Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The latest on Trump probes

The US Justice Department said a “limited set” of material seized from former President Donald Trump’s home by FBI agents seeking classified documents may be covered by attorney-client privilege. The government made the revelation in a filing Monday in a lawsuit in which Trump is seeking appointment of a so-called special master to review documents taken from Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8. The Justice Department’s own privilege review team “identified a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information” and “completed its review of those materials.” The government is now following procedures for handling privileged material set out in the affidavit that was used to get the search warrant. Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp must testify before a grand jury investigating Trump’s actions after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, but not until after he faces his own election later this year, a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled. And US Senator Lindsey Graham’s political “entanglement” with Trump undercuts his argument that he can’t be forced to testify before a grand jury investigating possible election fraud, Atlanta’s district attorney told a judge. —Natasha Solo-Lyons

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

The rally that has bolstered risk assets over the past month was just a blip in a bear market that is likely to worsen from here. That’s the view of investors who seem to be finally getting the message that a resolutely hawkish Federal Reserve and its central bank peers are planning to raise interest rates at all costs to combat the hottest inflation in a generation.

For cash-strapped renters, the situation is getting more dire in many US metro areas. The Zumper National Rent Index shows the median rent for a newly listed one-bedroom apartment is now at $1,486 nationally, up 11.8% over August 2021 — beating last month’s record high. More than half of US cities are showing double-digit rent hikes, with some over 30%.

The Manhattan skyline. Photographer: Ismail Ferdous/Bloomberg

US stocks and Treasuries ended Monday lower as traders recalibrated their expectations in response to the Federal Reserve indicating that it will continue to raise interest rates to tamp down on inflation. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 finished lower for the second straight session. Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year rate hovering around 3.11%. The two-year yield had climbed to its highest level since 2007 earlier in the day before paring the advance. Here’s your markets wrap.

The bottom 50% of US households, generally those with a net worth of $166,000 or less before the pandemic, are in the strongest relative financial position in a generation.

Hurricane Alley hasn’t been this quiet in a quarter century. The Atlantic crucible of hurricanes hasn’t had a storm all month and if the calm holds it will stand as the quietest August in 25 years.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani outlined the businesses each of his three children will oversee during Reliance Industries’s annual shareholder meeting, laying down for the first time a clear succession path at the $220 billion Indian conglomerate that became mired in a bitter fraternal feud almost twenty years ago.

Mukesh Ambani. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

The European Union is preparing to step into its energy market, intervening in the short term to dampen soaring power costs and eventually seeking to break the link between gas and electricity prices, according to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

• Bloomberg Opinion: Musk tries a new way out of Twitter.
• Elon Musk says world needs more oil and gas as bridge to renewables.
• European energy slumps as German gas stores fill ahead of target.
• German-Danish offshore wind hub to help replace Russian gas.
• Europe’s benchmark power price breaks 1,000 euros for first time.
• Singapore unveils long-term work visas to end talent crunch.
• Mercedes-Maybach has risen gloriously from the dead, again.

When the US Open tennis tournament begins this week in New York’s Flushing Meadows, expect handshakes both on the court and on the sidelines. New ticket packages combining courtside seats with exclusive dining or meeting spaces were snapped up by corporate buyers ahead of the event, according to Kirsten Corio, chief commercial officer of the US Tennis Association. Perhaps most-coveted are the two dozen seats—which can each cost more than $10,000, depending on the session—available through the tournament’s “Courtside Premier” program. The lofty price tag comes with in-seat snacks and beverages. Also included are photos with trophies, dining in the players’ cafe, and a “meet and greet” with former champions.

Photographer:Daniel Acker

Get the Bloomberg Evening Briefing: If you were forwarded this newsletter, sign up here to receive it in your mailbox daily along with our Weekend Reading edition on Saturdays.

Bloomberg Technology Summit: The global economy is being redesigned amid surging inflation, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine and the current bear market. Join Bloomberg Live in London and virtually on Sept. 28 to hear Europe’s business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors explain how they’re adapting to this environment and discuss strategies to create business models that foster growth and innovation. Register here.