Trump-Harris Debate; Buffett Trims Big Bank Stock

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Good morning.

I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.

Karen, let's start with the latest on the presidential race. Former President Donald Trump has yet to commit to a debate with Vice President Kambala Harris now that she's the Democrat's presumptive nominee, but in an interview last night with Fox News host Laura Ingram, Trump said he will probably end up debating Harris eventually.

I want to do a debate, but I also can say this. Everybody knows who I am, and now people know who she is. She's a radical left lunatic. She'll destroy our country. She once openboord.

Why not debater?

Well wait, but because they already know everything.

Former President Trump says if he does debate Harris, he would like to do it before early votes are cast. Harris has accused Trump of backpedaling on a debate set for September tenth on ABC News. In the Fox interview, Trump called a a a quote terrible outfit. He complained about the network getting rich off the debate.

Meanwhile, Nathan Vice President Harris is honing in on her search for a running mate, and now she has one less candidate to consider. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is pulling his name from consideration. In a post on x he says it's not the right time for him or his state to be on a national ticket. And Cooper was campaigning for Harris last night.

If white males would vote one to two percent more for Democrats than they usually do, then we win this race.

Governor Roy Cooper took part in a Zoom call dubbed white Dudes for Harris. Today, Harris will be back out on the campaign trail with a rally in Atlanta. The vice president is looking to expand the electoral map into the sun Belt states of Georgia, Arizona, and Neveda, along with the democrats traditional blue wall of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

Less for President Biden Karen He's no longer on the campaign trail, but he is is making a play for major Supreme Court reform in an appearance at the Lynden Bins Johnson Library in Austin, Texas. We get that story from Bloomberg's Ed Baxter.

President Biden is calling for lawmakers to pass new binding ethic rules and term limits for the justices.

This nation was founded on the principle there are no kings in America.

Each of usn't equal before the law.

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says it is not necessary.

President Biden has left as well as that don't like the current composition of the Court, so they want to shred the constitution to change it.

McConnell says they're already ethics rules in place. Biden attends the current court is undermined long established civil rights principles and protections. Ed Baxter Bloomberg Radio, All.

Right, and thank you.

Now to the latest developments in the presidential election in Venezuela. The country's opposition says it can prove electoral fraud as thousands took to the streets of the capital, Caracas to protest what they say is Nicholas Maduro's fraudulent win. Opposition leader Maria Colorina Machado, speaking through an interpreter, says her candidate won more than double Maduro's votes.

Oda good today.

I want to tell all Venezuelans in the country and abroad, to all the Democrats of the world, we now have proof of the truth of what happened yesterday in Venezuela.

Yeah, the administration has accused Machado of being involved in a plot to alter the voting results. That our national pressure has been ramping up on Maduro to provide transparency over the election tally.

Back to the US now, Karen with a focus on the FED begins its two day meeting on interest rates today. No change in monetary policy is expected tomorrow, but policymakers are expected to set the stage for a rate cut in September. Amanda Linum, head of macro credit research at Blackrock, talked about the FED on Bloomberg surveillance.

The way it stands right now is we don't see a lot of urgency for large or swift rate cuts. So the base case that we have is twenty five basis points every other meeting, So that means maybe two cuts this year and then a handful of cuts next year. Say we land at a terminal rate closer to four percent, definitely less restrictive where we are now, but nowhere near the zero lower bound of the post financial crisis era.

Black Rocks Amanda line them says swaps markets are fully pricing a September move.

Well, Nathan.

The yen is weakening against the dollar as the Bank of Japan also kicks off a two day policy meeting, overnight index swaps price and a thirty four percent chance of an interest rate increase of fifteen basis points in Europe.

Care in the euro Area economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, as resilient expansion in key countries allowed the region to shrug off Germany's surprise contraction. Gross domestic product grows three tenths of one percent as both France and Spain beat estimates and Italy kept growing as well. That offset a tenth of one percent drop in Germany.

Nathan Earnings also in focus.

Shares Adagio down eight and a half percent in Europe, A slotted Latin America, the Caribbean and the US pushed the maker of Johnny Walker whiskey to its first annual sales declines since the pandemic.

Shares a VP meanwhileer up about one and a half percent. The British oil giant posted profit above analyst estimates. Strong second quarter earnings from pumping crude offset weakness in other parts of the business. BP also maintained the pace of share buybacks, and increased its dividend.

Well here in the US, Nathan. Big tech earnings are in focus as Microsoft reports after the closing bill, and Bloomberry's Tom Busby has more on what to expect.

The big focus for investors whether Microsoft can continue to post strong growth in its cloud unit, led by its Azure Cloud infrastructure business. Also key, whether the billions of dollars had spent on its generative AI chatbot Microsoft Copilot will start to pay off. Consensus calls for revenue of sixty four point five to two billion dollars adjusted earnings per share of two dollars ninety four cents. Tom Busby, Bloomberg Radio.

All right, Tom, thank you, And ahead of those earnings, Microsoft is calling on Congress to crack down on so called deep fakes. The company's urging lawmakers to pass a comprehensive law aimed at images and sound made with artificial intelligence to prevent election interference and malicious targeting of individuals. Microsoft is calling for labels on AI generated content, as well as federal and state laws that penalize creation and distribution of sexually exploitative deep fakes.

Nathan Moren Buffett is unloading more shares of Bank of America. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed its third disposal this month of BFA shares, pairing its massive profitable bet on the lender by more than three billion dollars. Even with the reduction, Berkshire still holds almost nine hundred to sixty two million shares worth thirty nine and a half billion dollars.

Man Karen, Famed short seller Andrew Left has pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges. This sets the stage for a high profile legal battle over his strategies. Prosecutors hughes the Citron Research founder, of manipulating the market to benefit his trading and making false statements to investigators. If convicted, Left faces decades behind bars. His trial is set for late September.

And it's time now for a 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.

There are fears over a broader regional war in the Middle East after Israel promised retaliation for a missile strike that killed twelve children on a soccer field in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. Has Belah Is denied being behind the attack. Some people in the community where it struck have openly questioned the claim that the civilian area was intentionally targeted. Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHUO visiting the site of the attack, says this cannot be ignored,

I'm sorry, she Calfordhall and Fair.

The now fire Deputy Sean Grayson is charged with homicide a horrible knife attack in Britain. Police say at the stabbings at a children's dance class in northwest England yesterday killed two children and injured nine others. The event was a Taylor Swift themed dance and yoga event for children aged about six to eleven years old. It took place at a community center in Southport, near Liverpool. Chief Constable Serena Kennedy.

When they arrived, they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack.

Chief Kennedy says officials ever Ran hosted a seventeen year old boy in the incident. Today, New York's highest Court will hear the latest GOP challenge to the state's mail in Voting Act. They argue the Democrats violated the state constitution when they passed the early voting law last year, but New York state political expert Michael Krasner says that's not what this is really all about.

What's really on their mind is winning and losing elections, and in general, the easier it is for people to vote, the better Democrats do, and the more likely Republicans are to lose.

Krasner says, what the legislation is doing is protecting and extending a basic right. Global news twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with the Bloomberg News Now, I'm Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg Karen.

All right, Michael Barr, thank you.

Time now for the Bloomberg Sports Update with John stash Hour.

John, Good morning, Good morning Karen, easy victories for the Mets and Yankees. The only drama was in scene which New York team would score the most runs.

It was the Mets.

They walloped the Twins at City Field fifteen to two. Scored all their runs in three innings, six in the fourth, five and the sixth four more on the eighth. Mets had seventeen hits, only one homer, that from Pete Alonzo. The Yankees hit six home runs in Philadelphia, and sure enough for pair from the captain.

March's pitch to swim on.

Oh hit in the air to d blaff. There it goes way back.

Oh hoy, useemy.

Go, Oh what a shot?

Sharon Judge his second.

Barb of the night.

Wfan had It's a Judge now thirty nine homers on the season, and welcome to the Yankees. Jazz Chisholm his second game of his new team, he homer twice. Ben Rice and Anthony Volpe also left the Yard Yanks all over the Major League leading Phillies fourteen to four. Yanks have scored forty runs in their last four games, only half game behind Baltimore, who' split a doublehead of with Toronto, last place Blue Jays, waving the white flag in their season,

In the pool.

Yesterday, fifteen medals won by swimmers from ten different nations, and three golds were won by swimmers under the age of twenty one. Seventeen year old Canadian phenom Summer Macintosh won the four hundred am. She's expected to win a couple more goals. John Stashewer, Bloomberg Sports Kerry Newton.

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, watching political developments on a couple of fronts this morning. In Venezuela, the opposition says it can prove candidated. Mundo Gonzalez defeated President Nicholas Maduro on Sunday in a landslide. While here in the US, former President Donald Trump's going back and forth on whether he wants to debate his new opponent in the twenty twenty four race. Vice President Kamala Harris. For the latest on all the

Right.

We saw thousands of people taking to the streets, not just in Caracas, but in some other parts of the country and within Caracas in neighborhoods that have in the past been more pro Maduro. So it's a very tense situation.

Apart from those next steps, including that conversation between the president and Brazil's leader, who's been a traditional ally I believe of Maduro. Unless I'm mistaken, I guess the ball is in now Maduro's court to show that the election results as certified by the Electoral Center are indeed valid.

Maduro government and going back before him, his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, I mean, all the major elections that they had were tainted by accusations of fraud, but it definitely feels different this time. The opposition was pretty buoyant heading into the Sunday vote, there is widespread doubt even some of Maduro's more traditional allies. You mentioned Brazil, but also the government in Mexico, government in Colombia, a little more left leaning governments.

Meanwhile, we've got a whole new race here in the US with President former President Trump now facing Vice President Harrison and kind of going back and forth on whether he's going to commit to a debate with Harris or even agree to a debate.

He certainly seems to be trying to keep his options open. He says, yes, cell debate, but you know, I may not he you know, the official line has been that the Republicans are waiting for the Democrats to officially make Kamala Harris their nominee. That should happen by I think August seventh is the date for that. But yeah, there's some hemming and hawing about whether it'll take place. Maybe there'll be adjustments to the date. The September tenth date.

This is Bloomberg day Break Today, your morning brief on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.

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I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow.

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