US Wages Economic War on Iran | Radio Balance of Power: Early Edition 8/20/2026

On the early edition of Balance of Power, Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Kailey Leinz discusses the latest from the Trump Administration. On today's show, Ashton Analytics Founder Anna Ashton, Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis, Third Way Senior Fellow Caitlin Legacki and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig. Chapters 00:00:00 Radio Balance of Power: Early Edition 00:01:07 Market Update: Stocks Fall, Yields Rise 00:03:35 Walmart's Warning on the U.S. Consumer 00:04:09 Trump Announces Economic Offensive Against Iran 00:05:25 What Trump's Iran Economic Plan Could Include 00:06:03 China, Iranian Oil & Secondary Sanctions 00:07:05 Bessent Signals Bigger Treasury Buybacks 00:08:16 Debt, Deficits & Rising Borrowing Costs 00:09:52 China Faces Pressure Over Iran 00:11:16 Who Has the Upper Hand: Trump or Xi? 00:13:14 Could Iran Sanctions Trigger China Export Controls? 00:15:08 China, Data Centers & the AI Race 00:18:01 South Korea, China & U.S. Pacific Strategy 00:20:31 Treasury Buybacks Fail to Calm Bond Markets 00:21:24 Why Higher Interest Rates May Be Here to Stay 00:22:44 Political Panel on America's $40 Trillion Debt 00:24:08 Can Washington Actually Cut Spending? 00:26:39 Bessent's Intervention in the Bond Market 00:30:39 Can Trump's Iran Economic Offensive Work? 00:32:35 Market Update: Yields, Bitcoin & Oil 00:35:08 White House Shake-Up & the CLARITY Act 00:36:36 CFTC Chair on the Future of Crypto Regulation 00:37:46 What Happens if the CLARITY Act Fails? 00:41:52 Iran War Trades & CFTC Investigations 00:44:08 War, Assassination & Geopolitical Prediction Markets 00:45:40 AI Compute Futures & the Race With China -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tinyurl.com/ysu5b8a9 Visit http://www.bloomberg.com for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute market data, features, profiles and more. Connect with Bloomberg Television on: X: https://twitter.com/BloombergTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloombergTelevision Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloombergtv/ Connect with Bloomberg Business on: X: https://twitter.com/business Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloombergbusiness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloombergbusiness/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bloombergbusiness?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/bloomberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bloomberg-news/ More from Bloomberg: Bloomberg Radio: https://twitter.com/BloombergRadio Bloomberg Surveillance: https://twitter.com/bsurveillance Bloomberg Politics: https://twitter.com/bpolitics Bloomberg Originals: https://twitter.com/bbgoriginals Watch more on YouTube: Bloomberg Technology: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergTechnology Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/@business Bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake Bloomberg Espanol: https://www.youtube.com/@bloomberg_espanol Bloomberg Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergPodcasts