WEBVTT - Bloomberg Wall Street Week - April 26, 2024 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.560 This is Bloomberg Wall Street Week. 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:07.040 The global push into infrastructure, breaking the IPO logjam in text. 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:09.120 The financial stories that sheep. 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.040 Are work cutting inflation without losing jobs. Do we need 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:14.560 rate cuts and if so, how many? Investing in a 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:16.120 time of geopolitical turmoil. 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.560 Through the eyes of the most influential voices. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.520 Ten Rogueff economists at Harvard, former FDIC had Shila bet 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:27.360 Ge CEO, Larry Kulp, San Francisco FED President Mary Daily Bloomberg. 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:30.200 Wall Street Week with David Weston from Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:33.960 Tesla moves forward after all Goldman finally gets out of 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.600 retail and everyone's trying to figure out where inflation is headed. 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:41.159 This is Bloomberg Wall Street Week. I'm David Weston. This 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:44.199 week Wes Edens bright Line breaks ground on the nation's 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.559 first truly high speed train line. 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:48.960 This is now the beginning of the high speed rail 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:50.000 industry in the US. 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.520 Sir Clive Gillinson of Carnegie Hall on what it takes 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:55.920 to make one of the world's great concert halls not 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:57.560 only survive but thrive. 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:01.680 You always go for the vision, go for something that 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:02.960 is irresistible. 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:06.200 And Tony James of Jefferson River capital on making sure 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.759 New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art doesn't turn into your 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:11.040 grandmother's attic. 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:13.959 We're trying to be current. We don't want this to 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:14.960 be your grandmother's attic. 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:31.720 We start with the ever present question of inflation and 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.800 where it's headed with Peter Boris, chairman and CEO of 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.360 Computer Trading. So Peter, welcome back. Good to have here. 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.280 Every week we get new data on inflation points one 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.240 way or the other, but in a larger sense, you 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:46.240 often look at what you call the Seven Seas and commodities, 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:48.480 one of those telling you right now, first. 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:52.000 Of all, thanks for having me. The seven Seas are 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:58.360 relatively consistent, that inflation is going to be persistent for longer. 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:04.920 You're starting to see some of the seasonal commodities potentially breakout. 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:10.079 Cattle one see corn, the other sea that have been 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:17.240 relatively weak, the stronger seas coffee, cocoa, and crude. They've 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:23.520 been relatively stable after having fairly large moves. 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:25.840 And what's driving that right now? I mean, what are 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:27.960 the forces? Why do you look at the seven Seas? 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:32.360 I look at them as the ac which is the 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:37.359 consumer in terms of is the consumer going to have 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:43.679 to substitute their spending for more on staples where demand 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.880 is inelastic, and that then is going to lead to 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.880 less discretionary spending across the board. And so then I 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:59.239 look at bigger picture stocks like Visa, MasterCard, Costco, Target 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:04.400 to see if the consumer strength is still there. Those 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.880 stocks have demonstrated a little bit of weakness. So that 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:14.840 is the conundrum, the ninth c of the pressure on 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:21.400 commodities and potential weakness of these consumer stocks, which definitely 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:22.600 puts the FED in a box. 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:24.640 So if there's a breakout in some of the seas 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.400 and the commodities, that puts pressure on Visa and MasterCard 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.880 bigcause people don't have as much money to spend it Target, 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.280 for example, they have to spend it on food. 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:33.480 Yes. 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:39.560 Yes, And so those stocks in particular are a good 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:43.680 measure of consumer strength. And you see that in weekly 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.840 data that you can get from JP or Bank of 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:49.560 America compares to a week over week or year over 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.880 year as the strength of consumer spending. 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.520 Now, some stocks that have really felt a lot of 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:57.880 pressure just recently have been the big tech. What is 0:03:57.960 --> 0:03:58.960 going on with them? Do you think? 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.080 Well, first of all, there's the trading aspect to it, 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.480 so you know, there's the old saying, right, what goes 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:11.520 up must come down. So you've basically had a really 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:17.280 big move, You've corrected. Technically, a number of these stocks 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:22.719 have broken key levels, and if they don't reject those 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:26.800 levels and start their uptrended again, that could mean that 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:32.640 the leading aspect of the technology relative to other stocks 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:37.520 is ending, which can hurt the large cap indices because 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:38.520 there's such big weights. 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.320 What does this all say the FED? I mean, I 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:44.800 could speculate that actually a little bit of tightening financial 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:46.640 conditions would not be a bad thing for the FED 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:48.400 right now because they've been going the other way. 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:54.080 I think the FED is sprinting in place, very very 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:59.160 challenging because you have this tug of war. But it's 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:03.200 hard to say that you should be easing when you've 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:09.560 just had record highs in bitcoin, record highs inequities, and 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:16.000 you've seen gasoline prices go up and potentially now these 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:21.400 other commodities breaking out. So they're stuck in my mind 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:25.840 of not doing anything probably the rest of the year. 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.679 Gold doesn't begin with the sea. Last time I recalled, 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:32.119 when you talk about record highs, we've had some record 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.280 highs in gold. Is that a useful indicator in your 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.600 experience over time where inflation might be heading, because often 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:40.040 you think that's where you go if you think you 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:40.600 got inflation. 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:45.880 So I am not one that particularly favors gold as 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:49.360 an indicator of what's going on with inflation. By the way, 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.600 the correlation between gold and the S and P has 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:54.480 been fairly high, so you would think, ooh, that's a 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:59.680 cross current. People tend to look backwards. So in the seventies, 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:03.040 when gold was really strong and inflation was high, there 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.280 weren't really a lot of other instruments to use to 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:11.360 hedge against inflation. But today there are many more instruments. 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:16.480 You can short bonds in the futures markets, you can 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:21.480 participate in individual commodity markets, or you can actually participate 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:24.559 through options or futures in the equity market. 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:25.560 So I don't think. 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:31.920 Gold is as much of inflation indicator as perhaps a 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:37.400 supply and demand question for uncertainty in the global geopolitical 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.760 And then non US central banks may have added to 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:44.839 gold demand recently. Of course, that too, in the last 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.719 week or so, has had a pretty significant correction. 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.160 Let me come back to your ninth see, I think 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.599 it is conundrum what you said, yes, okay. As an investor, 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.320 how do you invest into a conundrum? What do you do? 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:02.000 So it depends on your time frame. If you're younger 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:04.240 and you have a long time frame, then do you 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:09.040 sit back? And that's the nature of markets on average, right, 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:13.160 there's a double digital client in the SMP every year. 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:16.920 Of course, I'm always mindful of the six foot tall 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.040 man that drowns in water an average out of five feet. 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.800 So you have to be careful of averages because there 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.280 are bear markets. But in that case, you stay the course. 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.800 If you're more like me and you're a trader and 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:33.040 you've had a good run, I think the hardest thing 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:38.600 in portfolio management and discipline is selling a winner or 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:42.880 taking it down and rebalancing your portfolio. Is this a 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:46.480 time to rebalance your portfolio where you have this conundrum 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.040 combined with fed uncertainty, I think that makes a lot 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:50.400 of sense. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:53.040 Peter is so helpful, Always good to have you on 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.880 Wall Street week and it's Peter Borsh of Computer Trading, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.560 Treasury Secutary Yell and travel to China. The criticize the 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:03.600 government for subsidizing parts of its industry. But this week 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.280 the IMF leveled us similar criticism at the United States 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:09.000 and urge Europe not to follow suit, to take us 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:11.720 through where Europe stands in the apparent race to subsidize 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:15.080 were welcome now, Stephanie Flanders Bloomberg, Senior Executive editor for 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.800 Economics and Government. So Stephanie, welcome back. Great to have 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.040 you with us. So tell us about this wonderful world 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.880 of industrial policy. Sometimes we criticize it, and it looks 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:25.480 like right now in the United States is embracing it. 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:28.440 Where are we globally on industrial policy? 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:30.920 You know, this is one of those things where it's 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:35.120 a fast moving a bit of economics, certainly of economic 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.640 policy making. You know, for decades, certainly when I was 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:41.959 first learning about industrial policy and economic policy, it was 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:45.520 kind of a dirty word, certainly capital I capital p 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.080 industrial policy because it was the idea, maybe more popular 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:52.720 in the fifties and sixties, that governments could spot strategic 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.000 industries and invest in them. And the line I was 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.240 always given that they were good at picking losers, they 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.520 weren't good at picking winners, and that you could waste 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.880 a lot of money doing that as a government, and 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:05.800 if you were going to do it successfully, well, the 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.319 only places that had done that were maybe places like 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.120 Korea or Singapore where you had highly effective states and 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:14.800 you had you know, these were emerging market economies that 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:16.800 had a path to follow. They could see what other 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.480 countries had done, so they had less chance of getting 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.480 it wrong. And what's changed. I think, you know, like 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:26.199 so many things, has been upended by the different geopolitical outlook. 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.760 You know that what you think of as even you know, 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.319 what a winner would be in a context where you 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:35.400 could have in ten or twenty years time a decoupled 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:37.520 global economy really changes. 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:37.719 You know. 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:39.400 It could be you may have wasted a lot of money, 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:41.839 and an economist might have said that is a big 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:45.839 You've inefficiently used those resources, you're not making profits, You've 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.439 produced excess capacity of a good in the global market 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:53.080 from doing this industrial policy. But if in twenty years 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:56.520 time you find that you're the only place with say 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:59.360 a solar panel industry on one side of a big 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:02.720 economic in the global economy, well maybe all that quote 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:06.840 unquote wasted money will turn out to have been well spent. 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.839 So I think everyone's having to kind of rethink what 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:14.160 success and failure looks like in an industrial policy context. 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.720 But We certainly could be in for wasting a lot 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:18.520 of money with these subsidies. 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:19.760 Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. How 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:21.800 much of this do you think is triggered by China? 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:25.199 Because China is now the second largest economy, some things 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:28.199 that maybe beindest way of first. It certainly embraced subsidizing 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.240 industry quite a bit. The Biden administration criticizes China greatea 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:33.440 for that, but it's an enormous amount of money. How 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:34.959 much of this is the rest of us being afraid 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:36.160 that they will overwhelmed us? 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:39.320 Well? And I think it's also it's not just the fear, right, 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:42.320 it's actually the reality in some key sectors. I mean, 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:46.920 the green technology is a classic example. We're now looking 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:51.040 at how much you know Chinese evs electric vehicles are 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:53.839 just sort of swamping the global market. A lot of 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:57.600 subsidies have certainly gone into that. The European Union announced 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:02.000 an investigation into ev They've already been burnt when it 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.120 comes to solar panels because they European Union had invested 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.920 a lot in developing, wanted to have a big domestic 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:12.160 solar panel industry, was just wiped out of the water 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:16.120 by China. There's the sheer scale of Chinese production. Now 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:20.280 ninety percent of solar panels in Europe are made in China, 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.200 and actually a very high proportion in the US as well. 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:25.520 So you know, China is driving this, but of course 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:30.440 if you're Europe, it's also the Biden administration's response to China, 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:34.040 things like the Inflation Reduction Act. You know, the Europeans 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:36.800 have felt like they had to have their own thing. 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.559 They announced the Net Zero Industry Act last year, was 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:47.400 very explicitly about building the European domestic green energy systems 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:49.360 and products so that they weren't going to end up 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:50.400 reliant on China. 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:53.480 And how much pressure is there in Europe? Do they 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:57.240 need to do some sort of large fiscal infusion to 0:11:57.360 --> 0:11:58.559 really get competitive? 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:02.320 I mean, I suspect certainly. The International Monetary Fund would 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:06.760 say it is as much about developing the single market 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.160 and working as a cohesive block as it is about 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:12.280 spending lots of money. Yes, there's going to need to 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:16.360 be a lot of investment funds for green technologies, for 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:20.959 decarbonizing the economy, potentially for taking advantage of digital technologies 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.400 that Europe hasn't hasn't been able to do as well 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:24.600 as the US. 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.240 Stephanie has always so good to talk to you. Thank 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:32.520 you so much. That is Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders. Coming up. 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.040 Is America finally going to get one of those high 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:38.480 speed trains we've envied in France and Japan. We talked 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:41.360 with Wes Edens about his bold new bright Line venture 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:42.520 that broke round this. 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.360 Week, so we think that the adoption rate for it 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:46.400 is going to be rapid. 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:50.160 That's next time, Wall Street Week on Bloomberg. 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.640 This is Bloomberg worll Street Week with David Weston from 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:56.720 Bloomberg Radio. 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:05.280 This is Wall Street Week. I'm David Weston. The United 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:08.040 States took a big step toward high speed trains this 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:11.160 week when Brightline West broke ground on a twelve billion 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.520 dollar project to build a rail link between Las Vegas 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.480 and Los Angeles. And we welcome now the founder and 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.520 chairman of Brightline. He is Wes Edens. Wes, great tip 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:21.040 to have you with us. Thank you for joining us 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.559 to tell us about this project bright Line West. It's 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.520 the second bright Line project after Florida. Give us a 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.000 sense of how big a business this is in success. 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:31.280 Well, first of all, thanks for having me on David. 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.880 You know, it's a great time for US. It's a 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.520 great time for the rail business. And so, as you said, 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:41.719 we broke around earlier today on Brightline West, which is 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:44.760 the second train project for US, but it's the most. Notably, 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.040 it's the first high speed train, true high speed rail 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:51.600 that'll be built in America, and that's a big deal 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:54.839 in a monumental location. And I think, actually even a 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:56.480 bigger deal is I really do think that this is 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:58.920 now the beginning of the high speed rail industry of 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:02.640 the US, which I think is massive. You opportunities and 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:04.560 growth in front of it. So it's a really exciting time. 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.000 Given your investment tracker, you've checked how much demand there 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.880 is out there potentially, and you've concluded it's big enough 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:12.520 to support this and make it a good business. How 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:13.400 much demand is there. 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:16.559 There's about fifty million trips that happen between Los Angeles 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:19.320 and Las Vegas every year, about eighty five percent of 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:22.120 those happened by car. And I don't know if you've 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:24.720 ever done the drive from Las Vegas to La but 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.640 it's a notably difficult drive. It's probably four hours in 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.720 the best case. It's very very unreliable in terms of 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:34.920 what the time actually is, and so there's a tremendous 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.200 amount of demand between these two cities. There's only one 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.320 way to get there, which is on I fifteen, and 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:40.840 so our train is going to go right down the 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:42.800 middle of I fifteen, and we think it's going to 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:44.760 have a massive amount of demand for people to make 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:45.160 that trip. 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:47.800 This is not your first fora You have bridline up 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:51.480 and running i've in Florida right between Miami and Orlando. 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:53.640 What have you learned from that that will change what 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:54.760 you do with Briadline West. 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:56.440 Well, i'd say. 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.640 Most notably learned that people like trains, right, so we 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.760 have millions of people that are our train down there. 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:03.160 The adoption a bit in South Florida and no awfter 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:07.560 Orlando has been terrific. We opened the route from Miami 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.320 all the way to Orlando recently. It was actually last September. 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:14.200 The numbers have been fantastic and we're very optimistic about 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.280 the future of that train. The biggest lesson, i'd say 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:21.480 is that when we built that train, we basically use 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.240 the existing rail corridor for a portion of it. So 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.760 basically from Miami up to Cocoa Beach. It's kind of 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.160 a straight shot from south to north. At that point 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.560 you turn left and then go across Throughte five twenty 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:33.840 eight to the Orlando Airport. That's how the route has 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:37.760 made what we did you know that because we had 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.080 access to the train. It was version one point zero. 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:41.560 As I said, it makes a lot of sense, but 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.000 there's a lot of things about it that we think 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.080 can be improved on. In particular, there's a lot of 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:48.280 rail crossings there because that runs up really US Highway one. 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.720 So this train from Vegas to La will cite it 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.000 in the middle of I fifteen. It's a big two 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:56.840 hundred foot wide corridor but right in the middle of it. 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:57.760 And because of that, you. 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:00.600 Can put a fence around it, you can electrify, no 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.560 rail crossings, you can go true high speed, so you know, 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:05.600 north of two hundred miles an hour is kind of 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.880 the objective, and that version two point zero is what 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:11.080 we think makes sense for this quarter, and I think 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.320 it's a good blueprint for what we should find success 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.320 with in other parts of the country as well. 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.120 What's the time horizon you're looking at for these investments. 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.320 I believe you're cash positive in Brightline out in Florida. 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.080 Now you haven't recouped the investment yet, but your cash positive. 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:27.000 How long until you actually recruit investment in Brightline or 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:28.160 for that matter, bright Line West. 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:29.960 You know, I think from this point forward in bright 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.680 Line East, it's all systems go. You know, we're adding 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:36.360 more capacity this summer in June with more train cars, 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.480 the same in the end of the year in December, 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:40.240 and then the same again next year. And so with 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:44.160 that you'll then get to higher ridership levels, higher revenues, 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:46.160 and we think that that's a time in which we'll 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:48.560 start to look at, you know, different alternative in terms 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:51.000 of financing, bringing in equity, you know, et cetera, et cetera. 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:53.480 Do you have a sense of when you would bring 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:54.320 in other investors. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.800 Yeah, we have brought in, you know, modest investors. I mean, 0:16:57.240 --> 0:16:59.680 I'm a large investor in a personally, so I'm a 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:01.680 big believer and I kind of eat my own cooking, 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:03.920 so to speak with it and have for a long time. 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:07.080 I think that it's an investable project now, and so 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:12.520 the the groundbreaking today I think signifies kind of the 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:14.760 next layer of it, and I think that there will 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.000 be some investment opportunities both on the debt and equity 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.240 side in the upcoming kind of you know, months between 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:21.840 now and the end of the year, and then I 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:23.920 think as you get under construction, I think that there's 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.720 lots and lots of different opportunities to grow the business 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.600 because this is something clearly can be replicated. Their city 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:31.480 prayers around the country tell. 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.399 Us about the government role. We had Sexuary Boodagenche come 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:37.920 out for the groundbreaking bright Lane West. How critical is 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.959 the government? Can these happen without the government really supporting them? 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:43.399 I think the long term and the answer is absolutely yes. 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.679 But I think that there's lots of examples of government 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.240 playing pivotal role to getting new industries off the ground. 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:49.800 So if you look at the history of you know, 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:53.960 Elon Musk with his SpaceX, or the electric vehicles, or 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:56.200 you know, subsidies for the solar business, there's lots of 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.840 examples of things that started out being subsidized and then 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.200 turned into be you know, big robust businesses. And I 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:04.159 think the train is going to follow those same footsteps. 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:07.080 So you know, when you say government, really there's many 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:10.800 governments involved. So it's really a coalition of local governments 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.680 and state governments and federal governments, all of them playing 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:17.399 in big role. Obviously, the federal government in the Department Transportation, 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.280 you know, providing a three billion dollar grant, was a 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.320 huge part of this, but frankly, so were you know, 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:29.240 the delegations from Nevada and from California. Frankly, the governor 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:33.359 in Nevada, you know, my governm. Lombardo, who has been 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.720 an incredible supporter the DOT, the Department of Transportations, our 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:39.680 partner in Nevada for this project. So, you know, I 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:41.960 like to think that it takes everyone to say yes 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:44.080 and only one person say no to derail these kinds 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.800 of projects. And fortunately we have such a compelling project 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:48.520 that we've actually had nothing but yes. 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:50.480 So it's a really a good position to be in. 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:52.920 Okay, Wes, thank you so very much. That's west Edens. 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:59.159 He's chairing of Brideline and Brightline West. The arts, including music, museums, photography, 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:02.480 and more, contributed over one trillion dollars to the US 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:04.680 economy in twenty twenty two, according to the Bureau of 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:08.159 Economic Analysis, and New York in particular is known for 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.520 its performances and museums, but the very nature of the 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:15.200 arts is going through fundamental changes in what is presented 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.040 and in how it is paid for. Change is triggered 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:20.320 in part by a pandemic that forced most of us 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.119 to stay at home. Sir Clive Gillinson has been the 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:26.400 executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall for nearly two decades, 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:29.879 and he remembers well the dramatic moment when his legendary 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.680 concert hall was once again open for business. 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:35.639 One of the most moving things is when we opened 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.280 again after COVID. The emotion in the hall was astounding 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:42.359 because Robert Smith, ou chairman, and I thought we should 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:46.080 speak to the audience on the opening night and I 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:48.800 literally said the first two words, which will welcome back. 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:57.960 The place exploded, welcome back to Cardigi. And that emotion 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:02.040 has carried through. So firstly, I think the whole thing 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:04.760 of live music and the impact of live music that 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:08.400 is in the greatest possible shape, and you know, people 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:10.560 love it, care about it, and I think they even 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:14.080 today that emotion is still there about how they now 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:17.240 value it in a way where you only value something 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:20.400 when it's taken away from you. Are you Carnegie Hall 0:20:21.200 --> 0:20:24.600 fully back from the pandemic? Yes, the first year we 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:27.359 had a reduced number of concerts last season. This season 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:30.440 it's the full number of concerts. We're back to the 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:35.919 normal number of presentations and audiences are averaging ninety three percent. 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:39.280 So we're I mean, you know, the fantastic response to 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.520 what we're doing, and there's a real feeling of engagement 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:44.280 with the music in a very powerful way. 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:48.440 It wasn't just performing art centers like Carnie Hall that 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:51.440 were hit hard by the pandemic. Tony James of Jefferson 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:54.639 River Capital serves as co chair of the Metropolitan Museum 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.359 of Art, a position he came to when the pandemic 0:20:57.480 --> 0:20:59.960 hit and hit the met particularly hard. 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:02.800 The Met, for example, lost one hundred million dollars in 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:06.640 revenues over the two years, so that's hard to recover from. 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:09.840 A lot of the arts scenes in New York depend 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:15.720