Good morning. I'm Brian Curtis and I'm Doug Prisner. Here are the stories we're following today.
Special counsel Jack Smith is going directly to the US Supreme Court for a final decision. This goes to whether Donald Trump is entitled to absolute immunity. That Baxter has that story and more from the nine to sixty news room in San Francisco.
Yeah, that's right, Brian, that's a Trump claim that he has total immunity in the January case accusing him of being part of the effort to overturn the election. He lost a decision from District Judge Tanya Chutkin. Bloomberg Supreme Court reported Greg Stores says Smith wants to go directly now to the highest court.
And today Jack Smith said, we need this matter resolve so urgently that I'm going to go straight to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court, please take this matter up without even waiting for our federal appeals court to hear Donald Trump's appeal. Jack Smith is asking for the Supreme Court to resolve the case in its current term, which runs through June. So why today he did it today? Because time's a wasting it. Trial is scheduled to start March
the fourth. It cannot been as long as Donald Trump is appealing this issue of immunity, So Jack Smith needs this resolved as quickly as possible.
Now, the filing mark's first time the Supreme Court has been asked to intervene in one of the cases pending against Trump. Hunter Biden's attorneys are saying today that the gun and tax charges against him are invalid. Well, Congressional Republicans and Democrats mud rustle over aid to Israel and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Vladimer Zelenski's in the US today to make his case.
Rossa's war on Ukraine isn't just about isn't just about some old pheaciant dictatorship trying to settle scores real or imagine.
And US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says aid for Ukraine and for NATO is imperative.
And we are determined to show the world that America will not flinch in our defense of freedom.
Now, the two spoke at the National Offense University in Washington. Russian opposition leader Aleski Nelvanni has missed a court appearance today. It is raising alarms because his family says it hasn't heard from him for five days. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says concern too for the US.
We concerned about these reports that he's now being on for allegedly a week, and neither his representatives or his family know where he is. He should be released immediately.
Today's apparent's supposed to be video, but when they dialed it up, the screen was dark. Israeli offensive into Gaza's intensified, but it's refusing to cease fire still. Farmer is rarely Ambassador of the US. Michael Oran on Bloomberg's sound On says he feels there will be a ceasefire at some point.
And this is just a gut feeling that the negotiations will start soon as Israel's military news continues to close around hamas leadership, and they will once again sue to negotiate to gain time. Remember, Hamas wants that cease fire. That's the most important thing. Hamas can get Bessie's firing survival. It means Thomas wins, Israel loses.
He says, Amas may not have any bargaining power because of the condition of the hostages. The pregnant Texas woman who sought court permission for an abortion under extraordinary health circumstances will apparently not wait for Texas. Her attorneys say that she has left the state, saying her health and her futures on the line. They say she's been in and out of emergency rooms and can't wait any longer.
Global News twenty four hours a day and whatever you wanted with Bloomberg News Now in San Francisco, I met Baxter and this is Bloomberg ar Brian.
Ed thanks very much. Well, let's get a look now at the top business and economic news stories of the hour. Central banks are in focus this week, with the FED, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England all holding policy meetings, and next week we'll be hearing from the Bank of Japan. The BOJ is likely to keep
its monetary stimulus settings unchanged. BOJ officials are said to see little need to rush into scrapping what is the world's last negative interest rate this month, and that's despite recent market speculation that the negative rate may be scrapped as soon as the December meeting, which to old officials have yet to see enough evidence, though, of wage growth that would support sustainable inflation, and BOJ officials view the
potential cost of waiting for more information as not very high. Well.
China is said to have started the annuals Central Economic Work Conference. The aim here is to discuss China's growth targets for the new year. We have more from Bloomberg sivon men in Hong Kong.
The high profile meeting is usually closely watched by market participants on how China handles monetary, fiscal, and various industrial policies. Neither the Chinese government nor state run media has announced the start of the conference, but reports say that two day meeting will conclude today. The meeting follows top leaders pledging to strengthen fiscal support at a pull up Bureau meeting on front. The leaders also emphasize the importance of
economic progress. Expectations are high that China will set a new growth target similar to this year's goal of about five percent. In Hong Kong, I'm von Mann Bloomberg Radio.
Meantime, Chinese President Shi Jinping is expected to visit Vietnam today for the first time in six years. Bloomberg's Joan Wong has.
More president she is looking to upgrade relations with Vietnam and counter US influence. The trip comes just three months after US President Joe Biden visited. On that trip, Biden forged agreements with Hanoi on everything from semiconductors to security. For China's part, is moving to provide funding to upgrade railway lines in the country. These are arteries considered crucial for Vietnam's exports. The fans and maritime issues are also
expected to be discussed. For some time, Vietnam has been worried that China is moving to a certain more control in the South China Sea. In Hong Kong, Join Wang Bloomberg.
Radio State Side Commerce Secretary Gina Romundo is vowing this a very strong action on this new advanced semiconductor from Huawei. Romando calling this breakthrough chip deeply concerning. We have more from Bloomberg's Erica Hirshkowitz.
When asked how the Commerce Department would respond to a recent chip making breakthrough in China, Romando said the US would take the strongest possible action to protect its national security. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Romando said every time
they see something that's concerning, they investigated vigorously. Romando wouldn't confirm a formal investigation is underway into Huawei Technologies and its chip making partner, Semiconductor Manufacturing International, even though her department's Bureau of Industry and Security has said it's probing the purported seven nanimeter chip and a smartphone that Huawei debuted in late August. I'm Erica Herskowitz Bloomberg Radio.
Separately, Romando told Bloomberg News the US is looking into specifics of three new artificial intelligence accelerators made by Nvidia. The company is developing those chips for the market in China. Earlier this month, UA did vow to restrict any new chips that gives China capabilities and artificial intelligence.
Brian Oracle reported second quarters sales that increased five percent to twelve point nine billion dollars that missed analyst estimates of thirteen point one billion, and it comes after a second consecutive quarter of slowing growth for Oracle's cloud unit. Oracle is known for its database software. It has been focusing lately on expanding its cloud business, but Bloomberg's arag Rana says it may take some time to catch up with the world's biggest cloud providers.
Over time, I think they will have a cloud offering, or they will have a cloud revenue that is going to be much bigger than this. But I don't think they're going to catch up to either Amazon or Microsoft anytime in the near term. In fact, I don't think that's going to be possible, just because of the two different businesses these guys are right.
And that's Bloomberg's an rug Rana.
Doug Goldman Sachs is reshuffling its asset management arm the story from Bloomberg's and Kate's.
Goldman is moving around senior executives and it's one hundred and ten billion dollar private credit unit as it seeks to double the size of the business in the medium term. Goldman has long lead Wall Street rivals like JP Morgan, Chase, Barkley's and City Group and the growing one point six trillion dollar market, and is rare for maintaining a sizeable private credit division that dates back to before the two
thousand and eight financial crisis. The latest changes come as Goldman's rival scramble to respond to the rise of a new asset class that competes directly with their leverage finance business in Washington and Kate's Bloomberg Radio.
I'm Brand Curtis along with Paul Allen, and we are visiting with William Lee now on the program, chief economist at the Milken Institute, to take a look at what we can expect from the Fed this week. Bill, thanks very much for joining us. We're getting pretty close to the last mile kind of discussions and whether or not disinflation will continue to grind its way through or whether we might find it pretty sticky. Do you see it?
Well, the markets are pretty confused about what the Fed really wants to do, right. I mean, in some ways, the market is absolutely certain that they're going to be rate cuts and it's a matter of when and how many.
And yet Share Powell has been and every other member of the INFLAC has told us, no, we're going to be very data dependent and if the data continue to improve, then we will consider, uh keeping the stance of policy tight enough to make sure that that inflation improves sufficiently and and and long enough to get us into the trajectory that will where conftantly believed that it's two percent and the markets will say, hey, we're there. And so that that conflict is is something that I think is
causing bond markets to be very unsettled. The volatility and bond markets now has been at its highest level in almost, you know, in years, and I think one of the things that we're trying to sort out is what is the FED going to do? And it doesn't help that Chap Powell has been playing a game of Russian Roulette
with this. It depends on the data. You know, I will shoot the bullet up and maybe my chamber's loaded, maybe it's not, but I'll shoot when I see the data require me to shoot, and I won't shoot unless I'm provoked to shoot. That's not a good framework that colms bond markets well.
In terms of the data, you know, you mentioned branded to the CPI we're expecting from my Vamba cole CPI is seen aging up a third of one percent, So the data suggests it's going to be a while before we see those right cuts exactly.
And I think one of the other things that the FET is going to have to keep an eye on is what's happening to the real economy. Retail sales will also be coming out next week, and I think one of the things that we're concerned about is whether the consumer has sufficient momentum to keep going, or whether the differences in income. The rich really seem to have a lot of savings and are propelling the economy forward, but the people who are living paycheck to paycheck are having
much more difficulties to go into more debt. Credit card debts are going up, the loans are being you know, defaulted on that car loans. So we're seeing lots of tensions there and it may well be that the economy is not as strong as the FED might think it is.
Bill, you mentioned the volatility in the bond market. In terms of the stock market. If we do get a kind of Fed repricing of rate cuts this week, especially in what we get from the SEP, do you expect markets to react badly to that or will it be more like, well, we see it coming, it's just not here yet.
I think that's your your EPSA right there. We see it coming, and right now the equity markets are much more focused on profits and whether or not the profit margins will be maintained or whether we could have sufficiently large downturn that profits will be affected. I think the growth stocks, the nifty seven stocks that are propelling the
economy right now. They have gotten a big boost by lowering of interest rates, But now it really is a question of profits, and for copanies like Nvidia, it's whether the chip industry will the margins be maintaind cuts into their profit margins or the China markets start to affect them. Those are the main concerns I think that are in the equity markets right now, whereas the interest rate boost has pretty much been discounted.
Yeah, we haven't really seen any waves of corporate bankruptcies in this era of high rights. Do you see any corporations that are really desperate and need a right cut on the horizon or the balance sheets looking pretty good.
That's what makes this expansion a little bit unusual because companies were very smart to take advantage of the low rates and locked in a lot of financing so that it'll be a while before companies will need to roll over and refinance their debt. One thing where it's hurt the corporate sector is it's cut back on the level of investments. When interest rates are very low, every cat and dog investment looks good. So there are a lot
of corporate investments going on. But when interest rates are highlight this, companies are very careful to make sure that the projects they invest in are going to pay off. That case, there's some good to come out of this, because the quality of investment that's being put in place is going to be much higher, but the amount of investment is much less, and that means that the amount of momentum the economy has going forward is much less and will depend much more on consumers and our exports.
I'm curious whether or not, you know, longer term, say into twenty twenty five, you feel as though this level of growth can be maintained, or whether or not we really hit some bumps in twenty twenty four.
Oh, that's the question on everyone's mind, every question I get when we talk out when we go beyond the next few months, Every corporate CEO and portfolio managers asking the question, what's the new sustainable level of growth for the US economy? Is the productivity enhancement that's coming from AI and all this technology and all this investment that we're doing going to kick in and will kick in sufficiently to keep our economy going at a pace of
better than two percent. And I think many people feel it that's a hope and of prayer because so far a lot of this AI is still vaporware. I mean, people, there's a lot of promise, but the actual implementation of this stuff has really not enhanced productivity. One thing that has enhanced productivity, which I've really been stunned by and people don't talk about enough, are how clever people have. Businesses have change the business models. Ghost kitchens have now
made the restaurant industry very profitable. Deliveries have taken over, and the restaurants that do deliveries have done very well. Whereas the old middle of the road kind of restaurant where you just go and have a family dinner, those are going out of business.
This is Bloomberg Daybreak Asia, your morning brief on the story is making news from Hong Kong to Singapore and Wall Street.
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I'm Brian Curtis and I'm Doug Krisner. Join us again tomorrow for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg day Break Asia