Trump Maintains Pressure on Iran; King Charles Speaks to Congress

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1:15Stretch out and enjoy spacious accommodations and home-like amenities designed to help you settle in and stay productive or relaxed for however long you need. And when you're a Sonesta Travel Pass member, staying at Sonesta ES and Simply Suites means earning points toward free nights, upgrades and more with every eligible stay. Go to Sonesta.com to book your stay and unlock the best rates with Sonesta Travel Pass. Here today, roam tomorrow. Join now at Sonesta.com. Terms and conditions apply. 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.

2:00Karen, we begin with the U.S.-Iran war now entering its third month. President Trump said in a truth social post, Iran is in a state of collapse. And the Wall Street Journal is reporting the president's told aides to prepare for an extended blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. looks to choke off Tehran's oil exports. President discussed the war at the state dinner with the U.K.'s King Charles last night. We're doing a little Middle East work right now, too, if you might know. And we're doing very well. We have militarily defeated that particular opponent. And we're never going to let that opponent ever, Charles agrees with me, even more than I do, we're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.

2:41They know that. Now, Iran signaled it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade, while Iran would also postpone negotiations over its nuclear program. but the journal says President Trump has rejected that offer. This morning, the president posted online that Iran doesn't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal and needs to, quote, get smart soon. The post included an image of the president wearing sunglasses and holding an assault rifle with the caption, no more Mr. Nice Guy. Meanwhile, Nathan, oil prices remain firmly in triple digits this morning. Checking the price of oil right now, NYMEX crude again up 3.4%.

3:18It's at$103.33 a barrel. Brent is up 2.8 % at$114.42. Don Struyven is Goldman Sachs' co-head of global commodities research and expects growth to slow. Our Brent upgrades to$90 per barrel by the fourth quarter. That's$30 higher almost than our forecast before the war. That would be even higher, around$100 per barrel, if we did not incorporate some significant demand losses. We now look for global oil demand to stagnate. And Don Struyven spoke to Bloomberg after his team at Goldman warned that the current drawdown of stockpiles is, quote, extreme. Also shaking up the global oil market, Karen, the United Arab Emirates saying it is leaving OPEC and OPEC Plus as of this Friday.

4:05The nation's energy minister, Suhail Al-Mazroei, says responding to the Iran conflict requires extraordinary measures. We believe leaving the group now will enable us to attain to the market requirements at a pace that is appropriate from our point of view. And we don't want to be constrained by any other groups. UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrui spoke to Bloomberg's Jumana Bersechi. Emirati officials have signaled they'll boost production when the Strait of Hormuz reopens. Well, back in Washington, Nathan, Britain's King Charles III called on the U.S. to maintain its leadership role in the world in a speech to Congress.

4:48And Bloomberg's Amy Morris has more from the nation's capital. It was the first such address by a British monarch in more than three decades. King Charles used the address to a joint session of Congress to argue for preserving the alliance between the U.K. and the U.S. That alliance is part of what Henry Kissinger described as Kennedy's soaring vision of an Atlantic partnership based on twin pillars, Europe and America. That partnership, I believe, Mr. Speaker, is more important today than it has ever been. The King's visit comes at a critical time as the two countries are experiencing strained relations over the war in Iran.

5:28In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Amy, thank you. Elsewhere in Washington, former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted again by the Trump administration. This time he's charged with threatening the president's life. The case centers on a photo Comey posted online showing the numbers 86 and 47 arranged with seashells. Critics say that could be interpreted as a reference to killing President Trump. Here's acting attorney general Todd Blanche. Well, this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant. his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate and regularly prosecute.

6:08It was Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Comey's lawyer says his client vigorously denies the charges. Well, let's turn to the economy now, Nathan, and the Fed's latest interest rate announcement comes today at what's likely Jay Powell's final meeting as Fed chair. And Bloomberg's Michael McKee has a preview. Expectations are low for the two-day meeting. Oil prices are continuing to rise, and it appears little progress is being made on ending the Iran war. Additional tariffs are coming. PCE inflation, reported Thursday, is forecast to hit 3.5%, a long way from the Fed's 2 % target. But policymakers will not be changing interest rates, they will not be making new economic forecasts, and there's no new dot plot.

6:51It's likely Jay Powell's last Fed meeting as chairman, so analysts, investors, and the president of the United States will be anxious to hear if Powell gives any hint of his future plans. His term as chair ends May 15th, but he can remain on the board of governors until 2028. Will he stay or will he go? Michael McKee, Bloomberg Radio. Now, along with that Fed decision, Karen, investors are getting ready for earnings from some big tech juggernauts. and Bloomberg's John Tucker's here with a preview. It's a$16 trillion earnings week, representing a quarter of the S &P 500's market cap. Today, after the close, we're going to hear from Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Amazon.

7:32Joanne Feeney is a partner at Advisors Capital Management and tells Bloomberg what she's watching. We're going to see, I believe, increased commitment to further data center builds. We're going to probably see increases in capital spending budgets. And, you know, I think that's going to give investors some reassurance that this is going to go on for many years to come. Big tech earnings continue tomorrow as well with Apple reporting after the close. In New York, I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio. All right, John, thank you. The FCC is starting an early review of ABC's TV station licenses tied to the commission's inquiry into parent Disney's DEI practices.

8:08FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says eight stations need to file for license renewals early. Licenses come due every so often. You can accelerate when a license come due and say, hey, we have significant concerns about you conducting your operations. We want to review your license now and decide if you're in the public interest. If we find that a broadcaster hasn't been doing that, then the statute requires us to issue a hearing designation order. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reportedly believes Disney gave employees different opportunities based on race and gender. Disney said it's confident its record demonstrates quote continued qualifications as licensees.

8:46The news comes as Business Insider reports Disney CEO Josh DeMauro has decided not to spin off the company's ESPN networks. Back on Wall Street, Karen, Bill Ackman's combined initial public offering for his closed end fund and alternative asset manager has raised five billion dollars. The IPO is set to raise as much as 10 billion. It will result in two listed entities, the closed-end fund Pershing Square USA and asset manager Pershing Square. And finally, Nathan, the State Department says it's preparing a limited release of commemorative passports with President Trump's picture inside Time to America's 250th birthday.

9:24It'll be the first time a living president has been featured on the travel document. and 25 ,000 to 30 ,000 of the new passports will be available at the Washington, D.C. Passport Office starting just before July 4th.

9:41Time 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. Billionaires Elon Musk and AI executive Sam Altman are expected to take the stand at a trial in which Musk is suing Altman. Musk says he was tricked into investing in OpenAI as a non-profit, claiming Altman intended to turn the company into a for-profit business. OpenAI did that last year and appears to be readying for a big IPO later this year. Musk left OpenAI in 2018. Musk is basically looking for OpenAI to reverse its decision for it to go back being a non-profit and for the company to pay back all the profits it has made to the company's charity.

10:27Severe storms slammed Texas after days of relentless weather. A possible tornado touching down in the city of Mineral Wells outside Fort Worth, injuring several people and causing widespread damage. It hit and all of our windows were busting and debris was just flying around in our living room. Fire Chief Ryan Dunn. In the industrial area, we do have major damage and major hazards that are all across the road. So staying out of that area is going to be very detrimental to people not getting injured. Chief Dunn says the roofs of some homes ripped off one even landing in the middle of the street.

11:05The woman at the center of Harvey Weinstein's rape retrial was on the stand. Lawyers for the disgraced movie mogul have not yet had their chance to question Jessica Mann at this retrial, but have argued that everything that happened between the two was consensual. Weinstein's rape accuser told jurors for the third time that the former Hollywood producer trapped her in a New York hotel room and assaulted her in 2013. Mann cries as she testifies that she repeatedly said no and tried to leave the room but said he treated her like he owned her. Weinstein denies the allegation. Global News 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

11:45I'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. Thanks, Karen. In the NBA playoffs, San Antonio beat Portland and won that series four games to one in the East. The Knicks blew out the Hawks in New York for a 3-2 series lead in Boston. The Sixers stayed alive. They beat the Celtics, who are still up 3-2. The Phillies won 96 games last season. They've struggled this year and they fired manager Rob Thompson and replaced him on an interim basis with their bench coach Don Mattingly. They offered the job to Alex Cora, just fired in Boston.

12:20He turned it down. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. You need to make a huge presentation in an hour. Adobe Acrobat uses AI to take all your documents and generate a presentation with a single click. Build slides quickly and streamline the process. Need a last-minute pitch deck? Do that with Acrobat. Need to level up your presentation design? Do that with Acrobat. You have 30-plus documents that need to be simplified into a proposal. Do that. Do that. Do that with Acrobat. Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. Support for the show comes from Public.

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15:04Coast 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 heading into the third month of war between the U.S. and Iran. It appears to be turning into a lengthy standoff in and around the Persian Gulf with the Wall Street Journal reporting President Trump has told aides to prepare for a lengthy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Joining us from Dubai this morning is Bloomberg Middle East correspondent, anchor of Bloomberg Horizons, Jumana Bersechi. Jumana, what more do we know about this report and the effort to squeeze Iran's economy?

15:41Good morning. Yeah, good morning. A couple of things are emerging here. And remember, we've been talking throughout the course of this week about the Iranian side having presented their proposal to the U.S. about a phased approach to ending the war, first starting with the mutual lifting of the blockade, and then eventually deferring the discussions around the nuclear file to later. Now, from what we understand, the reporting that has emerged the last 24 hours, the Wall Street Journal this morning, all of the suggestions are that this is actually not going to fly with the U.S. administration. And I just want to reiterate here, we haven't got a formal response yet from the White House.

16:20But the Wall Street Journal article is suggesting that the U.S. President Trump, President Trump, he's considered all of the different options, including quite literally ending the war, walking away. The other option is a resumption of hostilities, given the tremendous amount of military assets that are still in the region. And then the third option is to just keep on with this U.S. naval blockade, perhaps a few more weeks, with the view that the longer it goes on for, the more the Iranian economy is going to start hurting. Now, that is what the Wall Street Journal were reporting. We also need to pair that up with the true social post that Trump put up about an hour ago where he said Iran can't get their act together.

17:01They don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They better get smart soon, which would also suggest he's losing his patience and then also raises the possibility once again, Nathan, of perhaps a resumption of hostilities. So we can't completely rule that out now with this latest post that's come through from President Trump. It did seem like we saw a little bit of a spike in what's already a surging oil market this morning off the back of that social media post. What's the impact as well, Jumana, of this kind of surprise announcement from the United Arab Emirates that it's going to be leaving OPEC and OPEC Plus at the end of the week?

17:35Yeah, that was a really shocking announcement, I would say, that came through yesterday, but not necessarily surprising because there had been a lot of friction in the backgrounds between the UAE and other producers, namely the de facto head of the OPEC that is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And I would say from their perspective, and I had the opportunity to speak to the UAE energy minister, and he said this was a careful decision that was taken, but that right now they decided that the time was right because it would not have hugely impacted the market. The decision would not hugely have impacted the market because the market was undersupplied.

18:11And so clearly this is something that they had been sitting on for a while now. they've been considering how to withdraw from OPEC, but to do it in a way that wasn't going to cause a significant amount of disruption. And at the crux of the issue here is UAE have been pushing for extra production. They've been expanding their capacity more than any other OPEC member, but they've been constrained by the group decision-making, collective decision-making coming from OPEC. A year ago, we were talking about this market being hugely oversupplied to the tune of one to two million barrels a day. Now we're in an environment where 10 to 12 million barrels a day from Persian Gulf oil is being taken off the market.

18:49So it was more that they sensed a window of opportunity that arose from the Iran war as opposed to reacting to the Iran war. 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.

19:33And 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.

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