(Bloomberg) -- The week began with Gautam Adani publishing his empire’s 413-page rebuttal to Hindenburg’s report, a move that failed to stem a slump in the group’s shares, and ended with a bizarre diplomatic spat between the US and China over a balloon. In between, the Federal Reserve gave markets the idea that it was bluffing about its rate policy and the Labor Department released numbers that made everyone gloomy again.
To help make sense of some of this, we’ll take a ride on Adani’s tricked-out Bombardier Global 6500 private jet for an inside view of how the embattled Indian industrialist’s $2.5 billion share sale melted down in the space of 19 hours and look at how the the $108 billion crisis is shaking investors’ faith in India.
India’s loss may be China’s gain, with the Chinese reopening providing a powerful boost to the world economy, which should add a much-needed engine to help other countries rebound from the pandemic. Or will it? What if the sudden jump in activity in China causes energy prices to spike, rekindling global inflation just as the Federal Reserve and other central banks are trying so hard to put out the fire. This is how that might play out.
One thing that China’s abandonment of Covid Zero has definitely left behind — tens of thousands of redundant PCR testing booths scattered across the country. Learn how you can repurpose a Covid cabin.
Meanwhile, with everyone distracted by jobs, rates, Indian billionaires and balloons, crypto has been quietly making a comeback. Listen to the podcast on Bitcoin’s enduring appeal.
And for fans of Assassin’s Creed or Rabbids, read this account of how the deal between the games’ maker Ubisoft and China’s Tencent is causing a storm at one of the last big stand-alone studios in the video-gaming industry.
Have an adventurous weekend.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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