WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - March 11th, 2022 0:00:01.080 --> 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 --> 0:00:13.160 global business, finance and tech news as it happens. Bloomberg 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.759 Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:21.440 Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Hi, everyone, Welcome to the weekend 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:25.000 edition of Bloomberg Business Week. Stocks and commodities seeing big 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:27.520 swings this past week, with the war in Ukraine still 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:31.880 raging and another thing as expected, CPI in the United 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:34.280 States hitting a fresh forty year high in the month 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.880 of February. That latest inflation print comes against the backdrop 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:40.639 of this week's coming f O M C rate decision 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.159 on Wednesday, with an interest rate hike all but certain, 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:46.640 We're going to discuss the Fed's path forward in just 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:48.600 a bit. Safe to say, Tim, it ain't easy for 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:50.360 the fan. No. I think I've said this many times, 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.440 but I wouldn't want to be in j palace spot 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.600 right now, that's for sure. Also ahead on our broadcast, 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:59.080 renewable energy, how soon can it be scaled up? In 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:01.800 a world where false fuels are increasingly being shown for 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:05.480 both political and environmental reasons. We'll find out from the 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.840 CEO of SunPower, and our investigative team spotlights the latest 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.840 Olympic sport to be plagued by revelations of young female 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:15.319 athletes being sexually abused by respected older men. All that 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.480 to come. We begin, though, with the cover story of 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:20.800 the new issue of Bloomberg business Week, Russian President Vladimir 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.039 Putin's endgame for the war in Ukraine. That story from 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:27.880 Bloomberg News Senior reporter for International Affairs, Mark Champion. He 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.800 joined us along with Bloomberg business Week editor Joel Webber 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:35.039 to help us understand what exactly Putin's objective is now 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.440 that an easy victory that's out of reach. It started 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:42.319 as one thing, and I think, as uh, the invasion 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.440 probably is not going quite as he had hoped or 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:49.280 or even planned. I think that has the potential to change, 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:53.200 and probably has more potential change from from here. But 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.520 when Mark and I first started talking about this article, 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:57.960 it was like it was a little bit of a 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:00.680 mind meld because I went to someplace that he was like, wait, wait, 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:02.040 I got I got this all right, and we're gonna 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.320 write it. And he said, all we gotta do is 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.480 look at Putin's history. So Mark walk us through a 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:09.880 little bit of that, because that if we if we 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:12.160 spend out forward, might tell us what the in game 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:17.720 in Ukraine becomes. Yes, so you know, essentially Putin wanted 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:22.120 control of Ukraine, uh. And you know, so that involves 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:26.480 putting someone in charge. And so his initial strategy was 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:31.640 to move in very quickly, light footed, send special forces 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.519 into the centers of Kiev and other cities, take out 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:38.080 the government, replaced them with something more friendly, uh, and 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:43.080 then he would be able to have them fulfill whatever 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:47.560 needs he had. UM. But the difficult none of that happened, 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:50.359 of course, and so he's now in a much more 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:59.040 traditional way of trying to subdue populations, which he's done before. 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:02.960 He did it in Church again, or rather Russia did 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:07.840 in nine and then he in two thousand UM and 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.639 again in Syria. He's done something similar. Russia has done 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:15.040 something you know, somewhat similar in Georgia. But what they 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:17.440 kind of had in common was that he was able 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:20.760 to crush these places to reduce I mean, the Russians 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:24.079 reduced gross needs to rubble Um and Aleppo to rubble, 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.960 and Harms to rubble all these places, Um and he 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:31.040 was able in Syria to maintain someone in power who 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.760 you know, was the guy he wanted um, and in 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.600 in Churchenya he was able to put someone in power. 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:41.480 But the situations are so different. Ukraine is so much 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:44.840 bigger that I think, you know, it's it's very clear 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:47.200 he can't he can't do that here. So what he 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:54.200 has to do is just keep crushing resistance until Zelenski, 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.040 President's Lensky gives him what he wants. Right, it is 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.120 hard Mark to figure out how at this stage of 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:05.080 the game, how does President Putin, you know, create a 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.840 neighbor that is friendly and pro Russia. It's hard to 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:12.240 see that. It's it's absolutely not happening. And so that 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:16.200 you know that Plan A has completely failed. Uh, and 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:18.320 it is a disaster for him. Frankly, you know it's 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:22.479 a strategic disaster already. Um. But you know he will 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.320 hope to come out of it with something and you 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:28.200 can see it in the in the his his spokesman 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.320 d metro Pskoff a couple of days ago said, you know, well, 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:35.600 you know we could stop this immediately, and instead of saying, 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.839 as you know Putain had done before, once we denatified 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.919 the country, which basically meant regime change, and once we 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:47.000 demilitarize it, which means the army being obliterated basically and 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.680 and disarmed, um, and there would be no Ukrainian Army. 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.039 So he's instead of using those words, he said, you know, 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:58.919 we need nature neutrality. We need recognition of Crimea as Russian. 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.880 We need recogn nition of the Don busts, these separatist 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:05.080 territories that they've been finding over eight years, that we 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.200 need recognition of those as independent states. Um. That's not 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.159 something that presidents the Aliensky can do. But he's now said, 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:15.160 you know, well we can talk about NATO neutrality. UM, 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.479 but there's still a long way to go. What's a 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:21.240 realistic way for for us to try to understand how 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:27.320 this continues? If I'm going to be very pessimistic, UM, 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:33.160 I cannot see a situation in which Zienski can sell uh, 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:38.240 the recognition of any of these um, these territories. He 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.640 said that he's willing to negotiate about their status. And 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.680 you can imagine, you know, going back to the kind 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.320 of talks that they've had before about how much autonomy 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:52.120 and on what terms should the Don beast territories have autonomy. Um, 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:55.400 and you could, you know, finesse something on Crimeanson. But 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.560 Butin needs something more than that. He needs, you know, 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:00.280 he wants to he needs to win his Aren't it 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:03.240 a huge war here, the largest since World War Two 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:07.919 in Europe? And he needs more than just you know, 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:12.599 a statement from the Ukrainians that they won't join NATO. 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.919 And you know, you have to remember that, you know, 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:19.279 in the weeks before this started, Yankees again already said 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.280 that he was willing to talk about NATO. UM. And 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:24.880 you have to remember too that before any of this started, 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.680 in two thousand and fourteen, before the annexation of Crimea, 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.120 Ukraine had it written into law that it was a 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:34.680 neutral country. That was Bloomberg New Senior Reporter for International Affairs, 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:37.000 Mark Champion on this week's cover story. You can find 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:39.640 it on the Bloomberg Terminal, online at Bloomberg dot com 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:43.159 and on newsstands now. Coming up next are Editors round 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:45.560 Table on the Fed's uneasy quest to keep the US 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:49.400 out of recession and Vladimir Putin's difficult mission maintaining a 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.920 market economy. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. This is 0:06:52.960 --> 0:07:06.359 Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:11.680 Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Stenovan from Bloomberg Radio. Welcome to 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.680 the Bloomberg Business Week Editors Round Table, our weekly conversation 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:18.000 with the editors of the magazine talking about one of 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:20.440 the stories that we all should be talking about, and 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.960 that is the US Federal Reserve. Joining us is a 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:26.040 Business Week editor Joel Weber, along with the economics editor 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.120 of the magazine, Christina Lynn Blad. Also joining us Bloomberg 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:33.160 News FED reporter Matt Bosler. Joel, Look, every FED meeting 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:35.680 of late has been one that's watched really closely, but 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:37.960 I gotta say this one certainly feels like the one 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.280 that we're going to be watching the most closely in 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:43.920 a very long time. I mean, you're right, like every 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.280 one of these things, it's like every everybody stops what 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:50.080 they're doing Bloomberg and like tunes in. And I really 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.440 think that this this coming week is going to be 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:57.000 um even even quieter as this happens, and you know, 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.760 expected rate hike. The question is going to be if 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.440 it's twenty five basis points, which which would be sort 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.400 of a dovish move all things considered. But within the 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:09.720 FED there's this dynamic of of a very hawkish UH 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:14.000 quotient and there's an open question of like how much, um, 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.400 how much the room will go with that hawk ish 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.400 uh sentiment, right, And if that happens, then we might 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.320 be looking at a fifty basis point move. And all 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.680 of this sets up sort of what's to come over 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.000 the rest of the year. Where heading into it all, 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:30.880 the FED has been very clear that uh, that they 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:33.800 will be raising rates. But now that the now we 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:37.480 have inflation numbers really bad, forty year high in the US, right. 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:41.000 We also have a war, we have oil prices increasing. 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.440 All of these things create this enormous challenge for the 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.880 FED to do what's called effectively a soft landing, which 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.600 is bring us down land this plane. It was already 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:56.480 gonna be hard. Everything's just stacking up against them, right, um, Christina, 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.160 We've had a soft landing from the FED before, but 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.600 it's been a while. It's been in the nineties. Yeah, 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.640 and they're greenspan um. But it can be people out 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.400 there in the auditive like who what I mean as legendaries, 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:11.000 I think about a younger, right, you know, individual out 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:12.920 there who's like why do I need to worry about 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:14.840 this stuff. There's what we talked to some people who 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.199 are like, there have been sort of semi soft landings, 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:22.560 not completely skating off the runway right. So, um, you know, 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.520 I think Powell has talked a lot about how it 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.960 may be possible, how you know that the damage to 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.840 the job market in particular could be less than might 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:34.800 have been anticipated in in years prior you know, trying 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.160 to do this. But there is this question about sort 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:41.800 of how well they have to frontload bigger increases um 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:44.360 in order to tain inflation that now has even more 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.360 upward pressure on it from energy prices. So, Matt, come 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.240 on in here, because you cover the FED really closely. 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:52.440 Talk about the tools that the Fed actually has at 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.840 its disposal to stick this soft landing. And look the 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:59.920 context here and stable prices not achieved right now, maxim 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.960 employment by a lot of measures that is achieved. Yeah, 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.000 the short answer might be they don't really have the 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.800 tools because you know, especially when you look at what's 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:11.240 going on with inflation right now and what's likely to 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:14.679 happen with inflation as a result of the war in Ukraine, 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.240 these are a lot of things that are you know, 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:19.760 far outside of the fed's control in terms of the 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.280 things that they're able to affect. So when you're talking 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:26.520 about global food prices, global energy prices, things like that, 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:29.280 higher interest rates aren't really going to do much to 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.280 curb those and so I think for the FED they're 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:35.160 more thinking of it. From the perspective of the risk 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:39.720 is that people see these higher prices, inflation expectations go up. 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:43.920 This becomes a sort of self self fulfilling spiral that 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.079 then becomes harder to uh, you know, bring down more 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.480 in the medium term. I think the big risk for 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.920 the FED, you know, at this coming meeting is they're 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.679 putting out new projections for interest rates for the first 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.480 time since December, and so from that perspective, the dot 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.760 plot correct and they've been getting really hawkish since December, 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.080 since the last time those projections came out. This war 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.880 started kind of right at the beginning of the you know, 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:16.440 multiweek planning process that takes place before these fo MC meetings, 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:20.400 and so there's just no way that as they're compiling 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:23.520 their projections and trying to figure out, you know, where 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:27.120 they're at versus December, that this has gone on far 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.320 enough for them to really account for it, and so 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.800 I think the risk is that you see projections for 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:37.600 interest rates marked up rather dramatically from December to March, 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:41.440 and that itself might already be stale, and the market 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:45.160 might look at that and get a little spooked out. Okay. 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:46.559 The other elephant in this room is the one that 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:48.760 Christina and I have talked about a lot, which is, Okay, 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.760 we're gonna raise rates, right, whether it starts at or fifty. 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.840 But say over the course of the year we see 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:58.160 rates go up every single time that there's a chance 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:02.720 to rease them, what if that doesn't actually address inflation. Matt, Well, 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:04.760 at least the Fed will have higher interest rates and 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.440 then they'll be able to cut them, you know, when 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:10.559 we get this slow down real activity. Right. But I mean, 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:14.439 that's that's why this inflation expectations point is really important, 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:18.320 and it's something that um Our economist David Wilcox wrote 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:22.160 about recently. You know, despite the high inflation we're seeing, 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:24.160 you know, inflation at forty year high and it keeps 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.440 going up a month after month, we haven't really seen 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:32.720 this bleed through to consumer household inflation expectations yet. And 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.800 so in that sense, you know, the Fed's task here 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.280 is not necessarily a huge one, you know. They just 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.520 have to start moving interest rates up towards what they 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.400 consider to be more normal levels. And I think that 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:50.559 will kind of, you know, cool things off for everyone 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:53.200 in terms of the pressure that everybody is feeling to 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.200 respond to this situation right now, even if higher interest 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:00.000 rates in and of themselves aren't really going to help 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:03.559 bring inflation down much in the near term. I mean, 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:05.240 this is like one of the things you guys do 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:07.880 so well, and I think about, you know, in terms 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.720 of explaining the FED what they do and the implications. 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:12.880 But I do wonder Christina. You know, so many people 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.000 have come on air and said, how does the FED 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:17.680 kentuct monetary policy when what's going on with the supply 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.520 chain disruptions and a lot of the inflationary pressures are 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.800 way beyond their control. Well, I mean that's what's been 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:25.640 raised in a lot of countries. And one of tho 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.000 stories we did in this section also was about Brazil, 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.719 where um, they've been hiking. Now that they've done more 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.240 than eight hundred basis points of hikes, um and and 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:38.960 more coming and inflation is taking a while to come down. 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:43.520 But I think this idea of anchoring expectations is really important, 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:47.560 and it's important everywhere in Latin American countries. There, you know, 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:50.320 it's tougher because people are used to it. But this, 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.000 this paper that Matt mentioned about Wilcox did, it was 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.120 really interesting to me because it brought up the idea 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:59.440 that in the US there's people who have never experienced inflation, 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.240 so they don't have this kind of knee jerk responses 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.400 like that they that they had in the seventies, where 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:08.760 people had been actually for several decades experienced you know, 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:12.920 pretty high you know, periods of high prices. So um, 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:16.640 I think I would say the American consumer is I said, flustered, 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:22.560 but not panicked, uh necessarily. And if you look at projections, 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.080 you see you know, people seeing prices moderating. That's that's 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:29.360 just super important to what the FED are you saying? Transitory? 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:35.480 I didn't hear that wants to camp now? And that's 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.560 this week's Bloomberg Business Week Editors Round Table. Our thanks 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:41.160 to Business Week editor Joe Weber, along the economics editor 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.880 of the magazine, Christina Linblad, and Bloomberg News Fed reporter 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.320 Matthew Bosler. Still ahead on Bloomberg Business Week. With energy 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:49.960 prices soaring, firms in the renewable space or getting a 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.240 big lift, the question is are they ready to fill 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:55.600 the void of traditional fossil fuels right now? Our conversation 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:59.280 with SunPower CEO on the other side. This is Bloomberg 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:08.720 broadcasting from the financial capital of the world, Bloomberg Eleve 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.960 in Frio in New York to Washington, d C. Bloomberg 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:16.160 to Boston, Bloomberg one O six one to San Francisco, 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:19.680 Bloomberg nine sixty to the Country Sirius XM Chado one 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.920 nineteen and around the globe the Bloomberg Business app and 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:28.320 Bloomberg Radio dot Com. This is Bloomberg Business Week. As 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:31.040 we've been reporting, the Russian invasion and subsequent war with 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.640 Ukraine has many fronts and moving parts, most importantly the 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:38.280 humanitarian want the impact, of course on the lives of Ukrainians. 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:41.240 It's also leading to a big rethink on where the 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:43.760 world gets its energy and what type of energy it 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:45.920 should be using. With that in mind, we had the 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.640 opportunity to talk with the chairman and CEO of SunPower, 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:51.600 Peter Farisee. Tim it's a renewable energy company has got 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.640 about a three point six billion dollar market cap. It 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:57.800 shares jump nearly or so earlier in the week, driven 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:00.840 by rising prices and sweeping sanctions on Russian imports. All 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.440 of a sudden, the world again right aggressively investors to 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:07.840 looking at those alternative energy companies. It's really interesting. You know, 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.880 last year, the residential solar business grew across the US 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:16.520 about thirty year over year. So far this year we're 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.680 seeing double that, you know, maybe triple that in terms 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:23.160 of customer interest. So just over the past couple of weeks, 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:26.600 we've seen a record number of appointments and record number 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:28.920 of bookings. And I think it all has to do 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.520 with what you're describing. You know, people are becoming more 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.600 and more aware of their energy needs. They're becoming more 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.040 and more aware of how much their utility bills are 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:42.120 increasing dramatically, and renewable energy, specifically solar is such a great, 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.720 great alternative for consumers here in the US. So it 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:46.400 seems to be. And look, this is based on my 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:49.720 cursory research, because um, I live in an apartment building 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:53.520 in Brooklyn. Uh we I mean, I gotta tell you guys, 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.200 we are we got our Connent billt UH. The charge 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.320 for electricity last month went up three x. It was 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.360 three x costs from the previous month, so a massive increase. 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.800 We looked into solar. The bid that we got for 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.439 solar says that it could only cover six percent of 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:11.040 our buildings electric electric use, so it's not necessarily great 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.680 at least at this point for big buildings. My friends 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.120 who live in the suburbs, however, can't get solar installed 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:19.399 on their roofs fast enough and they are giving electricity 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.960 to the grid. Totally true. You know, even out here 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:24.159 you said, I'm coming in from Seattle. I want you 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:27.360 to know, actually it's a partly sunny, partly cloudy day 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:31.680 out here, and my solar panels have generated fifty lots 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.719 of energy and I'm taking about ten of that and 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:37.320 selling it back to the grid. So you know, it's 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:39.959 it's kind of a misconception that solars only for the 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:42.919 southern part of the US, or you know, only for 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:46.000 areas that have, um, you know, a lot of government subsidy. 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.359 Our our research indicates that you know, as many as 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:53.000 a hundred million holmeowners here in the US would save 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.919 money every month net of their solar costs if they 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:58.960 put solar on the then, um, you know, I don't 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:00.840 know if you've seen this trend, tim, but more and 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.760 more people were also getting solar plus battery storage, and 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:07.880 battery storage permits you to build up, you know, your 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.719 storage from the sun during the day and then use 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.200 that to power your house at night and power your 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:17.639 house through any unexpected interruptions and power. So it's really 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:20.840 you know, for residential consumers. I think it's a business 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:24.120 that we expect to grow dramatically over the next decade. 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:26.560 And we're glad it is because if you read the 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.600 u N Report, you know the impact of climate change 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.680 is dramatic. So in addition to saving money, people love 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:34.720 being able to make a positive difference in the world. 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:38.040 So help me out, Peter, and my team knows, um, 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.720 because I say this whenever we talk solar. I remember 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:42.800 growing up and we had a golf course near us 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:44.480 and there was some new homes built and they put 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:46.960 solar panels and then they never know which was cool, 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:48.639 it made soundse they could tap into the sun. They 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:51.840 didn't sell until the solar panels were removed. I know 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:56.520 the dynamics and business has changed. I'm older, so that's 0:18:56.520 --> 0:19:00.560 a while ago. But why is it taking so long 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:06.240 for alternative energy to ramp up more aggressively? What's where 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:10.440 is it in the supply chain or um the process 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:13.880 that things get hung up? Is it cost? Is it efficiency? 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.920 Is it? What? Well? Carol, First of all, I think 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.560 your perception is a good example. I think many people 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:24.439 in the US still think of solar from that timeframe. 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:26.560 You know, the panels were ugly, they were kind of 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:30.320 big and bulky. Maybe the energy savings was low enough 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:33.840 that it wasn't worth, uh, the investment. And that's what's 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.880 changed dramatically. The cost of solar has actually come down 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:42.360 about over the last eight years, which is dramatic obviously, 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:46.000 and because of more and more efficiencies in production. So 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:49.440 these new panels, which are you know, mostly clean, kind 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.479 of black glass, almost like a flat screen TV looking, 0:19:52.960 --> 0:19:56.400 they look more attractive, They're much lower cost. And then 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:58.680 at the same time, you know, as Tim was saying 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:01.360 with his bill to hold, the bills you know, are 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:04.639 rising much faster than the consumer price index, much faster 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:08.080 than inflation. You put those two things together, it's become 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:11.840 much more economically attractive. And then I think the products 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:14.400 themselves are a lot more attractive on people's homes. So 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:17.840 from our research, people who put solar on the rooftop 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:21.520 it actually adds value to their home at resale because 0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:24.280 people know coming in, Wow, I'm gonna have a very 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:26.879 small utility bill because this home already has solo on. 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.080 That was Peter Pharisee. He's chairman and CEO of sun Power. 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:32.880 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Coming up next, we're 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.440 gonna take a look back at our Bloomberg Live event 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:38.479 from this past week. It's all about the transformation of 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:42.080 work post pandemic, or as we get out of this pandemic. 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.320 We're talking work shifting. Two point oh top executives sharing 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:47.600 their vision for the future of work and the key 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:51.520 to talent retention. Today, here's a hint, not just about 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:55.000 the money. Surprise you. Yeah, that did surprise me. Actually, 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:56.880 I wonder if all of you out there, if that's 0:20:56.880 --> 0:21:08.800 a surprise to you as well. This is Bloomberg. You're 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:12.760 listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:17.840 Quick Takes Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. This week, Bloomberg 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:20.560 Live hosted an event. It was called Work shifting two 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.359 point out, redefining normal. The event held in person. It 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.119 was our first Bloomberg Live event in New York City 0:21:27.240 --> 0:21:31.399 in person since the gatherings aimed to dig into what 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:34.400 our work life is in two as we increasingly are 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:37.760 getting back to the office, at least some of us are. Yeah, 0:21:38.160 --> 0:21:40.399 there's a lot of office buildings still empty. Tim and 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:43.280 I participate in the event and led several discussions. Among 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:45.480 them was what I did with Frank because suits she's 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:48.719 executive vice president and chief People, Policy and Purpose officer 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.840 over at Cisco. It's a company with dozens of employees 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:54.080 caught right now though in the midst of war in 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:58.320 Eastern Europe, it's really hard. UM and uh, you know, 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:02.080 about four weeks ago we started to offer our employees 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:06.080 in Ukraine the ability to relocate out of the country 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:08.520 and I had a small number of our employees take 0:22:08.600 --> 0:22:10.480 us up on that. In the last we have about 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:14.720 seventy employees in Ukraine. UM. In the last week and 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:17.080 a half, we've had about thirty families up to leave, 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.840 and so we're helping them get to Poland. UM. From 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:24.000 a Russia perspective, our employees are struggling to UM and 0:22:24.040 --> 0:22:26.760