One small step for man, one giant leap for ... Prada?

NASA's $1 billion spacesuits are excessive. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a meal allowance of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Prada doesn’t belong [on the moon](. - Some will [work forever]( in the same room. - [AI podcasts]( will get old pretty soon. - [TD Bank execs]( failed to read the room. The Astronaut Wears Prada I could easily write 10,000 words about how much I want to see Stanley Tucci in outer space. He could become the zaddy of intergalactic gastronomy, mixing NASA [negronis]( eating spaghetti [alla nebula]( and drinking [space-aged wine](. It’d be marvelous (except for the fact that he’d have to [pee in his pants]( and I even have a few ideas for how to get him there. For example, he could secretly trade places with his [Space Force doppelgänger]( Chief Master Sergeant John F. Bentivegna. Or — even better! — The Devil Wears Prada [sequel]( could send [his character]( to the moon. I’ve already put together an entire marketing campaign on Canva, so really, there’s no going back now: The Astronaut Wears Prada sounds absurd, I know. But Anne Hathaway has [already traveled]( through a wormhole near Saturn — hello, Interstellar — and Prada is [literally designing]( spacesuits now. Yesterday, Axiom Space and Prada unveiled some [outfit designs]( for NASA’s next moon mission, Artemis, which will be “made from a white material that reflects heat and protects astronauts from extreme high temperatures and lunar dust.” It sounds pretty cool, until you realize that taxpayers are footing the bill. Michael R. Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, [says the entire program]( — outfits and all — is an “outrageous waste.” The spacesuits alone [will eventually cost]( $1 billion, which Mike calls “pocket change” compared to the rocket itself. Thus far, NASA has spent almost $100 billion on Artemis and has little to show for it. “As someone who greatly respects science and strongly supports space exploration, the more I have learned about Artemis, the more it has become apparent that it is a colossal waste of taxpayer money,” he writes. A good question that nobody seems to be asking: Why do we need to go to the moon again? Neil Armstrong already did this space rodeo in 1969. And technology has improved a lot since then. “There is little humans can do on the moon that robots cannot,” Mike writes. “We do not need another person on the moon to collect rocks or take scientific measurements.” Perhaps it’s best, then, if Stanley Tucci stays on Earth. Maybe NASA could just lend him a Prada spacesuit to wear in front of a green screen: Lifelong Jobs During my first week at Bloomberg, I got coffee with a colleague who told me, “I’ve been working here since before you were born.” The idea of working at a place for so long both amazed and confused me. How could these people never get bored? Were they enamored with the unlimited Cheez-Its in [the pantry]( Did they get hypnotized by the [fish tanks]( Or was it actually just a pleasant place with wonderful people? It’s now seven years later and I’m still working here, so that’s really all you need to know. Technically, this is still my “first job” out of college. Some of my colleagues joke that I came out of the womb and went straight to Bloomberg, but Justin Fox [says]( I’m not [that]( special. Plenty of people have been with the same employer for much longer: “Contrary to oft-heard claims about the ever-more-fleeting nature of employment in the US, long-run jobs appear to be about as prevalent as ever,” he writes. But there’s a catch: “The placid picture painted by the above chart is the product of a so-called [composition effect]( in which changes in the makeup of the population being measured deliver a headline statistic that to some extent misrepresents what’s going on under the surface,” Justin explains. “The US labor force has been aging, and older workers are more likely to have been with the same employer for 10 years than younger ones.” Dig deeper into the data and you’ll see that all the younger age groups have reached near all-time lows for long-term employment: So I suppose I’m still slightly special, so long as I don’t get [sacked]( for buying toothpaste on the company dime: That’s right: The Financial Times says Meta laid off about two dozen Los Angeles-based employees because they spent their meal allowances on stuff like acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent. Matt Levine [says]( “You see stuff like this at big banks from [time]( to [time](. There I suppose the employees get fired because an employee who abuses the meal allowance too egregiously is a compliance risk. I’m not sure that’s so true at Meta, though maybe it is.” Regardless, those staffers lost their shot at long-term employment at Meta, a [rather optimal]( place to work. And for what? A tube of Crest? Pshh. [Friendly Computers]( Kurt Vonnegut [once wrote]( that earthlings designed computers “not so much for wisdom as for friendliness.” Look no further than Google’s new AI podcast tool, which Parmy Olson [says]( is “dazzling” and “extraordinary.” NotebookLM can turn any piece of written content — from [lecture notes]( to [Wikipedia pages]( — into an eerily human-sounding conversation. “The male and female AI-generated hosts not only have sonorous, FM-radio voices but punctuate their conversations with ‘ums,’ pauses and catchy phrases like ‘get this.’ The banter sounds so seamless that you’d be forgiven for thinking the conversation was between people,” Parmy writes. Even when the hosts are [talking about]( how they’re not real, they sound real: Yet the wow factor may wear off soon. Although NotebookLM’s podcast feature can be helpful in certain academic scenarios — see this TikToker [claiming it]( “WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE IN LAW SCHOOL” — Parmy is doubtful about the tech tool’s staying power in Corporate America. “The bigger question for Google is whether it will turn its magical feature into something useful for business,” she writes. An AI-generated podcast about somebody’s middle-school [diary]( is entertaining, sure, but will it make Big Tech money? Probably not. Telltale Charts Until recently, TD was the preferred bank for a bunch of money-laundering criminals — think: drug lords, child traffickers, terrorist financiers — and TD’s senior management pretty much knew that and chose to do business with them anyway. Now, [the Canadian bank]( owes the US government $3.1 billion, which Matt Levine [says]( is the largest penalty ever for money-laundering violations. The whole saga infuriates Paul J. Davies, who [writes that]( shareholders are suffering while executives and managers get to twiddle their thumbs until the whole thing blows over. “The leaders’ financial penalties are limited; they’re free to occupy positions of responsibility in finance,” Paul writes, adding that the “episode sends another bad message that the safety and hygiene of the industry still aren’t the priority they ought to be.” Mark Gongloff [says]( “Florida is Schrödinger’s housing market, both living and dying at the same time.” Prices of homes in areas prone to floods and high insurance costs are in free-fall, but developers are snatching them up to build new — and more expensive — mansions. Meanwhile, inland communities are experiencing an influx new residents who ditched their ocean views for higher ground. Everyone’s shuffling around, which is why available housing inventory [jumped 59%]( in the past year. “Both disaster and climate gentrification worsen the housing-affordability crisis already gripping Florida and the rest of the country,” he warns. Further Reading The death of [Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar]( is a victory and an opportunity for Israel. — Marc Champion The [freight industry]( is in for another bumpy holiday season. — Thomas Black Trump is foolish to think [tariffs will generate]( higher net exports and higher net capital inflow. — Tyler Cowen Violence [remains at the core]( of former president Trump’s political identity. — Francis Wilkinson [The optics]( of strong payrolls and retail sales are misleading. — Jonathan Levin Trump could extend the Supreme Court’s [conservative control]( for decades to come. — Noah Feldman BlackRock’s ambitious [pivot to private markets]( is rather adventurous. — Marc Rubinstein Victoria’s Secret must [maintain its focus]( on inclusivity for sales to take flight. — Andrea Felsted Democrats in Wisconsin hope to [hold the “blue wall”]( for Harris in November. — Patricia Lopez A [spending splurge]( might not trickle down into India’s 600-million-strong workforce. — Andy Mukherjee ICYMI It was a major day for [sperm science]( ... … and for [Jimmy Carter](. [Trump’s relative]( is recruiting Arab-American voters. The US charged an Indian spy linked to [a murder plot](. Kickers The McRib [is back](. [Tiny worms]( win big prizes. [Smelling shoes]( is criminal. Notes: Please send boneless pork sandwiches and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads]( [TikTok]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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