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Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.
Karen, we begin with politics and a Texas sized result. In the Republican primary runoff for Senate. With nearly all votes counted, State Attorney General Ken Paxton trounced four term incumbent John Cornyn sixty three point nine percent to thirty six point one percent. Paxton picked up President Trump's endorsement just last week. In his victory speech last night, Paxton gave the President the credit.
President Trump is the leader of our party and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics, and I'm honored to have his support and I look forward to working with him in the Senate to deliver for Texas.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will now face Democrat James Talerico in the general election in tall Rico is all read coming out Swinging.
Three years ago, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party for using his public office to enrich himself and his donors at the expense of the people. That kind of corruption is the rot at the core of this broken system.
Democrat James Tallerrico posted that on YouTube last night. After Paxton's victory, Bloomberg Texas Bureau chief Julie Fine says, John Cornyn's loss I mean a big change in the Senate.
This is somebody that rose the ranks of leadership, A trusted advisor of Mitch McConnell, lost to John Thune to become this speaker right now. So it's going to be a major, major difference for the state of Texas. The fact that Ken Paxon, who at times was an battled attorney general who had a share of legal problems, one by double digits really shows you where this race ended up.
Bloomberg's Julie Fine reports Cornin highlighted his pro Trump voting record during the campaign and argued that Paxton won't be able to raise enough money against tall Rico. That argument came up short last night.
Well, Nathan, the Senate runoff wasn't the only race to watch in Texas last night and the House, longtime Democratic Congressman Al Green was ousted in a generational contest against thirty eight year old Democrat Christian Menefee. Green was squeezed into a new district thanks to Texas Republican's mid term redistricting efforts. With nearly all votes counted, Menefee took sixty nine point six percent of Green's thirty and a half percent.
Former Congressman Colin al Red defeated freshman and Democrat Julie Johnson fifty three point nine to forty six point one percent in the Dallas area district that he left a run for Senate in twenty twenty four and in the Republican run off to succeed Ken Paxton's attorney general, State Senator Mays Middleton beat Congressmanship Roy fifty five point two to forty four point eight percent.
Now, Karen, let's get caught up on the latest on the war with Iran. The US is touting progress on a peace deal even after fresh skirmishes around the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg Middle East Managing editor Paul Wallace reports a number of sticking points remain in the way.
Of a deal.
One of them relates to, and this is a big one, the strait itself, and it is about whether the Iranians will allow free passage of ships through the waterway if and when there's an interim deal with the US, now the US and Arab States, and Europe and frankly the rest of the world. They want and demand that ships have free passage through straight but Iran is insisting on some kind of control.
In Bloomberg's Paul Wallace reports, Iran's nuclear program is another bone of contention. A top member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team says his country's highly enriched geranium stockpile is not on the agenda in US talks, and until they've agreed on all issues, they consider that they've agreed on nothing. The officials spoke to reporters in Moscow at Russia's International Security Forum.
On another news this morning, Nathan Joe Biden suing the Justice Department. The former president is trying to block officials from sharing audio recordings and transcripts of interviews he gave for a memoir project that a conservative advocacy group and Republicans in Congress. Lawsuit which puts a former president against his successors administration, comes amid a long running legal fight over a public records request for the materials by the
Heritage Foundation. Bonden filed his own legal challenge to stop the disclosure, which is said to happen on June fifteenth.
Well, Karen, Terriffree funds are on the way right now. More than twenty billion dollars is headed to importers who successfully filed claims using the new web portal developed by US Customs and Border Protection. The agencies in the process of issuing refunds to importers who paid as much as one hundred and sixty six billion dollars across more than
fifty three million import entries. The refund process gained significance after the Supreme Court struck down portions of President Trump's tariffs.
Well, let's turn to the markets now, Nathan, where futures are higher following another chip fueled rally for tech stocks and Bloomberg, John Tucker joins us with the latest.
John, good morning, Good morning, Karen. Call it a chip frenzy. Investors are betting the AI boom is going to lead to a sustained revaluation of the industry. Micron Technology the best performing stock at the S and P five hundred and yesterday's session, finishing up more than nineteen percent. It's up two hundred and thirteen percent so farthest here and has now crossed above a market valuation of one trillion dollars. It was joined by sk Heinez in that exclusive club
of Samsung Electronics hit that milestone earlier this month. These are the three leading makers of high bandwidth memory and with forecasts of memory shortages to last through twenty twenty seven, and let's say these companies will now have remarkable pricing power over the world's largest tech companies. In New York Income John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio.
All right, John, thanks Carlos Group co founder David Rubinstein's weighing in on the market rally. He spoke with Bloomberg at the UBS Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
There are animal spirits that come out in the equity markets and fueled by two things. One the anticipated ibo prices of open Ai, of SpaceX and of Vanthropic. I think people are anticipating this as we'll have very high valuations and that will fuel the market and.
Have an impact on other stocks.
Secondly, I think people are thinking the war will eventually be over, and while we don't know when it's be over, they think it's in sight and therefore I think that'll fuel the equity markets and is fueling it right Now.
David Rubinstein is the host of The David Rubinstein Show, peer to peer conversations on Bloomberg Television.
Nathan China's Bike Dance is planning to sharply increase his capital spending this year and next. The developer of TikTok and a leading force and artificial intelligence, is trying to lead the Chinese AI market and challenge the top US players abroad. Sources say the Beijing Bay social media leader is discussing expenditures of as much as seventy billion dollars this year as it builds out data centers and another AI infrastructure.
And Karen Donald Newhouse has died. He's the American billionaire who oversaw the newspapers at the heart of his family's closely held media empire. New House's Sun says he passed away as a state in Lambertville, New Jersey, after battling Lymphoma. New House newspapers included The Newark Star, Ledger, The Plane, d Learn Cleveland, The Oregonian, The Birmingham News, and The Times Pickyun in New Orleans. Donald Newhouse dead at the age of ninety six.
Time Now for 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 Michael Barr.
Michael, good morning, Good morning, Karen. The Trump administration plans to send US citizens exposed to the ebolavirus to Kenya rather than bring them home for observation and treatment. That's according to The New York Times doctor Darien Sutton.
The current strain that's leading this current outbreak is called the Bundi Bougo strain, and it's important to understand that that strain has no vaccine or targeted treatment, and so all of these variables of what is likely leading to an equation. Unfortunately that means more cases and likely record breaking numbers that we will only we have only yet to see.
Doctor Darien Sutton spoke to ABC. There are a reported nine hundred and thirty suspected cases and more than two hundred and twenty deaths and is spreading in a remote part of eastern Congo. At least one person has died and nine others remain unaccounted for. After a chemical tank imploded at a pulp and paper mill in Washington State, emergency responders in Longview plan to resume recovery efforts. This morning at the Nippon Dinahway Packaging Company, Washington. Governor Bob ferguson On.
Behalf the people to say to Washington, I want all those individuals know that we stand with you. We'll be here to everything we can to help with the situation, and we'll be here as long as it takes.
Governor Ferguson and other authorities say they are being hampered by ninety thousand gallons of the dangerous liquid that remain in the unstable tank. New York Mayor Zoron Mamdanni announced a massive public housing plan, pledging to build two hundred thousand affordable homes. Ma'm donnie proposed spending twenty two billion dollars on housing over the next five years, including five point six billion to improve public housing.
We can keep people in their homes and we can build the homes that they need to live in. We have spoken about this crisis long enough. It is now time to do something about it. Our housing plan meets this crisis with the scale and urgency it demands.
Mayor Mamdannie says his plan calls for zoning changes in some neighborhoods that are not building enough housing. Global news twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now, Tom, Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg Carent. Thanks Michael.
A time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update, and for that we bring in John stash Hour.
Thanks Darin. Last two years, the Oklahoma City Thunder have only lost nine times in the playoffs, and each time they've followed the loss with a win. They got blown out in Game four it San Antonio, they came home beat the Spurs one twenty seven to one, fourteen Shay Gildes Alexander score thirty two, and the Thunder now lead the series three games to two. A sweep of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Vegas beat Colorado two to one. Swept the West Final from the Avalanche, who had the best
record in the regular season. A couple of upsets at the French Open. Jess Picgol and d Neil Medvedev both lost. That's to 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 Texas Senate runoff has led to a runaway victory for Ken Paxton. After winning President Trump's endorsement last week, the state attorney general defeated longtime incumbent John Cornyn, and, as he puts it, Senate Texas sized message to Washington.
I said it in March, and I'll say it again now today. Change was on the ballot, and change one.
Ken Paxton in his victory speech last night. Joining us this morning after is Terry Haines, the founder of Pangaeopolicy. Great to speak with you again, Terry, and I think after last week's election results you put sixty percent odds of Republicans taking full control of Congress in November. There's much reason to change that prediction after last night.
Good morning, Good morning, Nathan. Yes, I will stick to the sixty percent likely. The reason I think what markets learned from last night's Texas results particularly is that the old mainstream Democrat friendly narrative for the midterms is getting upended by a combination of Republican redistricting gains, increased Republican voter enthusiasm and a Trump Republican money advantage going into the fall that hasn't yet been fully seen. So that's
going to even out the playing field a lot. And what that nets today five months out is a Republican advantage in holding holding the Congress.
Of course, during the campaign, Senator Cornyan argued that Paxston is going to be in albatross around other Republican candidates. Next, we've already heard from his November opponent, James taal Rico in a YouTube video last night, already highlighting a lot of Ken Paxton's scandals in the past. Is there a risk that this nomination backfires on Republicans?
Oh sure absolutely. You know, the media and political professionals alike. I think will be fascinated by the Texas Senate race because it matches two wildly imperfect candidates. Paxson is, of course the Trump based candidate, as you see with that sort of thumping primary victory, but he gets dogged by long standing ethical challenges, a polarizing style. The question really will be is he a kind of a high floor, low ceiling person politically speaking? The Democrat taal Rico, though,
has his own problems. He's never run statewide, has no demonstrated appeal to a wide variety of swing voters in Texas, which is a very diverse state. He's very easy to Austin code, you know, kind of claiming he's kind of a typical of the Austin style liberal. And he's been competitive so far, but he hasn't been strong. He's never gotten over fifty percent in polls, and Texas is a right leaning state. So the question really is what does Texas revert to type or does it not.
He's got a pretty big money advantage as well. He's raised a lot of money since the primary election on his side. Does that make a difference in this race?
His Tall Ricos yes.
That.
That'll help him certainly. But the question is where does the money come from? And it's a two edged sword because on the one hand, if it's if it's smaller dollar donations that accumulate, if it's local people, local Texans, others, that's one sort of look. If it's the National Democratic Party piling money in, that's a different look, and it says a couple of different things. One is, you know, national Democrats will see tall Rico as some sort of savior of the kind that's you've seen a lot in
Texas over the past several decades. The so called centrist Democrat who never ends up winning and the influx of National Democratic money also carries a lot of baggage with it in Texas, where people will think the National Party's trying to steal an election.
This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.
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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