Iran Peace Deal in Limbo; Redistricting Passes in Virginia

0:01Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcast Radio News Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, a long-term deal to end the U.S. war with Iran appears to be in limbo. President Trump has extended the ceasefire with Tehran indefinitely while keeping the naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz after planned peace talks in Pakistan this week fell apart. The president announced his decision in a Truth Social post hours after saying he was not inclined to extend the truce. Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with.

0:42But we're ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go. They are absolutely incredible. President Trump spoke in an interview yesterday with CNBC. Bloomberg's Jumana Bursette, she has more from Dubai. We spent the whole day pretty much ascertaining whether J.D. Vance was going to make the trip to Islamabad for a second round of talks. Clearly, that is not going to happen. And we found out in the middle of the night yesterday, President Trump putting up this true social post saying that the ceasefire has now been extended. But again, with a big question mark, because there's ambiguity really over the timing or the new eventual deadline for the ceasefire.

1:18He says it will continue until Iran submits a new proposal and discussions are concluded one way or another. Bloomberg's Jumana Berset, she reports Iran did not ask for the ceasefire extension and won't reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the U.S. blockade continues. That's according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. This morning, the U.K. Navy says two ships were fired at near the strait, including a container vessel approached by an Iranian gunboat. And satellite data show at least two fully loaded Iranian oil tankers have sailed past the U.S. blockade into the Persian Gulf this week.

1:51Nathan, we have new developments this morning involving another war overseas. Ukraine has asked Turkey to help arrange a summit meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Ukraine is seeking alternative ways to revive the diplomatic track as U.S. broker negotiations have stalled because of the Middle East conflict. Ukraine sees Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a mediator able to engage with Putin. In the UK, Karen, a political scandal has left Prime Minister Keir Starmer's future in question. Let's go to London and get the latest with Bloomberg's Ewan Potts.

2:25Ewan. Nathan and Karen, it's been another bruising 48 hours for the UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Yesterday, the former top official at the Foreign Office, who Starmer recently fired, testified in Parliament that he was pressured by Starmer's office to approve Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador. The official said that Starmer's office was, quote, dismissive in its approach to the security vetting process that ultimately raised red flags about Mandelson's background. Starmer says he's angry he wasn't directly told about the security vetting failure. In London, I'm Ewan Potts, Bloomberg Radio.

3:00All right, Ewan, thank you. Turning to U.S. politics, a vote that could shift the balance of power on Capitol Hill is in the books in Virginia. Voters there have approved a Democratic plan to redraw the state's congressional map in a way that could add up to four House seats for the party in November. When 97 % of votes counted, the yes vote is leading the no's 51.5 % to 48.6%. Larry Zabato is director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. There were enough Democrats in urban, suburban, and exurban areas to outvote all the rural areas. And the rural areas were overwhelmingly opposed to this referendum because they're Republican and they were going to lose their Republican representatives except for one.

3:44University of Virginia political scientist Larry Zabato says this is one of the final acts in a redistricting battle that began last year when Republicans in Texas moved to redraw their congressional lines. The GOP will get one more chance to play its hand next week in a special election in Florida. If that passes, it'll make the back and forth between the parties essentially a draw. Back in Washington, Karen, President Trump's nominee to chair the Federal Reserve is pledging central bank independence. He did so during his Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh said he never promised the White House he would cut interest rates, even as the president renewed his calls for the central bank to do so.

4:24The president never asked me to predetermine, commit, fix, decide on any interest rate decision in any of our discussions, nor would I ever agree to do so. And Senator Elizabeth Warren says Warsh's testimony shows a lack of independence. And here's the Massachusetts Democrats' exchange with Warsh. Mr. Warsh, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? We try to keep politics, if I'm confirmed, out of the federal zone. I'm just asking you a factual question. I need to know, I need to measure your independence and your courage. Senator, I believe that this body certified that election many years ago.

5:06That's not the question I'm asking. I'm asking, did Donald Trump lose in 2020? Man, I'm suggesting you in 2020, the Fed may they - After the hearing, we caught up with Warren on Bloomberg's balance of power. What I want to see, what Democrats want to see, is an independent Fed that's still making decisions based on the numbers. What Donald Trump has said quite openly is he wants to make the political decisions that aren't good for the American economy, but are good for Donald Trump. Today's hearing was all about that issue. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking on Bloomberg's balance of power heard on Bloomberg Radio at noon Eastern.

5:47And Kevin Worsh is nominated to succeed Jay Powell when his term as chair ends next month. Well, today, Karen, earnings are front and center once again for investors. 30 companies in the S &P 500 report, including Tesla. Bloomberg's Tom Busby has a preview. After previously posting disappointing first quarter vehicle deliveries, just 358 ,000 autos, the focus for investors is what's in Tesla's pipeline, including the latest on the release of the CyberCab robo-taxi, its humanoid robot, and any plans for a very low-cost EV. Also of note, Tesla's cash burn. That's after announcing CapEx of at least$20 billion this year.

6:26Bloomberg consensus calls for revenue of$22.27 billion on adjusted earnings per share of 35 cents. Tom Busby, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Tom, thank you. Another one of Elon Musk's companies is in the spotlight this morning. SpaceX says it has an agreement giving it the right to acquire artificial intelligence startup Cursor for$60 billion later this year or to pay$10 billion for the companies to work together. The deal is part of SpaceX's efforts to catch up with rivals in AI coding tools. Well, now a Bloomberg exclusive in the AI space, Karen. Sources say a small group of unauthorized users has accessed Anthropik's new Mythos AI model.

7:06It's a technology the company says is so powerful it can enable dangerous cyber attacks. We're told the users gained access to Mythos through a mix of tactics, including one of them acting as a worker at a third-party contractor. Anthropics investigating this report. The company says it currently has no evidence the access is impacting any of its systems.

7:30Time now for a 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. Congresswoman Sheila Sherferless-McCormick has resigned, and doing so just moments before the start of a hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled from Congress. According to an investigative panel, Sheriff Alice McCormick committed 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards. Sheriff Alice McCormick also faces federal criminal charges, accusing her of stealing$5 million in coronavirus disaster relief funds.

8:05House leaders are weighing in Speaker Mike Johnson. It's a sad day for the institution. any time a member gets into trouble like that and resigns, but I think that was certainly the right result. I think a lot of people breathe a sigh of relief. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. She did the right thing for the people that she has previously represented. Democrat Sherphillis McCormick denies any wrongdoing. The FDNY fought what turned out to be a fatal five-alarm fire in New York City Tuesday afternoon. Two people were killed and four seriously injured in the Belmont section of Bronx. Five firefighters were also injured.

8:41Every floor of the five-story building was fully engulfed as smoke filled the streets. FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods. The roof has collapsed in a large portion of that building. A lot of the stale well has collapsed as well. So we had to pull our firefighters out of the building, go to exterior operations. Chief Woods says the blaze began on the first floor, which housed a barbershop and a deli. There were several apartments above. Authorities are investigating what led to a near miss over New York's JFK airport. Officials say an American Airlines regional jet deviated off course, putting it directly in the path of an Air Canada plane that was cleared to land on a parallel runway.

9:23The two planes came within about a half a mile of each other before aborting their landings. Global News, 24 hours a day and whenever you want it. With Bloomberg News Now, I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg, Karen. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. A couple of wins by road teams in the NBA playoffs. Philadelphia lost game one in Boston by 31, but the Sixers took game two. 111-97. The rookie VJ Edgecombe scored 30 points in the win. Jalen Brown had 36 of the loss. Portland won game two at San Antonio, 106-103. The Spurs lost their star, Victor Wembenyama.

10:00His face hit the floor in a hard hit, and he got treated for a concussion. One home team to win. And the Lakers, they beat Houston. Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan resigned. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. As markets move and headlines break, what matters most is context. A Bloomberg subscription gives you unmatched reporting, sharp analysis, and powerful tools that help you connect the dots. Visit Bloomberg.com slash podcast offer to learn more. coast to coast on bloomberg radio nationwide on sirius xm and around the world on bloomberg.com and the bloomberg business app this is bloomberg daybreak good morning i'm nathan hager prospects for a long-term peace between the u.s and iran appear to be on hold president trump has extended the ceasefire with tehran indefinitely hours after sounding confident a second round of talks could lead to a deal.

10:59I think we're in a very strong negotiating position to do what other presidents should have done during a 47-year period. It was President Trump on CNBC hours before he put those negotiations on hold. Joining us from Dubai this morning is Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Jumana Bersechi, anchor of Bloomberg Horizons. Jumana, what happened in just the last 24 hours? Yeah, well, what we didn't get were Islamabad talks. That was the speculation yesterday, and we spent a good chunk of the day monitoring J.D. Vance's movements to see if he was going to depart for these talks. But it became apparent that there had been no confirmation from the Iranian delegation that they were set to attend.

11:40And indeed, by late evening over here in the region, it became pretty clear that these talks were not going to happen at all, which prompted President Trump a couple of hours later to put up this post on True Social announcing a ceasefire. He said he was extending the ceasefire at the request of Pakistani mediators until Iran submits a new proposal and discussions are concluded one way or another. Now, the Iranian side came back to say that they themselves did not request an extension of the ceasefire, but Trump blamed the collapse of the negotiations and what he described as a seriously fractured leadership structure in Iran.

12:18Now, one other important point, because this has become a key sticking point in terms of the sequencing from here. President Trump also reiterated that the U.S. naval blockade is going to stay in place. And from the Iranian standpoint, that has been a deal breaker for them to progress onto the second round of discussions. Overnight, the Iranian foreign minister putting up a post saying blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire. The Iranian ambassador to Pakistan once again reiterating that they would need to see a lifting of the U.S. naval blockade before they can go to another round of discussions.

12:53Well, what is the status of that blockade right now, Jumana, and the security around the strait? We've heard a number of reports of action on the high seas. Yeah, that's right. So I think the last post that President Trump put up before he went to sleep last night, he was talking about the success of the U.S. naval blockade and that it's costing, he says, Iran,$500 million a day. But in reality, if you look at some of the satellite imagery that has come through over the last couple of days, and this is data intelligence firm Vortexa, they've said that over the course of the blockade, over 34 Iranian-linked vessels have managed to make it through the lines that have been set by the U.S.

13:37So there are still some Iranian vessels that are managing to slip through. That's the first point. The second point is it is still dangerous. And this morning, the UK Navy reported gunfire that was emanating from some of these IRGC-affiliated boats. They were firing at an MSC vessel that had ostensibly picked up oil from Saudi Arabia and was on its way to Singapore. And just is another incident underscoring the danger for vessels wanting to pass through the straits. And not just because of the effective Iranian control, but also the fact that there are two blockades in existence right now. And there's a lot of obscurity about which path is safe for vessels to use if they want to transit, either going into the straits or out of the straits.

14:31And it's estimated that there are over 800 vessels still just sitting in the Persian Gulf now awaiting direction. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston, and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121. Plus, listen coast-to-coast on the Bloomberg Business app, now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces.

15:12And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it, in five minutes or less. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.