Bloomberg Businessweek

In a piece written for Bloomberg Businessweek magazine, Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor of MIT's Department of Economics, muses on whether there is a way to better understand the mind and methodology of US President Donald Trump. Acemoglu writes that "most of the (Trump) administration’s actions — the questionable crypto dealings, the appointment of unqualified allies to high-level positions, the unconstitutional deportations and National Guard deployments, the ouster of a Latin American head of state — have a logic. They’re all attempts to expand executive power, steps toward a type of imperial presidency." The 2024 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences details his assessment and whether the expansion of Trump's executive powers will ultimately lead to a fundamental change in American politics. Professor Acemoglu 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. US President Donald Trump is calling for an emergency wholesale electricity auction that, his administration says, will force technology companies to pay for the new power they need to run massive AI data centers under construction across the country. The truth is Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., OpenAI and all the other major tech firms behind the AI data center boom are more than happy to shell out for more electricity generation. And they have been. Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta collectively spend hundreds of billions of dollars on capital investments annually, far exceeding the budgets of the entire utility segment. Data center developers have in fact already said they’d like to buy electricity off the nation’s power grids as opposed to signing contracts directly with power generators. That’s because grid rates can be cheaper, grids are equipped with backup resources and such systems can help stabilize supplies during extreme weather events. Hyperscalers have also been signing contracts to help bring back nuclear or build new nuclear. Either way, the reality is tech companies have been trying to secure power from every source they can find — both on and off the grids — with data center power demand set to triple by 2035. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rick Woldenberg runs two educational-toy businesses near Chicago, Learning Resources and hand2mind. The firms are considered to be among the world leaders in the development of over 2,000 experiential, hands-on learning materials, which are sold in more than 100 countries. But their products have been hit especially hard by President Donald Trump’s fluctuating global tariffs. Woldenberg’s companies sued last April to invalidate the tariffs as exceeding the president’s authority. The suit is now before the Supreme Court in one of the most economically important clashes in the country's history. As global corporations await the American high court's ruling on the tariffs' legality, Woldenberg details their impact on his family-run firms, and how he's weathering the storm. Rick speaks with Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec and Bloomberg News Supreme Court Reporter on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick started summing up his outlook after Wall Street’s banner year for trading with four words: “The setup is ideal.” After Wall Street’s five giant banks reported a record $134 billion of trading revenue from last year and an upswing in dealmaking, Pick and peers agreed it’s poised to continue — albeit with caveats. “As a student of these businesses for decades, I would bet you that 2021 is not the ceiling,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon said, referring to the last record year for lenders’ trading businesses. “The world is set up at the moment to be incredibly constructive in 2026 for M&A and capital markets activity, and I think the likely scenario is it is a very, very good year.” President Donald Trump’s turbulent policy changes and trade talks have kept investors on edge — but for bank traders that has kept paying off as clients rush to reposition their portfolios. At the same time, his administration’s deregulatory efforts and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cuts are reviving a moribund environment for mergers and acquisitions — quickly filling dealmakers’ pipelines. As Morgan Stanley and Goldman posted quarterly results Thursday after reports from their largest rivals earlier in the week, the market-centric firms added to predictions for another bumper year for Wall Street operations. That contrasted with other corners of banking, such as credit-card units that have come under threat as Trump demands a cap on interest rates. Industry executives have been fielding questions about how they may respond to that, even as they themselves await information from the White House. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carolyn Tisch Blodgett is the CEO and founder of Next 3, where she oversees the investment and management of a portfolio of assets in the sports, media and entertainment space. She invests across teams, leagues and technologies including Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League, TGL and Los Angeles Golf Club, LOVB, Transmit.Live, Jackpot.com and more. Tisch Blodgett also serves as the governor of the reigning NWSL champions, where she is the lead owner across the business. Under her leadership, the Gotham FC has seen significant growth across fan attendance, revenue and on-field performance and league-record sponsorship deals. The increasingly popular league is facing challenges, however, as top European leagues and other organizations drive up the price tags for top players. Carolyn discusses the financial health of the NWSL as well as the growth surge in women's sports more broadly with Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec and Bloomberg News Sports Reporter Vanessa Perdomo on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Germany will take the lead of European nations sending military personnel to Greenland after Denmark said its meeting with top US officials intent on controlling the world’s biggest island revealed that a “fundamental disagreement” remains. The decision to dispatch reinforcements to the Arctic territory as early as this week highlights the urgency with which European nations seek to respond to US threats over Greenland. A meeting of foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington failed to dispel the specter of a US takeover. On Thursday, Germany’s “exploration mission” of 13 soldiers will arrive in Nuuk as European nations begin to work out how to ensure security in the region. Their task will be to “explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region, for example, for maritime surveillance capabilities,” according to a statement from the German defense ministry. France will participate in the joint drills in Greenland this week, according to the defense ministry’s press office, which provided no details. In addition, Sweden is sending “several officers,” Norway two persons and the UK one officer. The reconnaissance group is visiting the island ahead of the planned “Arctic Endurance” training exercise, UK Defense Minister John Healey told reporters in Sweden. Denmark on Wednesday said the drill with North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies would become a permanent fixture. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals, a leader in neuroscience and rare disease, is working to advance next-generation therapies. The company's commercial portfolio already includes the first and only FDA-approved treatments for Parkinson’s disease psychosis and Rett syndrome. Acadia is also developing the next wave of therapeutic advancements with a pipeline that includes mid- to late-stage programs in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis, along with earlier-stage programs that address other underserved patient needs. Catherine Owen Adams, the CEO of Acadia, discusses her firm's commitment to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation that can help make a difference for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world. Catherine speaks with Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Wall Street traders sent stocks lower as inflation data failed to alter bets on a pause in Federal Reserve rate cuts while JPMorgan Chase & Co. led a slide in banks after its results. Bonds wavered. The dollar rose. Signs that price pressures are gradually abating gave a degree of comfort to investors in the immediate aftermath of the data, but the moves across asset classes waned as the session progressed. The S&P 500 fell from a record. JPMorgan sank 4.2% as investment-banking fees missed the guidance, with revenue from both underwriting and advising on mergers dropping. Not even a slower-than-expected increase in the core consumer price index was able to sustain the advance in Treasuries that followed the data. After Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues deployed three rate cuts since September, money markets continued to project the next reduction only in mid-2026. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The time of the corporate landlord as America’s housing villain was supposed to be over. Money managers like Blackstone Inc. and Pretium, who binged on single-family rentals in the wake of the financial crisis took blow after blow as housing prices shot up. But the cohort has since cooled its buying, and the attacks slowed. But President Donald Trump on Wednesday brought the issue front-and-center when he pledged in a social media post to stop institutional investors from buying more homes. Stephen Scherr, Co-President at Pretium, weighs in on the president's threats against his business and how the country's leading owners of single-family rental homes might have to reposition themselves in the near-term. Stephen speaks with Tim Stenovec, Emily Graffeo and Bloomberg News Chief Wall Street Correspondent Sri Natarajan on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. President Donald Trump faced rare opposition from key Republican lawmakers after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell accused the Department of Justice of launching a grand jury investigation to pressure and intimidate the central bank. Senator Thom Tillis, a key Republican on the Banking Committee who isn’t running for reelection, vowed quickly Sunday night to oppose any Trump nominees to the Fed until the matter is resolved. Other Republican senators, including former Bridgewater Associates CEO Dave McCormick, offered more measured pushback on Monday. Tillis’s threat is a potential roadblock to Trump’s plans to bend the bank to his will. Opposition from Tillis would likely deadlock any Fed nominee on the Senate Banking Committee, which is divided 13-11 between the two parties. And under current Senate rules, it takes 60 votes to successfully discharge a contentious nomination from a committee and Democratic senators are highly unlikely to come to Trump’s aid. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the threat of a legal battle with the Fed could make confirming Fed nominees “challenging.” Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barnes & Noble is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The Company has approximately 600 bookstores across the United States, as well as its online bookstore at BN.com, the NOOK Digital business, which offers both eBooks and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, and stationery and gift retailer Paper Source. James Daunt serves as the CEO of Barnes & Noble. He discusses his stewardship and rejuvenation of the popular chain, as well as whether the Elliott Advisors-owned company might once again become a public company. James 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. Major US oil executives expressed caution to Donald Trump about reentering Venezuela, even as the president pressured their companies to spend at least $100 billion to revive the country’s crude oil production. Trump convened nearly 20 industry representatives in the East Room of the White House on Friday and predicted they could come to an agreement “today or very shortly thereafter” to restart operations in the oil-rich Latin American country, following the brazen capture of leader Nicolás Maduro. “If you don’t want to go in, just let me know, because I’ve got 25 people that aren’t here today that are willing to take your place,” Trump told the oil representatives. Comments from some of the executives indicated the president may need to do more convincing. While many praised Trump and said they relished the opportunity resulting from last weekend’s military action, they stressed that hard work remained before they could make substantive investments. Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said that Venezuela is currently “uninvestable.” Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Archer Aviation is designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks. The company is partnering with cities across the country to submit multiple applications to launch initial air taxi operations under the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), a first-of-its-kind public-private initiative led by the US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration to support the safe integration of air taxis in the US beginning as soon as this year. Adam Goldstein is the founder of Archer and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since the company was listed on the NYSE in 2021. He discusses the prospects for an expansive eVTOL rollout in the near-term 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. US President Donald Trump said he was directing the purchase of $200 billion in mortgage bonds, which he cast as his latest effort to bring down housing costs ahead of the November midterm election. Trump announced the move on Thursday in a social media post. The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, said soon after that the president aims for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae to execute the purchases. “This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,” Trump wrote in his post. He added that his decision not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during his first term allowed them to amass “$200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH” and that he was making his announcement “because of that.” “It is one of my many steps in restoring Affordability, something that the Biden Administration absolutely destroyed,” the president said. Mortgage backed securities rallied relative to Treasuries on the news. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have added billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities and home loans to their balance sheets in recent months, fueling speculation that they’re trying to push down lending rates and boost their profitability ahead of a potential public offering. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oshkosh Corporation builds what it calls "purpose-built equipment" to help people advance communities around the world. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Oshkosh employs more than 18,000 team members worldwide, all united behind a common purpose: to make a difference in people’s lives. Oshkosh products are found in more than 150 countries under the brands of JLG, Pierce, MAXIMETAL, Oshkosh S-Series, McNeilus, IMT, Jerr-Dan, Frontline Communications, Oshkosh Airport Products, Oshkosh AeroTech, Oshkosh Defense and Pratt Miller. John Pfeifer has served as the company's president and CEO since 2021. He discuss what Oshkosh Corporation is showcasing at CES 2026 in Las Vegas when it comes to advanced technologies in autonomy, AI, connectivity and electrification. John 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. President Donald Trump said he would move to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes, part of a push to address housing affordability ahead of this year’s midterm elections. “People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump said in a social media post Wednesday announcing the effort, adding that he would expound on the plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month. The news sent shares of homebuilders, including Toll Brothers Inc., Invitation Homes Inc., KB Home and PulteGroup Inc., down. Shares of Blackstone Inc. — a major investor in single-family homes in the US —fell by as much as 9.3%, though later pared some of those losses. The initiative comes after Trump’s allies have repeatedly raised alarms that affordability has become a political albatross for the GOP heading into the November elections. Trump urged Republican lawmakers Tuesday to avoid losing control of the House this year, saying it would lead to his impeachment. There’s reason for the White House’s concern: Just 36% of Americans said they approved of Trump’s job performance in a Gallup poll released in December, about 2 percentage points higher than his personal low before his first term ended in January 2021. Nearly half of adults described current economic conditions as “poor.” Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been nearly three decades since Howard Capital Management developed a proprietary indicator, called the HCM-BuyLine, to help protect client assets. This tool overlays all separately managed portfolios, as well as proprietary Mutual Funds and ETFs in an effort to keep assets on the right side of the market. The HCM-BuyLine is based on a proprietary calculation of the strength of the market derived from the ratio of new highs to new lows on the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges. The tool uses trend analysis – moving averages – to help identify the broad trend in the equity market and determine when to be in or out of the market. Vance Howard, the founder and CEO of Howard Capital Management, discusses his investing outlook in 2026, the impact of recent US military action in Venezuela, and how to respond to key market trends based on the HCM-BuyLine. Vance 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. A small fleet of ships booked by Chevron Corp. is sailing to Venezuela as the company emerges as the only exporter of the country’s oil following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro by US forces. Chevron is poised to export more Venezuelan oil this month than last, with at least 11 ships scheduled to arrive in the Venezuelan government-controlled ports of Jose and Bajo Grande, according to preliminary data compiled by Bloomberg. All eyes are on the Houston-based company to see if it will begin shipping out more Venezuelan crude after US President Donald Trump said he wanted “total access” to the country’s vast reserves. Chevron is the only Western firm allowed to produce and export crude oil in Venezuela amid American sanctions and it operates under a license granted by the Treasury Department. It is responsible for nearly 25% of the nation’s production and oversees the crude through delivery to fuel-makers in the US Gulf and East Coast markets. Today's show features: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.