Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

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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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 February jobs report, along with a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
In the UK – a look ahead to "Made in Europe" the tagline of a new scheme to rejuvenate Europe's defense, energy, and manufacturing sectors.
In Asia – a look ahead to China PMI data.
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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) US and Iranian officials ended the latest round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday by agreeing to reconvene as soon as next week, opening the door to further diplomacy even as President Trump masses military forces in the region. With just days to go before Trump’s deadline to reach an agreement, the two sides agreed to resume discussions at a technical level in Vienna. Oil pared gains given the prospect of more talks, though there was no public reaction from the US side, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. A person familiar with the US position said the Americans were leaving Geneva disappointed with the progress of the talks.
2) Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she denied any association with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a “repetitive” hours-long deposition before congressional investigators Thursday. Clinton told reporters after the deposition she is confident her husband, former President Bill Clinton, knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes. Bill Clinton, who is set to face questioning on Friday, will be the first ex-president forced to testify before Congress. Thursday’s closed-door interview, which took place in Chappaqua in upstate New York, also touched on topics ranging from UFOs to the so-called PizzaGate conspiracy theory that took hold during the 2016 presidential campaign, she said.
3) Netflix Inc. dropped out of the fight to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., clearing the way for rival bidder Paramount Skydance Corp. to clinch its $111 billion deal for the historic Hollywood studio. The streaming industry leader said that while it believed its deal would have passed muster with regulators and created shareholder value, it didn’t want to keep bidding. “We’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive,” Netflix said Thursday in a statement. Instead, it will keep investing in its business, including about $20 billion this year on films, TV shows and other entertainment offerings.
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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Cuba says a boat with 10 people near its coast early Wednesday was carrying weapons, and its occupants — Cubans living in the US — were intent on entering the country to fight against the government. Cuban forces killed four people who had opened fire from a speedboat with Florida tags, an incident with the potential to escalate an already tense standoff with the US. The vessel approached within one nautical mile off the coast of Villa Clara early Wednesday, Cuba’s Interior Ministry said in a statement. Six others on the speedboat were wounded and are being provided with medical care. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard would be looking into the incident.
2) The US and Iran started a third round of nuclear talks on Thursday with days to go until President Trump’s deadline for a deal. The two parties have been locked in a tense, months-long standoff over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and are negotiating through mediator Oman at its embassy in Geneva, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. Trump had given Iran a deadline of March 1-6 to strike a deal and has threatened military action if it fails to do so, sparking fears of a new Middle East war that could embroil Israel and Gulf Arab oil producers.
3) The US vowed to maintain high tariffs on China hours after Beijing warned against any future hikes, as President Trump’s sweeping levies return to the spotlight before his meeting with Xi Jinping. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday that Trump wants to keep tariffs on China steady at a range of 35% to 50%, while repeating earlier statements that the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate broad emergency tariffs wouldn’t affect most levies. Earlier the same day, China threatened to take “all necessary measures” if the US imposed fresh tariffs, after Washington signaled a probe into their 2020 trade deal would continue. Beijing reiterated it wants to use the existing consultation mechanism to build consensus.
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Nvidia Corp. gave a bullish quarterly revenue forecast, signaling that the build-out of AI computing remains on track, with fiscal first-quarter sales expected to be about $78 billion.
The company's outlook helped soothe concerns about a bubble in AI investments, with Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang saying that customers are racing to invest in AI compute.
Nvidia shares rose about 4% in extended trading following the announcement, after the company reported revenue gained 73% to $68.1 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, and profit was $1.62 a share, excluding certain items.

For instant reaction, Bloomberg Businessweek hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with analysts and experts from across the Bloomberg newsroom, including:
Bloomberg Tech Co-Host Ed Ludlow
Jay Goldberg, Senior Analyst, Semiconductors & Electronics with Seaport Research Partners
Bloomberg Intelligence senior tech industry analyst Mandeep Singh
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Anurag Rana
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