US & Iran Hail Progress; Ukraine and Russia Resume Talks

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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 progress reported this morning in nuclear talks between the US and Iran. Iran says it had reached a quote general agreement on the terms of a potential nuclear deal that would lift sanctions on Tehran and ease the risk of a broader Middle East war.

Here's Iran's Foreign Minister of Basaragchi.

You're hopeful that negotiation will lead to a sustainable and negotiated solution. At the same time, as demonstrated during the aggression of thirteen June twenty twenty five, Iran remains fully prepared to defend itself against any threats.

Iranian FIGN Minister Abbas Uraji made those comments in Geneva. Vice President j D. Vance spoke about the talks with Fox News. You know, in some ways it went well, they agreed to meet afterwards. But in other way is it was very clear that the President has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through. So we're going to keep on working it but of course the President reserves the ability to say when he thinks that diplomacy has reached

Well, Nathan, Also happening in Geneva, Ukraine and Russia. We'll begin a second day of US broker talk. Central among the unresolved issues is Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand that Ukraine handover territory in its eastern Donetsk region that Moscow has failed to conquer in fighting.

Here in Japan plans to invest thirty six billion dollars in US oil, gas, and critical mineral projects. It's the first trunch of a five hundred and fifty billion dollar commitment under Japan's trade agreement with President Trump. The most significant investment is a natural gas facility in Ohio is expected to generate the power equivalent of nine nuclear reactors.

Bloomberg's Lord Davison has more from Hong Kong.

There are some questions just about the size and scope of this project just because it would be the biggest energy project of its kind.

There are also two other projects.

One is a crude export facility in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast, as well as a project that would produce synthetic diamonds. Those are used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, energy, and automobiles as well.

Bloomberg's Lord Davison says the announcement comes weeks before Japanese Prime Minister Sona Etakaichi is set to meet with President Trump in Washington.

Nathan there's more a fallout this morning from the Jeffrey Epstein files, and Bloomberg's Alexis Christofferis has the latest from New York.

Two teachers' unions are asking the Securities in Exchange Commission to look at a twenty twenty one statement from Apollo Global Management about its contact with the late sex offender and whether it could be considered materially false or misleading. The Justice Department's latest files show Epstein corresponded with Apolo then CEO Leon Black, its current CEO, Mark Rowan, and others in the firm. The American Federation of Teachers says.

Okay, Alexis, thank you now to the latest in the search for Nancy Guthrie. It's been eighteen days since the mother of Today's Show host Savannah Guthrie was last seen. Investigators are looking for fresh leads after a glove founder of the eighty four year old's home failed to match any DNA profiles in the FBI's database. They're working with the maker of Guthrie's pacemaker to see if they can track her through the device. Richard Frankel is a retired FBI agent.

It connects to the bluetooth within her pacemaker and if they get a hit on it, although you know, they can get down to, you know, within meters of where that pacemaker might be, but that pacemaker has to be emitting a charge at the same time.

It's retired FBI agent Richard Frankel. Investigators are also processing evidence from two search warrants from last week, and they're canvassing gun shops with surveillance footage to see if the suspect looks familiar. The reward is now to one hundred thousand dollars for information that leads to Nancy Guthrie's return.

Let's turn to the markets now.

Nathan futures are higher ahead of today's session. Stocks rebounded yesterday from an early sell off to eke out gains, and we're getting worried this morning about some big moves from Wall Street investors, including Warren Buffett. Bloomberg's John Tucker joins us with the very latest. John, Good morning, Good morning.

Karen Buffett's Berkshire hathaway A slashed its stake in Amazon by more than seventy five percent of the fourth quarter. It now owns roughly two point three million shares of the company. And so what did Buffett dump Amazon for The New York Times? This marks his last new bet as CEO of Berkshire. A regulatory filing shows Berkshire acquired

Right, John, thank you.

Shares of Nvidia are up two percent in early trading. Meta Platforms has agreed to deploy millions of Nvidia processors over the next few years. Meta accounts for about nine percent of Nvidia's revenue. It's committing to use more AI processors and networking equipment from the supplier. Meta shares are up almost one percent.

Nathan, The FED is trying to assess the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy and productivity growth. San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daily says policymakers must be open to signs that AI will have a major impact.

So what we're looking for is a technology to give us consistently good changes in productivity, so that all industries at scale get better. Industries figure out new ways to generate revenue, new ways to do product design, new ideas to come and shape the economy. That's the thing that has a sustained productivity growth part. So it's undeniable. Productivity growth has gone up. What's not as clear is how long will that last?

In San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daily made the comments to Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow at San Jose State University.

And europe Caring.

There are reports this morning that European Central Bank President Christine Legard is planning to step down from her role before it's scheduled to end. Let's go to London get the details from Bloomberg's Ewan Potts.

Ewan, what are we.

Hearing Nathan and Karen Christine Leaguard's eight year term as boss of the European Central Bank is due to run until October twenty twenty seven, but the FT reports today that the Guard plans to step down before the French presidential election in April of next year, allowing current President Emmanuel Macron the chance to take part in selecting the

Radio Time Now for it 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 Cruz have pushed through mountainous wilderness in California near Lake Tahoe during a snowstorm to rescue six backcountry skiers who has survived an avalanche but were trapped by its snow and ice. The Nevanna County Sheriff's Captain Russell Green says at least nine others from their tour group remained missing.

I wouldn't say it's normal, not in these conditions of the area's very tough to access, and the more people that we have up there, the higher chance of another incident happening. So we're us asking people to avoid the area.

Captain Russell Green, we're learning more about the person who opened fire Monday during a youth hockey game and an ice rink in Rhode Island. The victims killed were the shooter's ex wife, Ronda Dorgan, and adult son Aidendorgan. Three others were injured. Paul Tucket Chief of Police Tina Gonklavs says among them was the shooter's ex wife's parents and a family friend.

They were all at the event for a son, a juvenile sun who was playing hockey. It was their senior night, and there was no expectations or any indication that there was going to be any type of violence.

Belice've identified the shooter as fifty six year old to Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name ROBERTA. Esposito. Police say Dorgan died from an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound. New York City Mayor Zora Memdanni is proposing raising the city's property taxes for the first time in more than two decades and is looking to raise the city's reserve funds to fill a roughly five billion dollar budget gap.

If we do not fix the structural imbalance and do not heed the calls of New Yorkers to raise taxes on the wealthy, this crisis will not disappear. It will simply return year after year, forcing harder and harsher choices each time.

According to Memdannie's proposal, the nine point five percent property tax hike would take effect beginning July. First Global News twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with the Bloomberg News. Now Michael barn this is Bloomberg.

Karen, Thanks Michael.

Time Now there are Bloomberg Sports Update, and for that we bring in John stash Hour, Thanks Kare.

At the Olympics today, of the American skier Mikhaela Shifferd, who is at a very disappointing Winter Games, goes for a medal in her best event, the slalom. The US men's hockey team plays Sweden in the quarterfinals yesterday, a silver medal won by American Mac Foorhan in the freestyle Big Air and a silver and speed skating in the team pursuit. College basketball Michigan now ranked number one with

Had the job for twelve years.

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 opp This is Bloomberg Daybreak.

Good morning of Nathan Hagar.

Both the US and Iran are reporting progress in their latest round of nuclear talks engine but with two US aircraft carrier groups still in the region. Vice President jd Vance is voicing cautious optimism. We would very much like, as the President has said, to resolve this through a conversation, in a diplomatic negotiation, but the President has all options on the table. That was Vice President jd Vance in

Golnar, Good morning.

So where do things stand between the US and Iran after this latest round of talks.

Well, both of them have sounded cautiously optimistic, which is kind of similar to how they were after the first round of talks, and this sort of positive, general positive mood music suggests that they are planning to meet again, and in fact, the Uranian Forum minister did say that there is that there will be a third round of talks on the table. We just don't know when that's going to be and what the date for that is.

The language is deliberately, I think vague.

It's deliberately indirect about how far they are from actually finalizing something.

But I think.

That's the way that they have to frame it going forward, because there are obviously a lot of things that they still need to discuss and finalize.

The construction framework of a possible deal is syntax we've heard before from President Trump and past negotiations as well. We also heard from Vice President Vance saying that the President has laid out red lines that Iran shouldn't cross. Do we have clarity from the administration as far as you can see, Golnar about what those red lines are?

So I think That's.

An interesting question as well, because we know that Donald Trump has kind of changed or kind of oscillated between the nuclear Iran's nuclear program and Iran's brutal suppression of the protests. There's a massive, massive uprising we had a couple of months ago between those two things as the motivating driving factor behind his kind of military threats on Iran and using that to.

Leverage a deal out of the Uranians.

So that's interesting in terms of what actually the Uranians are being told in the indirect talks with Steve Wikoff. But it looks increasingly like the Americans have settled on focusing on Iran's nuclear program.

In terms of military red.

Lines, I would say anything from the Iranians that kind of.

Is a is a.

Stronger threat than what they've already done. They've already done, which of these military trills in the Persian Gulf that we know I'm closed up the strait of Homer's partially. Anything beyond that I think would constitute some kind of redline.

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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.

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