Some fear U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to assassinate the second most powerful man in Iran may augur another major conflict in the Middle East. But the two nations have been effectively at war for some time. Since America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, Qassem Soleimani has challenged U.S. power with proxy militias in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. From a remove, he prosecuted a hybrid war against America without triggering a direct response from Washington. Now, the whole world awaits how, and where, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will deliver his grave promise of “severe retaliation.” —David E. Rovella

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Bobby Ghosh writes in Bloomberg Opinion that Soleimani, as the puppet-master of militias and terrorist groups, had the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands.
The Trump administration contends the assassination was to prevent what Secretary of State Michael Pompeo labeled an “imminent attack.” No evidence supporting the assertion, however, has been made public. Congress, with the exception of one Republican senator who was with Trump at his Florida resort, wasn’t consulted beforehand. Oil prices spiked and stocks fell.

On Capitol Hill, senators debated whether Trump should have briefed them first and whether he needs authorization for further attacks, given Congress’s war powers. They also discussed another constitutional issue: Trump’s looming Senate impeachment trial. Republican leader Mitch McConnell sought to defend his decision to coordinate the trial with the White House, despite his role as a juror.

Federal Reserve officials said the U.S. economy will keep growing at a healthy pace despite the Iran confrontation and continuing weakness in the manufacturing sector. There are some who may differ: Nine states will likely slide into contraction in the next six months—the most since the financial crisis. The decline in manufacturing is also the worst since, you guessed it, the Great Recession.

McClatchy, the latest American newspaper publisher facing financial calamity, decided to hold off on paying some of its pensioners.

What’s Luke Kawa thinking about? The Bloomberg cross-asset reporter is considering inflation; specifically the kind that may result from rising oil prices after the killing of Soleimani. An uptick could impact headline pressures and crimp spending on other discretionary items, Luke warns. At the Federal Open Market Committee on Dec. 10-11, Fed officials said their monetary policy was likely to remain appropriate “for a time” even amid what they saw as persistent downside risks.

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