Trump Ukraine Plan Wobbles; White House Warns Iran on Nuclear Program

0:01Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcast Radio News good morning i'm john tucker and i'm karen moscow here are the stories we're following today and karen let's begin with new developments in the efforts to end the war in ukraine russian president putin says he's going to revise his country's negotiating position after claiming ukrainian drones targeted his residents according to the kremlin putin told president trump of his decision on the call yesterday the president talked about it with reporters in Florida. It's one thing to be offensive because they're offensive. It's another thing to attack his house.

0:41It's not the right time to do any of that and can't do it. And I learned about it from President Putin that I was very angry about it. Putin said Moscow intends to work closely with the U.S. on peace efforts but would reconsider a number of previously reached agreements. The Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, dismissed the Russian claims as a new lie and warned that Moscow could be using it as an excuse to prepare an attack on government buildings in Kyiv. Well, John, President Trump has threatened to strike Iran again if the country rebuilds its nuclear capabilities. Speaking as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump expressed concern that Iran is seeking to revive its nuclear program.

1:23Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we're going to have to knock them down. We'll knock them down. We'll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that's not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal, that's much smarter. You know, they could have made a deal the last time before we went through, you know, a big attack on them. And President Trump also said he would support Israel in striking Iran if it continued with its ballistic missile program. And President Trump says the U.S. struck a facility inside Venezuela. It would be a significant escalation in the campaign against alleged drug trafficking operations there.

2:00Trump's reference to an attack within Venezuela would mark the first time the U.S. has announced a land strike in that country. The administration has raised pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro by bombing boats in the region and implementing a blockade to disrupt the country's oil exports. John, hours after President Trump downplayed it, China's military staged a second day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan. This morning it fired dozens of rockets into waters near Taiwan. China's latest exercises come as President Xi Jinping ramps up military and diplomatic pressure on self-ruled Taiwan.

2:36It also comes days after the U.S. announced one of its biggest arms packages ever for the self-run democracy. And let's turn to the markets where futures right now, they are mixed following yesterday's declines on Wall Street. The S &P 500 fell three-tenths of a percent. The NASDAQ dropped a half a percent. Still, it's been a good one for the bulls. The S &P 500 up more than 17 % so far this year. Chris Campesesis is a managing partner at Barnum Financial Group. The reality is if we look at how the last time we had four double-digit up years in a row, that didn't end so well. That ended with the dot-com bubble burst.

3:14And so if we're going to see another double digit, high momentum, high growth kind of year, we're going to need some kind of Goldilocks economic and stock performance in order to do that. Barnum Financial Group's Chris Campizas, global equities remain on track for a third straight annual gain with MSCI's world gauge up around 21 percent in 2025. five. So, John, what's the outlook for stocks in the new year? Bloomberg's Tom Busby has a look at what the big banks and boutique investment firms are expecting in 2026. Despite worries about a possible artificial intelligence bubble, the Fed's next move on interest rates and unanticipated shocks from President Trump's second year in office.

3:58The consensus for the new year on Wall Street is that the stock market will continue to rally to new heights in 2026 for a fourth year in a row, making what would be the longest winning streak in almost two decades. In a Bloomberg survey of sell-side equity strategists, the average year-end forecast for the S &P 500 implies another 9 % gain next year. Tom Busby, Bloomberg Radio. Thanks, Tom. And we're seeing a rebound in commodities following yesterday's wild ride. Both gold and silver are higher. Silver is suffering its biggest one-day drop in more than five years, falling 9%. Valerie Teitel covers the markets for Bloomberg.

4:32It was absurdly stretched on some technicals that we knew. It was trading 80 percent above its 200-day moving average, and its relative strength indicator, or RSI, was nearly at 90. I mean, those are things we haven't seen since the late 70s when it comes to silver. So yes, it was stretched, but look, maybe it stretched for good reason. The fact that on January 1st, China is going to be putting in export restrictions. So anyone exporting silver from Hong Kong, from mainland China, needs government permission to do so. Well, despite yesterday's pullback, gold and silver, they do remain on track for their best annual performances since 1979.

5:12Checking gold and silver right now. Silver up 3.3 percent, while gold is up just about 1 percent. Well, John, President Trump is once again turning up the pressure on Fed Chair Jay Powell. He told reporters that he has a favorite to succeed Powell, but he won't name that person until next month. The president took it a step further, saying he's weighing a lawsuit against Powell. We're thinking about bringing a gross incompetence, what's called gross incompetence lawsuit. It's gross incompetence against Powell. And it was his baby. And the guy's just incompetent. There is nothing you can do about it.

5:48He's just a very incompetent man. President Trump also suggested Powell should resign, adding that he might still fire him. Trump has long criticized Powell's handling of interest rates, saying the central bank has not acted aggressively enough to bring borrowing costs down. Powell's current term as chair runs through May 2026.

6:10Time 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. The FAA and the NTSB continue to investigate a deadly midair collision between two helicopters that happened southeast of Philadelphia over the weekend. Each aircraft had just taken off from the Hamilton Municipal Airport in New Jersey late Sunday morning. Diane Kluf saw it happen. I say to myself, my God, I hope they're just flying too close. I hope they don't clip each other. And the minute I said it to myself, the impact occurred.

6:46One of the helicopters erupted in flames. People living nearby raced to the crash site to help. 71-year-old Michael Greenberg was dead at the scene. The other pilot, 65-year-old Kenneth Kirsch, briefly survived the initial impact but was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Gas prices have been falling over the past few weeks. One reason is because demand is slower during the holiday season. Patrick DeHaan with Gas Buddy also says that once the weather gets warmer again, prices will start to inch back up. As we get into warmer weather, eventually, we'll start transitioning back to cleaner, more expensive blends of gasoline for the summer.

7:25Not only that, but refinery maintenance, which starts in late winter, will reduce supply, and Americans are going to have that cabin fever once warmer temperatures start to hit. Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy. New Orleans officials say nearly 800 law enforcement will be out in the French Quarter and throughout the downtown area over the rest of the New Year's week. Mayor Latoya Cantrell also says National Guard troops will be deployed there through Mardi Gras in February. We absolutely are welcoming of those added resources. A terror attack killed 14 people during last year's New Year's celebrations.

8:01President Trump said earlier this month National Guard troops will soon head to New Orleans. New York City is ready for the ball drop on New Year's Eve. Yesterday, organizers made sure to test the confetti so it can fly without issue. More than 3 ,000 pounds of biodegradable confetti will rain down at midnight. Global news 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg. Karen. That's a lot of confetti, Michael Barr. Thank you. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update and for that we bring in Dan Schwarzman. The Falcons overcome blowing two 21-point leads to outlast the Rams 27-24 as Zane Gonzalez kicks a game-winning 51-yard field goal at 21 seconds.

8:44Running back Bijan Robinson rushes for 195 yards on 22 carries. The Nuggets suffer a major loss as three-time MVP Nikola Jokic goes out just before halftime with an apparent knee injury in a Denver 147-123 loss at the Miami Heat. Jokic is scheduled to have an MRI later today. Elsewhere, Knicks beat

9:09win again, knocking off the Hawks 140-129, while the Cavaliers outlast the Spurs 113-101. 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. And it's now 513 of Wall Street.

9:55Good morning. I'm John Tucker. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Well, you heard the top story. President Trump's campaign to end the war in Ukraine facing some new complications. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, says he'll revise his country's negotiating position. Let's take a deeper dive into the story this morning. And I'm happy to say we're joined by Tina Fordham, the founder of Fordham Global Insight. Tina, a pleasure. Glad you could be with us this morning. Putin says Ukraine attacked one of his homes. Ukraine denies it. President Trump seems to believe Putin. Is this now the pretext for Russia to retreat from any forward progress?

10:32Absolutely. I mean, there have been no other reports apart from President Putin himself of this alleged 91 drone attack on his residence outside of Novgorod. And, you know, we have seen this movie so many times. And recently, you know, Putin arranges to have a phone call with President Trump before he meets with Zelensky because he knows that he can plant seeds in the president's mind that will end up influencing the outcome. So this is the proverbial, you know, Lucy and Charlie Brown with a football scenario. And so far, the White House seems to keep falling for it. Why is that? You got to wonder, with the president, President Trump's comments yesterday that he was very angry.

11:26Why does he not believe Vladimir Zelensky? Well, why does he believe Putin, who has such a well-established track record as a former KGB operative of bait and switch and manipulation? I mean, I know, John, if you saw the documents, the declassified documents that were released from the talks between Putin and George W. Bush around NATO. But there is an awful lot in the public domain and in the record and in Putin's talks themselves. And yet we know that President Trump really values his personal rapport. I mean, sitting here in Europe, as I am, it's, you know, it's not too much to say. We wonder if President Trump isn't willing to, you know, sell Ukraine and give Russia an option to buy Europe.

12:24uh trump met with net yahoo at mar-a-longo yesterday you have russia ukraine the headlines we just went over uh threats against iran a strike inside venezuela china the live fire exercising near taiwan world seems a pretty dangerous place going into 2026 and tina for an administration that promised an america focused agenda there's certainly a lot of foreign entanglements. Can you wrap this up in a nice, neat bow and tell us what gives here? Well, if you put that against the backdrop of the markets looking very optimistic about 2026, and I don't disagree, it looks like a big year for market performance and for deal making.

13:10You know, this is consistent with the recalibration of the international system and the vying for, you know, market share, if you like, geopolitical market share of China, Russia and the United States. And there are a lot of casualties there, like Venezuela, possibly Greenland and others. So this is all going to continue because we're in the middle of this reset. 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.

13:54Wall 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. I'm John Tucker. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.