Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. Good morning.
I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Amy Morris. Here are the stories we're following today.
We begin in Washington, where the federal government is less than five days away from another partial government shut down deadline. Now, the White House has set up a meeting to try to raise the pressure. Not a major sticking point billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. Bloomberg z Ed Baxter has the story.
On the list of attendees a number of key congressional leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffreys, Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell. Now, the White House says Biden wants to discuss the urgency of passing the sixty billion dollar request for US emergency Ukraine aid, as well as the looming deadline to fund the government. Speaker Johnson's grasp on the speakership is tenuous. Part of his dilemma is he could lose it if he pushes
for Ukraine aid without border. The meeting is set for tomorrow. Aad Baxter Bloomberg Radio.
All right, thank you, Ed. Now to the latest in the Middle East Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah, who says he'll have a plan to move civilians out of the southern Gaza city of Rafa before going into dismantle remaining Hamaspitalians in the city. Netanyah, who says there's no disagreement between Israel and the US on this point.
We agree on this. I mean, we don't have to be prodded. We're on the same page with the US on this because that's how we do it.
Prime Minister Netanyah, who was on CBS's Face the Nation. We get more on this from Bloomberg Senior editor Bill Ferries.
The big deadline we have to keep in mind is March tenth. That's when Israel says, if the remaining hostages haven't been released, they will go forward with that ground offensive in Rafa, and March tenth also coincides with the start of Ramanan, so that would raise a lot of criticism, additional criticism of Israel from much of the Muslim world and the wider world as well.
Burg's Bill Ferries. Meantime, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Stea, says he and his government will resign, but it's not clear if Palestinian President Matmouda Bass will accept that.
Turning to politics back home, Amy, first, Wall Street considered Ron DeSantis, then it went for Nikki Haley. Now the Republican donor class is confronting a reality. It's wealthy members that hoped to avoid being limited to exerting their clout in the election cycle only through state level races. Donald Trump's victory in the South Carolina Republican primary has moved the former president closer to claiming his party's nomination, and now the powerful Coke network has announced it will no
longer fund Haley's campaign. This is a major reversal that underscores traditional donors inability to slow Donald Trump's momentum.
Adding to that momentum for Donald Trump, another key endorsement, John Thune, the second ranking Republican in the Senate, is backing the former president in his bid for the White House. The South Dakota senator had resisted joining Trump's allies until now. This questioned Trump's strength as a general election candidate.
All right, let's get back to markets now, Amy, Futures, as you mentioned, are lower as we begin a new trading week. Both the Dow and the S and P five hundred ended last week at records, while the Nasdaq slipped from its all time high. Katerina Siminetti, Senior vice president at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, says investors have a tough dilemma during this market rally.
What we're seeing as the biggest trap to try to avoid is when investors are starting to doubt their diversified portfolios, starting to dowb asset allocation and are kind of saying like, should we stay with blue chip stocks, should we stay diversified, or should we switch direction into this highest growing stocks. And that's what you know, These are the type of conversations that we're having, you know, the beginning of this year.
Katerina Seminetti of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth says investors will be focusing on a busy week of data, including the federal reserves, preferred measure of inflation.
And stock markets may be hitting records, but Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is having some trouble finding places to invest. Bloomberg's John Tucker joins us with those details.
And Amy Buffett says there are no deals out there that could deliver eye popping performance soul. He's keeping Berksher's cash close at hand, and that pile of cash has grown to a record one hundred and sixty seven point six billion dollars. In his annual shareholder letter, the ninety three year old Bumfitt says there remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they have been endlessly picked over.
The company also reported fourth quarter operating earnings of eight point four eight billion dollars that was held by an increase in insurance underwriting earnings and investment income. Berkser shares are up seventeen percent so far this year. They've touched a record in each of the past seven trading days. I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio.
All right, John, thanks on The most actively traded stock this morning is Intuitive Machines. We told you about the moonshot the company's shares had on Friday following its lunar landing. The stock surged as much as forty three percent before ending Friday nearly sixteen percent higher. This morning, though Intuitive Machines is crashing back to earth. The stock is plunging more than thirty four percent. Officials now say that lander nicknamed Odysseus likely landed on its side.
And we do have some deal news this morning. Alcoa has made a two point two billion dollar offer to acquire its Australian joint venture partner Alumina. The deal would give the US aluminum giant full control of Alcohol World Alumina and Chemicals, one of the world's largest producers of the semi processed form of that metal.
In Asia, Ant Group is said to have outbid Citadel for Credit Suee's investment bank in China. Bloomberg Daybreak Asia anchor Brian Curtis has the details from Hong Kong.
A big surprise. Sources say Ant made a stronger bid than what Citadel offered back in December. The bid by Ant to build a securities business using the Swiss Bank's operations will face a serious review. In the past, China said had favored a foreign buyer to open up the sector to more foreign competition. UBS, which owns Credit Sueese, we then have to decide, not knowing if regulators would greenlight the local offer, and other players may enter the
fray as well. In On Kong, Brian Curtis, Bloomberg Radio.
All right, thanks Brian, and Bloomberg News has learned the Walt Disney Company has signed a binding pack with Reliance Industries to merge their media operations in India. Disney's been grappling with challenges in India like retaining subscribers and securing media assets. Together, the two companies will make a formidable media behemoth in one of the world's fastest growing entertainment markets.
Now it's time to take a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world, and for that we bring in Bloomberg's Michael Barer.
Good morning, Michael, Good morning, Nathan. New York Governor Cathy hokals mandate that state moves to zero emission school buses is getting pushed back by some state Senate Republicans and local officials. They believe the entire transition scheduled for twenty thirty five, is not affordable on its current timeline. State Senator Stephen Rhodes spoke with other officials at gathering in Elevittown yesterday.
Some of the reasons why we're here encouraging the governor, encouraging the state legislature to pump the brakes on this electric bus mandate until the technology catches up and.
Until we have an actual plan to be able to implement this.
The measure, which passed in the twenty twenty two to twenty three New York State budget, would also bar school districts from purchasing diesel fueled buses. At the end of June of twenty twenty seven, we're learning more details about a deadly fire in New York City that left one person dead and required firefighters to rescue trapped residents. The two alarm blaze erupting in the Harlem neighborhood Friday also left seventeen people hurt. Investigators in New York City a
lithium ion battery is to blame. Reaction continues after the Alabama Supreme Court ort's decision that frozen embryos should be considered people. The state's Republican governor now says she's working on a solution with GOP lawmakers to protect IVF access in the state. As of now, families in Alabama have been left waiting as the implications of the court decision of being felt across the country. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is a past user of IVF.
In my case, when we have five fertilized eggs and three were non viable when my doctor discarded those with my consent, that woul could be considered potentially manslaughter or murder. Basically, Republicans have put the rights of a fertilized egg over the rights of the woman, and that is not something that I think the American people agree with.
Senator Duckworth spoke on ABC's This Week Heard Sundays on Bloomberg. There are more details on what killed beloved Flacco. The owl mourners in New York are now leaving flowers and letters for the Eurasian eagl aal at his favorite tree in Central Park. Flacco's flight stardom again in February of last year when someone broke into the Central Park Zoo
and freedom. He spent the last year out of captivity and became part of the talk of not just New York, but the nation's believe Flacco flew into the window of a building and suffered fatal injuries Friday. Emily Einhorn is with the Wild Bird Fund.
He suffered a double concussion, first from colliding with the window and then he actually, unfortunately faceplanted onto the pavement.
One member of an animal rights group, Sat Flacco captured the world's attention. Everybody was rooting for him. Global News twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News.
Now.
I'm Michael Barr. This is Bloomberg Nathan.
Okay, Michael, thank you time now for the Bloomberg Sports Update, brought to you by Trice State OUTI. Here's John Stashau, It's Nathan.
The Rangers lost to the Garden of Vegas back on January twenty sixth. Family lost February twenty fifth, Columbus. In between the play ten games and won all ten. The wins Saturday in Philadelphia tied the club record for longest win streak. But then they had to travel play a game last night and the Blue Jackets scored three times second period of one, four to two. Ranger coach Peter Lobiolett asked about playing back to back.
We needed to win a game tonight. There's no there's no excuses with the schedule, the schedules, the schedule. Everybody catches back to the backs. We're expected to be able to handle that and tonight it wasn't wasn't our best. We'll learn from it. We played the same MEAs opponent on the solo. We'll look to fix some things and get back at it.
Majors and Blue Jackets play again Wednesday at MSG where yesterday Saint John's upset fifteenth rank Creighton eighty to sixty six. The same Creighton team that had just beaten Yukon, the unanimous number one team in the nation by nineteen. The same Saint John's team, then last Sunday blew a nineteen point late to Seaton Hall, their eight loss in ten games. That's the game that led our coach Rick Patino to call the Saint John's players unathletic. Patino said then that
this was the most un enjoyable experience of his life. Yesterday, Patino wore a white suit seemed to enjoy the win. NBA, the Warriors lost to Denver. The Wizards lost to Cleveland and Tampa. Juan Soto in Penstrive for the first time, hit a three run opposite field, home or off the scoreboard. Aaron Judge two hits at his two at bats. He played center field and was then replaced by Top prospects six foot six in Spencer Jones. He went two for two. He went three for three on Saturday. That top free
agent that was still on side has his deal. Cody Ballinger stayed with the Cubs three years eighty million NLMVP for the Dodgers in twenty nineteen. He then had some rough seasons, but last season in Chicago, Bellinger hit over three hundred and.
Twenty six home runs.
Jake Knapp, twenty nine year old PGA Tour rookie, won the golf in Mexico. He qualifies to play the upcoming Masters. John stash Away En Broot Sports Sneathan.
Okay, John, thank you. Now let's get back to what's happening in the nation's capital. The US is now a little bit more than four days away from its next partial shutdown deadline, and now President Biden is calling Congressional leader to the White House tomorrow to try to head that off and to free up more than sixty billion dollars in eight to Ukraine that remains locked in a border dispute on Capitol Hill. For that and more, that's happening in Washington, d C. We're joined by Bloomberg, new
Senior Editor, Bill Ferries. So, Bill, it seems as though the White House was hoping that the two year anniversary of Russia's invasion and the death of dissident leader Alexi Navalny would add some more momentum to the Ukraine Aid. Is there any evidence that it has that now?
Well, not really. You know, this is this Ukraine Aid is something that we've now been talking about since late
last fall. Really at one point the President was pushing for it to be taken care of before the end of year holidays, and here we are now heading into March, and there's still no sign of a political breakthrough that would free up the sixty billion dollars that Ukraine supporters here and President Boltimore Zelenski say he needs by really the within a month if he's going to keep fending off these Russian offensives on this twelve hundred kilometer border
that he shares with Russia. Now, so it's it's a pretty dire time. But as you mentioned, there's a lot going on in Washington with the possible possible partial shutdown, and it's not clear that this breakthrough will be able to happen with all that going on.
Does that raise the risk then that we could see a partial government shut down by the end of the week if they don't come to some kind of agreement on the foreign aid.
Yeah.
Absolutely, I think you know you've got this. It's you know, let's say about half a dozen agencies that are involved that would run out of funding this week, and then additional a whole other slew of departments that would face the same fate just a week from now. So those
talks have always been contentious. This is I think I'll probably get this wrong, but it's at least the third extension on the budget for these agencies, and with an April deadline, a kind of a last minute deadline, there's not a lot of time for people to find the compromise that they need at this point.
That April thirtieth deadline, I believe, is when automatic cuts kick in. So time, as they say, is of the essence in the meantime bill. We're watching and waiting for Israel to potentially carry out this offensive against the last Hamas battalions in the southern city of Rafa. We've heard Prime Minister Nintayaho promised that he's going to have a plan to get civilians out of the way have we gotten any further signs that that plan is actually going to be put into fruition.
Well as of yesterday on Sunday, the Biden administration said that they still hadn't seen any details of what that plan would be in terms of evacuating or moving more than a million Palestinians out of Rafa ahead of that offensive. There's still some optimism that talks and Paris might produce some kind of a temporary cease fire, but President or Prime Minister Nenyaho has made clear he intends to send his forces into Rafa either before or after that ceasefire
has reached. He said it's a critical part of destroying Hamas and insuring peace, and whether it happens before or afterwards, it's going to happen.
And just to close things out. With a lot of developments now in the presidential race, we've heard the Coke Network Americans for Prosperity Action now saying they're going to divert their resources from supporting Nikki Haley to down ballot races, and now multiple reports that Ronald McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, is making plans to step down a couple days after Super Tuesday, it seems as though
there's even more consolidation around a former President Trump's candidacy.
Yeah.
I think after the South Carolina primary, the stars are increasingly aligning for Donald Trump to be the de facto nominee. You know, it was a big defeat for Haley in her home state, and there's really been no polling that suggests the results will be any different on Super Tuesday.
There's still time. She does still have donors with her, she still has some money, but the odds are getting appearing longer and longer for her to have any kind of an upset that she can claim to help justify staying in the race even longer.
This is Bloomberg day Break Today, your morning brief on the story's making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.
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