Bloomberg Businessweek

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily." Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio. You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. President Donald Trump denied that he is considering strikes on Venezuela, contradicting a media report that he’d given approval for such a move as well as his own past statements that he was preparing land attacks after a series of boat strikes. Trump replied “no” when asked by reporters Friday aboard Air Force One if it was true he is weighing whether to attack military sites in Venezuela. He said “no” again when asked if he had decided on the matter. The comments appeared to contradict a report in the Miami Herald earlier Friday that the Trump administration has opted to attack military installations inside Venezuela, and the strikes could come at any moment. The Wall Street Journal had also reported on Thursday that the administration had identified potential targets but hadn’t made a decision on whether to carry them out.Asked earlier about the reports, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about” and any announcement would come from Trump. Asked earlier about the reports, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about” and any announcement would come from Trump. The reports, and Trump’s comments, further clouded the picture around the US president’s intentions for Venezuela and his push to fight narco-traffickers in the Caribbean. Last week, Trump said “the land is going to be next” after a series of attacks since mid-September on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. The US government has provided little documentation to support its accusations the vessels were carrying drugs, other than descriptions and video clips showing footage of the bombardments. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York Road Runners is a nonprofit that aims to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the power of running. The organization has served communities across New York City for nearly 70 years through inclusive and accessible running experiences. It serves runners of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds year-round with 60 adult and youth races, and programs and events, including the TCS New York City Marathon. Rob Simmelkjaer, the NYRR CEO, discusses the rich history of the upcoming race and the enormous economic impact it has on the Big Apple. Rob speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Apple Inc.’s fourth-quarter revenue edged past analysts’ estimates despite a surprise sales decline in China, where it’s been struggling to stage a comeback. Total sales rose 7.9% to $102.5 billion in the period, which ended Sept. 27, the company said in a statement Thursday. That slightly beat the $102.2 billion average estimate. The company benefited from stronger-than-expected services growth, helping offset the China slowdown. The Mac and wearables division also performed better than anticipated. Revenue from greater China fell 3.6% to $14.5 billion, well short of the $16.4 billion that analysts projected. The results renewed concerns that Apple is losing ground in a former growth market. The company faces mounting competition from local smartphone providers in China and has struggled to offer artificial intelligence features in the country. Meanwhile Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud unit posted the strongest growth rate in almost three years, reassuring investors who were concerned that the largest seller of rented computing power was losing ground to rivals. Amazon Web Services posted revenue of $33 billion, an increase of 20% from the prior year and the biggest year-over-year rise since the end of 2022. Analysts, on average, estimated 18% growth. Investor expectations for the cloud business were relatively low heading into Thursday’s report after the company in recent quarters cited constraints in getting new data centers online. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy and other executives had said they were optimistic about the business, though they stopped short of forecasting a reacceleration of growth. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple's fourth-quarter revenue edged past analysts’ estimates despite a surprise sales decline in China, where it’s been struggling to stage a comeback. Total sales rose 7.9% to $102.5 billion in the period, which ended Sept. 27, the company said in a statement Thursday. That slightly beat the $102.2 billion average estimate. The company benefited from stronger-than-expected services growth, helping offset the China slowdown. The Mac and wearables division also performed better than anticipated. Apple shares gained more than 3% in late trading after the results were released. They had been up 8.4% this year through the close. For more, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily spoke with Jay Goldberg, Senior Analyst, Semiconductors & Electronics with Seaport Research Partners and Mark Gurman, Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Global Consumer Tech. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon's cloud unit posted the strongest growth rate in almost three years, reassuring investors concerned that the largest seller of rented computing power was losing ground to rivals. Amazon Web Services posted revenue of $33 billion, an increase of 20% from the prior year and the biggest year-over-year rise since the end of 2022. Analysts, on average, estimated 18% growth. The shares jumped about 10% in extended trading after closing at $222.86 on Thursday. The stock has lagged behind that of its industry peers this year, with investors worrying that the company has yet to benefit enough from its AI products. Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have both generated faster growth in their cloud computing businesses than AWS. For reaction, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily spoke with Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst for E-Commerce and Athleisure Poonam Goyal, Ed Ludlow, host of Bloomberg Tech Ed Ludlow, and Eric Clark, Chief Investment Officer at Accuvest Global Advisors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founded in 2002, True Religion emerged onto the Los Angeles denim scene by disrupting the construction of the classic five-pocket jean. With its five-needle thread at two-stitch-per-inch process, the True Religion Super T stitch was instantly recognized for style that was unlike any other denim brand in the world. Today, True Religion is worn by athletes, musicians, artists, and loyal customers alike with the company putting its focus on producing high quality premium denim, sportwear and other apparel for men, women and kids. Michael Buckley, the CEO of True Religion, discusses the apparel brand's growth strategy and pursuit of becoming a billion-dollar business in the coming years. Michael speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Meta Platforms Inc. said it expects total expenses to significantly increase in 2026, and the company will continue to spend at historic levels on data centers and other equipment to fuel its effort in artificial intelligence. The shares dropped in extended trading. The company also reported third-quarter net income of $2.71 billion, which included a one-time, non-cash income tax charge of $15.9 billion due to the implementation of the tax bill signed into law in July, Meta said in the statement. Without the accounting charge, Meta said net income would have increased 19% to $18.6 billion. Meta reported third-quarter sales of $51.2 billion, which beat analysts’ average estimate of $49.6 billion. The company has used profits from the advertising business to fuel its AI ambitions. While Meta has argued that its AI investments are paying off now by helping the company better target ads and content, a slowdown in ad sales could damp investor enthusiasm for Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s long-term vision for AI. Meanwhile Microsoft Corp. reported a steeper climb in spending than Wall Street expected, fueling anxieties about the high costs of providing AI infrastructure. First-quarter capital expenditures including leases, an indication of data center spending, came in at $34.9 billion, up from $24 billion in the preceding quarter, the company said Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. reported quarterly sales that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by the performance of its cloud unit, which is surging as artificial intelligence startups seek Google’s support and computing power. Third-quarter sales, excluding partner payouts, rose to $87.5 billion, Alphabet said in a statement Wednesday. That topped the $85.1 billion expected on average by analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net income was $2.87 per share, compared with Wall Street’s estimate of $2.26.The company is investing record amounts to try to push progress in AI, and infuse answers and assistance from its large language model, Gemini, into its popular products including search. The company said capital expenditures for the year will be $91 billion to $93 billion, up from the $85 billion earlier estimate. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft Corp. reported a steeper climb in spending than Wall Street expected, fueling anxieties about the high costs of providing AI infrastructure. First-quarter capital expenditures including leases, an indication of data center spending, came in at $34.9 billion, up from $24 billion in the preceding quarter, the company said Wednesday. Microsoft continues “to increase our investments in AI across both capital and talent to meet the massive opportunity ahead,” Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a statement. Total revenue increased 18% to $77.7 billion in the fiscal first quarter, while profit was $3.72 a share. Analysts on average estimated sales of $75.6 billion and per-share earnings of $3.68. The Azure cloud-computing unit posted a 39% revenue gain in the quarter when adjusting for currency fluctuations, beating the Wall Street estimate of 37%. Investor expectations for Microsoft were high heading into earnings, with all but one analyst tracked by Bloomberg rating the stock a buy. Meta Platforms said it expects total expenses to significantly increase in 2026, and will continue to invest at historic levels in artificial intelligence. The company also reported third-quarter net income of $2.71 billion, which included a one-time, non-cash income tax charge of $15.9 billion due to the implementation of the tax bill signed into law in July, Meta said in the statement. Without the accounting charge, Meta said net income would have increased 19% to $18.6 billion. Looking beyond the third-quarter, the company said it expects a “significant reduction” in US federal cash tax payments for 2025 and years to come due to the new law. Meta reported third-quarter sales of $51.2 billion, which beat analysts’ average estimate of $49.6 billion. For analysis of the tech earnings, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily spoke with Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Anurag Rana and Ivan Feinseth, Research Director and Chief Investment Officer with Tigress Financial Partners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg's Tom Keene, Jonathan Ferro and Lisa Abramowicz discuss remarks from Fed Chair Jay Powell following the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance. Treasuries extended losses after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said a December interest-rate cut was not set in stone, even after delivering a widely expected quarter-point reduction to prop up the labor market. The central bank reduced its benchmark lending rate to 3.75%-4% in its second straight cut — though two officials dissented. “A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion, far from it,” Powell said in the opening comments of his press conference. In their post-meeting statement, Fed policymakers on Wednesday repeated their assessment that “job gains have slowed” and said “risks to employment rose in recent months.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wayfair shares rose to their highest level since April 2022, after the e-commerce home furnishing retailer reported third quarter results that easily topped expectations. On the earnings call, management gave guidance for the current quarter that also topped consensus estimates, and spent much of the call discussing its efforts to leverage artificial intelligence technology. Kate Gulliver, Wayfair's CFO and CAO, discusses her company's long-term prospects for increasing its share of the $500 billion home-goods market with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. OpenAI is giving its long-time backer Microsoft Corp. a 27% ownership stake as part of a restructuring plan that took nearly a year to negotiate, removing a major uncertainty for both companies and clearing the path for the ChatGPT maker to become a for-profit business. Under the revised pact, Microsoft will get a stake in OpenAI worth about $135 billion, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. In addition, Microsoft will have access to the artificial intelligence startup’s technology until 2032, including models that achieved the benchmark of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a more powerful form of AI that most say does not exist yet. Microsoft will also continue to be entitled to receive 20% of OpenAI’s revenue, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. But as part of the new pact, OpenAI can pay more later. In a blog post, the companies said a revenue share agreement remains in effect until an expert panel verifies AGI. With the agreement, OpenAI said its corporate restructure is now complete. The company had spent much of this year working to form a more traditional for-profit company, which is considered more attractive to investors. Microsoft, which backed OpenAI with some $13.75 billion, was the biggest holdout among the ChatGPT maker’s investors, Bloomberg News has reported. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before it became the biggest collection of knowledge in the history of the world, Wikipedia had to overcome its greatest challenge: getting strangers on the Internet to trust each other. They had to trust that others would not be abusive or uncivil, that others would not unfairly change or erase their contributions, and that people had good intentions. Jimmy Wales, the internet entrepreneur who founded Wikipedia, details the global experiment in sharing knowledge and expertise online that has become part of the fabric of our modern, connected life. It's all laid out in his new book, "The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last." Jimmy speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Amazon.com Inc. plans to cut corporate jobs in several key departments, including logistics, payments, video games and the cloud-computing unit, according to people familiar with the matter. The terminations, expected as soon as Tuesday, could affect as many as 30,000 jobs, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources. Cuts on that scale would be the largest since rolling reductions in late 2022 and early 2023 that ultimately totaled more than 27,000 corporate employees, as Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy looked to cut costs after expanding rapidly during the pandemic. Since then, there has been a steady drip of more modest layoffs targeting individual teams. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment. Jassy in June signaled that Amazon’s workforce would likely get smaller as the company increases its use of artificial intelligence to complete tasks normally handled by people. The comment touched off panic among workers, who trawled anonymous online chat rooms for insights about potential job cuts that often leak piecemeal, making it difficult to assess their full size and scope. Today's show features: Bloomberg News Big Tech Team Leader Sarah Frier on Amazon's expected layoffs and Qualcomm’s new semiconductors aimed at competing with Nvidia Jan van Eck, Chief Executive Officer of VanEck Funds, on the market outlook heading into mega-cap tech earnings Sarah Hunt, Chief Market Strategist, Alpine Saxon Woods, on the Monday trade and market outlook Bloomberg News Boston Bureau Chief Brooke Sutherland and Bloomberg News Senior Economic Writer Shawn Donnan on their Businessweek feature: AI Data Center Boom Threatens Trump’s Manufacturing Revival See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Montage International is a collection of luxury vacation properties consisting of 15 hotels and resorts with another 14 more currently in development. As an asset manager and operator, Montage's strategy includes long-term partnerships with owners, real estate partners, developers, investors and associates. Montage Hotels and Resorts is the only Forbes five star rated hotel brand. Alan Fuerstman, the company's Founder, Chairman and CEO, discusses the state of the high-end leisure and travel market and how White House policies impact the company's access to workers in key markets. Alan speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily." Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio. You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. The Ontario government plans to stop running the anti-tariff advertisement that irked President Donald Trump after airing it during broadcasts of baseball’s World Series. The government-funded ad, which featured excerpts of late US President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, will stop appearing after Friday and Saturday’s games, following Trump’s criticism of it, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a post on the social media network X. “Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford wrote. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached US audiences at the highest levels.” Ford said that, following a conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney, he’d pause the ad starting Monday “so that trade talks can resume.” The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump posted angrily about the television commercial, which played in some Republican-held regions of the US, saying Reagan’s comments were fraudulently used and that he would halt trade talks because of it. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Division of Genetics and Genomics at Boston Children’s Hospital provides comprehensive clinical care including diagnostics, genetic counseling, and individualized management in concert with other specialties for people of all ages. As one of the largest pediatric genetics practices in the country, this key division of BCH has experience with both common conditions and very rare conditions affecting just a few hundred children in the world. Dr. Wendy Chung, Chief of Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital as well as Harvard Medical School's Mary Ellen Avery Professor of Pediatrics, explains how her team finds answers for some of the most complex and hard-to-diagnose genetic conditions, sometimes applying new technologies through our research labs when existing genetic tests are negative or inconclusive. Dr. Chung speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Basketball player Terry Rozier told a friend in 2023 that he planned to take himself out of a game early with a minor injury. The friend, Deniro Laster, used the tip to place more than $200,000 in bets predicting Rozier would fall short of his usual point total. By the next morning, prosecutors say, the two men were counting their winnings together in Rozier’s home. The Charlotte Hornets guard at the time played just nine minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans and checked out.That incident, described in a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday in Brooklyn, now sits at the center of one of the most sweeping sports gambling cases ever brought by the US Justice Department — one that stretches from locker rooms to underground poker clubs controlled by New York’s biggest mafia families. Rozier, now with the Miami Heat, and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were arrested Thursday morning and charged as part of two separate criminal schemes related to illegal sports betting, federal prosecutors said. Soon after the arrests, Rozier and Billups were placed on immediate leave from their teams.FBI Director Kash Patel and Brooklyn federal prosecutors said at least 30 people were arrested across 11 states, including current and former National Basketball Association players and coaches. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Northwind Group is a real estate private equity firm in Manhattan that has transacted on over $5.6 billion of debt and equity investments in residential, commercial, senior living & healthcare properties. The company says it invests on its own balance sheet through discretionary closed-ended managed funds, focused on generating strong risk-adjusted returns while maintaining rigorous investment criteria. Ran Eliasaf founded Northwind Group in 2008 and oversees all company investment activities as the company's Managing Director. He examines how the ongoing government shutdown is impacting movement in commercial real estate and explains why he believes 2025 will be a record year for private lenders with Carol Massar and David Gura on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.