Bloomberg Businessweek

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Iran has stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, signaling it’s targeting the oil-rich kingdom more aggressively than earlier in the war. Tehran launched almost 100 drones at Saudi Arabia on Monday, far above the previous daily average of less than 25, according to data released by the Saudi defense ministry. The barrage marked the largest single-day strike on the country since the war began. The surge started last week and has since intensified, with attacks increasingly concentrated on the kingdom’s eastern province, home to major oil infrastructure. The escalation underscores Iran’s ability to destabilize the wider Gulf, threatening shipping lanes — particularly the vital Strait of Hormuz — and energy facilities. Iran is relying more heavily on drones than missiles as the conflict drags on. Drones typically carry smaller payloads than ballistic or cruise missiles and tend to cause less destruction, though they can still inflict significant damage depending on the target. Their relatively low cost and ability to be launched in large numbers make them a persistent challenge for air-defense systems. Launches have declined since the start of the war, but that doesn’t mean Tehran is running short of weapons. Despite US and Israeli strikes on stockpiles, launchers and drone factories, Iran remains able to sustain attacks. Today's show features: Dan Williams, Reporter for Bloomberg News Based in Jerusalem and Alex Vatanka, Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Ellen Wald, Transversal Consulting & Atlantic Council Senior Fellow on Oil Markets Mandeep Singh, Global Tech Research Head at Bloomberg Intelligence, on recent Nvidia news Samantha Dart, Co-Head of Global Commodities Research at Goldman Sachs on the latest in oil and natural gas See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oura said it is acquiring Helsinki-based Doublepoint Technologies Oy, which specializes in technology that allows users to control wearable devices with small hand movements using a combination of artificial intelligence and biometric data. The purchase will guide future versions of Oura’s smart rings, where hand gestures could play a central role to the experience, along with possibly voice control. Holly Shelton, Oura Chief Product Officer, speaks on why most health technology was not designed with women’s bodies in mind and why is it so important to build health products specifically for women?

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Nvidia, the company at the center of an explosive build-out of AI computing, expects to generate at least $1 trillion from its Blackwell and Rubin chips through the end of 2027.The company had previously forecast that the chips would bring $500 billion in sales by the end of 2026. The latest forecast, delivered by Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang during the company’s GTC event, extends the outlook. The forecast underscores the scale of Nvidia’s business, which has been supercharged by demand for chips that develop and run AI models. But the cumulative figure doesn’t suggest a tremendous acceleration in sales growth. After initially rising as much as 4.8%, the shares soon pared their gains on Monday.A flood of spending on AI chips has turned Nvidia into the world’s most valuable company. But investors have sought more evidence that the market’s growth remains on track. Nvidia is also facing mounting competition from rivals like Advanced Micro Devices Inc., as well as its own customers attempting to produce in-house chips to handle AI. The company has accelerated its technology development in recent years. Nvidia tries to replace its entire product lineup on an annual basis while adding new components. The next design of its flagship AI processors, appearing in systems in the second half of 2026, is called Vera Rubin. The lineup is named for the pioneering astronomer whose observations provided evidence supporting the existence of dark matter. Today's show features: Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg Tech Co-Host Marc Champion, Bloomberg Opinion International Affairs Columnist Catherine Owen Adams, Acadia CEO Drive to the Close with Aaron Mulvihill, JPMorgan Asset Management Executive Director & Global Alternatives Strategist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've probably heard of the pink tax—that additional price women pay to exist in the same world as men. Now meet the double tax, the compounded cost of racism and sexism or the pink tax and then some. The Double Tax dares to ask why it’s so expensive to be a woman in America and why it doesn’t have to be this way. In The Double Tax, Harvard researcher Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman summarizes the disparities that women face as they navigate life’s biggest moments. Not only do the numbers reveal that women incur higher costs than men, but also that Black and white women lead vastly different lives, marked by dramatic gaps in job opportunities, salaries, housing costs, childcare access, and generational wealth. She coins this gap as the “double tax,” the compounded cost of racism and sexism. She speaks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec, and Norah Mulinda.

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily." Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio. You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. A federal judge rejected as improper Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve Board seeking records relating to its renovations of its headquarters and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments to Congress about the project. US District Judge James Boasberg said the government had advanced no evidence to justify the subpoenas and said they clearly reflected an “improper motive” of retaliating against Powell over policy differences. Jeanine Pirro, who leads the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, called the ruling wrong and said they would appeal the decision. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Fed declined to comment. “A mountain of evidence suggests that the government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning,” Boasberg said. “On the other side of the scale, the government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the court can only conclude that they are pretextual.” DOJ issued subpoenas to the Fed in January threatening a criminal indictment, Powell said at the time. The subpoenas are related to the Fed’s ongoing $2.5 billion renovation of its headquarters in Washington and testimony Powell provided about the construction before the Senate Banking panel last year. Powell, in an unusually forceful video response to the subpoenas, characterized the investigation as motivated by the Fed refusing to set interest rates according to the preferences of President Donald Trump. Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, has been nominated by Trump to replace Powell when the latter’s term as chair ends in May. North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to block any Fed nominations as long as the DOJ investigation of Powell remains unresolved. Tillis reiterated that commitment this week. Today's show features: Elliot Stein, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Litigation Analyst Mike Collins, PGIM Fixed Income Managing Director & Executive Portfolio Advisor Oleksandr Komarov, Kyivstar CEO Katrina Manson, Bloomberg News Reporter covering Tech and National Security See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today the world of private equity and credit is a rancid pool of conflicts and illegality that cannot possibly be seen as superior to public markets. Private equity executives even enjoy special tax provisions from Congress for "carried interest" to reward them for their efforts in soaking investors. Advocates of private schemes like crypto tokens, which are explicitly not considered securities, buy and sell Members of Congress like chattel. Chris Whalen, former banker and risk analyst weighs in on the latest concerns in private credit on the back of this week’s headlines including JPMorgan Chase restricting some lending to private credit funds after marking down the value of certain software-linked loans in its portfolios. AS well as Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater capping withdrawals from their private credit funds See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Iran’s new supreme leader said the Strait of Hormuz should remain shut and Tehran will look to open other fronts in the war if the US and Israel persist with their attacks. In his first public comments since succeeding his father at the weekend, Mojtaba Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would seek to ensure the critical waterway for oil and gas stays effectively closed — maintaining a choke on supplies that’s triggered a surge in global energy prices. His statement — published on state media on Thursday — came as US President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons and being a threat to the Middle East is “of far greater interest and importance to me” than the cost of oil.The defiance shown by both leaders indicates that the war in the Middle East isn’t close to a de-escalation after almost two weeks of fighting. Israel launched a fresh wave of large-scale strikes across Iran on Thursday, while the Islamic Republic stepped up attacks on Dubai and shipping assets. Today's show features: Jennifer Welch, Bloomberg Economics Chief Geoeconomics Analyst Rockford Weitz, Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Professor of Practice & Director of the Maritime Studies Program Jason Greenblath, American Century Investments Senior Portfolio Manager Michael Lohan, CEO of IDA Ireland See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair (Ashley Fliehr) has joined Self-Care Is For Everyone (SCIFE) as the brand’s first Angel Investor and official Brand Champion. Ashley’s investment will directly fund SCIFE’s expansion from a viral apparel-led advocacy brand into a multi-platform mental health media and product company. For Ashley, this investment is deeply personal — as an elite performer who has navigated the pressures of global visibility, injury, reinvention, and resilience, she believes mental strength and emotional well-being are foundational to long-term success. Backing SCIFE is her commitment to normalizing self-care conversations and ensuring mental health support is accessible, aspirational, and stigma-free for the next generation. She speaks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Norah Mulinda.

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. A key measure of US inflation was tame at the start of the year. But another metric is shaping up to paint a very different picture.Wednesday’s report on the consumer price index showed core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, was mild in both January and February — a pleasant surprise as companies tend to raise prices at the turn of the year. Yet economists expect another gauge, one preferred by the Federal Reserve and set for release on Friday, was probably rather strong in both months. The fact that the personal consumption expenditures price index has been outpacing the CPI is already unusual. Typically it’s been the other way around, as a higher weighting on housing costs in the CPI tends to keep that measure relatively elevated. Now the wedge appears to be deepening. Should the core PCE rise 3.1% in the year through January as economists expect, it would exceed the annual core CPI by one of the widest margins in decades. The divergence began before the Iran war, which has sent oil prices sharply higher and renewed risks of a broader acceleration in inflation. That puts the Fed in a tough spot. While policymakers are broadly expected to leave interest rates unchanged next week, a sustained pickup in price pressures would make it difficult for officials to justify resuming rate cuts in coming months to shore up a fragile labor market. The PCE price index, a product of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, draws from the CPI for several price categories. In the wake of the latest CPI data, economists were quick to boost their forecast for the February core PCE price index, which is due April 9. Several projected it would rise 0.4% for a second month, with some penciling in a bigger pickup. Today's show features: Yelena Shulyatyeva, The Conference Board Senior US Economist, on today's CPI reaction as we count down to next Fed decision Gerry Doyle, Bloomberg News Global Defense Editor on Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts US Military Under Strain Gary Evans, US Antimony CEO on the company's $27M award from Dept of Defense under the Defense Production Act Ellen Wald, Transversal Consulting & Atlantic Council Senior Fellow on the latest in the oil markets See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will become Iran’s next supreme leader, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency announced, taking over after his father was killed in an attack by the US and Israel. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the third person to lead the Islamic Republic and the first example of hereditary succession since the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy in the 1979 revolution. Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected the country’s next supreme leader in a “decisive vote,” according to Fars. The vote took place hours before the result was made public. Alex Vatanka, Middle East Institute Senior Fellow, joins Bloomberg Businessweek Daily to discuss Mojtaba Khamenei's ascent and what it means for Iran and global relations.