Bloomberg Businessweek

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
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Each week the world’s largest liquefied natural gas plant remains shut, the world loses the equivalent of enough energy to power Sydney’s homes for an entire year.
Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant closed earlier this month after an Iranian drone attack, the first interruption to supply in three decades of operation. Now, after further hits — in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the vast South Pars fields on Wednesday — the wider complex has suffered what Qatar describes as extensive damage.
The latest assault damaged t​​​​​​wo of the plant’s fourteen production trains, with repairs expected to take years, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. That will put severe energy strain on economies across the world. For emerging nations — vital growth markets for LNG — a second gas calamity in four years is already destroying industrial demand, perhaps irreparably.Three weeks of conflict in the Middle East have upended the entire energy supply chain. With the vital Strait of Hormuz all but closed, gasoline and jet fuel prices are surging, cooking gas shortages are triggering fistfights in India and farmers are fretting about diesel and fertilizer. But with virtually no spare capacity, no strategic reserves and no easy replacements, LNG may be one of the most acute pain points in an expanding crisis.
The longer this continues, the only solution is for the world to use less gas — and that’s a major setback for a fuel promoted by the industry as a reliable and affordable bridge from dirty coal to full reliance on renewable power. Without gas, power plants curtail output, fertilizer and textile factories shut. The ripple effect from a long-term shock could be even more significant than the 2022 energy crisis, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced dramatic changes in global gas flows.
Today's show features:
Ruth Liao, Bloomberg News Reporter covering Liquefied Natural Gas
Sheila Kahyaoglu, Managing Director in Equity Research at Jefferies
Matt Diczok, Head of Fixed Income Strategy for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank
Drive to the Close with Mark Travis, CEO of Intrepid Capital
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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he plans to stay at the central bank until after the Justice Department’s investigation is complete.
“I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality,” Powell said Wednesday at a press conference.
His comments marked the first time Powell has given any public indication that he intends to continue serving his term as a governor, which runs until 2028, after his term as chair expires in May. Speculation he would do so has increased in recent months amid a government probe into the US central bank.
The DOJ in January issued subpoenas to the Fed as part of an investigation into cost overruns in a building renovation project. In a statement at the time, Powell called the reasons for the investigation pretexts and said the probe was really triggered by the Fed’s refusal to set interest rates based on President Donald Trump’s demands.
The subpoenas were blocked by a federal judge earlier this month, but the DOJ said it would appeal that decision.
Today's show features:
Greg Peters, Co-Chief Investment Officer and PGIM Fixed Income
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and reaction from Bloomberg Cross Asset Reporter Denitsa Tsekova
Hendi Susanto, Portfolio Manager of Technology at Gabelli Funds on Micron Earnings
Jennifer Welch, Bloomberg Economics Chief Geoeconomics Analyst, on where China stands amidst the Iran War
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Bloomberg's Tom Keene and Jonathan Ferro discuss remarks from Fed Chair Jay Powell following the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance.
Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged and continued to expect one rate cut this year as they acknowledged increased uncertainty due to war in the Middle East.
Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that to resume lowering rates, officials would have to see progress in reducing inflation, especially goods inflation that has been boosted by tariffs.
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There’s been a lot of negative media around “private credit,” but most of that conversation is focused on leveraged corporate lending. Real estate credit is a different market — loans are asset-backed and underwritten to hard collateral. We’re in the middle of a significant housing shortage in the U.S., particularly in major urban markets like New York. That structural demand continues to support new housing development and well-located multifamily assets. There’s increasing attention from policymakers around housing affordability and supply, including proposals from figures like Zohran Mamdani. Regardless of the political approach, there’s broad recognition that more housing needs to be built and that capital will be needed to support that supply.
Ran Eliasaf is Founder and Manager Partner of Northwind Group, an institutional real estate credit platform focused on lending and structured financing for commercial real estate and healthcare assets. Since its founding in 2008, the firm has transacted on more than $9 billion of real estate across over 400 properties and originated approximately $4 billion of loans secured by more than 300 properties, with zero principal losses across its debt investments to date. Ran speaks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.
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Bloomberg's Tom Keene and Jonathan Ferro break down the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance.
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