| I'm Christina Sterbenz, and this is Bloomberg Opinion Today, the toxic relationship of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. 'Wuthering Heights': Global Politics Edition | Like many other women, I recently partook in the fanfare of seeing Wuthering Heights in theaters. If you prefer to keep your romance movies and global politics separate, you may want to stop reading now. The film's central romance is notably similar to the US' current diplomatic relationships. Don't worry: No spoilers ahead. As Trump's visit from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi approaches, the US president has made clear what he wants: help in the Strait of Hormuz. Except, as Gearoid Reidy writes, "the trip has already been subject to typical Trumpian whiplash. After an initial call for help, the president now insists that no assistance is needed." Takaichi also admitted she's facing an "extremely difficult" meeting. That all sounds like a classic toxic relationship to me. More times than I can count in Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff and Cathy espouse their love — only to renege and spiral into rage if the other doesn't respond the way they'd hoped. The two star-crossed Victorian lovers also point fingers quite a bit. Rosa Prince suggests that embattled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has no choice but to do the same with Trump. "With the 'Trumpflation' impact of rising energy prices about to hit UK consumers hard, Starmer's only remaining option is to blame the US president's war of choice for the bad times to come," she writes. "He'd be foolish not to." Not knowing where you stand with someone can be difficult in an adversarial relationship — and even more so when you're supposed to be on the same side. That's why Cathy would often wait to see how Heathcliff reacted before she did. Markwayne Mullin, the new head of the Department of Homeland Security (pending an all-but-certain confirmation), finds himself in a similar place with Trump. He seems to know that things need to change at the agency, but he hasn't said how he plans to do it. More importantly, will he even be able to? "There is reason for skepticism," Erika D. Smith writes. "[Mullin] is an immigration hawk who has repeatedly backed Trump's crackdown in cities [and] referred to undocumented immigrants as 'federal fugitives.'" It's a strange reality, indeed, when characters in a steamy movie and world leaders apply the same strategies to get what they want from a powerful man. Budget Flights? In This Oil Economy? | Coincidentally, the same day I saw Wuthering Heights, my stepmom reminded me to book my trip home soon because airlines were about to hike ticket prices due to the Iran war. As it turns out, I'm part of the problem. I'm also a big fan of low-cost airlines, especially Frontier. We've all heard the horror stories, but, dare I say it out loud, I've never had any problems. Unfortunately, the purveyors of my beloved budget flights, like Spirit — which is already in bankruptcy — are struggling to stay competitive. "The low-cost carriers will shrink in size to fit their natural market niche, which is large leisure markets such as Orlando or Las Vegas," Thomas Black writes. I'm from Cleveland, which — as much as I love my hometown — probably doesn't make the cut. The rise in oil prices is already having an impact, although most airlines are trying to put on a brave face and eat the costs — for now, Mark Gongloff writes. "Seats get smaller, lines get longer, amenities become rarer and more expensive, customer service gets worse, and more flights are delayed and canceled." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thinks he may have a solution to the damage being caused by rising oil prices: intervening directly in the financial markets by taking a bearish short position. But that's a terrible idea, Javier Blas writes. "History is littered with American politicians who thought they knew better than the market," Blas says. "Remember the 1970s when President Richard Nixon imposed energy price controls after the first oil crisis? It didn't lower prices, but it brought shortages and mile-long lines at gas stations." I don't remember. Maybe I'll ask my stepmom — if I can still get a cheap flight home. Despite my love of a good deal, I've never bought anything from Shein. I'm in the minority: The company is now the biggest bargain clothes retailer in the global market, even ahead of Target, Zara and H&M. And it's seeking an IPO right at home in China. That's the "final nail in the coffin" for so-called China shedding, when the country's most successful global companies would mask "their origins to sidestep Western scrutiny," Juliana Liu writes. I can't report the same good news for luxury. It's experiencing a greedflation vibe shift and thus, an enormous downturn. Chanel, however, is showing that the industry still has a pulse, Andrea Felsted writes: "It's shifted the narrative away from complaints about pricing to the desirability of the products." Ambani's $300 billion Texas oil hedge is a nod to MAGA. — Andy Mukherjee Private credit is bad, but it's not 2008 bad. — Bill Dudley Courts should stop taking Trump at his word. — Noah Feldman The chief justice vs. Trump. The people doing their taxes with Claude. Aliens.gov is coming. Nvidia is making AI video game "slop." Confessions of the ICE whisperer. The death loop of streaming. Notes: Please send non-political romance recommendations and feedback to csterbenz@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. | 
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