US, Iran Argue Over Terms; Airline Fares Surge in Europe & Asia

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1:40Bloomberg 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 war with Iran. There is little let up to strikes between Iran and Israel, even as President Trump says talks to end the war are ongoing. We settled eight wars. People sort of forget. And we're winning another one. I tell you, we're winning so big. Nobody's ever seen anything like we're doing in the Middle East with Iran. And they are negotiating, by the way. The president spoke at a meeting last night with congressional Republicans, but the Iranians are not confirming that, as we hear from Bloomberg's Jumana Bersechi in Dubai.

2:24There has been no signing on to direct negotiations and even indirect negotiations. As of now, a meeting or a potential summit between the two sides has not been confirmed. There are plenty of reports earlier in the week suggesting that maybe Pakistan would be looking to host something along those lines. But that is not being confirmed, neither by the White House nor by Iran. And the messaging from Iran that has come through over the last 24 hours is that they remain defiant and they are not in the mood to compromise. Bloomberg's Jumana Bersetje reports Iran is laying out its own demands. According to state-run Press-TV, they include guarantees against future attacks, payments for war damages, and recognition of Iran's authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

3:06CNN is reporting that Vice President J.D. Vance could head to Pakistan this weekend for talks, but the White House says it's a fluid situation. Well, Nathan, oil on the rise once again. Right now, NYMEX crude oil is up more than 3.5 % and$93.56 a barrel. Brent is up more than 3 % at$105.67. And Bloomberg Strategic Energy Team BNF says the price of Brent crude could top$154 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until mid-June. David Ernstberger, as the president of Global Energy at S &P, he says things could get worse from here. The markets that consume this energy, who depend on the straits to be open, they're only feeling the late arrivals or the no arrivals of the energy that should be coming their way right about now.

3:54And that's going to build up over the next five or 10 days. In a sense, the pipeline that's on the water from the Middle East to the world is going to start running empty. And S &P's David Ernstberger, oil prices have jumped since the start of the war. Brent crude is up almost 40 percent, while West Texas Intermediate has risen about 30 percent. And as oil rises, Karen, get ready to pay more for airline fares. Tickets on major routes connecting Asia and Europe have surged up to 560 percent this month and are likely to stay elevated through the summer and into fall. Demand is already starting to soften due to travel uncertainty and higher fares.

4:30Serium says summer bookings from Europe to the U.S. are down 15 percent from a year earlier, while traffic in the opposite directions fallen 11 percent. Well, Nathan, the U.S. Postal Service plans to raise prices to offset rising transportation expenses, including the cost of fuel. The USPS will increase prices by 8 % on some packages, including priority mail and parcel select offerings until mid-January of next year. And after a delay due to the war with Iran, Karen, President Trump is set to hold his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14th and 15th. We get more from Bloomberg's Amy Morris in Washington.

5:08President Trump will meet with Xi Jinping on May 14th and 15th in Beijing, and White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt announced Xi will also visit Washington. First Lady Melania and President Trump will also host President Xi and Madam Peng for a reciprocal visit in Washington, D.C. at a later date to be announced this year. The rescheduled meeting in China will pose a fresh test of how comfortable President Trump and Xi Jinping are with the status quo on trade, U.S. support for Taiwan, and the fallout for the U.S. strikes on Iran that spurred a spike in oil prices. In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio.

5:43Amy, thank you. As the war with Iran drags on, so does the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security that's led to long lines in airport security. This morning, Senate Republicans have rejected Democrats' latest offer to end the standoff over immigration enforcement. North Dakota Republican Kevin Kramer says his side is getting frustrated. I don't know how they can get a better deal We've given them a lot. Donald Trump has given them a lot. It's clear that TSA agents should be being paid. And there's absolutely no reason in the world for them to be against this deal. And that's Republican Senator Kevin Kramer.

6:21Democrats have not revealed their latest demands, but in the past they've called for enhanced training for ICE agents, body cameras, mask removal, and judicial warrants. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he's considering bringing in senators through the weekend or cutting back the upcoming Easter break to get the funding issue resolved. Well, let's get you the latest now, Karen, on that deadly plane crash at New York's LaGuardia Airport. All but four of the passengers who were hurt in the collision between the Air Canada Express plane and a fire truck have now been released from the hospital.

6:51That plane for Montreal was carrying 76 people. The two pilots were killed. Roughly 40 others were treated at hospitals for injuries. And a programming note, Nathan, markets may close on Fridays, 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. Get Bloomberg This Weekend live Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m.

7:25Eastern 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. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Monica Ricks. Monica, good morning. Hey, good morning, Karen. Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be back in court today in New York to try to convince a federal judge to dismiss his narco-terrorism case. His lawyer claims that the U.S. government is interfering and violating Maduro's constitutional right to defend himself. He's been behind bars in Brooklyn and his wife as well since getting captured by the U.S.

8:01and Venezuela in January. The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit with Michael Flynn for$1.25 million. He was national security advisor to President Trump during his first term and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its Russia investigation. Flynn was later pardoned and sued for malicious prosecution. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Andrew Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders have unveiled new legislation aimed at pausing construction on new data centers in the U.S. until national safeguards are in place. Artificial intelligence and robotics will impact our economy, our democracy, our privacy rights, and even our very survival on this planet.

8:45Data centers have faced a lot of backlash over fears about rising electricity prices and, of course, pollution. And a jury has found Meta and Google liable for harming a young user with products designed to be addictive. A 20-year-old was awarded$6 million in damages yesterday in Los Angeles. But Meta spokesperson Ashley Nicole Davis says they plan to appeal. We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app. This is the first of thousands of product liability lawsuits that could lead to more federal regulations.

9:23Global news 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Monica Ricks and this is Bloomberg. Thanks, Monica. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. First baseball game of the season won by the Yankees. 7-0 in San Francisco behind the pitching of Max Fried. 11 openers today, nine of them in the afternoon. NBA saw the Celtics and Oklahoma City's 12-game winning streak and in Denver's win over Dallas, Jamal Murray scored 53 points. Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 21 rebounds, and 19 assists. The NCAA tournament is back tonight.

9:59The doubleheader in San Jose starts with Purdue against Texas, then it's Arizona and Arkansas in Houston. Nebraska plays Iowa and Houston plays Illinois. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. support for the show comes from public lately it feels like there are two types of investing platforms some are traditional brokerages that haven't changed much in decades and others feel less like investing and more like a game public is positioned differently it's an investing platform for people who are serious about building their wealth on public you can build a portfolio of stocks options bonds crypto without all the bugs or the confetti retirement accounts yep High-yield cash?

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13:16Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at the White House. We're joined this morning once again from Dubai by Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Jumana Bersechi, the anchor of Bloomberg Horizons. Jumana, good morning. There is some question, isn't there, about whether talks are happening, who's doing it, what the parameters are. What's our latest sense of where things stand now? Good morning. Yeah, the latest sense that we get is there are not scheduled talks to happen in the next few days. There had been many outlets reporting about the possibility of an in-person meeting taking place in Islamabad or in Pakistan over the course of this weekend.

13:51That is not being confirmed by the White House. It has also not been confirmed by Iran, who have maintained this very defiant stance. And actually yesterday came out with a statement on their own press TV suggesting that the terms that the U.S. had put forward to end the war were not acceptable to them. And in turn asking and stipulating what they would need to see in order to return back to the negotiating table. And some of those terms are really maximalist. And here I'm talking about their ability to retain sovereignty over ships and vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. They're asking the U.S.

14:29for reparations over war damage. And they're asking for guarantees that the U.S. will never attack Iran again. And so the two starting points for any basis for diplomatic discussions is still very, very far apart. And there's a lot of skepticism here that the two sides can actually come together in the next few days to move forward with these discussions. Might be less than the next few days, might it, since President Trump set that five-day window to avoid going after Iran's power supply. That runs out tomorrow, doesn't it? That's correct. And it really just raises the possibility of further military action.

15:10And we've been reporting over the last couple of days that there are these marine expeditionary units that are making their way over to the region. Our understanding is that the first batch will arrive in the coming days. And Iran has said that they're watching the progress of the ground movements very, very closely. Yesterday, the Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Galiboff, who has been very vocal on social media, warned that if the U.S. followed through on their plan to take over Karg Island, as has been reported by some outlets, then they would not hold back in retaliating once again against civilian infrastructure on any country in the Gulf that is seen to be helping the United States.

15:51So the threats and the rhetoric are still coming through. And as you say, we're getting closer and closer to that five day deadline, which coincides with roughly middle of the night and the Middle East tomorrow. Just 30 seconds left, Jumana. But what's the risk at this point of other Gulf Arab states joining in the conflict? Look, their resolve is hardening, but I think the bar for military involvement is still very high from officials and key officials that I've spoken to myself. Yes, they have kicked out attachés. They have closed down some Iranian headquarters, hospitals, like in the case of the UAE.

16:24But the bar for them to actually join in on military action, I think, is quite high. That being said, there is a lot of reporting suggesting that they are allowing the U.S. to use some of their air bases like in the situation of Saudi Arabia.

16:59New 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. 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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