Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) The US retaliated against Iranian strikes on American forces with a fresh wave of attacks, escalating a conflict that is spreading wider across the Middle East. The US hit dozens of targets in a two-hour operation aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten American forces, its Arab allies and commercial shipping in the region. Two liquefied-natural-gas vessels were hit by projectiles on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and caught fire, with a security firm saying the vessels had been struck by drones.
2) Investors dumped 30-year Treasury bonds, sending the yield up as much as 14 basis points to nearly 5.23%, after the Fed kept interest rates unchanged for a seventh consecutive month. Market measures of inflation expectations rose, the dollar slid, and stocks tumbled as investors wagered Chairman Kevin Warsh was only delaying an inevitable rate hike.
3) Meta gave a disappointing quarterly revenue forecast, stepping up pressure on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to allay investor concerns that the company isn’t swiftly benefiting from its massive outlay on artificial intelligence. The social media giant reported the lowest free cash flow in years, a sign of ballooning expenses for AI bets, including data centers and smart glasses, which could amount to $145 billion this year. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Azure cloud revenue rose 43% during the fiscal fourth quarter, the fastest quarterly growth since early 2022. CFO Amy Hood said she expected growth in the cloud unit to accelerate further in the current quarter, to about 45%, and that demand continues to exceed available supply.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen for instant reaction and analysis of megacap tech earnings from Meta, Microsoft and Qualcomm.
Meta Platforms gave a disappointing revenue forecast for the current quarter, intensifying investor concerns about the social media giant’s unprecedented spending on artificial intelligence and sending shares lower afterhours. Microsoft’s cloud unit grew at the fastest pace in four years, suggesting that the company’s computing infrastructure and artificial intelligence services continue to make inroads with businesses. Shares of Microsoft rose in extended trading. Qualcomm, the largest maker of smartphone processors, gave a weak profit forecast for the current quarter, signaling that component shortages and rising costs are taking a toll on its main market. The company’s stock fell afterhours.
To break down all of this, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with:
Ed Ludlow, Host, Bloomberg Tech
Mandeep Singh, Global Head of Technology Research, Bloomberg Intelligence
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg’s Tom Keene, Jon Ferro and Lisa Abramowicz discuss remarks from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh following the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance. Warsh insisted policymakers’ decision to leave interest rates unchanged wasn’t a sign of inertia at the central bank, which he reiterated is committed to tackling inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to hold the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Cleveland’s Beth Hammack and Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari dissented in favor of raising rates by a quarter percentage point. The fractured vote signaled growing conviction among some policymakers that higher rates are needed to curb resurgent price pressures. The committee’s post-meeting statement was otherwise identical to the one issued following their June meeting, with officials repeating their pledge to “deliver price stability.”
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg's Tom Keene, Jon Ferro and Lisa Abramowicz break down the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance. Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged, but a fractured vote signaled growing conviction among some policymakers that higher rates are needed to curb resurgent inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to hold the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Cleveland’s Beth Hammack and Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari dissented in favor of raising rates by a quarter percentage point. The committee’s post-meeting statement was otherwise identical to the one issued following their June meeting. Officials repeated their pledge to “deliver price stability.”
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Iran fired on American forces overnight and the US and Saudi Arabia struck Tehran-backed militias in Iraq, abruptly ending a days-long lull in hostilities.
The US and Iran had paused attacks at the end of last week to give diplomacy another chance, leading to a significant drop in energy prices.
2) Oil surged as a fresh round of fighting erupted across the Middle East, threatening further disruptions to energy flows and severely undermining diplomatic efforts to end the months-old conflict.
Brent climbed almost 4% to above $87 a barrel, paring some of the 16% loss over the past three sessions that was its biggest such decline since 2020. Since the start of July, the benchmark has traded in range of almost $32.
3) US stocks edged higher as traders held off on major bets ahead of a US interest-rate decision where markets see room for a hike and earnings from two of the world’s biggest spenders on artificial intelligence.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 contracts were flat after a selloff in chipmakers left the underlying index on the brink of a technical correction. Treasuries stalled after three days of gains, with traders assigning about a 30% chance of a Federal Reserve rate increase. The dollar barely budged.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.