a new capital amnesty

published Dec 26, 2017, 4:05:16 PM, by Tim Loh (Bloomberg) — A U.S. coal miner that’s seen its shares plunge 93 percent this year and its debt rated as junk just enjoyed the biggest intraday rally in almost 20 years. Call it the Trump bump. The U.S. Interior Department has