Crypto News: ‘I would prefer to be societally useful’

Welcome to the weekend!

The co-founder of Cluely, an AI startup with the motto “Cheat on everything,” ignited a recent controversy after confessing he had lied to a reporter. Which financial metric did he fib about? (Hint: It has a three-letter abbreviation.) Find out with this week’s Pointed quiz.

This weekend we’re looking at Pakistan’s middle-power moment, restaurants on Ukraine’s front lines, one man’s quest to save his grandmother from state media, and another’s marathon training with ChatGPT.

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A New Order

However temporary, the US-Iran ceasefire was a win for peace — and for Pakistan, which helped broker it. Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, says it also highlights the impact of ties with Trump and the rising clout of middle powers. “The era of America’s dominance in the region is basically over,” she tells Mishal Husain. “Things are not going to go back to what they were before.”

Weekend Interview

How Pakistan’s Army Chief Won Over Donald Trump

Maleeha Lodhi says personal ties helped position Pakistan as a mediator.

So what comes next? The new world order is often described as the “law of the jungle,” but Gordon LaForge argues it’s more complex. The jungle is as much about cooperation as competition, with actors forming shifting networks rather than following a single power. That could improve areas like trade, public health and climate. But not everything fits this messier model — least of all security.

Weekend Essay

‘Polyamory’ Is the New Norm in Geopolitics

The new world order will be more dangerous — and more cooperative.

In a world defined by uncertainty, prediction markets are emerging as a way to aggregate what we know — or think we do. Now they’re coming for the weather, write Mary Hui, Eric Roston and Joe Wertz, as more people place bets on storms and temperatures. But can these markets improve forecasts and inform policy, or are they simply zero-sum bets? As one trader put it, “I would prefer to be societally useful.”

Weekend Feature

Can Prediction Markets Improve Weather Forecasts?

Traders are predicting the weather. Climate experts are on the fence.

If markets are one way to test what we know, another is to put it to work. When Derek Wallbank signed up for the Paris Marathon, he turned to ChatGPT to help him train, feeding it years of exercise and diet data and asking it to act as a coach and nutritionist. His experiment reveals the promise and the limits of AI: ChatGPT’s program was immediate, impressive and bespoke — until it started to hallucinate.

Weekend Essay

I Trained for the Paris Marathon Using ChatGPT

Six months of progress, 20 pounds lost and a trial-and-error test for AI.

On the Ground With...

A farmer in Australia
A war half a world away sent fuel and fertilizer prices soaring, forcing farmers like Geoff Cosgrove to rethink what — and whether — to plant. The uncertainty is shaping decisions that could ripple through global food supply.

A high-information voter in Hungary
Every week, Levente tries to break through his grandmother’s filter bubble. But 84-year-old Eva relies almost entirely on state media, leaving her caught between competing versions of reality, and unsure what to believe.

A restaurateur in Ukraine
In Kherson, where drones and explosions are constant, restaurants are opening their doors and diners are showing up, sustaining a livelihood and signaling defiance on one of the war’s most dangerous front lines.

*Illustration: Anuj Shrestha For Bloomberg*

Conversation Starters

Chokepoints are the new currency of power. Iran’s Hormuz toll epitomizes a transactional world order, where control over key passages can be turned into leverage. The risk is that markets haven’t fully priced in that shift.

Liberalism runs on coffee and conversation. From 18th-century coffee houses to today’s cafés, the spaces where people gather to argue, read and exchange ideas have helped shape the liberal order. As politics fragments, they matter more than ever.

Prediction markets make the world a casino. With billions flowing into platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, the line between betting and trading is blurring. Critics warn the boom could encourage speculation, manipulation and insider advantages.

Bad Bet

“I need to tell you something. You’re going to be indicted tomorrow.”

Mike Kent

Long before today’s prediction markets, a bored nuclear engineer built one of the first computer-driven sports betting systems. Mike Kent’s model helped a network of gamblers beat bookmakers — then the FBI came calling.

Is It Worth It?

Robo umpires: Probably. During a spring training evaluation, Major League Baseball’s ABS system proved imperfect but highly entertaining.

A Universal Genève watch: If you’re a collector. The relaunched brand leans on vintage credibility, with new models priced from $15,000 to six figures.

A ¥2,600 Hobonichi Techo planner: If you’ll use it. The viral Japanese planner has built a cult following, but its value depends on sticking with the habit.

A £21.50 pork katsu bento at Tanakatsu: Yes. The dish anchors a lunch that feels like a steal, making it one of the best bookings in London.

A $5,000 heli-hiking trip: Only if you’re short on time. It delivers bucket-list views without the grind, but you’re losing some of the point of hiking.

Minaret Heli Hiking — *Photographer: Camilla Rutherford for Bloomberg Businessweek*

What You Should Read

See You on the Other Side: Jay McInerney closes his Manhattan saga as its signature married couple confronts the pandemic — and a city tilting toward money over culture.

One Bad Mother: Ej Dickson argues that motherhood has become a public performance, where rising costs and constant scrutiny make the job feel impossible to get right.

Whatever you want! Reading retreats bring strangers together to spend time reading, often in silence. The appeal isn’t just the setting; it’s the rare chance to focus without distraction.

Page Break reading retreat at Spruceton Inn, located in West Kill in the Catskills, NY. — *Photographer: Max Pittman/Page Break*

What Everyone’s Reading

Doritos at $7 a Bag Ended Up Costing PepsiCo Billions

Bessent Issues Urgent Warning to Bank CEOs About Anthropic’s New Model

Injured US Airman in Iran Used Boeing Device to Signal Rescuers

China’s Housing Crisis Forces Banks to Confront Underwater Mortgages

Trump Got Schooled by Iran. He’ll Never Learn

Jamie Dimon Urges US to ‘Get Stronger,’ Keep Economic, Military Power

One Last Thing

From the Archives

“Some might call it cheating. Why not call it a few more rules?”

With the Masters underway, Drew Millard argues golf might be better if more people cheated — not at the elite level, but to keep things moving on the everyday course. Take a mulligan, move the ball, and skip the frustrations that turn a round into a slog.