Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

US employers unexpectedly cut jobs in February and the unemployment rate rose, raising doubts about the health of the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls decreased 92,000 last month after a strong start to the year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Friday. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.4%. The decline in payrolls partly reflected a decrease in health care employment due to strike activity.

Bloomberg Surveillance broke the numbers and got instant reaction from:

• Claudia Sahm, Chief Economist at New Century Advisors
• Nadia Lovell, Head of Global Equity Strategy at UBS Global Wealth Management
• Jennifer Lee, Senior Economist at BMO Capital Markets

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones targeting countries across the Persian Gulf overnight, while Israel renewed airstrikes on the Islamic Republic in a war that’s entered a seventh day with no end in sight. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain were among those that came under renewed attack from the Islamic Republic, while Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran and Beirut. The war has left at least 1,332 people dead in Iran so far, and dozens of others have been killed elsewhere in the region in retaliatory strikes. The Pentagon said six US troops have been killed, all in the first two days of fighting. President Trump said the US continues to “totally demolish” Iranian forces, telling NBC he wanted to “clean out” Iran’s leadership structure and he had names in mind to take over.
2) The US House voted down legislation to force a halt to US strikes on Iran as a handful of Democrats joined a nearly united Republican party in rejecting the measure. The 219-212 vote Thursday against the war powers resolution was largely symbolic, since it would have had to pass both chambers and the Senate’s version of the measure failed a procedural vote on Wednesday. The outcome allows President Trump to proceed in a conflict with uncertain costs, consequences and economic effects that commands far less initial political support than the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The American public turned against both those wars.
3) President Trump removed Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary after months of controversy and announced he would replace her with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. Trump posted on social media Thursday that the move would take effect March 31. He said that Noem would take a role as a special envoy for the Western Hemisphere. The change marks the first time Trump has replaced a Cabinet member during his second term. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a social media post that the administration will work to confirm Mullin “as quickly as possible.” A White House official didn’t respond to a question about whether he would also serve in an acting capacity before a possible Senate confirmation.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) The US-Israeli war on Iran entered a sixth day with no sign of easing, as the Islamic Republic said its retaliation against American strikes would escalate. Arab states across the Persian Gulf reported interceptions of Iranian missiles and drones overnight and into Thursday. Israel is carrying out waves of airstrikes on Tehran, hitting military and intelligence assets, following attacks on Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. President Trump said on Wednesday that the US was “doing very well on the war front.” The White House said American forces had struck more than 2,000 targets and were moving toward “complete and total control of Iranian airspace,” while the Islamic Republic’s regime had been “absolutely crushed.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said retaliatory attacks will intensify in coming days, according to the Nour news agency. Tehran will target Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility if the US seeks regime change, Iran’s semi-official ISNA said.
2) The Senate voted 53 to 47 against a measure that would have required congressional approval for President Trump’s military operations against Iran, and similar war powers resolutions are expected to fail in the House. Most Republicans have backed Trump’s decision to bypass Congress, arguing he is constitutionally authorized, though several have warned that support is not unlimited -- particularly if the conflict becomes prolonged or involves ground troops. Some GOP lawmakers expressed concern privately about oversight and the lack of hearings, while Democrats have pledged to repeatedly force war powers votes despite slim chances of passage.
3) Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said he thinks it’s still appropriate to continue cutting interest rates given that it’s too early to take a stance on the impact of war in the Middle East on the US economy. Oil prices surged after the US and Israel launched attacks across Iran over the weekend, and investors marked down the odds of Fed rate cuts in 2026. Some Fed officials speaking this week have suggested it raises uncertainty over the outlook — a development Fed watchers have interpreted as possibly keeping the central bank on hold for longer.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) President Trump said the US will ensure safe passage of oil from the Middle East to head off a potential energy crisis caused by the war with Iran, which continues to reverberate across the region and roil markets. The fighting has showed no signs of abating five days after it erupted, with Israel and Iran continuing to exchange airstrikes and missile fire. Hundreds of people have died in Iran and dozens elsewhere in the region, while the US says six of its servicemen have been killed. In all, about a dozen nations have become embroiled in the conflict, with Tehran striking at US bases and embassies across the Middle East, and Israel launching an air and ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon after it came under attack from the Iran-aligned group.
2) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his support for US military action in Iran came “with regret” because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order. Israel and the US acted without engaging the United Nations or allies including Canada, he noted. At the same time, Carney said he agrees with the objective of stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons or further threatening international peace and security through its support of terrorism. Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the UK shouldn’t sacrifice its principles for more favorable trading terms with the US, as she stood by the government’s decision to withhold British backup for the American-Israeli assault on Iran.
3) US Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are heading for a runoff in the Republican primary for the US Senate in Texas, while state Representative James Talarico defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in a Democratic race that was marred by legal challenges. In the GOP primary, Cornyn was leading with a little more than 42% support, less than two points over Paxton as of early Wednesday. A third candidate, US Representative Wesley Hunt, won enough votes to deny either a majority, sending Cornyn and Paxton to a two-person race to be decided in May. The runoff sets up more than two months of additional campaigning that will further drain the candidates’ coffers as Republican seek to defend their majority in the Senate in November.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) The US-Israeli war on Iran reverberated across the Middle East and global markets on Tuesday, as oil and gas prices surged and Tehran vowed to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane. Both the US and Israeli militaries continued to bombard Iran’s capital. The US embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, causing limited damage, and Israel sent soldiers into southern Lebanon, where the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia is based. The escalation came as the US sent conflicting messages about how long the war might last, and an adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander told state TV that forces “will set fire to any ship attempting to pass through” the Strait of Hormuz. China, which buys most of Iran’s oil, urged “all sides” to ensure the safe passage of ships through the waterway, where traffic has effectively halted.
2) President Trump escalated his criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a fresh indication of how strained the two allies’ relationship has become over the US president’s efforts to enlist the UK’s help in its strikes against Iran. Starmer — who declined a US request to use British bases for offensive operations against the Islamic republic — has “not been helpful,” Trump said in an interview with The Sun tabloid. “It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.” It’s the latest in a series of jibes Trump has made toward the Labour Party leader since he pushed back against Trump’s designs on Greenland earlier in the year. The US president has repeatedly criticized Starmer’s deal ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius — something he did again in his Sun interview — and has also dismissed Britain’s role alongside American troops in the Afghanistan war.
3) US and Chinese trade negotiators are slated to meet in mid-March, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling a planned summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is pushing ahead despite American strikes against Iran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng are expected to convene in Paris at the end of next week to discuss business deals that could stem from the leaders’ meeting, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss plans that aren’t yet public. Both the timing and location of the meeting could still shift, the people added. Among the issues that could be addressed are a possible Chinese purchase of Boeing Co. planes, commitments to buy US soybeans and Taiwan, the self-ruled island China views as its own, some of the people said. The future of US fentanyl tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court could also be on the agenda, they added.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) President Trump said the bombing campaign against Iran will continue until its objectives are achieved, calling on the nation’s leaders to capitulate as a report indicated at least one top official in Tehran sought to resume nuclear talks with the US. Trump on Sunday re-confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and said the US and Israel had struck hundreds of targets in Iran including Revolutionary Guard facilities and air defenses. The US military’s Central Command announced Sunday that three US service members were killed and five “seriously wounded” during operations against the Islamic Republic, but gave no further details. Trump, who campaigned for the presidency on a pledge not to endanger American troops in the Middle East, called their deaths part of “the righteous mission” in a video posted on social media. “There will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
2) Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are stepping up criticism of Iran’s regional attacks, while Gulf states consider coordinating efforts to halt what they’ve called “treacherous” and “heinous” actions by Tehran. Ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council nations held an extraodinary meeting on Sunday to review damages from Iran’s strikes on countries spanning from the UAE to Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, and consider necessary steps to restore stability and peace to the Middle East, according to a statement from state-run Saudi Press Agency. The states affirmed their right to respond to respond to Iran in “self-defense, either individually or collectively” and said GCC members “will take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and to protect their territories, citizens, and residents, including the option to respond to the aggression.”
3) Oil surged the most in four years as traders gauged the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered by US and Israeli strikes against Iran, with hostilities escalating across the region. Global benchmark Brent was more than 9% higher near $80 a barrel, after earlier rallying by as much as 13% to the highest since January 2025. Tanker traffic through the strait — the chokepoint off Iran’s coast that handles a fifth of the world’s oil and large volumes of gas — has largely halted, with a self-imposed pause in place by shipowners and traders as the conflict spreads.

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'Bloomberg This Weekend' features unique conversations on business, news, lifestyle and culture. Join David Gura, Christina Ruffini and Lisa Mateo Saturdays and Sundays for discussions with business leaders, lawmakers and cultural icons.  

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The US and Israel began striking targets across Iran, with President Donald Trump urging Iranians to overthrow the government in a conflict that threatens to spiral across the oil-rich Middle East.   

“The hour for your freedom is at hand,” Trump said, addressing Iranians in a video posted on Truth Social on Saturday. “When we’re finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”   

The military campaign could be a defining moment for Trump, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of mid-term elections this year. Iran quickly responded by firing missiles on Israel and US bases around the region, and countries in the Persian Gulf closed their airspace.  

Israel’s military said the campaign would target “dozens of military targets,” and Iran media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including more than 50 people dead in a strike on a school in Hormozgan, in the south of the country. Several large explosions were reported in the capital, Tehran.   
Bloomberg's David Gura and Christina Ruffini lead our team coverage in this instant reaction podcast.

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Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US – a look ahead to the February jobs report, along with a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
• In the UK – a look ahead to "Made in Europe" the tagline of a new scheme to rejuvenate Europe's defense, energy, and manufacturing sectors.
• In Asia – a look ahead to China PMI data.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) US and Iranian officials ended the latest round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday by agreeing to reconvene as soon as next week, opening the door to further diplomacy even as President Trump masses military forces in the region. With just days to go before Trump’s deadline to reach an agreement, the two sides agreed to resume discussions at a technical level in Vienna. Oil pared gains given the prospect of more talks, though there was no public reaction from the US side, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. A person familiar with the US position said the Americans were leaving Geneva disappointed with the progress of the talks.
2) Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she denied any association with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a “repetitive” hours-long deposition before congressional investigators Thursday. Clinton told reporters after the deposition she is confident her husband, former President Bill Clinton, knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes. Bill Clinton, who is set to face questioning on Friday, will be the first ex-president forced to testify before Congress. Thursday’s closed-door interview, which took place in Chappaqua in upstate New York, also touched on topics ranging from UFOs to the so-called PizzaGate conspiracy theory that took hold during the 2016 presidential campaign, she said.
3) Netflix Inc. dropped out of the fight to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., clearing the way for rival bidder Paramount Skydance Corp. to clinch its $111 billion deal for the historic Hollywood studio. The streaming industry leader said that while it believed its deal would have passed muster with regulators and created shareholder value, it didn’t want to keep bidding. “We’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive,” Netflix said Thursday in a statement. Instead, it will keep investing in its business, including about $20 billion this year on films, TV shows and other entertainment offerings.

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