1 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg p m L Podcast. I'm pim Fox. 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: Along with my co host Lisa Bramowitz. Each day we 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: bring you the most important, noteworthy, and useful interviews for 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: you and your money, whether you're at the grocery store 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: or the trading floor. Find the Bloomberg p m L 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: Podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Bloomberg dot Com. In 7 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:37,560 Speaker 1: the past three weeks, silver has plunged almost thirteen percent. 8 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: We have somebody who can give us a sense of 9 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: what the technicals are underpitting, some of the moves, and 10 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: what we can expect looking forward. Mitchell Crebs joins US now. 11 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: He is president and chief executive officer of Core Mining UH. 12 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: He also is the president of the Silver Institute, which 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: is based in Chicago, Illinois. He's pumping his fist. I 14 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: expected you to come here like drenched in silver, you know, 15 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: just dripping from everywhere, but but you're not. You're actually 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: wearing very little jewelry. Um. So there was a report 17 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: that you put out today that was looking at the 18 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: silver industry, and there was good news and there was 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: bad news. So why don't you start with the good news. Yeah? Sure, 20 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: thanks for having me. The good news for sure is 21 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: that silver supply for the first time in fourteen years, 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: actually declined last year, So that's a big deal. Not 23 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: by a lot, but it's now declining and it's expected 24 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: to continue to decline, which you know, basic supply and 25 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: demand fundamental suggests that that's a positive tail wind for 26 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: silver going forward. It's the fourth year in a row 27 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: now where we've been in a structural deficit where demand 28 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: has outstripped supply, So that's another positive i'd say. On 29 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: the on the demand side, UH, solar panel demand hit 30 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: an all time high. It was up thirty four percent 31 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: last year. UH, and that's a market that we think 32 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,119 Speaker 1: will continue to grow. You know, silver is very much 33 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: of a technology, green, clean, renewable energy type of metal. 34 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: I think a lot of people think of silver as 35 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: your silverware or your jewelry, which definitely that plays a part, 36 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: but silver is used in every everything with a light switch, 37 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: anything with an on and off switch has silver in it. 38 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: So it's a very diverse UH demand base. And you 39 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: know this is this is an interesting point because silver 40 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: is often thought of as a sister metal to gold, 41 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 1: precious metal to kind of buy in times when you're 42 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: looking for a haven um, and yet it's got a 43 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: much more prevalent industrial use. Can you give us a 44 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: sense of how much demand has come from stuff that 45 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: you actually use versus jewelry and how much that has 46 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: increased over time. Yeah, that's changed a lot. It used 47 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: to be mostly a precious metals, but as electronics have 48 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: have grown globally, emerging middle classes in places like China 49 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: and India have have grown in consumption GDP per capita 50 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: has grown industrial demand electronics demand for silver has grown 51 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: a lot. It now makes up the majority of demand 52 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: for silver. Can you give us a sense of where 53 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 1: that was, say two decades ago or a decade ago, 54 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: It would have been more like a decade ago. Fifteen 55 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: years ago, thirty five millimeter film was actually the biggest 56 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,839 Speaker 1: source of demand for silver um. Now so that's gone 57 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,399 Speaker 1: from like thirty five percent a year down to four 58 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: percent as we've all gone to you know, digital and 59 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: that's been all replaced with new uses in the electronics sector, 60 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: predominantly and solar. So, so give us a sense with 61 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,359 Speaker 1: the shifting landscape. There was some not so great news 62 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: in the report that you put out today. Can you 63 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: lay that out for us? Yeah, overall demand was down. 64 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: A lot of that has to do with just slower 65 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: global economic growth UM which has had an impact and 66 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: had a negative impact on some of that electronics driven demand. 67 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: Jewelry demand was down a bit. India was probably one 68 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: of the biggest stories with some of the currency crackdown 69 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: that took place there last year. That had a negative 70 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: effect on silver demand, uh, coming out of out of India. 71 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: But the beauty of beauty of having such a diverse 72 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: demand bass you know, every year you're gonna have some 73 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: things that are down and and some markets that are 74 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: that are up. But overall last year it was down 75 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, Well, I mean as I 76 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: was thinking as you said this, so global demand is 77 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: down partly because the economy is slowing, and yet typically 78 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: when things are slowing, they would people would go into 79 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: precious metals to sort of offset the risk of a 80 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: potential downturn. So it's sort of trying to square those 81 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: two sides is a little bit hard. And that's the 82 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: duality of silver. You know, it is highly correlated to gold, 83 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: So everything that moves gold in terms of safe haven 84 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: investment risk off. You know a lot of people are 85 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 1: looking at precious metals these days, more with these higher 86 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,679 Speaker 1: valuations in the broader equity markets, UM, expectation of higher 87 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,720 Speaker 1: of inflation. Those types of things that drive gold definitely 88 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,280 Speaker 1: UM have a big impact on on silver. But I 89 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: always think of silver as having a good it's it's 90 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: underpinned by all of this good, solid, diverse industrial demand. 91 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: But what moves silver higher is the investment demand in 92 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: in times when typically that's more favorable to things like gold. 93 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: So for something that is so stable and has these 94 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: sort of competing uh dynamics of affecting its price, why 95 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: is it down more than twelve percent in the past 96 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: three weeks. Well, silver is a very volatile metal. It 97 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: makes gold look like, uh, you know, looks boring. It 98 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: makes gold look very boring. Silver goes up and down 99 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: a lot. It's a small market, it's flashy. So the 100 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: total demand every year for silver's like a billion ounces. 101 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: So that's you put today's price on that, that's a 102 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: fifteen billion dollar global annual market. That's chump change, uh, 103 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: compared to gold is you know, ten times that size 104 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: copper for example, oil you know, much much bigger. So 105 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: silver gets moved around a lot without you know, a 106 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: lot of capital and so silver can go up and down. 107 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: Last year, the price of silver varied between thirteen dollars 108 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: an ounce and I think twenty one dollars announced, which 109 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: is huge volatility. So in the last uh last four 110 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: weeks three weeks, a lot of what we've seen in 111 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: silver's not that unusual. Um Us in the in the 112 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: industry have pretty strong stomachs, and that's why it's so 113 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: important to be you know, as a mining company like us. 114 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: It's all about costs. It's all about trying to you know, 115 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: have a diverse, uh diverse portfolio of operations that have 116 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: low costs, conservative balance sheet to try and withstand that 117 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 1: inherent volatility, especially in silver. So with silver, you were 118 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: talking about how supply is expected to be down. Is 119 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: this because companies and mining companies like your yours, Is 120 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: they're running out of places to go? Or is it 121 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: something else? Over the last five years, exploration in our 122 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: industry has absolutely plummeted. So peak prices were back in 123 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: two thousand and eleven when silver hit nearly fifty dollars announced, 124 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: so to go from fifth almost fifty dollars announced down 125 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 1: to think get hit thirteen dollars announced people slash their 126 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: exploration budgets, so there's no new discoveries, so there's no 127 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: new projects being built. And at the same time, a 128 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: lot of the bigger projects are a lot of the 129 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: bigger minds the world. They're starting to get to the 130 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: end of their lives, so those are expected to be 131 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: mined out and and go away. So you were kind 132 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: of caught in this perfect storm of a lot of 133 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: the older minds going away and and not a lot 134 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: of new minds there to offset that. Where do you 135 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: think is going to be the biggest new vein discovered? Oh, well, 136 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: the new the next new deposit. I would probably put 137 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: my money on Mexico, just because Mexico is the world's 138 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: largest silver producing country. There's a lot of metal there, 139 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: so the odds of finding more usually find more metal 140 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: where there already is metal found, So I'd bet on Mexico. 141 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: Peru's the second largest silver producing country. Those would be 142 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: my bets. But you know the places that haven't had 143 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: as much exploration historically, Africa UM, even in Asia UM, 144 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: there's probably more uh large deposits out there that just 145 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: have not yet u UM gotten on anybody's radar screen. 146 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: Mitchell Crebs, thank you so much for joining us. Mitchell 147 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: Crabs as president and chief executive officer of Core Mining. 148 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: He's all so the president of the Silver Institute, uh 149 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: and he is based in Chicago. We're gonna we want 150 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: to dig into some shares it also are thinking into 151 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: the red Surprisingly, because the war is over, Verizon did 152 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: beat out A T and T to buy a straight 153 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: Path in other words, by five G capabilities for three 154 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: point one billion dollars. To understand why everyone's just down 155 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: on this news, John Butler is here to make sense 156 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: of it all. John Butler is senior Telecom Services and 157 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:44,559 Speaker 1: Equipment Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. So John, what do you what? Why? 158 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: Why is everyone down? Including Straight Path, which is down 159 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: more Well, that all comes down to price. But this 160 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: was interesting in terms of how it all unfolded. I 161 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: think we'll start at the ten thousand foot level, which 162 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: is this is a big win for Verizon because their 163 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: bet on the near future in terms of returning to 164 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: growth is all on five G. We're mostly on five G, 165 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: I should say, and A T and T S big bet, 166 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: as you know, is on content. They bought Direct TV 167 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: and they're buying Time Warner both carriers have their eyes 168 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: set on five G services, which are to put it 169 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: in perspective, it's the next generation wireless technology, the next evolution. 170 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 1: As we moved from two G to three G, we're 171 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 1: now at four G LT, which people probably recognize. The 172 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: next step is five G. It promises to be ten 173 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: times faster than where we are today. But you need 174 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: new spectrum bands to deploy that service. And so the 175 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: FCC initially licensed a number of bands, including twenty eight 176 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: and thirty nine Gigga Hurts, and this little unknown company 177 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: called Straight Path had nation wide licenses for thirty nine 178 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: Giga Hurts and twenty eight Giga Hurts and some big 179 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: markets like New York. So suddenly, you know, the carriers 180 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:12,719 Speaker 1: woke up to the fact that we're going to need 181 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: this spectrum potentially down the road, and the bidding war 182 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: began for Straight Path. So while we're at the twenty 183 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: foot level, how did straight Path get that spectrum? Well 184 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: that's a long story, but basically the backstory behind it 185 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: is they really, to their credit, understood they skated to 186 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: where the puck was going, if you will, you know, 187 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: they understood that there would be a need for these 188 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: high band spectrum frequencies, because high frequencies don't travel very 189 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: far and so they never had much value. But they 190 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: carry a lot more data than those lower bands. And 191 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: so the carriers are now building networks a lot closer 192 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 1: to you and me, the wireless networks, and they don't 193 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,800 Speaker 1: need that long haul distance anymore, but they want that 194 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: big fat pipe. And so straight Path saw that they 195 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: bought the licenses from the f c C. And where 196 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 1: they came into violation is they squatted on them, as 197 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: they say, they sat on those licenses and they didn't 198 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: put them to use, and the f c C came 199 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: back at them and they find them a hundred million 200 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: dollars the most of what most of those proceeds, by 201 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,079 Speaker 1: the way, can be paid from the sale of the spectrum. 202 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:36,239 Speaker 1: So they're they're forced to sell the spectrum now. Um, 203 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: which is which is how this whole bidding war began. Well, so, 204 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: so is there going to be a six G? I mean, 205 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: can you go higher frequency? At this point? Uh? Number one? 206 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,959 Speaker 1: And number two? Is this sort of really bad news 207 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: for a T and T because they are going to 208 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: be behind in the speed wars. Well to the first question, Um, 209 00:11:57,559 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: with five G, you can put it over any spec 210 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: from that's allocated for uh use some wireless communications, so 211 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: it's not like you have to use the up these 212 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: higher frequencies. But again I go back to their these 213 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: multi lane highways if you will. They're big fat pipes 214 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: then can carry a lot more data than some of 215 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,439 Speaker 1: the lower frequencies that we use today for four G, 216 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: and so therein lies the value there for a T 217 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: and T. They have options. Actually, you know, Dish owns 218 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: a lot of spectrum in the higher frequencies. They own 219 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 1: something called the AWS which is not nearly as higher 220 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: frequency as straight paths, but it's it's pretty good stuff 221 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 1: and they could look to Dish to license that potentially. 222 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: And also I think the FCC is going to auction 223 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: off some of the bands around the twenty eight and 224 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: the thirty nine gig hurts in the future, although no 225 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 1: dates are set. And so there in lies the uncertainty 226 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: for a T and T. But they see behind a 227 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: curtain that you and I don't. I'm sure they've talked 228 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,439 Speaker 1: to the f c C and they have a better 229 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: grasp on their options than we do. So let's get 230 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: to the price. Because straight path is down more than 231 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: although to be fair, they are up dramatically on the year, 232 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: dramatically by four fourth, So it's not you know, this 233 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: is nothing compared to what we've seen. Why, real quick, 234 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: why didn't A T and T fight this bid again? 235 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: I think it goes back to what we were just 236 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,199 Speaker 1: talking about. I think they have options outside a straight path, 237 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: and everything comes at a price. And I think if 238 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: they look down the road and saw another auction coming, 239 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: maybe they wanted to keep dry powder for that because 240 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: three point one bagan is a lot of dough. You know, 241 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: it's a it's a lot of dough. That is the 242 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: technical term. And you've heard it from John Butler. Uh, 243 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: it is a lot of dough three point one billion 244 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,559 Speaker 1: dollars that Verizon is paying to buy straight paths. Thank 245 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: you so much. John Butler is senior Telecom Services and 246 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: Equipment Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, and he joins us in 247 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:05,359 Speaker 1: our Bloomberg eleven three oh studios here in New York. 248 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: We want to take a moment to let you know 249 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: about something new from Bloomberg. Starting right now, you can 250 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: use our io s app or our new Google Chrome 251 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: extension to scan any news story on any website instantly. 252 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: Revealing relevant news and market data from Bloomberg and other 253 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: sources related to companies and people you're reading about. So 254 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: no matter where you're reading the news, you can bring 255 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: the power of Bloomberg's news and data with you. It's 256 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. Download our io s app or search for 257 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: the Bloomberg extension on the Chrome Store to try it out. 258 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: Learn more at Bloomberg dot com slash lens Well. I 259 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: am honored to bring in Craig Bouchard, who's chairman and 260 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: chief executive officer of Brady Industries, which is based in Kentucky, 261 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: not Chicago. Apologize for miss speaking, Craig, Thank you for 262 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: for coming first. Before we talk about your one point 263 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: three billion dollar investment. At first, can you just give 264 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: us a sense of what Brady Industries is. Well. Brady 265 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:13,080 Speaker 1: Industries was created for the purpose of bringing jobs and 266 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: a great company to the Appellation, to the to the 267 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: northeast part of Kentucky UM and we're building what will 268 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: be um the highest quality, lowest cost producer of aluminium 269 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: in the United States. So, with this one point three 270 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 1: billion dollar investment in uh An Aluminum rolling mill to 271 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:35,320 Speaker 1: create more eco friendly and very thin aluminiums that can 272 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: be used for for example, for making cars. Yes, so 273 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: you would think of Brady as making the sheet the 274 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: exterior of automobiles that aluminum, as well as the plate 275 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: aluminum that would be in the wings of airplanes, in 276 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: the interiors of airplanes. And then with an acquisition that 277 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: we'll be announcing here in a couple of weeks, making 278 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: ultra high strength parts, lightweights, high high strength parts for 279 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: the inside of cars and airplanes. So why has there 280 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: been a plant of this size in the US before? Well, actually, 281 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 1: I wouldn't say there hasn't been one before. There hasn't 282 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 1: been one in at least thirty years. So, UM, the competitors, 283 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: which are all great companies, Arconic, Nobela, Solaris, Constallium, Kaiser, 284 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: they all have plants, but they're older plants that have 285 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: had recent new additions to them, but they're they're older facilities. UM, 286 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 1: it's hard to say why there hasn't been one because, UM, 287 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: it's clear that greenfield is where advanced manufacturing is going. 288 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: It's the it's the only way to create the low 289 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 1: cost producer. UM. And I think in the case of 290 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: the metals companies, you know, they haven't had lots of 291 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: capital to spend because of you know, some tough years 292 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: over the last many years, and so this is an 293 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: opportunity to kind of change that change the whole mold. Actually, well, 294 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: you know, some people would say that the reason why 295 00:16:55,280 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: companies have created overseas factories because the labor is cheaper, 296 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: UH and you have to pay people more in the US. 297 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: Is that what you're finding And how much does that 298 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 1: contribute to the issue. Well, that was a real reason. 299 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,760 Speaker 1: You know, ten years ago people outsourced a lot to China, 300 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 1: Vietnam and other places. But the wage rates in those 301 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,119 Speaker 1: countries have gone way up in that time period, whereas 302 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:21,480 Speaker 1: wage rates in the United States have stagnated and even 303 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: gone down. Even very skilled labors like exist in the 304 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: Ashland in the in the Northeast Kentucky area, so the 305 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: wage equation has flip flopped. Um, we're going to the 306 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: place that has an abundance of very skilled labor that's underutilized. 307 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 1: It's one of the main reasons that we went to 308 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: eastern northeastern Kentucky. And so these laborers and just to 309 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: be clear that this mill UH would create up to 310 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: a thousand construction jobs and that it would be that 311 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: these would be more, as you were saying, high skilled 312 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: jobs that would be better paid. Where where were these 313 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: workers employed previously? They were very skilled labors in workers 314 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: in coal mine. Uh. Big layoffs at companies like A 315 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,680 Speaker 1: K Steel shut up plant down in that area recently. 316 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: Those are highly skilled workers. Ashland Oil was a Fortune 317 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,919 Speaker 1: five company in that area many years ago and left. 318 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: And you know, it's been a it's been a troubled 319 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: twenty years in the appellations. We're about to change it. So, 320 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: given the fact that it's been about twenty years and 321 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:22,400 Speaker 1: that a lot of people talk about brain drain from 322 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: certain areas that you know, have been in trouble for 323 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:27,439 Speaker 1: a while, do you think that there will be a 324 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:32,919 Speaker 1: sufficient stock of of qualified employees. So, Lisa, here's a 325 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,679 Speaker 1: really good answer to this one. When we announced at 326 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: the press conference with Governor Bevan, who's, by the way, 327 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,640 Speaker 1: one of the best governors in the United States, if 328 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 1: not the best, um we announced to a crowd of 329 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:50,400 Speaker 1: three people under a tent um that um Brady was beginning. 330 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: We made the whole press release, and we we put 331 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: our website live at that moment with the press release 332 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: on it. In a career section, to click on on 333 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: the website where any individual could send us their resume, 334 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 1: tell us exactly what kind of a advanced manufacturing job 335 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: they're looking for, um, and get in a queue. Um, 336 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: it's been ten days. We've had two thousand, two hundred 337 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: applications already for those five and fifty jops. Well, it 338 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: seems like there's plenty of demand. Um. The one point 339 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: three billion dollars, how are you financing that? Yeah, so 340 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: or financed in the normal Wall Street way, UM, with 341 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: banks and investors and strategic investors. UM. Roughly one third 342 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: of that is equity and roughly two thirds will be debt. 343 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:38,720 Speaker 1: That's priced pretty attractively given given our background. So we're 344 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: happy with how that's gone. Uh. The equity was done, 345 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: is done in two pieces. One of them has already 346 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: completed in way over subscribed, the other one coming up shortly. 347 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,679 Speaker 1: So we're we're headed right down the path to breaking 348 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,119 Speaker 1: ground in the first quarter. The eco friendly aluminum that 349 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: you were talking about, is it typically more expensive than 350 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,959 Speaker 1: the other the other stuff out there. Well, first, aluminum 351 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: is the only commodity of all of the medals that 352 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: is one recyclable, so it's eco friendly from from the start, 353 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,120 Speaker 1: and of course we're not a smelter, we're a rolling mill, 354 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: so we're using less carbon in general than, for instance, 355 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: the smelting industry, which is heavily heavily energy dependent. Um. Thirdly, 356 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: we're completely brand new, the best machines in the world, 357 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 1: coming in from the very best suppliers. Our emissions are 358 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 1: almost nothing for having three million square feet under roof 359 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 1: on the Ohio River. So it's a really good This 360 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: isn't the smoke stacks of our of our prior generation. 361 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: This is five fifty people walking around with an iPad 362 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 1: in their hands. Thank you so much for joining us. 363 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: Really interesting Craig Bouchard, chairman and chief executive officer of 364 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: Brady Industries, based in Kentucky, talking about the one point 365 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 1: three billion dollar investment that his company is making in 366 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: a new aluminum rolling mill that should create up to 367 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: a thousand construction jobs. Really interesting about the job dynamic. 368 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:03,919 Speaker 1: And I do wonder how many other firms are going 369 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,240 Speaker 1: to follow your your footsteps and really move into some 370 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: of these areas where you have seen companies move out 371 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:24,320 Speaker 1: and people are unemployed. Well, there's some drama today over 372 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 1: in Detroit and Keith noton is going to explain it 373 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,199 Speaker 1: to us. Keith Noon as the auto editor at large 374 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: for Bloomberg News located in Detroit, and Keith, we're talking 375 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: about Ford. Ford shareholders are really angry and they had 376 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: a call not an actual in person meeting or virtual 377 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: meeting I suppose, I should say, with the leadership of 378 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: the company today and it was it was pretty heated. 379 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: Can you first just lay out what some of the 380 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: issues were that these shareholders were so upset about. Well, Lisa, 381 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 1: the big issue is the stock. That's what they vented 382 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: their spleen on today in the Search annual meeting. It's 383 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: down thirty six percent since Mark Fields became CEO in 384 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,199 Speaker 1: the summer of he followed, as you might recall, the 385 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: rock star CEO, Alan Moalley. And although he has generated, 386 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: you know, really strong profits, the US auto market is 387 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: at its peak and starting to head down. So investors 388 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: are fleeing, uh, the auto stocks for the most part, 389 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: US auto stocks UM, though Ford has taken it on 390 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 1: the chin more than others, and the shareholders are are 391 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,400 Speaker 1: pretty fed up. So they hit UM executive chairman Bill 392 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: Ford and Mark Fields with a lot of tough questions 393 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: today in this annual meeting. You know, I just just 394 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: point out in your story you noted that Ford's shares 395 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: have traded down, traded down by about thirty six percent 396 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: since Mark Fields took the helm as chief executive officer 397 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,159 Speaker 1: in July of two fourteen. So what were some of 398 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:57,920 Speaker 1: the questions that shareholders wanted to know? Where were they focusing? Yeah, well, 399 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: they wanted to know essentially what management was going to 400 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: do about what they called the pathetic performance of the 401 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: of their stock. Bill Ford expressed frustration. He's the executive chairman. 402 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: He's also the great grandson as the founder Henry Ford, 403 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,280 Speaker 1: and he said, um, people ask him, does the Ford 404 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: family care about the stock price? And he said the 405 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 1: short answer is yes, a lot. Most of our worth 406 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: is tied up in the company, so you know they 407 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: want to see the price go up as well. Um Uh. 408 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: He was faced with these questions, Bill Ford, uh at 409 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: last year's annual meeting too, and he gave it, you know, 410 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,119 Speaker 1: a straight, full throated endorsement of Mark Fields. Um. This 411 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: time around, he certainly endorsed Mark Fields strategy, but he 412 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: didn't mention him by name. As he was defending the 413 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: strategy was which was a subtle difference. That's important because 414 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: Ford's board this week has been turning up the pressure 415 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,639 Speaker 1: on the Fields. They scheduled extra time to meet with 416 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: him to ask him about his strategy for turning things around. 417 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: So the heat is on Mark Fields at the moment, 418 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 1: and let's talk about what he has done, right. I mean, 419 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: he's diverted quite a bit of money into the self 420 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: driving and electric technologies and saying that he's going to 421 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: invest in the road ahead. Um, he also has been uh, 422 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: I mean overseeing the company at a time of pretty 423 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,120 Speaker 1: good growth, as you say, But so what what what 424 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: could he potentially how could he change? Yeah, so he 425 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,239 Speaker 1: talks about trying to keep one foot in today and 426 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: one foot in tomorrow. You know, the the automotive and 427 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: transportation industries are going through these really you have huge 428 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,400 Speaker 1: changes as as driverless cars approach in the next few 429 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,360 Speaker 1: years in robot taxis. So Mark Fields is investing billions 430 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: and those new technologies that won't pay off for many, 431 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: many years. And he really gets no investor credit for 432 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,199 Speaker 1: doing that, though he says if he doesn't, you know, 433 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,679 Speaker 1: the company won't survive the changes that are coming. At 434 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: the same time, though he's not making as much money 435 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: on the good old fashioned you know business of selling 436 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,440 Speaker 1: cars and trucks forwards U you know, adjusted earnings. So 437 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: in the first quarter, while GM was notching record earnings, 438 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 1: GM's making more money off SUVs than Ford. Ford's lineup 439 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: is aging a bit. They don't have UM at the 440 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: moment competitive big SUVs. They're coming with a redesigned Linket 441 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: Navigator next year. They also aren't present in some key 442 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:26,239 Speaker 1: segments like small pickups and UM subcompact SUVs, which they 443 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: are rectifying that as well, but it's going to take 444 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: some time. And meanwhile GM is stealing the march. So 445 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: can you just put this shareholder meeting into perspective. I 446 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: know you've covered others and you've been covering the auto 447 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: industry for a long time. I mean, have you ever 448 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:46,639 Speaker 1: heard such vitriol at a meeting during a generally positive 449 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: time for a company? Well that's the key, Uh, during 450 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: a positive time for the company. This company last year 451 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,640 Speaker 1: had pretext earnings of ten point four billion dollars, which 452 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: was the second best in company has to So no, this, 453 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:05,879 Speaker 1: this kind of ire from shareholders is unusual given you 454 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 1: know how the company is actually performing. But then again, 455 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 1: the stock price is pretty unusual for how the company 456 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: is performing as well. The stock is acting as if 457 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: the company is going out of business, when in fact 458 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: they're doing pretty well, given fact that the auto market, 459 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: after seven years of growth, is starting to slow down. 460 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,119 Speaker 1: I want to get your take on the departure of 461 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:29,240 Speaker 1: Chantelle Leonard. She was the executive director of US marketing. 462 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: She had been at the company for twenty five years, 463 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 1: and was it yesterday? Certainly this week the company announced 464 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:41,199 Speaker 1: that she will be leaving to pursue other interests without 465 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: any more explanation, Um, do you have a better sense 466 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 1: of why she left and what this means? Yeah, it's 467 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: very unusual. She was She was sort of public face 468 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 1: of forward marketing in the US. She was always appearing 469 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 1: on TV or doing interviews about what the marketing plans were. 470 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: A week ago, she was in a video on the 471 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: advertising age who website talking about Ford's strategy for self 472 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,879 Speaker 1: driving cars, and then suddenly she up and leaves. I 473 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: think it's a reflection of how tough things are right 474 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,880 Speaker 1: now for Ford in its home market. Is it loses 475 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 1: market share as a sales decline on a retail basis, 476 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: sales directly to consumers. Chrysler actually outsold for the last month, 477 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,680 Speaker 1: which is highly unusual. So you know, it's a time 478 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 1: of tumult um and Ford's North American operations, and they 479 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 1: just lost a pretty valuable veteran who Automotive News magazine 480 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: I had identified as a rising star just two years ago. Well, 481 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,199 Speaker 1: I'm sure we will be talking more as this unfolds 482 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,199 Speaker 1: about what Ford does plan to do going forward in 483 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: order to play kate its shareholders. Keith Noton, thank you 484 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 1: so much for joining us. Keith Noton is editor at 485 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: Large for the Auto Industry for Bloomberg News, coming to 486 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: us from Detroit. Thanks for listening to the Bloomberg P 487 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: and L podcast. You can sub gribe and listen to 488 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: interviews at Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, or whatever podcast platform you prefer. 489 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,320 Speaker 1: I'm pim Fox. I'm on Twitter at pim Fox. I'm 490 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: on Twitter at Lisa Abramo wits one. Before the podcast, 491 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: you can always catch us worldwide on Bloomberg Radio.