Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

Bloomberg Businessweek Daily hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec break down earnings from Tesla, Microsoft and Meta as heard live on Bloomberg Radio and on YouTube.

Microsoft's spending surged to a record high and cloud sales growth slowed, sending the shares down amid investor concerns that it could take longer than expected for the company’s AI investments to pay off. Microsoft shares fell about 5% in extended trading after closing at $481.63 in New York.

Meta Platforms topped projections for quarterly revenue and gave a strong forecast for the current period, boosted by a robust online advertising business that is making it possible for the company to invest in artificial intelligence at record levels this year. The social-media company’s shares jumped more than 11% in extended trading. Meta on Wednesday said first-quarter sales will be $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, beating the $51.3 billion average analyst estimate.

And Tesla plans to invest about $2 billion into xAI, giving Elon Musk’s artificial-intelligence startup a cash infusion despite a shareholder vote last year that failed to win approval. Its shares rose in extended trading.
Carol and Tim speak with:
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Anurag Rana
James Cakmak, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Clockwise Capital
Bloomberg News Senior Technology Reporter Kurt Wagner
Bloomberg Tech Co-Host Ed Ludlow
Bloomberg Intelligence Global Autos and Industrials Research Manager Steve Man
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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 pointed to improvements in the US economy as they signaled a more cautious approach to potential future adjustments.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 Wednesday to hold the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 3.5%-3.75%. Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a quarter-point reduction.
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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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On today's podcast:
1) President Trump said he was looking to “de-escalate” in Minnesota with a reshuffle of the leadership running his deportation effort in the state following widespread outcry over the killing of two US citizens by federal agents. Still, the president denied he was pulling back his immigration crackdown and said that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would remain in her post, as he looked to signal a recalibration rather than a retreat in the aftermath of the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent during an enforcement operation. Meantime, US Representative Ilhan Omar was charged at by a man who appeared to squirt an unknown liquid on her during a town hall gathering in Minneapolis, as she called for consequences for the federal officials overseeing President Trump’s aggressive immigration policies.
2) President Trump’s relaxed tone about the dollar selloff is fueling speculation the US currency is at the start of a longer-term decline. The dollar suffered its deepest one-day drop since last year’s tariff rollout after Trump said on Tuesday he didn’t think the currency had weakened excessively. Bloomberg’s dollar gauge slid as much as 1.2% as the comments sapped the appeal of the greenback and US Treasuries — boosting what has become known as the debasement trade. The dollar’s recent decline is great for US businesses, Trump told reporters in Iowa. While that’s in line with previous commentary from US officials, his remarks moved currency markets late Tuesday, partly because they appeared to validate the steep decline in the greenback in recent sessions.
3) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may try to direct attention back to the economy this week, with the US central bank widely expected to hold interest rates steady after three straight reductions. But Powell’s first press conference since the Fed was served grand jury subpoenas — and coming days after the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the attempted removal of another Fed governor — is bound to include questions about political pressure, central bank independence and what the Fed chief plans to do after his term as chair ends in May. A decision to hold rates steady this month is likely to garner broad support from policymakers following a series of contentious cuts. While the majority of officials agreed in those instances to backstop a weakening labor market, another group of policymakers pushed for the focus to remain on elevated inflation.
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On today's podcast:
1) President Trump indicated he’ll make changes to his administration’s deportation crackdown in Minnesota after the killing of two US citizens during immigration raids sparked nationwide uproar. The president said he was sending US border czar Tom Homan — who is seen as relatively measured compared to rivals, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — to Minneapolis in a bid to deescalate tensions. Trump also spoke with top Democratic officials in the state. He told Governor Tim Walz, who he has derided as “grossly incompetent,” that he would consider independent investigations into the shootings and reducing the number of federal agents in his state. The president described a subsequent conversation with Jacob Frey as “very good” and said Homan planned to meet with the Minneapolis mayor on Tuesday “in order to continue the discussion.”
2) Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK wouldn’t have to choose between the US and China, as he heralded “significant opportunities” for British businesses ahead of his trip to Beijing this week. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Starmer dismissed questions about whether he was seeking stronger ties with China at the expense of the UK’s relationship with its closest allies. Starmer’s trip to China — the first by a British prime minister in eight years — comes on the heels of a similar delegation by Canadian counterpart Mark Carney that drew fresh tariff threats from President Trump.
3) President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on goods imported from South Korea to 25%, citing what he said was the failure of the country’s legislature to codify the trade deal the two nations reached last year. Trump in a social media post on Monday said the new rate would apply to autos, lumber, pharmaceutical products and “all other Reciprocal TARIFFS.” Under the existing agreement, the president set a 15% levy on South Korean exports. If implemented, the move could have wide-ranging effects on major South Korean companies that export to the US, such as Hyundai Motor Co., which sent 1.1 million vehicles to America in 2024.
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