Balance of Power

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In US President Donald Trump’s mind, the announcement that the Nobel Peace Prize has again been given to someone else is certain to register as the latest ignominy in a lifetime of rejection by elites.

The question for the rest of the world is how he might register that indignation given he made no secret of his desire for the award.

Instead, it went to banned Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights.”

María Corina Machado. Photographer: Juan Barreto/Getty Images

It was an astute move from the selection committee, which chafed at the heat coming from Trump.

It will be hard for him to object to their decision given his own hard-line approach against the Maduro regime.

The award – globally recognized and synonymous with excellence – is iconic in a way that Trump, an obsessive arbiter of brand strength, keenly appreciates.

The fixation grew when Trump’s original political nemesis, Barack Obama, won the Nobel in 2009, just months after taking office. For Trump, the recognition revealed a rigged game, where prestige was reserved for those already accepted by a global order that had dismissed him as a brutish outsider.

That frustration has only deepened since his return to the presidency.

In Trump’s first term, he leveraged his relationships with Israeli and Arab leaders to strike a series of agreements thawing relations across the Middle East. But the world overlooked his achievements.

Since returning to office, he has relentlessly pursued peace agreements.

Some of the wars Trump claimed to end actually concluded hostilities years ago, others continue to see outbursts of violence.

Yet this week’s announcement that the US and partners had brokered a hostage-release deal in the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas was a genuine accomplishment.

He’s travelling to the Middle East next week to welcome home the hostages.

Should peace hold, there’s always next year’s Nobel. — Justin Sink

Obama during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in December 2009. Photographer: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Global Must Reads

Israel approved an accord that will see Hamas release all remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for more than 2,000 prisoners, another step toward fulfilling the terms of a peace pact. The United Nations indicated it’s ready to start shipping in humanitarian aid, but with reconstruction costing some $53 billion ahead, according to the World Bank, Gazans are asking who will be in charge.

Smoke billows following an Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip yesterday. Photographer: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Emmanuel Macron is continuing his search for a new French prime minister capable of securing a parliamentary majority and backing for next year’s budget. The president has resisted calls for a snap election and promised to name a new premier by this evening. Check out the frontrunners here.

Japan’s governing coalition collapsed, delivering a major blow to new ruling party leader Sanae Takaichi and jolting markets after a partnership that contributed to political stability for the past quarter century fell apart. Talks between Takaichi and her party’s junior partner ended without agreement today, weakening her before she has even secured the role of prime minister.

The US and Japan confirmed they will keep up efforts to implement their July trade deal, as the Asian nation transitions to its new leader ahead of an expected visit by Trump. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the US president to review progress on talks, signaling renewed efforts by both sides to break the impasse over tariffs and New Delhi’s Russian ties.

Senior Peruvian lawmaker José Jerí was unexpectedly sworn in as president today following the overnight ouster of Dina Boluarte, one of the world’s most unpopular leaders with an approval rating of about 3%. Her former congressional allies backed a motion to remove her over criticism that she wasn’t doing enough to tackle soaring crime.

Jerí after being sworn in as president in Lima today. Photographer: John Reyes/AP Photo

Taiwan will speed up building a comprehensive system to protect the self-run democracy from aerial attacks, President Lai Ching-te said, an announcement that comes as the US pushes his government to do more to defend itself from China.

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia, making her the second of Trump’s perceived political enemies to be criminally charged in two weeks after former FBI Director James Comey.

A federal judge blocked Trump from sending hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago to counter protests against his immigration crackdown, the latest setback in the administration’s effort to deploy soldiers in Democratic-led cities.

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio reiterated a warning that US government debt is expanding too quickly, which he said was fueling a polarized climate “very much analogous” to the years before World War II and potentially triggering a “civil war of some sort.”

WATCH: Francine Lacqua’s interview with Dalio on Bloomberg TV.

Don’t miss from Bloomberg Weekend: Max Chafkin looks at what drove Silicon Valley’s shift to the right, Jo Constantz discusses AI with Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoğlu, and Yoshiaki Nohara describes how Japan’s far right is alarming foreign workers. Subscribe to the Bloomberg Weekend newsletter here.

This week’s episode of Trumponomics explores why the US government shutdown may be different from previous iterations. Host Stephanie Flanders speaks with Matthew Glassman, senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, and Anna Wong, chief US economist for Bloomberg Economics. You can also listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television.

Chart of the Day

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a lifeline for Argentina yesterday that’s designed to rescue the country’s financial markets from deepening turmoil and get President Javier Milei — a close ally of the Trump administration — out of a hole. The essence of Bessent’s $20 billion bet is that, with US financial muscle behind him, Milei can win midterm elections in two weeks. And then, with a supportive congress, get his economic program on track and investors onside once again. Analysts say that’s not impossible, just hard.

And Finally

Paul Biya wants to rule Cameroon at least until he’s 99. That has investors worried about strife in the African nation prone to conflict. At 92, the world’s oldest president has overseen the oil-exporting country for more than four decades and is likely to win Sunday’s election. His advanced age and lack of a successor is seen as a risk, with analysts warning of a possible power vacuum if he’s unable to complete another seven-year term.

Biya and First Lady Chantal Biya at a rally this month. Photographer: Welba Yamo Pascal/AP Photo

Pop quiz (no cheating!): The embattled leader of which nation this week asked opposition protesters to give him a year to turn things around? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net

Global Must Reads

Chart of the Day

And Finally

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