Lizzie Burden

According to one source, the former Fed governor visited the White House yesterday.

Speaking last night, President Trump teased his impending announcement without giving the name away.

Donald Trump speaking there.

Sources who spoke to Bloomberg on the basis of anonymity warned that the selection is not final until the announcement is made.

Meanwhile, the arrival of a US aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East means that President Donald Trump has new options to carry out his threats to attack Iran.

The group has about 45 aircraft, but President Trump's goals remain unclear, with his message shifting from removing Iran's leaders, punishing the regime for its deadly crackdown on protesters, or extracting a new nuclear agreement.

The New York Times is reporting that the U.S.

president has been presented with an expanded list of potential military options by the Pentagon.

According to the newspaper, the current set of options even includes the potential for American forces to carry out raids on sites inside Iran.

And the officials say Trump is taking a similar approach to Iran as he did to Venezuela.

Turning to earnings, Apple has delivered record quarterly sales and a better than expected forecast for the current period.

Sales at the tech giant trounced Wall Street estimates, jumping 16% to just under $144 billion in the final three months of last year.

Bloomberg's chief technology correspondent, Mark Gurman, says it's hard to put into words just how good these results are.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman setting out the positive results there, driven by the iPhone 17, as Apple also warned that rising component costs are threatening to squeeze margins in news that clouded the record quarter.

According to CEO Tim Cook, the company expects more of an impact to gross margins in the current period.

And President Trump and Senate Democrats have reached a tentative deal to avert a disruptive US government shutdown.

The deal would fund the Homeland Security Department for two weeks to allow more time for talks.

Democrats are seeking requirements that DHS agents use body cameras and obtain judicial warrants.

But lawmakers are almost certain to fail to enact the measure before a Friday night deadline.

And I'm Lizzie Burden.