WEBVTT - Markets, Travel, and Cannabis (Podcast) 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:04.040 Welcome to the Bloomberg Markets Podcast. I'm Paul Sweeney, alongside 0:00:04.040 --> 0:00:06.920 my co host Matt Miller. Every business day we bring 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:11.520 you interviews from CEOs, market pros, and Bloomberg experts, along 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:15.560 with essential market moving news. Find a Bloomberg Markets podcast 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:18.439 called Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, and 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:22.160 at Bloomberg dot com Slash Podcast. Let's talk more broadly 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.040 about these markets, the ones that Goldman Sacks have been 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.000 trying to navigate over two, that look most of Wall 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.040 Street got pretty blindsided on. We want to talk about 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:30.600 all of this with Kelly Cox. Of course he's going 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.200 to be joining US US investment analyst over at Toro 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:37.040 and CALLI as we sort of digest what was a 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:42.160 brutal cross asset year in two? Are you licking wounds 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:44.959 at this moment? Are you thinking more optimistically about three? 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.560 Where you stand? Well, Hey, I'm a cup hatful person 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:52.000 and I think it's hard to say that. Yeah, it's 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.400 hard to be these days, but I think it's hard 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.520 to say that two wasn't painful because of that cross 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.320 asset sell off. Just the pain we saw a cross 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:02.600 a bunch of different markets. But I think that that 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:07.040 could pretend good things in knowing that investors are sufficiently 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:11.240 anxious and they're probably hedged going into I mean, the 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:15.399 whole talk of the whole talk of the economy this 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.760 year was about whether a recession is coming. So I 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:19.840 do take some comfort in the fact that a lot 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.319 of us are braced for that, and you know, weakness 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:24.880 may not catch us off guard. Caroline, I have a 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:29.160 real problem with Kelly Cox. She is a proud alum 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.200 of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:34.080 as a duke person, this is really troubling. I will 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.200 try to power my way through it as a gentleman. Kelly. 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.920 You know, a lot of folks are saying there's still 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:43.080 earnings risk in this market, and this is still something 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.760 to market ass to deal with. How do you guys 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.760 think about that? Well, Paul, First of all, I respect duke. 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:53.080 It's a great grade school. We have a healthy arrival. Yes, 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.440 I think there is quite a bit of earnings risk there. 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.680 We haven't seen earnings estimates come down too much UM, 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.560 and I think that's partially because companies have been resilient 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:07.720 UM and demand has been much healthier than expected. But 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:10.679 we're still watching federate hikes and a bunch of other 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:14.360 risks to matriculate throughout the market. Um and companies are 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.760 like we talked about at Goldman companies are responding. They are, 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:19.800 you know, putting their guards up a little bit, just 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:21.880 to make sure that they are prepared. If we do 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.239 see more weakness, again, that's a good thing that could 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:26.320 keep a floor under earnings. But I don't think the 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.680 weakness is quite priced in yet, and that could lead 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:33.560 to new market loads if we see some recessionary price 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:37.200 or some recessionary being priced in, Go global for US Keddy, 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.400 because perhaps more weakness to come in US stocks? What 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.320 about global stocks more broadly? Have we seen enough of 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:45.640 the pain trade there already? And then likes a europe 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.760 and Asian or no, so globally, I think there are 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.119 a lot of opportunities for U S investors if they're 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:54.400 willing to think outside of their borders. Obviously, the global 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:57.440 economy is in a more precurious position right now, with 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:01.160 some bright spots China reopening being the brighter one going 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:03.600 into the new year. But the fact that the global 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:06.520 economy is out of step with the US economy could 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:10.840 allow for some interesting diversification opportunities going into you know, 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:14.079 the fact also that you know, European markets and Asian 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.760 markets have priced in a lot more pain, uh, does 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.200 make them right for you know, more of a rebound, 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.040 especially if we see ourselves come out of this weakness. 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:24.560 Hey Kelly, you know, really, since I don't know the 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:28.000 Great Financial Crisis, what's really been driving this market in 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:30.359 large part with technology stocks and maybe you know more 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:32.800 narrowly defined to fang stocks and things like that, but 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:35.840 do you exp what kind of role do you expect 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:38.960 big tech to play in the next market moved to 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:40.240 the extent that we get a little bit of a 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:45.160 lift and maybe sometime in well. So tech is an 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.640 interesting space right now. Obviously there are a lot of 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:50.360 different flavors of tech. The big tech companies look a 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.560 lot different than the more speculative tech companies, and we've 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:56.480 seen that in performance throughout this year. Uh. You know, 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.560 as we step forward to a FED pause most likely um, 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:02.960 you know, potential rate cuts in the future, because the 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:06.320 FED is insistent on getting inflation down, uh, and there 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:08.400 could be a policy change after that. I'm talking very 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.120 far into the future, but as we step forward to that, 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:14.120 as we prepare it for you know, a potential market 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.280 after this. It could be interesting to you know, maybe 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:19.800 look at those more quality tech companies, uh, you know, 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:23.160 big tech with strong balance sheets to get some exposure 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.839 to a market that's looking ahead. We don't necessarily think 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:29.479 rate cuts are on the horizon, and you know tech 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.480 in a higher interest rate environment. Uh, there could be 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.240 a lot of pain still there for a lot more 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.400 for the more speculative companies. But at the same time, 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:40.760 you really have to be thinking ahead here and big 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:43.000 tech could be an interesting spot to do that. And 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:45.080 then as DAK currently ap almost two percentage we speak 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.479 thanks to the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Tesla even getting 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.320 in on the action again today with an eight point 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.600 net change on the benchmark. But talk to us go 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.520 cross asset. As we see in many ways the correlations 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.080 of this year has been when the bond market has 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.800 sold off, fields risen, Nazzac has sold off, and sympathy. 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.320 What do you make of the bond market for coming 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.240 three all, we like to see yields being capped out 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.280 at these sorts of levels, and we like to start 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:09.640 to see a little bit of buying it these sorts 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.680 of numbers. Well, we're in a weird environment, but I 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:14.960 think we can all agree that inflation is slowing and 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:16.839 it's going to take a lot to you know, get 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:18.599 it back to the peak that we saw this summer, 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.919 and I think that's good news for bond investors, especially 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:25.200 if we do see a recession in three, which definitely 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:27.760 is not out of the question. Here, we could see 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:30.919 bonds returned to their traditional role of being that safe 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:34.360 haven asset, especially around the world for global investors. And 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.719 that goes back to the global economy being out of 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:40.279 step with the US economy. Um, lots of pain there, 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.039 but also lots of opportunity. So you know, we see 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:47.719 opportunity along bonds. Obviously shorter bonds, shorter term bonds following 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:50.120 what the FET is doing. And it doesn't look like 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:52.360 the fens gonna be hiking much more from here, so 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:54.760 we could see a return to, you know, a more 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.240 traditional asset correlation. All right, Kelly Cox, great stuff, Thank 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:01.160 you very much for taking the time. I guess good 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.720 luck to the u NC tart heels are going forward 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:06.240 this season kind of US investment analysts that tour. We 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:13.919 appreciate getting her thoughts. Ken Sha, He's Bloomberg Intelligence. He 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.840 covers the the consumer stuff, including cannabis for Bloomberg Intelligence. 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.240 He joins us via Zoom, and Whitney Batty, Josephine and 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:25.640 Billy's Cannabis Speakeasy joins us via Zoom from Los Angeles. 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:30.520 Whitney loved to get with you first here all right, 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:32.080 we'll go to Ken Shay first because he is our 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:35.400 rock rock stars. It relates to kind of covering the 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.720 business of cannabis can How big is this for New 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:42.320 York City? Um, you know, getting its first legal pot 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:44.000 shop and kind of how do you think that's going 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:47.479 to evolve it in New York? Yeah, Hi Paul, Happy holiday, 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:49.760 is good to see you again. Um, it is really 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:51.680 a big deal. I mean New York, it's a huge 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:53.920 Market's a highly visible market, and I think a lot 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.040 of other populous areas in the United States that haven't 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.200 legalized are gonna be watching us closely to see how 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:02.520 it pulls it off, how it does. Um, New York 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.800 is a large market and it has high hopes and 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.480 no pun intended. It looks to its neighbor New Jersey. 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:11.000 New Jersey you know legalized recreational only. Back in April, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:13.920 it's already up to a one billion dollar run rate 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.760 in sales. New York's have twice the population. So you 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.280 put the math together and you have a really big 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:22.640 industry out of the gate. The demand is going to 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.280 be there. Product has been around a long time, um, 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:28.360 and so yeah, all eyes around New York. It's well, 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:31.280 themo is a visible market. To really get a sense 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:33.520 of what's going on. You do some great analysis for us, 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:35.520 and we always love it that sort of bringing together 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.400 some of the issues that perhaps still the spending bill 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:41.360 didn't have the marijuana banking element to it, and we 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:42.960 saw a lot of potstocks fall in the back of that. 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.120 That many still say to really grow this industry, they 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:46.480 need to be able to get bank loans, They need 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:48.920 to be able to get more easier access to capital. 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:51.240 But I'm interested in your perspective of why we've already 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.600 seen the ability when I walk outside of Bloomberg to 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:55.920 cross the store, a cross across the street and I 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.120 can go and get edibles, I can go and buy 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:02.920 sat marijuana related food and consumption. What is that still 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.600 doing now and why has it been able to do 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.920 that ahead of this sort of legalization. Well, New York 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:11.880 is has taken a different approach, put it that way 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:15.840 than many markets, and allowing you know, the social justice 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.960 theme to allow some flexibility and put it that way 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:22.280 to some operators that won't exist in many other markets. 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:26.400 And that's gonna at the consternation of the legal operators 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.680 and the legal operators. And look, we're paying all these taxes, 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:30.840 we're going jumping through all these hoops, we're doing a 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:33.800 lot of things here. Help us out by enforcing the 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.520 laws on the books that you know, you can't have 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.280 someone down the street selling it legally and avoiding taxes 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.440 if you're going if they're regulated in that eas's going 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.320 to compete. Well. So that's that's really going to be 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:48.560 a key issue going forward. And it also made uh, 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:52.360 you know, also discourage some other big entities from getting 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.840 into the New York, New York market until they enforce 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:58.400 those rules. Really interesting that you bring up social equity there, 0:08:58.440 --> 0:08:59.960 and we thank you so much, can say, of course, 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.199 Bloeme Megantelligence, and we want to dovetell into that exact 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:04.720 point because what's so interesting with this development of the 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.240 cannabis market here in New York is that Kathy Hokele 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.120 and the governor have been trying to think about how 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:12.440 it's ensured that the people who have been the past 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:16.320 perhaps been targeted for cannabis and fractions now actually managed 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:19.000 to benefit from the legalization with jobs of the opportunity. 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:20.680 And they set up a two on a million dollar 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.880 New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund. This is something 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:26.440 that we've seen perhaps in Illinois as it started to 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:29.520 embrace legalization. How can they try to foster growth, particularly 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:32.839 among people of color, ensure that they're leading businesses. It's 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.640 not always worked that well of late within the licensing process, 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:38.040 particularly in Allinois. Let's talk about how it's working in 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:39.920 l A. We've got a perfect guest. Whitney Beauty is 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.120 with us founder and CEO Josephine and Billy's. It's the 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:44.600 first cannaby Speak easy in the US. That's for women 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:47.520 of color targeted there. You took checks from jay Z 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:51.040 Cannabis investor the parent company as well. Just talk to 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.040 us about your journey, Whitney, how have you found yourself 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.559 able to lead this sort of a business. I mean, 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:00.959 it has definitely not been easy to get into this space, 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.640 um and particularly you know, even with social equity being 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:09.120 what it is, it's really um hard for us without 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:13.880 having access to that capital to grow our businesses. I 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:17.040 mean I applied for social equity in Los Angeles in 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:21.720 twenty nineteen. UM our program here UM had a lot 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.000 of delays, and unfortunately we were required to hold property 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:28.600 through all of those delays, which was incredibly difficult for us, 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.880 you know, to sit and pay for two years UM, 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:33.920 you know, on a place that we were not allowed 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:37.959 to sell cannabis out of UM. That really hurt, especially 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.800 when we're talking about population that is, you know, the 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:43.959 idea of equity is that communities of color were disproportionately 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.200 disenfranchised by the War on drugs and thus deserved prioritization 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.440 and legalization and so UM. That really kind of drained 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:54.120 our funding. And when we're talking about especially equity businesses, 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:57.800 we don't have that much access to capital, as you mentioned, 0:10:57.800 --> 0:10:59.920 I mean, I can't go down and get uh lone 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.360 from Bank of America. The s b A isn't offering loans. 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:03.920 Were stuck in the world where we have to be 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.360 able to raise money from either angel investors, which a 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:09.640 lot of people of color don't have in their networks, 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.800 or vcs and We know that vcs are giving about 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:15.120 two percent of their money to women led businesses and 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:17.920 points there was, there was, there was six to women 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.720 of color, and that is you know, abysmal numbers. It 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:22.599 makes it really hard for us to compete. So we 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:24.360 need give us a sense of kind of where your 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.080 business is now, what's the outlook is? As you look 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:30.160 ahead to the new year, I mean we're you know, 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:32.960 it becomes really difficult for us on a couple of 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.840 different levels. It's you know, being able to have raised 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:38.680 enough money. We've raised a million dollars, but really we 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:40.840 need to in order to be able to compete with 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:43.959 big MSOs that are there on the market. It's also 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:46.840 really difficult for us because of the tax structure here. 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.520 I you know, as a legal cannabis business, I can't 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:53.000 write anything off because of two a d um you know, 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.200 so that overhead is sitting on us. And also I'm 0:11:56.200 --> 0:12:00.080 competing again with the illicit market. Um, you know, if 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:01.959 I'm going to have to you know, they're charging you 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:03.440 a hundred dollars and I have to charge you a 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.240 hundred thirty seven dollars because we have thirty seven percent 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.240 tax here. It makes it less attractive for people to 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.440 be able to buy from the legal market, and it 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:14.520 also makes it less attractive for those people in the 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.680 listit market to come into the legal market. Um. So 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:21.000 we're you know, we're concerned about what the future looks like, 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:25.600 especially as we see the price of plantfall um, you know, tremendously. 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:27.920 I mean we're talking about you know, the pounds that 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:31.720 we're going for four thousand dollars now, um, you know, 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.640 sub five hundred dollars. So what we were looking at 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:38.480 as we're building projections in is not necessarily what we're 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:43.280 seeing now in twenty two. We need a lot of 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.960 the obstacles you outline there so eloquently. What about some 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:48.920 of the help you therefore need. Is it about cracking 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.840 down on the illegal side of the business is coming 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.520 from the government. Is it about having more funds coming 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:55.720 from government as we're seeing here in New York to 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:57.360 be able to buy businesses such as he is. Is Is 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.199 it about educating vcs about angel investors to a show 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:02.160 that you are raising too many and rather than one. 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:06.240 It's about all of those things. We definitely have to 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.640 see taxes go down. It's it's critical and we need 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.440 the community to understand why that is so important. A 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.960 lot of people so legalization on the ability to tax 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:16.839 the heck out of us, but that's not gonna allow 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.000 this industry to survive. We have to see more capital 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:23.040 coming into this space and have access to it. Um 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.400 for you know, these equity businesses. Whether that means that 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:28.720 the state allows us to be able to have more 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:32.640 grant programs, more um you know, loan programs. I'm happy 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:34.600 to take the loan. The fact is that I cannot 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.720 do that. We don't have access to that. We definitely 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.760 needed more education on the VC side, UM you know, 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:44.559 businesses ran by women, businesses um ran by black women, 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:46.640 and we do have great success rates. We do have 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:48.439 the skill set out there. We just don't have the 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.160 access to capital in order to compete with someone who 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.920 is sitting on millions of dollars who can definitely drop 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:56.480 the price of an ape and weigh us out as 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:59.240 we die and then collect those licenses up. So we 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.320 need all of those things in line. And also for 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:05.240 equity in particular, we need technical assistance um you know, 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:09.559 within the community. Because the cannabis industry is highly regulated. 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.680 I'm dealing with compliance issues on a daily basis, So 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:15.840 if we don't have the skill set, you know, especially 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:18.680 because there's not necessarily a role map. This UH industry 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.480 is incredibly new. So being able to have a technical 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:24.600 assistance that's going to allow people to be able to 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.600 be compliant and be successful in their businesses is what 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:31.360 it's gonna take, UM for equity businesses to succeed. So 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.800 when it sounds like an extraordinarily challenging outlook, is there 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:37.880 any relief that you see after? What keeps you going? 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.120 What keeps me going is um, the people that I'm 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:45.760 helping at the end of the day. I came to 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:50.240 cannabis because I had a doctor who suggested that I 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:54.200 try to deal with anxiety. Um. You know, I didn't 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.440 use it when I was younger. Nancy Reagan told me 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:58.880 to say not to dregs. I believe sure. UM. So 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:00.920 it took me a while to come to this space, 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:02.640 and I had to do a lot of research on 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:06.400 the plant, learning about how to use it effectively and 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:08.720 also about why I felt so negatively about it. And 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.000 I didn't want the next person to have to do 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.680 that much research or have such a hard time because 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.040 what if we know for sure is that especially when 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:19.120 you're talking about our demographic, women are more stressed than men, 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.280 and women of color are the least most stressed cohort 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:24.520 out there, And yet we have the least access to healthcare. 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.160 And we do have health care. We know that the 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.440 doctors aren't necessarily listening to us, That's what the data 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:31.800 is saying, and we might not have money to cover that. 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:36.000 So being able to have safe access to affordable cannabis 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.760 within our community is also public health. Is being able 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.480 to offer that to people with anxiety was t PTS 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:43.280 with all the things that we know that cannabis is 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:45.520 good for, and so waking up and knowing that I'm 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:48.240 offering that in my community and giving them education that 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.560 isn't available elsewhere is what keeps me moving within this space. 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.240 All right, Whitney, we we should the best of luck 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.440 challenging situation about some interesting opportunities out there, Whitney, Baby, 0:15:56.720 --> 0:16:00.240 Josephine and Billy's cannabis speak easy. Joining us VIA's room 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:05.560 from Los Angeles. So let's talk about or when you're 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:07.320 on your airplane, you've managed to make it to the 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:10.320 destination of choice, how are you feeling, how are you spending, 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:12.480 where are you going to spend it. Well, is it 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.320 a hotel group? Please to welcome a key CEO from 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:18.080 that space. Larry Kakul is President CEO b w H 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:20.800 Hotel Group. You knowd of course at Best Western Hotels 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.480 and Resorts, but also you're talking economy, mid scale, upscale, 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.080 upper upp up scale. I'm liking to see that that's 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.720 a turn of phrase, but also luxury and boutique segments 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.000 like you've got eighteen brands, I think it is, Larry, 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.120 are they all full? Where are you seeing the most 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.400 exuberance as we head into the new year. Well, we're 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.880 seeing exuberance across all of our markets, of course and segments. 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:45.360 The demand for travel is robust. We are experiencing a 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:52.320 tremendously successful holiday season, and we anticipate and are projecting 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:57.120 our most successful New Year's weekend ever as well. So 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.560 Larry talked to us about the day to day operations. 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:04.800 I'm gonna go was something that I've noticed. No, uh, 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:08.399 you know, service to service the room for three four days. Now, 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.080 I know that was a byproduct of the pandemic. Are 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:14.359 we gonna get daily housekeeping back into the business model 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:17.000 or is the industry moved on to something that's maybe 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.560 every two days, every three days, every four days. At 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:25.840 Best Western, we encourage our hotel ears to offer everyday service. UM. 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:32.199 Guests have the option to request that they don't have 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:36.479 that service if they have their personal concerns. But we 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:40.879 understand that guests have diverse requests and requirements with regard 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:45.280 to overnight service. UM. You it's not just the COVID 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:50.040 I'll call it a COVID result. You also see the 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:55.199 hotel industry having labor challenges, which is also influencing that 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:58.320 overnight service that's being offered. But we encourage our hotel 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:02.000 yers to offer overnights of this. So one of the things, 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.520 UH Larry's as we think about travel is the leisure 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:09.879 travel seemed to come back pretty darn quickly, business travel 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:11.560 a little bit less. So what are you seeing from 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:15.200 your perspective for business travel as you hit into twenty 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:19.240 three and we're focused on midweek business, which is that 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:24.160 business travel UM, while it has lagged, leisure travel coming back, 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:29.440 we're seeing that UM businesses recognize the importance of face 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:34.520 to face meetings, conferences, and UM. While it's been i'll 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:38.679 call it lagging, the leisure return, we're looking forward to 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:43.720 it coming back um um two pre pandemic levels, and 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.199 which also have to consider is there's this push for 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.439 international travel as well, which plays an important role with 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:53.080 regard to midweek and international business travel. Let's talk about 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.360 the international travel. Let's talk about the news. It is 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.399 so fresh this week, the fact that China has basically 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:00.639 done a massive U turn and is now going against 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.600 its COVID zero policy. They now want to be issuing passiplets, 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.520 issuing an ability to not only enter China, but also 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:09.080 for the Chinese people to be back in the skies 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:15.880 and visiting well New York, London, different international destinations. You excited, trepidation. 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.479 What does that mean for you in your business? Well, 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.280 we're excited about it. We think Asia is a tremendous 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:27.080 opportunity um for the rebound, and Chinese travel plays a 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:30.600 major role in that. You know, we understand China has 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:33.920 lessened its restrictions, but you also have to understand while 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:36.439 you can be optimistic in that regard, there will be 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:40.200 some my call it compression associated with lessening in those restrictions, 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:45.000 and you can see that happening already with the United States, India, Japan, 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:48.680 Italy putting in place I'll call them testing requirements with 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:51.960 regard to inbound Chinese travel. So while it should have 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:56.359 a positive impact on international business travel and international leisure travel, 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:00.240 you have to be cautiously optimistic because the will be 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.280 countries that are concerned with regard to the health, welfare 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:07.199 and safety of their citizens. What is number one on 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:12.359 your sort of consumers concerns or hopes right now? Is 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.560 it that they're worried about COVID? Is it more of 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.280 the inflationary pressures? How are you expecting that to impact 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.359 post New Year? Are we going to be as desirous 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.400 to get out to spend as potentially this global recession 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:26.800 starts to buy. We think there's still that pent up 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:31.160