Dining in the desert

Bloomberg TV’s Erik Schatzker spent an evening in the desert with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal ten days before he became the most prominent target in Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption crackdown. “If Alwaleed had any inkling of what was to come, he didn’t show it,” he wrote. The billionaire investor “seemed happy and relaxed.”

Multinationals scurry to defuse House tax bill’s “atomic bomb.” Global companies including Apple, Pfizer, and Ford would face a new 20 percent tax on payments they make to offshore affiliates under the GOP tax bill—a surprise provision that has stunned tax experts. House tax writers say the proposed excise tax is aimed at preventing U.S. companies from shifting their earnings to tax shelters.

Alphabet launches the first taxi service with no human driver. Self-driving cars have graced public roads for almost a decade—but always with a person behind the wheel. Waymo, the autonomous car unit from Google parent Alphabet, will soon start chauffeuring people in minivans without “safety drivers,” a milestone for the internet giant’s bid to lead the crowded pack trying to commercialize driverless technology.

Oprah made $300 million from Weight Watchers’ rally. The weight-loss company’s shares rose as much as 22 percent on Tuesday after it boosted it profit forecast. The gain would put the stock’s year-to-date surge at about 375 percent. Winfrey’s holdings in the company have now generated almost $300 million in potential profit for the media mogul.

Trump casts a shadow over Virginia’s election. Republican Ed Gillespie, who is narrowly trailing Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, has channeled President Trump with ads condemning NFL players kneeling in protest during the national anthem and warning about violent Latino gangs flourishing in sanctuary cities. Virginia voters will elect a governor on Tuesday, in what could could prove to be a national barometer heading into the 2018 mid-term elections.

OPEC fights back—and this time, it’s driving up oil prices. The oil group is finally getting some credibility back behind its swagger, ahead of their meeting later this month in Vienna. Some analysts say a rise in geopolitical risk has pushed up oil prices, but others see a more permanent shift underway, with traders rethinking how much oil will be produced and drawn down from stockpiles, especially in the U.S.

Mark Spitznagel, the owner of the award-winning Idyll Farms, has a day job in finance. He runs Universa Investments out of its Miami headquarters but is gaining attention for his world-class goat cheese.