Global Markets Extend Selloff; Saudi Arabia's MBS to Visit White House
On today's podcast:1) Global markets extended a broad selloff, with US stock futures signaling a fourth day of losses and Bitcoin briefly slipping below $90,000 as traders pulled away from speculative assets. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% after the benchmark closed below its 50-day moving average in the previous session, a sign of scope for further losses. Bitcoin slid more than 1%. European stocks declined for a fourth day. Stock gauges across Asia were in the red, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 posting its worst day since April. Bonds were the biggest beneficiaries as investors sought havens, with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries dropping four basis points to 4.10%. The dollar held steady as gold fell closer to $4,000 an ounce. The cross-asset moves underscored continued unease over interest rates and tech earnings, with Nvidia Corp.’s report on Wednesday poised to test investor nerves over lofty valuations in the artificial-intelligence sector. Focus will then turn to the delayed September jobs report due Thursday, a key gauge for the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.2) Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller repeated his view that the central bank should again lower interest rates when policymakers meet in December, citing a weak labor market and monetary policy that is hurting low- and middle-income consumers. In a speech titled ‘The Case for Continuing Rate Cuts’ delivered in London, Waller said another rate cut would represent good “risk management” by the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. He said he isn’t concerned about inflation accelerating or inflation expectations rising significantly given clear signs of softening demand for workers.3) Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will likely be greeted with great fanfare by President Trump during his visit to the White House on Tuesday. The crown prince hopes to secure an executive order from Trump to bolster Saudi Arabia’s security and potentially pave the way for a stronger defense treaty. The two are also expected to reach an agreement that would allow the kingdom to purchase F-35 stealth planes, despite Israel wanting to keep a monopoly on access. Discussions on the future of Gaza and the thorny issue of relations with Israel are on the agenda as well. There also remains tension over access to AI chips and nuclear technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Trump Urges House Vote for Epstein Files Release; Bessent on $2K Tariff Dividend Checks
On today's podcast:1) The Justice Department would have to publicly release unclassified records relating to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein under a House proposal set for a vote this week. On Sunday, President Trump said House Republicans should vote to require the DOJ to release the files, effectively reversing a position he’d held for months. Trump has been under increasing pressure from some within his party to release the investigative materials on the disgraced financier, who ran an underage sex ring and died in prison in 2019. A congressional committee last week released some 20,000 pages of emails and other documents, pivoting attention away from the fight over the government shutdown and forcing the White House to respond.2) US airlines will be able to resume normal operations starting Monday after more than a week of government-mandated flight reductions. The US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration announced late Sunday they would lift cuts across 40 major US airports that were imposed during the government shutdown, starting from 6 a.m. Monday New York time. On Friday, officials earlier eased up on flight reductions, capping them at 3% from 6%. The cuts first went into effect on November 7th at a rate of 4% and were supposed to slowly increase to 10% by November 14th. However, the government froze the rate at 6% Wednesday, shortly before President Trump signed legislation to end the longest federal closure in US history. 3) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump’s proposal to send $2,000 “dividend” payments from tariffs to US citizens would require congressional approval. Trump, who has touted the billions raised in US tariff revenue this year, has talked about the checks as public frustration mounts over the cost of living. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said the checks would go out sometime next year to “everybody but the rich.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week. In the US – a look ahead to earnings from Nvidia, Walmart, and Target. In the UK – a look ahead to the European Business Summit. In Asia – a look ahead to Japan’s upcoming GDP report. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's podcast:1) President Trump is readying substantial tariff cuts designed to address high food prices and a series of new trade deals — including framework agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador — as he seeks to address voter concerns over the cost of goods. The push comes after electoral victories for Democrats last week across a number of key state and local races where candidates stressed affordability concerns. Trade deals with Latin American countries unveiled Thursday will see the US reduce tariffs and barriers on common grocery items like beef, bananas, and coffee beans in a push to lower grocery bills that have for years frustrated Americans. Separately, Trump and other senior administration officials have previewed broader tariff exemptions that could cut levies on popular food products across the board. In interviews earlier this week on Fox News, Trump pledged to “lower some tariffs” on coffee while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested fruit imports would receive a break.2) Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced $10,000 bonus checks for Transportation Security Administration officers who worked without pay during the six-week government shutdown, calling the payments a reward for “exemplary service” under strain. Speaking at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Thursday, Noem said the move would help employees who took extra shifts to keep security lines moving as paychecks stopped. The shutdown, the longest in US history, shuttered large parts of the federal government for 43 days and left more than 800,000 workers without pay. Aviation was among the hardest-hit sectors: the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity by 10% at major airports as air-traffic controller shortages mounted, and more than 9,000 flights were canceled nationwide. While Congress passed a funding measure late Wednesday, officials said it could take days to restore normal operations and clear payroll backlogs.3) Traders slashed the odds of a December US rate cut to below 50% after a string of Fed officials voiced skepticism about the need for a third straight move, citing the economy’s resilience and lingering uncertainty over inflation after the US shutdown. The question remains how the majority of policymakers are leaning, with several still uneasy about signs of labor-market weakness. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he didn’t support the US central bank’s last interest-rate cut, though he’s still undecided on the best course of action for its December policy meeting. Meantime, San Francisco Fed chief Mary Daly said it’s premature to decide whether policymakers should lower interest rates next month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Shutdown Ends as Trump Signs Spending Bill; Trump-Epstein Ties Back in Spotlight
On today's podcast:1) President Trump signed legislation to end the longest government shutdown in US history, marking the official conclusion to a 43-day impasse that halted food aid to millions of households, canceled thousands of flights and forced federal workers to go unpaid for more than a month. Trump’s signature means the government can begin to resume normal operations, with federal workers expected back on the job starting Thursday. However it could still take days, or even weeks, for the federal bureaucracy to fully restart and dig out of the backlog after being closed since October 1st. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Wednesday he anticipated it could take as long as a week to start lifting flight restrictions at major airports.2) Democrats have returned to pressing President Trump on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, highlighting a selection of emails in which the late financier and convicted sex trafficker suggested the president knew of his activities. A congressional committee on Wednesday released some 20,000 pages of documents, pivoting attention away from the ongoing government shutdown and forcing the White House to respond to an issue that has frustrated the president and drawn scrutiny from parts of his base. The new information came the same day that a new House lawmaker was officially sworn into office. Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, immediately signed a petition forcing a vote on legislation to compel the Justice Department to release files on Epstein.3) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy implored European Union allies to overcome their divisions on the use of frozen Russian assets, saying fresh funding is critical for his war-battered economy to stay in the fight against Moscow. The EU has postponed until December a decision on tapping the Russian state assets to provide €140 billion ($162 billion) in loans to Ukraine, which needs new funding by early next year. Russia’s invasion has dragged well into its fourth year as Zelenskiy’s government deals with a battered economy and exhausted fighting forces in Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. With US funding halted, European governments have vowed to step up assistance to fend off a new threat from the Kremlin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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