Stocks Near All-Time High; Tech Heavyweights Team Up on AI

On today's podcast: 1) US futures were steady, with an all-time high this year firmly in sight , and Treasuries gained amid optimism that the Federal Reserve is getting close to cutting interest rates. 2) Legendary designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman are enlisting an Apple Inc. veteran to work on a new artificial intelligence hardware project, aiming to create devices with the latest capabilities. 3) US strikes on targets in Iraq and fresh attacks by Houthi militants on shipping in the Red Sea provided the latest warning signs that the war in Gaza risks expanding into a wider conflict destabilizing the Middle East. Full Transcript: Good morning. I'm John Tucker and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. In the markets, the S and P five hundred beginning to day hovering at a record The so called Santa Claus rally has left the index just half a percent off its all time high. Despite warnings about overpot levels, equities continue to power ahead on best. The Fed's going to cut rates as early as March, and Bloomberg's executive editor for Markets Paul Dobson says, there seems to be a lot of momentum in the markets. It may be in anticipation of big New year flows into equity funds and people trying to get a little bit ahead of that. As part of the explanation, I think, you know, we're getting very close to that record high in the SMP, and the market loves the target to chase. Bloomberg's Paul Dobson says if the S and P five hundred completes a ninth straight week of gains, it will be its longest winning streak since two thousand and four. Well in Company News, john Tesla could soon lose its title as the world's leader in electric vehicles. The Chinese automaker BYD's sales or forecast to overtake Tesla this quarter. Katrina Nicholas is Global Business editor for Bloomberg in Asia. BYD makes its own batteries and now it also makes its own chips. That has shielded the company from a lot of supply chain crunches over the years. Remember back in twenty twenty during COVID, we had a worldwide shortage of semiconductors and that snarled a lot of automakers. They couldn't get the chips that they needed to make the cous and Bloomberg Global Business Editor Katrina Nicholas as BYD offers half a dozen higher volume models that costs much less than what Tesla charges for its cheapest Model three sedan in China. Meanwhile, Tesla preparing to roll out a revamped version of its Model Y from its Shanghai plant. Bloomberg News has learned the electric carmaker currently conducting preparation work in China, and mass production may start as soon as mid twenty twenty four. Sources say the new Model Why will have much more obvious exterior and interior changes than the most recent update in October, which anadled a new wheel design and ambient lighting. Well John another high tech company in the spotlight this morning, Apple is appealing a US salesman of its smart watches after the White House refuse to overturn the measure. The company is trying to defend a business that generates roughly seventeen billion dollars a year. Mark German covers Apple for Bloomberg in Los Angeles. Apple's belief is they have a software update up at sleeves that will bring the Apple Watch in compliance with the ITC. And so what Apple has done is they submitted details of this software upgrade to the US Customs Agency and on January twelve, the US Customs Agency will make a decision whether or not to approve the refresh to the watch to make them fix. If they go ahead and approve that and the ITC and other entities and the US agree, the Apple Watch can come back to market and Bloomber's Mark German says the US International Trade Commission determined in October that Apple violated two Massimo health technology patents with a blood oxygen sensor in its watches, and Karen saying in the tech sector, a couple of heavyweights joining forces on the artificial intelligence That's good. Details this morning from Bloomberg's Jeff Bellinger. Legendary designer Johnny Ive and open ai Sam Altman are enlisting a veteran to work on a new artificial intelligence hardware project. Sources say that as part of the effort, outgoing Apple executive Tang Tan will join IVES design firm love From, which will shape the look and capabilities of the new products. Altman, an executive who has become the face of modern AI, plans to provide the software underpinnings. The work marks one of the most ambitious efforts undertaken by IVES since he left Apple in twenty nineteen. The designer is famous for the products he helped devise under Apple co founder Steve Jobs, including the iMac iPhone and the iPad. His hope is to turn the AI device work into a new company, but sources say development of the product's remains at an early stage. Jeff Bellinger, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Jeff, thanks, Now we turn to the latest developments in the Middle East. US strikes on targets in Iraq and fresh attacks by hu They militants in the Red Sea, providing the latest warning signs that the war in Gaza risks expanding into a wider conflict of stabilizing the region. Ras Madison is news director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for a Bloomberg News. You've got all these groups operating in the region, supported by Iran, who are carrying out sort of unilateral attacks on targets throughout the region, including these shippers, and of course Iran sort of warning increasingly that this does increase the risk that they get drawn in. It also increases the risk that the US militarily gets drawn in because of course they're having to shoot down a bunch of this stuff as it's flying around the region targeting this shipping. And we're talking about a coalition of military ships in the region potentially to escort some of this commercial shipping through, and so all of that adds to environment of high tension in Bloomberg's ras Madison says. Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will expand it's Garza ground defensive in the coming days, despite international efforts to halt the fighting and back here at home care on. Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers are moving north toward the American border. As tom US officials prepared to meet with Mexico's president. That story this morning from Bloomberg's and Baxter. The caravan has reached Chiapas, Mexico, thousands carrying signs that say exodus from poverty. The caravan hopes to reach the border as Secretary of State Anthony Blincoln and Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Majorcas meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Odador. The State Department says item one is quote unprecedented irregular migration in the Western hemisphere. Now, the US says the parties need to address border security challenges and identify ways for Mexico to help in the fight. Some of the caravan have traveled from as far away as South America. At Baxter Bloomberg Radio. All right, thanks Karen, and that brings us to five oh seven Time down for a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Amy Morris. Amy, Good morning, Good morning John. Several pro Palestinian protesters were arrested after swarming Rockefeller Center, Grand Central and other areas of the long holiday weekend. Police arrested at least a half dozen people for disorderly conduct menacing at graffiti now In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams says there's always a serious concern about safety in Time Square. On New Year's Eve, he says there's an added concern protesters will disrupt more celebrations after pro Palestinian supporters tried to spoil the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting over this past year. The police department did an amazing job doing the tree lighting to mitigate any form of major disruptions, and they're going to do it this year. Adam says NYPD will monitor online chatter. Top Biden administration officials are in Mexico today to discuss the influx of migrants. More on this from Bloomberg's Nancy Lyons. US Secretary of State Anthony Blincoln in Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandre Mayorcis will meet with Mexican President andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address the ongoing border security challenges and what each country can do to alleviate the problem. B Lincoln's office notes the migration across the southern border has been unprecedented. B Lincoln is expected to focus on creating legal pathways into the US as well as additional enforcement in Washington. Nancy lyons Bloomberg Radio Now, one of Mayor Adam's main focuses next year will be trying to get the federal help on the migrant crisis. I have to keep hammering away at this issue, and I'm really pleased that we are now in the chorus of other cities that are joining us. There are currently sixty eight thousand asylum seekers in New York City's care right now. And a new program would allow New York City to direct money to new construction after a tax incentive favorable to developers lapsed last year. The New York Times reports the plan would direct public money toward mixed income housing projects in wealthier neighborhoods. The hope is that developers will produce more affordable units using the income from those high rent market rate apartments. The Global News twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News. Now, I'm maybe Morrison. This is Bloomberg John. All right, thanks Amy, and that brings us to five ten on Wall Street. Time down for the Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, here's Dan Schwarzman. Good Morning John. Week seventeen of The NFL season kicks off tomorrow in Cleveland as the Browns are hosting the Jets. Cleveland is ten and five, Jets coming at six and nine. Jets head coach Robert Salad talking about how the Jets can take some inspiration from Cleveland season. They're doing a really nice job. Defensively, they're playing at an eightee level, very similar. Special teams are doing very well. But for sure, we'll definitely look at some things in areas where we can be better, so in the event this happens again, we can keep the vote above water and just kind of replicate what they're doing. That's courtesy of Jets dot Com. Trevor Simeons starting at quarterback for the Jets. Joe Flacco for the Browns. GA in the NBA to Detroit Pistons, setting a record for most consecutive losses in a single season in league history as they dropped their twenty seventh in a row, losing to the Brooklyn Nets won eighteen to one twelve, Cameron Johnson leading the Nets with twenty four points. Elsewhere in the league, futility in Washington as the Wizards are five and twenty four, losing to the Magic one twenty seven to one nineteen, while the Spurs are only four and twenty five after a one thirty one to eighteen home loss to the Jazz. The Nets added again tonight as their home for the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Knicks are on the road facing the thunder in Oklahoma City. The three day NHL Christmas Holiday is over most of the league in action tonight. The Rangers home for the Washington Capitals. Devil's welcoming in the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's the Boston Bruins on the road of the Buffalo Sabers, while the Islanders are home for the Pittsburgh Penguins. That's your Bloomberg Sports update on Dan Schwartzman from coast to coast, from New York to San Francisco, Boston to Washington, DC, nationwide on Syria's Exam, the Bloomberg Business app, and Bloomberg dot Com. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning, I'm John Tucker. We are looking at the risk of a wider Admit East war. This morning. Fresh attacks by Houthi rebels shipping in the Red Sea provided the latest warning signs. Let's get the update this morning, and I'm happy to say. We're joined by Bloomberg's Rob Mathieson, the news director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Ro's nice to talk to you again. It's not anything new attacks in this region. What is different this time? Well, that's right. The attacks and themselves are not that new. They have been a patent for many years now in this sort of narrow area of water in the Red Sea. And of course the Houthies who are based in Yemen but bat by Iran sort of quite often targeting shipping in the area, but again sort of harrying them more than sort of causing serious damage. But what we're seeing is an escalation in that pattern of attacks in the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. And we're also seeing it come against the backdrop of those other attacks that are going on, strikes against US forces who are based in Iraq, retaliatory strikes against groups that are operating in Iraq, all of those groups in the end sort of seemingly linking back to Iran, which says it's not trying to disrupt commercial shipping in the area, but neither is it seemingly raining in these groups that it supports and so all of that comes at a moment of high tension in the region. You've got significant military forces operating. The US Navy is in the area, other countries sending naval ships to try and support shipping that's passing through, and so the possibility of sort of a broader conflict does exist as a result, although so far we haven't seen that happen, and Iran has sort of urged some restraint itself. In a climate where you just have shipping in such close proximity, the possibility of a broader conflict cannot be ruled out. Is this going to draw in other actors at this point, Well, there are multiple actors on this sort of the Iran supported side already involved in different ways. Obviously in the conflict itself with Israel. You've got Hesblah still lobbying things from the across the Lebanon border. You've got the Huthi's operating out of Yemen. You've got groups operating out of Iraq, so they've got quite a few proxies at the moment for Iran operating in the region. On the other side, you've got the US Navy quite actively trying to support shipping shooting down drones and other rockets as they're firing through the air from Yemen. You've got other countries sort of saying they want to send their ships to support, and this talk this plan for sort of a naval support task force that's going to support shipping and deter further strikes in the region. You've got India talking about sending warships. So again, you've just got an awful lot of actors involved, none of whom who want really to end up in an outright conflict. But again, with so much shipping in close proximity, be it commercial shipping and naval shipping, the possibility of an accident even cannot be ruled out. Yeah, is it likely that the US would be forced to act even more assertively in this region, Well, they're very much not wanting to unless they have to, particularly again when it comes to Yemen. The US has been working hard in recent years to extricate itself from Yemen and of course urging the Saudi Arabians to also de escalate there, and not something that the US President Joe Biden wants to get particularly directly involved in again and certainly doesn't want to get involved in a one on one conflict that involves Ran and so it does exist as a possibility. The US very much doesn't want to end up with boots on the ground in another conflict. They've become very risk averse about that if you see prior history involving places like Afghanistan for example, they don't want to do that. But again, more and more they are engaging directly in support of shipping in the region and shooting down stuff that might be even flying towards Israel from Yemen for example. So at some point it doesn't become a bit moot. Are they sort of involved militarily yes? Are they directly military involved? They would say no, and they don't want to be Whether or not this is your expertise, I don't know. But in terms of the impact on commodities, especially oil for instance, is it kind of surprising we haven't seen a bigger jump in commodity prices as a result of these attacks. Well, we are seeing oil at least being supported as a result of this. You've got brand near eighty one dollars a barrel, it's about the highest level in almost a month. You're also seeing gas prices rise in a way that the commodity that may react more to this is gas because of concerns around restrictions on supply in the region if Iran really got involved in a conflict, and so the immediate concern maybe less about oil and how much needs to be shipped through that region or how much oil can come from Iran, but really the concern is about a possible impact on gas. We saw some gas fields in fact out of operation in the early days of this conflict between Israel and her mask that was out of an abundance of caution, and they have now resumed operation. But really the commodity that may react the most of this is gas, and that's one that we're watching closely. Today. You're listening to Bloomberg Daybreak. Today you're warning brief the story is making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed at six am Eastern each morning, on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. You can also listen live each morning starting at five am Wall Street time on Bloomberg eleven three to zero in the New York, Bloomberg ninety nine one in Washington, Bloomberg one oh six one in Boston. And Bloomberg nine sixty in San Francisco. Our flagship New York station is also available on your Amazon Alexa devices. Just say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven thirty plus. Listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app, serious xmvie iHeartRadio app, and on Bloomberg dot Com. I'm John Tucker and I'm Karen Moscow. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day, right here on Bloomberg Daybreak See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.