Microsoft reported better-than-expected growth in its cloud business and said spending on AI infrastructure hit a record. The closely watched Azure cloud-computing unit posted a 39% rise in sales during Microsoft’s fiscal fourth quarter, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts projected 34% revenue growth. The shares rose about 7% in extended trading after closing at $513.24 in New York. The company’s stock was up about 22% this year through the Wednesday close.

Meta also reported results that sent shares higher after the close. Meta topped projections for second-quarter sales and gave a stronger-than-expected forecast for the current period, a sign that the social media company’s advertising business is still growing quickly enough to support aggressive spending on artificial intelligence. Shares jumped as much as 10% in late trading. Third-quarter sales will be $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion, Meta said in a statement Wednesday, with the midpoint of that range exceeding the average analyst estimate of $46.2 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The social media giant, which owns Instagram and Facebook, reported second-quarter revenue of $47.5 billion. Meta stock was up 18.7% so far this year before Wednesday’s report.

For instant reaction and analysis to earnings for both big tech companies, hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with:

• Dan Ives, Global Head of Technology Research at Wedbush Securities
• Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Anurag Rana
• Greg Halter, Director of Research at Carnegie Investment Counsel

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg's Tom Keene, Jonathan Ferro 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 Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates are in the right place to manage continued uncertainty around tariffs and inflation, tempering expectations for a rate cut in September.
“There are many, many uncertainties left to resolve,” Powell told reporters Wednesday following the central bank’s decision to once again keep rates unchanged. “It doesn’t feel like we are very close to the end of that process.”

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-2 to hold its benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 4.25%-4.5%, as they have at each of their meetings this year. Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted against the decision in favor of a quarter-point cut.

Traders pared back their expectations for rate cuts as Powell spoke. Interest-rate futures indicated roughly even odds on a reduction at the next meeting in September, down from about 60% earlier in the day. Treasuries extended losses, the dollar surged to the highest since May and the S&P 500 fell.

In their post-meeting statement, officials downgraded their view of the US economy, saying “recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year.” The Fed had previously characterized growth as expanding “at a solid pace.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's podcast:
1) President Donald Trump is set to make the final call on maintaining a tariff truce with China before it expires in two weeks, an extension that would mark a con
2) Stocks struggled in the hours before Wednesday’s Federal Reserve interest-rate decision as traders tackled a heavy load of major company earnings.
3) Four-foot (1.2-meter) tsunami waves were recorded in Hawaii, while remote parts of California also braced for impact after a powerful earthquake in Russia’s Far East triggered tsunami alerts across the Pacific.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's podcast:
1) Work was winding down at 345 Park Avenue on Monday when a man strode across the public plaza just outside the Midtown Manhattan tower with an assault rifle in his hand.Within minutes, at least four people were dead, as well as the gunman, in a mass shooting in the epicenter of American finance. The harrowing scene unfolded in the 44-story, dark-glass tower that houses the offices of private equity giant Blackstone Inc., consultant KPMG, the National Football League and building landlord Rudin Management.
2) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a 90-day extension of a trade truce with China was a likely outcome with negotiations between the two countries underway in Stockholm.
3) Barclays Plc’s traders turned in their best second quarter performance in three years as the volatility wrought by US President Donald Trump’s trade war helped them deliver revenue that topped analyst expectations.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's podcast:
1) The US and European Union agreed on a hard-fought deal that will see the bloc face 15% tariffs on most of its exports, including automobiles, staving off a trade war that could have delivered a hammer blow to the global economy.
2) US and Chinese officials are meeting Monday to extend their tariff detente beyond a mid-August deadline, and haggle over other ways to further defuse trade tensions.
3) Wall Street pros are staring down a pivotal week that will likely set the tone for the rest of the year in markets and the economy.First and foremost is the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday, and although it isn’t expected to cut interest rates, traders and investors will be poring over commentary for clues about the path ahead. Then there’s a string of Big Tech earnings with Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. all reporting. And sprinkled throughout are some key indicators on the state of the economy, from gross domestic product to nonfarm payrolls.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US – a look ahead to a monetary policy decision from the Fed and earnings from some of the “Magnificent Seven” tech companies.
• In the UK – a look at President Trump’s trip to Scotland.
• In Asia – a look at ahead to China PMI data and a conversation on Asia tech investing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's podcast:
1) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is smack in the middle of one of President Donald Trump’s preferred attack strategies — flooding the zone.
2) Intel Corp. tumbled in late trading after Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan sparked concerns that he was more focused on cost cutting than restoring the chipmaker’s technological edge.
3) Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance Media was approved by the US Federal Communications Commission, which backed the deal after the Trump administration extracted concessions on the news and entertainment company’s political coverage and diversity practices. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump downplayed jostling with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over cost overruns during a tour of the central bank’s renovation project, even as he used the interaction to again push for lower interest rates.

After a tour that saw Trump and Powell publicly trade barbs over the cost of the project, Trump maintained there was no tension with the Fed chief and indicated that problems with the project probably weren’t reason enough to fire the central bank head.

But the remarkable tour still saw the president joke that he might ordinarily fire a project manager who oversaw similar cost overruns and again rib Powell — who for months has faced presidential criticism — over interest rates.

For instant reaction and analysis, hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with:

• Bloomberg News senior editor Wendy Benjaminson
• Bloomberg News Federal Reserve Reporter Jonnelle Marte on President Donald Trump's visit to the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1) US President Donald Trump suggested that he would not go below 15% as he sets so-called reciprocal tariff rates ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline, an indication that the floor for the increased levies was rising.
2) Donald Trump will personally visit the Federal Reserve Thursday to tour a construction site he’s criticized for cost overruns amid his escalating attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates.The White House announced the visit in the release of the president’s daily public schedule. The visit is planned for 4 p.m. reading simply, “THE PRESIDENT visits The Federal Reserve,” without further details.
3) Elon Musk warned of difficult times ahead for Tesla Inc. after one of the automaker’s worst quarters in over a decade.Tesla will be a transition period for the next year or more, losing electric vehicle incentives in the US and needing time to roll out autonomous vehicles, the chief executive officer said.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tesla fell short of Wall Street’s expectations in one of the automaker’s worst quarters in years, a sign of the toll that rising competition and a backlash against Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk have taken on the company. Adjusted earnings were 40 cents per share, Tesla said Wednesday in a statement, just below the average analyst estimate. Revenue fell 12% to $22.5 billion, the sharpest decline in at least a decade.

Still, the report was free of new bombshells and the company said it continues to move forward with robotaxi and affordable-vehicle plans, providing a measure of relief for investors. That comes “despite a sustained uncertain macroeconomic environment resulting from shifting tariffs, unclear impacts from changes to fiscal policy and political sentiment,” Tesla said.

For instant reaction and analysis, hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with:

• Bloomberg Intelligence Global Autos and Industrials Research Manager Steve Man
• Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.