Subject: In Brazil, highway robbery is a growth industry
From: "Bloomberg View" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2017 05:11:08 -0400 (EDT)

A daily digest of opinions and analysis

Brazilian Pirates Navigate the Asphalt

Policing cutbacks, rampant corruption and inequality have fueled a lucrative new enterprise in Brazil, where roadway bandits are expected to make off with $1.3 billion this year. Mac Margolis explains why the country’s supply routes have become a breeding ground for cargo pirates.

U.S. Travel Ban to Cuba Is No Blessing in Disguise

Could crippling Cuba’s tourism industry help the country in the long run by forcing it to diversify? It’s a nice thought, and at least one social scientist thinks it’s plausible. But Noah Smith says the theory is rooted less in sound economics than in magical realism.

The Bizarre Story of Civil Asset Forfeiture

Letting police seize property without filing charges may seem odd on its face, but the history of the legal practice is stranger still. Stephen Mihm explains how the controversial U.S. policy emerged from a medieval belief in the “guilt” of objects.

Why Shirtless Putin Is Having the Last Laugh

Summer is the traditional season for the Russian president to cavort topless in the great outdoors. Relatedly, it’s when those  ubiquitous vacation  photos start appearing in the global press. Leonid Bershidsky argues that the macho imagery doesn’t impress Russians, but Western journalists can’t look away — just as Putin, ever the troll, likes it.

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Ritholtz’s Reads

The market really is different this time (MoneyBeat)

Individually rational and collectively crazy (Institutional Investor)

Plans to rethink America’s malls can’t keep up with retail’s collapse (Bloomberg)

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

Bloomberg Gadfly

China's great property pushback

Bill Ackman’s plan for ADP is ... wait for it ...

Berskshire shares need deal fuel to fly any higher

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

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