Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) The Seattle Seahawks won their second Super Bowl title on Sunday, beating the New England Patriots by a score of 29-to-13 at Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The Seahawks' defense came out strong, recording six sacks and forcing two interceptions against Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl MVP for his offensive efforts, becoming the first running back to win the award since the Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis in 1998.
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. Officials urged banks to limit purchases of US government bonds and instructed those with high exposure to pare down their positions, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The directive doesn’t apply to China’s state holdings of US Treasuries. Communicated verbally to some of the nation’s biggest banks in recent weeks, the guidance reflects growing wariness among officials that large holdings of US government debt may expose banks to sharp swings, the people said. The worries echo those made by governments and fund managers elsewhere amid a brewing debate over the safe haven status of US debt and the appeal of the dollar.
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. Her ruling Liberal Democratic Party achieved the biggest post-war victory for a single-party in a general election in Japan, an extraordinary transformation of fortunes for a party that was on the ropes last summer before getting behind the nation’s first ever female premier in October. The LDP secured a two-thirds super majority in the 465-seat lower house by itself, according to public broadcaster NHK. A tally of results by NHK early Monday showed that the ruling coalition had won 352 seats in the lower house, expanding its previous razor-thin majority of 233 by a considerable margin. The LDP’s haul of 316 seats gives it a higher proportion of representatives in the lower house than any other party in post-war Japan.

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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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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:
1) Amazon.com shares tumbled in premarket trading on Friday after the e-commerce and cloud-computing company’s $200 billion annual capex forecast is much higher than expected, underlining concerns about how much big tech companies are spending on AI-related investments and when they will pay off. The company reported spending roughly $130 billion on property and equipment in 2025. Analysts anticipated those expenses would reach about $150 billion this year. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said the money “predominantly” would go toward the company’s Amazon Web Services cloud unit, and most of that spending would be for AI workloads.
2) Bitcoin whipsawed in a volatile trading session after a selloff that briefly dragged the token to a more than 50% retreat from its October peak. The original cryptocurrency rose as much as 5.8% on Friday and traded around $64,800 at 9 a.m. in London. Earlier in the session, it came close to falling below $60,000 for the first time since October 2024. Cryptocurrencies have been on shaky ground ever since a brutal series of liquidations in October that sapped market confidence. The selling picked up steam this week in line with the unwinding of leveraged bets and broader market turbulence.
3) President Trump called for the creation of a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, as the existing New START agreement between the two nations expires and fuels concern about the possibility of a new arms race. The pact — formally known as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — built on efforts to reduce the nuclear weapons arsenals amassed during the Cold War. The deal expired on Thursday, raising the possibility that the US and Russia could potentially pursue new nuclear weapons unhindered by any diplomatic agreement while geopolitical tensions between Washington and Moscow rise.

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