Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day

On today's podcast:

(1) Keir Starmer’s future is in the balance after a crisis over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington claimed the UK prime minister’s closest aide.

(2) Chinese regulators have advised financial institutions to rein in their holdings of US Treasuries, citing concerns over concentration risks and market volatility, according to people familiar with the matter.

(3) Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a historic election triumph, positioning her as the nation’s strongest leader in the postwar era in an outcome that sent stock prices and bond yields soaring.

(4) Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian described the Friday nuclear talks with Washington as “a step forward,” even as he pushed back against any attempts at intimidation.

(5) The Seattle Seahawks have won the Superbowl -- beating the New England Patriots 29 to 13, with the halftime performance by Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny being attacked as "an affront to the Greatness of America".

(6) American activist investor Steven Wood’s one-man mission to overhaul the governance and culture of Swatch Group just became a lot harder. The company’s shares — the most shorted in Europe — recently had their best day ever, and are up 15% this year.

Podcast Conversation: Why Some People Live to 100 Despite Bad Habits

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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 S jobs and CPI data, along with a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
• In the UK – a look ahead to International Energy Week in London.
• In Asia – a look ahead to Softbank Earnings.

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Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day

On today's podcast:

(1) Amazon shares dropped after the company announced plans to spend $200 billion this year on data centers, chips and other equipment, worrying investors that its colossal bet on artificial intelligence may not pay off in the long run

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(2) All across Wall Street, day by day, the headlong rush into the most popular trades, from tech stocks to gold to cryptocurrencies, has given way to a sudden retreat from risk.

(3) Bitcoin whipsawed in a volatile trading session in Asia after a selloff that briefly dragged the token to a more than 50% retreat from its October peak.

(4) Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey appeared to endorse markets betting on a 50% chance of an interest-rate cut in March after a more dovish-than-expected decision to maintain the cost of borrowing this month.

(5) The euro zone will need time to see further productivity gains from an AI-related investment boom, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said.

Podcast Conversation:At $7,700 a Day, Aman’s Cruises Test Travelers’ Price Limits

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Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day

On today's podcast:

(1) There have been many AI-driven selloffs in the three years since ChatGPT burst into the mainstream. Nothing, though, quite rivals the rout rippling through stock and credit markets this week.

(2) Silver fell sharply, wiping out a two-day recovery, as the white metal struggled to find a floor following a historic market rout. Gold also declined.

(3) Keir Starmer is not the first Labour prime minister to be plunged into crisis by Peter Mandelson. It’s not even the first time it’s happened to Starmer. The difference is that members of his own party are now starting to number his days as leader.

(4) The European Central Bank is set to hold interest rates steady for a fifth meeting, judging that the latest bout of global tensions and euro strength haven’t thrown the economy off course yet.

(5) The Bank of England will almost certainly leave interest rates on hold on Thursday and wait for more evidence that inflation is under control, despite mounting concerns about the UK labor market.

Podcast Conversation: Sack a Prince? Easy. Fire a Lord? Not So Much: Matthew Brooke

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Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day

On today's podcast:

(1) A new AI automation tool from Anthropic PBC sparked a $285 billion rout in stocks across the software, financial services and asset management sectors on Tuesday as investors raced to dump shares with even the slightest exposure.

(2) Almost half a trillion dollars has been wiped off cryptocurrencies in less than a week as a selloff led by Bitcoin accelerated. Total crypto market value has slumped by $467.6 billion since Jan. 29, according to CoinGecko data.

(3) The European Union will pitch the US on a critical minerals partnership to curb China’s influence, looking to shape the Trump administration’s push to strike global agreements this week.

(4) London’s Metropolitan Police has started a criminal probe into Peter Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office, after the UK government said it had referred communications between him and Jeffrey Epstein to the authorities.

(5) Novo Nordisk A/S shocked investors by forecasting a steep decline in sales this year, a sign of how intensifying price wars in obesity drugs and the Trump administration’s pressure on pharmaceutical prices will hit the company’s results.

Podcast Conversation: What happens when the Winter Olympics can’t rely on winter

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Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day

On today's podcast:

(1) Elon Musk is combining SpaceX and xAI in a deal that values the enlarged entity at $1.25 trillion, as the world’s richest man looks to fuel his increasingly costly ambitions in artificial intelligence and space exploration.

(2) Documents released by the US Department of Justice appear to show that Britain’s Peter Mandelson leaked sensitive government information to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a minister.

(3) France’s parliament adopted a budget for 2026 after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes Monday, bringing the curtain down on months of political upheaval that’s rattled investor confidence in the country.

(4) The UK government is increasingly concerned that more protectionist policies pursued by the European Union could exclude British companies from supply chains in key sectors, derailing a reset in post-Brexit relations and potentially costing firms billions of pounds.

(5) President Donald Trump said he would roll back punitive tariffs on India in return for an agreement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would stop buying Russian oil, easing months of tension between the two countries.

Podcast Conversation: From New York to London, There's Now a Martini on Every Menu

Here's Why Outer Space Is the Next Frontier For Data Centers

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Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day

On today's podcast:

(1) Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, resigned from the UK’s ruling Labour Party to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” after the latest revelations about his links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

(2) Gold extended losses, after its biggest plunge in more than a decade on Friday, as silver also sank deeper, reversing a record-breaking rally that appeared to have run too far, too fast.

(3) Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he still wants the UK to join the European Union’s flagship €150 billion ($178 billion) defense fund after negotiations last year ended in failure.

(4) Iran’s supreme leader warned of a “regional war” as tensions continued to mount over potential US strikes on Tehran and top Israeli military officials visited Washington.

(5) British engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc has halted a plan backed by millions in government funding to put a mini nuclear reactor on the Moon, the Telegraph reported.

Podcast Conversation: The Em Dash Wars: How LinkedIn Users Are Policing AI Writing

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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 January jobs report and U.S tech earnings.
• In the UK – a look ahead to the 2026 winter Olympic games.
• In Asia – a look ahead to Japan’s snap election and a monetary policy decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

- Michael McKee, Bloomberg International Economics and Policy Correspondent, to preview the January jobs report in the U.S.
- Mandeep Singh, Global Tech Research Head at Bloomberg Intelligence, to preview U.S tech earnings.
- Tommaso Ebhart, Bloomberg’s Milan Bureau Chief, to preview 2026 olympic games.
- Paul Jackson, Bloomberg EcoGov Editor for Japan/Koreas, to preview snap Japan election.
- James McIntyre, Bloomberg Economist for Australia and New Zealand, to preview RBA decision.

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