WEBVTT - Interest Rates And Inflation In 2022

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Bloomberg Markets Podcast. I'm Paul Sweeney, alongside

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<v Speaker 1>my co host Matt Miller. Every business day, we bring

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<v Speaker 1>you interviews from CEOs, market pros, and Bloomberg experts, along

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<v Speaker 1>with essential market moving news. Find the Bloomberg Markets Podcast

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<v Speaker 1>on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts, and

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<v Speaker 1>at Bloomberg dot com slash podcast. All Right, Ed Price,

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<v Speaker 1>senior fellow UH and former British trade official. He's at

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<v Speaker 1>n y U right now. He joins us here and

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<v Speaker 1>thanks so much for joining us. Um, what do you

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<v Speaker 1>expect to hear? Well, what do you expect not to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from the Federal Reserve chairman today? Thanks for having

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<v Speaker 1>me on, guys. So what I expect not to hear

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<v Speaker 1>is enough. UM. I don't think the Fed will hike today.

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<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I don't think

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<v Speaker 1>they will, but they really are behind the curve, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think that all you really need there is two numbers.

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<v Speaker 1>Unemployment three point in December CPO inflation seven point one

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<v Speaker 1>in December. UM, so both policy conditions and fly conditions

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<v Speaker 1>are inflationary, and I think that what they really need

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<v Speaker 1>to do is hike and hike quickly. What do you

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<v Speaker 1>think about the kind of inflation that we're seeing. I

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<v Speaker 1>was just looking through your CV and saw that you

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<v Speaker 1>studied economics as well as German history, so you have

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<v Speaker 1>the um right Hooper inflatation perspective, M from the Weimar Republic.

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<v Speaker 1>Are we are we looking at anything that even compares

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<v Speaker 1>to the eighties, let alone the eighties in America, let

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<v Speaker 1>alone the twenties in Germany. That's a very interesting question. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think so necessarily. German inflation in the nine

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<v Speaker 1>twenties was obviously driven out of a World war. Germany

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<v Speaker 1>was cut off from capital markets. Germany printed its own money.

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<v Speaker 1>We know that story and we know how it ended.

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<v Speaker 1>But what we are doing now is finally undoing the

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<v Speaker 1>post two thousand seven makes financial crisis policy response. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>That's massive, right. I mean the question is how quickly

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<v Speaker 1>can you and should you shrink a nine trillion dollar

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<v Speaker 1>balance sheet? Um? So they're going to be on intended consequences.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think we're going to see hyper inflation. But

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<v Speaker 1>the you know, the debate about whether inflation is persistent

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<v Speaker 1>or transitory is very much finished. It's persistent, So Ed

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<v Speaker 1>you've mentioned in others have as well that the FED

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<v Speaker 1>is behind the curve, behind the market. What makes you

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<v Speaker 1>say that number one and number two? Is that a

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<v Speaker 1>bad thing? I think it's a bad thing. Um. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's a bad thing because if the FED is

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<v Speaker 1>behind the curve and it has to start hiking, um,

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<v Speaker 1>it will probably have to hike higher and faster than

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<v Speaker 1>it's previously indicated. So you know, we have Jamie Diamond

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<v Speaker 1>talking about six even seven, and we have at the

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<v Speaker 1>other end, um some market commentators and policymakers talking about

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<v Speaker 1>three UM. And I think what we're really seeing here

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<v Speaker 1>is that the monetary policy needs of markets are essentially

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<v Speaker 1>now at odds with the monetary policy needs of the

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<v Speaker 1>real economy. UM. So, if I may, I would describe

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<v Speaker 1>what the FED is doing as a trickle mandate. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so stable prices that's not going very well, full employment

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<v Speaker 1>that is. But this kind of third amorphous concern, which

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<v Speaker 1>is financial stability, that really needs low rates and that

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<v Speaker 1>needs quie to continue. Of course we can't do that.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think they're behind the curve, not just on

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<v Speaker 1>this inflationary cycle, but I think that they're behind the

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<v Speaker 1>curve of pulling out of the post two thousand seven

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<v Speaker 1>eight policy response. Before we get before we're out of time,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to ask you about the Ukraine Russia situation,

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<v Speaker 1>because you've advised governments and parliaments in Europe and in

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<v Speaker 1>the UK, and I just was wondering to myself this morning,

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<v Speaker 1>how much money does Western Europe pay Vladimir Putin every month?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, like, what, what's what's their gas bill? They

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<v Speaker 1>can't really um, sanction him if they need to buy

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<v Speaker 1>his stuff and give them their money, right, I mean, honestly,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a bit more concerned about gas prices at home,

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<v Speaker 1>um than I am. Right. Well, well, and that's another reason, um,

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<v Speaker 1>and that they can't really do much about it. Who knows, right,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, money is obviously a part of the international system.

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<v Speaker 1>Monetary relations are a part of the international system. I

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<v Speaker 1>think for me, Ukraine is is a distant issue right now.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm looking at home. I'm thinking about what the stud

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<v Speaker 1>is doing and, as you said in your introduction, not

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<v Speaker 1>doing so. If we get a house in order at home,

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<v Speaker 1>I think the dollar standard and the US will be

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<v Speaker 1>in a better position to act abroad in any number

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<v Speaker 1>of areas. So, ed, what what is your economic outlook?

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<v Speaker 1>For two, I mean, it seems like things are generally

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<v Speaker 1>in pretty good stead right here. And you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>statistics we see on on the pandemic are also trending

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<v Speaker 1>in the right direction. How optimistic are you for So

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<v Speaker 1>I think I do. It's weird, right because if you

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<v Speaker 1>look at the numbers, um, it does seem like this

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<v Speaker 1>is a good economy right um. At the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>if you look at sentiments and if you look at

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<v Speaker 1>you know, responding to polls about how their life is going,

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<v Speaker 1>how their wallets going, people seem a bit more gloomy.

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<v Speaker 1>So my take on all of this is we're actually okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we're coming out of the out of the pandemic um.

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<v Speaker 1>But again back to the FED, back to inflation. If

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<v Speaker 1>we don't get this right, if we don't get pulling

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<v Speaker 1>out of accommodation right, we could disrupt the real economy.

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<v Speaker 1>And we could actually disrupt the real economy through market events.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think, you know, we're in sort of possible

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<v Speaker 1>cruption territory already. Obviously we saw a rally on the

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<v Speaker 1>backup stocks, but I can see that happening again and

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<v Speaker 1>again as the FED pulls out of this of this

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<v Speaker 1>low rate environment, so you know, that could lead back

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<v Speaker 1>into the real economy and it could disrupt what has

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<v Speaker 1>otherwise been a pretty good recovery. And thanks so much

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<v Speaker 1>for joining us AID Price there, nonresident Senior Fellow at

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<v Speaker 1>the n y U Center for Global Affairs. All Right,

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<v Speaker 1>we have rates rising. UM. Coming into this year, a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of strategist fund managers said get ready for volatility,

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<v Speaker 1>and boy were they right. Robert Teater, head of Investment

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<v Speaker 1>Policy and Strategy Group of silver Press Asset Management, joins

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<v Speaker 1>is Robert the first two days of this week. What

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<v Speaker 1>do you make of the volatility we saw in trading

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<v Speaker 1>in the last couple of days in these equity markets.

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<v Speaker 1>It certainly has been a very volatile time. I think

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<v Speaker 1>you're right. A lot of us have been looking for

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<v Speaker 1>that to happen. It's been somewhat overdue. In my view.

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<v Speaker 1>It's that we're going through a number of different transitions.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think we're transitioning out of a unidimensional market,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning everything was all about COVID for a long while.

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<v Speaker 1>We've moved beyond that. It's now a much more multifaceted story. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>I think we're in an era of transition in some

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<v Speaker 1>of the data as well, also partly related to O

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<v Speaker 1>macron and a real focus on second derivative in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of growth rate of the economy and what's going on

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<v Speaker 1>with inflation. And then lastly, of course we have a

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<v Speaker 1>big transition from the Fed in terms of their policy,

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<v Speaker 1>going from very easy to perhaps gliding into neutral here

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<v Speaker 1>today or soon, and then perhaps tightening a bit and

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<v Speaker 1>being more restrictive with rates. So all of that I

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<v Speaker 1>think has gotten investors sort of back to basics in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of exiting this sort of easy, one dimensional economy

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<v Speaker 1>and market and back to focusing on things like earnings

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of the more complicated stories that are

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<v Speaker 1>going on in the market today. Ben Blueberg Intelligence UH

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<v Speaker 1>is bullish the earnings picture. Gina Martin Adams. Yesterday, um

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<v Speaker 1>Our chief equity strategist said she sees fifteen percent earnings

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<v Speaker 1>growth this year. Did you hear that? Yeah, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot harder than I think the consensus which is high eight. Yeah, exactly. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you see in terms of earnings growth this year?

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<v Speaker 1>And are you concerned that the Fed, you know, over

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<v Speaker 1>tightens um I talked to another economists um Raphael Atten

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<v Speaker 1>Coney this morning from A d A Economics, She said

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<v Speaker 1>she expects the FED tightening cycle to push us into

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<v Speaker 1>a recession next year. Yeah. Well, I I don't share

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<v Speaker 1>that fear. I can see why why folks have that expectation.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I think the FED is focused on a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of things here, and the market has been and

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<v Speaker 1>laser focused on the inflation part of the of the

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<v Speaker 1>FED mandate and what's going through the Fed's mind. But

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<v Speaker 1>I think they're also, of course focused on the economy

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<v Speaker 1>and jobs. Been very clear in emphasizing wanting to get

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<v Speaker 1>people back to work and having a support of economy.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh And the FED, you know, has has also been

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<v Speaker 1>very very much emphasizing the need to restore some policy flexibility.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think it's not all about inflation for the Fed.

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<v Speaker 1>It certainly seems like it in the heat of the

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<v Speaker 1>moment here. But I think they will be accommodative enough

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<v Speaker 1>to keep the economy growing so that people get back

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<v Speaker 1>to work. And I think that feeds into that earnings

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<v Speaker 1>picture that you referenced. I'm also optimistic on earnings, perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>not quite as much as the as the double digit

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<v Speaker 1>numbers that you were just talking about. Part of that

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<v Speaker 1>concern coming from how margins are managed. But I am

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<v Speaker 1>optimistic on the earnings front. Uh and for stocks as well. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>one thing we haven't had to do with it just

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<v Speaker 1>most recently in the last several years of geopolitical risk,

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<v Speaker 1>and we think about the Ukraine and Russia that really

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<v Speaker 1>came front and center. It seems like on Monday morning, Boy,

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<v Speaker 1>what our investors to do there? You just have to

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<v Speaker 1>put that on back burner and just ignore it or

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<v Speaker 1>is that real? Well? I think the typical playbook is

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<v Speaker 1>to say to put it on the backburner. Usually when

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<v Speaker 1>you look back historically at these types of conflicts, there

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<v Speaker 1>is a short term negative reaction but tends to not

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<v Speaker 1>be too disruptive over the longer haul. As you mentioned,

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<v Speaker 1>it came at a at a very tenuous time for markets,

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<v Speaker 1>when there's a lot going on in this transition that

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<v Speaker 1>we're going through, and so I think it was more

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<v Speaker 1>of a shock than usual. So I do think that

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<v Speaker 1>played a role here as well in terms of the

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<v Speaker 1>down draft that we've seen earlier this year. All Right, Robert,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks so much for joining us. Robert Teeter there is

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<v Speaker 1>a head of Investment Policy and Strategy group. Great to

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<v Speaker 1>get your voice your insight on this as we wait

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<v Speaker 1>for the FED meeting. I hope we get you back

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<v Speaker 1>on UM soon as well. From the Silver Crest Asset Management,

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<v Speaker 1>Robert Teeter, head of Investment Policy and Strategy Group, No,

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<v Speaker 1>we've been talking about in for the past twenty minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much for joining us. What do you expect

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<v Speaker 1>from own pal today? Well, I'll say the soccer football thing.

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<v Speaker 1>It's good that that's been resolved, so I was happy

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<v Speaker 1>to hear that, UM. And I'm sorry I missed breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>I certainly could have used it on the on the

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<v Speaker 1>PAL thing. I think it's a really unusual environment we

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<v Speaker 1>find ourselves, and I think that they'll come out and

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<v Speaker 1>uh be moderately hawkish looking at possibly four hikes this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that going to be enough? I don't know. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>if we throw away all that, all this modern fan

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<v Speaker 1>stuff we've learned in the last thirty years about forward rates, etcetera.

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<v Speaker 1>If you buy the two year today, UM, and you

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<v Speaker 1>look at where inflation really is, you're locking in what

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<v Speaker 1>would seem to be a pretty poor real return. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think we've seen in real time this type of

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<v Speaker 1>poor real real returns um in a long time. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I just wonder if we're being a little

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<v Speaker 1>blase and thinking that, um, we're going to raise rates

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<v Speaker 1>and we're gonna get to the point where inflation is

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<v Speaker 1>really gonna roll over, and the types of implied inflation

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<v Speaker 1>rates you're seeing in tips, you know, getting down to

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<v Speaker 1>two point two percent once we get past two or

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<v Speaker 1>three years, is really going to be a realistic sort

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<v Speaker 1>of outlook. So we have concerns, Matt. You know, Laird's

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<v Speaker 1>got his NBA from the unterse of Chicago, and they're

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<v Speaker 1>pretty good with a number of freshwater economists. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>they are into the numbers, Laird, what numbers do you

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<v Speaker 1>think this Federal Reserve is really focusing on here? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I wish I knew that if I was, I would

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<v Speaker 1>be focusing on sort of the impulse in inflation, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and the fact that, uh, probably statistically you could prove

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<v Speaker 1>out that the amount of conversations that people are having

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<v Speaker 1>about real raises being negative even though you're seeing you know,

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<v Speaker 1>four or five percent raises out there in the economy

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<v Speaker 1>and people still negotiating for more. Once you get that

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<v Speaker 1>embedded in the process, inflation becomes a little bit harder

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<v Speaker 1>of a phenomenon to beat down. And I think that

0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.640
<v Speaker 1>we're used to thirty years of the FED quote having

0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:04.840
<v Speaker 1>the style and being reasonably in control of this uh.

0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:06.680
<v Speaker 1>And I think we're in a new environment. I think

0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:08.320
<v Speaker 1>that the frog has been in the pot of water

0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.400
<v Speaker 1>for thirty years. Uh. And there's a chance that water

0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:14.480
<v Speaker 1>is boiling as it relates to inflation, and we don't

0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.080
<v Speaker 1>realize that at this point. What do you expect in

0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.679
<v Speaker 1>terms of um, you know, corporate earnings in terms of

0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:24.559
<v Speaker 1>the corporate economy and are we still looking at decent growth?

0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:29.520
<v Speaker 1>We hear high digit singles single UM numbers in terms

0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.920
<v Speaker 1>of the consensus, but Bloomberg Intelligence says even this year

0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:36.480
<v Speaker 1>in terms of earnings growth, yeah, yeah, I mean I

0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:40.760
<v Speaker 1>think we were relatively sanguine UM on the on the

0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:45.160
<v Speaker 1>corporate side, UM, we are underweight just on a duration basis.

0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.400
<v Speaker 1>We believe the strategy for bought investors here is go

0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:51.640
<v Speaker 1>with solid liquid companies that are gonna have good earnings,

0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.600
<v Speaker 1>stay five years and end, except maybe in the banks

0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:56.760
<v Speaker 1>where you can you can you can creep out to

0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:00.320
<v Speaker 1>ten years. Because they've had a pretty substantial widening here

0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:04.440
<v Speaker 1>in terms of the amount you're getting compensated for that risk. Um,

0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:06.920
<v Speaker 1>we don't expect that there's going to be any massive

0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.440
<v Speaker 1>disruption on the corporate credit side UH this year, but

0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:14.440
<v Speaker 1>obviously there's a lot of wild cards out there. You

0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:18.720
<v Speaker 1>guys mentioned Ukraine, You've got China, You've got the semiconductor supply.

0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.520
<v Speaker 1>You've got a lot of things that could disrupt this economy.

0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:23.560
<v Speaker 1>All right, Lard, thank you so much for joining us.

0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:32.839
<v Speaker 1>Really appreciated. Laird Landman, Generalist, portfolio manager, TCWS Fixed Income Group. Well,

0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.319
<v Speaker 1>during the pandemic, I think we've all done a lot

0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.200
<v Speaker 1>more and I mean a lot more of e commerce

0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:43.440
<v Speaker 1>buying stuff we never thought we would buy on line. Um.

0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.920
<v Speaker 1>And so that you know, the contact center calling up

0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:50.760
<v Speaker 1>or emailing or texting to get some new information on

0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:53.400
<v Speaker 1>a product of service you're buying. That's kind of become

0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:55.679
<v Speaker 1>the new storefront here. So there's a lot of technology

0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:58.600
<v Speaker 1>behind that. Louis Sume joins us. He's a CEO and

0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:03.280
<v Speaker 1>founder of live Vox. It's a publicly traded company NASDAC traded.

0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:06.640
<v Speaker 1>Lv o X is your symbol. Louis, thanks so much

0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.080
<v Speaker 1>for joining us here. Tell us about live box. What

0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.280
<v Speaker 1>do you guys do how do you make the e

0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:18.400
<v Speaker 1>commerce how do you participate in the e commerce UH platform? Yeah, great, thanks,

0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.720
<v Speaker 1>I appreciate that. Yeah, as you As you said, a

0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:26.760
<v Speaker 1>lot of customers are more commerce onlines or just just

0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:30.560
<v Speaker 1>the new way of life here and uh and as

0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.240
<v Speaker 1>a byproduct, some of the conversations of previously would have

0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.960
<v Speaker 1>happened in the store now more or less are going

0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:39.040
<v Speaker 1>to happen over the phone, or happened via chat, or

0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.520
<v Speaker 1>happened via SMS, and and so that makes the uh

0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.920
<v Speaker 1>contexts and operators have to change the way that they

0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:49.240
<v Speaker 1>that they do business because they're giving more volume and

0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:53.800
<v Speaker 1>they're getting more customers wanting kind of easy routine matters

0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:58.200
<v Speaker 1>to be handled quickly via chat or via email, via SMS,

0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:00.400
<v Speaker 1>but also with a seamless ability to get to an

0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:02.720
<v Speaker 1>agent when when it's a little bit more complex and

0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:05.680
<v Speaker 1>a little bit more difficult. And that's what we're all about,

0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:09.440
<v Speaker 1>is really giving them the technology for the simple, easy

0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:12.160
<v Speaker 1>matters so that they can have a good experience, but

0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.000
<v Speaker 1>also making it easy to get to the agent and

0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.000
<v Speaker 1>have the agent really well positioned to help the customer uh,

0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:19.640
<v Speaker 1>you know, wants to get there. There is nothing worse

0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:26.400
<v Speaker 1>than calling up a business or um or or a

0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.720
<v Speaker 1>store and getting an automated service, right am I? Right, Paul?

0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.160
<v Speaker 1>I mean when you get absolutely for your bank account,

0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:37.040
<v Speaker 1>please enter you know. UM. But I do love the

0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.360
<v Speaker 1>new chat functions if they work well, and I love

0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:44.400
<v Speaker 1>the ability to you know, call me back instead of waiting. UM.

0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.480
<v Speaker 1>You must need a lot of actual humans for that though, right,

0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:51.840
<v Speaker 1>like flesh and blood people. Well, it's a combination. I mean,

0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.200
<v Speaker 1>you know you've got to um, you know you've got

0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:55.960
<v Speaker 1>to address both. You know, you've got to be able

0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:59.840
<v Speaker 1>to do the quick and easy stuff UM online and

0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.520
<v Speaker 1>by SMS and via chat. I mean when you go

0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.520
<v Speaker 1>in a lot of our clients from the banking industry,

0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.040
<v Speaker 1>and when you go in and check a balance, check

0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:10.480
<v Speaker 1>your your checking account, look at payment status. I mean

0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:12.520
<v Speaker 1>you you you want that to be quick and easy.

0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:15.520
<v Speaker 1>And then of course if you're thinking about refinancing your mortgage,

0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.000
<v Speaker 1>you probably have more questions. And so at that point

0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:19.280
<v Speaker 1>you want to talk to an asient and you want

0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:20.720
<v Speaker 1>that agent to be knowledge well, and you want that

0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.560
<v Speaker 1>agents know you. And so you think about that's pretty

0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:27.040
<v Speaker 1>wide array of technology, right. You got the chat thoughts

0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.680
<v Speaker 1>and the virtual assistance helping me out with the quick

0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:31.880
<v Speaker 1>and easy. But then that agent has to be empowered

0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.200
<v Speaker 1>with a rich set of tools to help them be

0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:36.760
<v Speaker 1>able to quickly and easily answer your questions when you

0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.400
<v Speaker 1>get to the agent. Now you were running tell were

0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.720
<v Speaker 1>you were you running a telehealth service before this? I mean,

0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:45.400
<v Speaker 1>is this how you got um you're starting this line

0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:50.880
<v Speaker 1>of service. Yeah, Actually we started off over twenty years

0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.920
<v Speaker 1>ago in the in the health care sector and we

0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:59.680
<v Speaker 1>were helping doctors and helping physicians help the patients with

0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.960
<v Speaker 1>more administrative clinical matters and things like that. But yeah,

0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.320
<v Speaker 1>that's exactly what we started. But I mean, I imagine

0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:11.840
<v Speaker 1>the last two years have been just phenomenal growth for you. Absolutely.

0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.600
<v Speaker 1>I mean it's just driving a lot of the land

0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:17.760
<v Speaker 1>for context center services. And at the same time, the

0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.160
<v Speaker 1>contact centers are really struggling to hire people. I mean,

0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:24.080
<v Speaker 1>there's everybody knows there's a labor shortage out there, and

0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.639
<v Speaker 1>that applies to contact centers as well. So you know,

0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:30.480
<v Speaker 1>they've got this this pressure to add new technologies because

0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.399
<v Speaker 1>that's what the consumers expect, right, I mean, consumers expect

0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:36.920
<v Speaker 1>a easy digital experience when it's a small routine matter

0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:40.160
<v Speaker 1>and they expect to seamlessly get to an agent when

0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.000
<v Speaker 1>it's more complex matter, and if you don't give them that,

0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:44.879
<v Speaker 1>it doesn't really reflect well on your brand, and so

0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.600
<v Speaker 1>it can it can hurt you. Louis, what's kind of

0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.040
<v Speaker 1>the next iteration of customer service? Um? You know, it

0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.480
<v Speaker 1>used to be you dial up a phone and get

0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.560
<v Speaker 1>a live human being, and then obviously we went to

0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:59.560
<v Speaker 1>a lot more of the digital interfaces. What's the next

0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.240
<v Speaker 1>level do you think? Well? I think I think we're

0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:07.280
<v Speaker 1>really scratching this purface on on a lot of the

0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.120
<v Speaker 1>technology that's been deployed. I mean, we all know as

0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:13.719
<v Speaker 1>consumers that what I'm describing in terms of, you know,

0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.520
<v Speaker 1>quick and easy and then seamlessly get to an agent

0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:18.320
<v Speaker 1>when you want it and that agent knows you. I

0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:22.399
<v Speaker 1>mean that exists sometimes, but more often than not, it

0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:25.800
<v Speaker 1>does happen that way. So it's just tremendous opportunity to

0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:29.080
<v Speaker 1>make these tools, the digital the AI, the chat boughts

0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.200
<v Speaker 1>of virtual agents and all those things just work better.

0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:33.320
<v Speaker 1>And that's really where we're focused on and in our

0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.359
<v Speaker 1>our our focus here is really to leverage the cloud

0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:40.000
<v Speaker 1>to make it work better. Because it's complex technology and

0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.520
<v Speaker 1>and deployment from the cloud can make it a lot simpler.

0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.240
<v Speaker 1>And that's really the challenge is making this stuff kind

0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.600
<v Speaker 1>of just fulfill its promise. How far away are we

0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:53.520
<v Speaker 1>from a digital AI chatbot that works, because I could say,

0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:57.320
<v Speaker 1>as somebody, i just moved here from Berlin, so I'm

0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:00.920
<v Speaker 1>shutting down all my financial services in Germany and opening

0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.920
<v Speaker 1>up financial services here. And you know that the main

0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.040
<v Speaker 1>reason to get a private banker is because none of

0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:12.240
<v Speaker 1>these you know, Capital One or Chase or Bank America.

0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.880
<v Speaker 1>The chatbots have no idea what I'm saying, whether it's

0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:20.880
<v Speaker 1>an English, Spanish or German. I've tried everything. Yeah, look,

0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:25.000
<v Speaker 1>I think people have to be um practical about how

0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:28.240
<v Speaker 1>they adopt technology. You can't expect the virtual ages and

0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:30.920
<v Speaker 1>the chatbots to do too much. You know, you've got

0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.639
<v Speaker 1>to use them well. But then you also got to

0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:37.000
<v Speaker 1>quickly needsually get to an agent when it's beyond their capability.

0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:39.359
<v Speaker 1>And I think there's is a little bit of a

0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:41.920
<v Speaker 1>tendency for people to like say, oh wow ai AI,

0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:44.040
<v Speaker 1>I just like fall them over the technology and then

0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.360
<v Speaker 1>ask you to do more than I can do. And

0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:49.399
<v Speaker 1>that's really not the best approach and Louis, thanks so

0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.240
<v Speaker 1>much for joining us. Really appreciate it. Louisa May CEO

0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:55.840
<v Speaker 1>and founder of Live vox again at nastactorated Company l

0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:59.520
<v Speaker 1>v o x on go on your Bloomberg terminal there.

0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:05.560
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to the Bloomberg Markets podcast. You can

0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:09.359
<v Speaker 1>subscribe and listen to interviews with Apple Podcasts or whatever

0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:13.080
<v Speaker 1>podcast platform you prefer. I'm Matt Miller. I'm on Twitter

0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.879
<v Speaker 1>at Matt Miller three and on Fall Sweeney I'm on

0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.800
<v Speaker 1>Twitter at pt Sweeney Before the podcast. You can always

0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:21.720
<v Speaker 1>catch us worldwide at Bloomberg Radio