Local primary elections don’t normally command national attention, unless it’s New York City’s and a charismatic young lawmaker has just knocked off a member of the Democratic old guard. Wes Kosova is here with some takeaways. Plus: A mortgage fraud that stole Canadian homes and innovative loans for foreign MBA students.

If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up.

Stunning. Seismic. Momentous. Political reporters and pundits everywhere are scouring thesaurus.com today for adjectives expansive enough to capture the significance of Zohran Mamdani’s stunningly seismic and momentous defeat of Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s Democratic primary vote for New York mayor.

A few months ago—heck, a few days ago—not many political pros would’ve confidently put money on Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman with a starter resume and a left-wing, eat-the-rich platform, against Cuomo, the tarnished but connected ex-governor who touted himself as the safe establishment pick after years of turmoil under Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani, campaigning on Monday at a pizzeria in New York.  Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg

What to make of Mamdani’s performance? It’s always hazardous to freight events with insta-meaning. Unfortunately, this is never a winning argument with magazine editors. (Ask me how I know.) So here’s a handful of initial thoughts about last night while we wait for the final vote tabulation and for a clearer picture to form in the days and weeks ahead.

1. The backlash against everything old is real.
President Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters may revel in his nostalgic, back-to-the-future economic and social agenda. But for Democrats who still blame Joe Biden for overstaying his welcome and ushering Trump into the White House again (and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg for not stepping down, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for keeping too tight a grip on rising stars in the party), there’s a deep and growing strain of resentment against what they see as spent figures pushing old, out-of-touch ideas and blocking the way for a new generation of leaders.

The 67-year-old Cuomo, trying for a political comeback after sexual harassment allegations ended his time as New York governor, ran a by-the-book campaign the way it was done a decade ago, and a decade before that. He was backed by the city’s powerful and endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, another yesteryear politician brought low by sexual scandal.

Meanwhile Mamdani staged a millennial campaign that was all about rejecting the way things have always been done. His proposals—free buses, free child care, rent control—were light on details (such as, how to pay for them), but full of ambition, exuberance and optimism. He was everywhere promoting them on social media and digital platforms, bypassing the traditional media gatekeepers to reach voters directly—and in a way that came across as authentic and natural, not manufactured by consultants.

2. The have-nots are fed up.
New York has always been a place of the highest highs and the lowest lows, with a whole lot of people somewhere in the middle. But the vast chasm between the city’s poor and working classes and the rich and superrich has led to anger about how hard it is to afford living there, even among those who on paper are doing just fine.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, spoke directly to these concerns, vowing to tax millionaires and corporations, raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour, create city-owned grocery stores and invest in affordable housing. He drew a sharp contrast between himself and Cuomo, who was the preferred candidate of many executives. (Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Businessweek parent Bloomberg LP, endorsed Cuomo).

3. Experience is a devalued currency.
Not so long ago, a politician with just a few terms in the state assembly wouldn’t have gotten this far. But the value of expertise of all kinds is coming under scrutiny in American life. If Trump could be elected president without ever having held office, it’s no longer a stretch for many voters to consider giving an up-and-comer a shot at running a city. In a campaign debate, Cuomo tried to highlight Mamdani’s inexperience, saying it would be “reckless and dangerous” to elect him. Mamdani shot back, “I’ve never had to resign in disgrace.”

* New York City is not a microcosm of America.
Don’t be tempted to see Mamdani’s win as a sure sign of things to come in next year’s midterm congressional elections or the 2028 presidential campaign. Mamdani’s sharp criticism of Israel and his promises to resist Trump’s deportation of undocumented workers may have won him votes. And many of Mamdani supporters might have intended to send a message that they want Democrats in Washington to embrace more progressive policies.

But: The desires of New York Democrats don’t necessarily mirror the views of most Americans, or even most Democrats. Some of the same campaign promises that delivered the day to Mamdani wouldn’t be warmly embraced by voters in a lot of other places—including independents in swing states who decided the last presidential election.

Related: Mamdani’s Shock Win Has Wall Street Fretting Over ‘Hot Commie Summer’

In Brief

• Trump says the US and Iran will talk next week and the Mideast war is “over.”
• The co-founder of Jane Street says he was duped into funding AK-47s for a coup plot.
• US home sales dropped in May as rampant incentives fell short of alleviating affordability constraints.

• Over the weekend, while the world was transfixed by war in the Middle East, the Tesla Robotaxi quietly appeared on the streets of Austin. In this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host David Papadopoulos is joined by Bloomberg Businessweek senior reporter Max Chafkin as well as Bloomberg electric vehicles reporter Kara Carlson to break down the launch. Listen and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, iHeart and the Bloomberg Terminal.

Swiping Properties and Ruining Lives

Illustration: Carolina Moscoso for Bloomberg Businessweek

Handguns and assault rifles aren’t easy to get in Canada. So when Alan Kats decided to kill two people, he went to the local Bass Pro shop to examine its selection of hunting firearms. He settled on a Winchester SXP Defender shotgun, designed for speedy pump action between shots, and bought four boxes of ammunition meant to stop large game.

On a warm June afternoon, he found the people he was looking for at a sparsely populated office building in the Toronto suburb of North York. Shepherding both into the building’s marble lobby, he fired a shot to let them know he was serious, then demanded the return of the C$1.28 million ($936,000) he and his wife had given them.

“I swear on my mother’s grave I will pay you back, just put the gun down,” said a male voice, according to a witness who was hiding down the hall.

“How are you going to pay me?” Kats asked.

“I will sell my house,” a female voice said. Then the witness, Shahrokh Biniaz, fled out the back door and called the police. While Biniaz was waiting outside, he heard four shots in quick succession, a pause, then a fifth. After the police entered the building, he overheard one officer say to another: “He shot himself as well.”

The events leading up to that violent day in 2024 had been set in motion a year and a half earlier, when Kats and his wife, Alisa Pogorelovsky, decided to invest in private mortgages.

So begins a new story by Ari Altstedter about Canada’s most prolific mortgage fraudster and the bloody act of vigilante justice that stopped him: How to Steal a House.

A Helping Hand for Global Students

Photo illustration: Oscar Bolton Green; photo: Getty Images

What’s behind the astonishing growth in the number of foreign students enrolled in US graduate schools—growth now under attack from the Trump administration? In fall 2023, according to data from the Institute of International Education, just over half a million such students were enrolled. That was up 30% from 2021, when international enrollment had nearly recovered to its pre-Covid peak.

To be sure, American institutions have recruited heavily from around the world, particularly to fill seats in research labs and classrooms. But a handful of companies, including two in the US, are greasing the wheels with innovative loans that require neither collateral nor a US cosigner of foreign students from less-developed countries, who make up a growing share of international grad students.

These borrowers, especially those studying science, technology, engineering and math, are a fast-growing market for lenders, who recognize that the jobs these students will likely land after graduating can support otherwise unsecured financing. “The global average salary that our students enjoy after graduation is about $90,000,” says Sasha Ramani, head of corporate strategy and government relations for MPower Financing, a Washington, DC-based lender to foreign graduate students in the US and Canada. Ramani says that figure is 15 times higher than borrowers’ typical household income before they enroll.

Robb Mandelbaum takes a look at some of the companies involved: Lenders Find a Fast-Growing Market in Foreign Grad Students.

Racing to Theaters

Drug Fight

Like Businessweek Daily? Check out these newsletters:

• Markets Daily has what’s happening in stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities right now
• Supply Lines follows the trade wars, tariff threats and logistics shocks that are upending business and spreading volatility
• FOIA Files goes behind the scenes with Jason Leopold to uncover documents that have never been seen before
• Management & Work analyzes trends in leadership, company culture and the art of career building
• Bloomberg Pursuits is your weekly guide to the best in travel, eating, drinking, fashion, driving and living well

Explore all Bloomberg newsletters.