>> THE COUNTDOWN IS ON. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET THE EDGE AT THE END OF THE MARKET DAY. THIS IS "THE CLOSE." ROMAINE: STOCKS PUSHING HIGHER WITH ONE MORE BIG WEEK OF CATALYST AHEAD FOR THE YEAR APPEARED LIVE FROM STUDIO TWO IN NEW YORK, I'M ROMAINE BOSTICK. ALIX: A WHOLE WEEK? TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE THE MARKET IS. IT IS GOING TO BE AN INSANE WEEK. THE S&P IS UP .5%. EVERY SINGLE DAY OF DECEMBER WE HAVE HAD NEGATIVE BREAD. NASDAQ 100, ANOTHER RECORD HIGH. 45 RECORD HIGHS SO FAR THIS YEAR. YOU CAN REALLY SEE
WHERE THE RALLY CONTINUES TO BE CONCENTRATED. BROADCOM AND BIG TECH. ROMAINE: AND THE ADVANCEMENTS VERSUS DECLINERS. WE JUST HAVE A LITTLE MORE THAN TWO WEEKS LEFT IN THE YEAR AND WALL STREET NEEDS TO PREPARE IT SELF OR IS GOING TO BE ONE LAST BIG FLURRY OF MARKET CATALYST. RETAIL SALES ON TUESDAY. A BIG FED DECISION ON WEDNESDAY AND AN UPDATE ON HOUSEHOLD SPENDING ON FRIDAY. SPRINKLE BETWEEN WILL BE LATE SEASON EARNINGS FROM THE LIKES OF GENERAL MARS -- AND FEDEX. THIS COULD BE THE LAST CHANCE FOR A BROADER RALLY THAT STARTED THE YEAR NARROW. BIG
TECH IS BACK OUT IN FRONT. OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS. THE EARNINGS ARE THERE AND THE CASH FLOW IS THERE AND THE REVENUE GROWTH IS STILL STRONG. MOST STRATEGISTS SAY THE EARNINGS AND THE ECONOMIC DATA HAVE BEEN FAVORABLE. NOT JUST A BIG TECH. THERE WAS A REPORT ON THE U.S. SERVICES INDUSTRY WHICH SHOWED INVESTORS OR SERVICE PROVIDERS EXPANDING AT THEIR FASTEST PACE SINCE OCTOBER 2021. IN THE SAME REPORT YOU SAW A CONFIDENCE IN THE TWELVE-MONTH OUTLOOK AND A 2.5 YEAR CONFIDENCE. ALIX: CONFIDENCE IS THAT PEOPLE OR HIGHER THAN STOCK PRICES. THIS IS TAKING A LOOK
AT BREADTH. IT IS THE BLOOMBERG MAGNIFICENT SEVEN INDEX VERSUS THE S&P INDEX. THE MAG7 IS OUTPERFORMING EQUAL WEIGHTED INDEX THE MOST IN MORE THAN A YEAR. RBC WAS SAYING, WE NEED EARNINGS AND STRONGER ECONOMIC GROWTH TO FINALLY GET VALUE TO START TO OUTPERFORM. IN THE MEANTIME, WE DON'T GET THAT, WILL IT JUST BE THE MAG7 ALL DAY? ROMAINE: LET'S GET SOME INSIGHTS FROM OUR FIRST GUEST AS WE KICK YOU OFF TO THE CLOSE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON. TONY JOINS US IN STUDIO NUMBER TWO, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT FUNDAMENTAL EQUITIES WITH BLACKROCK. RAY TO SEE YOU, TONY. THE
WHOLE YEAR HAS BEEN WEIRD. WE STARTED WITH A NARROW RALLY. IT BROUGHT INTO FOR A FEW MONTHS AND NOW IT IS NARROWING AGAIN. A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER NEXT YEAR WILL BE A REPEAT OF THE MAG7 LEADERSHIP OR A BROADER >> SET OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE RALLY. >>I THINK WE WILL SEE GREATER BREADTH NEXT YEAR APPEARED THE REASON IS FUNDAMENTAL IN VALUATION. ON THE FUNDAMENTAL SIDE IF YOU LOOK AT 2023, THE EARNINGS GROWTH GAP BETWEEN THE MAG7 AND EVERYTHING ELSE OF THE S&P 500 WAS 37%. THIS YEAR THAT CAP HAS BEEN NARROWING AND IF
YOU LOOK AT ESTIMATES FOR NEXT YEAR, A GAP IN EARNINGS GROWTH IS AROUND 10%. STILL MORE EARNINGS GROWTH IN THE MAG7 BUT THE VALUATION GAP HAS NOT CHANGED AND IT IS STILL VERY BIG. ROMAINE: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE VALUATION GAP, YOU HAVE TO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT CLOSING THE GAP WILL BE A CATCH-UP WITH THE LOWER VALUATION NAMES. >> I DO THINK THAT IS THE WAY IT WILL GO BECAUSE THE REST OF THE MARKET EARNINGS GROWTH WILL ACCELERATE. ALIX: WHAT HAPPENS IF WE GET? A HAWKISH CUT ON? WEDNESDAY? DOES NOT CHANGE IT THE ABILITY FOR
THE RALLY TO BROADEN OUT? >> I AM EXPECTING A HAWKISH CUT. WHY? THE UNDERLYING ECONOMY IS SO STRONG YOU SEE THE BUSINESS CONFIDENCE PICKING UP, A LOT OF HOME EQUITY AND WEALTH BUILDING UP AND IT IS ALL STIMULATIVE. IF THE FED IS GOING TO BE MORE HAWKISH IT IS BECAUSE THEY SEE THE UNDERLYING STRENGTH OF THE ECONOMY. IF YOU -- IF I GAVE YOU AN OPTION FOR 2025 EQUITIES, WILL IT BE ANIMAL SPIRITS OR FUNDAMENTALS? ROMAINE: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT POSITIONING AS AN INVESTOR, AND THIS IS TARGETED MORE TO THE RETAIL SIDE THAN INSTITUTIONAL, IS
THERE A REFOCUSING THAT INVESTORS NEED TO DO GOING INTO NEXT YEAR? IF YOU ARE NOT IN A POSITION OR ARE MOVING OUT, HOW DO YOU CHANGE? >> I THINK THERE IS A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR INVESTORS TO REBALANCE THEIR PORTFOLIOS. IT IS LIKELY THEY ARE OVERWEIGHT GROWTH IF THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING. IF YOU WERE BALANCED TWO YEARS AGO, YOU ARE NOW OUT OF BALANCE. THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY AS THE MARKET BROADENS TO GET BACK INTO BALANCE. THE S&P 500 ITSELF, EVEN A CORE INDEX, THE S&P 500 HAS BECOME MORE GROWTH OVER TIME. EVEN THEN IT
WOULD BE HEALTHY TO SUPPLEMENT WITH MORE VALUE. ROMAINE: IS THE S&P STILL THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF THE BROADER MARKET? >> I DO THINK THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS BETTER. I THINK THE S&P 500 IS NO LONGER LARGE CAP. IT HAS BECOME MEGA CAP. IT IS LESS DIVERSIFIED IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF STOCKS. THE TOP 10 STOCKS MAKE UP 35% OF THE INDEX BUT ALSO THE SECTOR CONCENTRATION HAS GROWN TOWARDS TECH. FOR THOSE REASONS IT IS A MORE CHALLENGING BENCHMARK. IT IS NOT AS BROAD-BASED AS IT USED TO BE. ALIX: WHEN
YOU LOOK AT MEGA CAPS VERSUS LARGE CAPS -- WHAT IS THE WEIGHT OF THE INVESTOR IN LARGE CAPS? >> IF YOU LOOK AT THE S&P 500, THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE MARKET CAP IS ABOUT A TRILLION DOLLARS. LET'S PAUSE ON THAT -- A TRILLION DOLLARS. IF YOU TAKE OUT THE MAG7 IT FALLS TO ABOUT $225 BILLION. TAKE OUT THE TOP 10 AND IT FALLS TO $125 BILLION. THAT IS HISTORICALLY THE SWEET SPOT FOR LARGE CAP INVESTING. I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY ON ONE WAY TO PURSUE IT IS THROUGH ACTIVE MANAGEMENT OR THROUGH THE EQUALLY
WEIGHTED S&P 500 INDEX WHICH HAS THE LOWER MARKET CAP. ALIX: WE HAVE SEEN THE UNDERPERFORMANCE AT THE END OF THE DAY. DO WE CLOSE THE GAP AND HOW? I KNOW YOU'RE HARPING ON THE ECONOMICS AND THE FUNDAMENTALS WILL HAPPEN. >> OVER THE COURSE -- THE LONG COURSE OF HISTORY, THEY PERFORM AND THAT -- THEY PERFORM NECK AND NECK. IT IS ABOUT REBALANCING. NOT ABOUT GOING WHOLE HOG AWAY FROM THE S&P 500 BUT ABOUT MAKING SURE YOUR PORTFOLIOS ARE APPROPRIATELY BALANCED. IT IS ABOUT RISK REDUCTION AS MUCH AS IT IS ABOUT ENHANCING RETURNS. ROMAINE: ON THE
POINT OF RISK IN THE CONTEXT OF EQUITIES, DO YOU ANTICIPATE MORE VOLATILITY NEXT YEAR? >> I THINK VOLATILITY -- I THINK VOLATILITY SHOULD BE EXPECTED. WE HAVE NOT SEEN IT REALLY OTHER THAN SOME SMALL BOUTS LIKE THE SUMMER BUT I EXPECT WE WILL SEE MORE. ROMAINE: GREAT STUFF, GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE, TONY. TONY FROM BLACKROCK, THE CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF FUNDAMENTAL EQUITIES. WHEN WE COME BACK WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE ALLURE OF BITCOIN BECOMING TOO BIG TO BALK AT. ALIX: SLUMPING OFFICE PROPERTY VALUES ARE STARTING TO RIPPLE THROUGH U.S. BANKS. WE WILL GET A
CHECK ON COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE HE IS THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF NAFTALI GRO UP. ROMAINE: AND WHO BETTER TO FOLLOW THAT UP WITH IN THE MAYOR , ERIC ADAMS. ALL OF THAT AND MORE COMING UP IN A SECOND ON "THE CLOSE." ALIX: BITCOINS RECORD RUN CONTINUES HITTING A NEW RECORD HIGH TODAY. THE RECORD HIGHS ARE ATTRACTING A NEW WAVE OF CRYPTO INVESTORS GROWN IN BY THE PROMISE OF HIGH RETURNS WITH SOME SEEING CRYPTO AS A HEDGE AGAINST ECONOMIC VOLATILITY. WHO ARE THE NEW INVESTORS AND WHY ARE THEY COMING IN NOW? IS IT ALL ABOUT PRESIDENT
TRUMP AND THE PROMISE OF LESS CRYPTO REGULATION? >> THE QUESTION IS, IS THERE ANYONE THAT WILL INVEST IN CRYPTO THAT HASN'T ALREADY? IT TURNS OUT THERE ARE MANY. THEY ARE DRAWN IN AROUND THE FERVOR OF THE ELECTION. THEY ARE SEEING THIS GIANT RALLY AND ARE THINKING, MAYBE THIS IS THE TIME TO TRY IT OUT. ALIX: ARE THEY INSTITUTIONAL AND FAMILY OFFICE? HEDGE FUNDS? WHERE IS THE MOST INTEREST? >> THE ONES I TALKED WITH FOR THE STORY WERE ALL JUST REGULAR PEOPLE. RETAIL TRADERS. SOME HAD BEEN SKEPTICAL OF CRYPTO. THEY SAW THE FTX SCANDAL AND NOW
THEY ARE DECIDING TO TIPTOE THEIR WEIGHT IN. WE CAN SEE FROM FUND FLOWS LOOKING AT BITCOIN ETF, THE INTEREST IS COMING FROM RETAIL AND INSTITUTIONAL. ROMAINE: A COUPLE PEOPLE YOU CITED IN YOUR STORY, NOT THAT THEY ARE IN CRYPTO BUT THE RATIONALE FOR IT. ONE GUY SAID, IF TRUMP DOES WELL , CRYPTO WILL DO WELL. ANOTHER GUY SAID CRYPTO WILL BE A HEDGE AGAINST SOME OF THE MADNESS THAT TRUMP MIGHT BRING. WHICH IS IT? >> IT IS ALL OF THAT. YOU CAN FIND A REASON IF YOU WANT TO INVEST IN CRYPTO. SOME PEOPLE ARE THINKING
THAT DONALD TRUMP WILL CAUSE VOLATILITY AND CRYPTO IS A SAFE HAVEN WHILE OTHERS SAY HIS ADMINISTRATION WILL BE GREAT FOR CRYPTO SO I MIGHT AS WELL GET IN NOW. ROMAINE: THE BROADER QUESTION ABOUT PEOPLE COMING IN -- THE IDEA THAT SOME COULD BE LEFT HOLDING THE BAG. WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS WITH CRYPTO AND OTHER KINDS OF ASSETS. THEY MAKE ENOUGH MONEY OFF OF IT, THE BIG WHALES AND THEN RETAIL INVESTORS COME IN AND THE RUG GETS PULLED. >> IT IS NEVER GREAT TO INVEST WHEN THINGS ARE AT RECORD HIGHS. I THINK THE RATIONALE HERE
IS A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SAYING IT WILL GO UP EVEN MORE DURING TRUMP'S ADMINISTRATION. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE INVESTED ON ELECTION NIGHT. SINCE THEN BITCOIN IS UP MORE THAN 50%. ALIX: THAT IS SO WEIRD BECAUSE USUALLY YOU WANT TO BUY LOW AND SELL HIGH AND WITH IT GOING I THINK IT IS OPPOSITE. DO WE THINK THAT WINDS UP CONTINUING AS WE GO INTO MORE VOLATILE TIME? DO WE KNOW IF CRYPTO IS A GOOD HEDGE AGAINST ECONOMIC VOLATILITY? >> I THINK IT IS MIXED. THE JURY IS STILL OUT. FOR SOME OF THESE PEOPLE, THEY ARE
BANKING ON THAT. AND MORE THAN ANYTHING THEY ARE THINKING THAT IF THIS PRO CRYPTO ADMINISTRATION IS COMING IN, YOU SEE DONALD TRUMP APPOINTING PEOPLE THAT ARE IN FAVOR OF CRYPTO AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH ELON MUSK, THEY THINK THERE ARE MORE TAILWINDS FOR CRYPTO. ALIX: CAN YOU DOG PILE CRYPTO WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH VOLATILITY IN THE PRICE? >> I THINK THERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS. THAT IS THE REASON PEOPLE HAVE MENTIONED AS TO WHY THEY THINK THE BITCOIN PRICE COULD GO HIGHER. IT IS AN IDEA BEING FLOATED. ROMAINE: A LOT OF THE RATIONALE --
THE SUPPLY AND UNMANNED DYNAMICS -- THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND DYNAMICS. AND THE IDEA THAT IS WHERE PEOPLE COME INTO IT, IT PUSHES IT UP. IF THIS WERE A STOCK WE CALL IT MULTIPLE EXPANSION AND THERE IS NOTHING SUPPORTING IT BUT HOPES AND DREAMS OF SELLING IT AT A HIGHER PRICE TO SOMEONE ELSE. >> BUT THE DATA SHOWS THAT ONLY 17% OF AMERICANS OWN CRYPTO SO I THINK THERE IS AN ELEMENT THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THIS THINKING THAT IF ALL OF THESE NEW INVESTORS COME IN, THAT COULD ALSO BOOST THEIR PRICES. ROMAINE: A GREAT ARTICLE
TODAY TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE NEWCOMERS TO THE CRYPTO SPACE IN ANTICIPATION OF WHAT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MIGHT MEAN FOR THE DIGITAL CURRENCIES. WHEN WE COME BACK WE WILL LOOK AT SHARES OF JACK DANIELS. YOU ARE NOT A WHISKEY DRINKER -- BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NOT EITHER. I WAS AT A RESTAURANT WITH SOMEONE RECENTLY AND THEY ORDERED JACK DANIELS AND THEY DON'T CARRY IT. I THINK OUR NEXT GUEST IN OUR TOP CALL SEGMENT CAN ANSWER WHY THEY ARE NOT CARRYING IT. THAT IS PART OF OUR TOP CALLS AND THAT IS COMING UP NEXT ON
"THE CLOSE" ON BLOOMBERG. ♪ ALIX: WE HAVE LEARNED THAT TIKTOK HAS ASKED THE U.S. OF COURT TO BLOCK THE BAN AS THE DEADLINE LOOMS. I'D A PRESS CONFERENCE PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP SAID HE WOULD RECONSIDER THE BAN ON TIKTOK. WE WILL LOOK FOR MORE HEADLINES AS THEY CROSS. ROMAINE: LET'S GET TO OUR TOP CALLS WHERE WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BIG MOVERS ON THE BACK OF ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS AND WE START WITH MACY'S. THE ANALYSTS SAID UPBEAT BUSINESS TRENDS AT THE CHAIN INSTILLING CONFIDENCE THAT MACY'S CAN DELIVER POSSIBLE STORE SALES IN THE CURRENT QUARTER
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2022. HELP FROM COLDER WEATHER AND ACTIVIST PRESSURE CREATED A FLOOR FOR THE STOCK IN THE NEXT 6-12 MONTHS. FORWARD IS DOWNGRADED TO UNDERPERFORM. IT IS THE FOURTH CUT BY WALL STREET IN THE LAST MONTH. JEFFREY'S CITING INVENTORY OVERHANG AND QUESTIONS ON THE YET TO BE ANNOUNCED ELECTRIFICATION STRATEGY AND DECISIONS ABOUT FORD'S PRESENCE IN EUROPE. FORD SHARES DOWN 4%. AND TAKE A LOOK AT BROWN-FORMAN, THE SPIRITS COMPANY LOSING ITS BY RATING BY TRUEST. JACK DANIELS WHISKEY HAS LOST ITS PREMIER LUSTER WITH THE U.S. CONSUMER. UNLESS THEY REVAMP THEIR MARKETING EFFORTS JACK
DANIELS WILL CONTINUE TO UNDERPERFORM AND SHARES ARE DOWN 2%. THE MAN BEHIND THE LAST CALL JOINS US RIGHT NOW. BILL CHAPPELL IS MANAGING DIRECTOR AT TRUEST SECURITIES. THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING BUBBLING UP FOR A WHILE. WE HAVE HEARD HOW SOME OF THESE LEGACY LIQUOR BRANDS WERE NOT DOING SO WELL AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT IS BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH MORE COMPETITION RIGHT NOW IN WHISKEY SPACE THEN THERE WAS 20 OR 30 YEARS AGO. >> I THINK THAT IS WHAT THE KEY IS BUT THE DIFFERENCE OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS IS WE HAVE NOT BEEN
ABLE TO TELL WHO THE WINNERS AND THE LOSERS WERE. SO MANY OF US WERE LOCKED DOWN AT HOME AND IMBIBED A FEW MORE SPIRITS. AND THE STOCK -- AND NOW WE SEE A NORMALIZED TREND IN SPIRITS AND BEER AND YOU SEE WHO THE WINNERS ARE AND THE LOSERS. WE HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF PREMIUM AND SUPER PREMIUM BRANDS IN AMERICAN WHISKEY POP UP AND GAIN THE ATTENTION OF THE CONSUMER. IT IS ALSO THAT JACK DANIELS HASN'T DONE MUCH TO MAINTAIN ITS LUSTER. THAT IS GOING TO HURT THEM IN THE LONG-TERM. ROMAINE: I'M CURIOUS IF THERE
IS A TURNAROUND POTENTIAL. A LOT OF THIS IS MARKETING. I DRINK MY FAIR SHARE OF WHISKEY AND A LOT OF IT IS MARKETING. THE QUALITY DOESN'T VARY A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT. IT IS WHO MARKETS BETTER THAN THE OTHER. IF THEY GET A BETTER MARKETING PERSON OR TEAM, CAN THEY TURN IT AROUND? >> I THINK IT IS A LONGER FIX. IT WAS A LONGER PROBLEM. IT IS NOT JUST THAT THE SMALL STARTUPS HAVE GAINED ATTENTION. IT IS WHAT JACK DANIELS HAS DONE AS A BRAND. A LOT OF IT COMES FROM MARKETING. SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO THEY
CAME OUT WITH TENNESSEE HONEY AND TENNESSEE FIRE, CINNAMON BASED. AND IT IS A BROADER AUDIENCE YOU ARE GOING FOR BUT IT TAKES AWAY FROM THE BRANCH. AND THE READY TO DRINK HAS PICKED UP LIKE JACK AND COKE IN A CAN. THOSE ARE THE TYPE OF THINGS THAT HURT AND I WOULD SAY YOU COULD GO TO A LOT OF CONSUMERS ON THE OTHER THING IS JIM BEAM HAS DONE A LOT OF MARKETING AND ADVERTISING ESPECIALLY TOWARD THE YOUNGER CONSUMER. A LOT OF 21-25-YEAR-OLDS, IF YOU ASK THEM FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JACK DANIELS AND JIM BEAM THEY
WILL SAY THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE NAME. I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THEY HAVE TO DO. ALIX: AND ON A CONFERENCE CALL FOR BROWN-FORMAN THEY TALKED ABOUT TARIFFS AND THINKING ABOUT WHAT THEIR IMPORTS WILL LOOK LIKE AND INVENTORY. IS THAT A SPECIFIC BROWN-FORMAN THING OR ARE YOU HEARING THAT FROM OTHER COMPANIES YOU COVER? >> IT IS SPECIFIC TO THE AMERICAN WHISKEY INDUSTRY. IT IS THE POSTER CHILD OF WHAT TO TERRIFY AGAINST THE U.S., IT IS ONLY IN THE U.S. 50% OF BROWN-FORMAN'S BUSINESS IS OUT OF THE U.S. AS THEY EXPORT TO GERMANY,
THE U.K., AUSTRALIA AND NOT REALLY CHINA. AND THEY ARE JUST COMING OFF MAJOR TARIFFS OUT OF YOUR. -- OUT OF EUROPE. THAT IS THE WORRY OF THE INDUSTRY. BUT WE TALK ABOUT IS WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY CAN NAVIGATE THROUGH IT -- CLARITY WILL TAKE 6-12 MONTHS. ALIX: HOW MUCH OF IT IS THE OVERHANG FOR THE STOCK? YEAR TO DATE IT IS OFF 22%. HOW MUCH OF IT IS THE TERROR OF SITUATION? >> I'VE -- HOW MUCH OF IT IS THE TARIFF SITUATION? >> I THINK A LOT. THE STARK STARTED TO GO DOWN IN
JUNE OR JULY AND TURNED SOUTHWARD AGAIN PAST THE ELECTIONS. I THINK TARIFFS ARE FRONT AND CENTER TO INVESTORS MINDS AND THIS IS NOT JUST FOR BROWN-FORMAN AND SPEARMINT -- AND SPIRITS. ROMAINE: ON THE TARIFF ISSUE, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RETALIATORY TARIFFS COULD LOOK LIKE, BUT FOR THE BROWNS THAT ARE HEAVILY RELIANT ON EXPORTING FROM THE U.S. TO OVERSEAS, WOULD THERE BE ANY SORT OF REPRIEVE? IS THERE A WAY AROUND IT OR WILL THEY JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE ADDED COST? >> TO GIVE YOU MORE COLOR, LAST TIME THE EU DID A 25
PLUS PERCENT TARIFF ON ALL AMERICAN WHISKEY. THAT HELPS SCRATCH MAKERS THAT THEY ARE COMPETE -- THAT HELPS SCOTCH MAKERS THAT THEY ARE COMPETING WITH. BROWN-FORMAN LAST TIME TOOK ON THE COST. THEY DIDN'T PASS ON TO THE CONSUMER. ALIX: HENCE THE WHOLE -- TARIFFS CAN BE AN INFLATIONARY SCENARIO. JUSTIN TRUDEAU HAS NAMED DOMINIC LEBLANC AS THE FINANCE MINISTER. HE IS A CANADIAN LAWYER AND POLITICIAN AND CURRENTLY SERVES AS MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY. THIS COMES ON THE HEELS OF THE PREVIOUS FINANCE MINISTER RESIGNING SUDDENLY FROM HIS CABINET OVER DIFFERENCES OVER HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
SHE CITED AGGRESSIVE ECONOMIC NATIONALISM AS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY SHE QUIT THE POST. COMING UP, CONVERSATION WITH ROMAINE: IRIMIE NEW YORK AND WE WELCOME -- ALIX: THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THIS SPECIAL CROSS-PLATFORM COVERAGE AS WE TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE CITI THAT CALLS -- THAT WALL STREET CALLS HOME. WINNING US NOW TO DOES BECAUSE EVERYTHING IMPACTING NEW YORK FROM CRYPTO TO IMMIGRATION TO A POTENTIAL PARDON OF PRESIDENT ELECT DONALD TRUMP, WE HAVE A TON TO GET TO. WE WANT TO START ON THE TOPIC OF IMMIGRATION IN PARTICULAR. NEW YORK CITY IS
A SANCTUARY CITY. WILL THAT GET REVERSED SOON SO NYPD CAN HELP DEPORT IMMIGRANTS? >> THAT TERM HAS BEEN THROWN AROUND WITHOUT REAL UNDERSTANDING. THE SANCTUARY -- IT IS TO SAY TO IMMIGRANTS TO UTILIZE OUR SERVICES. HAVE YOUR CHILDREN EDUCATED AT OUR SCHOOLS, MEDICAL CARE -- THAT IS WHAT WE BELIEVE IN AND THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THIS WAS IN PLACE SINCE MAYOR BLOOMBERG BUT THE CHANGES MADE UNDER THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION THAT PREVENTS LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ANY CITI AGENCY FROM COLLABORATING WITH ICE FOR DEPORTATION REASONS, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT. THOSE THAT COMMIT SERIOUS CRIMES, WE SHOULD COLLABORATE
WITH ICE. ALIX: THAT IS A YES TO REVAMP THE SANCTUARY LAWS. YOU MET WITH DONALD TRUMP'S BORDERS ARE LAST WEEK. -- BORDER CZAR LAST WEEK. WHAT IS THE ROADMAP? >> TRUE COLLABORATION. I WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS PRIOR TO THE ELECTION. IT IS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY TO ME AND WE WILL SIT DOWN WITH OUR TEAM AND HIS TEAM AND WORK OUT A PLAN FOR THOSE THAT ARE MORE DANGEROUS. ROMAINE: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE METHODS THAT WILL BE USED -- THERE WAS A LOT MADE OF YOUR MEETING LAST WEEK WITH TOM COLEMAN AND THE COOPERATION YOU
WILL HAVE TO HAVE WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. A LOT OF THE ISSUES WITH THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND THE WAY THAT THEY DEALT WITH UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WAS NOT SO MUCH A KICK IN THE MOUTH BUT IT IS ABOUT THE NET USED. >> I THINK THE BORDERS ARE -- BORDER CZAR --I WANT TO TAKE THE ANXIETY AWAY FROM OUR MIGRANTS, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND UNDOCUMENTED INDIVIDUALS. CONTINUE TO USE THE SERVICES THAT YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE PAYING FOR. I AM FOCUSED ON THOSE THAT REPEAT VIOLENT CRIMES. THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HAS COMMUNICATED CLEARLY THAT WE HAVE TO FIX OUR BORDER,
WE HAVE TO KEEP DANGEROUS PEOPLE OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND THAT IS WHY THEY VOTED FOR THIS PRESIDENT TO DO SO. ROMAINE: THEY CERTAINLY DID BUT ACCORDING TO A SIENA POLL A LOT OF THOSE PEOPLE VOTED NOT JUST TO DEAL WITH VIOLENT IMMIGRANTS BUT PRETTY MUCH ALL AND SOME OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE BUDGET PRESSURES ON THE CITI AS A RESULT OF THOSE FOLKS COMING IN. TENS OF THOUSANDS OR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS ARE STILL IN THE CITI USING CITI SERVICES. CAN NEW YORK CITY AFFORD THAT? >> THEY CANNOT. $6.5 BILLION --
DO YOU KNOW WHAT I COULD HAVE WITH TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF THAT? I COULD HAVE GONE AFTER THE CHRONICALLY ABSENT YOUNG PEOPLE. THESE ARE TAXPAYER DOLLARS USED FOR A NATIONAL PROBLEM. THE WHITE HOUSE ONLY GAVE US ROUGHLY ABOUT $200 MILLION. LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CHICAGO, DENVER, LOS ANGELES. ALL OF THESE BIG CITIES THAT HAD TO TAKE ON THE CRISIS. IT IS WRONG AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. ROMAINE: DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE IN ALL OF THOSE MIGRANTS? THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE MIGRANTS BEING
BUSSED HERE OR SHIPPED HERE RATHER THAN COMING VOLUNTARILY. THERE WAS A MECHANISM WHERE YOU COULD HAVE TURNED THOSE FOLKS AROUND. WHY DIDN'T YOU? >> PEOPLE WOULD STOP ME EVERY DAY ON THE STREETS WONDERING WHAT I WAS DOING. I HAD NO AUTHORIZATION TO STOP THE BUSES COMING IN AND NO AUTHORIZATION NOT TO GIVE THEM A PLACE TO SLEEP AND THREE MEALS. AND I HAD NO AUTHORIZATION TO ALLOW THEM TO WORK. I COULD NOT EVEN ALLOW THEM TO VOLUNTEER AND GIVE THEM A STIPEND TO CLEAN STREETS AND REMOVE GRAFFITI. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAID THAT I COULD NOT.
WE DID NOT HAVE A CHOICE. WE WERE SUCCESSFUL. OUT OF THE 20,000, WE ALLOWED THEM TO GO ONTO THE NEXT STEP OF THEIR JOURNEY. THEY ARE NO LONGER IN OUR CARE BECAUSE WE TOOK THE RIGHT STEPS. ALIX: TO CLARIFY, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SANCTUARY LAWS AT WOULD BE FOR UNDOCUMENTED CRIMINALS. WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHO ARE BUSSED IN AND STILL ON NEW YORK CITY PAYROLL? >> YOU SAID THE SANCTUARY LAW IS FOR ANYONE IN THE SADIE THAT IS NOT DOCUMENTED. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE TAXPAYER SERVICES. WHEN AN
UNDOCUMENTED PERSON WALKS INTO A STORE TO BUY A LOAF OF BREAD, HE IS PAYING TAXES WHETHER HE IS DOCUMENTED OR NOT. WHAT I AM SAYING IS THOSE WHO ARE COMMITTING REPEATED VIOLENT CRIMES, THEY SHOULD NOT BE IN OUR CITI, RELEASED ON OUR STREETS TO CARRY OUT THOSE VIOLENT ACTS AGAINST NEW YORK CITI CITIZENS. ALIX: WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT THOSE THAT ARE UNDOCUMENTED BUT NOT A THREAT TO SOCIETY? >> WE WANT TO GIVE THEM THE SERVICES AND SHOWED THEM THEIR NEXT STEP ON THE AMERICAN JOURNEY. IMMIGRANTS HAVE COME TO THIS CITI FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
I DON'T CARE IF IT WAS THE EARLY IRISH THAT BUILT OUR SUBWAY SYSTEM, THE EARLY ITALIANS, EARLY CARIBBEAN'S, IMMIGRANTS HAVE ALWAYS COME TO THE SADIE BUT THEY HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY. IT IS WHAT WE DID FOR 170,000 ASYLUM-SEEKERS. WE NEED TO PUT THEM ON A PATHWAY TO FIND THEIR WAY TO PURSUING THE AMERICAN DREAM. ROMAINE: I HAVE TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS AND INDICTMENT AGAINST YOU. DO YOU PLAN TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON RUNNING FOR REELECTION? >> YES, I AM AND I MADE IT CLEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN. A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE SAID
I SHOULD STEP DOWN BUT I STEPPED UP. LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. WE HAVE MORE JOBS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SADIE AND WE BROUGHT DOWN CRIME. OUR EMPLOYEES AND OFFICES ARE BACK TO WORK. MY LEGAL TEAM WILL HANDLE THE CASE SO I CAN DO MY JOB. ROMAINE: THEY HANDLE THE CASE BUT IS IT NOT A DISTRACTION AND WHAT IF YOU LOSE THE CASE? >> LOOK AT THE NUMBER. PEOPLE SAID IT WOULD BE A DISTRACTION BUT I AM MOVING FORWARD AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DELIVER FOR THE PEOPLE OF THIS EDDIE OF NEW YORK.
WE PASSED THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING REFORM IN THE HISTORY OF THIS EDDIE. I'M NOT GOING TO SPECULATE. I DID NOTHING WRONG. -- I DID NOTHING WRONG. ROMAINE: WHAT IS YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW? YOU HAVE LEFT A LOT OF FOLKS, YOU HAD ANOTHER TOUGH ADVISEMENT RESIGNED TODAY WITH HER LAWYERS SAY THEY THINK SHE WILL BE INDEBTED, AS WELL. YOU HAVE HAD TO DIG DEEP INTO THE BENCH TO FIND A NEW POLICE COMMISSIONER. WHO IS LEFT AROUND YOU THAT IS CONFIDENT AND CAPABLE AND THAT CAN SEE OUT YOUR VISION IF YOU ARE ELECTED? GUEST:
MUST LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE DONE THAT SHOWS OUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCY. FROM OUR EMPLOYMENT, TO OUR HOUSE SUCCESS, BRINGING DOWN CRIME, WE HAD A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WANTED THE JOB TO BE POLICE COMMISSIONER AND I PICK THE RIGHT PERSON BASED ON WHO WE HAD. ALL OF MY DEPUTY MAYORS BUT ONE LEFT. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, WE HAVE MORE THAN 300,000 EMPLOYEES GETTING UP EVERY DAY TO DO THEIR JOB. IT IS SENSATIONALISM BY THOSE WHO DECIDED THAT THEY DECIDED TO MOVE ON WITH THEIR LIVES. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK
AT MY DEPUTY MAYOR, MY CHIEF OF STAFF, THEY ARE STILL IN PLACE OF DOING THE JOB WE ASK THEM TO DO. DIFFICULT TIMES, BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO TO OVERCOME THEM AND MOVE THE CITY FORWARD? LET'S FACE IT, WE HAVE BEEN DOING JUST THAT. ALIX: WE HIDE FROM PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP AT MAR-A-LAGO PRESS CONFERENCE THAT HE WOULD CONSIDER POTENTIALLY GIVING YOU A PARDON. CAN YOU CONFIRM YOUR LAWYER HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON THAT? MAYOR ADAMS: NO, I CANNOT CONFIRM THAT. MY LAWYER IS HANDLING THE CASE. THE PRESENCE DATED THAT HE FELT
I WAS UNFAIRLY TREATED. PRESIDENT BIDEN STATED THAT HIS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN POLITICIZED -- PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID THAT, I SAID THAT. A LARGE NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF THE POLITICIZING OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE ADULTS IN THIS COUNTRY WHO ARE PLACED ON THE SPI WATCHLIST BECAUSE THEY WERE ADVOCATING FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. SO I AM JUST REITERATED WHAT PRESIDENT BIDEN STATED ABOUT HIS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. MY LAWYERS WILL LOOK AT EVERY AVENUE TO ENSURE THAT WE GET JUSTICE. I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CHARGED. I DID NOTHING WRONG. I WILL CONTINUE LEADING
THE CITY. ALIX: INSPIRING HERE, IF YOU ARE OFFERED A PARDON, WILL YOU TAKE IT? MAYOR ADAMS: THERE IS NO INFERENCE. I WAS CLEAR IN MY RESPONSE, I HAVE AN ATTORNEY WHO IS INSURED I GET THE JUSTICE I DESERVE. HE WILL HANDLE THAT. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU SHOULD GIVE THOSE QUESTIONS TO HIM. ROMAINE: FINAL QUESTION, THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE CITY. WE REMEMBER HOW HARD THE CITY WAS HIT BY THE PANDEMIC. ANYONE WALKING AROUND PARTICULARLY IN MANHATTAN, YOU CAN SEE IT HAS COME BACK A BIG WAY BUT IT IS NOT QUITE THERE.
WE HAVE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH ECONOMISTS, BUSINESS LEADERS, WALL STREET AND REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS WHO SAY THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GET THIS NEW YORK CITY ECONOMY BACK TO HER IT WAS PRE-PANDEMIC. WHAT ASSURANCES OR PROMISES CAN YOU GIVE TO SOME OF THOSE FOLKS HERE THAT WE ARE ON THAT PATH? MAYOR ADAMS: THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION. IT'S DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO BELIEVE. WE ARE TWO YEARS OUT OF COVID WHERE THE CITY WAS SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY, TWO YEARS. MORE JOBS IN CITY HISTORY. THOSE WILL DETERMINE HOW WELL THE
CITY IS BEING MANAGED, WE CALL THEM BOND RAZORS. THEY RAISED MY BOND AND THEN THEY DOUBLED DOWN ON THE FIVE THAT I SHOULD BE RAISED. YOU ARE SEEING BUSINESS LEADERS TALK ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP THEY HAVE AT CITY HALL AND THE COLLABORATION WE HAVE TO GET HER AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. SO, WITHIN TWO YEARS OF COMING OVER THE CITY, BEING SHUT DOWN, WE HAVE RETURNED TO THE GREATNESS THAT WE LOOKED AT, FOURTH-LARGEST TORIES AND THE HISTORY OF THE CITY, CONTINUED DECREASE IN CRIME. WHAT MY BUSINESS LEADERS OF THE LIE, WE NEED TO HAVE JOBS
UP AT CLIMBED ON. THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE DONE. CASE CLOSED. WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. ROMAINE: ALRIGHT, GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE. WE WILL CATCH UP WITH YOU NEXT YEAR AND SEE IF THAT STILL STANDS. ERIC ADAMS: THE MAYOR OF THE FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, NEW YORK CITY. IN ADDITION TO BEING THE FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, THIS IS ALSO A HUGE REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND HONEST GUEST HAS ASSEMBLED A PORTFOLIO OF 25 CONDO PROJECTS, LUXURY CONDOMINIUM PROJECTS HERE IN THE CITY. JOINING ME IN THE STUDIO IS THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF
THE PRIVATELY-OWNED GLOBAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT FIRM, NAPHTALI GROUP. GOOD TO SEE YOU. HOW IS BUSINESS THESE DAYS? >> ACTUALLY, QUITE GOOD. ROMAINE: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WITH THE CITY WENT THROUGH, EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC THERE WERE STRUGGLES, BUT THE PANDEMIC CHANGED A LOT. ON THE SURFACE, IT APPEARS THINGS ARE BACK. YOU HAVE AN INSIDERS VIEW. IS IT BACK? >> IT IS BACK. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. 10 WEEKS AGO, WE OPENED THREE SALES OFFICES IN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS IN NEW YORK, WILLIAMSBURG IN BROOKLYN, UPPER A SIDE, AND UPPER WEST DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS. WE ARE SELLING
OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS. THE THREE SALES OFFICES ARE DOING EXTREMELY WELL. THERE IS NOT MUCH INVENTORY, THERE IS A LOT OF DEMAND. AND I THINK YOU SEE IT IN REAL ESTATE, IN RESTAURANTS. I TRIED TO GET A SEAT -- A RESERVATION IN A RESTAURANT, THE CITY IS BACK. ROMAINE: SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS WERE KIND OF ALREADY IN THE PIPELINE. HOW HARD IS IT TO START A BIG DEVELOPMENT PROJECT LIKE THAT TODAY GIVEN THE REGULATIONS AND POLITICAL CLIMATE AND COST OF CAPITAL? >> IT IS VERY DIFFICULT. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE FINANCIAL LENDERS ARE VERY SELECTIVE.
MANY INVESTORS CAN'T GET FINANCING ESPECIALLY FOR DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION FINANCING. SO YOU SEE LESS COMPETITION, WE SEE LESS COMPETITION. FOR US IT IS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD, BECAUSE WE CAN DO WHAT WE WANT TO DO, WHAT WE KNOW HOW TO DO. BUT SOME DEVELOPERS CAN JUST NOT GET FINANCING. ALIX: WHAT'S NOT WORKING RIGHT NOW FOR YOU? WE KEEP GETTING PEOPLE WHO SAY IT'S AWESOME -- IT'S NOT GOOD FOR THOSE GUYS, BUT I AM DOING WELL. ON YOUR PORTFOLIO, WHERE ARE SOME CRACKS YOU ARE MANAGING? MIKI: WHAT'S VERY SURPRISING IS THAT ACTUALLY FOR ME, THE PORTFOLIO IN THE
NEW YORK MARKET IS DOING VERY WELL. WE HAVE TWO MEGA PROJECTS IN SOUTH FLORIDA, MIAMI AND FORT LAUDERDALE. IF YOU HAD ASKED ME A YEAR AGO, I WAS A PROBABLY SOUTH FLORIDA WILL DO BETTER THAN NEW YORK. IT IS ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY THE OPPOSITE. NOT THAT THEY AREN'T DOING WELL, BUT NEW YORK IS SELLING EXTREMELY WELL. SOUTH FLORIDA, JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION, SLOWED DOWN. NEW YORK, WE DIDN'T SLOW DOWN -- I MEAN, THE DAY OF THE ELECTION WE HAD MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN EACH AND EVERY SALES OFFICE. IN SOUTH FLORIDA WE SLOWED DOWN BEFORE THE ELECTION. NOW
IT IS STARTING TO COME BACK. ALIX:. ALIX: THAT IS INTERESTING. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE IMPACT OF RATE CUTS HAVE ON THIS PERSPECTIVE AT ALL? MAYBE WE GET A CUT ON WEDNESDAY AND THAT'S IT FOR A LITTLE BIT, THAT HAWKISH CUT. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU AND YOUR SALES TEAM? MIKI: USUALLY THE VERY HIGH-END OF THE MARKET, THE VERY WEALTHY PEOPLE REALLY DON'T CARE MUCH ABOUT IT. THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND IT IS ACTUALLY A BRIDGE LOAN. IF YOU BUY AN APARTMENT, YOU CAN REFINANCE IN A YEAR OR TWO OR THREE AND IT DOESN'T COST TOO
MUCH. BUT THE ENTRY LEVEL IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT BECAUSE EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS. THE HIGHEST OF THE INTEREST RATE, THE HIGHEST THE MORTGAGE PAYMENT, IT'S MORE DIFFICULT. ROMAINE: I'M CURIOUS WHO THESE BUYERS ARE OF THESE PROPERTIES. IS IT LOCAL PEOPLE, BASICALLY U.S. CITIZENS, OR ARE YOU SEEING MORE FOREIGN DEMAND? BECAUSE THE KIND OF TAPERED DOWN AS WELL DURING THE PANDEMIC. MIKI: I WILL START WITH NEW YORK. THOSE THREE NEIGHBORHOODS, MAINLY U.S. BUYERS, MANY NEW YORKERS. BUT WE ALSO SEE BUYERS THAT ARE, FOR EXAMPLE, MOVING FROM THE WEST COAST BECAUSE OF POLITICAL ISSUES, THEY ARE MOVING TO
NEW YORK. AND OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA. WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT MIAMI, FOR EXAMPLE, WE SEE A LOT OF LATIN AMERICANS WHO ARE BUYING, WE SEE EUROPEANS BUY-IN. AND WE NOW START TO SEE ACTUALLY NORTHEASTERN BY AS WELL. ROMAINE: ON THE MIAMI FRONT, ALL THE PEOPLE WHO MOVE FROM MIAMI TO NEW YORK, THEY ARE COMING BACK? [LAUGHTER] MIKI: OF COURSE. BY THE WAY, THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND MIAMI IS EDUCATION. BY FAR THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. BUT IT IS REALLY NOT ABOUT THAT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT MIAMI, IT'S NOT WILL BASE IF NEW YORK ISN'T DOING
WELL, MIAMI IS DOING WELL. , NO, MIAMI BECAME TO A POINT OF NO RETURN. PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO LIVE IN MIAMI OR SOUTH FLORIDA NOT ONLY IN THE WINTER MONTHS. ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU WANT -- THERE IS ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU WANT. NOW THE SAME AS NEW YORK, BUT MIAMI HAS A LOT TO OFFER. WE SEE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE MOVING TO MIAMI FROM DIFFERENT STATES AND FROM OVERSEAS. ALIX:. ALIX: WHAT IS THE NEW MIAMI RIGHT NOW? IF YOU SAID MIAMI WAS MORE POPULAR THAN NEW YORK A YEAR AGO, WHERE IS THAT GOING TO BE A YEAR
FROM NOW? MIKI: I WOULDN'T SAY MORE POPULAR. FOR ME, SET ASIDE REAL ESTATE AND LOOK AT RESTAURANTS. SO I COMPARE THE RESTAURANTS TODAY IN MIAMI VERSUS FIVE YEARS AGO AND IT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BALLGAME. ALIX: SO WHAT IS THE NEW MIAMI? [LAUGHTER] MIKI: THE NEW MIAMI TO ME, IT'S A HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPETITION WITH NEW YORK. NEW YORK IS GREAT, MAMA IS GREAT, BOTH CAN DO VERY WELL. ALIX: ALRIGHT, WHAT LOCATION IN THE COUNTRY COULD DO AS WELL OR BE A SURPRISE TO US OVER THE NEXT YEAR, THAT COULD DO WELL? NASHVILLE? MIKI: MAYBE, WE ARE ACTUALLY
FINANCING A RENTAL PROPERTY IN NASHVILLE FOR ANOTHER DEVELOPER AND THEY ARE DOING WELL, THEY ARE RELEASING THEIR UNITS. BUT I FOCUS MAINLY ON THE NORTHEAST AND SOUTHEAST AND THOSE MARKETS ARE DOING WELL. ROMAINE: I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THE IDEA OF OFFICE CONVERGENCE. WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL THE STRESS IN THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SPACE, WHETHER THE OLDER BUILDINGS CAN FIND SOME NEW LIFE. I HAVE SEEN CREATIVE THINGS IN CHICAGO, CANADA. ROMAINE:, VANCOUVER. ROMAINE:. HERE IN NEW YORK, ARE WE SEEING THAT AT ALL? I REMEMBER WHEN YOU BOUGHT THE PLAZA AND THEN HE RAN INTO
A LOT OF ISSUES. YOU SAID, WHY CAN'T IT BE A HOTEL IT CAN ALSO BE OTHER THINGS? ARE YOUR PEERS AND OTHER DEVELOPERS IN THE CITY FINDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, OR IS IT TOO HARD? MIKI: THERE IS A LOT OF HYPE AROUND THE CONVERSIONS. BETWEEN 2000 AND 2007, I CONVERTED A LOT OF BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK FROM COMMERCIAL TO RESIDENTIAL. BACK THEN, THOSE MADE A LOT OF FINANCIAL SENSE. SO THAT'S WHY WE DID THEM. AT LEAST THIS CYCLE, WE, WE PROBABLY MISSED ONE OR TWO. WE DIDN'T FIND A CONVERSION THAT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE
THOSE BUILDERS, MOST OF THE OFFICE BUILDINGS ARE VERY BIG. EACH FLOOR IS VERY BIG. FOR RESIDENTIAL, YOU NEED LIGHT AND AIR. EACH BEDROOM NEEDS LIGHT AND AIR. THE BOTTOM LINE, THOSE CONVERSIONS ARE NOT EASY. AND WE NEED MORE AND MORE SUPPORT FROM THE STATE OF THE CITY IN ORDER TO CONVERT THOSE BUILDINGS. IF NOT, THOSE BUILDINGS WILL BE EMPTY FOR A WHILE . ROMAINE: GREAT CONVERSATION, HOPE TO HAVE YOU BACK, MIKI NAFTALI IS CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF THE NAFTALI GROUP. ALRIGHT, WE ARE 10 MINUTES AWAY FROM THE CLOSING BELLS. THIS GOES BY FAST, RIGHT? TALK
ABOUT A RECORD HIGH ON THE NASDAQ. THE S&P IS GETTING BACK TO THE LOWS OF THE DAY. CRYPTO ALSO HAD A RECORD HIGH TODAY. ALIX: I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. IF YOU HAVE THE RUSTLE OF PERFORMING ALONG WITH BIG TECH I COULDN'T TELL YOU. IT RAISES THE QUESTION WHETHER IT IS A FUNDAMENTAL, OR IS IT JUST ANIMAL SPIRITS? CAN WE TAKE ANY PRICE ACTION SERIOUSLY UNTIL THIS WEDNESDAY? ROMAINE: FOR THE MOST PART A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CHECKING OUT. IT MAY NOT BE UNTIL THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF JANUARY THAT WE START TO SEE
A FULL PRICE DISCOVERY. ALIX: EXACTLY. MUST END BY. WATCH THE SHOW EVERYDAY. [LAUGHTER] ROMAINE: 4-0 ABSOLUTELY. AND BEYOND. YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE WE HAVE THE BEST GUESTS. AS WE COUNT YOU DOWN TO THE CLOSING BELL, ONE OF THEM JOINS US NOW, HE IS PORTFOLIO STRATEGIST AT NATIXIS INVESMENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS. WE STARTED TALKING A LOT ABOUT HOW THIS YEAR STARTED OFF WITH A NARROW RALLY. WE GOT A BIT OF BROADENING EARLY IN THE YEAR BUT NOW IT IS BROADENING AGAIN. IS THERE ANY HOPE THAT THAT BROADENING OF THE RALLY WHERE WE ARE SEEING A LOT MORE
PARTICIPANTS, THAT THAT IS IN STORE FOR 2025? >> SURE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON THIS PAST WEEK AND GOING INTO THE END OF THE YEAR, IT'S HARD TO READ INTO A LOT OF THINGS BECAUSE LIQUIDITY IS GOING DOWN, WE HAVE SOME WINDOW DRESSING AND OTHER TECHNICAL THINGS THAT WRAP UP THE END OF THE YEAR. I THINK AS WE HEADED TO THE SECOND PART OF NEXT YEAR, WE WILL START TO SEE SOME OF THAT SHIFT ONCE AGAIN. WHAT MAKES SENSE IS YOU STILL WANT TO HAVE SOME OF THAT EXPOSURE TO THE MAG
SEVEN. BUT YOU ALSO WANT TO OWN SOME OF THE CYCLICAL VALUE NAMES WHICH WILL BE INCLUDED, FINANCIALS, MATERIALS. I THINK THAT HELPS UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE TO SEE A BIT OF THAT BROADENING OUT. IT'S MORE OF A BARBED ALTERED THAT INVESTORS SHOULD BE LOOKING AT. ROMAINE: SO AS THOSE INVESTORS TRY TO CREATE A PLAYBOOK THAT IS IN LINE WITH SOME OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POLICIES, WE HAVE THE FORTUNE OF HAVING BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE. I AM CURIOUS WHERE YOU ARE SEEING PARALLELS IN 2025 FROM WHAT WE SAW IN 2017 WHEN TRUMP TERM PROPHESIES FIRST TERM --
TOOK OFFICE IN HIS FIRST TERM? JACK: U.S. EXCEPTIONALISM. U.S. EQUITIES OVER THE REST OF THE WORLD. LARGE CAP OF HER SMALL CAPS. STRONG DOLLAR, ALL THOSE THINGS ARE TAKING THE HINT FROM THE 2016 AND 2017 TRUMP 1.0 PLAYBOOK. THE STARTING POINT, RIGHT, WE ARE COMING IN AT HIGHER LEVELS. WE ARE COMING IN WITH A 10 YEAR CLOSER TO 4.25 PERCENT. A FED FUNDS RATE THAT IS MOVING UP THE LOWER BALANCE, CLOSER TO 70 FIVE BASIS POINTS. TODAY YOU ARE LOOKING AT 4.75, MULTIPLES ARE A LOT HIGHER THAN WE WERE SEVEN YEARS AGO. YOU HAVE PLENTY
OF ROOM FOR THE MARKET TO ABSORB THEORETICAL TIGHTENING OF FINANCIAL CONDITIONS. TODAY YOU DON'T HAVE QUITE A LOT OF ROOM. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE, IT IS THE STARTING POINT, WHICH GIVES YOU LESS MARGIN. ALIX: FOR ERROR ON THE FLIPSIDE WE HAVE THE RATE CUT CYCLE VERSUS THE RATE HIKING CYCLE OF 2018. HOW DOES THAT THEN SUPPORT YOUR THESIS? JACK: THE KEY HERE IS THAT THE FED IS EASING. WE ARE COMING IN AND PROBABLY GOING TO SLOW IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR BUT FROM A VERY ELEVATED LEVEL. THOSE RATE CUTS WILL BE MARGINAL AT
BEST. SO YOU WILL HAVE THOSE TWO OR THREE CARDS. I THINK THE MARKET IS PRICING THAT INNING. BUT I THINK WE WILL BE SLOWLY EASING BACK, PROBABLY SETTLING HIGHER THAN TREND WHICH WILL STILL BE SUPPORTIVE FOR PROFITS GOING FORWARD. ALIX: YOU ARE VERY REALISTIC IN LIKE WE HAVE TWO TO THREE CATS MAY BE FROM NOW UNTIL THE END, THAT'S THE CYCLE. WHERE DO WE SEE THE MOST VOLATILITY THOUGH AS THE MARKET REWRITES FOR THAT? JACK: IS STILL GOING TO BE COMING IN THE FIXED INCOME MARKET. ARE YOU STILL HAVE PLENTY OF THINGS THAT ARE UNCERTAIN.
WE HEAR A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT THE LEVEL OF ISSUANCE, FISCAL DEFICIT CONCERNS. CERTAINLY NOT SEEING THE POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS THAT DEFICIT. I AM HEARING CONCERNS ABOUT INFLATION STARTING TO REEMERGE. AGAIN, WE ARE TALKING 223 CATS -- TWO TO THREE CATS. I THINK THE BIG ISSUE IS THE FIXED INCOME MARKET. THAT IS WHERE I THINK YOU WILL STILL SEE ELEVATED VOLATILITY RELATIVE TO WHAT WE HAVE SEEN FROM A. ROMAINE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE CAN YOU BANK AT ALL ON ANY DIRECTION FOR RATES, A MEANINGFUL DIRECTION? JACK: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THE 10 YEAR, WE ARE
STILL EXPECTING IT TO REMAIN IN A RANGE. WHY? WE ARE SLOWING FROM A HIGHER LEVEL OF GROWTH AND YOU STILL HAVE THE POWELL PUT IN PLACE. IF WE GET A MARKET DECELERATION IN THE LABOR MARKET, THE FED WILL REACT BY UPPING RATE CUTS. YOU ALSO HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO WILL HAVE ONE EYE ON THE STOCK MARKET SO YOU COULD ARGUE THERE IS A TRUMP PORT. IT PROBABLY PUT THE FLOOR AND HOW MUCH THE 10-YEAR CAN RALLY. FLIPSIDE THOUGH IS IF YOU START TO SEE THE 10-YEAR PUSHING UP CLOSER TO 5, YOU WILL HAVE A SELF-GOVERNING
MECHANISM WHERE THE MARKET WILL THROW A FIT, YOU WILL POTENTIALLY SEE GROWTH DOWNSHIFT AS A RESULT OF THAT, AND TREASURIES WILL COME BACK BECAUSE MARKETS WILL BE CONCERNED ABOUT A SLOWDOWN. SO WE ARE EXPECTING A RANGE TRADE, 4% TO 4.5% AND YOU COULD HAVE AN OVERSHOOT ON THE OTHERS OF 25 BASIS POINTS, BUT NOT MUCH OUTSIDE OF THAT. ROMAINE: IS INTERESTING, THE WORD "PUTTING A FLOOR," GIVEN TRUMP'S FOCUS ON THE DOW, THAT THAT COULD PROVIDE A FLOOR FOR EQUITIES AND MAYBE EVEN THE FIXED IN SPACE. OF COURSE HE HAS ALSO PUT A LOT OF ATTENTION
ON CRYPTO. 106 THOUSAND DOLLARS RIGHT NOW FROM BITCOIN. PEOPLE ARE BETTING THAT WILL GO UP NOT BECAUSE OF ANY FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE, BUT MAYBE BECAUSE THIS IS AN OF ADMINISTRATION THAT WILL KEEP THE FLOOR ON THAT. JACK: AND THERE ARE CERTAINLY -- THERE IS CERTAINLY PLENTY OF MOMENTUM BEHIND THE CRYPTO MARKETS. PLENTY OF SUPPORT FOR THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AS A RESULT OF THAT. I AM SURE YOU WILL SEE SOME MEASURES BEING PUSHED THROUGH. SOME OF THESE BIG PICTURE ITEMS WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT, WE MAY WANT TO TEMPER THOSE EXPECTATIONS SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED PROMOTIONAL
APPROVAL FOR SOME OF THESE THINGS PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUMP SNAPPING HIS FINGERS AND SAYING YES, WE CAN APPROVE THESE MEASURES THAT ARE SUPPORTIVE OF THE CRYPTO MARKET. BUT THIS FLIPSIDE IS THAT THAT WILL REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL AND THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENCE AS TO HOW THAT GETS PUSHED IN GENERAL. ROMAINE: ALL RIGHT, JACK JANASIEWICZ IS PERFECT FOR THE PORTFOLIO STRATEGIST WITH NATIXIS. AS A COUNTRY DOWN TO THE CLOSING BELLS, THE NASDAQ 100'S AT A RECORD HIGH. ALIX: A RECORD HIGH, 45 RECORD HIGHS SO FAR THIS YEAR? ROMAINE: I HOPE
YOU ARE COUNTING. MY KNOWLEDGE OF HOW MANY RECORD HIGHS THERE ARE IS ALL FOR ME. ALIX: IF IT'S WRONG, IT'S HIS FAULT, OK? [LAUGHTER] THE RUSSELL ALSO ARE PERFORMING. MID-CAPS, NOT DOING SO WELL. ROMAINE: THE S&P IS CAMPED OUT AT 6070. A FULL BREAKDOWN STARTS NOW. ♪ "THE CLOSING BELL," BLOOMBERG'S COMPREHENSIVE CROSS-PLATFORM ROMAINE: WE ARE TAKING YOU THROUGH THE CLOSING BELL WITH A GLOBAL SIMULCAST THAT STARTS RIGHT NOW. SCARLET FU WHEELED INTO THE TV STUDIO. EMILY GRAFFEO IS IN FOR TIM STENOVEC. TIM STENOVEC DOING HIS BEST CAROL MASSAR IMPERSONATION TODAY. CAROL: WOMEN RULING TODAY IN
A BIG WAY. DO YOU FEEL OUTNUMBERED? ROMAINE: UH, OK. NO COMMENT. RECORD HIGH ON THE NASDAQ. NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE S&P. >> THE NASDAQ 100 UP 1.4 PERCENT AND THE S&P 500 ONLY UP .3%. SCARLET: WE KNOW THE FED IS GOING TO CUT RATES BUT IT COMES DOWN TO HOW THEY PUT FORWARD THAT HAWKISH CUT. WELL IT BE IN THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT JAY POWELL GIVES DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE? GET READY. ROMAINE: WHAT IS A HAWKISH CUT? I KEEP HEARING THIS. ALIX: I FEEL LIKE IT IS SOMETHING WE ALL MADE UP. THEN YOU SAY BASICALLY IT
IS A PAUSE. IT IS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE THAT SAID WE COULD BE IN THE LANDSCAPE FOR A PAUSE OR AN EXTENDED WAIT AND SEE AND IN THEORY THAT WOULD BE A HAWKISH CUT. ROMAINE: OK. CAROL: T-SHIRTS ARE COMING. ROMAINE: EMILY, WHAT DO YOU THINK? EMILY: THEY CUT BUT THEN THEY PROJECT IN THE DOT PLOT THAT MAYBE THEY WILL NOT BE A TON OF CUTS COMING IN THE FUTURE. I FORGET WHERE WE ARE. ROMAINE: THERE ARE 20 DRONES FLYING OVER US RIGHT NOW, AM I SUPPOSED TO TRUST OF THE DOT PLOT? THE CLOSING DOLLARS
IN NEW YORK. YOU HAVE A REASON TO CLAP. THE DOW JONES GOING TO SIT THIS ONE OUT, DOWN ABOUT 100 POINTS. S&P 500 FALLING SHORT OF A RECORD HIGH BUT STILL FIRMLY ABOVE 6000. THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE AND NASDAQ 100 EACH UP MORE THAN 1% ON THE DAY, TWO RECORD HIGHS. NASDAQ 100 UP 1.5% ON THE DAY. RUSSELL 2000 TRYING TO GET IN ON THE ACTION, .6%. CAROL: IF YOU DIG DEEPER INTO THE S&P 500 YOU HAVE A MAJORITY OF NAMES TO THE DOWNSIDE. 321 NAMES LOSING GROUND ON THIS MONDAY AND YOU HAVE 182 TO THE
UPSIDE. SCARLET: LET'S LOOK AT THE IMAP WHICH SHOWS HOW THE SECTORS PERFORMED ON THE DAY. FOUR IN THE GREEN, MOST INDITEX FEAR. CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY WHICH INCLUDES OF COURSE AUTOMAKERS, RETAILERS, HOMEBUILDERS AND HAS LEFT UP 1.8%. ROMAINE: IS THAT A TECH COMPANY OR NOT? HAVE WE SETTLED THIS? SCARLET: 1.3 PERCENT GAIN FOR COMMUNICATION SERVICES. TECH AS A GROUP OF 1%. INDUSTRIALS FLIPPING UP INTO THE GREEN. ENERGY NAMES WERE THE BIG LAGGARDS. 21 OUT OF 22 ENERGY STOCKS DECLINING. TEXAS PACIFIC IS THE OUTLIER. CAROL: DON'T JUDGE ME. FORGIVE ME, BECAUSE MY FIRST GAIN OR WAS A GAINER
EARLIER IN THE SESSION. I KNOW, HERE I GO. MICROSTRATEGY. EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, QUITE A RALLY, SET TO JOIN THE NASDAQ 100 INDEX. IT IS FINISHING THE DAY WITH KIND OF A WHIMPER, JUST A LITTLE LOWER. NOT SO MUCH ENTHUSIASM BY THE END OF TRADING TODAY. THIS IS A TOP GAINER IN THE NASDAQ AND S&P 500. REPORTS EARNINGS WEDNESDAY AFTER THE CLOSE SET TO REVEAL ITS STRONGEST EARNINGS EXPANSION IN SEVEN YEARS. KEEP IN MIND THAT MICRON THIS WEEK REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. PROTECTING THAT FUNDING EVEN THOUGH WE ARE GOING TO SEE
A CHANGE IN THE WHITE HOUSE COME JANUARY. MICRON TECHNOLOGY AGAIN A STANDOUT. BROADCOM, TWO DAY GAIN ADDING $324 BILLION MARKET CAP, UP ANOTHER 11% TODAY. THIS IS JUST PLAYING OFF OF ITS EARNINGS. ROMAINE: THE QUANTUM COMPUTING STOCKS ARE ON FIRE. UP 65%. THESE DRONE MAKERS WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO REPORT LATER TONIGHT WAS UP MORE THAN 20% ON THE DAY. ALIX: DO YOU WANT TO DO THE DECLINERS TOO, ROMAINE? [LAUGHTER] EMILY: FORD DOWN AS MUCH AS 4.9%. TWO SINGLE TICKER DECLINERS TODAY. JEFFREY SCOTT THEIR RECOMMENDATION TO UNDERPERFORM SIDING BROAD CONCERNS, FROM LOOMING STRATEGIC DECISIONS ON THE
COMPANY'S EUROPEAN PRESENCE. FORD FACES MANY DIFFICULT DECISIONS IN UPCOMING QUARTERS INCLUDING RESIZING IF NOT EXITING EUROPE AND EXECUTING A YET TO BE ANNOUNCED A ELECTRIFICATION STRATEGY. ALSO LOOKING AT AT&T DOWN AS WELL. ONE OF THE MANY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS DOWN TODAY. THEY SAID IT IS A SETBACK FOR TELECOM COMPANIES AS THE DECISION PRESERVES STATE'S ABILITIES TO REGULATE PRICES. WE SAW HER -- VERIZON AND COMCAST DOWN. ROMAINE: WHAT ARE THOSE BROADBAND RATES? EMILY: THE RATES RIGHT NOW? I AM NOT SURE EXACTLY HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO PAY OR WHAT THEY WANTED TO CAP. CAROL: DO YOU
KNOW. ROMAINE: NO. THAT'S WHY ASK YOU, EMILY GRAFFEO. EMILY: I DESERVE THIS. I AM REGRETTING MY SASS. SMCI, SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE NASDAQ 100 NEXT WEEK, THE STOCK DOWN 11%, DOWN 60% OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS. ALIX: THE BOND MARKET WAS A LOT OF NOTHING HAPPENING BUT THIS WAS AFTER LAST WEEK WHERE YOU HAD THE BEAR STEEPENING IN THE BACKEND. CAROL: WE ARE GOING TO GET SOME STORIES ON OUR RADAR. WANTING TO MAYBE CASH IN A LITTLE WITHOUT LOSING THOSE SHARES WHICH HAVE SOARED IN VALUE. THIS HAS TO DO WITH THEIR
SPECIALIZED LENDING PROGRAM AT MORGAN STANLEY. EMILY: SPACEX EMPLOYEES NEED AT LEAST $500,000 WORTH OF SPACEX STOCK TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS, ACCORDING TO PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER. THIS IS ALL COMING AFTER SPACEX, ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PRIVATE COMPANIES IN THE U.S., SHARES NOW WORTH UP TO $185, UP FROM $112 IN THE PRIOR VALUATIONS. I GUESS A LOT OF EMPLOYEES WANT TO TAP INTO THAT. THIS ARTICLE SAID THE EMPLOYEES WHO DO NOT WANT TO PART WITH THEIR EQUITY HOLDINGS CAN TURN TO MARGIN LOANS FOR LIQUIDITY. SCARLET: I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE QUALIFY BECAUSE YOU NEED
AT LEAST HALF $1 MILLION. ARE WE TALKING ABOUT 400 OR FOUR PEOPLE? CAROL: MORGAN STANLEY AND SPACEX NOT COMMENTING. ROMAINE: HAVEN'T WE SEEN A LOT OF THIS? HASN'T THIS BEEN A CRITICISM, THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF PRIVATE COMPANIES WITH BIG VALUATIONS AND THE ONLY WAY FOR EMPLOYEES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE IS THROUGH THESE LOANS, BUT THAT DISTORTS A LOT OF THINGS LIKE ACTUAL EVALUATION AND LOCAL TAXES. INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THIS HAS BECOME A BIG PROBLEM GIVEN THESE PROBLEMS -- COMPANIES HAVE NOT GONE INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. SCARLET: AND THEY DON'T NEED TO. THERE IS
PLENTY OF PRIVATE MONEY. WHEN WE DECIDE TO CREATE MERGE FOR BLOOMBERG, WE CAN NOW FREELY USE POPEYE OR TINTIN. THESE TWO CHARACTERS WHO FIRST APPEARED IN 1929, THEIR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES WILL BE PUBLIC DOMAIN JANUARY 1. ROMAINE: TINTIN, THAT IS BORING. ALIX: NO! ROMAINE: POPEYE WAS MY JAM WHEN I WAS A KID. EMILY: TINTIN WAS THE BEST BUT I THINK THEY HAVE BEEN CANCELED BECAUSE SOME OF THEIR COMICS DID NOT HOLD WELL. ROMAINE: HONESTLY EVERYTHING WRITTEN BACK THEN WAS CRAZY. CAROL: BUT NO SPINACH ON POPEYE. IT IS THE EARLY VERSION OF POPEYE. ROMAINE, ARE YOU A
SPANISH GUY? ROMAINE: THERE IS NO SPINACH? SO WAIT, I DON'T KNOW THE STORY. POPEYE DIDN'T ALWAYS EAT SPINACH? CAROL: APPARENTLY NOT. ROMAINE: SO WHERE WAS ALL THAT STRENGTH COMING FROM? SCARLET: CHOCOLATE. ROMAINE: INTERESTING. NOW I HAVE TO GO BACK AND WATCH. BETWEEN TINTIN, WHO WAS APPARENTLY A BIGOT, AND POPEYE WITHOUT SPINACH, APPARENTLY I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN. CAROL: THAT IS A WRAP. ROMAINE: IS TIM BACK TOMORROW? WHERE IS HE? CAROL: SOME OF US MIGHT SEE YOU AGAIN. ROMAINE: SEE YOU NEXT YEAR. COMING UP, WE CONTINUE OUR COVERAGE ON BLOOMBERG TELEVISION. THERE WERE MAJOR STATEMENTS
MADE EARLIER TODAY BY PRESIDENT ELECT DONALD TRUMP ON THE HEELS OF A MAJOR ECONOMIC PROMISE FROM SOFTBANK. WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE U.S. ECONOMY COMING UP NEXT HERE ON THE CLOSE ON BLOOMBERG. SCARLET: WELCOME BACK. ROMAINE: AN INTERESTING DAY ON WALL STREET. I THINK THIS WILL BE IT FOR THE YEAR. EVERYBODY IS WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY, A BIG BUILD UP TO JAY POWELL AND THE FED ON WEDNESDAY AND THEN THAT IS PRETTY MUCH IT. STOCKS IN A BIT OF A HOLDING PATTERN. THE S&P DID FALL JUST A BIT SHORT OF
THAT. THE NASDAQ UP MORE THAN 1% ON THE DAY AND THAT LIFTED THEM TO A RECORD HYBRID A BIG PART OF THAT IS TECH STOCKS. NASDAQ BIOTECH HIGHER ONCE AGAIN. RISK APPETITE BACK WITH BITCOIN AROUND THE 106 MARK. A RECORD HIGH SET IN THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. WE HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT COCOA PRICES BUT THIS IS SHAPING UP TO BE THE STRONGEST YEAR FOR COCOA PRICES SINCE AT LEAST THE 2000'S. SCARLET: I AM SAD ABOUT THAT BECAUSE ALL MY CHOCOLATE IS GOING TO GET A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE. RECORD HIGHS AND THE NASDAQ
100 FUELED BY BROADCOM UP 11% ON THE DAY. NO SPECIFIC NEWS HERE BEYOND GOLDMAN SACHS RAISING THEIR PRICE TARGET. ANALYSTS SAYING THEY HAVE HIGHER CONVICTION IN THE COMPANY'S OUTLOOK. LAST WEEK BROADCOM GAVE A GOOD FORECAST FOR SALES OF AI-RELATED PRODUCTS. THIS IS A DISAPPOINTMENT CHINESE RETAIL SALES ROSE LESS THAN EXPECTED AND THAT FOLLOWS BEIJING'S FAILURE TO FOLLOW UP ITS PROMISE OF MORE FISCAL STIMULUS WITH ANYTHING TARGETED TO WHAT INVESTORS HAD BEEN HOPING FOR. ROMAINE: WE WANT TO TURN TO THE WORLD OF POLITICS. WE HEARD FROM DONALD TRUMP EARLIER STANDING NEXT TO SOFTBANK, ANNOUNCING PLANS FOR
SOFTBANK TO INVEST $100 MILLION IN THE U.S. OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. THEY MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND EXPRESSED OPTIMISM ABOUT THE U.S. ECONOMY AND CONFIDENCE IN TRUMP'S LEADERSHIP. KAILEY LEINZ JOINS US TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS. THERE HAVE BEEN RUMORS ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE AND OF COURSE MAGGIO SHE SAW ON NO STRANGER. WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HIM AND TRUMP? KAILEY: WE SAW THIS PLAYBOOK IN 2016, ALMOST EXACTLY EIGHT YEARS AGO. HE PLEDGED SOFTBANK WOULD INVEST $50 BILLION IN THE U.S. AND INTRODUCED 50,000 NEW JOBS. THE MONEY DID ULTIMATELY COME. IT IS UNCLEAR IF
THE JAT -- JOB TABULATION CAME. BUT NOW HE IS DOUBLING THAT TO INVEST IN THINGS LIKE AI INFRASTRUCTURE AND 100,000 JOBS COULD COME. TODAY TRUMP JOKED AND SAID WHY DON'T YOU MAKE IT $200 BILLION. SOFTBANK DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE $100 BILLION THAT THEY PROMISED. THEY ONLY HAVE ABOUT $30 BILLION ON HAND SO SOME FUNDRAISING WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN. BUT THIS IS A PRETTY BIG WIN BECAUSE IT COULD DELIVER AN ECONOMIC BOOST. SCARLET: MAS EOC SANS -- TEXT CEO'S HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CURRY FAVOR WITH DONALD TRUMP. THIS IS ALL PART AND PARCEL WITH THAT. KAILEY:
YOU ARE RIGHT. I WOULD POINT OUT THIS NEWS ON $100 BILLION INVESTMENT COMES A WEEK AFTER DONALD TRUMP SAID ANYONE WHO INVESTS $1 BILLION IN THE U.S. WOULD GET EXPEDITED PERMITS AND AN EASIER REGULATORY BURDEN. BUT YOU ARE RIGHT THAT IS NOT JUST MASAYOSHI SON. TIM COOK AT MAR-A-LAGO FRIDAY. TRUMP SAID THEY ARE ALL COMING, REFERRING TO ALL THESE BIG TECH EXECUTIVES. MARK ZUCKERBERG HAS ALREADY COME, JEFF BEZOS IS EXPECTED TO DO SO TOMORROW. AMAZON AND META AND OPENAI HAVE DONATED $1 MILLION EACH TO TRUMP . TRUMP DESCRIBED ALL OF THIS AS BEING VERY DIFFERENT
FROM HIS FIRST TERM. HE SAID IN THE FIRST TERM EVERYONE WAS FIGHTING AND NOW EVERYONE WANTS TO BE HIS FRIEND. SCARLET: FANTASTIC RAMP UP. YOU CAN CATCH HER AND JOE MATHIEU AT THE TOP OF THE NEXT HOUR. FOR MORE ON GEOPOLITICS WE WANT TO BRING IN GLOBAL GEO STRATEGY INSIGHTS LEADER AT EY. GOOD TO SPEAK WITH YOU. THIS IDEA OF TECH CEO'S TRYING TO CURRY FAVOR OR BEND THE NEED TO TRUMP, TO NOT INCUR HIS WRATH AND GET ON HIS GOOD SIDE. TO WHAT EXTENT IS THIS PLAYBOOK FOR OTHER COUNTRIES? LEADERS OF OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE
NO CHOICE BUT TO DO THIS AS WELL? >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT EMBODIES A FEW OF THE TOP THEMES IN OUR 2025 GEOSTRATEGIC OUTLOOK ONE BEING THE FOCUS ON ELECTIONS IN 2024. WE SAW ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE IN SO MANY MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD. THAT FOCUS FROM ELECTIONS TO PUTTING IN PLACE NEW POLICIES AND REGULATIONS. ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS THIS IS LEADERS AROUND THE WORLD TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THESE NEW OR INCOMING GOVERNMENTS ARE LIKELY TO DO, WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE LIKELY TO BE, AND HOW THEY CAN
POSITION IN THAT NEW ENVIRONMENT. SCARLET: GOVERNING IS CLEARLY MESSY AND WE SEE THAT WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN CANADA. THE UNEXPECTED DEPARTURE OF CANADA'S FINANCE MINISTER TODAY REPORTEDLY OVER DISAGREEMENTS WITH HER BOSS, PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU, OVER HOW TO RESPOND TO U.S. POLICIES. PUTTING ASIDE WHAT THIS MIGHT SAY ABOUT JUSTIN TRUDEAU'S STANDING WITHIN CANADA, THIS IS A STARK REMINDER OF HOW TRUMP'S ELECTION IS FORCING OTHER COUNTRIES TO SCRAMBLE THEIR PLAYBOOK IN RESPONDING AND CATCHING UP, I GUESS. COURTNEY: YEAH. THE REELECTION OF DONALD TRUMP IS CERTAINLY A CATALYST FOR A LOT OF THE POLITICAL CHANGE
THAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE U.S. AS WELL AS AROUND THE WORLD. BUT IT IS BROADER THAN THAT. TRUMP'S REELECTION IS PART OF THAT GLOBAL WAVE OF ELECTIONS, AND THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF 2024 AND LIKELY INTO SOME OF THESE NEW ELECTIONS WE WILL BE HAVING IN 2025, INCLUDING IN CANADA, WE HAVE SEEN A REAL EMPHASIS AMONG VOTERS ON ANTIESTABLISHMENT, ANTI-INCUMBENT CANDIDATES. TRYING TO SEEK ALTERNATIVE CANDIDATES OR PARTIES TO THE ONES WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN POWER, BECAUSE A LOT OF VOTERS AROUND THE WORLD SEEM TO THINK THAT THEY WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT OUT OF THE GOVERNMENTS. THEY
WANT NEW POLICIES, NEW APPROACHES TO SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THEY ARE FACING. ROMAINE: OBVIOUSLY WE SAW THAT PLAY OUT HERE IN NOVEMBER. WE SAW THAT PLAY OUT THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN EUROPE, FRANCE, GERMANY, AND EVEN NOW IN CANADA. I GUESS THE BIG QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE SYMBIOSIS AMONGST THESE WORLD LEADERS RIGHT NOW? IT IS A TOTALLY FREE ENVIRONMENT THAN MAYBE WHERE WE WERE EIGHT TO 16 YEARS AGO WHEN IT COMES TO THE GLOBAL STAGE. WILL THERE BE COOPERATION AMONG THESE LEADERS OR JUST INFIGHTING? COURTNEY: PROBABLY A BIT OF BOTH BUT AT A HIGH-LEVEL
WE DEFINITELY SEE OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST DECADE OR SO, THIS REAL SHIFT FROM AN ERA IN WHICH GEOPOLITICS WAS MORE CHARACTERIZED BY COOPERATION AND WORKING TOGETHER, TO ONE THAT IS MORE CHARACTERIZED BY COMPETITION AND EVEN CONFLICT IN SOME CASES. SO THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT IN THE GEOPOLITICAL ENVIRONMENT AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL WHERE WE ARE SEEING LESS COOPERATION, ALTHOUGH IT STILL DOES HAPPEN IN SOME AREAS. IT IS GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO ACHIEVE INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS ON A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT COUNTRIES ARE FACING, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE SEEING ALL THESE DISPARATE POLITICAL
LEADERS TRYING TO SATISFY THEIR DOMESTIC AUDIENCES OF COURSE. THEN THERE IS A LOT OF GEOPOLITICAL RIVALRY AND COMPETITION BAKED INTO THE SYSTEM NOW. ROMAINE: WHERE IS THE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE GOING TO END UP? THAT HAS BEEN A BIG QUESTION FOR INVESTORS RIGHT NOW TRYING TO GAUGE. COURTNEY: SPHERE OF INFLUENCE? ROMAINE: YES. COURTNEY: I THINK WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS GOVERNMENTS CERTAINLY HERE IN THE U.S. AND PROBABLY MANY OTHER MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD REALLY FOCUSING ON COMPETING IN THE STRATEGIC SECTORS. SECTORS THAT THEY THINK ARE RADICAL FOR THEIR NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS GOING FORWARD.
WE ARE LIKELY TO SEE A LOT OF THAT LAYOUT IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, YOU WERE MENTIONING AI EARLIER, THAT IS A CLEAR AREA WHERE WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE COMPETITION AND GOVERNMENT ACTION AND HOW BUSINESS WAS ABLE TO OPERATE. ANOTHER KEY AREA IS AROUND CLIMATE TECHNOLOGIES. WE HAVE SEEN A HUGE FOCUS ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES THE PAST YEAR. SOME OTHER CLIMATE TECHNOLOGIES AS WELL ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN HIGH ON THE AGENDA IN ADDITION TO AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND ALL THOSE MORE TRADITIONAL STRATEGIC SECTORS. SCARLET: YOU MENTIONED COMPETITION AND CONFLICT IN COUNTRIES WILL
MARK THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEIRS IN CONTRAST TO THE COOPERATION WE MIGHT HAVE SEEN BEFORE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR COMPANIES THAT OPERATE COMFORTABLY ACROSS BORDERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE BASED OUTSIDE THE U.S. BUT RELY ON U.S. CONSUMERS AND CUSTOMERS? COURTNEY: THIS HAS BEEN A HUGE SHIFT FOR A LOT OF COMPANIES AND IT IS ONGOING. ALTHOUGH I THINK MOST COMPANIES GOING INTO 2025 ARE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH. WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS A HUGE EMPHASIS ON DIVERSIFYING SUPPLY CHAINS, DIVERSIFYING SUPPLIERS, SETTING UP SHOP IN NEW MARKETS, THE SO-CALLED CONNECTOR ECONOMIES WHICH ARE EMERGING MARKETS THAT KIND OF
HAVE ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL RELATIONS WITH ALL THE MAJOR POWERS AROUND THE WORLD. SO THAT HAS BEEN A BIG SHIFT. IT DOES CREATE SOME RISKS OF COURSE IN ADDITION TO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES OF MAYBE SEEKING LOWER-COST SUPPLIERS OR MORE GEOPOLITICALLY RESILIENT SUPPLIERS. BUT OF COURSE WHEN YOU ARE DIVERSIFYING YOUR MARKETS OR THE COUNTRY'S, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU ARE DIVERSIFYING THE NATIONALITY OF THOSE PRODUCTS. THAT IS SOMETHING WE THINK WILL BECOME A BIGGER FOCUS IN 2025, COMPANIES TRYING TO GET A BIGGER HANDLE ON NOT KNOWING WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED. SCARLET: COURTNEY MCCAFFREY OVER AT EY. COMING UP
WE HAVE THE TOP THREE WERE REFOCUSED ON THE TOP THREE MOVERS AND SHAKERS. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. ♪ SCARLET: TIME FOR THE TOP THREE WERE RENAMED UP THE PEOPLE DROPPING SOME OF THE DAY'S MOST TALKED ABOUT STORIES. KEN LEACH, FORMER CO-CIO I WESTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT. HE HAS PLEADED NOT TO FRAUD CHARGES IN FEDERAL COURT IN NEW YORK. HE HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF STEERING MORE THAN $600 MILLION IN GAINS TO FAVORED CLIENTS WHILE FORCING LOSSES ON OTHERS, BASICALLY CHERRY PICKING TRADE. ROMAINE: IN THE COURTHOUSE YOU SEE HIM THERE. $10 MILLION BOND, HE WAS GRANTED BAIL ON THAT,
TURNING OVER HIS PASSPORT AS IS COMMONPLACE IN THIS SITUATION. NOW WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE SPECTACLE OF THIS TRIAL. SOMEONE I AM KEEPING IS THE NEW HEAD CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER AT STARBUCKS, IN FACT THE FIRST EVER FOR STARBUCKS IN CHINA I SHOULD SAY, TO BE SPECIFIC. HE HAS BEEN ON THE BOARD SINCE LAST MONTH, BUT HE HAS A LONG HISTORY IN CHINA. STARBUCKS HAD A BIG PRESENCE IN CHINA. THEY KIND OF FELL BY THE WAYSIDE, SOME COMPETITION AND SOME MISSTEPS. BUT THEY THINK YANG CAN BRING IT BACK. SCARLET: THIS IS PART OF THE NEW
CEO STARBUCKS, HIS REMIT TO TURN STARBUCKS AROUND. YANG'S FIRST TASK WILL TRY TO -- ROMAINE: IS THIS GOING TO BE LIKE HAPPY MEALS WITH THE TOYS? SCARLET: APPEAL TO THE LOCAL AUDIENCE. ROMAINE: WE WILL SEE HOW THAT WORKS. IF IT WORKS, GREAT FOR HIM. SCARLET: BRIAN MICKLE'S MAKING CHANGES AT STARBUCKS IN THE U.S., EXTENDING PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR STARBUCKS EMPLOYEES. THREE TIMES WHAT IT CURRENTLY IS . THEY CAN NOW GET 18 WEEKS OF PAID LEAVE FOR WHOEVER GIVES BIRTH, AND FOR THE OTHER PARENT DOESN'T GIVE BIRTH THEY GET 12 WEEKS. THIRD ON THE DOCKET IS
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF ARM AS SAID THE $10,000 BAGS ARE NOT EXPENSIVE. INSTEAD HE CALLED THEM COSTLY. ROMAINE: COSTLY. IT WAS AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW. HE GOES TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING EXPENSIVE. EXPENSIVE MEANS IT COSTS A LOT, CONSTANTLY MEANS THERE IS REAL VALUE AND IT IS WORTH IT. HE GOES INTO THIS IDEA THAT THEY ARE NOT CREATING SCARCITY. SCARLET: EXCEPT THAT THEY DO. ROMAINE: NOT ACCORDING TO THEM, SCARLET FU. HOW MANY DO YOU OWN? SCARLET:. . ZERO. ROMAINE: WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK BACK AT HISTORY AT A BOLD SILICIDE CALL ON THE FUTURE
OF ROMAINE: LET'S TAKE A QUICK LOOK BACK AT HISTORY. THIS DAY IN 1988 HENRY BLODGETT MADE ONE OF THE BOWLS -- BOLDEST CALLS EVER. A BET THAT AN UNPROFITABLE ONLINE BOOKSELLER CALLED AMAZON.COM COULD ALMOST DOUBLE ITS STOCK PRICE WITHIN A YEAR. IT WAS LAUGHABLE. AMAZON AT THE TIME WAS REFUSING TO OFFER SALES GUIDANCE AND PULLING IN AROUND $154 MILLION IN QUARTERLY REVENUE IN HAD NEVER EVEN POSTED A PROFIT. INVESTORS WERE PAYING ABOUT $165 FOR EVERY ONE DOLLAR THE COMPANY HAD LOST IN THE PRIOR 12 MONTHS. BUT HE SAW A PATH WHERE THE COMPANY WHEN IN
-- WITHIN FIVE YEARS COULD BE PROFITABLE AS IT EXPANDED ITS PRODUCT LINES TO INCLUDE PERSONAL ELECTRONICS AND VIDEOS. AS A HE RAISED HIS PRICE TARGET, SAYING THE STOCK, THEN TRADING AROUND 240, COULD REACH $400 WITHIN 12 MONTHS. THE STOCK REACHED THAT LEVEL IN JUST THREE WEEKS. IT BECAME A CAREER DEFINING CALLED THE EARNED HIM THE MONIKER KING HENRY AND SET HIM ON THE PATH TO FAME AND FORTUNE. MERRILL LYNCH LURED HIM AWAY WITH A $5 MILLION PAY PACKAGE AND SENT HIM AROUND THE COUNTRY TO PITCH INVESTORS, LOGGING AT LEAST 80 TV APPEARANCES ALONE THAT YEAR.
AT LEAST THAT IS ACCORDING TO THE BOOK BLOOD ON THE STREET WHICH CHRONICLED THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE STOCK CRAZE. BUT HE WOULD FLY TOO CLOSE TO TH E SUN. ALMOST EVERY STOCKY COVERED BACK THEN HE RECOMMENDED BUYING, ADVICE THAT BACKFIRED WHEN THE INTERNET DOUBLE FINALLY POPPED. HE WOULD LOSE HIS JOB IN 2001 AND TWO YEARS LATER WHEN EMAILS SURFACED OF HIM DERIDING THE STOCKS HE RECOMMENDED, GOVERNMENT REGULATORS PURSUED FRAUD CHARGES AND BARRED HIM FROM EVER WORKING IN THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY AGAIN. ALWAYS COLORFUL IF NOT ALWAYS ELUSIVE, HE LANDED ON HIS FEET. FIRST PENDING
NEWSPAPER COLUMNS, THEN LAUNCHING A MEDIA EMPIRE AROUND THE NEW SITE BUSINESS INSIDER. THREW SEVEN ROUNDS OF VC FUNDING, YOU KNOW WHO ONE OF HIS BIGGEST, EARLIEST, AND REPEAT BACKERS WAS FOR THAT MEDIA EMPIRE? NONE OTHER THAN AMAZON FOUNDER JEFF BEZOS HIMSELF. SCARLET: WELL DONE. OF COURSE MAKING A NAME FOR THEMSELVES, THERE IS ANOTHER TRYING TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR. WITH THE BACKING OF SOME KEY BIG-NAME INVESTORS. THE NATIONAL THURBER LEAGUE. THE FIRST OF ITS KIND HORSE RACING LEAGUE WHERE 10 TEAMS ACROSS THE U.S. ACCUMULATE POINTS THROUGH KEY RACES. WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE JULIUS IRVING WITH
US NOW ALONG WITH THE CO-FOUNDER. WELL COME. DR. J, YOU ARE A LEGEND IN THE NBA. OF COURSE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS, THE KING OF SLAM DUNKS. HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED IN HORSERACING AND THE NATIONAL THOROUGHBRED LEAGUE? >> I HAVE BEEN OUT OF BASKETBALL FOR A LONG TIME. AND I HAVE EXPLORED OTHER ACTIVITIES. GOLF BEING ONE OF THEM AND IT IS PROBABLY MY MAIN POST-BASKETBALL ACTIVITY. BUT I HAVE A HISTORY OF GOING TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY FOR ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES. THEY EVEN LET ME START THE RACE. THAT IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL. I
GREW UP IN LONG ISLAND, BELMONT PARK, NEAR THERE. THERE ARE PLENTY OF RACETRACKS IN AND AROUND NEW YORK. SO I ALWAYS HEARD ABOUT RACING. AND I ACTUALLY CAME FROM A COMMUNITY CALLED ROOSEVELT AND THERE IS THE ROOSEVELT RACEWAY ON LONG ISLAND AS WELL. SO THIS WAS PROBABLY MY DESTINY. WHEN I HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH RANDALL A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, MY SON AND I AND A FRIEND OF HIS ALL DECIDED THAT WE WANTED IN. SCARLET: IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS WAS DESTINED TO HAPPEN AT SOME POINT. RANDALL, NTL BRINGS TEAM COMPETITION TO ONE OF AMERICA'S OLDEST SPORTS
AND THE INTENTION IS TO MAKE HORSERACING MORE LIKE TRACK MEETS. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A TEAM FORMAT? I KNOW GOLF IS DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR USING A TEAM FORMAT RATHER THAN INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS. >> IT IS TAKING WHAT IS ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND TAKING WHAT WORKS IN MODERN SPORTS WHICH IS RIGHT NOW YOU GO TO THE TRACK, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE HORSE YOU ARE BETTING ON. WE WANT TO TAKE WHAT IS WORKING IN EVERY OTHER SPORT AND CREATING TREMENDOUS WEALTH IN EVERY OTHER SPORT. IT NEEDS STARS AND WE NEED MORE EVENTS. OUR
PARALLEL IS FORMULA ONE WHICH IS YOU ROOT FOR THE DRIVERS AND YOU ROOT FOR THE TEAMS AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ROOTING FOR. HUNDRED 50,000 PEOPLE GO TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH OF THOSE RIGHT NOW. WE ARE BRINGING MANY KENTUCKY DERBY'S WITH TEAMS YOU ROOT FOR AND NO AND STARS THAT COME BACK AND RACE TIME AFTER TIME INSTEAD OF GOING OUT TO STUD. ROMAINE: IT IS INTERESTING YOU USE FORMULA ONE AS AN EXAMPLE. WE TALK ABOUT HORSERACING. I GREW UP IN A FAMILY WHERE I HAD UNCLES WHO WERE REALLY INTO THIS.
I NEVER GOT INTO IT BECAUSE IT ALWAYS SEEMED SO COMPLICATED TO ME. THESE EVENT YOU ARE HAVING IN PHOENIX WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO COLOR THE TRACK. THAT IS AN ATTEMPT I GUESS TO BRING IN THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW -- WHO WOULDN'T NORMALLY GO TO HORSE RACING WITH THE SPECTACLE MIGHT BRING THEM IN. >> ABSOLUTELY. FORMULA ONE HAS BECOME A $20 BILLION PHENOMENON. THE SPORT ITSELF RESPECTFULLY, THERE IS NOT A LOT OF -- THERE IS A REASON THEY CALL THE KENTUCKY DERBY THE MOST EXCITING TWO MINUTES IN SPORTS. THE ATHLETES ARE NOBLE AND BEAUTIFUL. YOU
SAID IT EXACTLY RIGHT, YOU WANT TO ROOT FOR A TEAM INSTEAD OF THE SEVEN TO TWO ODDS ON THE EXACTA. MAKE IT EASY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS HANGING OUT THE WAY THE KENTUCKY DERBY DOES IT ONCE A YEAR. >> A RUSH IS SOMETHING THAT GENERALLY LASTS FOR SECONDS. IN A HORSE RACE THERE IS A FULL TWO MINUTES OF A RUSH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU MADE A BET, ESPECIALLY IF YOU KNOW THE HORSE, THE JOCKEY. IF YOU ARE INVESTED IN IT THERE IS THE PHYSICAL INVESTMENT OF MAKING A BET AND THEN THE
EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT, PUTTING YOUR HEART ON THE LINE. THAT IS PRETTY SPECIAL FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES. ROMAINE: ABSOLUTELY. ARE THERE ANY PARALLELS TO WHAT WE SAW BACK IN THE OLD BASKETBALL DAYS? OBVIOUSLY WE REMEMBER YOU FROM THE SIXERS BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE FROM A CERTAIN GENERATION THAT REMEMBER YOU FROM THE ABA, AND T HE ABA DID THINGS FOR BASKETBALL THAT HAVE NOW BECOME THE DEFECTIVE STANDARD. I AM CURIOUS ABOUT HOW SPORTS LEAGUES POSITION THEMSELVES AND STAYING TRUE TO THE TRADITIONS OF THE SPORT BUT AT THE SAME TIME DOING CREATIVE THINGS TO DRIVE PEOPLE INTO THE
STANDS OR INTO TV VIEWERSHIP. >> YOU HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE OWNERSHIP SIDE AND EMPLOYEES OF THE OWNERS WHO AT THE END OF EACH SEASON THEY SIT DOWN AND DO AN EVALUATION. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO CHANGE BECAUSE SPORTS IS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF CHANGE. SOME PEOPLE LIKE THE CHANGES AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T, BUT THERE IS GOING TO BE CHANGE. IT IS BETTER IF YOU HAVE A SAY SO. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERBAL AND VOCAL IN TERMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE. THEY HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT DIFFERENT PLAYERS AND SOMETIMES PLAYERS FIRE BACK.
IT IS MOVING FORWARD AND THIS NTL IS JUST A STEP IN MOVING HORSERACING FORWARD AND NOT JUST IN THE U.S. BUT GLOBALLY. SCARLET: YOU ARE ALMOST SYNONYMOUS WITH THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. YOU HAVE DONE SO MUCH FOR THE CITY AND I KNOW THE CITY HOSTED THE OCTOBER 19 PHILADELPHIA CUP NOT SO LONG AGO. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? TAKE US THROUGH HOW THE CITY EMBRACED THIS NEW TEAM SPORT, WHICH PERHAPS SOME OF THE MORE CASUAL FANS HAD NEVER HEARD OF, CERTAINLY NEVER SEEN DISPLAYED OF IN THIS WAY. >> IT WAS THAT PARKS CASINO AND RACEWAY. I
HAVE BEEN THERE A COUPLE TIMES IN MY PHILADELPHIA CAREER. I LIVE IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, SO WHEN I GOT TO PHILLY, I CAN FEEL THE BUZZ ASSOCIATED WITH THE RACE. THE CROWD WERE EXPECTING ABOUT 2000 PEOPLE, THEY GOT 4000. SO THE NUMBER SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. YOU HAVE PEOPLE THERE, MANY OF THEM JUST LIKE THEY DO AT THE KENTUCKY DERBY WITH THE BONNETS, GUYS WITH THE SLICK SUITS. PEOPLE JUST WANTED TO BE SEEN. HORSES ARE ONE THING. BUT YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND YOU'RE RIGHT AND YOU SEE PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCITED TO BE THERE AND THEY
ARE SHOWING OFF THEIR STUFF. PHILLY IS ONE OF THOSE CITIES THAT HAS A LOT OF PRIDE IN HOW THEY LOOK AT PUBLIC EVENTS AND THAT WAS ONE OF THEM. THAT WAS A REALLY, REALLY NICE EVENT. SCARLET: PEOPLE WANTED TO BE SEEN AND THAT WAS CERTAINLY A PLACE TO DO IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, GENTLEMEN. JULIUS IRVING, BETTER KNOWN AS DR. J. I HAVE NEVER BEEN INTO HEART RACING BUT I CAN GET BEHIND THE TEAM CONCEPT. BEFORE IT SEEMED SO COMPLICATED. I WOULD ONLY EVER PICK WHATEVER HORSE HAD A GOOD NAME. ROMAINE: I DON'T GAMBLE BUT
I HAVE BEEN TO SEVERAL RACES. IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE KNOW ON WHAT TO DO IT IS A LITTLE CONFUSING. IF YOU CAN MAKE IT MORE OF AN EVENT. AND LIKE I SAID, YOU DO HAVE THAT, BUT IT IS MAINLY THE BIG DERBIES. BEYOND THAT, THE DAY-TO-DAY ONES ARE NOT ALL THAT EXCITING, CAN I SAY THAT? I AM SURE I WILL GET IN TROUBLE FOR SAYING THAT. IF YOU BRING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, EVEN COLORING THE TRACK, IT SEEMS LIKE A GIMMICK BUT THAT DRAWS PEOPLE IN. THEY WANT TO HAVE MORE FUN. SCARLET: AND THEY
WANT TO BE ABLE TO RALLY AROUND SOMETHING LIKE A CITY. ROMAINE: AND NOT JUST -- NO OFFENSE. SCARLET: WE WILL SEE YOU AT THE TRACK THEN. LET'S GIVE YOU A QUICK RECAP. FELT LIKE A HUMDRUM DAY EVEN THOUGH WE SAW GAINS. NASDAQ 100 CLOSING AT A RECORD HIGH. VERY MUCH HOLDING PATTERN UNTIL WE GET TO THE FED DECISION ON WEDNESDAY. BITCOIN HAVING A BETTER DAY. ROMAINE: WE TALK ABOUT THIS IDEA OF WHAT THE CATALYSTS ARE FOR WHAT IS BASICALLY THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF THE YEAR. AND YOU REALLY HAVE NOTHING. YOU HAVE A FED MEETING
THEIR WIDELY EXPECTED TO KNOW. WE HAVE A FEW EARNINGS THAT COULD MAYBE MOVE THE NEEDLE LIKE FEDEX AND NIKE. A LOT OF FOLKS HAVE CHECKED OUT. SCARLET: THAT IS WHY THE TWO-YEAR YIELD, NOT MUCH IS HAPPENING. BLOOMBERG DOLLAR INDEX, ALSO NOT MUCH HAPPENING. BY THE WAY, WE HAVE A SPECIALTY USE HERE -- WE HAVE A SPECIAL TEASE HERE. SHUTTERFLY PUT TOGETHER THIS HOLIDAY CARD. HAVE YOU SEEN THIS? ROMAINE: I HAVE. I HAVE SENT IT TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILIES. WE ARE GOING TO TALK TO THE CEO OF SHUTTERFLY COMING UP AFTER THE BREAK. THE
HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS, LOOK AT THOSE THREE PEOPLE. SCARLET: WE NEEDED BIGGER SMILES FOR THAT ONE. ROMAINE: THE PROBLEM IS WE DIDN'T TAKE THIS PHOTO SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CARD. WE ARE SERIOUS JOURNALISTS. LITTLE DID WE KNOW THIS WOULD BECOME OUR CHRISTMAS CARD. SCARLET: WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT CONSUMER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS THE CEO OF SHUTTERFLY IS SEEING. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. SCARLET: MOST OF US HAVE BEEN GETTING HOLIDAY CARDS FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW BUT IT IS NOT OVER. THIS YEAR MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS -- I KNOW THIS IS A BUSY TIME FOR YOU.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A SENSE OF HOW BIG THIS MARKET IS OF PEOPLE WHO SEND HOLIDAY CARDS TO EACH OTHER AND TO WHAT EXTENT IT HAS BEEN GROWING THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? >> IT HAS BEEN GROWING EVERY YEAR. WITH THE SNAP FISH AND SHUTTERFLY COMBINED WE WILL PRODUCE OVER 200 MILLION CARDS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. WE ARE THE MARKET LEADER. THIS SEASON AND Q4 IS REALLY SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE MEANING OF A HOLIDAY CARD IN TERMS OF CONNECTION AND SHARING THE STORY OF YOUR YEAR IS SIGNIFICANT FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES. WE WILL SELL OVER 2
MILLION ORNAMENTS AS WELL AS PHOTO BOOKS THAT RECAP THE YEAR OR A SIGNIFICANT VACATION. WE ARE ALSO TINY PRINT AND SNAP FISH. SCARLET: THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT BRANDS UNDER SHUTTERFLY. THAT IS A REALLY GOOD POINT. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOLIDAY CARDS, HOW MANY OF THEM ARE CHRISTMAS CARDS VERSUS NEW YEAR'S CARDS VERSUS FOR PROCRASTINATORS LIKE MYSELF, LUNAR NEW YEAR'S CARDS? >> THAT IS A BRILLIANT POINT BECAUSE CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY IS GENERALLY SPLIT BUT I THINK IT IS A BIGGER DEAL. WE SAW A 30% INCREASE NEW YEAR'S CARDS ON OUR PEAK DAY. AS MUCH
AS BEEN SET ABOUT THIS SHORTENED HOLIDAY SEASON, INCREASINGLY, THANKSGIVING WOULD BE LATER AND THE SHIPPING TIME AND OFTEN IT IS THE SAME PERSON IN THE HOUSEHOLD BUYING ALL THE GIFTS AND PLANNING THE HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES. SO WE SEE INDITEX OPAQUE THIS YEAR A LOT OF GROWTH IN NEW YEAR'S CARDS. IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE IN TERMS OF WHO IS SENDING IT BUT ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY. WHICH IS WHY PEOPLE SEND THE CARDS. ROMAINE: WHAT IS THE UPTAKE ONCE YOU GET BEYOND THE HOLIDAYS IN TERMS OF PEOPLE USING THE SITE AND WHAT DO
THEY USE IT FOR OUTSIDE OF THE HOLIDAY SEASONS? >> THE AVERAGE CONSUMER HAS 3000 PHOTOS ON THEIR PHONE. WHAT WE SEE OFTEN YEAR-ROUND IS PHOTO BOOKS, PRINT, GIFTS OF ANY SORT, AS WELL AS GRADUATION CARDS, MOTHER'S DAY CARDS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, WEDDINGS. THERE ARE USES ALL YEAR-ROUND AND MOST SIGNIFICANTLY WE SEE A LOT OF GROWTH IN PHOTO BOOKS AS REGULAR MILESTONES. ROMAINE: MAYBE YOU CAN SETTLE A DEBATE FOR ME. OBVIOUSLY WE ALL TAKE ACTORS NOW PRETTY MUCH USING OUR PHONES MORE OR LESS SO BASICALLY EVERYTHING IS DIGITAL. THERE IS A BIG DEBATE OF HOW MUCH YOU TRANSFER
THAT TO PHYSICAL BOOKS OR INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS OF SOME SORT. ALL OUR OFFSPRING IN THE YEARS AND DECADES TO COME CANE LEAF THROUGH IT OR NOT HAVE TO LOOK AT A THUMB DRIVE. DO YOU FIND PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT EN MASS, OR ARE THEY CONTENT TO LEAVE THE STUFF ONLINE? COURTNEY: THE GROWTH IN PHOTO BOOKS IS MATERIALLY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE TO CURATE FROM THE MASSIVE NUMBER OF PHOTOS. THE JOY PEOPLE HAVE OF GOING THROUGH A PHOTO BOOK, KIDS GO THROUGH PHOTO BOOKS REPEATEDLY AND THESE ARE THE ITEMS PEOPLE TELL US. WE HEAR THESE STORIES EVERY DAY
THAT IF THERE IS A FIRE IN THE HOUSE PEOPLE GRAB THE PHOTOS FIRST. IT IS MORE THE CURE RATION OF THEIR FAVORITE IMAGES. YOU LOOK AROUND YOUR HOUSE, YOU SEE PICTURES OF YOUR FAVORITE EVENTS AND MILESTONE MOMENTS. THOSE ARE THE THINGS YOU FRAME OR THE JOKES YOU PUT INTO A MUG OR AN ORNAMENT ON A TREE. ROMAINE: ARE YOUNG PEOPLE EMBRACING THIS? PEOPLE LIKE ME SEE THE VALUE IN HAVING THESE THINGS. BUT ARE YOUNGER FOLKS STILL DOING IT? COURTNEY: INTERESTINGLY, WE DID THIS SURVEY, TWO THIRDS OF ADULTS PREFER PHYSICAL CARDS. THAT INCLUDES GEN Z AND
MILLENNIALS. ALSO WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS PHOTO BOOKS ARE BECOMING A ROUTINE OF YOUNG MARTYRS -- YOUNG MOTHERS AS THEY CURATE THOSE MOMENTS. INCREASINGLY WE SEE AN EXPECTATION AND SERVICE THEM WITH AI SUPPORTED TOOLS OF DURATION EASIER. WHAT WE SEE IS DRIVEN BY A YOUNGER GENERATION OF EARLY FORMATION FAMILIES TRYING TO CURATE FROM THE MASS AMOUNT OF IMAGERY INTO THOSE THAT MATTER THE MOST. SCARLET: I AM SO GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP AI BECAUSE I AM CURIOUS IN TERMS OF HOW AI CAN INNOVATE THE NEXT PRODUCTS YOU ARE FEATURING. YOU TALKED ABOUT PERSONALIZED GIFTS, WHETHER IT
IS AN ORNAMENT OR SOMETHING ELSE. WHAT CAN AI DO IN TERMS OF THE NEXT ITEM THAT YOU CREATE FOR PEOPLE TO CREATE THESE PERSONALIZED MEMENTOS? >> WE CAI AS MOST IMPORTANT HE THAT PHOTO BOOK THAT JUST FLASHED ON YOUR SCREEN. WHAT PREVENTS PEOPLE FROM DOING IT IS -- WE HAVE 24 HOUR FREE DESIGN SERVICE ENTIRELY AIDED BY AI TO DO THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE LAYOUT. WE HAVE AI SUPPORTED CAPTION WRITING. FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT USE THAT IT IS MASSIVELY TRANSFORMATIVE TO THEIR CONVERSION RATE. WE HAVE MAGIC WRITER WERE PEOPLE INPUT THE TEXT AND TRANSLATE
THAT INTO A MORE SUCCINCT ARTICULATION OF OUR HOLIDAY MESSAGE. WE HAVE PHOTO ENHANCEMENT. THERE ARE MANY WAYS THIS HELPS IMPROVE YOUR PHOTO OUTCOME. A LOT ABOUT IT IS MAKING IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT THEY WANT. ROMAINE: REALLY INTERESTING STUFF AND WISHING YOU THE BEST HOLIDAY SEASON. THE CEO OF SHUTTERFLY. SCARLET: WHAT WAS THE FAVORITE HOLIDAY CARD YOU HAVE SENT OUT? ROMAINE: OURS ARE PRETTY BASIC, JUST US FROLICKING IN THE PARK. SCARLET: WEARING ALL WHITE JUMPING ON THE BEACH? ROMAINE: WE DON'T DO THE MATCHING THING. I AM TRYING TO GET MY WIFE TO DO
IT BUT SHE THINKS IT IS CORNY. WE SHOULD ALL GET MATCHING TRACK SUITS, LIKE ALL FAMILIES DO, AND SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER. SCARLET: I CANNOT WAIT TO GET THIS CARD. ROMAINE: WE ARE GOING TO SET YOU UP FOR WHAT TO WATCH. STICK WITH US. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. ROMAINE: AS WE WRAP UP A MAD DAY IN MARKETS THINGS COULD HEAT UP THE NEXT FEW DAYS. WE ARE GOING TO START IN THE U.K. OF ALL PLACES WHERE WE GET LABOR MARKET DATA. SCARLET: JOBS COMING AT 2:00 A.M. WHETHER THIS MOVES THE BRITISH POUND REMAINS TO BE SEEN BUT
IT IS A DRUMBEAT TO THE BIG ECONOMIC DATA POINT OF THE DAY. ROMAINE: AND THAT IS RETAIL SALES. I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THIS TO SEE HOW THINGS HAVE HELD UP. SCARLET: ECONOMISTS ARE LOOKING FOR A .6% GAIN BUT THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF MARKETING BY RETAILERS TO TRYING GET PEOPLE TO BUY THINGS BEFORE TARIFFS KICK IN AND PRICES GO UP. ROMAINE: ARE YOU STOCKPILING THINGS? SCARLET: I HAVE NOT. ROMAINE: WE ALSO GET INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION DATA. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT OUR NONMANUFACTURING ECONOMY, BUT IT STILL MATTERS. SCARLET: IT IS A BOUNCE
BACK FROM A DROP OF .3% THE PRIOR MONTH. ROMAINE: AT ABOUT 3:15 P.M. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HEAR FROM THE SPACEX PRESIDENT AND COO ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR U.S.-BASED FORCE. SCARLET: IT IS NOT ELON MUSK, IT IS GLEN SHOTWELL. ROMAINE: WE WILL KEEP YOU UP-TO-DATE. APPRECIATE YOU WATCHING US HERE ON THE CLOSE. WE WILL BE BACK TOMORROW FOR ALL OF YOUR MARKET COVERAGE INCLUDING THAT BEAUTIFUL SPACEX ROCKET. IF YOU WANT YOUR POLITICS COVERAGE, STICK AROUND FOR A.
