Trump Suggests Reimbursing Venezuela Oil Investments; New Products at CES | Bloomberg Brief 1/6/2025

Watch on YouTube ↗ | January 06, 2026 at 17:10 | 42:53 | Bloomberg Markets

Speakers

Ben Luckock — Global Head of Oil, Trafigura

Sitara Sundar — Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Tom Mackenzie — Anchor, Bloomberg

Neil Campling — Tech/TMT Analyst

Valerie — Bloomberg Reporter

Vonnie Quinn — Anchor, Bloomberg

Summary

Bloomberg Brief covers Venezuela's leadership transition after Maduro's ouster, President Trump's suggestion to reimburse oil investments, and oil-market implications with Trafigura's Ben Luckock. JPMorgan's Sitara Sundar discusses broadening earnings growth, sector opportunities, and private-market themes for 2026. The show also covers CES technology announcements from Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and Samsung, plus premarket movers in Vistra, Microchip, Adidas, Core Scientific, and Novo Nordisk.

Venezuela swears in Delcy Rodríguez as acting president; Maduro pleads not guilty in U.S. court.
Trump floats reimbursing oil investments in Venezuela; oil executives are expected to meet at the White House.
Ben Luckock says the oil market is oversupplied and sees low prompt/medium-term prices, with Venezuela unlikely to add barrels near term.
Sitara Sundar expects broadening earnings growth and favors financials, health care, AI-linked capex beneficiaries, and core private equity.
CES coverage highlights Nvidia Vera Rubin in production, AMD AI data-center chips, Intel 18A notebooks, and Samsung's Gemini adoption.
Premarket movers include Vistra buying gas plants, Microchip raising sales guidance, an Adidas downgrade, a Core Scientific upgrade, and Novo Nordisk launching a weight-loss pill.
Macro backdrop includes copper above $3,000 a tonne, iron ore lagging, U.S. curve steepening, and PBOC pledges to support China markets.

Ideas

Ben Luckock Global Head of Oil, Trafigura 13:42

Oil market oversupplied; prices stay low.

The oil market is oversupplied, and he expects low prices in the prompt and medium term. Stability in Venezuela removes a potential supply-disruption risk, Russia/Ukraine could eventually return more Russian supply, and even Iran-related risks are unlikely to push prices much higher because there is plenty of oil around. Venezuela cannot meaningfully increase production this year; any real recovery would take years and tens of billions of dollars.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 25:04

AI capex supports semis, industrials, utilities.

AI remains a key driver even where we are in the cycle. The CapEx cycle should continue, supporting technology through semiconductors and also infrastructure plays such as industrials and utilities.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 25:25

Broad U.S. equities still have fuel.

The bull run is not over: 2026 should bring a broadening of earnings growth beyond the AI-related winners, with double-digit earnings growth expected for seven of 11 GICS sectors, so broad U.S. equities still have fuel in the tank.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 25:48

Financials benefit from steepening curve, dealmaking.

Financials are coming back to the forefront, helped not just by a steepening yield curve but also by increased capital-market activity.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 26:01

Health care revival on M&A, innovation.

Health care is reviving after years in the doldrums, with a revival in M&A activity and drug innovation becoming more important as patent cliffs approach over the next few years.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 26:25

Core private equity set to rebound.

She is increasingly constructive on core private equity after three years of underperformance. Broadening earnings growth, resilient economic growth, easing financial conditions, and a reopening IPO/M&A window should support the asset class, while median private companies have grown earnings around 11.5% over the past decade.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 29:46

Private AI application layer is opportunity.

Within private equity, the AI opportunity is broadening from infrastructure to the application layer. 95% of software companies are private, and the application layer could be a $6 trillion opportunity by 2030, so access to it largely exists in private markets.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 30:16

Drug innovation via private biotech M&A.

Health-care innovation is another private-market opportunity: 70% of drug innovation happens through M&A, with big pharma buying small and mid-cap biotech companies, and much of that drug innovation occurs in private markets.

Sitara Sundar Global Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank 30:31

Security themes offer venture growth opportunities.

A security theme spanning energy transition, supply-chain security, and defense technology offers private-market venture and growth opportunities as innovation in those areas accelerates.

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This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 06, 2026, features Ben Luckock, Sitara Sundar discussing WTI, SMH, XLI, UTILITIES, SPY, XLF, XLV, Core private equity, AI-SECTOR, Private health-care/biotech innovation, Small/mid-cap biotech, Defense technology, ICLN, Supply chain security. 9 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Ben Luckock, Sitara Sundar · Tickers: WTI, SMH, XLI, UTILITIES, SPY, XLF, XLV, Core private equity, AI-SECTOR, Private health-care/biotech innovation, Small/mid-cap biotech, Defense technology, ICLN, Supply chain security