War Causes Market Turmoil; Trump Seeks Oil Security

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here
are the stories we're following today.
Karen, we begin with the latest developments in the Middle East.
The war has entered a fifth day of fighting and
there are no signs of easing. Israel says it's striking
Iranian targets as well as Hesbala sites in Lebanon, as
Iran continues to fire missile at Arab states across the
Middle East. Saudi Arabia says there was just an attempt
this morning on one of its key refineries at Rostanura.
The kingdom says there was no damage. We get the
latest from Bloomberg Middle East Managing Editor Paul Wallace.
This conflict continues and there's no sign of let up
from Iran or the US or Israel.
The latter two continue.
To strike Iran heavily, and Iran is striking back very
intensely against golf Arab states. It seems at the moment
as if Iran is concentrating most of its power on
those golf out states rather than Israel and the likes
of the UAE, the likes of Saudi Arabia. The census
very much that Iran is using its drones now, of
which it has far more than it does, cruise and
ballistic missiles to target golf Ab states.
Bloomberg's Paul Wallace says the State Department has now announced
plans to help evacuate Americans who want to leave the
Middle East well Nathan.
President Trump said the US would provide insurance guarantees and
naval escorts to ensure safe passage for oil tankers and
other vessels through the Strait of Horror moves. That's not
having too much impact on the oil market right now.
Crude is up again. N I makes screwed oil is
at seventy six dollars sixty one cents of barrel brent
is it eighty three dollars eighty cents. Meanwhile, the President
said he ordered the attack on a run because he
thought Tehran was about to attack first, and that Israel
did not force his hand to initiate the air assaults.
Trump spoke yesterday at the Oval Office.
Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think
they were going to attack first, and I didn't want
that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced
Israel's hand, but Israel was ready and we were ready.
President Trump is threatening to cut off all trade with
Spain after that country denied the US access to its
military bases for the campaign against Iran. The President says
he has already instructed Treasury Secretary Scot Vesn't to sever
the relationship.
I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain.
They were the only country that in NATO would not
agree to go up to five percent. I don't think
they would have agreed to go up to anything. They
wanted to keep it at two percent, and they don't
pay the two percent. So we're going to cut off
all trade with Spain.
A Spanish government official said that the US must respect
international trade agreements and the autonomy of private companies.
And more world leaders are speaking out about the war Caaren.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is criticizing the US and
Israel for striking Iran without consulting allies or the United Nations.
The current conflict is another example of the failure of
the international order, despite decades of UN Security Council resolutions,
the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a
succession of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks arounds nuclear threat remains
and now the United States and Israel have acted without
engaging in the UN or consulting with allies, including Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Marcarney spoke earlier in Sydney and.
Nathan and Europe.
UK's Chancellor Rachel Reeves says Britain will not make decisions
about Iran based on US trade tie. Speaking of Bloomberg,
Reeves explained why the government was not taking part in
the strikes on Tehran.
When it comes to decisions around using British armed forces
to take part in conflicts around the world, it is
very important that we charge those on whether it is
legal and whether it is the right thing to do.
You can't make a decision about whether to get British
en forces involved in a conflict because it may or
may not make it more likely to get a trade deal.
And Rachel Rizo speaking of Bloomberg after President Trump criticized
Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the UK's limited support.
Let's turn to politics now, Karen back here in the US.
The results are in from the first primary races in
the twenty twenty six mid term elections in Texas. Four
term Republican Senator John Cornan is headed to a runoff
with State Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The people of Texas made your voices heard.
After all the personal attacks, which there were many, and
after all the lies. You listen to what John corn
was selling, and you weren't buying it. With eighty eight
percent of ballots counted, Ken Paxton trails Senator Cornyon by
one percentage point forty point nine to forty one point
nine percent. Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt received thirteen point four
percent of the votes, denying either candidate, a majority that
means Cornin and Paxton will face off again in May.
Well Nathan and the close watch Democratic Senate prime array.
State Representative James Tellerrico defeated Congressoman Jasmine Crockett fifty three
point one to forty five point six percent, but the
vote was marked by confusion. In Crockett's home base of
Dallas County, voters there and in at least one other
county reported being turned away from polling places due to
a rule change that required them to vote at their
local precinct. In past elections, they could vote anywhere in
the county. A judge extended the voting by two hours,
but Crockett says her heart is broken.
We were able to keep the polls open, but I
can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised.
Congress Woman Jasmine Crockett says the result could hinge on
who was or was not allowed to vote in Dallas County.
Tall Rico also blamed Republicans for the rule change and
called for a voting hours to be extended.
In other key races, Karen Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw is
the first incumbent congressman to lose in the midterms. He
felt to conservative state lawmaker Steve Toth fifty six point
three to forty point two percent. Another Republican in Texas,
Tony Gonzalez, is headed to a runoff with gun rights
YouTuber Brandon Herrera. Gonzalez has faced allegations of an affair
with a staffer who later died by suicide. And in
North Carolina, a high profile Senate race is set for November.
Former Governor Roy Cooper won the Democratic primary. He will
face former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Wattley in what
could be one of the most expensive Senate races.
In the country.
Nathan, Let's turn to the nation's capital now. Homeland Security
Secretary Christy Nome defended the immigration crackdown during her testimony
before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Bloomberg's Amy Morris reports
from Washington.
Nome faced bipartisan backlash over the immigration crackdown. Republican Senator
Tom Tillis called for Nome's resignation, citing allegations that she
blocked an Inspector general from investigating complaints against DHS.
As of today, I'll be informing leadership that I'm putting
a hold on any odd wock nominations until I get.
A response, and in two waits.
If I don't get a response, I'm going to deny
quorum and mark up in as many committees as I
can until I get a response.
Till Us accused Nome of trying to hit her immigration
detention quotas rather than concentrating on dangerous undocumented immigrants. Nom
denied interfering with any investigations in Washington. Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio,
All right.
Amy, thank you.
There are new developments in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The
top lawyer at Goldman Sachs Kathy Rumler says she's accepted
an invitation to testify before the House Oversight Committee on
April twenty first. The Justice Department's files show Rumbler accepted
tens of thousands of dollars of gifts from the late
sex offender and offered advice on protecting his reputation in
the years before he died. Rumnollyer announced plans to resign
from Goldman last month. Her spokeswoman says she did nothing
wrong and did not know about Epstein's crime. The Oversight
Committee is also requesting interviews with six other people, including
Microsoft co founder Bill Gates and to Poblo Global Management
co founder Leon Black. The panels asking for their testimony
in May.
Let's turn to the markets now, Nathan and futures. They
have turned higher. S and P futures now up a
quarter percent, and this is aunder yesterday's losses on Wall Street.
The S and P five hundred did fall almost one
percent yesterday, but at one point it was down two
and a half percent. Goldman Sachs chairman David Solomon says
he's been surprised by the quote benign reaction and financial
markets to the Middle East conflict he told the Australian
Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney. It will take weeks
to understand more about the situation.
Well, it's been anything but benign. In South Korea, Karen.
The COSPY index there suffered its biggest one day crash
on record, plunging another twelve percent today following a seven
point two percent drop yesterday. The sell off is a
reminder of how swiftly market exuberants can turn into anxiety
in satiable demand for memory chips, and helped push the
costp up nearly fifty percent at its peak this year.
Nathan Minneapolis FED president Neilkashkari said the war in the
Middle East is clouding the picture on interest rates. Speaking
at the Bloomberg and Best conference in New York, cash
Caari says it's too soon to see the inflation impact
from the conflict.
The labor market is pretty good, a little bit getting softer,
but generally speaking, we're around the bands of our dual mandate,
and so I felt like policy was in a pretty
good place and we have the luxury of just letting
it gradually glide back to neutral. Now we need to
see with this new shock, potentially new shock hitting the
global economy is how long is the effect and how
big is the effect?
Minneapolis Fed President Neilkashkari had penciled in one interest rate
cut this year, but he says the attacks on Iran
make him less certain about that.
Programming note here now, Karen, as we've just seen this
past weekend, markets may close on Friday, but the world doesn't.
And that is why we're bringing you a new live
radi and TV show, Bloomberg This Weekend, looks beyond the
daily headlines to the bigger themes driving politics, business and culture.
Joined David Gura, Christina Raffini, and Lisa Mattel for smart
conversations and in depth interviews that help make sense of
the week that's been and what comes next. Get Bloomberg
This Weekend live Saturdays and Sundays from seven am Eastern
on Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television, and the Bloomberg Business App.
And it's time now for look at some of the
other stories making news in New York and around the world.
And for that we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael,
Good Morning, Good Morning, Karen.
A federal judge ruled that New York City can continue
its congestion pricing program. Judge Lewis Lyman found that the
Trump administration's attempt to kill the program was arbitrary and capricious.
After the decision, New York Governor Kathy Hokeel posted a
short video online celebrating the ruling.
David New York is prevailed and all the attacks living
Unleased pilate from adminstration on yeshising one again in court.
The ruling is a financial win for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
which can keep operating the program and use its revenue
to modernize the transit system. The Trump administration disagrees with
the court's decision and is considering an appeal. A Georgia
man who gave his teenage son the gun he is
accused of using to kill two students and two teachers
at a high school has been convicted of second degree
murder and involuntary manslaughter. Colin Gray also has found guilty
Tuesday of all other charges in the September twenty twenty
fourth shooting at Apalachi High School northeast of Atlanta. Prosecutors
said Gray gave his son access to a gun and
ammunition despite sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and
endanger of the people. New York Mayor Zoron Mamdani and
Governor Cathy Hochel unveiled the first neighborhoods to get free
daycare for two year olds under the two Care program
I'm starting this fall. The first four communities that will
receive two thousand two K seats include Washington Heights and
the Rockaways. Mayor mem Donnie also responded to a local
New York City radio host reference to him as a
radical islam cockroach.
I am not ashamed of who I am. I am
not ashamed of my faith. I am not ashamed of
being the first Muslim mayor in the history of our city.
And there's no amount of racism that will change the
way in which I lead or the commitment that I
hold to each and every New Yorker in the city.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York condemned the radio host
comments and a social media post. Schumer says, it's a
disgusting display of bigotry and Islamophobia. Global news twenty four
hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg
News Now now Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg, Karen.
Thanks Michael.
Time now for our Bloomberg Sports update, and for that
we bring in John stash Hour.
Thanks Darren for teams rankd the town to one in
college basketball, all lost number nine Nebraska by twenty to UCLA,
tenth thrank Texas Tech beaten by TCU, Number fourteen. Kansas
fell to Arizona State in sixteenth ranked Alabama beaten by Georgia.
Team USA with an exhibition game against the San Francisco
Giants getting ready for the World Baseball Classic, USA won
it fifteen to one. Atlanta Brey's outfielder jerksenprof Profar, who
served an eighty game suspension last year, will now serve
a one hundred and sixty two game suspension for PD violation.
That's a Bloomberg Sports update.
Stay with us.
More from Bloomberg day Break coming up after.
This Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM,
and around the world on Bloomberg dot Com and the
Bloomberg Business album. This is Bloomberg Daybreak.
Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager.
With the war with Iran now into a fifth day,
Fighting continues to spread across the Middle East with little
sign of Led up. President Trump is promising the US
will insure a safe passage of oil through the Gulf.
As second Terry of State Marco Rubio continues to defend
the president's decision to attack. The bottom line is this
the President's determined we were not going to get hit first.
It's that simple, guys. We are not going to put
American's troops in harmsway.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. We're joined now
by Bloomberg's Middle East Breaking News editor Patrick Sykes. And Patrick,
if you could just catch us up on some of
the latest headlines that have been coming out of the
Middle East.
Good morning morning.
Yeah.
We saw just a few minutes ago in New York
Times reporting that Iran's intelligence ministry had reached out indirectly
to the CIA to talk about potential terms for ending
the war that would be really de escalatory, if it's true.
A slightly surprising place for an offer like that to
come from. Obviously, it's been the Foreign Ministry and Iran
diplomats that have been involved in most of the oureas
so far, and this Temporary Leadership Council as well. Other
than that, I think the main thing is this strike
we had a few minutes ago on the Saudi oil refinery.
Just under line that the risks are still very high
for energy assets in the region, and the Golf country's
still very much been pulled into the conflict.
With this report of the attack on or the planned
attack at least on Saudi Arabia's oil refinery. That puts
more attention, doesn't it. On President Trump's promises assurances that
the US would be able to provide a safe passage
of oil through the Golf through an insurance program.
How would that work exactly?
I think that's a big question for many still in
the industry. In theory, it sounds great, right, we'll handle
the insurance, which is exactly what's gone up in price
because of these events, and we'll escort you militarily with
un naval assets in the region. I think the practicalities
around the insurance are still very much to be clarified.
And on the escort side, you know, that might provide
some peace of mind. I think for many even that
wouldn't be enough. And the other thing is that you're
still looking at a serious drop in volume of transits
if that's happening, because you know they're only going to
be able to do those controlled naval transits at a
very steady pace with all the kind of precautions that
they involved, So it's still not going to be anything
like a return to normal.
You mentioned the headline from the New York Times about
apparent outreach from Iran's spy agencies looking for a possible
off ramp for this war within the first.
Day or so.
Who would be providing that off ramp given that Israel
has been targeting the very room where experts are trying
to name a new supreme leader.
Indeed, and I think the intelligence ministry itself has also
been targeted. I mean, I think at a time like this,
when the US is ready, strategy has kind of been
to try and split up the Iranian state and break
down those chains of command. It does remain to be
seen kind of how authoritative any offer like that would be.
They're obviously hoping, we assume, for a kind of pliant
constituency within Iran that would be willing to make a deal,
end the war and resolve all of those contentious issues
from nuclear to missiles that have brought us to this point.
But as we've seen from the rhetoric and obviously the
missiles that are still flying. There's still plenty of officials
in Iran that clearly think they can win this war.
They can at least last out the US will to
continue it, and for them it's an existential moment.
Thank you for this once again, Patrick, appreciate the update
that is Patrick Syke's Middle East breaking news editor for
Bloomberg News with us this morning from Istanbul. Want to
turn now to domestic politics because we've had the kickoff
of midterm election season with key primary races in Texas,
North Carolina, Arkansas as well. One of the big ones
for four terms, Republican Senator John Cornyn is headed to
a runoff with State Attorney General Ken Paxton.
For more.
Let's bring in Bloomberg News Editor at Large Marty Schanker
and Marty, I think we knew this was going to
be a hotly contested race. What does this result tell
us about what we can expect in November?
Good morning.
I don't know what you can say about November, but
what we can say is that it's going to be
one of the more expensive Senate runoffs in history. That
John Cornyan already spent seventy million dollars to fend off
Ken Paxton, and he just eked out a very narrow win,
but still faces a runoff eighty days from now, and
it's likely to be acrimonious and of national importance.
As it already has been.
Did the other candidate in this race, the other main candidate,
Wesley Hunt, plays spoiler here or does this point to
a bigger vulnerability for the incumbent?
Well, he definitely drew over twelve percent of the vote,
which prevented either one of the other two candidates from
getting the fifty percent needed to get the nomination itself,
So he did play spoiler, but he won't be there
for the runoff in May, so it'll be a Paxton
Cornyn race and it's likely to be extremely nasty.
And whoever does come out of that race is going
to face James Taalrico, a upstart on the Democratic side
fending off Jasmine Crockett. That kind of ended a bit
acrimoniously as well, didn't it.
Yeah, although not nearly as much as the Republicans. And
don't forget that Donald Trump did not endorse the candidate
on the Republican side. On the Democratic side, there were
voting difficulties because they changed the rules at the last minute,
and it was many Democratic voters were turned away from
the polling booths.
And it'll be interested to see whether Jasmine Crockett makes
that an issue or whether she just for the sake
of unity, endorses tell Rico and the Democrats can move
on against a race against what they hope is a
weaker Ken Paxton.
Does this point to an issue that could crop up
again in November?
This rule change.
Absolutely could, and it's not just in Texas. The redistinct
redistricting efforts in a variety of states could cause some
confusion at the polling place. But at the same time,
the turnout in Texas and in South Carolina was extremely
encouraging for Democrats. There was huge lines, voters seemed very motive,
and that's probably a positive sign for the Democrats.
This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories
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