What would RuPaul say about doom spending?

Don’t do it, darling. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a loose wig of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [Doom spending]( is not a slay. - [Ozempic]( makes [food CEOs]( pray. - Ford’s [EV losses]( grow bigger each day. - New York City gets its first [open gangway](. Stop Splurging, Sis! Photographer: Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Con If anyone needed another sign that the world is getting weirder (and slightly more disturbing), here’s one: People are asking ChatGPT to summarize gravely serious topics — [World War II](, [apartheid in South Africa](, [Adolf Hitler](, the [assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]( and [9/11]( — in the voice of [RuPaul](, America’s most iconic drag queen: From my seat, I see this exercise as a sort of coping mechanism. America is looking pretty bleak right now! Gen Zers are [dressing]( like mob wives. Tucker Carlson’s [interview of]( Vladimir Putin streams tonight. Kellyanne Conway is [auditioning]( to be Donald Trump’s VP. President Joe Biden [may be communicating]( with a dead man through a Ouija board. Young people [crave levity]( to combat all the doom-and-gloom, and AI-generated RuPaul is ready and willing to serve. And so is your credit card, by the looks of this chart: Sarah Green Carmichael [says]( about 27% of Americans admit to “doom spending,” which is exactly what it sounds like: blowing your budget to smithereens because the world is on fire and it’s your way of coping with the stress. Maybe you’ve heard your friend say, “Ugh, I'll never be able to [retire](. But at least I can smell nice, thanks to my [perfume collection](.” Or: “I could lose my job any minute. Might as well try and see [the Barbie concert](.” Wanting a little treat when you’re down is nothing new. But there’s nothing “little” about [a $2,500 Chanel bag](. “Real self-care is creating and sticking to a budget,” Sarah writes. “It’s true that the old rules of thumb — 50% for needs, 30% for wants, 20% for savings and paying down debt — might not be possible, particularly for younger earners who are earlier in their careers…. But that doesn’t mean we throw up our hands and buy Chanel.” In other words: RuPaul wouldn’t want you to sashay away your coins, darling! Read [the whole thing]( for free. You didn’t think we’d make you doom spend to read a column about doom spending, did you? Bonus Doom Reading: - Nobody’s really ready for how [automation could upend]( white-collar drudgery. — Lionel Laurent - Phoebe Bridgers may have [put]( Neil Portnow in his place, but music is [still a man’s world](. — Bobby Ghosh - New York [commercial real estate]( is dangerously close to a bloodbath. — Paul J. Davies Phone an Enemy Apparently Ozempic is making food CEOs so afraid that [they’re calling up]( Novo Nordisk’s chief and asking him for advice. The whole thing strikes me as … unusual. Since when did people start asking their enemies for counsel? “A couple of CEOs from, say, food companies have been calling me,” Novo Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said during a wide-ranging discussion in New York. He declined to name names, saying questions had centered on how the drugs work and how fast they would roll out. “They are scared about it.” Now, I may be wrong, but I don’t think bookstore CEOs called up Jeff Bezos to ask him how Amazon worked; they already knew his business threatened their bottom line! Likewise, cable news execs probably didn’t need talk to someone at Netflix HQ to realize why their customers started cord-cutting. But that’s what sets obesity medicine apart from most other technological feats of our era: Its future is still foggy. Nobody can say for sure how many people will eventually take drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound. Nor can anyone predict how long patients will need to stay on these drugs. And for food CEOs, knowing the eventual size of the market — will it be merely massive, or truly gargantuan? — is crucial. Luckily, Lisa Jarvis [says]( we’re closer to getting some of our questions answered. “This week brought a cluster of developments that suggest the market should start to take a more defined shape in 2024,” she writes. Novo is shelling out [$11 billion]( for three manufacturing sites to help it [pump out]( more Wegovy and Ozempic. Executives at Eli Lilly are [embarking]( on “the most ambitious expansion agenda” in its history to increase capacity for Zepbound and Mounjaro. “Both companies concede that demand will continue to outstrip supply this year, but there should be more of each drug available,” Lisa writes. As I write this, Lilly is worth [more than Tesla](, and Novo is the [most valuable company]( in Europe. Those valuations alone are enough to make any CEO sweat, whether their business is fast food or knee implants. But as desperate as they may be to get answers, they’re going to need some patience. Lisa says it will take time to study the myriad impacts of GLP-1s: “We’re still at the very beginning of the weight loss revolution, but each bit of data gives us a better idea of what it will look like in full bloom.” Telltale Charts In simple terms, Ford has three children: Blue, Pro and Model e, its electric vehicle unit. Although it’s a bit of a faux pas for a parent to admit they have a favorite child, Ford’s is undoubtedly Pro, its overachieving commercial fleet business, which reached its 2026 target last year. In the middle of the pack sits Blue, the division that sells trucks with internal combustion engines to normie drivers. Trailing behind is the black sheep of the family, Model e, which had an absolutely dreadful 2023. But not all hope is lost for the least-favorite child: “Ford frames its EV division as a startup,” Liam Denning [notes](. “While established businesses are priced off earnings and cash flow, startups are all about total addressable markets and revenue growth (because developing new stuff eats money).” When I first heard about New York City’s shiny new [open gangway trains]( — where subway riders can can freely stroll through 10 cars — I was concerned. As a young woman who takes the subway to and from work, I viewed the ability to discreetly move to a different car as a kind of safety feature, allowing me to escape an altercation, a creepy commuter or just an ungodly stench. But after a bit of research, I’m no longer worried. These cars won’t just help us feel safer, they actually are safer. Plus, a lot of our fear is likely due to [misperceptions]( about the city itself: “While conventional wisdom may lead you to believe that the subway system is violently unhinged, it’s not as dangerous as you might think. Instead, you simply see and hear a lot more of what’s going on — think those [subway horror stories]( that go viral on TikTok — which only enhances your fear,” I write in [my latest column]( (free read!). Further Reading Viktor Orban [nearly derailed]( Ukraine funding. It won’t be the last time. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Japan’s [convenience stores]( offer everything from fried chicken to tax filing, but the industry’s best years might be behind it. — Gearoid Reidy When you are a famous hedge fund manager like [Bill Ackman](, the performance fees are less important. — Matt Levine India is [blowing its chance]( to become an alternative to the world’s factory. That has to change. — Tim Culpan The Fed won’t use monetary policy to influence the race for the White House, but [there’s a catch](. — Claudia Sahm UK homebuilders are showing some [brass nerve]( amid a probe into the industry. — Matthew Brooker ICYMI President Zelenskiy [replaced]( his army chief. Australians can legally [ignore their boss]( off the clock. British Vogue managed to get 40 icons [in the same room](. The diaper industry is moving [beyond babies](. Cotija cheese is causing a [listeria outbreak](. Kickers Wipe away your crappy relationship with [toilet paper](. (h/t Andrea Felsted) How a $10 bag of Chex Mix triggered an [airport-snack price]( outrage. Tortured Poets’ or Poets? Taylor Swift meets [the apostrophe police](. Christopher Nolan [banned Uggs]( on set because he doesn’t like “distractions.” Dune’s stars have thoughts about [the viral popcorn bucket](. Notes: Please send Uggs and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. 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