WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - August 20th, 2021 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:05.400 This is Bloomberg Business Week Inside from the reporters and 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:09.200 editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.200 global business, finance and tech news as it happened Sloomberg 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.759 Business Week with Carol Messier and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:21.279 Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Hi, everyone, Welcome to the weekend 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:25.360 edition of Bloomberg Business Week. This week overshadowed by geopolitical 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.720 concerns with the United States withdrawing from Afghanistan, and of 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:32.199 course Tim the delta variants stoking more fears with COVID 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:36.159 cases rising present by urging all unvaccinated Americans who are 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:38.760 eligible to do it now. It's not just those who 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:41.360 haven't been vaccinated, Carol. The White House also saying that 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.519 booster shots for both people who have received MODERNA and 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:47.440 VISOR vaccines, they should be taken about eight months after 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.440 one got that second does so well. We are still 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.920 waiting to hear guidance on recipients from the Johnson Johnson shot. 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.360 Expect to start to see people who got those m 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:58.800 R and A vaccines getting those boosters come September. I'm 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.400 looking at my calendar, marking my calendar. When do I 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:02.960 got a few more months. I still have a few 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.640 more months, right, but we're all kind of just figuring out, 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:07.880 all right, when do we get that booster shot. As 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:09.840 for market's a bit of a mixed bag for retail 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.479 earnings this week retail traders as well, with robin Hood 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.440 disappointing after releasing its first result since going public. If 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:17.920 you want to know more, just check out the Bloomberg 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:19.880 terminal and Bloomberg dot Com. Yeah a little hint though, 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:22.880 strong revenue coming from Crypto, but they be warning of 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:26.480 seasonality when it comes to trading patterns, so yeah, check 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.839 out the terminal for more on that. Meanwhile, a strong 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:31.520 second quarter for pet store owner and operator pet Co. 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.240 We're going to talk to the CEO, Ron Coglin, all 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:36.679 about the numbers and his new colleague in the C suite. 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.440 All right, yep, and just a little hint there, people 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:41.200 are still buying lots of stuff for their pets. We're 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:44.200 alsoting kitched up with renowned civil rights activist Laura Murphy 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:46.000 and her transition from the a C l U to 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:49.800 navigating the corporate world and how she is helping other 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:54.240 companies tim track racism at their institutions. Yeah. What she's 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:56.120 done is she's developed a new audit method to get 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.360 companies to confront their own roles in perpetuating racial disparities. 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.400 We're going to talk about the results at the likes 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.640 of Facebook and Airbnb. Yeah, exactly. She spent a lot 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:06.760 of time with both companies. All that to come, we 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:08.400 begin with a look at this week's issue of Bloomberg 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.679 Business Week magazine. The cover story you're gonna hear a 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:13.760 little bit more later on about it. It's all about 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.440 entry level wages on Wall Street. Big name investment banks 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.080 are doling out unprecedented salaries to help attract new talent, 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:22.280 but younger workers are demanding more of a work life 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:25.440 balance and balking one work weeks. Can I tell you 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:27.640 one of the things I love about this story is 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:31.600 essentially how the older guys on Wall Street, the former CEOs, 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.080 are like, Uh, this is what it's supposed to be about. 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.200 You put in a lot of time upfront, and then 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.839 you kind of reap the rewards in later years. That's 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.720 just how it works. In fact, one person that Shri 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:45.480 not Rajan spoke to for this story said, I would 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:47.600 have paid to get the experience that I got. It 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:50.000 when personally you're talking about Lloyd blankly. Yeah, I know, 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:53.079 I am a very important person. I didn't want to 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:55.120 give too much away, Carol, but it is interesting you 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:58.120 think about different occupations. If you go to be a doctor, it's, 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:02.160 you know, so difficult in those early years, right, You're 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:06.040 you know, on shifts all the time, you're barely getting sleep, 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:08.200 and then you reap the rewards later. I mean, I 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.440 think that's true for a lot of occupations. I think 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.120 it is too And I think the difference that we're 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:15.600 seeing right now is the remote work element. And so 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:19.760 many of these young employees were working remotely and isolated 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:21.720 for such a long period of time when the deal 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.040 started to come in, and I think that there is 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.800 something to be said about the camaraderie that happens in 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.480 a workplace when people are physically there. Another story that 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.080 you should definitely check out in the magazine get Ready 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:35.120 for the back attacks backs the companies they take public. 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:37.600 We know that that has been one of the big trends. 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:39.880 They're not new, but they really took off again in 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.080 the last year year and a half or so. They're 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.800 already becoming a feeding ground though for short sellers and 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:49.480 activist shareholders apparently aren't far behind, so says our Scott Devot. Yeah. 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:51.920 As of July sixteenth, Carol, total short interest in active 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.080 SPACK securities hit more than two point three billion dollars. 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.440 That's up more than threefold from the start of year. 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.800 That's according to data compiled by S three Partners. One 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:04.280 other element of this is that spacks traditionally and in general, 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:06.920 have this twenty four month period where they have to 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:08.840 go and find a company to buy. They have to 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.000 put that money to use that they've raised from investors. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.880 So as we do get to the twelve eighty four 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.280 month mark out from when these companies and these SPACs 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.760 have raised money, what do the companies then look like 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:21.720 that they end up going to buy? The clock is 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.159 kind of ticking. So do we see this trend continue 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.040 where investors say, wait a second, I don't think the 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.800 company that you bought is up to snuff. We're going 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:30.560 to short that position. So that's a good story to 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.520 check out. The other thing is I always like you 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:35.920 love I know what you're gonna say, Carol. I knew 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:37.719 you were going to say you love pursuits. I do too, 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:39.719 you know, it's just fun things that are going on 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.200 our world. We all need, uh, you know, to kind 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:44.840 of spread out some of our readings. We get kind 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:46.760 of dragged down in a lot of We'll just say 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:48.360 we all need to go on a journey on one 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:51.280 of these ayahuasca trips. This vacation is a real trip. 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.120 That's the cover of pursuits and it's talking about psychedelic 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:58.839 experiences are beginning to play an integral role at luxury resorts. 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:03.560 It's not just about massages and body scrums, but it 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.000 is about wellness, yes, and that's I think a really 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.599 important theme here. And they're not the people who do 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.240 these don't necessarily like to call them quote unquote trips, right. 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:12.960 They want to call them journeys. They want these to 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.320 be guided experiences, and the idea is for it to 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:16.680 be holistic. And I think we're seeing a lot of 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:20.520 experimentation with these substances and to what extent they actually 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:24.200 do make someone feel better. It's all about spiritual healing 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.920 and metaphysical self discovery of guided plant based psychedelic experiences. Uh. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:31.760 And they are called we know, trips, but most practitioners 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:34.719 prefer the term, as you said, journey. You read this 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.000 story I read the story. Yeah, I liked it. Um, 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:38.560 I liked it a lot. You took a trip, No, 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.080 I did not. I did not, um. But it is 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.440 interesting to see this and regulations change around this. Uh 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.919 and where you can actually legally do this? Hey, and 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.080 one other thing. In Pursuits by Hannah Elliott, she covers 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.320 all things cars for us here at Pursuits, she profiles 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:58.080 the individual who helps billionaires and manufacturers get their collectibles 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:00.280 delivered on time. When they're buying some high end cars, 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:03.200 whether they bought him at auction or what have you, 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:06.520 she's the person who actually makes the delivery. Yeah, if 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.000 you've got a million dollar Ferrari or perhaps a Boogatti 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:11.000 and you want to get into it from California to Florida, 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.320 this is the person to call. Yeah, exactly. So be 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.400 sure to check out the new issue of Bloomberg Business 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.760 Week magazine. It's online at Bloomberg dot com, on newsstands 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:21.080 and on the Bloomberg Terminal. Coming up, a man who 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:23.960 predicted the need for COVID booster shots months ago is 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:26.520 now seeing his words come to fruition. We get the 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:29.120 latest on vaccine durability in the next chapter of this 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:33.160 pandemic from Access Health International Chair and President Dr William Hasselteam. 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.200 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week, and this is Bloomberg. 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:47.799 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:52.720 Quick Takes. Tim Stenovik from Bloomberg Radio. Back in May, 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:54.679 our next guest said he expected the need for COVID 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:59.000 vaccine booster shots despite their high rate of effectiveness against 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:01.839 the virus. Well now his prediction it's coming true with 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:05.040 the pandemic still raging. Tim, we know that and variants 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.279 putting more lives at risk, even those who have been inoculated. 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:11.520 This week, the Biden administration unbuild its plan for vaccine 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:15.440 boosters starting in September for eligible recipients eight months clear 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:18.320 of their second dose of the MODERNA or Fiser vaccines. 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.640 My administration of planning for this possibility in this scenario 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:26.840 for months. We purchased enough vaccine and vaccine supplies so 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:29.960 that when you're eight month mark comes up, you'll be 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.520 ready to get your vaccination free at booster shot free. 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.320 We have it available now. Dr William has Altine is 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:38.400 back with us to tell us what's next when it 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.120 comes to fight against COVID nineteen. He also lays out 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:44.440 a plan to deal with the trauma that we've experienced 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.240 throughout the pandemic. He's got another book out, Carol, and 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.720 it focuses on the effects of what he calls c 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:53.320 v PTSD. I think it's very clear now, and that's 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:55.360 why the government has moved to the way it is. 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.880 It's very clear now that to protect against serious illness 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.920 where most people are going to need a booster, they've 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.320 paid that at about eight months. It's probably about right 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.960 for most people. For people who are older, it's probably 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:11.640 a little shorter than that. Six months will do. And 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.320 so I would stand by my statement that six months 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:17.840 from my last vaccine, I'm certainly planning to get another booster. 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:21.760 And I think the government's official recommendation now is every 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:26.000 adult uh get a booster beginning eight months from the 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:29.120 last vaccination. This isn't magic. This is kind of like 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.800 the flu. I mean, it isn't new to us. We 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.520 said every year we have to get a new flu vaccine. 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.200 I don't know what's so special about this why people 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:39.840 are so surprised. And every few years we do have 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.360 to get boosters for for other vaccines as well, I mean, 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.480 you certainly have to do that. I think perhaps the 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.640 question that people would have about this is is it 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:53.920 specifically related to the Delta variant or is it the 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:56.439 durability of the vaccine de clients regardless of whether or 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.880 not we're being hit with new variants. You know, that's 0:08:59.920 --> 0:09:03.439 a good question. The answer is yes to both. Delta 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:06.920 is better at evading the vaccines, but as time goes on, 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:12.400 the vaccines will wane in effectiveness against all variants, even 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:16.400 the original ones. So that's to be expected. You know, 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:18.000 if you go back and look at what I was 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:20.760 writing a year ago, I was predicting that any vaccine 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:25.199 that would be developed would be of relatively short duration. 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.239 That's because we have a lot of experience with viruses 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:31.680 like this, particularly the flu. I think the more people 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:35.560 start thinking about this is a very dangerous virus like 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:38.400 the flu, much more like the flu than anything else. 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:42.000 The better off will be something that has to be observed, 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.880 will come back every year, maybe twice a year. The 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:46.880 odd thing about this one is coming back in the 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:50.400 United States in the summer and the winter, and so 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:53.000 it's a little different in that respect. It's more lethal. 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:55.400 So we've got to be more careful, but we've probably 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.080 got to keep up with our vaccines every six months 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:00.679 to every year. That's not terror well, but it's not. 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:02.600 It's not the best news, but it's not the worst either. 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.920 Vaccines are still only approved under emergencies authorization for people 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:07.920 over the age of twelve. How do we get past 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:10.920 this pandemic, especially as kids go back to school, when 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:14.600 millions of children cannot be vaccinated? We start vaccinating our 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:16.920 children as soon as possible. How soon can I think 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.640 that's going to I think that once the results are in, 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.200 I'm pretty confident that this vaccine will be safe for children. 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.880 But until you've done the studies, you don't know. I 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.640 know our government is working as fast as possible to 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.600 get those studies done. I hope it's done. Let's say 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.520 by Thanksgiving. I would certainly hope so. And I think 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:40.360 by that time we'll have um actual approval for the 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:44.040 MODERNA and the fives are vaccines will have a real approval, 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:47.400 not just emergency use authorization. Do you think that will 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.760 have approval for or emergency use authorization for twelve to 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:54.000 ages zero to twelve or does it start with like 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:58.719 zero but maybe three or two to to twelve. Yes, 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:02.000 I think that's what we're heading for. I know that 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:03.800 people are working as hard as they can to get 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.720 that data so they can, if possible, if which proves 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.280 to be safe, to go ahead and do it. And 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.559 my guess is it looks like it will be safe. Well. Look, 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:15.839 it has been a tough year for many many people, 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:19.160 not just specifically because of COVID. If they got it, 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.000 or even if they didn't get it, perhaps they've suffered 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:26.040 from what you describe as uh cv PTSD. You write 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.559 that it encompasses the full effects of all that we've 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.319 endured over the past year and a half, manifested daily 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:34.679 and rising rates of depression, anxiety, and drug addiction, and 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:38.520 the ongoing loss of academic opportunities for the young. I 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.840 wonder how we get past this. If you say that 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:44.160 COVID is going to be endemic like the flu, how 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.640 do we get past COVID PTSD. Well, the first thing 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.880 we have to recognize that it exists both for individuals 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:53.760 and actually for the whole society. Uh. In addition to 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.520 the normal stresses that we undergo, this has been a 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:01.200 tremendous economic stress. It's been a stress, the fear of 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:04.960 getting the disease. There's been a lot of conflicting messages, 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:12.480 both official conflicting messages and unofficial click conflicting messages. It's 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:17.719 it's it's like the perfect storm for creating stress and anxiety. 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:20.520 And if you look at the numbers of people who 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:29.400 report anxiety, it's close to people who report UH depression, 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:33.319 much much higher. A lot of young people are feeling 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.200 especially stressed. Now, what can you do about it? As 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:38.280 they say, the first thing is to recognize it. You know, 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:44.839 we didn't recognize combat post traumatic stress disorder until we 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:48.640 called it shell shock or malingering, get all sorts of 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.000 names for it. Once we had a name for it 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:55.040 and we recognized what it was, we began to develop treatments. 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:58.719 And there's a very well developed treatment program UH in 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:03.720 Paradigm for post traumatic stress disorder. The Veterans Administration uses 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:07.719 it all the time, and it involves counseling, recognition of 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:12.400 what's happened, and then UH there's sometimes some drugs that help. 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:16.880 But I would say, for what's happening now, let's take 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:19.040 to schools. For example, all the kids are going back 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.839 to schools, the teachers are stressed, and they're going to 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.520 be dealing with a lot of stressed children. I think 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.880 we have to support our teachers and our children with 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:34.480 additional social work and psychiatric social work in our schools 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.800 because that's where we're going to see it first. As 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:39.439 the children go back to school, they're going to be 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:43.800 learning problems of the behavioral problems they can manifest themselves 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:49.120 as people who are totally withdrawn or totally unruly. You 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:52.200 get both extremes as a result of this, and we're 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:55.560 gonna have to recognize it as more and more people 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.440 get back to work. I think many big businesses are 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.920 going to have to how up their employees with the 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.240 special counselor, and it's it's going to be really important 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:08.720 to do that to get over this, both as an 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.800 individual and as a society. That was Dr William Hazl Teen, 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.960 the chairman and President of Access Health International, coming up 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.800 next to survivors of sexual assault, are helping to reverse 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:21.880 an unpopular policy at Airbnb, why the platform is changing 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.160 its ways, and how a recent business we cover story. 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.400 Tim Definitely I gotta say later, all yeah, when we 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.760 talking about impact journalism, and this was certainly an example 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:37.440 of that. This is Bloomberg broadcasting from the financial capital 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:41.320 of the world Bloomberg eleven Frio in New York to Washington, 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:45.520 d C. Bloomberg to Boston, Bloomberg one O six one 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.080 to San Francisco, Bloomberg nine sixty to the country Sirius 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.840 XM Chado one nine team, and around the globe the 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:56.120 Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg Radio dot Com. This is 0:14:56.200 --> 0:15:00.080 Bloomberg Business Week, So several weeks ago, Bloomberg bus As 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:02.760 Week cover story broke down how the popular rental home 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:06.640 platform Airbnb makes nightmares go away. The company's ten thousand 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:10.040 word terms of service agreement has for years included a 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.720 mandatory arbitration clause that prevented victims of violent crimes that 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:17.120 take place in Airbnb listings from holding the company responsible. 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.280 But that's about to change. Blomber Technology report Olivia Carvel 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.440 has been all over this from the start. Her cover 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:24.760 story shed light on some of the rare but chilling 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.880 incidents that have taken place on the company's watch, and 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.000 her follow up spotlights a pair of sexual assault survivors 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.480 that are spurring a key policy reversal. These two women 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.600 are incredibly brave. One is Sherry Dooley, She's a fifty 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.600 five year old woman from Portland, Oregon. She's a food 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.960 truck worker and she traveled down to Kalima and Mexico, 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.200 where she sees she was raped by an intruder who 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.120 climbed through a window that wouldn't lock in the Airbnb 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:54.240 apartment that she had rented. The second woman is Natalie White. 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.040 She's twenty three. She's from Atlantic City in New Jersey, 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.560 and she sees that during his stay and an Airbnb 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.840 property and February of this year, as she was packing 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.920 up her belongings to leave, the host arrived at the 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:10.600 property and sexually assaulted her. He pinned her down, he 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.080 tried to tear her clothes off as she tried to 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:17.200 resist him. Both of these women filed lawsuits against Airbnb 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:19.960 in recent months. And what was their experience though in 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.720 terms of dealing with the company after those assaults. Well, 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:28.360 the company has a an elite safety team that immediately 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:32.880 activates to help survivors when things go wrong inside their listings. 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.760 So the company did support both of these women. They 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.920 helped pay for their flights home, they refunded the trips, 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:43.440 they offered health counseling costs, sounds really great, Yeah it does. 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:47.560 And then you know, months later after the attack, when 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:51.000 they're dealing with the PTSD and thinking about what happened 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:55.320 and questioning Airbnb's role in all this, both women decided 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.880 that they did want to file claims against the company 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:00.560 for damages. But what is the fine print when you 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:04.280 agree to stay in an Airbnb about how Airbnb is 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.040 held liable? And that's the crux of this whole story 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:11.199 is that buried inside the ten thousand word terms of 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.199 service agreement that every user who has ever signed up 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:17.280 for the platform signed. Look, I've used Airbnb, I'd ever 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:19.879 read it in click it, and you agree to it, 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:21.840 so do I. Because you have to rate in order 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.880 to use a service and service exactly. And this isn't 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.239 just an Airbnb thing. It's when you sign up for 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:30.680 apps online. There's terms of service agreements that you sign. 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:33.040 The problem is that their forty pages long, and who 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:35.240 has time to read through them when you just want 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:38.080 to book a property for a holiday. So you know, 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.879 both of these women signed the terms of service without 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:44.879 realizing that it comes with a binding arbitration agreement. What 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:48.680 that means is that if there's any dispute with the company. 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:52.800 Any problem that arises during a stay, you cannot file 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:57.160 damages in court. You are forced to arbitrate, and arbitration 0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:01.080 means it's handled behind closed doors. It's not in the courts, 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.920 it is not in the public eye. And to be fair, 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:08.600 Airbnb in terms of binding arbitration, not the only company, 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:11.040 certainly in corporate America that does this. We've talked a 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:14.440 lot about financial community right that that uses this. It's 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.280 kind of a common practice, it seems at a lot 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.600 of companies once you either are employed, there right in 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.960 terms of your your rights going forward. In this case, 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.600 though it sounds like Airbnb because of these women, because 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:31.760 you're reporting, kind of had a change of thought. Yeah, 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.800 that's right. And mandatory arbitration has been a flash point 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:37.960 in corporate America. Even since the me to movement. We've 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:41.960 seen a lot of companies change the arbitration agreements, particularly 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:45.880 when it comes to sexual assault cases, because advocates say 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.640 that if you're going to push a survivor into arbitration 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.920 and not allow her to access the public court system, 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:56.800 you are in a way silencing her voice. Olivia. This reporting, 0:18:56.960 --> 0:19:00.440 it's read, it's seen, it's heard far and wide since 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.560 you did that cover story for Bloomberg Business Week a 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.720 few months ago about this elite safety team. I'm wondering 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:07.960 what you've heard from survivors in the wake of this, 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:09.920 what you've heard from sources, what you've heard from from 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:13.000 companies as you continue to report this out. I think 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:16.560 for companies it's been a wake up call. Um. A 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.119 lot of other organizations and the short short term rental 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.320 space have been following closely to the coverage, and some 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:27.280 have actually changed their own internal policies. We saw Expedia 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:31.200 and trip Advisor both update their policies around the key 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:35.560 exchange process, which is how hosts and guests exchange keys, 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:38.240 to say that cannot be done in a public place, 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:41.679 because we reported about a young woman who was raped 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:44.600 when a man obtained a spear set of keys to 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:47.280 the airbnb she was staying in. So I think from 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:50.359 the corporation since they have been, you know, listening and 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.760 reading these stories and doing what they can to try 0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:58.600 and strengthen their safety policies. From the survivor standpoint, I 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.720 think that for a lot of these then it's um 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:05.240 the feeling like the being heard, and some of them 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:08.439 felt like the way the company's policies was set up, 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:13.080 particularly around full st arbitration that it did silence the voice, 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:15.679 and that was Bloomberg News Technology reporter Olivia Karvill with 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:18.639 more great reporting on Airbnb and a story that continues 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:21.879 to evolve thanks in part to her coverage. You're listening 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:24.520 to Bloomberg Business Week. Up next, we'll talk to the 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:27.359 former director of the A c l U Legislative Office 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:30.960 and a former advisor to Airbnb, Laura Murphy. She discusses 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:33.280 her efforts to get companies to confront their role in 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.840 perpetuating racial disparities. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week, and 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:48.040 this is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:52.720 Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:56.600 Corporate America has been taking a hard look at itself 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.440 over the last year and will progress in diversifying the 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.400 ranks as been slow. There is a new tool for 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:05.959 getting companies to confront their role in perpetuating racial disparities. 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:08.480 Our next guest has spent her decades along career navigating 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:10.840 politics and policy, but now she's using her talent to 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:15.760 moderate conflicts between companies and advocates who criticize those companies 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.960 impact on racial and social justice. She's emerged as a 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:22.639 pioneer of what's been called the corporate civil rights audit. 0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:26.120 Laura Murphy is president of Laura Murphy and Associates, also 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:29.040