I’m Kristen Bellstrom, and this is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an embrace of the strategic direction of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. On Sundays, we look at the major themes of the week past and how they will define the week ahead. Sign up for the daily newsletter here.

While the new year officially starts in January (in the US, anyway), we all know it should be the beginning of September. The week after Labor Day is a whirl of Real Life kicking back in, as kids return to school and office workers shake off that pleasurable August haze and pound our keyboards with a vengeance. As tough as it is to let summer [1] go, there’s something energizing about this time of year, with its promise of change and new beginnings.  

Maybe not in the business world, though. While this week saw a flurry of activity, good luck finding any real change. Judge Amit Mehta of US District Court had an opportunity to bring some to Google when he ruled on its penalty for running an illegal search monopoly on Tuesday, but he passed it up. Mehta skipped any punishment that would have had real implications for parent company Alphabet, says Dave Lee: namely, forcing it to sell its its Chrome browser or Android operating system. Sure, Google does face some repercussions: It will have to refrain from some exclusivity deals and make some search data available to competitors. But as John Authers notes, the market reaction — Alphabet shares climbed 9% the next day — made it clear that this is little more than a slap on the wrist. In the end, writes Dave, “the status quo will remain pretty much just that.”

A new CEO counts as a break from the status quo, right? Eh. Nestlé got one on Monday after it was discovered that its previous chief, Laurent Freixe, was having an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate (talk about things that never change!). Rather than start a search for a new CEO, the company immediately tapped longtime employee Philipp Navratil for the gig. On some level, Beth Kowitt was sympathetic — it’s understandable that the board would want a “safe bet,” and Navratil says he will “embrace the company’s strategic direction.” The problem, says Beth, is that Nestlé’s current direction is pretty much down:

It was the kind of week when even something as dramatic as a breakup just took us back to what Chris Hughes describes as “square one (and a bit).” The separation of Kraft Heinz, announced Tuesday, is really just the unwinding of the decade-old merger that created the maker of such products as Lunchables and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The stock sagged on the announcement, with investors seemingly unmoved by the idea that the separated companies would be more innovative and agile. (In Chris’ estimation, one will hope to offer growth from emerging markets, while the other should provide a “decent dividend.”) 

“The overall muted reaction is a reminder that undoing a deal through separation — plus a few bells and whistles — isn’t an act of magic,” writes Chris. Ultimately, he says, “The risk is it’s all just a zero-sum game.”

In other words: more of the same.

Bonus Status Quo Reading:

• Musk has yet another master plan for Tesla. — Liam Denning
• Low-cost airlines should return to their roots. — Thomas Black

What’s the World Got in Store?

• August China Imports/Exports, Sept. 8: Xi Has No Choice But to Love Chinese Stocks — Shuli Ren
• Confidence vote on French Prime Minister, Sept. 8: Le Big Short: French Political Risk Runs Deep — Lionel Laurent
• US CPI report for August, Sept. 11: Worker Pessimism Is Part of the US Economy Now — Conor Sen
   

The will-they-or-won’t-they of the Jeffrey Epstein files has morphed into an almost entirely political story. I get it. It certainly feels like the only real weak spot the Democrats have been able to find in the Trump-MAGA mindmeld.

But it’s important to remember that whatever’s in those files is actually about the lives of real women and girls — some of whom spoke in Washington this week. Nia-Malika Henderson says their message was summed up by Epstein survivor Anouska de Georgiou: “You have a choice. Stand with the truth. Or with the lies that have protected predators for decades.” Nia says the president’s attempts to explain the whole thing away as a “Democrat hoax that never ends” are failing. Let’s hope so. In the words of another victim, Chauntae Davies: “One thing is certain, unless we learn from this history, monsters like Epstein will rise again.”

Notes: Please send anything but Lunchables and feedback to Kristen Bellstrom at kbellstrom@bloomberg.net.

Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads.