Bloomberg This Weekend

Iran said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz for shipping transit due to what it called Israel’s violation of a ceasefire, even as Pakistan said US-Iran talks were set to open in Switzerland on Sunday.

The Hormuz action casts a new cloud over the talks, which are aimed at permanently ending a conflict that’s thrown the Middle East into disarray. The immediate impact on vessel traffic was unclear, but even before the rec...

US President Donald Trump said an interim deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the conflict with Iran would be signed on Sunday, a claim contradicted by Iran as the two sides still differ over key points, including management of the waterway and payments to the Islamic Republic.

“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump said in a so...

Elon Musk and his executives had one overarching message for the army of people working on the SpaceX initial public offering over the past six months: Faster, move faster. 

As the gigantic space exploration startup barreled toward a public listing after 24 years as a private company, the urgency was apparent. The acquisition of a $250 billion artificial intelligence company in the middle of the process? Don’t let it slo...

Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to deliver the biggest ever IPO, more than doubling the size of Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion listing in 2019. The company is offering about 555.6 million shares at $135 each in a deal that could value it at roughly $1.8 trillion. The stock will make its debut on the NASDAQ on Friday.

Plus, the International Air Transport Association's Annual General Meeting. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said afflu...

President Donald Trump expressed interest in the US government holding equity stakes in leading artificial intelligence developers, saying that he planned to discuss the idea of a partnership with AI companies’ executives as soon as next week. Trump said he had already spoken to the companies about the idea, though he offered no specifics on those conversations. In his remarks, he addressed news reports that the administratio...

New details emerged this morning about President Trump's meeting in the situation room last Friday. According to Axios, President Trump is asking for several amendments to a deal negotiated between his envoys and the Iranians. In particular, President Trump wants to strengthen the sections around Iran's nuclear material, including details on how the US gets that material, and when.

All this is happening while several Americans were...

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised defense allies in Asia and hailed newly stable ties with China, while taking swipes at longstanding security partners in Europe. The comments, made Saturday at an Asia security forum in Singapore, are the latest sign of the Trump administration shifting attention toward the Indo-Pacific while expressing antagonism toward Europe and the NATO alliance. 

Hegseth singled out allies such as...

President Donald Trump said the US won’t “rush” into a deal with Iran, saying both sides must take their time to “get it right.” This comes after an earlier White House announcement that a deal with Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is forthcoming.

A man was shot by US Secret Service agents near the White House on Saturday after he opened fire with a handgun, according to a statement ...

Persian Gulf nations and Pakistan stepped up efforts to transform a fragile truce in the Iran war into a permanent peace deal, with US President Donald Trump again signaling that the conflict may end soon.  

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief and the favored interlocutor between the US and Iran, visited Tehran Friday for discussions on an accord with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that lasted l...

President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. succeeded in their efforts to defeat Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana’s Republican primary.

Cassidy was one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection, and Trump said of Cassidy that "his disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVE...

President Trump returned to the White House after a summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi warned that Taiwan could lead to "clashes" between the US and China, calling it a "highly dangerous situation" for the world's biggest economies. Trump must now decide whether to approve a $14 billion US arms sale to Taiwan, which could unleash a bipartisan backlash in Washington or face Beijing's wrath if the deal is approve...

Iran submitted its response to the latest US proposal to end 10 weeks of war, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported, without giving any further details. The proposal implies Iran’s acceptance would end the conflict, which has killed thousands of people across the Middle East and sent energy prices soaring. The two sides would still need to negotiate a deal over Iran’s nuclear program, which remains a criti...

The UK will deploy one of its warships to the Middle East as part of planning for a European-led mission to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz once there’s a stable ceasefire. The move comes as Iran weighs a new proposal from the US to end the war, which has been going on for 10 weeks. The ship has just completed weapons system testing off the coast of Crete and was deployed to help defend Cyprus at the start of the co...

Efforts continued to broker an end to the Iran war, now into its third month, as President Trump suggested the Islamic Republic’s latest peace proposal might not be enough to satisfy him. Iran’s suggestions include setting a one-month deadline on talks for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end both the US naval blockade and the fighting in Iran and Lebanon, Axios reported, citing two people familiar with the mat...

Spirit Airlines is winding down operations after the troubled US discount carrier buckled under the weight of surging fuel prices and a government bailout dangled by President Trump fell through. All Spirit flights have been canceled, and passengers have been advised not to go to the airport, after the airline failed to secure a deal with the Trump administration for funding.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke hours after Sp...

Bloomberg's Tom Keene and 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 he’ll remain at the central bank as a governor after his term as chair ends. “After my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period...

Bloomberg's Tom Keene, Jonathan Ferro and Lisa Abramowicz break down the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance.

Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged, but revealed a deepening division over the outlook for policy amid increased uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East.Four officials voted against the decision, including three who objected to language ...

The armed suspect who tried to enter a Washington ballroom where President Donald Trump was speaking was likely targeting administration officials, according to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Blanche said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that the man is believed to have acted alone after traveling by train from California and had been staying at the Washington Hilton, which was hosting the annual White House Corresponden...

President Donald Trump will send envoys to Pakistan with the intention of meeting with Iranian officials, while Tehran sounded a pessimistic tone on the prospects for talks to end the eight-week war roiling the global economy. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to depart Saturday for talks this weekend, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview on F...