Episode summary
Bloomberg Surveillance TV: March 5th, 2026 | Bloomberg Surveillance
Bloomberg Surveillance
· · Hosts: Tom Keene, Paul Sweeney, Lisa Mateo, Michael Barr · Guests: Brian Gardner, Victoria Gardner Coates, Jed Dorsheimer
Summary
The discussion centered on how the Iran conflict is colliding with U.S. politics, markets, and energy prices. The host pressed Brian Gardner of Stifel on whether President Trump is willing to absorb market risk in pursuing a broader Middle East agenda. Gardner said the president is “all in,” but argued that the bigger political danger is if higher gasoline prices and other inflation pressures spill into the summer and become a voter issue ahead of the midterms.
Victoria Coates said the military campaign against Iran is going well, but warned that the larger challenge is the leadership vacuum inside Iran. She said several figures could emerge, including a hardline cleric, Hassan Rouhani, or the son of the deceased supreme leader, but argued that none offers a clean path to stability. She also said U.S. stockpiles look adequate for Iran, yet remain a concern in a longer conflict, especially in a potential war with China.
Jed Dorsheimer pushed back on the idea that data centers are driving utility inflation, arguing instead that transmission bottlenecks, renewable variability, and underbuilt infrastructure are doing more of the work. He said tech firms’ willingness to fund their own power and interconnects should ultimately reduce prices, and highlighted GE Vernova, BWX Technologies, and base-load energy assets as beneficiaries.
Key takeaways
- Brian Gardner said the White House is willing to take near-term geopolitical risk, but gasoline prices could become the key political pressure point.
- Gardner argued the administration is using the Iran crisis to reinforce a broader legacy and midterm strategy, not just a foreign-policy response.
- Victoria Coates said Iran’s leadership vacuum could keep the conflict unstable and make a quick resolution less likely.
- Coates said U.S. ammunition looks sufficient for Iran, but a China conflict would expose much deeper stockpile and logistics problems.
- Jed Dorsheimer argued data centers are not the main cause of higher utility bills; transmission and renewable variability are the bigger drivers.
- Dorsheimer said GE Vernova, BWX Technologies, and base-load power assets should benefit from the shift toward more electricity demand.
Notable quotes
“I think he's all in at this point. Um, you know, maybe if the markets start to back up again, then he reconsiders”
“there is a risk that this goes on for longer than what people are pricing in today”
“The White House is allin. they they really want to maintain a a especially a House Republican majority”
“The media has it backwards. Data centers won't push up pricing, they will actually push down pricing”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. This is the Bloomberg Surveillance Podcast. I'm Jonathan Pharaoh along with Lisa Abramitz and Amarie Hordern.
Join us each day for insight from the best in markets, economics, and geopolitics. From our global headquarters in New York City, we are live on Bloomberg television weekday mornings from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. And as always on the Bloomberg terminal and the Bloomberg business app. So here's the latest this morning.
The Middle East conflict entering its sixth day with no signs of easing. Iranowing to intensify attacks in the coming days. Brian Gardner of Stifel writing prices, inflation, and jobs continue to be the most important issues to voters.
National security and foreign policy trail far behind. Brian joins us now for more. Brian, that begs the question, how much risk is the president willing to take here?
I
I I think he's all in at this point. Um, you know, maybe if the markets start to back up again, then he reconsiders uh because he, you know, as we've known throughout the Trump presidency, he does point to the markets as a barometer for his political success. Um, but for now, I I think he's all in.
So, Brian, when you say the markets, which market are we talking about? Sensitivity to the Dow or is it gas prices? Does the energy move actually matter?
Right. We're we're we're actually in the fog of war, right, John? Uh Jonathan, it it it it's it's tough to to figure out which markets we are talking about.
Um you know, I was listening to you guys earlier and you're talking about the kind of the very modest responses that we've had and that, you know, a lot especially on the equity side that people think that this is going to be very short and that there's a buying opportunity here and that it's all going to be fine at at the end of the day.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- us policy
- energy and sustainability
- economy
- financial markets
- investment outlook
Companies and tickers mentioned
- SF
- Stifel Nicolaus & Co
- William Blair & Co
Watch the episode
Watch “Bloomberg Surveillance TV: March 5th, 2026 | Bloomberg Surveillance” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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