Trump and Republicans Mourn Charlie Kirk; Effects of H-1B Visa Fee

0:00So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300 ,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94 % of common questions. Not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Support for the show comes from public.com. If you're actively involved in your portfolio, you probably catch yourself repeating the same actions.

0:37Buying the dip, manually sweeping idle cash, putting on a hedge. On public, you can now create AI agents that handle all these tasks on your behalf. Just describe what you want to do in plain English. Like, if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S &P 500. Or, if my cash balance goes above$20 ,000, move the excess into my direct index. You approve the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions, and executing your strategies exactly as defined. An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API.

1:17Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com slash market. Paid for by public investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures. When you're running a business, the best days are the ones where priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, risk can affect multiple parts of the organization at once, from property and liability to cyber and regulatory challenges. At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline.

1:56At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering, and claims experience. Learn more at thehartford.com slash risk mitigation. Policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates, Hartford, Connecticut. it. 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 a day of mourning and political energy for Charlie Kirk.

2:39You were lifted high Tens of thousands of supporters packed State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona to honor the murdered conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA. Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica, says she will work to create thousands more Turning Point chapters on college campuses in her husband's memory. And she said this of his accused killer. That man. that young man.

3:13I forgive him. Along with Erica Kirk, many of President Trump's cabinet members paid tribute to Charlie Kirk at the more than five-hour service. President Trump delivered the closing eulogy. He said he had one difference with Charlie Kirk. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent. And I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I am sorry, Erica. President Trump called Charlie Kirk a martyr and said his murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement, but on the entire nation. Well, Nathan, there are new rules in effect for those seeking high-skilled U.S.

3:55visas. On Friday, the Trump administration imposed a new$100 ,000 application fee for the widely used H-1B program. The new rules are expected to have a significant impact on Indian nationals who account for more than 70 percent of all H-1B visas. Bloomberg Stil-Disa says the policy is a major change. Trump has slapped this$100 ,000 application fee on this visa program as part of the idea of trying to make sure that more of these jobs are held by U.S. workers rather than foreign workers that are flown in. Just as a comparison, I mean, most visa programs, you're really looking at a cost of about$5 ,000 to$10 ,000 U.S.

4:33dollars. So, I mean, this is a massive, massive increase in how much it actually costs just to put it in application for this visa. And Bloomberg's Jill Deesa says the new policy has caused chaos among companies that rely on the H-1B program to bring in global talent. Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, some of the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B program, are warning employees against foreign travel. And Karen, President Trump is making more tech news. He's indicating the Murdoch family could be involved in the takeover of TikTok's U.S. operations. And we get more on that from Bloomberg's Denise Pellegrini.

5:04After the White House announced that under a pending deal with China, TikTok will be majority owned and controlled by American investors, including Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake Management. President Trump let this one drop on Fox News. Hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved. You know who Lachlan is? That's a very unusual name. Lachlan Murdoch. Mr. Murdoch. I believe. You call him. And Rupert is probably going to be in the group. The Murdoch family controls Fox News. Afterwards, a source told Bloomberg Fox will be involved in the TikTok deal as opposed to the Murdochs individually.

5:40The White House says a deal to get the U.S. operations of TikTok out from under control of China's bite dance, as required by U.S. law, will be signed in the coming days. Denise Pellegrini, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Denise, thank you. A part of New York City will be on security lockdown this week as more than 150 world leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan. Bloomberg's Monica Ricks reports from New York. The Secret Service has spent all year planning security for the U.N. General Assembly, from motorcades to screening protocols, booking the equivalent of 30 ,000 hotel nights for its agents.

6:16And they'll have reinforcements, including thousands of New York police officers, federal air marshals, Coast Guard cutters, and counter-sniper teams. The event has been designated a national special security event, the same classification as a presidential inauguration. And though city officials confirmed there are no credible threats against this year's session, the backdrop will be tense following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Monica Ricks, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Monica, thank you. I'll stay with Bloomberg for complete coverage of the U.N.

6:50General Assembly. We'll be there broadcasting live from the Bloomberg Global Business Forum on Wednesday. And on the backdrop of the U.N. meetings in New York, Karen, the UK, Canada and Australia have formally recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in a sign of the growing international condemnation of Israel. Those three US allies announced the shift yesterday. Here's UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution. That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state.

7:30That was UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Now, U.S. officials are criticizing the move. They warn it will incentivize Hamas to prolong the war with Israel. Well, the Trump administration, Nathan, is reportedly going to make major changes when it comes to autism research. The Washington Post is reporting officials plan to tie autism to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. The paper says officials plan to warn pregnant women against using the medication, one of the world's most common over-the-counter pain relievers, unless they have a fever. At the same time, the Washington Post says officials plan to tout a drug called lucavorin as a potential autism treatment.

8:07The paper says lucavorin is typically prescribed to counteract the side effects of some medication and to treat vitamin B9 deficiency. Let's turn to markets now, Karen. Futures are lower following another record close on Wall Street, and gold is trading at an all-time high above$3 ,700 an ounce. And we have some possible deal news as we begin the trading week. The Financial Times is reporting Pfizer is closing in on a potential$7.3 billion takeover of obesity startup MetSara. The paper says the drug giant's looking to bolster its pipeline after the recent failure of its closely watched weight loss pill.

8:45And shares of MetSara in the pre-market are up more than 30 percent. And Nathan Sachs Global, the owner of storied retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, is reportedly exploring selling 49 percent of Bergdorf Goodman for about$1 billion. The Wall Street Journal is reporting there are at least four potential bidders, including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, that were not named.

9:09And it's time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. It was debate night in New Jersey's high-stakes governor's race. Last night in their opening debate, Democrat Mikey Sherrill and Republican Jack Cittarelli sparred over several issues, including the economy. Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, was asked about rising energy costs. I'm going to declare a state of emergency on day one, freezing your rate hikes. Chittarelli blames rising energy costs on closing energy plants in favor of wind farms.

9:47I'll reopen and repurpose the plants. We'll expand our nuclear footprint in South Jersey. We will accelerate solar on the rooftops of our warehouses, and we're pulling out the regional greenhouse gas initiative. That carbon tax initiative has been a failure. Audio courtesy of ABC7. According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, Cheryl leads Cittarelli 49 % to 41%. Authorities say patrons at a restaurant acted quickly and selflessly to stop a gunman who opened fire while a wedding was taking place at a New Hampshire country club, averting a worse tragedy. They say one person was killed and two others were wounded by the gunfire over the weekend before the suspect was taken into custody in a nearby neighborhood.

10:31Authorities say gunfire killed a 59-year-old man at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua. Hong Kong International Airport expects flights to be cut starting Tuesday as the Asian financial hub braces for one of the strongest super typhoons in years, Ragasa. Bloomberg's Mary Wei was asked, how is this storm different? It's been a particularly busy storm season. We've had 11 tropical cyclones affect Hong Kong since January this year, That's the highest number since 1946, so eight decades, right? That's a pretty high record. It just speaks to the warm sea surface temperatures really fueling these storms and then sending them our way, which as they've picked up additional energy through the waters, as it tracks across the waters, it really just wraps up that power.

11:20Bloomberg's merry way. Global News 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg Erin. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. Week three of the NFL included a big comeback by defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia. The Eagles are 3-0. The Rams scored 26 straight points. It led by 19 in the third quarter. The Eagles came back to take the lead and then seal the win on a blocked field goal. It was a return for a touchdown. The big upset was in Cleveland. and the Browns shut out for 56 minutes, rallied to beat Green Bay on a 55-yard field goal.

11:58Kansas City finally got its first win. The Chiefs beat the Giants 22-9. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Support for the show comes from Public.com. If you're actively involved in your portfolio, you probably catch yourself repeating the same actions. Buying the dip, manually sweeping idle cash, putting on a hedge. On public, you can now create AI agents that handle all these tasks on your behalf. Just describe what you want to do in plain English. Like, if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S &P 500. Or, if my cash balance goes above$20 ,000, move the excess into my direct index.

12:39You approve of the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions, and executing your strategies exactly as defined. An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API. Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com slash market. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor.

13:19Let's talk about healthcare for a second. It doesn't always work the way people expect it to. If you've ever waited on a prescription refill or had a hard time getting the care you needed, you know the feeling. The system should just work better for everyone. That's exactly what the people at Optum are trying to do every day. They're a healthcare company linking patient care and pharmacy services and using data and technology to drive the whole system so care is connected, not complicated. for patients and providers. Things like making it easier to get care that looks at the whole person, from primary care doctors to mental health support and even in-home care, and then using technology to make sure they all work together.

13:58Technology designed to help doctors spend less time on busy work and more time with their patients. And those prescriptions? Optum is working to bring costs down, save patients money, and make it easier to get refills. Little by little, Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Head to business.optum.com to see how. So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300 ,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94 % of common questions.

14:38Not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off. deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM.

14:52Coast 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. Tens of thousands packed a football stadium in Arizona to mourn and pay tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk nearly two weeks after his murder. Some of the highest-ranking Republicans were there, including President Trump, who called the Turning Point USA founder a martyr for American freedom. Charlie's message has not been silenced. It now is bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and it's not even close.

15:32It was President Trump delivering the closing eulogy for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Joining us this morning is Bloomberg's Jill Deesis. And Jill, just to see the huge amount of people who came out, the fact that just about every member of President Trump's cabinet was there to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk really speaks to just how much of an impact this man had on where the Republican Party stands right now. Good morning. Yes. Good morning, Karen and Nathan. Look, I think what you have in an event like this is really it was really interesting to see kind of two different schools of thought here.

16:10Obviously, you had, you know, this really heartfelt monologue from Erica Kirk, the wife of Charlie Kirk, where she was talking about, you know, forgiving the person who, you know, led to have assassinated her husband. But then on the other hand, you have this really fiery rhetoric that's coming out of Donald Trump. And then obviously this event is attended by, you know, as you mentioned, like, you know, many members of his administration really kind of shows you how much political anger has intensified over this particular assassination. I mean, you know, in addition to obviously the remarks that we heard from Donald Trump, which you played earlier in this program, you also have, you know, this this assassination really uniting a lot of Republicans in investigating liberal groups that they claim for meant violence, clapping down on negative coverage of the Trump administration and really driving a lot of state redistricting efforts in particular aimed at securing more GOP seats in Congress.

17:04So you really kind of see that dichotomy again of this really emotional response that you have at an event like this, but then also a lot of the ways in which this has created a lot of political anger. And in terms of that political anger, I mean, is this the kind of thing? Could you see this pouring out into the midterm elections next year? Yeah, and I really do think that one of the big concerning things here is what potential political violence could still be to come. I mean, when you're looking at the United States over the past year and a half in particular, I mean, look at the other instances that we've had.

17:39There was the assassination attempt on Donald Trump himself, you know, just over a year ago when he was still campaigning for president. You've also had, you know, various targets, you know, including, you know, those who have targeted some prominent Democratic politicians. And so you're looking at an environment that has become increasingly violent over the past couple of years, obviously headed into the midterm elections. I think that that's a pretty significant concern as to whether there's still more violence to come. We have to wonder whether the concern in the markets right now is on what the ramifications are for immigration with this new hundred thousand dollar fee for H1B visas for highly skilled workers.

18:17I mean, this could be a major disruption for the tech sector in particular. Yes, it really could. I mean, when we're looking at companies like Microsoft, like Google Owner Alphabet, Amazon, I mean, Amazon alone is really the single most biggest user of this type of H-1B visa program. I think there's some pretty significant impacts that this could ultimately have on the sector at large. What we already know is that those companies that I've just mentioned, along with others, actually sent messages to affected employees telling them to return to the U.S. on Saturday, canceling any plans that they had to depart the country because there's some concerns about this.

18:51Now, what we have learned over the weekend was that, you know, the new$100 ,000 U.S. dollar application fee won't apply to existing visas or visa renewals, but it will apply to future ones. And you do have to wonder how much that's going to impact, you know, a lot of companies that do rely on these visas to import foreign workers as skilled talent, particularly for these tech companies. 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.

19:27You 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. And 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.

20:17Healthcare doesn't always work great. If you've ever waited on a refill or couldn't schedule an appointment, you get it. That's the kind of stuff Optum is changing. They're using data and technology to integrate patient care, pharmacy, and everything else. So healthcare is connected, not complicated. What's that look like? Cheaper prescriptions that are easier to get and care that looks at the whole person, how you need it. Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Learn more at business.optum.com. Ask yourself, what are your best people spending their time on right now? Expense reports, receipt chasing, month-end close that takes weeks.

20:55You become what you spend on, and that's not what you're building toward. Brex is the intelligent finance platform that eliminates that work before it starts. AI agents that handle the manual stuff automatically, so your team can spend their time on what actually compounds. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at brex.com slash AF. Whether it's help with hormone therapy, weight management, or sexual health, every woman should have access to affordable prescription medication and personalized care that understands the whole woman. Join me, Dr. Doug Lucas, clinical lead of hormone optimization and longevity at LifeMD, along with other leading experts on the podcast, Here's Something Good on Women's Health and Longevity.

21:41To learn more, go to LifeMD.com slash iHeart.