US Seizes Sanctioned Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast; Traders Flock to Safety on Oracle Woes
On today's podcast:1) US forces intercepted and seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a serious escalation of tensions between the two countries. A senior Trump administration official referred to the ship as “a stateless vessel” that was last docked in Venezuela. Bloomberg News was first to report the seizure. The US action may make it much harder for Venezuela to export its crude, as other shippers are now likely to be more reluctant to load its cargoes. Most of the nation’s oil goes to China, usually through intermediaries, at steep discounts owing to sanctions risk. Brent futures edged higher after the news.2) A coalition of Ukraine’s allies will discuss a bid to move swiftly on President Trump’s peace proposal on Thursday as Kyiv’s forces carried out their first-ever attack on Russian Caspian Sea oil production. Leaders from more than 30 countries that are part of the so-called coalition of the willing group will hold a virtual meeting, their second this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address. Allies will discuss the state of peace talks and the latest draft plan that Ukrainian officials sent to Washington overnight, people familiar with the planning said. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to brief participants on an exchange they had with Trump on Wednesday.3) A market party after the Federal Reserve’s policy decision came to an abrupt halt within hours as a plunge in Oracle Corp.’s shares reawakened concerns over tech-stock valuations. Now investors are left to ponder whether they will still get a Christmas rally. The MSCI All Country World Index had been a whisker away from its peak before changing course, while gold snapped what would have been a three-day winning streak. The earlier gains were a reflection of enthusiasm following the Fed’s latest interest rate cut and Chair Jerome Powell’s upbeat assessment of the US economy. The upbeat mood faded after Oracle’s stock plunged on the company’s below-consensus sales and spending increase that rekindled worries over tech shares’ expensive valuations. That caused Nasdaq futures to slump as much as 1.6% and 10-year Treasury yields to drop by three basis points at one point.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
15:21
--------
15:21
Instant Reaction: Jay Powell on the Fed Decision
Bloomberg's Tom Keene and Lisa Abramowicz 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 delivered a third consecutive interest-rate reduction and maintained their outlook for just one cut in 2026. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 Wednesday to lower the benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter point to a range of 3.5%-3.75%. It also subtly altered the wording of its statement suggesting greater uncertainty about when it might cut rates again. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chair Jerome Powell suggested the Fed had now done enough to bolster against the threat to employment while leaving rates high enough to continue weighing on price pressures: “This further normalization of our policy stance should help stabilize the labor market while allowing inflation to resume its downward trend toward 2% once the effects of tariffs have passed through,” he said.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
23:39
--------
23:39
Instant Reaction: The Fed Decides
Bloomberg's Tom Keene and Lisa Abramowicz break down the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
30:34
--------
30:34
Traders Eye 2026 Fed Outlook; Trump Insists Smart People Back Tariffs
On today's podcast:1) Stocks are marking a second straight day of restrained moves as traders await the Fed’s outlook for interest rates in 2026 after an expected cut at Wednesday’s policy announcement.2) President Donald Trump said people were “starting to learn” the benefits of his tariff regime as he sought to convince voters his administration was moving to address affordability concerns, taking to the road in hopes of countering a mounting political vulnerability.3) Paramount Skydance Corp. and Netflix Inc. — the entertainment heavyweights locked in a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. — are girding for a battle they predict will stretch well into 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
15:20
--------
15:20
Paramount Skydance's Hostile Warner Bros. Bid, Nvidia Wins Trump's Approval to Sell Chips in China
On today's podcast:1) The US president’s son-in-law. One of the largest alternative-asset managers. The CEO’s father who fleetingly commanded a fortune exceeding Elon Musk’s. Paramount Skydance Corp.’s hostile takeover bid Monday for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. brought together an array of banks, billionaires and sovereign-wealth funds, all with the aim of torpedoing Netflix Inc.’s deal last week.2) President Donald Trump granted Nvidia Corp. permission to ship its H200 artificial intelligence chip to China in exchange for a 25% surcharge, a move that lets the world’s most valuable company potentially regain billions of dollars in lost business from a key global market.3) Stocks wavered and US bond yields softened from a two-month high as traders held off on making big bets ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final interest-rate decision of 2025. S&P 500 futures were little changed after the US benchmark halted a four-day rally. A dayslong slump in US Treasuries has curbed risk appetite as traders grow cautious about the pace of rate cuts beyond Wednesday’s policy meeting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.