Exploding Pagers Blamed On Israel, Fed Cut Record Bets Risk & Baby Hedge Funds

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Iran-backed Hezbollah accused Israel of orchestrating an attack that killed several people and left almost 3,000 wounded across Lebanon, increasing fears of an all-out war. (2) Traders who are locked into record wagers tied to the Federal Reserve’s expected interest-rate cut Wednesday are risking sharp losses if officials opt for a standard-sized reduction. (3) BlackRock Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up on one of the largest efforts to date to bankroll the build-out of data warehouses and energy infrastructure behind the boom in artificial intelligence. (4) Steve Cohen has stepped away from the trading floor. While the billionaire hedge fund founder remains Point72 Asset Management’s co-chief investment officer along with Harry Schwefel, he’s no longer investing clients’ capital. (5) The German Finance Ministry is sticking to a plan to sell off its entire stake in Commerzbank despite UniCredit's move to buy all the shares offered last week, according to people familiar with the matter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.