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SHERY: THIS IS THE ASIA TRADE. THE TOP STORIES THIS HOUR. ASIAN STOCKS SET FOR A CAUTIOUS OPEN AS OIL RALLIES, STOKING CONCERNS THE FED WILL HAVE TO RAISE RATES. THE YEN WEAKENS WITH INTERVENTION EFFORTS PROVING SHORT-LIVED. NVIDIA FALLS AS IT TEAMS ONE WALL STREET GIANTS TO INVEST HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS IN A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT WITH FEW DETAILS ON TIMING AND STRUCTURE OF THE DEALS. AND PRESIDENT TRUMP MAKES SWEEPING NEW DEMANDS ON IRAN, DIMMING HOPES OF A QUICK DEAL TO REOPEN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ.

HAIDI: I’M HAIDI STROUD-WATTS IN SYDNEY. AS SHERY ALLUDED TO, WE’RE LOOKING PRETTY NEW AT THE START OF TRADING THIS TUESDAY. A LITTLE BIT OF GLOOM COMING THROUGH FROM THE FACT WE HAVEN’T HAD NEW RESOLUTIONS, PROGRESS WHEN IT COMES TO THE U.S. AND IRAN. IN FACT, PRESIDENT TRUMP MAKING SWEEPING NEW DEMANDS, PUTTING THE IDEA OF ANOTHER TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER OUT OF REACH. TAKE A LOOK AT THE SETUP. TECH STOCKS UP .3% AT LAST TRADE.

THAT’S LEADING THROUGH TO A WEAK START WHEN IT COMES TO TRADING IN KOREA. IN CHICAGO, NIKKEI FUTURES LOOKING QUITE FLAT AT THE MOMENT. WE’RE WATCHING FOR THE IMPACT OF DOLLAR-YEN. WE HAD RAISED ABOUT HALF OF THE GAINS WE’VE SEEN POST-INTERVENTION, WEAKENING BY 1% TO END THE SESSION. THIS IS THE WORST PERFORMANCE OUT OF THE G10 IN FX ON MONDAY. SO GIVEN THE SORT OF LACK OF SUSTAINABILITY OF INTERVENTION GAINS, TRADERS ARE ON ALERT FOR POTENTIAL FURTHER SUPPORT FROM OFFICIAL CHANNELS.

SWITCHING OUT TO LOOK AT THE GEOPOLITICAL STORY, BECAUSE OIL CONTINUING TO HOLD THESE GAINS, GOING INTO A FOURTH DAY AFTER WE HEARD FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP MAKING THESE NEW DEMANDS ON IRAN THAT REALLY CLOUDED THE OUTLOOK TO REOPEN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AT A TIME WHEN WE WERE HEARING THAT PERHAPS IRAN AND OMAN WERE GETTING CLOSER TO FINALIZING THAT AGREEMENT. TRUMP HAS NOW DEMANDED COMPENSATION FOR ALL THE PEOPLE THEY HAVE KILLED IN CONFLICT THAT HE SAYS AFTER TEHRAN ALSO REITERATED A QUEST FOR REPARATIONS, SO SHERY, WHEN IT COMES TO GEOPOLITICS, WE’RE NOT GETTING ANY CLOSER IT SEEMS.

SHERY: YEAH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE ASIA STOCK MARKET, WE’LL ALSO BE WATCHING THE TECH TRADE VERY CLOSELY, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDOUT. NVIDIA NOW TAPPING WALL STREET GIANTS FORKED ADS HUNDRED BILLION TO FINANCE THE NEXT WAVE OF A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE. THE COALITION BRINGS TOGETHER SOME OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST INVESTORS TO FUND THE COMPUTING POWER, DATA CENTERS, AND A.I. FACTORIES THAT NVIDIA SAYS WILL POWER EVERYTHING, EVERY INDUSTRY IN THE YEARS AHEAD.

BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR JOINS US NOW WITH MORE ON THIS. TOM, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT WALL STREET GIANTS LIKE GOLDMAN SACHS, BLACKROCK, BLACKSTONE, APOLLO, SO MANY OTHERS, LIKE KKR. DOESN’T NECESSARILY SOUND JUST LIKE ANOTHER CHIP PARTNERSHIP. HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THIS? TOM: WELL, IT’S SOME OF WALL STREET’S BIGGEST NAMES, SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN FINANCE, AND WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO DO IS PUT A STAMP OF APPROVAL, IF YOU WILL, FROM WALL STREET ON SOME OF THESE TRANSACTIONS THAT NVIDIA IS INVOLVED WITH WITH SOME OF THE OTHER BIG TECH FIRMS.

AS YOU’RE WELL AWARE, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IT NEEDS TO BE INVESTED IN A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE BOTTLE E BOGGLES THE MIND, AND IT’S ALSO CAUSED A LOT OF CONCERN IN THE MARKETS OVER HOW MUCH IS BEING SPENT AND HOW QUICKLY WE’RE GOING TO SEE A RETURN ON THOSE INVESTMENTS. NVIDIA IS AT THE CENTER OF MANY OF THESE TRANSACTIONS. THEY’RE BEING CHARACTER ISLESSED AS CIRCULAR IN NATURE. THE IDEA IS THAT NVIDIA WILL MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN THAT COMPANY, AND THAT COMPANY WILL IN TURN BUY NVIDIA’S PRODUCT.

THE CONCERN IS THAT SHOULD DEMAND NOT MATERIALIZE AS QUICKLY AS HOPED, THAT THAT COULD RESULT IN, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF, SOMETHING CATASTROPHIC FOR THE INDUSTRY. SO THE MORE COMPANIES YOU HAVE, LIKE APOLLO AND OTHERS, BLACKROCK, BLACKSTONE, PUTTING THEIR NECKS ON THE LINE, THE MORE THAT SHOULD GIVE THE MARKET A SENSE OF REASSURANCE THAT THEY’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, NVIDIA IS NOT ALONE, IT’S GOT THE BACKING OF THESE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES, SO THAT’S THE MESSAGE THEY’RE TRYING TO SEND.

HAIDI: IT’S INTERESTING, BECAUSE THERE’S MURMURS FROM CONCERNS OF CREDIT MARKETS, WHICH IS TYPICALLY WHERE YOU START TO SEE THE SIMMERINGS OF DISCONTENT. BUT YOU’RE SAYING POTENTIALLY THIS IS SUPPOSED TO ADD CONFIDENCE, IT COULD ACTUALLY CREATE A BIT MORE FEAR. TOM: YEAH, MY MEAN, WHAT YOU’RE SEEING IS THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY GETTING REALLY, REALLY LEVERAGED, TAKING ON LEVELS OF THE DEBT THAT YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IN A LONG TIME.

SO WHAT’S HAPPENING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE COMPANIES THAT HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN ABLE TO REINVEST IN OPERATIONS WITHOUT NECESSARILY TAKING ON TOO MUCH DEBT. THAT CERTAINLY IS CHANGING, AND THE IDEA HERE IS THAT THERE’S SO MUCH DEMAND FOR THESE ADVANCE CHIPS. REMEMBER, NVIDIA IS THE LEADER IN THE MOST ADVANCED CHIPS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR TRAINING AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, STARTING TO MAKE INTERFERENCES BASED ON THE DATA YOU’VE BUILT INTO THESE LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS.

THEY DO HAVE A STRONG LEADERSHIP POSITION IN THESE CHIPS. AND WHAT THEY TELL US TIME AND TIME AGAIN, QUARTER AFTER QUARTER, THE DEMAND IS INSATIABLE, THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WANT AND ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THESE CHIPS. IT’S A QUESTION OF WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM AND HOW MUCH IS NVIDIA PUTTING ITSELF ON THE LINE IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. AND NOW IT HAS ALL THESE PARTNERS FROM WALL STREET TO JOIN IT IN THOSE EFFORTS.

SHERY: ARE WE SEEING HOW A.I. CAP EX COULD BE TRANSLATING TO RETURNS? I MEAN, IN THIS EARNINGS SEASON, FOR EXAMPLE, WE SAW INVESTORS REALLY GIVING SUPPORT TO STOCKS LIKE MICROSOFT AND AMAZON, BUT THEN PUNISHING OTHERS LIKE ALPHABET, FOR EXAMPLE. TOM: YEAH, THE QUESTION IS, WILL THERE BE THAT END USER DEMAND FOR ALL OF THE TOOLS THAT ARE BEING GENERATED AND THE INFORMATION AND THE SERVICES, THE CODING, FOR EXAMPLE, THE BUILDING OF AGENTS, THE WAYS THAT THESE SERVICES ARE SUPPOSED TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS, WHETHER IT’S EVERYTHING FROM INSURANCE TO FUND MANAGEMENT TO H.R.

ONE INDUSTRY AFTER ANOTHER, ENTERTAINMENT IS BEING DISRUPTED BY THESE END SERVICES. AGAIN, THE QUESTION IS, WILL THAT DEMAND JUST THE INVESTMENT? AND DON’T FORGET, WHERE YOU’RE SITTING RIGHT THERE IN ASIA, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF ASIA, CHINA IN PARTICULAR, THEIR BUILT TO CREATE LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS, CREATE TOOLS THAT ARE BEING A COMPETITOR TO ANTHROPIC AND OPENAI AND GEMINI AND XAI, ETC., THE U.S.

LEADERS. AND SO AS YOU SEE MORE COMPETITION FROM CHINA, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT IS THAT GOING TO DO TO END USER DEMAND FOR ALL OF THESE, FOR THESE TOOLS THAT ALL OF THIS INVESTMENT, THESE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT ARE BEING INVESTED IN A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE, IF CHINA CAN COME ALONG AND DO IT MORE CHEAPLY, ARE WE GOING TO SEE THE RETURN, AND IS THIS MONEY WELL SPENT? AND WE WANT TO KNOW, WE AS INVESTORS, ARE SAYING WE WANT TO KNOW THAT THE RISK IS GOING TO BE MITIGATED AND THE RISK WILL BE DISTRIBUTED OVER MULTIPLE PARTIES.

AND AGAIN, WHEN YOU BRING IN DAVID SOLOMON AND LARRY FINK AND LEADERS FROM WALL STREET, THAT IS MEANT TO SAY, YES, WE ARE SHARING THIS BURDEN, WE BELIEVE IN THE A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD, WE BELIEVE IN NVIDIA, WE BELIEVE IN ITS ABILITY TO MEET DEMAND, BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT IN ORDER TO FULFILL ALL OF THESE OBLIGATIONS, IT’S GOING TO NEED FINANCIAL HELP. SOME OF THAT’S GOING TO TAKE THE FORM OF DEBT. SHERY: REALLY GREAT TO GET YOUR PERSPECTIVE.

THESE ARE SOME OF THE OTHER STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING. THE S.E.C. HAS EASED A PATH FOR DATA CENTER OPERATORS TO ISSUE ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES. IN A LETTER TO A LAW FIRM LATE LAST MONTH, THE AGENCY SAID DATA CENTERS ARE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS, NOT FINANCIAL ASSETS LIKE LOANS OR LEASES, MEANING SOME RULES WILL NOT APPLY. THE MOVE COULD HELP UNLOCK MORE FUNDING AS WALL STREET LOOKS TO FINANCE A HISTORIC BUILDOUT OF DATA CENTERS AND A.I.

INFRASTRUCTURE. INTEL SHARES FELL AFTER ANNOUNCING PLANS TO RAISE $15 BILLION THROUGH A STOCK OFFERING, THE