Trump Warns Iran; Hormuz Threat Keeps Oil on Edge

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0:46Donald Trump:News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, the war with Iran has reached the end of its second week, and there is little sign of let up in the attacks or the rhetoric. Both sides are striking a defiant tone, including Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtabah Khomeini in his first public statement since the fighting began. We get the very latest from Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Jumana Bersechi in Dubai. It is fair to say that the messaging was one of defiance. He's saying that they are vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.

1:20Other fronts will be opened up as well. They will continue their strikes on U.S. bases. And therefore, it's a warning to Gulf states that as long as they continue to harbor those U.S. bases, they will continue to be targeted. And that they are looking for reparations, which is similar to the post that the president had put up the prior day, stipulated the conditions for them to come to the negotiating table. Bloomberg's Jumana Bersetchi reports President Trump posted his own message on social media warning the U.S. has, quote, unlimited firepower, unlimited ammunition and plenty of time. The president also said Iran's leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth.

1:54But in his first press briefing since the war began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a regime is ultimately brought down from within.

2:03Donald Trump:Well, Nathan, Bloomberg News has learned Russian intelligence is supporting Iran's retaliation against the U.S., Israel and Gulf allies. Sources say Moscow is providing Tehran with information including satellite imagery and drone targeting tactics. Tony Halpin leads our team covering Russia and Ukraine. Russia and Iran have had close links for years. Iran was an early supplier of drones that Russia used when it first invaded Ukraine because it simply didn't have its own. It's now copied those Iranian drones. And it's helping Iran with intelligence like satellite data to spot targeting and also giving some information about how they use these Iranian-style drones to evade Western and particularly American air defenses.

2:46Donald Trump:And Bloomberg's Tony Halpin says Russia has denied involvement. And as the fighting goes on, Karen, oil continues to rise in price. Brent crude closed above$100 a barrel last night for the first time since August of 2022. This morning, Brent is trading just above$100 a barrel. It's down a bit in the session. West Texas Intermediate is trading just above 95. The U.S. has announced several measures to try to ease prices, including a waiver for buyers of Russian oil already at sea. But with the Strait of Hormuz all but shut down, Bloomberg's Will Kennedy reports these moves are having little impact.

3:20It seems that Iran is employing a strategy to really interfere with, halt all oil exports in the region by ship apart from its own. It's important to remember that Iranian oil seems to be flowing fairly freely through the Strait of Hormuz. but it wants to stop tankers flowing both from the Persian Gulf and it seems with these attacks on Iman from neighbors that stand outside the Persian Gulf. Bloomberg's Will Kennedy reports Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said the U.S. Navy could begin escorting tankers through the strait by the end of the month. The International Energy Agency has called this war the biggest disruption to the oil market in history.

3:58Donald Trump:Well, Nathan, how much of an impact will these higher oil prices have on the consumer? We asked Bloomberg Economics Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong. If oil stays above$100 per barrel, we estimate that that will cost the average American household an extra$1 ,900 this year. And that's$1 ,900 less to spend on everything else other than gasoline. Bloomberg Economics Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong says the lower 60 % of households by income spend a bigger share on gasoline. So the increase would hit them more than higher income households. And Karen, President Trump is renewing his call for the Fed to cut rates as the world economy faces shockwaves from the war with Iran.

4:41In a social media post, the president wrote, quote, where is the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Tulate Powell today? He went on to write he should be dropping interest rates immediately, not waiting for the next meeting. For now, traders have sharply reduced bets for an interest rate cut this year.

4:57Donald Trump:Well, Nathan, another major story that we're following this morning involves an apparent terror attack here in the U.S. A man rammed his vehicle into a synagogue in Michigan. Bloomberg's John Tucker joins us with the very latest. John, good morning. Good morning, Karen. A truck drove around some bollards that are meant to keep vehicles away from Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit. And that's how security personnel said they knew right away this vehicle was up to no good. It sped through the doors into a hallway and crashed. The driver, harmed with a rifle, died after a shootout with security.

5:31Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzzi says 140 kids were in the temple daycare center at the time of the attack. My God, I never thought I'd be standing here looking at my temple, surrounded by SWAT and FBI, and going out into the parking lot and grabbing babies to bring them to their parents. Never. The driver's been identified as 41-year-old Ahmed Mohamed Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon. Nobody inside the synagogue, one of the nation's largest reform synagogues, was seriously hurt. Police say the truck contained fireworks as well as some sort of chemical agent that ignited after the crash.

6:06The FBI calling it a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio. All right, John, thank you. In Virginia, a former Army National Guard member opened fire on a classroom at Old Dominion University, leaving one person dead and two others wounded. Police say that shooter was subdued and killed by ROTC students. Dominique Evans is special agent in charge of the FBI's Norfolk, Virginia office. There were students that were in that room that subdued him and rendered him no longer alive. I don't know how else to say it, but they basically were able to terminate the threat.

6:42The FBI identified the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalo. They say he yelled Allahu Akbar before the shooting and had spent eight years in prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State.

6:52Donald Trump:We want to turn to the equity markets now, Nathan, where futures are once again a little change to lower following yesterday's broad range to sell off on Wall Street. All three major indexes fell at least one and a half percent. Charles Cantor, a senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, talked about investing during these volatile times. If you think about the war, for example, I think the war and investing have a lot of similarities. On the short term, life feels very uncomfortable, very uncertain and unpredictable. And you've seen that today. And over the long term, the best businesses, the best capitalized businesses, the best businesses that can allocate capital, like the strongest armies, will ultimately win out.

7:38Donald Trump:And Neuberger Berman's Charles Kander there. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge continues to rise. Right now, it is closing in on 28. And in company news, Karen, shares of Adobe are down nearly 9 % in early trading. The software giant did post earnings in line with estimates, but it announced its CEO, Shantanu Narayan, is resigning amid deep skepticism about the company's ability to thrive in the AI era. Gil Laurie is head of tech research at DA Davidson. It's a tough job for the next CEO. So who that person is, whether they're credible in the AI realm will be important. In terms of the message, it just has to be a change of direction.

8:16Adobe has really said, look, we're fine on AI, we're agnostic, we're going to have responsible AI for responsible image and video generation. That message clearly has not resonated with investors, so that message has to be different. It's DA Davidson's Gil Luria. Narayan had served as Adobe's CEO for 18 years. He will remain in the position until a successor is appointed.

8:40Donald Trump:And Nathan, a programming note. Markets may close on Friday, but the world does not. and that's why we're bringing you a new live radio and TV show. Bloomberg this weekend is looking beyond the daily headlines to the bigger themes driving politics, business, and culture. Join David Gura, Christina Ruffini, and Lisa Matteo for smart conversations and in-depth interviews that help make sense of the week that's been and what comes next. You get Bloomberg this weekend live, Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. Eastern on Bloomberg Radio, TV, and the Bloomberg Business app. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world.

9:19Donald Trump:And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. Cuba vowed to free dozens of prisoners as its president prepares to speak to the press for the second time since President Trump cut off vital fuel supplies to the communist-run island after capturing its principal ally. According to Cuba's foreign ministry, 51 prisoners will be released in the coming days, citing the spirit of goodwill and close, fluid relations between Havana and the Vatican. The detainees, to be released, have all served a significant portion of their sentences and have maintained good behavior in prison.

9:54The lapse in funding for Homeland Security means TSA agents have now been working without pay for nearly a month. At SeaTac Airport, a temporary food pantry has opened up for unpaid federal employees where spokesman Perry Cooper says those workers can pick up whatever they need. Non-perishable items, self-storable food, hygiene products, those kinds of things, infant supplies, that some of these folks just don't have the ability to get because they're not getting paychecks. Similar food banks are being set up at airports across the country. In Congress, Democrats say they are willing to fund many of the agencies housed under DHS, including the TSA, but will not vote to fund ICE without significant reforms to their operations.

10:34Republicans, meanwhile, accuse Democrats of rebuffing efforts to negotiate. NASA cleared its moon rocket for a launch next month with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs. It will mark humanity's first trip to the moon in more than 50 years. NASA Acting Associate Administrator Lori Glaze. It's a test flight, and it is not without risk, but our team and our hardware are ready. NASA's Lori Glaze said the space agency is aiming for an April 1st launch date. Global News, 24 hours a day. And whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now, I'm Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg, Karen.

11:10Donald Trump:Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stash Hour. Thanks, Karen. 127 consecutive games for Shea Gilgis-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring 20 or more points. He breaks a record that Wilt Chamberlain held since the early 1960s. Kyler Murray, once the first overall pick of the draft, had some success with Arizona, but injured much of this past season. The Cardinals released him. He has signed with Minnesota a one-year deal. In Houston tonight, it's the USA versus Canada quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update.

11:44Donald Trump: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. Now into day 14 of the Iran war. There is little sign of let up on either side. President Trump says he is determined to finish the job against Tehran.

12:29We're doing what has to be done, should have been done during a 47-year period, could have been done by a lot of different people that chose not to do it. That was President Trump at the White House last night. This morning, we head to Dubai to bring in Bloomberg's Paul Wallace, our managing editor for Middle East and Africa Economic and Government News. Paul, good morning. What is the latest? We've heard reports of massive explosions this morning in Tehran. Hi, and good morning. Yes, so there are more Israeli strikes on Tehran today. Israel announced that. We presume the US is also continuing its strikes across western parts of the country as well.

13:10And yes, there appears to be no real let-up from Iran either. It's still maintaining a very defiant tone. We had a statement from the new supreme leader, yesterday, the first one since he got elected right at the beginning of this week. And he said that the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed and essentially said this war will continue. So neither the Israelis nor the Americans nor the Iranians seem in any mood to stop fighting at the moment. We also heard from that statement from the Supreme Leader that Iran could try to open up new fronts if the fighting continues. Does Iran have the capacity to do that?

13:56Well, that was a significant statement, and it's hard to tell. I mean, it is possible that Iran tries to get what's essentially the last of its proxies, the Houthis that are based in Yemen, to start fighting again and essentially to enter this war. So the Houthis have territory in the Southern Red Sea. When the war in Gaza erupted after the October 7th attacks by Hamas on Israel, the Houthis became pretty crucial. They essentially closed the Southern Red Sea to Western shipping because of their drone and missile attacks on vessels going through that waterway. They've been quiet or quiet-ish since this war on Iran erupted.

14:44They haven't said much beyond sort of hinting that they're ready to go if they need to. If they do decide to attack ships again, that would be a big blow to the West, to the Americans. They have territory that's quite close to the Saudi Arabian port of Yambou. Yambou has become extra important because it is the outlet for that big East-West pipeline that the Saudis have. So they can't export oil from their eastern fields through the Straits of Hormuz, so they're now using Yanbu in a big way. If the Houthis enter the fray, and especially if they decide to either target Yanbu or ships going there, that is going to be a big problem and will cause more crisis in the oil market.

15:30Donald Trump: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. And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it, in five minutes or less.

16:10Donald Trump: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.