Rent-free living is a reality for a record number of Americans

Plus: Soft landing possible? [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an early Christmas present of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - There’s a [friends and family discount]( for housing. - America’s [labor supply crisis]( is sticky. - [Mark Zuckerberg was trouble]( from the start. - [Brazil’s Lula]( is music to investors’ ears. Living Rent-Free IRL Heidi Klum dressed up as a croissant-looking worm (or is it a worm-looking croissant?) for her Halloween party. These pictures will now live rent-free in my brain for eternity: Photographer: Taylor Hill/Getty Images Her costume feels very appropriate for our times. Who wouldn’t want to bury themselves in a little dirt hole while the rest of the world collectively freaks out over Elon Musk, inflation and the safety of [Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps](? Sadly, not all of us can be worms. Some of us have to be central bankers. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has a tough decision ahead of him tomorrow, with an anxious world watching to see if he can quell inflation without wrecking the global economy. Karl Smith argues we have reason to believe that the Fed chief can do it. His reason: the [impressive number of people who are living rent-free]( — not in other people’s brains, but in actual houses. In a single year, the percentage of American adults living with friends or family went from 11% to 18%, the highest on record: This chart comes as absolutely no surprise to me, a grown woman who adores living with her elder sister. The perks are endless: I cook dinner, she washes the dishes. It certainly doesn’t hurt that she has the same shoe size as me. The roommate renaissance is cooling demand for homes and apartments, giving an early Christmas present to the Fed. The equation is actually quite simple: Roommates + Lower Demand for Housing = Lower Rents = Lower Shelter Inflation Meanwhile, Wall Street [is also hopeful of a soft landing](, writes Jonathan Levin. It finds its rationale in corporate earnings: “Only about 24% of companies are missing analysts’ forecasts” this season, Jonathan writes. No economic armageddon here yet: It turns out consumers are still spending, even if they’re living rent-free with their cousin. That alone should be enough to make Jerome Powell feel a little cozier. Bonus Inflation Reading: [Inflation-adjusted interest rates are a scam](. I don’t trust ‘em, and neither should you. — Richard Cookson Unskilled at Skilled Labor Shippers of the world, rejoice! “It now costs $2,412 to send a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles, down from a peak of $12,424 in September last year,” Thomas Black writes. But factory floors now face an entirely different supply shortage: humans. Across America, [a scarcity of skilled workers is hurting everything]( from freight carriers to construction companies. Today we got the data on US job openings in September, which showed an unexpected rebound. Many economists were shooketh to their core to see these numbers: “The surprise pickup in vacancies highlights [unrelenting demand for workers despite mounting economic headwinds](,” Reade Picket writes for Bloomberg Economics. There are even shortages in [the extremely sexy career path of accounting](, notes Adrian Wooldridge. Bloomberg Tax estimates the number of accountants and auditors dropped by 17% between 2019 and 2021. Fewer than 100,000 people take the CPA exam each year. [Starbucks]( has three times more employees than that. Even fewer manage to pass the exam. For those hoping [pay transparency laws]( like the new one in New York City might bring a new wave of willing applicants, Alexis Leondis has bad news: [They might just mean lower wages](. The real solution to the skilled-labor shortage starts with [immigration]( and education, two subjects in which America gets a failing grade. As we approach midterm elections, it’s worth noting that hundreds of thousands of children of undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers, are still stuck in legal limbo. [Congress needs to act now to let them stay]( in the country. If not, Bloomberg’s editorial board writes, our labor shortage will only get worse. High Tech Haikus It’s the first day of November, so what the heck. We’re doing some haikus, featuring Chris Bryant on Facebook, Lionel Laurent on dogecoin and Tim Culpan and Gearoid Reidy on Sony: Meta’s Mark [went rogue.]( Shareholders need insurance. Cry me a river. “Dogecoin isn’t dead!” [Crypto scams]( run on Twitter. Save the world? Musk can’t. Where the Crawdads Sing [was made by Sony](. Who knew? New level unlocked. Telltale Charts The last time Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ran Brazil, the economy absolutely popped off. John Authers writes [the buying opportunities during Lula’s new presidency could be similarly robust]( — as long as he remains a sensible and pragmatic leader. When we talk about “high oil prices,” olive oil isn’t often what we have in mind. The salad-dressing staple is beyond pricey these days because of a drought in the Mediterranean, David Fickling explains in the [Elements]( [newsletter](. Italy is bracing for the worst possible outcome: [extra-virgin-less grocery]( shelves. Further Reading [South Korea’s crowd crush is a tragedy]( that its deeply unpopular president must contend with. — Gearoid Reidy [Rishi Sunak is the chosen one]( … to detoxify relationships between the UK and the EU. — Therese Raphael [President Joe Biden’s effort to counter China’s EV prowess]( targets projects that are neither scalable nor commercially viable. — Anjani Trivedi Authors can breathe a sigh of relief now that [Penguin can’t buy Simon & Schuster](. — Chris Hughes Investors want a balanced diet, so [they pay for illiquidity](. — Matt Levine Good news, parents: An [RSV vaccine is possible]( soon. — Lisa Jarvis ICYMI [28-year-old Migos rapper Takeoff]( died in a shooting. [Trump took an L]( in his tax return battle royale. So long, [Google Hangouts](. Kickers Area man keeps [$29.9 million lottery jackpot a secret]( from his wife and child. Dogs [eat better than humans](, probably. Get ready to pay 23% more for your [Thanksgiving turkey](. The [Nintendo GameCube]( helped a NASCAR driver set a record. Notes:  Please send $29.9 million and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. 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](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022