Crypto News: Cleverly's calamity

Hi there, I'm Ailbhe Rea, a Bloomberg UK Associate Editor based in Westminster.

"What a **** up!" was the cry from a room down the corridor here in parliament just now, as it became clear that James Cleverly has spectacularly bungled his bid to be Conservative leader, failing to make the final two having been comfortably in the lead only yesterday.

The scores on the doors today were:

Kemi Badenoch 42 votes
James Cleverly 37 votes
Robert Jenrick 41 votes

There were audible gasps as those numbers were read out, confirming that the next leader will be either Badenoch or Jenrick after the result of party members' votes is announced on Nov. 2.

To emphasise the point, Cleverly was miles ahead yesterday:

Cleverly 39 votes
Jenrick 31 votes
Badenoch 30 votes
Tom Tugendhat 20 votes

All day, a smiling, puffed-up Cleverly was present on the parliamentary estate — after being spotted at Boris Johnson's book launch last night — and was widely expected to benefit from the bulk of Tugendhat's votes. Instead, it all comes to nothing, despite an impressive conference speech and a growing sense of momentum.

So what on earth happened? Cleverly's team are declining to say whether they tried to engineer the votes to keep their least preferred opponent off the ballot, or whether they played it straight and have been genuinely dumbstruck by the change in ballots cast.

Tory MPs are sometimes described as the most duplicitous electorate in the world, and today's result shows why. In past secret ballots, some are known to have promised — or publicly endorsed — one way and then voted another, and that looks like what has happened here. Rumors are already swirling that today's outcome was due to cunning tactics by one of the successful two candidates, who may have inflated Cleverly's vote yesterday with exactly this trick in mind.

While Cleverly asks himself what went wrong, or who betrayed him, teams Badenoch and Jenrick are already gearing up for the final round. Whatever happens now, a candidate from the party's right will be the next Conservative leader. Much of the future direction of the Tories has already been decided by today's ballot.

Want this in your inbox each weekday? You can sign up here.

The stories you need to know about this evening

Banks push watchdogs to relax rules on deferred bonuses and clawbacks.
Labour will unveil a package of new workers' rights tomorrow. Here's what to expect.
Trader fights insider dealing extradition at Supreme Court.
Pension funds ask for new debt rules to spur green investment.

$471,370

The average salary on Wall Street, according to an analysis of pay packets in New York's securities industry. Not bad, you might think — but it's down nearly 9% in real terms.

"Germany and Europe are squeezed between China and the US and have to learn to assert themselves"

Robert Habeck

German economy minister

If Germany's economy shrinks again in 2024 — as expected — it would be only the second time that output has fallen for consecutive years since reunification. Global geopolitics is (partly) to blame.

One key story, every weekday

Photographer: Glenn Harvey

Symbolizing privileged Frenchness, Perrier is a billion-dollar brand, its pear-shaped green bottles found on boardroom tables and in high-end restaurants from New York and London to Hong Kong. The bubbly quencher is among the standout alternatives to sugar-filled sodas for health-conscious urban consumers.

But more than three decades after the infamous Perrier recall in 1990 — one of the biggest such actions in the world — Perrier once again finds itself battling scandal.

Read The Big Take.

The London Rush for getting briefed ahead of your morning calls with the latest UK business headlines, key data and market reaction
Money Distilled for John Stepek's daily newsletter on what market moves mean for your money
Opinion Today for a roundup of our most vital opinions on business, politics, economics, tech and more
Brussels Edition for a daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union

Stay updated by saving our new email address

Our email address is changing, which means you'll be receiving this newsletter from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. Here's how to update your contacts to ensure you continue receiving it:

Gmail: Open an email from Bloomberg, click the three dots in the top right corner, select "Mark as important."
Outlook: Right-click on Bloomberg's email address and select "Add to Outlook Contacts."
Apple Mail: Open the email, click on Bloomberg's email address, and select "Add to Contacts" or "Add to VIPs."
Yahoo Mail: Open an email from Bloomberg, hover over the email address, click "Add to Contacts."