US Attacks Prompt Iranian Retaliation; MA Election Results

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1:39Bloomberg 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 on the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The U.S. has carried out a fresh wave of attacks on targets tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran says the strikes killed four members of the IRGC. It says it has retaliated with missile launches on U.S. bases in Jordan and Bahrain. And it's accusing the U.S. of bombing a wedding ceremony as well, killing five people. President Trump is downplaying the chances for a deal, writing on Truth Social, quote, I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless to them agreement.

2:23We get more from Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Abir Abu Omar in Dubai. Essentially what President Trump had said in his latest remarks was that he doesn't really care if Iran comes back to the negotiating table. He actually said that he thinks that the United States is in a good position right now. The response that that stoked from Iran was in the shape, of course, of a response from the president, who was in Kyrgyzstan for a conference. He did say that Iran is willing to go back to the MOU concessions if the U.S. were to go back to diplomacy. And then the foreign minister, of course, Abbas Adil-Shihad, said that Iran is not taking away the diplomacy route completely.

2:58It is willing to go back there. But again, only if the United States were to seize its economic pressure campaign and also the military pressure campaign. Bloomberg Zabir Abu Omar reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling Iran's leaders panicked over their country's economic problems. At some point, he says they will be ready to negotiate. Well, Nathan, Secretary Besant is hosting a G20 finance minister's summit in Asheville, North Carolina this week. He says the gathering won't end with a traditional joint communique. And the reason why, he says, is China due to a dispute of the country's trade surplus.

3:33It is clear that the country with the world's largest and unsustainable current account surplus, People's Republic of China was the dissenter. And I think that we have 19 other voices. And as I said, my chairman's statement will echo that. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson did release a statement saying China dissented on paragraphs related to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, creating a task force on trade imbalances and provisions tied to debt restructuring. China released its own statement saying G20 members should safeguard free trade and promote economic globalization. It did not address Besant's remarks directly.

4:17Now, Karen, let's get to the latest on the race to the midterms. The results are in from last night's primary elections in Massachusetts. In the Democratic Senate race, 80-year-old progressive incumbent Ed Markey beat back a challenge from 47-year-old moderate Congressman Seth Moulton 65 to 35 percent. Markey told his supporters last night his victory should be just the beginning. We need to build more than just a Democratic majority in Congress. We need to cement a progressive Democratic majority, one that will use its political capital to take on the bosses, the billionaires and the wannabe kings.

4:52Senator Ed Markey will now face Republican John Deaton in November, who ran uncontested. In the race to fill Seth Moulton's House seat in the 6th District, Dan Coe, a former White House official and Boston City Hall alum, clinched the Democratic nomination. He got 41 percent of the vote in a five-way race. Coe will now face Micah Jones, an Army veteran who's endorsed by former Republican Governor Charlie Baker. Jones was the sole Republican running in that North Shore anchor district. Well, Nathan, a couple of veteran Democratic congressmen in Massachusetts also won their primary, so they face challenges from the left.

5:2677-year-old Richard Neal beat Jeremy Whalen in the 1st District 54 to 46 percent. And in the 8th District, 71-year-old Stephen Lynch defeated Attorney Patrick Roth 55 to 45 percent. And in the Republican primary for Massachusetts Governor Michael Minogue will go on to face Democratic incumbent Maura Healy in November. He beat Brian Shortsleeve last night 76 to 24 percent. Turning to the nation's capital now, Karen, House lawmakers have passed a stopgap funding measure helping to avert an October 1st government shutdown. Bloomberg's Amy Morris reports from Washington. The bill will keep money flowing to federal agencies until December, preventing a government shutdown before Election Day.

6:08House Speaker Mike Johnson. House Republicans are in charge here, and we're continuing to do the grown-up thing and make sure we get the job done, and we're happy that we just passed that continued resolution to fine the government through early December, and then we'll continue through the process after the election. The bill had broad bipartisan support. It now goes to President Trump for his signature. But Trump has said that he will not sign any legislation until Congress passes new voter ID requirements. In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Amy, thank you. The murder case against the man accused of killing political commentator Charlie Kirk can proceed to trial with a charge that makes the suspect eligible for the death penalty.

6:47A Utah district judge sided with prosecutors who said they had a mountain of evidence that defendant Tyler Robinson fatally shot the conservative activist as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University last September. Robinson pleaded not guilty to all counts, including aggravated murder. And we're learning more about this week's knife attack in New York City's Times Square, Karen. The victim who died in that attack has been identified as a Bank of America vice president. 32-year-old Aaron Piacente, Bank of America's main Manhattan office, is located right near the heart of Times Square at 1 Bryant Park.

7:23The suspect, Pamela Cisneros, was shot and killed by police. We now turn to the markets and the economy, Nathan. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson's effort to lower bond yields is running smack into investor skepticism. And we get an update from Bloomberg's John Tucker. John, good morning. Good morning, Karen. The yield on 30-year U.S. government bonds have climbed back to levels seen just before Besson's controversial buyback program. And Dan Moorhead at Pantera Capital likens Besson's move to a poker bluff that didn't bluff anybody. The only way a bluff works is if nobody at the poker table knows you're bluffing.

7:57And to slide an extra two billion of chips out onto the table when you are a fourth seller of$2 trillion with a T every year of bonds just doesn't make any sense. And this morning, the long bond, 5.28%. Investors say it's going to take more than a tweak to soothe worries about increasing government spending and elevated inflation. The buybacks typically don't substitute for the work that's required to structurally lower yields. For his part, Besson has characterized his steps as an effort to nudge the market, saying he's trying to slow things down. In New York, I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio.

8:34All right, John, thank you. Let's turn to equity markets now. Futures are moving lower this morning after yesterday's losses on Wall Street. But this morning, shares of Dell are moving higher in a big way, up nine and a quarter percent. The company boosted its annual sales forecast by$25 billion due to surging demand for servers to run artificial intelligence tasks. Michael Monaghan is portfolio manager at Foundry ETF. Dell has had a great year up, 200-plus percent already year-to-date. But I think that they're earning that premium valuation with the numbers that we're seeing. So not only is the AI server business growing very rapidly, their traditional business is growing as well with expanding margins.

9:14It's founder ETF's Michael Monaghan. This is the fifth straight quarter that Dell's fiscal year revenue outlook topped estimates. And Nathan, Bloomberg News has learned NVIDIA's and advanced talks to acquire artificial intelligence startup Hugging Face. The transaction that may total about$14 billion. Buying Hugging Face would be the biggest move yet in CEO Jensen Wong's push to broaden the uptake of artificial intelligence and extend his customer list. The deal would give NVIDIA control of one of the key platforms where developers showcase and share AI models.

9:48Time 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 Trump administration said it arrested more than 2 ,100 immigrants across New York in a month-long operation dubbed Operation Rotten Apple. Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen criticized Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani over sanctuary policies which limit when local authorities can cooperate with ICE. If you're a convicted criminal or not, you're still in this country legally and it is our job to hunt you down and to deport you.

10:27Hochul, speaking at a separate event Tuesday, said the state notifies ICE when undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes are being released. The facts would confirm that crime has gone down in all the major categories. So we are not less safe. We are safer. Hochul went on to say we are not a sanctuary state for criminals. The immigration dispute has spilled into a parallel fight over federal counterterrorism funding with the Trump administration withholding$87 million from New York. Hochul called that political retaliation. In Massachusetts, jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial ended a fourth day of deliberations without a verdict after saying they couldn't agree whether Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three young children.

11:14Yesterday, the jury sent a note to Judge William Sullivan saying they had been unable to reach a unanimous decision. He told them to keep trying. You've come this far. Do not read anything. Don't listen to anything. Don't talk about this case. We'll come in tomorrow morning. We'll bring you all in. We'll get you right back out to resume deliberations. The jury is expected to resume deliberations today, and if they can't reach a verdict, a mistrial could be declared. What used to be Tropical Storm Edouard weakened into a depression while unleashing heavy rains and strong winds on parts of Texas.

11:48It knocked out power to thousands yesterday and flooded roads. Global News 24 hours a day and whatever 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. A near upset at the U.S. Open. Alex Zverev is the men's singles top seed. He trailed two cents to one to Lorenzo Cinego. Zavera rallied back and won in five sets nearly five hours. Stan Kroenke already bones the LA Rams, the Colorado Avalanche, and now he's adding the LA Angels with a price tag of$4 billion.

12:24He's buying the team from Artie Moreno, who owned them for 23 years, and the Angels struggled to win during Moreno's time. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. This is the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Now with ChatGPT Work, I'm Carol Masser. Social media posts on sleep outnumber those on exercise by 3 to 1 and those on diet by 5 to 1, according to consumer researcher Ryla Global Consulting. And so it may come as no surprise that there are seemingly no limits to what we will do to get a good night's sleep. People are spending on everything from pricey sleep trackers, AI-powered scent therapy machines, to$3 ,000 body temperature-regulating Manosphere-endorsed mattress covers, and couples outfitting totally separate bedrooms.

13:19As Bloomberg's Dina Shanker reports, it all adds up to a sleep support industry that's a$300 million business, with growth coming from functional beverages and sleep powders, even as some experts warn that these products may not be effective and can even be harmful. Despite the spend, 6 out of 10 American adults still don't get the 7 to 9 hours of sleep the credible science says we need. As for experts, they recommend making lifestyle changes, such as getting sunlight and limiting screen time to improve sleep. That's the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects.

13:56Get started at ChatGPT.com today by selecting Work Mode, available on Plus and Pro plans. If you listen to financial news, you know a lot of time is spent thinking about what's next. The next opportunity. The next investment. The next move. But sometimes what matters most is being ready for what you never saw coming. A storm damages a second home. A pipe bursts above a collection you spent decades building. An unexpected loss puts a growing business on pause. Those are the days no one sees coming. But for more than 75 years, Cincinnati Insurance has been ready when they do. With deep expertise, coverage for businesses, homes, valuables, and more, Cincinnati Insurance works with independent agents who take the time to understand what matters to you.

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15:42Coast 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, and we are now just two months away from the November midterm elections. in the latest primary races in Massachusetts age might not have been an issue for Democratic voters backing 80-year-old Senator Ed Markey for a third term. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a big blue wave coming to drown out all those red MAGA hats. It was Senator Markey addressing his supporters after he beat 47-year-old Congressman Seth Moulton, 65 to 35 percent.

16:22Joining us this morning after is Jennifer Lawless, politics professor at the University of Virginia. Great to speak with you as always, Professor. Can Senator Markey tie himself to the progressive wave we've seen in states like Michigan and Wisconsin? Good morning. Good morning. I think he can. He has a progressive record. He's been in the House and the Senate for a long time. And the thing that really came across last night was that age is not disqualifying. We've seen a lot of older members get defeated. But it seems that at least in Massachusetts, age alone is not enough to call into question an incumbents viability.

17:00And to that point, we saw a couple of veteran Congress members fend off challenges, though they were from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. What does that say? I think it tells us that and we've seen this across the country from coast to coast. Campaigns and primaries really matter. And constituency service matters. And the relationship you have with your constituents can protect you or it can ultimately make you vulnerable. And in Massachusetts last night, incumbents did well largely because voters were satisfied with them. And you can't just assume that in one district or in one state, a challenge that worked in another one is going to work in your own.

17:41So given the results last night, what do they tell us about this progressive versus moderate family fight that we're seeing in the Democratic Party in this midterm cycle? Well, as I've said before, I'm not sure that it's a progressive versus moderate fight. I think it's an establishment versus insurgent fight. And establishment candidates are still on pretty solid footing as long as they're representing the views of their constituents. And if their voting record is consistent with those of the people that they represent and they're providing service to those people, then challengers really need a reason to convince voters that they need to be thrown out.

18:21And in some states that's worked and in open seats, that's certainly been the case. But overall, even in an election year where we've seen an anti-income consentment, it's not in and of itself enough. We got about a minute left here. There have also been questions about the polling on the Democratic side in this cycle. In past races, it's kind of come out wrong. This time, it seemed to be bang in line. What does that tell us about where the polling could go as we get closer to November? Well, I think polls tell us a lot. They tell us who's up at a particular point in time among the people who actually responded to that poll.

18:58Whether we can generalize from one poll to the broader electorate is tricky. being able to identify who the electorate will be is difficult, especially in a primary. We tend to do better in general elections. So last night's polls were right on track. The general election polls will probably be a little bit more accurate than a lot of the primary polls over time. But still, one of the best things to look at overall is the national trend. And Democrats seem to be up in the generic ballot. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.

19:34Look 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. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long.

20:12I'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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