Bloomberg 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 an escalation in the feud between President Donald Trump and FED Chair j Powell. This time the Justice Department is involved. Bloomberg's John Tucker joins us with the very latest, John and Nathan.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Pal s as the US Central Bank has been served grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department, threatening a criminal indictment. Pal made the announcement in an extraordinary video statement released last night.
This unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure.
The Trump administration last summer ramped up scrutiny at the feds renovation of two buildings and rising costs associated with the projects. But Powell says this is just pretext to end FED independence.
The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.
In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, President Trump denied having any knowledge of the DOJ's investigation into the Central Bank. The President has repeatedly called for aggressive rate cuts and has repeatedly mused about firing Pale. At the end of last year, Trump said he was considering what
he called a gross incompetence lawsuit against Powell. In another extraordinary staff he sought to fire FED Governor Lisa Cook, where the Supreme Court is sent to take up the Cook case later this month in New York, Coome John Tucker Bloomberg.
Radio, All right, John, thank you well. Bloomberg News has learned Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Poulte was a driving force behind the Trump administration's decision to subpoena the Federal Reserve Balty has been a vocal force within the administration investigating Trump's foes for mortgage fraud. He also submitted a criminal referral to the Jay about FED Governor Lisa Cook that is at the root of Trump's push to
fire her. The latest FED subpoena has drawn criticism from Democrats like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina. Tillis says he will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the FED until the legal matter is fully resolved on Nathan Cel. America's sentiment is sweeping through markets today after the Trump administration escalated its attacks on the federal reserve. The dollar, treasuries, and US
equity futures are all sliding in early trading. The selloff revives debate over just how far the President Kennon should influence the nation's rate stance, which in recent decades has been insulated from political interference so as to ensure price stability. Gold and silver, in turn, are trading at record highs this morning.
There's some geopolitical tensions to follow this morning as well. Karen Iron's foreign minister says security forces have quote full control of the country after two weeks of ongoing upheaval. Activists say at least five hundred and forty people have been killed so far in the latest waves of protests in Iran. President Trump says he is closely monitoring the protests and considering potential military options.
We're looking at it very seriously.
The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options.
The president added.
The regime's leaders have contacted the US for negotiations. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammed Bager Khalibov, had this warning for the US if it chooses to strike in.
Given your explicit admissions regarding your intention to carry out military aggression against Iran within the framework of legitimate self defense, we do not consider ourselves limited to reacting only after an attack occurs, and we will act based on concrete indications of threats.
It was Iran's parliament speaker, speaking through an interpreter. Communications in Iran remain largely cut off and that has made it difficult to track the full scope of the protest movement.
Well, Nathan, we want to turn out to new developments involving Greenland. Danish broadcaster tvqu who says top diplomats from Denmark and Greenland will meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday. Denmark is banking on the meeting to defuse President Trump's renewed push on Greenland. The President insists ownership of the island is a key issue.
Book If we don't take Gleenland Russia, what China will And I'm not letting that happen. If we don't take Gleenland Russia, what China will take Greenland?
And I am not going to let that happen.
Yeah.
Sure, I'd looked at it and make a deal with them that's easier. But one way or the other, we're going to have Greenland.
May while Bloomberg News has learned a group of European countries, led by the UK and Germany, as discussing plans for a military presence in Greenland.
Meanwhile, Karen, President Trump is signaling he is leaning toward excluding Exon mobil from his push for US oil majors to rebuild Venezuela's petroleum industry. The President says he's displeased with the company's response to his initiative viving oil and then dooing years of under investment and mismanagement in Venezuela would buy some estimates, require one hundred billion dollars and take a decade.
Well back here, nathantentions are made high in Minneapolis days after, and immigration and Customs enforcement officers shot and killed a woman drive during a tense confrontation in her car. Now, Homeland Security Secretary Christie Nomes says even more federal agents are headed to the city.
We're sending more officers today and tomorrow they'll arrive. There'll be hundreds more, and in order to allow our Ice and our Border patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Nome appeared on the Fox News programs Sunday Morning Futures. But the debate continues over whether ICE agent Jonathan Ross was justified in shooting Renee Good, with multiple videos of the incident adding to the fearer. Democratic Senator Tina Smith Minnesota is saying that federal investigators need to work with state and local law enforcement.
We need to have a free, fair and unbiased investigation so we can gather all of the evidence and all of the information and we can know exactly what's happening. And what I think is going on here is the administration does not want that to happen, and that looks to me like a cover up.
Minnesota Democrat Unis Smith appeared on ABC's This Week Heard Every Sunday on Bloomberg Radio.
Turning back to Markets Now, Karen, besides fed pressure, investors have another thing to focus on this week, bank earnings let's get a preview of that from Bloomberg's Charlie Pellett.
The results from the nation's biggest banks will give us the first glimpse into how Wall Street navigated the last months of twenty twenty five amid President Trump's trade wars and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Betsy Graysia is Global head of Banks at Morgan Stanley.
Our setup is positive for Tuesday kickoff, and what I think matters is both the outlook here for earnings as well as the pent up backlog building in the capital markets.
JP Morgan Chase reports Tuesday. City Group, Bank of American, Wells Fargo all report on Wednesday in New York. Charlie Pellett Bloomberg Radio.
All right, Charlie, thank you. Credit Card Company is falling in early trading. The drop comes after President Trump said that credit card lenders would be in violation of the law if they do not heed his call to cap interest rates at ten percent for one year. Right now, Capital One and Synchrone Financial are both down about nine percent, and American Express is down more than four percent.
Walmart Karen is up more than three and a half percent. The retail giant's getting ready to join the NASDAQ one hundred index, replacing Astra Zeneca. The change takes effect before the market opens January twentieth. Walmart's edition follows its move last year to shift its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq.
And in Europe, Nathan Heinegan looking for a new boss. CEO Dolph benden Brink is stepping down after six years at the Helm of the Brewer. The move comes months after the company warn't on profit overfalling beer sale. Time now for look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world, and for never joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr Michael, good morning.
Good morning Karen. About sixteen thousand nurses at New York City hospitals are set to strike any moment now. If the union does not reach a contract agreement with private hospitals soon, it would be considered the largest nurses strike in city history. Their contract expired December thirty first, The union, the New York State Nurses Association, is still in talks with those private hospitals. They want higher pay and safer
working conditions. It comes as flu cases are spiking In New York, Governor Kathy Hochele has declared a state of emergency ahead of the potential strike, pleading with both sides to stay at the table.
This could jeopardize the lives of thousands of New Yorkers and patients.
Forty two states, including New York, are seeing high or very high levels of flu activity. A plan protest in Westwood, California, by Los Angeles' Iranian community was disrupted Sunday afternoon when a U haul truck drove into the crowd. After running to get out of the way, people went after the driver, dragging him out of the cab of the box truck. LAPD Captain Richard Galbadon was asked about charges against the driver. It's an open traffic investigation.
We're looking a possible assault with the daily weapon, the daily weapon being the vehicle of being used.
But that's all going right now, Captain Galbadon says. The driver's identity has not been released and is being treated at a local hospital for injuries. Paul Thomas Anderson's Ragtag revolutionary saga One Battle after Another and the Shakespeare drama Hamnet took top honors at Sunday's eighty third Golden Globes, Anderson became just the second filmmaker in Golden Globes history to ever sweet Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
Only Oliver Stone were born on the fourth of July nine, is the same feet Timothy Chalamay won his first Golden Globe for Marty Supreme.
My dad instilled in me a spirit of gratitude growing up. Always be grateful for what you have. It's allowed me to leave the ceremony in the past empty handed, my head held high, grateful just to be here. But I'd be lying if I didn't say those moments didn't make this moment that much sweeter.
Centners won for Best Score in Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. The ceremony was broadcast on CBS Global News twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News. Now. I'm Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg Karen.
Thanks Michael all the time. Now for our Bloomberg Sports Update, and for that we bring in John Stashauer.
Thanks Daring.
The NFL playoff tripleheader begin in Jacksonville. The Bills and Jaguars six lead changes four in the fourth quarter, Josh Allen's touchdown Ronald just over a minute to play gave Buffalo a twenty seven to twenty four victory. It's the Bill's first playoff road win since nineteen ninety two. Next, top Philadelphia, the forty nine ers a trick play touchdown first play of the fourth quarter, and then with five minutes to go, Christian McCaffrey scored on a past with
Rock Purty. Niners dethroned the Eagles twenty three to nineteen. Last night, the Patriots beat the Chargers sixteen to three. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update.
Stay with us more from Bloomberg day Break coming up after this.
Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM, and around the world on Bloomberg dot Com and the Bloomberg Business app. This is Bloomberg Daybreak.
Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. The Federal Reserve is facing even more political and legal pressure now, with chair J. Powell saying the Justice Department has served subpoenas against the Central Bank over his testimony about the FEDS building renovations. But Powell is vowing to stand firm.
Public service sometimes requires standing firm In the face of threats. I will continue to do the job the SAT confirmed me to do with integrity and a commitment to serving the American people.
I was chair Powell in a video statement last night and this morning we're joined by Bloomberg's DC Breaking News editor Alexander Pearce and alex to say there's new pressure on the FED maybe a real understatement. Now, what do we know more about these subpoenas that the chairman announced last night?
Good morning, Good morning, Nathan. Yes, this was really quite an escalatory move by the Trumpan administration yesterday, and so far we've actually heard very little from the administration. We got this announcement from Chairman Powell about the subpoenas, but we've not yet heard from the Department of Justice or Attorney General Pampondi. Yet, we did get some comments from President Trump yesterday as he was traveling, saying that he was not aware of the subpoenas, but he thought that
they had nothing to do with interest rates. As Chairman Powell contended that the move was about, well.
We are getting some information though, aren't we, about who may be behind these subpoenas. I mean, has been an ongoing pressure campaign as you say, against the Federal Reserve coming out of the Trump administration.
Absolutely.
Yeah, so we do have this has not been confromed yet officially, but we have we have our own reporting indicating that the fine the Housing Finance Director Bill Poulti was really a driving force behind the subpoenas he's long been a very vehement critic of j. Powell and also the Federal Reserve's pace of cutting rates last year. And we yeah, we have it that he has been sort of pushing this, but he's obviously.
Has a.
In Trump, someone who is also very much believing that the Federal Reserve has not been cutting rates aggressively enough and has now you know, it's now escalated to this point where actually there's a there's a threat of a criminal indictment.
And we know that the Chairman Poulty has also been a driving force behind the pressure campaign on FED Governor Lisa Cook, the accusations of mortgage fraud that continue to play themselves out in the courts. Put this in that context as well. I mean, it really does seem like there is just unrelenting pressure on the FED at this moment.
Yeah. Absolutely, it really just keeps escalating and as you say, another Federal Board member, Lisa Cook, is also under investigation for alleged mortgage fraud that's now going to go to the Supreme Court. And you know, this is all basically, at its most simple level, it's really just the Trump administration's frustration with the Federal Reserve as it is constituted
right now, in its caution with cutting interest rates. J Powell and other Federal Reserve Board members are still a bit cautious about elevated inflation, about inflationary pressures from tariffs, and so they have been cutting, but cutting at a relatively cautious rate sort of pace. And Trump and his allies have, you know, repeatedly ever since taking office last year, for far more aggressive stance on interest rates.
And what could this mean for some of the other aspects of this that we're watching going forward? I mean, we're expecting that President Trump at any moment really is going to be announcing his replacement for chair Powell. What kind of pressure does that potentially put on who that next pick could be.
That's right, So currently President Trump is considering a number of names to replace Chairman Powell when his term as chairman ends in May. And really these moves against Chairman Powell and other members of the Federal Reserve is also seen as a signal to whoever succeeds J. Powell in that position, obviously with the intention of making sure that they toe somewhat toe the line of the administration when it comes to setting monetary policy.
And we've also heard from at least one Republican Senator, Tom Tillis, saying that with this kind of pressure sure on Chairman Powell, he may be reticent to cast any vote in favor of confirmation for the next FED chair. I mean, it puts a signal out there as well, doesn't it that whoever comes out there is going to face a pretty tough road for confirmation while this continues to play out.
Absolutely, and it's notable given that Tom Tillis is also Republican senator, and you know that is also just emblematic of really quite a lot of anxiety not just within government,
within Congress, but also in the wider markets. As to Trump's campaign here, there is a sort of sense that he won't really go too far in threatening FED independence, but you know, each move that he makes has been quite escalatory, and that's probably led people like Senator Tillis to come out and really quite vehemently oppose what's being done and to threaten the nomination of any future nominee to the Federal Reserve Board.
And while we continue to watch this pressure on the Fed, we're monitoring the developments as well in Iran, where the regime there appears to be under the kind of pressure that it hasn't seen in many years of these street protests that have been underway since late last year.
What's the latest there, Alex, Yeah, So it's now entering his third week of quite violent protests in Iran, with hundreds of people who have been killed, thousands have been arrested, and President Trump has ever since they erupted, voiced very strong support for the protesters, without really elaborating what kind
of support he might offer them. Last night, he did say that he was considering military options, and there was a report from the Wall Street Journal yesterday or earlier, sorry, that said that he would meet with some of his senior advisers to discuss those options. It's not really clear what exactly he might choose. There are a number of things he could do. There could be a direct military strike, that could be some sort of cyber attack that could
be maybe a tightening of sanctions on Iran. So right now we don't really know where the administration is leaning, but they're certainly considering an action that could be quite severe for Iran should these protests continue.
It's kind of difficult at this point to gauge just how serious a threat these protests are to the regime, given that the Internet is blocked in much of the country. But what is the sense that we're hearing from some activist groups and other observers as to where this could go from here with these protests continuing. Alex got about a minute left.
Yeah, I mean, really, it's the most sort of These protests are the biggest challenge for the Islamic Republic since really nineteen seventy nine, according to many observers, given that they that the economy is not doing well. There is a currency crisis right now and that actually sparked these protests a couple of weeks ago, and going forward, they're not really showing any signs of abating, and so if they continue, it could be a threat for the regime there.
And as you say, we don't really know with crystal clarity what's going on on the ground, but Trump himself, as she did, say yes that he would potentially contact Elon Muster try and get a Starling connection to try and get more information about what's happening there, just given that we can't, given that the internet's been cut off in the country, know all of the facts.
This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.
Look for us on your podcast feed by six am Eastern each morning, on Apple, Spotify, or manywhere else you listen.
You can also listen live each morning starting at five am Wall Street time on Bloomberg eleven three to zero in New York, Bloomberg in ninety nine to one in Washington, Bloomberg ninety two nine in Boston, and nationwide on serious XM Channel one twenty one.
Plus listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app Now with Apple CarPlay and Android Atto 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 and 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