The global energy supply crunch, triggered by a whole host of causes, is biting harder and encroaching further into daily life from Europe to Asia. There’s a shortage of the second-most abundant element on the planet, and even the breakfast table is under threat. A severe drought in Brazil is set to ravage production of orange juice, sugar and coffee. The energy crisis has wreaked havoc in Europe, prompting U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to put the army on standby to ease a fuel shortage. All told, it spells trouble for the rest of the world’s politicians. China is so worried about the winter that it ordered its top energy companies to buy up supplies, no matter the cost. But as David Fickling writes in Bloomberg Opinion, never let a good energy crisis go to waste.

As the shortage of gas spreads, scientists are trying to work out how cold it could get in the northern hemisphere this winter. Global warming is pushing more animal species to extinction, with the latest victims including a Hawaiian forest bird and the ivory-billed woodpecker.

An ivory-billed woodpecker specimen is on a display at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Sept. 24, 2021.

Photographer: Haven Daley/AP Photo

The S&P 500 has rarely had more winners in a month than September, while the Walton family of Walmart fame—the world’s richest—held almost $5 billion in shares through a little-known firm. For the Generation Z investor, there’s an exchange-traded fund coming that’s tailored to progressive values. But for most investors, Wall Street veterans are seeing rough waters ahead for October.

Many Chinese investors have seen their life savings eroded by Evergrande Group’s slow-motion demise, but some of the country’s billionaires are getting help. South Korea’s media stocks saw an unexpected surge thanks to “Squid Game,” Netflix’s latest global hit.

Squid Game

Photographer: YOUNGKYU PARK/Netflix

Bye-bye business class. Airlines are ripping out business seats and trying to boost their bottom line on premium economy passengers. Virgin Atlantic is doubling its flights to the U.S. in preparation for the Biden administration lifting a ban on European visitors. Meanwhile, here’s where you can still fly to.

The owner of a hiking guiding company explains how he traded his computer programming gig for a life less ordinary. And for anyone who wants to splash out in California, Bloomberg Pursuits assesses Michelin’s list of 90 starred restaurants.

• Tesla investors may vote to eject Elon Musk’s brother from the board.
• OPEC’s ministers may signal whether crude can return to $80.
• Tories hold their conference with the U.K. in crisis.
• China’s financial markets are closed for Golden Week. 
• The Nobel prize season begins, starting with medicine.

Yes, the Stock Market May Very Well Be Rigged

Most Americans believe the stock market is rigged, and they just may be right. Investments by insiders—a senior executive, board member, or shareholder who owns 10% or more of a company—tend to significantly and consistently outperform benchmark indexes. U.S. trading rules make it illegal for insiders to trade on nonpublic information, but it’s long been an open secret that insiders trade on what they know. And no one seems to care.

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