Subject: Bust up America's monopolies before they do more harm
From: "Bloomberg View" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2017 05:03:09 -0400 (EDT)

A daily digest of opinions and analysis

Monopoly: The Second-Most Dangerous Game

The Democratic Party is trying to channel FDR these days, but Noah Smith suggests they turn to another Roosevelt for inspiration: Teddy the trust-buster. A wave of mergers and acquisitions has led to creeping oligopoly, distorting the economy and hurting workers, families and small businesses alike. (Hey, Republicans could get behind this push, too!)

Bitcoin’s Divide Is Good For Progress

Fans of bitcoin have long feared the digital currency would be split into two separate blockchains, but when the so-called “hard fork” finally arrived Tuesday, it wasn’t a major disaster. In fact, Leonid Bershidsky says it will be a long-term boon for cryptocurrencies, helping them move toward mainstream acceptance. Meanwhile, Matt Levine has an entertaining story about a bitcoin exchange that’s frankly too complex to summarize here, but trust us, if you’re interested in cryptocurrencies or short-selling, you’re going to want to read it.

The Neglected Lessons of a Lost Decade

The Great Depression may have been the biggest economic mess in U.S. history, but the financial crisis of the aughts was worse in at least one way. Now Narayana Kocherlakota, a former president of the Minneapolis Fed, warns that policymakers are raising the risk of another crisis.

Maybe Berating Your Employees Isn’t That Smart

In part one of our theoretically endless series “Why Savvy Execs Should Do the Opposite of What Donald Trump Does,” Kara Alaimo says the president keeps breaking a basic rule of public relations: Don’t attack your underlings. Watch and learn (and if you’re wise, maintain a judicious silence).

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Ritholtz’s Reads

Why won’t millennials embrace the stock market? (Barron’s)

The great escape: How credit raters ducked reform (Bloomberg)

Switzerland’s first-world problem: What to do with $750 billion (Wall Street Journal)

(Read Barry Ritholtz’s full daily news roundup here.)

Bloomberg Gadfly

A bucket of water for hot shale

Tesla’s first billion is the hardest

Buyers bet on infrastructure, with or without Trump

(Read more from BV’s sister site for fast business commentary.)

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