Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The UK stands apart as a place to do business, not because of one advantage, but many working together. Over Ā£10 trillion in capital, four of the world's top universities, a 10-year industrial strategy in action, its stability with dynamism, global reach with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Find out more at business.gov.uk slash growth.
News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Karen Moskow. We're going to bring you some breaking economic news in just a moment, but first, the latest on the Epstein files. The retail tycoon behind Victoria's Secret is going to answer lawmakers' questions in private today about his longtime money manager, Jeffrey Epstein.
Bloomberg's Laura Duszynski has more on today's deposition with L Brand's founder, Les Wexner.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are eager to pull out more details related to this Epstein probe. This has been a way for Democrats especially to highlight President Trump's intersection with these leaders and officials and But beyond Trump, it is a way to really use Congress's investigative powers to get individuals who may not necessarily want to talk to talk.
And that's Bloomberg's Laura Duszynski. Meanwhile, Paris prosecutors have opened two new investigations tied to Epstein, and they're calling on possible victims in France to come forward. Prosecutors say one case covers sex abuse crimes and the other covers financial wrongdoing.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is expected to step down from her role before her eight-year term ends in October 2027. That from the Financial Times. It reports Lagarde wants to leave before the French presidential election in April next year, which would allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to find her replacement together.
Japan plans to invest $36 billion in U.S. energy and critical minerals projects as part of its $550 billion pledge under the trade deal with President Trump. Bloomberg Global Trade Editor Brendan Murray says one of the biggest projects is right in the nation's heartland.
There's a project in Ohio, a natural gas facility that's supposed to be the biggest in the U.S. if it gets fully built. There's a crude oil facility in the Gulf of Mexico. And there's an industrial machinery component processing facility in, President Trump said, in the state of Georgia.
So these are three projects that the Trump administration has really needed to get off the ground and get announced.
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Chapter 2: What new developments are emerging in the Epstein case?
Now investigators are processing search warrant evidence, canvassing gun shops, even working to see if they can track Nancy Guthrie through her pacemaker. There's some cautious optimism between the U.S. and Iran after their latest round of nuclear talks in Geneva. Bloomberg's Paul Wallace is monitoring from Dubai.
Both sides cited progress, and broadly speaking, they seemed happy with the results. Now, the details are still very, very vague. at this point.
Chapter 3: What impact does Les Wexner's deposition have on the Epstein investigation?
But what we do know the next step is for Iran to send the Americans written proposals to try and bridge the gaps that remain and we have to say that those gaps are still pretty wide and cover a range of issues.
And that's Bloomberg's Paul Wallace, who says Iran plans to return with a new proposal in two weeks. Both sides plan to exchange draft texts for a deal before scheduling a third round of talks. A second day of U.S.-brokered meetings in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine broke up after barely 90 minutes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of attempting to prolong the process.
The head of Russia's delegation said the talks were difficult and businesslike, adding the next meeting will take place soon without specifying when. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify during a landmark social media trial in Los Angeles. The plaintiff, a now 20-year-old woman, is seeking to hold social media companies responsible for harming children who use their platforms.
Tesla is going to be allowed to continue selling electric vehicles in California uninterrupted. This is after the company revised what the state had called misleading marketing of driver assistance technology. Shares of the New York Times are moving higher. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has built a stake in the media publishing company in the fourth quarter.
The conglomerate did slash its stake in Amazon by 75%. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will review a Moderna flu shot made with mRNA technology that reverses a previous decision that shocked Wall Street and spurred a public verbal dispute between the company and its regulator.
Madison Square Garden Sports says its board has unanimously approved a plan to explore a possible spinoff that would separate its New York Knicks business from its New York Rangers business. It would create two distinct publicly traded companies. Turning to the Olympics, Norway leads the medal count with a total of 32. Fifteen of them are gold. The U.S.
is third with six gold medals and 23 medals overall. Now to that breaking economic news crossing the Bloomberg. U.S. orders for business equipment increased in December by more than projected, suggesting solid capital investment at the end of the year as trade policy uncertainty gradually diminishes.
The value of core capital goods orders, a proxy for investment in equipment that excludes commercial aircraft and military hardware, increased 0.6% in December after a revised 0.8% gain a month earlier that was twice as much as previously estimated. Meanwhile, new residential construction in the U.S.
rose to a five-month high in December as homebuilders boosted production to take advantage of lower borrowing costs. Housing starts increased 6.2%. U.S. stock index futures, they are higher. Dip buyers are stepping in. After concerns over artificial intelligence drove sharp swings in equity markets, gold climbed back above $4,900 an ounce.
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