published Oct 5, 2017, 9:56:08 AM, by Noah Feldman (Bloomberg View) — Justice Anthony Kennedy’s comments during oral arguments in the partisan gerrymander case, Gill v. Whitford, are fueling speculation that he might provide the decisive fifth vote for a historic decision that could reshape electoral politics. If he does,

published Oct 5, 2017, 1:54:27 PM, by Justin Sink, Toluse Olorunnipa and Rebecca Spalding (Bloomberg) —President Donald Trump expects Puerto Rico’s $74 billion debt to be addressed through the bankruptcy process established under a law passed last year, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, not eliminated, as he

published Oct 5, 2017, 5:00:08 PM, by Noah Smith (Bloomberg View) — Back in the 1980s or 1990s, few would have predicted that Japan would become the standard-bearer of free trade. This is, after all, the country that once tried to ban foreign-made skis by claiming that Japanese snow was

published Oct 4, 2017, 3:00:08 PM, by Yuko Takeo (Bloomberg) —A fleet of excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks spread out across the globe provides an early peek at what’s happening in construction, mining, and the broader economy. The 470,000 machines sold by Komatsu Ltd. almost continuously transmit their position and

published Oct 4, 2017, 5:07:15 PM, by Steven T. Dennis and Billy House (Bloomberg) —Russia-financed Facebook ads turned over to congressional panels show that Democratic strongholds like California, New York and Maryland were targeted along with the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, according to a Republican official on the House

published Oct 4, 2017, 5:47:45 PM, by Ezra Fieser (Bloomberg) —Puerto Rico faces a government shutdown on Oct. 31, including halting its hurricane recovery, if Congress doesn’t provide billions in emergency funds, said Treasury Secretary Raul Maldonado. The U.S. commonwealth’s bankrupt government is burning through the $1.6 billion it had

published Oct 3, 2017, 3:33:58 PM, by The Editors (Bloomberg View) —America’s elite colleges are more selective than ever before. They also remain disproportionately populated by the wealthy — in part because many qualified students from poor backgrounds don’t even apply. The good news is that there are proven strategies

published Oct 3, 2017, 7:17:54 PM, by Adam Haigh (Bloomberg) —The rally in the dollar petered out as investors awaited fresh triggers for trades from upcoming Federal Reserve speeches and U.S. economic data. Asian stocks were mixed at the open after American benchmarks closed at record highs. The Bloomberg dollar index hovered

published Oct 3, 2017, 5:27:05 PM, by Tim Loh (Bloomberg) —U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan to reward coal-fired power plants that keep large stockpiles of fuel won’t be enough to reverse the industry’s long-term decline, analysts say. Perry has proposed extra payments for power generators with at least 90

published Oct 2, 2017, 7:55:04 AM, by Jennifer Epstein and Kathleen Hunter (Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump faced a leadership test Monday after a killing spree in Las Vegas was called the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Trump offered his condolences after police said at least 50 people