The Trump-Kim buddy movie needs to end

[Bloomberg]( Today’s Agenda - Trump was [right to walk]( away from North Korea talks, but [what comes next]( is key. - Cooler heads [seem scarce]( in the [India-Pakistan dispute](. - It’s totally fine if Trump signs a [pointless trade deal]( with China. - Cohen’s testimony could [hit Trump’s approval ratings](. Trump’s North Korea Hanoi-ance At least President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un are still friends. Even after their summit in Hanoi collapsed early this morning, Trump called Un “quite a character” and said he believed he had nothing to do with American student Otto Warmbier’s death. But it plainly takes more than camaraderie to work out a satisfactory nuclear deal, and [Trump was right to walk away]( from what his buddy Un was offering, Bloomberg’s editorial board writes. Trump claimed Un wanted the U.S. to drop all sanctions against his country but also let it keep much of its nuclear program (North Korea later [denied]( the drop-all-sanctions part). There was [a risk Trump would take such a deal]( just to say he accomplished something, as Michael Schuman wrote before talks broke down. It’s something of a relief Trump knew enough to walk away. Talks will continue, but Trump should [let the seasoned diplomats handle it]( this time, Bloomberg’s editors write. He also must realize [he’s never going to turn North Korea into a thriving economy]( as long as Kim keeps running it as a death camp, writes Eli Lake. Trump has much better odds of nation-rebuilding closer to home, in Venezuela. Moving Through Kashmir Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are still high, after days of back-and-forth attacks on each other’s territory in and near Kashmir; although Pakistan today said it would release a captured Indian pilot, which might help. Both sides could [do a better job of cooling this situation]( down, Bloomberg’s editorial board writes. In the longer term, Pakistan must stop hosting terrorists, and India must treat Kashmiris better. So far, neither side has behaved responsibly enough. The trouble is that Indian Prime Minister Narendra [Modi is motivated to stoke the bloodlust]( of Indian media and social media, writes Pankaj Mishra. Facing a tough reelection with little economically to show for his tenure, Modi wants to demonstrate what a tough guy he is, and Indians crave false reassurance, Pankaj writes. The result is everybody deceiving themselves into thinking this is a winning cause and not a recipe for disaster. Stop Waiting for a Perfect China Deal Perhaps anxious to sit at a deal-signing table with somebody, anybody, Trump is [reportedly close]( to inking a China trade deal. After months of huffing and puffing and tariffs and threats of tariffs, this agreement may do nothing much but restore the status quo. That will frustrate hardliners in the Trump administration and may not be the best thing for either country in the long run; but [it would be the best outcome right now](, argues David Fickling. There’s no sense in holding the global economy hostage for a more-comprehensive trade deal that may be impossible to achieve or enforce. Further China Reading: China’s regulators want to [encourage a bull market](, but not the runaway excesses of the previous one. Good luck with that. – Shuli Ren The Cohen Fallout Begins Michael Cohen’s House testimony yesterday probably did little to move partisans in one direction or another, though it did shine a light on more legal headaches [for the president]( and [his associates](. And it may have been noisy enough, and shown on enough TV networks, to [get the attention of low-information voters](, notes Jonathan Bernstein. That may be enough to push Trump’s approval ratings deeper into the danger zone for reelection. Republicans, meanwhile, did little to really impugn Cohen, choosing instead to create satisfying chyrons and headlines for Fox and other conservative media, Jonathan writes. Telltale Charts Trump claims his regulatory rollback has boosted the economy. There’s [not much evidence of either]( thing happening, writes Justin Fox. If you’re looking for a tech bubble, Shira Ovide suggests you look not to the FAANG stocks, but to [cloud-computing companies](, which you might call the, uh, PUTINs? Further Reading As the Yellow Vest movement loses steam, Emmanuel Macron has a chance to [carefully revive his revolution](. France needs it. – Bloomberg’s editorial board Benjamin Netanyahu has been [riding the tiger of Israeli extremism]( since before the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, and he’s riding it now to protect himself from [criminal conviction](. It's just as dangerous and cynical now as then . – Zev Chafets Investors shouldn’t take the Fed’s embrace of dovishness as a [signal to fill their boots]( with risk. – Mohamed El-Erian Starboard and Wellington [don’t have a good case for opposing]( Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s purchase of Celgene Corp. – Max Nisen Here’s an argument for [eliminating the SALT deduction](. – Michael R. Strain Another reason to build high-speed rail: It can [help with the affordable-housing]( problem in big cities. – Matthew Kahn You’ve got to hear the one about [Telluride’s outlaw banker](, who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. – Joe Nocera ICYMI Justin Trudeau [is in trouble](. America’s cities run on [software from the ‘80s](. We’re about to hit [Peak Car](. Kickers Is it really so wrong to [buy a robot to do your homework]( or write your newsletter? Migrating blue whales use memory to [guide them to feeding grounds](, though climate change is interfering. (h/t Scott Kominers for the previous two kickers) Lack of sleep [can pack on the pounds](. – (h/t Mike Smedley) A children’s treasury of [public-transit seat covers]( around the world. (h/t Joel Brill) The 50 [best movie soundtracks]( of all time. Note: Please send robots and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. New to Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]( [Twitter Share]( SEND TO A FRIEND [Share with a friend] You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022