Trump Says Venezuela to Send Up to $2.8 BN of Oil; US Won’t Rule Out Military Force to Acquire Greenland

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1:02Bloomberg 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 out of Venezuela. President Trump says the current Venezuelan government is turning over 30 to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S. The president announced in a social media post that the cargos will be sold at market prices to benefit both countries. but Bloomberg's Stephen Stapchinski reports he gave few other details. Where is this oil going to come from, right? He said as much as 50 million barrels, but he did say sanctioned oil, which I think indicates it might not be the Chevron share.

1:44So Chevron is able to operate. They produce about 25 percent of Venezuela's oil, and they've got a waiver, so they're not sanctioned. So this is likely the other supply that comes out of the country. Bloomberg's Stephen Stapchinski reports the oil would be worth up to$2.8 billion and represent up to 50 days of Venezuelan production before the partial blockade of the country. Sources tell Bloomberg News President Trump could meet with energy executives at the White House this week as he seeks their help in rebuilding Venezuela's oil industry. Nathan, a delivery of Venezuelan oil to the U.S. would be a blow to China.

2:16It's been the top buyer of the country's crude. Now China's foreign ministry is accusing the U.S. of a, quote, bullying act. That's after ABC News reported that the White House has told Venezuela to kick China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba out of the country and sever economic ties. The New York Times is reporting the U.S. is also pressuring interim President Delce Rodriguez to force out spies and military personnel from those countries. China says it has legitimate rights in Venezuela, which must be protected. And Karen, the interventions led to concerns about other U.S. foreign policy plans. The White House says President Trump will not rule out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.

2:58Let's bring in Bloomberg's John Tucker with the very latest on that. John. And Nathan, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said in a statement that President Trump and his advisors are discussing a range of options. Levitt added, quote, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option. This morning on Bloomberg Television, the Danish Parliament Deputy Speaker Lars Christian Brak reacted. Well, people are nervous. You know, we haven't experienced this before and certainly not from an ally. So, of course, there's uncertainty, nervousness, to some extent anger. Also, a few minutes ago on Bloomberg Television, former French Prime Minister Dominic de Villepin spoke for many in Europe when he had this to say.

3:42The willingness to go forward and to attack the sovereignty of Greenland would be a red line for the Europeans. And the Europeans, of course, I believe should say and would say that in no case they will recognize any U.S. sovereignty on Greenland. Well, he says it would be an attack on European soil. Secretary of State Rubio downplayed the notion of military action in a briefing with lawmakers earlier this week. instead signaling that an invasion was not imminent and that the goal was to buy the island from denmark other u.s officials have only continued to intensify their rhetoric in an interview with cnn the white house deputy chief of staff stephen miller said that in a world governed by strength the u.s has a right to take the territory in new york i'm john tucker bloomberg radio all right john thank you well turning to washington now president trump told house republicans that they should turn around their political fortunes ahead of November's midterm elections.

4:41The president warned that if Democrats retake control of Congress, he would be impeached for a third time. You got to win the midterms because if we don't win the midterms, it's just going to be, I mean, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached. President Trump expressed exasperation with voters who have given him poor marks on his stewardship of the country. Turning to the markets now, Karen, both the Dow and S &P 500 enter the day in record territory. Amanda Agati is chief investment officer at PNC Asset Management Group. Just like we didn't pull the ripcord and get overly defensive in the spring of last year, there's no reason to make material changes to portfolios as we start out the new year.

5:25So we're feeling pretty good about how we're starting out the new year. I think the recurring theme that investors really need to be focused on is the purple haze of policy uncertainty. It was the biggest driver of the market last year. I think maybe for different reasons, it will still be the primary driver of markets this year. It's Amanda Agati at PNC. And Bloomberg's latest Markets Pulse survey indicates most investors see further stock gains this year. 60 % of respondents predict the S &P 500 will climb as much as 20 % in 2026. Well, Nathan, let's head to Las Vegas now where we continue our week-long coverage of the CES trade show.

6:02NVIDIA says it has seen a strong demand from China for its H200 ships, but the company is still waiting for approvals from both Washington and Beijing before sales can start. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wong spoke with Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow about communication with the Chinese government. I haven't spoken directly to them, but ultimately the way they'll communicate to us will be through the companies. If the companies are allowed to buy NVIDIA products in China, then there'll be strong demand. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wong tells Bloomberg its revenue forecast has gotten brighter due to strong demand and large customer deals.

6:43Man Ed Ludlow also sat down with the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices. Karen, that's after the company announced a new chip for corporate data center use. AMD CEO Lisa Su spoke about the ongoing use of artificial intelligence. We're in this place where AI is at an inflection point. We're seeing AI now in every part of compute. We see it in the largest models, you know, when you're thinking about things like ChatGPT and Gemini and Grok. You know, we're also seeing many use cases in new capabilities like video production, entertainment, health care, where you're doing drug discovery, all of these various things.

7:22And you can catch Bloomberg tech host Ed Ludlow's full interviews with AMD CEO Lisa Su and NVIDIA boss Jensen Wong on the Bloomberg podcast channel on YouTube. And finally, Nathan, a pretty nice payday for the new CEO at Berkshire Hathaway. The conglomerate says Greg Abel will earn an annual cash salary of$25 million. That far enclipses the$100 ,000 that his predecessor Warren Buffett earned for decades in the role. Buffett ceded the CEO role to Abel this month, and the billionaire is still serving as chairman of the company.

7:56Time 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. House and Senate Democrats gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to mark five years since the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gave brief remarks thanking the police officers who responded that day and excoriating President Trump for the violent mob action. Five years ago, a vicious mob tried to undo American democracy. Also giving remarks House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

8:29And I have a simple message for the violent mob of insurrectionists. Donald Trump may have pardoned your crimes, but only God can pardon your sin. A small group of demonstrators led by former Proud Boys leader Enrique Terrio gathered in Washington to mark January 6th, calling it the Ashley Babbitt Memorial March. She was killed inside the Capitol as rioters tried to break into the House chamber. Terrio also called on the administration to punish officials who investigated the January 6th rioters. We're one year into this administration and we haven't seen a single deep state arrest. So I call on Attorney General Pam Bondi to do her job.

9:14Some in the crowd clash with counter demonstrators as they march to the hill. The man identified as the shooter who killed two Brown University students and an MIT professor planned the attack for years and left behind videos in which he confessed to the murders but gave no motive. Claudio Neves Valente, who was 48, is a former Brown student and Portuguese national. He was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility after he killed two students and wounded nine others in an engineering building on December 13th. Two days later, he killed a professor in his home in the Boston suburb of Brookline.

9:50Nick Reiner is set to be arraigned in court today. He is charged in the stabbing death of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and photographer Michelle Singer Reiner. 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. Thanks, Karen. John Harbaugh coached the Baltimore Ravens for 18 seasons, went to the playoffs 12 times, would have gone this year had his kicker made a field goal the other night. Instead, the Ravens finished 8-9 and they fired the 64-year-old Harbaugh.

10:28Dallas fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus after just one season. Detroit fired its offensive coordinator John Morton after one season. Washington fired both of its coordinators. Blowout in the NHL. The Devils beat the Islanders 9-0. 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.

11:17This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. Oil is on the way. President Trump says Venezuela is turning over up to 50 million barrels of sanctioned crude to be sold at market prices, the latest sign that the U.S. is extending economic influence following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro. For more, we're joined by Bloomberg D.C. breaking news editor Alexander Pearson. Alex, good morning. What do we know about this oil shipment that President Trump says is on the way? Good morning. Good morning, Nathan. Yeah, so we know that it'll be about up to 50 million barrels, which current market prices would translate to about$2.8 billion.

11:57So it's not a huge amount, but it's also not a small amount. And we don't really have that much in the way of details other than Trump did say that the proceeds would go to the U.S. and to Venezuela's benefit. And it appears to be a sort of first delivery, a first step towards what the Trump administration's longer term goal is, which is to ramp up oil production in Venezuela to the point where it becomes a source of steady supply for the United States. We know that the president wants U.S. oil companies to be involved in that rebuilding. Have we gotten any further information about the White House effort to get them more involved?

12:38Yeah, so the White House has made this very clear that they want U.S. oil companies to go in and invest in Venezuela's oil infrastructure, be a big player in producing the oil there. And we do know that the Energy Secretary is planning to meet with executives from many oil companies in the U.S. And there are also discussions between the White House and many oil companies about Trump himself meeting with executives. and that meeting could happen as soon as tomorrow or Friday. So they're certainly reaching out and trying to get support for this overall initiative. The executives certainly want assurances, wouldn't they, that the situation in Venezuela is safe following Maduro's ouster.

13:23What more do we know about the situation on the ground there? That's right. So the biggest sort of question mark for this overall initiative is whether the oil companies will be willing to follow Trump's lead and actually go in. There are huge challenges to this. On the one hand, it'll require tens of billions of dollars to revive what is actually quite a moribund oil industry in Venezuela. There's been a lot of neglect. A lot of the machinery is very old and decrepit. And that will require a lot of investment over many years. So there's a time element to this. But beyond that, the political situation is still very unclear.

14:02We don't really know right as of now where Venezuela is heading. It hasn't really settled. And for any oil company, that's a huge risk. They want to make sure, obviously, if they invest all of this money over many years that it's going to be safe, that the U.S. will ensure that it remains safe. Now, we're hearing a lot of reports as well that the White House is putting pressure on Venezuela to work more directly with the U.S. and even cut ties with some of its more traditional partners like China and Russia. What kind of reaction are we getting from those reports? So we did get a reaction from China this morning, and China is notable because it is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude and also the biggest creditor to Venezuela.

14:44And the Chinese foreign ministry earlier said that this was a bullying act by the United States to have told Venezuela this and that it has legitimate interests in Venezuela. So this political realignment that the Trump administration is also trying to get out of Venezuela is obviously not going down well with Venezuela's traditional allies. Okay. In our last minute or so, Alex, while this pressure continues around Venezuela, we're seeing the White House amp up the rhetoric as well about acquiring Greenland. How to take the latest statement on that from the White House? Yeah, it was a notable statement from the White House press secretary yesterday.

15:27She said that the White House was considering a range of options and did not rule out that a military option would be one of those. She didn't specify exactly what that would mean, but the statement alone was eyebrow-raising, especially in Europe where there is a lot of anxiety about what Trump administration officials have said in recent days about taking over Greenland. And that was tempered a little bit by reports that Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said that this was not the idea. The idea would be to purchase Greenland. But the uncertainty alone is causing a lot of anxiety and emotion, particularly in Denmark, which actually has sovereignty over Greenland and has said that this is completely unacceptable.

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16:49Search 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.

17:12Thank you.