Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Libraries Charts People & Topics Add Podcast API Blog Pricing
Podcast Image

Bloomberg News Now

Starmer Under Siege, Iran Ceasefire On ‘Life Support’, More

12 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 4.557 Stephen Carroll

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Stephen Carroll.

0

4.577 - 5.778 Caroline Hepker

And I'm Caroline Hepker.

0

6.279 - 29.127 Stephen Carroll

A growing number of junior government ministers and backbench MPs are calling on Keir Starmer to quit as momentum builds against the British Prime Minister. Bloomberg understands Cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, have privately told Starmer to set out a timetable to step down. The meeting came after the Prime Minister defended his party's poor local election results.

0

Chapter 2: What challenges is Keir Starmer facing as Prime Minister?

29.242 - 31.626 Stephen Carroll

Yes, I acknowledge the results are tough.

0

31.646 - 44.989 Keir Starmer

Yes, I acknowledge that we've lost brilliant representatives across the United Kingdom. And I have a responsibility for that. But I also have a responsibility to deliver the change that we were elected and that we promised this country. And I'll deliver on that.

0

45.847 - 60.868 Stephen Carroll

Clare Starmer's speech was billed as a change of direction, but instead prompted waves of lawmakers to publicly urge him to go. More than 70 of Labour's 403 MPs have now publicly called on Starmer to step aside. Chris Curtis is one of them.

0

60.848 - 70.337 Chris Curtis

I don't think we saw a plan from the Prime Minister in order to implement the kind of change that this country needs and I therefore think it's time for us to look for new leadership.

0

70.377 - 87.953 Chris Curtis

And I think what that means is the Prime Minister rightly now setting out a timetable and an orderly process for a leadership election and one in which Labour has a discussion about the vision for the country and what changes we think are needed in order to face the very real challenges that Britain currently faces.

87.933 - 98.649 Stephen Carroll

Labour MP and head of the Labour Growth Group in Parliament, Chris Curtis there. The Prime Minister is chairing a cabinet meeting this morning where he will have to confront some senior ministers who privately think his time is up.

99.45 - 121.441 Caroline Hepker

Well, fears over the future of the UK's Prime Minister are already feeding through into Britain's bond market. UK gilts were swept up in another sell-off yesterday as investors grew increasingly anxious about the country's finances. Investors appear concerned... that a change of prime minister could bring in a left-leaning candidate whose spending plans would require increased bond issuance.

121.801 - 142.324 Caroline Hepker

Despite yields being close to their highest level since 2008, James Stringer of Schroders is advising investors to steer clear of UK debt. The bond fund manager says that even 10-year yields around 5% are not enough compensation to justify resuming the firm's previously bullish stance on gilts.

142.726 - 160.06 Stephen Carroll

Oil prices are climbing after President Trump cast doubt on the fragile US-Iran ceasefire. Brent crude rose above $105 a barrel as fears grow that the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed for longer than markets had hoped. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump dismissed Tehran's latest proposal.

Chapter 3: What are the implications of Labour MPs calling for Starmer's resignation?

285.092 - 307.733 Chris Pitt

He argues that the market resembles the peak of the dot-com bubble, pointing to the Nasdaq 100 now trading at around 43 times earnings. Burry is among a number of market observers who've raised concerns about the rally driven by artificial intelligence spending boom that for now at least shows no signs of cooling. In London, Chris Pitt, Bloomberg Radio.

0

308.152 - 335.307 Caroline Hepker

South Korea's KOSPI index shed more than $300 billion in value in just 97 minutes today. The sharp sell-off followed a proposal from the president's policy chief to introduce a so-called citizen dividend funded by excess profits from the AI industry. Christy Tan, senior investment strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute, says there may be more volatility ahead for the index.

0

335.523 - 354.713 Christy Tan

What we saw this morning, that market is still very sensitive. I would be enthusiastic and careful at the same time. These markets are winners from AI capex, but they are also concentrated, especially in Taiwan. For Korea, the structural discount has narrowed, but that's not close totally.

0

354.693 - 370.322 Caroline Hepker

Christy Tan of the Franklin Templeton Institute speaking there. The sell-off equates to more than $3 billion a minute in losses for the benchmark index, weighing on sentiment across Asia, although the cost beat is still up 78% this year.

0

370.387 - 386.467 Stephen Carroll

Germany's fiscal watchdog has warned that the government risks breaching EU fiscal rules if current spending continues. The Stability Council expects the country's budget deficit to reach 4.25% of GDP this year, with spending growth of 6%. Both figures exceed EU limits.

386.888 - 394.217 Stephen Carroll

Today, the Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will hold a key meeting with his coalition partners to discuss plans to overhaul Germany's tax and pension system.

394.568 - 421.655 Caroline Hepker

And those are our top stories. Looking at the markets this morning, Brent crude futures trading up six tenths of 1% at $104.86 with WCI crude at $98.93. The KOSPI has seen wild swings today. At the moment, it's down by 3%. The AI boom enriching. The chip makers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix but calls for taxes on profits. Treasuries this morning. U.S.

421.695 - 446.63 Caroline Hepker

yields up by about a basis point at 442 for 10-year yields. Stock futures for the U.S. in the red. Eurostox 50 futures slumping seven-tenths of 1%. And we keep an eye on the pound, which is weakening two-tenths of 1% this morning. Remember, 30-year gilt yields yesterday rose almost 11 basis points to 5.69 because of the political pressures on the Prime Minister. Those are the markets.

447.311 - 451.177 Stephen Carroll

That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Stephen Carroll.

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.