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Fed’s Beige Book Says War Lifts Uncertainty for US Companies Apr 15, 2026

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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.
US economic activity continued to increase at a slight-to-modest pace across most regions as the war with Iran generated a new wave of uncertainty and higher energy costs, the Federal Reserve said.
Price growth remained moderate overall, but energy and fuel costs rose sharply in all 12 Fed districts, the central bank reported in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts released Wednesday.
“The conflict in the Middle East was cited as a major source of uncertainty that complicated decision-making around hiring, pricing and capital investment, with many firms adopting a wait-and-see posture,” the Fed said.
The report featured information compiled by the New York Fed and collected through April 6, capturing the early effects of the war on the US economy.The report also noted that price pressures were bleeding beyond energy.
“Energy and fuel costs rose sharply in all districts, attributed to the Middle East conflict, leading to higher freight and shipping costs and higher prices for plastics, fertilizers and other petroleum-based products,” the Fed said. “Input cost pressures beyond energy-related increases were also widespread.”
The oil shock spurred by the conflict has sent gasoline prices in the US to their highest level since 2022, leading US inflation to jump in March. Several Fed policymakers have signaled a preference to keep borrowing costs steady for quite some time while they evaluate the economic data. Officials are expected to leave their benchmark rate unchanged when they meet on April 28-29, according to pricing in futures contracts.
Today's show features:

Michael McKee, Bloomberg TV and Radio International Economics & Policy Correspondent on Fed's Beige Book
Nicola Willis, New Zealand Finance Minister, on how inflation will go 'much higher' if Iran war drags on
John Roberts, analyst at Mizuho, on the global chemicals market
Jennifer Rie, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Antitrust Litigation Analyst on Live Nation Illegally monopolized ticketing market.
Michael Ha, Baird Senior Research Analyst and Avalon Pernell, Bloomberg News Equities Reporter on UnitedHealth’s Last Bear Stands Pat After Medicare Rate Hike

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Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Perks Fuel Health Gadget Craze Apr 15, 2026

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As credit card companies with lofty fees compete for affluent consumers, the hottest new perks are wearable devices for tracking health, fitness and sleep. After lifting annual dues for their top-tier cards, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express Co. rolled out typical benefits like hotel, dining and travel credits. But there were also more unexpected bonuses: American Express added a $200 credit toward an Oura Health Oy smart ring to the Platinum Card, while Chase included a $359 rebate for Whoop Inc.’s fitness bands for Sapphire Reserve holders. The promotions are generating results, pushing users to sign up for the latest credit cards and join the wearables craze for the first time.
Cam Baker, Bloomberg News Breaking News Editor discusses with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.

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Bank Earnings Offer Little Cause for Alarm on Private Credit Apr 14, 2026

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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.
Bank results so far show that private credit woes remain contained, with executives offering words of calm for nervous investors.
First, there are no big red flags in the aggregate credit loss provisions from the four big banks that have reported so far, including Wells Fargo. The measure, where stress typically starts to show, is tracking higher for some lenders -- for instance, Goldman attributed the increase to “growth and impairments related to wholesale loans,” yet the overall number remains very modest compared to peers.
Citi’s worse-than-expected provisions were tied to US consumer card losses and a firmwide reserves build amid the uncertain macro environment, but its measure is only the highest since 2Q 2025. That has also been offset by JPMorgan’s lower-than-estimated provisions.
Taken altogether, the combined bad debt forecast tally is so far smaller than feared for the quarter and more modest than it was during the same period last year.
Banks went further to disclose at least $100 billion of specific exposure to private-credit firms, with Citi saying that it’s had zero losses over the life of the portfolio. Its executives noted on the call that the bank has strong protections in place, including a prudent approach to reserves, which it continues to constantly stress test.
For his part, JPMorgan CEO Dimon said he’s “not particularly worried” about private credit after the bank disclosed a $50 billion exposure. Goldman CEO David Solomon also defended the industry on Monday.
The remarks and moderate credit provisions so far should give investors some comfort that strains from private credit remain limited so far -- something that other parts of the credit market have been signaling as well.
Today's show features:

Herman Chan, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst, US Banks & Joe Hegener, Asterozoa Capital CIO & Founder on Bank Earnings
Alli McCartney, Alignment Partners at UBS Managing Director of Wealth Management on latest market reaction
Adam Farrar Bloomberg Economics Senior Geoeconomics Analyst for Asia-Pacific on US's Blockade on Iran
Sid Philip, Bloomberg News Chief Correspondent for Global Aviation on United CEO Pitched Trump on Possible Tie-Up with American Airlines

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Celebrating 10 Years of Magnus Cigar Blend Whiskey Apr 14, 2026

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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.

CraftCo CEO Ali Anderson joins Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo to discuss her brands diverse portfolio of innovative craft spirits including celebrating a big anniversary for its Magnus Cigar Blend whiskey.

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Trump Says Iran Reached Out on Deal, US Begins Hormuz Blockade Apr 13, 2026

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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.

President Donald Trump said Iran reached out to his administration over peace negotiations, as the US began a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the war’s seventh week.Even as Trump sought to jawbone negotiations back on track, there were few signs that was taking place after weekend negotiations failed in Islamabad. Iran blamed the collapse of talks on the US and Tehran has not confirmed further discussions on Monday.

“We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal,” Trump said at the White House, without elaborating on who participated in the conversation.
Trump spoke hours after the US moved to cut off vessels from transiting the vital waterway to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, which could further inflame tensions amid the global energy crisis.

The US president once again claimed that negotiations had failed due to Iran’s insistence on maintaining a nuclear program. Trump said he was “sure” Iran will eventually agree to abandon nuclear ambitions, and reiterated there would be no deal without that concession.
This episode features:

Michelle Jamrisko, Bloomberg News White House & National Security Editor
Marc Champion, Bloomberg Opinion Columnist on Hormuz Blockade Is a Throwdown the US Can't Win: Marc Champion
Michael Ventura, Co-Head of US Equity Capital Markets at RBC on Wave of $15 Billion US IPOs Runs Headlong Into War’s New Phase
Jamil Jaffer, National Security Institute Founder & Executive Director

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Blitzer-Backed PE Firm Raises $400 Million for Sports Bets Apr 13, 2026

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Sports-focused private equity firm 154 Partners, backed by Blackstone Inc. veteran David Blitzer, wrapped up fundraising for its debut vehicle with $400 million.

The firm hit its hard fundraising cap, according to a statement Wednesday from 154 Partners, which makes investments on the lower end of the middle market.
Blitzer, who previously led Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities unit, is a member of 154 Partners’ investment committee along with co-founders Isaac Harrouche and Mike Berlin, who both worked with him at Tac Opps. Harrouche and Berlin launched 154 Partners last year to back smaller, family- or operator-owned companies in sports, live events, residential services and business services.

154 Partners co-founders Isaac Harrouche and Mike Berlin join to discuss the round of funding and where in the sports space they're looking to invest. They speak with hosts Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo, in for Carol Massar.

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Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - April 10th, 2026 Apr 10, 2026

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Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily."
Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio.
You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News.
Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW

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Trump Threatens Iran as Vance Heads to Pakistan for Peace Talks Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Iran as Vice President JD Vance traveled to Pakistan for talks to end the war, with Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz’s effective closure looming over diplomatic efforts.

Trump posted on social media Friday that Tehran’s only leverage is “short term extortion of the world by using International Waterways” — a reference to Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for oil and natural gas that remains largely shut, raising global energy prices. Trump declared that the “Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards.”

While the two-week ceasefire was broadly holding across the Middle East, the situation with the strait and continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened to complicate negotiations due to begin over the weekend in Islamabad.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf insisted in a social media post that a ceasefire in Lebanon is one measure that “must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.” The other is the “release of Iran’s blocked assets,” he added, without being more specific.

This episode features:

Jeff Mason, Bloomberg News Washington and White House Correspondent
Humayun Tai, McKinsey Global Energy & Materials Practice Senior Partner & Leader
Todd Gillespie, Bloomberg News Banking Reporter on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell convening an urgent meeting with Wall Street leaders on the latest AI model from Anthropic
Drive to the Close with Jed Ellerbroek, Argent Capital Management Portfolio Manager

Hosted by Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo, in for Carol Massar

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Who Knew Newsom Was Such an Economic Maestro? Apr 10, 2026

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Of all the prevailing media narratives around Gavin Newsom, the one that is most conspicuous by its absence is how under its two-term governor California became the top performing economy not just among its 49 siblings but also any developed nation. No wonder Elon Musk quietly sought Newsom’s help when the world’s richest man sought to move a bunch of Tesla Inc. engineers back to the state after relocating them to Texas. Amid the thousands of headlines referencing California failings with wildfires, droughts, floods, mass transportation, aging roads, education, homelessness, unaffordable housing, widening inequality and poverty along with the exodus of billionaires, corporate headquarters and longtime residents -- never mind the “slick” label whenever the betting favorite for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination is mentioned in the press – the Golden State (population 39 million people), just supplanted Japan (123 million) as the fourth-largest economy.
Matthew Winkler, Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Emirtus discusses how California's economy has grown faster than either China or Germany... And picking up steam.

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Intel Wins Google Promise to Keep Using Xeon in Data Centers Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Intel Corp., trying to promote the use of its technology in data centers, said Alphabet Inc.’s Google has committed to using future generations of its Xeon processors and other chips.
As part of the multiyear agreement, announced Thursday, the search engine giant will customize Intel’s IPUs, or infrastructure processing units. These chips handle functions such as networking, security and storage. The companies didn’t disclose financial details or purchase commitments.
The deal is part of a push by Intel to better capitalize on the build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Getting a bigger slice of data center spending is critical to a comeback bid under Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan.Intel’s stock rose as much as 3.6% in New York trading, adding to a rally of about 20% this week. The shares have also benefited from an announcement that the chipmaker will help Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc., SpaceX and xAI.
Xeon once commanded a market share of more than 99%, making it the chief source of profit for what was then the world’s largest semiconductor maker. In the last few years, Intel has lost ground to rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and in-house efforts by customers — including Google.
One trend is working in Intel’s favor: Central processing units, its hallmark product, are increasingly seen as critical to artificial intelligence computing. Though Nvidia Corp.’s AI processors are still the workhorses of this infrastructure, there’s growing demand for general-purpose CPUs to help everything run smoothly.
Today's show features:

Ian King, Bloomberg News US Semiconductor Reporter
Ed Fishman, Columbia University Senior Research Scholar and Professor
Jeff Mason, Bloomberg News Washington and White House Correspondent
Michael McKee, Bloomberg TV and Radio International Economics & Policy Correspondent
Sarah Hunt, Alpine Saxon Woods Chief Market Strategist

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