The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Oil surged as the Iran war threatened to snarl shipping lanes, stoking inflation fears that pummeled bonds amid diminishing odds for a rate cut. The dollar rose. Stocks erased losses.
Also weighing on Treasuries were figures showing manufacturing expanded, with input prices jumping. Ten-year yields headed toward their biggest advance since April. The S&P 500 was little changed after a slide that earlier topped 1%. Energy and defense shares gained. Several tech firms with solid balance sheets rallied. Airlines sank. Gold topped $5,300.

The near halt to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and disruption at a big refinery in Saudi Arabia underscored the threat to oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate jumped 6.3% to settle at $71.23. European natural gas prices soared as Qatar shut the world’s largest LNG export plant.

As US-Israeli strikes on Iran reverberated across the Middle East, President Donald Trump called on the nation’s leaders to capitulate, while the Islamic Republic’s security chief ruled out negotiations. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the idea of an “endless” war.

Today's show features:

• Michael Contopoulos, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Richard Bernstein Advisors, on the equity and fixed income market reaction to the latest armed conflict in the Middle East
• Mona Yacoubian, Director and Senior Adviser, Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, on the major Middle East escalation as the US and Israel battle against Iran and its proxies
• Marcelo P. Lima, Founder and Managing Partner at Heller House, on the threat of AI to fintech jobs following Block’s 40% staff reduction
• Cole Smead, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of Smead Capital Management, on the energy market reaction to the military action across the Middle East

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Vir Biotechnology Vir is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on powering the immune system to transform lives by discovering and developing medicines for serious infectious diseases and cancer. The company on Monday announced new data from the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of VIR-5500, a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting, PRO-XTEN dual-masked T-cell engager (TCE) being evaluated in patients with advanced metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have progressed after multiple lines of therapy. These data suggest that VIR-5500 monotherapy is well tolerated and exhibits promising anti-tumor activity.

Marianne De Backer, Ph.D., the CEO at Vir Bio, discusses the progress being made with the firm's leading treatments, the runup in its share price thus far in 2026, and why partnerships are key to advancing Vir's impact. Dr. De Backer speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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'Bloomberg This Weekend' features unique conversations on business, news, lifestyle and culture. Join David Gura, Christina Ruffini and Lisa Mateo Saturdays and Sundays for discussions with business leaders, lawmakers and cultural icons.

Watch the show LIVE on Bloomberg Television from 7AM-10AM Eastern Time.
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The US and Israel began striking targets across Iran, with President Donald Trump urging Iranians to overthrow the government in a conflict that threatens to spiral across the oil-rich Middle East.

“The hour for your freedom is at hand,” Trump said, addressing Iranians in a video posted on Truth Social on Saturday. “When we’re finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

The military campaign could be a defining moment for Trump, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of mid-term elections this year. Iran quickly responded by firing missiles on Israel and US bases around the region, and countries in the Persian Gulf closed their airspace.

Israel’s military said the campaign would target “dozens of military targets,” and Iran media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including more than 50 people dead in a strike on a school in Hormozgan, in the south of the country. Several large explosions were reported in the capital, Tehran.
Bloomberg's David Gura and Christina Ruffini lead our team coverage in this instant reaction podcast.

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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

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
President Donald Trump directed US government agencies to stop using Anthropic PBC’s products, capping a feud between the artificial intelligence giant and the Pentagon over safeguards on its technology.

Trump said Friday that there would be a six-month “phase out period” for agencies including the Defense Department that are using Anthropic’s products.
“The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,” the president posted on social media. “Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology.”
Spokespeople for Anthropic didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hegseth had given Anthropic until 5 p.m. on Friday to allow the Pentagon to use the Claude chatbot for any means necessary, within legal limits. The company had insisted that Claude not be used for mass surveillance against Americans or in fully autonomous weapons operations.

Trump’s decision will send a shockwave through Silicon Valley, where tech firms have invested billions of dollars on artificial intelligence and are weighing how best to handle federal government contracting. The move takes aim at a company that’s leading development of AI, a centerpiece of Trump’s economic agenda.

Today's show features:

• Bloomberg News Reporter covering technology and national security Katrina Manson, on President Donald Trump directing US government agencies to stop using Anthropic's products due to a feud over safeguards on its technology
• Robert Reffkin, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Compass International Holdings, and Varun Krishna, President and CEO of Rocket Companies, on a three-year strategic alliance aimed at expanding home listing inventory to create an enhanced affordable home buying and selling experience for American families
• Luis von Ahn, Co-Founder, Chairman, President & CEO of Duolingo, on earnings and the struggles of the language learning platform in the era of AI-related disruption
• Bloomberg News Senior Editor, Equities Americas Eric Weiner, recapping the worst trading month since March 2025

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February is American Heart Month, known as a critical time for bringing increased attention to cardiovascular health and the prevention of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the US. Women are particularly vulnerable to cardiac health threats spanning biological, clinical and healthcare system factors that contribute to underdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and worse outcomes compared to men.

Dr. Joy Gelbman, Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine as well as a board-certified cardiologist, is well-versed in the unique challenges facing women when it comes to their cardiac health. She breaks down specific sex-specific risk factors, differing disease presentation and pathophysiology, as well as the experience disparities in treatments and outcomes. Dr. Gelbman speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Jack Dorsey’s Block is cutting 4,000 employees, reducing its workforce by nearly half as the financial technology firm places a bet on artificial intelligence changing the future of labor productivity.

Block has been restructuring its business model and staffing since 2024 as the company’s stock has lagged. At the same time, the company has invested heavily in artificial intelligence tools to run more efficiently, including building its own tool called Goose.
The reduction in force, which was announced in a shareholder letter on Thursday, comes after rolling job eliminations that have often been tied to annual performance reviews.
The move by Block is the latest indication of the havoc that new AI tools are wreaking on the economy and financial markets.

In the shareholder letter, the company highlighted strong financial performance over 2025 including gross profit growth that more than doubled from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.

Dorsey, the company’s co-founder, touted how the company has reignited growth of users of its peer-to-peer payments app Cash App, scaled its lending products and accelerated Square gross payment volume. Block reported gross profit of $10.36 billion in 2025, up 17% year-over-year.

Today's show features:

• Bloomberg News Fintech and Crypto Reporter Emily Mason on Block's massive staff cuts
• Chris Miller, Professor of International History at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, on the geopolitical forces shaping the global ecosystem for semiconductors
• Steven Dickens, CEO and Principal Analyst of HyperFRAME Research, with Nvidia earnings analysis and a lookahead to CoreWeave earnings after the bell
• Bloomberg News National Security Reporter Jaime Tarabay on Hillary Clinton’s closed-door testimony related to her connections to the late Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations that the Department of Justice withheld some files in the Epstein case due to an abuse claim against President Trump

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