This is the Bloomberg Daybreak Euroate podcast, available every morning on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. I'm Stephen Carroll. Coming up today. Donald Trump becomes the first former US president to be convicted on criminal charges. Will tell you what it means for November's election. Bloomberg learns that US officials are slowing down exports of Nvidia's chips to the Middle East over national security concerns. Plus a new down
in South Africa. The ANC prepares for its first coalition as vote counting continues, Let's start with a roundup of our top stories. Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be convicted in a criminal trial. A New York jury found him guilty on thirty four counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors said it was a conspiracy that deprived voters of vital information before the
twenty sixteen election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg spoke after the verdict. I did my job.
Our job is to filew the facts in the law without fear of favor, and that's exactly what we did. Here, and what I feel is gratitude.
To work alongside phenomenal public.
Servants who do that each and every day.
The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.
Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney, speaking there after the five week trial that came in with a verdict five months before the US presidential election, Trump, who still faces three other criminal trials, is due to be sentenced on June eleventh. On July eleventh, excuse me. Trump's conviction raises a number of questions for this year's presidential race. The former president would not be able to pardon himself if he were
re elected president, as this is a state charge. Speaking after the verdict, Trump said, November's election result will be the real test.
This was a Greig decision right from day one, with a conflict. Judge, you should have never been allowed to try this case. Never, and we will fight for our constitution. This is launch from over.
Thank you very much, Donald Trump speaking there. Few experts are convinced that the trials results will have a significant bearing on outcomes at the polls, given Trump has already survived to impeachments and other scandals. Joe Biden's communications director says the result shows nobody is no one is above the law. President Biden will allow Ukraine to use American weapons against military targets inside a limited area of Russia. The US president has given permission for strikes near the
northeast border area of Kharkiv. The advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries, Yuri Sak, made the case for their use to Bloomberg before the decision became public.
We're entitled to use whatever means we have to protect our people. You know, if you look at the map, if you consider, you know how close these Russian troops are from khaki the second largest city in Ukraine, only five kilometers from the border. So we see all these amassed Russian troops, these terrorists preparing their missiles, launching their glide bombs.
The advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries, Uri sac speaking there. Although longer range strikes with American munitions remain prohibited, the decision marks a significant shift for Biden. His administration has feared a potential escalation of the war. The United States is clamping down on how much artificial intelligence technology it sends to the Middle East. Bloomberg has learned that chip makers such as Nvidia and AMD are having export
licenses for AI accelerators delayed. Bloomberg's ky Lines says American officials are conducting a national security review.
Sending large scale shipments to the Middle East could be a way for China to get around the restrictions that the US has put into place and access these chips and data centers to develop their own technology, and that technology getting into the hands of, say the Chinese military, is what the US is really looking to avoid.
Line's ads. We don't know yet how long the review may take, but the slowdown has so far lasted weeks. Shares of Nvidia slipped after Bloomberg broke the news. A Bloomberg survey shows economists they're pairing their expectations on how far the European Central Bank will cut rates. They anticipate six quarter point reductions this year, one step less than they had predicted before the Governing Council last set policy
in April. The news comes as federal reserve policy makers, including the Bank of New York the Fed New York President John Williams warned borrowing costs many to stay higher for longer.
The behavior of the economy of the past year provides ample evidence the Monte policy is restrictive in a way that helps achieve more goals. We're seeing clearer and consistent signs of the imbalances between supply and demand in the economy are receding, and we've seen a broad based decline in inflation.
New York Fed President John Williams made clear that he was unable to confirm when he might support a rate cut because the decision will depend upon incoming economic data. Data out earlier Thursday showed the US economy grew at a slower pace in the first quarter than had been initially reported. The Czech billionaire Daniel Kotinski says Royal Mail
needs investment to avoid going into a deadly spiral. The tycoon, who is aiming to buy the company told Bloomberg in an exclusive interview it needs urgent help.
Royal Mail is facing a very severe competition from from Amazon, from depe Day, from from every Newly, also in a smaller scale, from from from Impossible parcel business is evolving quickly. The competition is evolving, and Royal Mail needs to invest massively to catch up. Bilility strengths, otherwise it will again loose market share.
Kotinsky adds that if his offer is rejected, Royal Mail could struggle to stay afloat. His three point six billion pound takeover offer on the eve of the UK general election looks set to provoke a struggle over the ownership of Britain's postal service. South Africa's ruling ANC party is set to lose its three decade grip on power as votes continue to be counted. With half of the ballots count the African National Congress are predicted to win just
forty two percent of the vote. That would be that would force the ruling party into a coalition, which Bloomberg Jennifer Zabasaja says is unprecedented.
People are quite surprised and I think also a bit unnerved because there is a lot of uncertainty about what this could potentially look like, and especially if we think about what the past few months of campaigning has been.
We have heard in particular.
From the ANC saying that they would not want to work with a party like the MK. But if these results continue to track and they are going to have to partner up with one of their main rivals, what does that look like in terms of governing, What does that look like in terms of policies that are implemented, and also potential ministers.
Jennifer's Abas adds a coalition talks are unlikely to get away until final results come in during the weekend. Let's bring you more on our top story now, and that first in US political history, a former president found guilty on criminal charges. The New York jury found Donald Trump had committed thirty four counts of falsifying business records, a verdict that could reshape the landscape for November's presidential election. Our Washington editor John Harney joins us for more. John,
great to have you with us this morning. Remind us what exactly was Trump found guilty of.
Well, the falsified business records that you just mentioned were, according to the charges, intended to conceal payment to an adult film performer, Dormy Daniels, who says that she had a sexual relations with Trump back in two thousand and six. He denies this account, but according to the product the prosecutors, these payments were intended to Silencer before the election to protect him from being embarrassed. In the weeks before the November twenty sixteen election.
So what happens next in the legal process John.
Well next is a sentence seed, which will be on July eleventh, and only then can his lawyers file on appeal, as they almost certainly will. That appeals process could drag out for a very long time, well past November election. It would go wind its way through state courts in New York State and then into the federal system and
perhaps all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Now, the sentencing could involve prison time, or convolve probation or some sort of recognians until the appeals process plays out.
What does all of this mean for Donald Trump's election campaign?
Well, that's something we are really in New territory here. Some voters have said that some both who would otherwise be disposed of a bot but Trump said they'd be less likely to do so were he convicted. Others have said that they would stick with him no matter what, but that this was all until today or until Thursday, that was all hypothetical. This verdict hadn't been delivered yet, and so resoundedly went all through with thirty four guilty counts.
What does what have we rather heard from the Biden administration Joe Biden's re election campaign about how they're viewing this verdict.
Well, they thus far not very much. Just the statement saying that no one about the law and must be respected. It is not really played into campaign advertising that sort of thing, but it likely will. It's an issue that assured of Biden campaign does not want to be forgot by voters.
John Today's Bloomberg Big Take report is looking at the Wall Street billionaires that are supporting Donald Trump in this campaign. Will they stick with him now after this verdict?
Dumb Well, no doubt. But you know, again they were saying that Rick be damned or as one of them pointed again before the verdict was delivered. On the other hand, they have confidence in Trump's policies regarding regulation and perhaps taxation of those who haven't really been made completely clear at this point. But others you know, who are still on the sidelines might stay there. We really don't know, but I will say that you know, both candidates Trump
and Joe Biden are there's no unknowns here. You know, vote This is an election where you're not voting for somebody who's not that clear to you. You don't have a strong.
Impression of I'll just give us a sense of the significance of this moment in this campaign. As you've been laying out for us, it's been set up to be a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, which, as you've said, is to some sense a known scenario, given that it would be a repeat of the last election campaign. Is this going to be a moment? Does this look like a moment that will change significantly how this campaign rolls out?
Many political observers pundits say it will not, because again, people are pretty much not necessarily, not necessarily made up their minds abou how they're going to vote, but know very well who Donald Trump is, who Joe Biden is. And as you said earlier, Trump has survived to impeachments, the January sixth insurrection and the aftermath of that, indictments in these other cases which are unlikely to come to trial. However,
it's also a remarkable, unprecedented moment in American history. Something like this has never happened before. With Richard Nixon, who faced potential charges back in the days of the water Gate scandal forty forty years ago, he resigned before impeachment could take place, and then he was pardoned by Gerald Ford of course, so the outcome that never had an outcome and court like this.
Okay, well, I'm making this a very even more interesting presidential election campaign. John Harney in Washington, thank you for joining us. That's good to South Africa now, where voting continues after the elections protections show the Africa National Congress appears to have lost its majority for the first time since the end of A Part eight. Our Africa correspondent Jennifer's Abasaja joins us now for more at Jennifer, Good morning.
What is the latest we have in results and where is this looking to leave the ANC.
Yeah, good morning to you, Stephen. I'm actually at the election results center here in Midran and you know the latest from what we are seeing and there is just about fifty one percent of the vote that had been counted and it is looking like for the first time in thirty years, the ruling party to A and C is not going to be in the majority. And this is significant for a few reasons. First of all, you know, it's the fact that the ANC could potentially lose support
by a wider margin than many polls were suggesting. Going into this election, and also it's telling to see who is really you know, tracking just behind them. So we have the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, doing quite well while doing you know, with about twenty percent support, but then also former President Jacob Zuma's newly formed party just six months old, tracking in third place behind the
African National Congress. And so we should note that you know, the AMC could potentially garner some more votes in how Tang, which is the province that I am in, one of the most populous provinces, but clearly looking like many of the rural voters are you know, a bit frustrated with what they've seen with the AMC over the past few years and voted that way.
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