WEBVTT - China's Covid Protests and Musk's Apple Feud 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:17.120 I'm Caroline had a Bloomberg's World headquarters in New York 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.400 and the d Ludlow in San Francisco. This is Bloomberg 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.880 Technology coming up in the next hour. Uncertainties around China's 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:27.319 COVID curbs, the human story and the technology story. What 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:32.000 unrest means for Apple and iPhone production in the months ahead. Last, 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:34.920 sticking with Apple, the tech giant is being called out 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.800 by none other then Elon Musk, the tip Twitter chief, 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.720 tweeting it's CEO Tim Cook asking if the company quote 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:46.440 hates free speech, and another one bites the dust. Crypto 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:49.279 lender block Fire has filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.160 of f t X, and the US government is among 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:55.800 one of the key creditors. Will explain, but first head 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:57.880 let's check in on those markets, because today was a 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.560 day once again of Federal Reserve of Matt grow picture 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.480 impacting the text dogs. We're seeing the SMP from hundreds 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:04.920 off by one and a half percent, biggest sell off 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.160 since November the ninth. Similar moves in terms of the 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:09.880 NAZAC off by one point six percent. Big tech rolls 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:13.240 over as once again fed speaks seems to irk the market. 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.360 Federal reserve. The leaders over at New York FED, for example, 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:18.440 John Williams, or you're looking over at Jim Bullard over 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:20.880 at St. Louis FED, both talking about the need for 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.800 further rate hikes. Rates go higher, the dollar goes higher, 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.880 Crypto goes lower. Bitcoin, of course resets at this particular hour, 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:29.240 but it has been trading lower versus the US dollar, 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:31.080 and we're seeing that at sixteen thousand, two hundred and 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:34.039 six down about two on the day of Monday today. 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.039 It just resets and we're calling it flat. Let's move 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.399 on to see what also was irking investors was also 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.360 this dampening on sentiment about what is happening in China, 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.680 the protests. What's interesting here, though, is that the Naza 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:50.000 Golden Dragon China actually rallid. Why why when you see 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.360 unprecedented levels of protest versus Yjing Ping versus of course 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.480 the concerns of a COVID lockdown. Well maybe just maybe 0:01:56.800 --> 0:01:58.920 the Chinese stocks being traded here in the US were 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.680 upside ed because something that actually that will mean a 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:04.120 movement towards the reopening of the economy. We're up two 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:07.720 point eight. Yeah. E commerce are really big driver in 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.040 the markets. On individual names. I'm looking at Amazon, one 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:11.880 of the through few stocks in the green on the 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.480 NaSTA one on Monday, probably the biggest points gainer as well. 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:19.359 There's optimism around the sales outlook from Black Friday going 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.960 into Cyber Monday, which is ongoing. Of course, that stock 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.560 higher by around six tenths of one percent. Pindo do 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.760 really interesting, really strong earnings from a Chinese e commerce 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.520 giant on the lower end, the discount end having its 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:34.880 best days since August, the stock trading at its highest 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:37.519 level in a year. Again that story as well. Caroline 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.160 probably a factor that what we're seeing play out in 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.480 China might result in a policy change which would be 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:46.480 supportive for business and tech. Disney down three percent according 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.399 to people listening into Bob Igner's first town hall, they're 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:51.120 going to keep with it when it comes to the 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.560 hiring freeze, and they're warning about a move from linear TV, 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.600 saying activisions are stop. We' getting into later very quickly. Apple, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:02:59.919 We've got to talk about this stock, Caroline, because it's 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.320 under pressure with what we're seeing play out in China 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.000 and the impact to production as well. Yeah, I look 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:06.919 at that over the last couple of days, Apple down 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.679 four and a half percent. You've been driving that story home, 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:12.840 ed and let's dive into a little bit more, because well, 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:16.359 it's been gripping the entire world, China's growing process against 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.840 COVID curbs and a record number of infections complicating the 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:23.560 nations path to reopening. Here's what some Bloomberg TV guests 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.400 had to say about the sense of uncertainty just sweeping 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:30.160 through Chinese markets. As long as we're seeing the the 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.959 ongoing COVID zero policy, we're not going to see um, 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.600 you know, much of a stabilization in domestic demand unless 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:41.720 the government really moves away from its targeted approach. At 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:46.760 this point, it looks like that a rabbit or um 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:51.360 a reckless opening of the economy will be worse for 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:55.280 China's growth because the biggest problem now, of course, is 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:57.680 in the labor market. For the time being, it seems 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.920 that our performance that we have seen in the Greater 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:04.320 China region UM could be kept in the very near term. 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.840 The next few months are clearly going to be challenging, 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:10.240 but we still feel comfortable that in the second half, 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.800 China is going to be a much better story from 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.920 an investment perspective. Interestingly, the all that's doing well primarily 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:21.440 because people can't travel. So we've seen seeing you know, 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:24.760 a good spending and a good foot traffic in them 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:28.840 are a macro perspective there. Let's dig into the technology 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.400 impact as well. Blue Makes Debbie over in Washington, and 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.200 of course there be you cover in particular Fox. Can 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.520 you cover in particular Taiwanese companies as well as Chinese 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:39.880 and just talk to us about whether or not this 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.360 is an unprecedented in nature and what it really means 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:46.760 for business for the economy in China right now. So 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.200 what we have seen is u this is becoming a 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:54.200 challenging situation for supply chin in China over world. White 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.440 House set today that they don't see a major impact 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:02.359 um supply Chinda. For more recent UH part protest aura 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.919 undress in China over the weekend and in this instance, 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:11.000 Foxang over the weekend actually is offering its sixteen staff 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:15.560 a monthly bonus of as much as eighteen hundred UH 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:20.280 yen to UH continue working for the company in Central 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:24.400 China throughout December and January. And that means South Foksang 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:28.080 is working very hard to return workers to make sure 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:32.479 that the Apple will have far enough iPhones to offer 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:36.400 its customers to the holiday quarter, and our coholique in 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:41.240 Asia have reported UH earlier this week that Apple is 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.120 UH and Baksang are actually a facing illustration that they 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:47.640 could face a short full of as many as six 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:52.599 millionaire units of iPhone pros, the most sought after models 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:55.960 of new iPhones this year due to a reason memorial 0:05:56.120 --> 0:06:00.080 in it at the plant in central China. Debbie, do 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:01.720 we have any sense of when things are going to 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.240 normalize the Apple in terms of the production line you 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:06.919 mentioned the six million unit short for I think the 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.960 source also told Bloomberg that there was confidence they can 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:14.640 make up ground in three uh. Yes, But at the 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.680 same time, the situation remains fluids because we are not 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.479 sure whether there's going to be a full of lockdowns 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.680 in the region that could have an impact on this situation. 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:27.080 So another person familiar with the situation has told Boomberg 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:32.200 that the existing workers affected by ongoing luckdowns are being 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:35.440 able to return to work at the Faxangsa plant in 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:40.320 central China is a major factor affecting a production as well. 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:42.440 So I guess we just have to wait and see 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:47.320 what happens over the next couple of weeks. Okay, Bloomberg, steady, Well, 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.800 thank you very much. Let's continue the conversation now with 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:54.520 Scott Muscovitz, Asia Pacific GEO political risk analyst for the 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:58.279 Decision Intelligence Company. Morning Console, And I guess the question 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:02.400 we go to now is is this a flashpoint, Scott, 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:05.800 or is this going to be an extended period of 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:10.120 political social disruption in China in response to what is 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:15.080 essentially policy right from the Chinese government. Yeah, thanks for 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:19.000 having me, Um. I think that's an excellent question. Uh, certainly, 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:23.920 these protests are unprecedented there, unlike anything we've seen, the 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:26.640 quickness with which they spiraled, in the fact that they 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:31.400 are taking place across multiple cities, across multiple geographies, and 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:34.760 that somehow people in one city seem to be aware 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:38.360 of people in other cities were protesting, and we're you know, 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:42.720 drawing inspiration from each other. That is something that rarely 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:45.120 see in China, where the state is normally so good 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.800 at atomizing these things and sort of swooping them under 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:49.920 the rug. This is going to be much harder to 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.800 put it back in the bottle, so to speak, Scott. Already, 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:56.559 of course, many an international company has been worried about 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.360 doing business in China, largely because of the COVID lockdowns, 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.680 and also add that healthy dose of geo political tensions 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.360 between for example, the U S and China antagonized in 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.680 some way, perhaps over the course of the weekend the 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.880 news that zt and and the likes of Huawei won't 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.560 be able to sell their products into the US. How 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:18.120 does this affect, for example, U S China relations going forward. Well, 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.400 I don't know how much bearing this has specifically on 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:23.800 US channel relations, but US officials have to tread really 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.400 carefully here because they want to show their support and 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.200 they want to express their support for any sort of 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.840 you know, free and open protest, especially one that might 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:35.440 signal a greater desire even for democracy some people have 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.720 been talking about, which is very rare. But the second 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.600 U S officials step in and start, you know, saying 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.160 how much they support it, China can latch onto those 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:47.280 sorts of narratives and start to spin it as this 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.160 is something that you know was cooked up by the 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.880 U S. Start going to this sort of conspiracy theory propaganda, 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.400 and so that's something they have to tread very lately. Um, 0:08:57.440 --> 0:08:59.959 not just because they don't want to, you know, make 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:04.480 the progesters look bad, but also because that could also 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:07.880 you know, really harm us channelations which are just starting 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:11.360 to recover after the recent t did in meeting Scott 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.720 earlier today, I spoke to the CFO of in Finian, 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:18.360 a chip maker that has a significant operational and sales 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:20.760 footprint in China. This is what he had to say 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:25.679 about the situation. We have really improved our resilience a 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:29.720 lot over the over the past quarters, months and years, 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:33.600 and therefore we are looking at with with concern. But 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:37.240 up to now there is no direct implication visible on 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:40.960 our operations in China or the region, and we have 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:45.359 backup plans in case it becomes necessary to make adjustments. 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.840 When I listened to Spend, he makes it seem like 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:52.040 this is just the latest in a string of ongoing disruption. 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.160 What is your assessment about the reality of life on 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:59.480 the ground and operating in China right now? Well, I 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.720 don't get this. It's that everything has ground to the 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.000 halt to a halt, But I do get the sense 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.080 that we're in sort of a weight and see moment. 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:09.120 It doesn't seem like they've been able to dispurse these crowds. 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:12.000 They sort of missed the window on you know, censoring 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:14.040 and isolating it right away. And even as they start 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.839 to do that, people know that these protests are going on, 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.520 and they you know, are aware people are showing up 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:21.600 with their blank pieces of paper. That's been the real 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:25.200 prop of the protest um. Whether it's sort of grinding 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.400 to a halt. We saw you talked about earlier those 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:29.800 you know, protests in Jung Joe, but those were those 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:31.600 were more isolated. I get the sense that these are 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.440 more you know, urban middle class protests. We haven't seen 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:38.160 so much labor protests outside of that. So it's a question, um. 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.360 But there's a lot of uncertainty, and we know that 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:44.840 sometimes COVID lockdowns have been used almost politically, and so 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:46.920 you know, anything is sort of on the table, really 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.400 waiting to see how this will unfold. Now. I know, 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:54.000 in some ways what has occurred at Fox con iPhone cities, 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.319 it's known it's somewhat different to what's happening now on 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:59.960 the streets of Beijing or Shanghai. But they all really 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.320 it did. And a lot of this is frustration about 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:06.080 the way in which people survive amid these COVID lockdown Scott. 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:09.000 Many have been looking at Apple in this situation. Of course, 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:11.439 key supply of being that a fox gone, their exposure 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:15.600 being significant, that they just didn't build enough alternatives, They 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:17.880 didn't focus enough. They were too heavily dependent as a 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.200 supply chain on China and didn't do much to to 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:24.760 really disperse that. Do you think companies are now significantly 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.600 moving away from a Chinese supply chain or they look 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:31.559 to just think that this is an episode. Oh, I 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:33.680 think you're absolutely right, and I think it predates this. 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:35.840 I think it was over the summer. Uh, you know, 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.800 after how speaker Pelosity visited Taiwan and there was that 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:44.280 deeply jinguistic military reaction. People got really stooped and they 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:46.720 started for the first time to envision a future where 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.880 China might become for a lot of multinational companies geo 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.200 politically off limits. And they all started to scramble and started, 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.720 I think, wow, we need to look at serious contingency planning. 0:11:57.160 --> 0:11:59.839 And things only seem to get worse from there. That's 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:03.120 what we saw on our data. Um, you know, relations 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:07.839 seem to get worse and worse. Bilateral negativity only got worse, 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.400 and then it just really did seem to be affecting 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:12.800 both China and the US. People were concerned. She and 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.440 Biden met. It seemed to calm temperatures, not change anything. 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:19.559 But really I could a four under relations and this happens, 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:23.000 you know, right, Scott. We asked our audience what's top 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:25.199 of mind for them and concerned about what's happening on 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.360 the ground, specifically with Apple. Their answer very clear, working conditions. 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.800 My question to you those working conditions, what we've seen 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.880 on the streets. Do we see a policy pivot from 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.800 the Chinese government. Yeah. I think one thing is that 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.959 the government is sometimes more responsive than people realizing China 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.000 because they don't have the release valve of elections like 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.080 we have, So they're going to have to move in 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:52.440 order to well dissent. But they have to be very 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:56.400 careful because you know, if they open up too quickly, 0:12:56.640 --> 0:13:00.079 then it could really emboldened and enable these protests. So 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.240 I think they're going to tread lately. But I don't 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.760 see anything really terrible happening just yet. But we're waiting. 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:09.000 It could be a victory for the broadesters. You don't know, 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:13.040 there might be smart movements, you know, Okay, Scott Scott 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.960 Musk of b It's Asia specific GEO political risk analyst 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:18.760 for Morning Consult, Thank you. Let's stick with Apple, the 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:22.000 company and it's CEO being called out by Elon Musk, 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.120 who claims Apple has cut back its advertising on Twitter 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.240 and even threatened to withhold the social network from its 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.600 app store. Musk tweeting quote, do they hate free speech 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:35.160 in America? Question, then posting again, this time including the 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.440 Twitter account of Apple Chief executive Officer Tim Cook. No 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.000 response from Tim Cook on Twitter. Will have more on 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:44.320 that story later in the hour and coming up. Activision 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:47.800 Blizzard is gaining some fans while some analysts are raising 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:52.120 their recommendation despite concerns over Microsoft steel for a takeover 0:13:52.200 --> 0:14:10.160 the Cisplinberg. So Activision Blizzard has gained fans on Wall 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.120 Street as a florry of analysts raised their recommendations on 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:16.040 the stock, even as microsoft planned acquisition looks more and more. 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.559 Dicey joining us now as being a Bloomberg's m and 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.880 a reporter eachen Sen and Echun just talk to us 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.560 about what you're reporting, showing first and foremost one of 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.440 the odds that this deal actually goes through. Sure, Yeah, 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.040 so I will say, I'm hearing from murder arch traders 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:34.320 as they see the deal probably is having only roughly 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.880 forty to fifty percent of going through, so it's pretty dicey. 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.920 But it's interesting that we are seeing among the Wall 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:45.360 Street analysts there brustings here reading on the active Exhibition 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.720 the start itself mainly for two reasons I would say, 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.200 first it's a strong fundamental value and second is it's 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:56.840 a very attractive root forward profile given the Microsoft situation. 0:14:57.200 --> 0:15:00.840 Because remember Exhibition is in the process as of being 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.960 acquired by Microsoft for sixty nine billions. That's a huge deal. Right. 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:08.280 But there was a report last week saying that the FTC, 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.400 which as the u S regulator, is going to block 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:14.960 and challenge the transaction. The sort the starts tumbled, right, 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.120 but the endless points as they see, and they like 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:22.520 the stock whist or without Microsoft transaction because their case 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:26.080 has been as a stalear loan company active mission, it 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:30.120 has strong fundamental, very solid growth outlook and its franchise 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.240 including call of duty. Right, and they will get three 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:35.960 billion break on fee to add on the balance sheet, 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.200 right if the deal force apart. But on the flip side, 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.240 if you know it goes through, then look at where 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:46.080 the start is treating. It's like twenty percent below the 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:49.960 takeover offer. So that's a huge upside to capture in 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:54.320 that scenario. Ch And you've taught me so much about 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.760 the twists and turns of deal making, you know. You 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.520 and I followed the Twitter deal so closely for months 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:01.720 for examp and Pool and the thing you taught me 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.680 throughout that process not just to crunch the numbers from 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.040 the murder ofs, but it's to look out for key 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:11.200 inflection points, key decisions. So what's the big key decision 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:15.480 or key moment we're looking for between Activision and Microsoft? Right? 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.920 So I would say anti trust, anti trust progress has 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.760 always been the focus. So Right now is waiting on 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.800 the approval from FTC, but also it's facing the probe 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.640 under u k C, m A and European Commission. So 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.000 regulators have raised a concern you or if they're still 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.120 combining the numbers three and number five largest player in 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:39.640 the industry, will give Microsoft, you know, too much of 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:43.080 advantage in a space, or if they well with whole 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:48.440 popular titles against their competitors, and I will say another 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:52.240 thing to watch, it's just more broadly um FTC or 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:57.000 the buider administration has been helped this very aggressive narratives 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:01.280 around big players all years of you know when it 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.399 comes to antitrust issue. So that's particular of putting this 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:08.960 mega tag deal under the spotline. What's interesting though today 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:11.920 are great colleagues of Breenberg Intelligence put out a piece 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:17.200 Jennifer for example, talking about how actually Microsoft snow uh 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:19.320 new one trippony when it comes to M and A. 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.840 They've been on this rodeo before and quite often they 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:24.800 make concessions. Are we likely to see that when the 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:27.800 obs are talking about this right right? I think that's 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.639 definitely something people are watching, and people are watching. The 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:35.399 next catalyst is UM. When FTC going to job um 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:39.200 their final decision on a case on this deal. So 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:42.000 I think media reports say that could come, you know, 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:47.280 either later next month or earlier next year. So it 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:50.040 will depend on if they offer so on the mergial 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.080 party side, if they offer some behavior remedy. But if 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:56.479 you know, the regulator accepts that, and if there's actually 0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:00.320 FTC decided to block the deal, then Microstofts do have 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:03.040 the option too. It could appeal the case in the 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:07.280 court and remembers there's a similar case between United House 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:11.520 and chance Housecare Right. They got challenged from the o J, 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:15.560 but eventually win the costs approval on it so that 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.760 they are eventually close out. Okay, thanks to Bloom Bang 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:29.879 Bloom Bags sen two and a half years ago, we 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:34.120 lost eighty percent of our business. We laid off employees, 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:36.600 and I said at that time that we are going 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.600 to be now prepared for anything to come. We don't 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:42.920 need to lay off half the workforce to achieve the 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.880 efficiency levels that we want to achieve. We did announce 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:49.680 a small restructuring. Ours is really about rebalancing the number 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:51.200 of head count we had at the beginning of the 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.280 year we had tonight. We're gonna have the same number 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:54.960 of heads at the end of the year. We are 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.280 not stepping on the brakes. In fact, we're stepping on 0:18:57.359 --> 0:18:59.880 the gas. We are still hiring. We're not freezing, we're 0:18:59.880 --> 0:19:04.639 not cutting, We're growing. That's what some of the biggest 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.200 tech ceo has had to say about their own strategies 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:10.560 surrounding layoffs, and in today's Talking Tech, we're taking a 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.399 look at those companies that are not well so optimistic. 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.760 In Mexico used cars startup Cavac is the latest global 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:20.320 tech name to cut jobs. Latin America's biggest startup is 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:23.920 reducing headcount and firing managers due to higher interest rates 0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:26.920 and a slowing economy. That's according to a memo from 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:30.920 the Unicorns CEO seen by Bloomberg News Now last week, 0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:33.240 HP said it would cut as many as six thousand 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:36.520 jobs over the next three years, joining names like Amazon 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:41.520 and Cisco who also planned layoffs right now. Employment historically 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:44.560 strong globally. The jobless rate was at four point four 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:48.520 percent in September across major developed economies, according to the 0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:50.920 o e c D. That's the lowest level since the 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:54.880 nineteen eighties. But this time around, tech already has staffing 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:58.639 numbers way above pre pandemic levels. Layoffs have already begune, 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:01.480 so the sectors bray sing for more cuts to come. 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:04.920 That's talking to really great global perspective. Let's get a 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.080 little bit more global right now. Another story that's keeping 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:10.080 our attention. The main privacy watchdog for Meta in the 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:13.400 European Union has fined Facebook's parent company to want seventy 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:16.200 seven million dollars from a massive data breach. Now Matter 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:18.760 was penalized for failing to prevent the leak of the 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.240 personal data of more than half a billion users. The 0:20:21.320 --> 0:20:25.760 fine was imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission. Meanwhile, 0:20:25.800 --> 0:20:28.840 coming up, what retail data can reveal about the state 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:31.479 of the supply chain in this holiday shopping season. All 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:34.560 these insights and more. Next some Ari Trasda. He's the 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:36.760 CEO and founder of the open data supply chain company. 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:54.119 Chris this is Bloomberg. I think this intentionality actually is 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:56.919 incredibly indicative of the state of the consumer. Consumers are 0:20:57.000 --> 0:20:59.280 really looking for a value right now. They're looking for quality. 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:01.240 They want to buy from their favorite brands, but they 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:03.200 want a good deal from their favorite brands, and they're 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.560 willing to wait, whether it's Cyber Black Friday or ceremony 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:08.560 to buy that. But that's part of it. The second 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:10.399 piece of it. You mentioned this Alex in your in 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.080 your opening, you talked about omni channel. This idea that 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:16.000 consumers want to buy whatever in whatever means that is 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:18.560 most communitied for them, whether that's online or offline on 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:21.440 social media. That is now steady state. When you add 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:23.800 that to direct to consumer as a business model, which 0:21:23.840 --> 0:21:26.560 really connects the merchant and the consumer directly. I think 0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:30.520 that's the current state of retail and it's exciting. Welcome 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:32.719 back to Blue Big Technology. I'm Caroline Hide in New York. 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:36.120 That was Shopify president Harley Finkst on Blue Bag Television 0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:38.760 a little earlier today. And you're taking a closer look 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:42.080 at Shopify and other retailers post Black Friday. Just give 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:44.760 us the big picture. Was it good? Yeah? Yeah, well, 0:21:44.880 --> 0:21:47.280 I mean the market seems to think it's been okay 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:50.959 so far. Shopify gave some prelim numbers for Black Black Friday. 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:53.520 The street seems bullish on those prelim numbers. There is 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:57.120 evidence that the consumer is taking advantage of those deals. 0:21:57.200 --> 0:21:58.639 Some of the stocks that we've been watching are the 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:01.920 names that in that econor space. Amazon had a good 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:05.200 start Monday's session kind of fell away, but Shopify and outperformer. 0:22:05.240 --> 0:22:07.440 A lot of names on the cell side jumping on 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:10.800 the early data coming out of them. Wayfair, another one 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.000 Peloton interesting. According to Adobe Analytics, it really was a 0:22:14.080 --> 0:22:16.959 fit at home fitness equipment that did well at one 0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:19.480 point up eight point eight percent, but really paired those 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:22.080 games to close up eight tenths and one percent. Adobe 0:22:22.119 --> 0:22:23.920 Analytics data is where I want to go. Actually, this 0:22:24.040 --> 0:22:26.520 is a third party measure of how things are going 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:29.800