Episode summary
Trump Pressures Iran on Blockade; Intel Shares Surge on Earnings | Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
· · 15 min
Summary
The US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, with President Trump saying he will keep restrictions in place until Iran comes forward with a new peace proposal. Iranian officials are also refusing to return to talks until the naval blockade is lifted, and the reporting suggests Trump’s rhetoric on social media is further hardening positions. Oil markets remain under pressure, with crude and gas prices rising as traders price in a more prolonged disruption to Gulf energy flows.
On the diplomatic front, Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire for another three weeks after meetings in Washington, though there was no immediate confirmation from the parties involved. Separately, a Reuters report said the Pentagon is considering options to punish NATO allies over the war, including suspending Spain from the alliance; Pedro Sanchez pushed back, saying Spain remains a loyal partner and cooperates within international law.
Markets were focused on Intel, whose June-quarter revenue outlook of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion topped Wall Street expectations and sent the stock sharply higher in extended trading. The upbeat guide reinforced the view that CEO Lip-Bu Tan is making progress on the company’s turnaround, helped by demand tied to AI and data-center processors. Microsoft and Meta also moved to cut jobs as they balance AI spending.
Key takeaways
- The US-Iran standoff is centered on the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump says he will not rush to lift restrictions or strike a deal.
- Iranian officials are signaling no return to negotiations until the blockade is lifted, raising the risk of a longer energy disruption.
- Crude and gas prices are rising as the market prices in tighter Gulf supply; Goldman Sachs said Persian Gulf oil supply is about 57% below pre-war levels.
- Intel's June-quarter sales forecast of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion beat expectations and drove a sharp post-earnings rally in the stock.
- The Intel outlook suggests stronger AI and data-center CPU demand, supporting CEO Lip-Bu Tan's turnaround plan.
- Microsoft and Meta are cutting jobs to help offset the cost of heavy AI investment, highlighting margin pressure across big tech.
Notable quotes
“Don't rush me, Jeff. Uh, you know, guys like you, you want to say, "Oh, so we were in Vietnam like for 18 years”
“He's suggesting that we are in the early innings of what could be a prolonged conflict”
“I don't want to rush it. I want to take my time. We have plenty of time and I want to get a great deal”
“The Intel story is a CPU story. So in the world of AI when we move from a place where a lot of the activity is focused on training to inference running the AI models Intel's feeling that benefit”
“we are out with some reporting overnight our colleagues uh on and Bloomberg uh on the BN side uh and they are suggesting that you know they've had conversations with the Iranian sources with Arab officials”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. — Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager — And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. — Karen, we begin with the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran. With both sides maintaining blockades over the Straight of Hormuz, President Trump has said he will keep restrictions in place until Iran comes forward with a new peace proposal. At the White House, Bloomberg's Jeff Mason asked the president about his timetable.
How long are you willing to wait until you get a unified response? — Don't rush me, Jeff. Uh, you know, guys like you, you want to say, "Oh, so we were in Vietnam like for 18 years. We were in Iraq for many, many years. We're in for all the I don't like to say World War II because that was a biggie, but we were four and a half almost five years in World War II. We were in the Korean War for seven years. I've been doing this for six weeks.
President Trump spoke to Bloomberg White House correspondent Jeff Mason in the Oval Office. We get more from Bloomberg's Jumanna Bersete in Dubai.
He's suggesting that we are in the early innings of what could be a prolonged conflict. At the same time, the Iranian side asserting once again that they're not going to go back to the negotiations table until that the US naval blockade is actually lifted. No signs that the US have plans to do so.
Uh and overnight I also want to draw your attention to an article that our Bloomberg colleagues put up also suggesting that the way that President Trump has been conducting this a lot of the threats and assertions uh the language that he's been using on social media has also not been resonating well with Iranian officials and they say that that is actually one of the limiting factors that is stopping the two sides from getting together at the negotiating table once again.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- iran blockade
- middle east ceasefire
- nato spain cooperation
- intel earnings outlook
- ai server processor demand
Companies and tickers mentioned
- INTC
- Intel
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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