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 Charles Capel. And I'm Caroline Hipker. The prices of gold, silver and copper have all plunged as a rout in the metals market continues to deepen following Friday's sell-off. Bullion has fallen by as much as 10% today. Silver tumbled by more than 14%. Copper also saw its losses mount with the metal dropping by 5%.
The rapid declines come after a record-breaking rally that appeared to have run too far too fast. Bloomberg's Martin Ritchie said the correction was overdue. I think throughout last week, all that kind of frenzied trading, all the bulls piling in, I think there was a lot of warnings that this price was going ahead of reality.
But now we're in a situation, I think, across gold, silver and perhaps even copper and metals, where we're looking to see where people start to buy the dip. Martin Ritchie speaking there after Friday's dramatic sell-off was triggered by the news that US President Donald Trump would nominate Kevin Walsh to lead the Fed.
The announcement sent the dollar higher and undercut sentiment among investors who had bet on Trump's willingness to let the currency weaken. The fallout is growing following Friday's release of around three million pages of material related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Britain's former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, has resigned his Labour Party membership over his links to the disgraced financier. Mandelson said he took the decision to avoid further embarrassment after documents revealed that payments totalling Ā£75,000 were made by Epstein to him and his partner in 2003.
The documents also show that, in 2009, Mandelson attempted to prevent the UK from introducing a tax on bankers' bonuses following a request from Epstein. Mandelson, who remains a peer in the House of Lords, says he believes that allegations of financial payments to him from Epstein are false and need investigating by him.
Well, among the material are images appearing to show former British Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over a woman. UK Cabinet Minister Steve Reid says the former prince should now testify before the US Congress about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The principle here is very, very clear.
If Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor clearly has insight into what was going on and he should testify because the victims deserve and need him and anybody else who may have witnessed things to do that. Steve Reid was speaking as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also called on Prince Andrew to testify.
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Chapter 2: What caused the recent plunge in precious metals prices?
He told reporters over the weekend that, quote, it makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the world to work more closely together as the continent looks to counter Russian aggression. Starmer's remarks came ahead of a series of meetings between senior UK and EU officials in London this week.
If a deal is reached, British defence firms would be able to bid for contracts funded by SAFE, the Security Action for Europe programme. Now, Iran's supreme leader has warned of a regional war as President Trump threatens military action. The news comes after weeks of escalating tensions over Tehran's deadly crackdown on civilian protests.
In a broadcast on state television yesterday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Iranian people will strike back forcefully against anyone who wants to attack or cause harm. Speaking to reporters in Florida over the weekend, the US president said his forces are ready to act. We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there. Very close. A couple of days.
And hopefully we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right. President Donald Trump also said that he's hopeful that Iran and the U.S. will reach a deal. Oil prices have plunged, however, after President Trump disclosed talks between Washington and Iran.
And British engine maker Rolls-Royce has halted its plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon by the end of the decade. The Telegraph reported the UK-backed programme is at a standstill due to a lack of potential partners. Bloomberg's Freddie Folsom has more. Could nuclear power be used to support a moon base for astronauts?
Backed by millions in government funding, Rolls-Royce had been looking to answer that question. However, the UK firm said that for now at least there are no current contracts in place to progress the project. By contrast, NASA in the US is accelerating plans to develop nuclear power on the moon. In London, Freddie Fulston, Bloomberg Radio. And those are our top stories for you this morning.
Let's think about the markets. The All Country World Index is down. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropping 2.3%. Stock futures also significantly lower. US Stocks 50 futures down 1%. NASDAQ futures down 1.5%. You've also got a continued route in precious metals. Gold is at the moment down 7.1%. Bitcoin has also seen a major sell-off. We're now trading just above $76,000.
And Brent crude futures are down by 4.6% as we see the dollar slightly firmer. That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Charles Capel. And I'm Caroline Hepka. And this is Bloomberg. As a place to do business, the UK stands apart. Not because of a single advantage, but a uniquely powerful combination of many.
As one of the world's leading financial centres, the UK puts over Ā£10 trillion to work every day, fuelling innovation across every sector. Home to four of the world's top universities, it provides exceptional talent and breakthrough research. This sits alongside a clear 10-year industrial strategy, unlocking smarter regulation and making it faster and easier to operate. Stability with dynamism.
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Chapter 3: How did Trump's Fed nomination impact investor sentiment?
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