WEBVTT - Shipping Containers Offer Mystery Prizes 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.400 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carole Masser and I'm 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanibek. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:09.799 you the latest news from the world of business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.600 plus technology, politics, economics, all furnessing the power of Business 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:17.119 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.000 analyst in more than one twenty countries. You can download 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.200 Bloomberg Business Week and iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.120 You can also listen to our radio show at two 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:27.840 pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio or watch us on 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:31.840 YouTube search Bloomberg Global News. Well, it is Giving Tuesday, 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:33.960 and one company that is working to engage businesses and 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:37.239 people in the AIDS and COVID pandemics is Read. They 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:40.240 do it by partnering with brands which as Amazon, Apple, 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:44.000 Louis Witton, Starbucks. So many more companies here with more 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:45.800 on the work they are doing and the impact they 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.320 are having is Red Red President in chief operating Officer 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:53.480 Jennifer Latito. She joins us via zoom in New York City. 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.120 Read by the Way, their sister organization of One, which 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:01.200 was founded by Bono and other activist to and extreme 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:04.280 poverty and preventable diseases. So they really are just all 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.640 in on fixing what ails our world. UM, Jennifer, good 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:09.400 to have you here with Tim and myself. How are you. 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:11.760 I'm great, Thank you so much, and thank you so 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.600 much for having me. No, absolutely great to have you 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.199 here and so relevant in terms of what the world 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:20.240 continues to fight. Here. You work with UM, you know 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:22.360 a lot of brands. Tell us a bit of how 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:27.080 you work, how those partnerships ultimately ultimately end up in 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:31.919 raising a ton of money for for some really good causes. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.760 Uh So for fifteen years, REDD has been focused on 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:37.840 fighting HIV and AIDS UM and working with the biggest 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.240 companies in the world in order to do that. UM. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.880 That continues to be an important priority for us. But 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.440 what we've realized at this point is that you're never 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.040 going to win the battle against HIV if you don't 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.480 also take on the other battle that the world is 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:54.200 facing in COVID. So we have really expanded our our 0:01:54.200 --> 0:02:01.160 mission to include funding for COVID vaccines, treat and testing 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:04.760 in addition to all of them. All of the funding 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:07.400 and support that we've given for HIV, and I think 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.600 from a RED perspective, what's really important is we work 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.160 with those companies not only to generate the money, but 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:15.600 to generate the heat to get people to care, to 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:19.119 have conversations like this, how do you get people well 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:21.560 and to care in a pandemic when they're facing it 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.240 each and every day. Like the thing is is, it's 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:26.960 a different challenge than having someone care about something that 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.720 ails people half a world away, which is I think 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.720 away away. A lot of people thought about RED previously, 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.480 absolutely and it's it's it's how people have thought about HIV, 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:41.040 and unfortunately we're starting to make the same mistakes with 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:43.880 covid um. You know, I think that with HIV, a 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.079 lot of people think that is a crisis that is over. 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:49.720 It is absolutely not over um And you know, there 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.360 is we know how to end that, We have the 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:54.880 tools that we need to end it. And I think 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.760 from a RED perspective, what's really important to understand is 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:01.760 that we have to keep the heat on it um 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:06.200 because right now we're in a precarious position where we 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:10.080 do not have equitable access to vaccines. That's what this 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:13.800 campaign is aiming to do, is to get people to care, 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.720 to get people to look at this as a global issue. UM. 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:21.079 You know, obviously right now the headlines are being dominated 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.480 by another variant. UM. That variant is because we do 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.040 not have vaccines and low income countries. So while we're 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:30.959 doing boosters here in the States and other places, less 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.960 than ten percent of low income countries have gotten their 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.520 first shot. So from a red perspective, our campaign, the 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:41.640 Code red campaign, is about engaging consumers, engaging customers of 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.240 these brands. UH to do you know whether it is 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:50.640 our rewards campaign today is Giving Tuesday. We have an 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.920 amazing idea which is to allow people to use their 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:57.160 credit card rewards points. They can be turned into cash 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.800 donations and those donations can go right to not only 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.480 buying the vaccines, but very importantly getting those vaccines distributed 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:06.400 where they're needed most. You know, Jennifer, when we do 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.040 the numbers, and we often do it here at Bloomberg, 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.160 about the number of people who have lost their lives 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:15.080 to COVID specifically UM, and it's just staggering in terms 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:17.160 of where we are. I think in terms of HIV, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.760 I think we all thought it was more under control, 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:21.880 but when you look at some of the numbers globally, 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:24.320 I was just looking at some stats, approximately thirty seven 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:26.919 point six million people across the globe with HIV and 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.400 twenty of these thirty five point nine million we're adults. 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.200 One point seven million were children. It's just a reminder 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:35.040 we have a long way to go to really getting 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.360 this UM out of our system, you know, out of 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:43.120 it being a really significant problem. Absolutely, and I think 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.440 that you know, which is why it's so important when 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:49.800 when we are very focused on COVID, to not overlook 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.679 the impact that we've had for you know, again, Red's 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.599 been doing it fifteen years, the disease has been around 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:59.719 for several decades. There has been incredible progress. UM. We 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:01.839 are seeing people, you know, AIDS is no longer a 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:05.000 death sentence if you get diagnosed with HIV. There is 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.400 treatment available that will stop you from passing that onto 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.520 your partner and most importantly, passing it along to your child, 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.880 so that we can see an HIV free generation in 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.560 our future. We will not do that if we don't 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.440 keep up the work that we're doing to fund the 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.440 HIV programs as well as now what's needed to end 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.240 the COVID pandemic. And again that's what this campaign is 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.280 meant to do engage people. You know, we have you know, 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.480 Read is known for our incredible products, so you can 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:34.960 now shop Read and uh, you know, I would encourage 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:36.760 everybody to go to code red dot org and you 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.320 can find out how to use your credit card rewards 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:41.479 points as well as shop as well as game. You 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.719 can even play mind graft Um, you know. And we're 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.880 really about making sure that we are giving customers and 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:52.200 employees of the world's biggest brands the ability to help 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:54.880 end this pandemic. Jennifer, how long do you think Red 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:59.839 will have to exist? You know, that's that's an interesting question. 0:05:59.880 --> 0:06:01.760 I mean, at one point we talked about like, wouldn't 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:03.880 it be amazing if we put ourselves out of business? 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:06.960 You know, I think that Red is a really innovative model, 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.040 and I think that right now again, unfortunately, we're still 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:13.320 battling the HIV pandemic. We are now battling COVID. I 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.000 don't know what's going to happen, if there's going to 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.680 be another one coming around the corner. Um. But I 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.480 think what's really special and unique about Red is our model. 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.360 So whether our mission changes, you know, I think that 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.159 we will continue to find ways to innovate that model 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:29.840 and ensure that we're engaging the world's biggest companies along 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:31.719 with their customers. All Right, We're gonna leave it on 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.160 that note. Hey, Jennifer, good luck with the mission. And 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.720 again code red dot org. You can find out more 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:41.400 information there and certainly shop code reddish as she talked about. 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:44.479 She is, of course, Jennifer Lotito. She's president chief operating 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.919 officer at Red joining us via zoom in New York City. 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.840 Great question that you asked, like, right, Like the goal 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.000 is to maybe put yourself out of business exactly, but 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:55.080 it does when I think about pandemics, Right, We've been 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.040 told there's going to be more. Right and if you're 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.559 not focusing on HIV AIDS or coronavirus US in COVID 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:05.320 nineteen malaria, right, other things that eradicated poverty. Like, there's 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:08.760 just so many issues out there. This is Bloomberg Business 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:12.600 Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.800 on Bloomberg Radio. Well, a lot going on when it 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.320 comes to COVID. The EU has record at least forty 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:24.200 four confirmed cases of the omicron variant in eleven countries. 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:27.680 Does say that all of the people infected are asymptomatic, 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.560 showing only mild symptoms. Oxford saying there's no evidence that 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:33.239 the new variant defeats the vaccine it developed with Astra 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:37.640 Zeneca and Durna, predicting vaccines will struggle while the with 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:40.000 this variant, while the World Health Organization warned that the 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:43.000 variant could feel a fresh surge in infections with severe consequences. 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:44.680 All of this happening, Carol, while the U s c 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:49.720 DC is considering tightening travel restrictions and rules, Germany taking 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.239 a step closer towards making vaccines compulsory. So we slew 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:54.920 of news happening around the world as a result of 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:56.680 this variant. I feel like we've been here before, all right, 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:58.800 So let's see what John Laryerman has to say. He's 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:00.880 our health team editor at bloom News on the phone 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:04.560 from Boston. John lot going on, trying to understand. It's 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:10.760 confusing financial markets. It's confusing we we merror mortals. Um. 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:15.320 I don't know how do today? Isn't it? It's only Tuesday. 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:19.040 It's only Tuesday. I keep I keep telling myself that 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.600 because it feels much late in the week. Yeah, there's 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:24.120 so many there's a great deal of confusing news going 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:27.360 on out here. It's difficult to make sense of. And 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:30.320 I think a lot of it has to do with, um, say, 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:34.240 government trying to be extremely cautious and to a degree, 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:39.320 drugmakers as well. And yet I think that there is 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:43.120 a certain amount of confidence about, you know, the the 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:48.800 effectiveness of vaccines um and uh uh it remains to 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:52.840 be seen for the effectiveness of drugs as well. UM. 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:57.000 So it's it's difficult to put this in all all, 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.360 all of it in context because there's news coming in 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:05.800 from so many different directions. But um uh so far um. 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.120 What the drugmakers are saying, at least most of them 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:13.360 is that they think that their vaccines will be at 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:19.000 least somewhat effective um against omicron. What does what does 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:23.040 somewhat mean though? And I don't think we really know, 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:27.240 but the the vaccine so far with the percent effective, 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.040 So that's a really effective vaccine, you know, you think 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:32.720 about it. That's much more effective than the blue vaccine, 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:35.959 right um. Flue vaccines sometimes they tend to go between 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:40.840 thirty and effective in a given year, so it's it's there. 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.600 There's still they seem very effective in keeping people out 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:45.840 of the hospital. We don't know. I think I think 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:49.200 the Maderna comments earlier may have thrown a bit of 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:51.839 a scare into people because they said they thought it 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.360 would be less effective and we would need a new vaccine. 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.080 But that's not what the other drug makers are saying. 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.200 And then the other thing that you know, counterfeit knowing 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:05.199 that um is uh that in the places where O 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.520 Macron cases have been seen, UM, they seem to be 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:14.560 less uh severe um. And this is news that come 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.000 out of both the EU and South Africa, both of 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:21.080 which have excellent surveillance and excellent health care systems. Now, 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:24.040 does that mean that these are breakthrough cases in people 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:27.480 have already been vaccinated and so that's why they were severe, 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.720 or does it actually mean that it's a less severe virus. 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:33.920 It's very difficult to say. Or was it just the 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.680 population that was seen in was it younger people, children? 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.360 You know, people who usually don't develop uh severe cases. 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:43.440 So there's a lot of data. I mean, it's it's 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:46.040 not to say. Will never find the answer to these questions. 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.000 I think we will at some point. But um, what 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:51.040 have we known about you know? O Macron? I think 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:56.040 it entered the vocabulary about five days ago, right, So, um, 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:58.840 there's still a lot to find out about this. And 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.880 the other thing to remember is, you know, um, here 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.760 in the US, we still haven't seen omicron. We will, 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.360 there's no doubt that we will. But um, but is 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:10.559 that is that John, because we don't do the same 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:14.000 kind of sequencing that other countries do. We did a 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.120 story yesterday in which we sort of laid out, you know, 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:21.959 some of the issues around the surveillance system here in 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.720 the US. And we do a lot of sequencing, there's 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:28.080 no question we do a lot, but the intensity of it, 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:32.439 the percentage of cases that are tested in sequences sequenced 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:37.280 is lower than say, you know, some countries like of UK, 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.400 for example, which is the star. You know, they are 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:44.360 the world leader in this and which we probably ought 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:46.320 to be trying to catch up to. And actually South 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.520 Africa is a very good job with this stuff as well. 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.199 South Africa you know, huge health problems and have to 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:54.360 keep an eye and stuff like HIV, which huge rates 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:57.840 of So they're very good with sequencing there and that's 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.000 you know, there's every reason that that's why they found 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:03.800 owned there because they're actually keeping such close airing issues 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.559 like John Larroman, thank you so much. How team editor 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:09.400 Bloomberg News on the phone from Boston. You're listening to 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:13.440 Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:18.000 Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. So call it storage wars 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.200 on steroids to some extent um supply Jayan Carnage, creating 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:23.480 opportunities for companies that are willing to take a chance 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:25.520 on some random goods. Tim, what's it gonna be? Is 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:26.760 it going to be a car? Or is it gonna 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.920 be pumpkin seeds? Maybe some rotting foot both, It could 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.240 be all of the above. It is a fantastic story. 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:34.679 Joel Weber as editor at Bloomberg Business Week. He's with 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.520 us in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio. Jeff Wise this 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:39.839 freelance contributor for Bloomberg Business Week. He joins us on 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.480 the phone from Westchester, New York. So, Joel, how is 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:45.880 this an industry Oh man, this story brought me so 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.400 much joy. It was like, we just keep getting a 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:51.680 horror messages about the supply chain and how everything's broken, 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.280 and then like you get a little gym like this 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:57.920 that reveals that there are people who specialty is to 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.079 deal with boxes that are sort of mysterious mystery boxes. 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.000 You know, it's like the little mystery not just any 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:07.520 boxes though, right, exactly like container boxes. And it turns 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.600 out this is a an industry in and of itself 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:12.640 that we probably wouldn't write about it if there wasn't 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.480 some supply chain carnage. UM. So, Jeff, tell us about 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:19.679 how you found out about this amazing story. Well, I 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:23.600 was doing a story about ever Given and one of 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.160 the aspects of the story that was kind of drew 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.679 my attention was the fact that nobody really knew what 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:30.960 was on that ship. You know, there was something like 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:35.680 twenty containers, and there were there were various reports like, um, 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:39.120 it had been reported that there was a life sized 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.240 train of source rex that was heading for a mini 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:44.880 golf course in England. Um, but like nice little details 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:46.320 like that, but nobody really knew what the bulk of 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:49.440 it was. And there was this young guy Uh in 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:54.760 the UK who um was more talkative than most of 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:58.960 these these these salvage buyers, and he um kind of 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:03.840 became like sort of internet instant media star over in 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:06.640 the the UK. He was on the local news and everything, 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:08.720 talking about what he had. What he had, He had 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.200 taken about twenty containers off the ship and was trying to, 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.080 you know, figure out what to do with it. Um. 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:18.360 He had actually ten containers five tons or something of 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:22.640 raw cabbage that had been picked by farmers in China 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:26.200 putting these containers and was destined for Europe. And then 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:30.760 of course it was stuck for four months the heat 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:34.960 and has liquefied had turned into goop. And so this 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.880 is a guy who, um, you know, became the centerpiece 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.240 of my of my article for Business Week. Um. You know, 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:44.800 he can both turn around stuff that has some value 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.600 left in it um, or he can take stuff that's 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.400 absolutely toxic or dangerous or whatever it has to be 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:54.640 disposed of. Um. So he can he whatever it is, 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.360 he kind of uses his cleverness and his connections to 0:14:57.440 --> 0:14:59.400 find out the best thing to do with it. And 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:04.640 how is the that you know in that uh you know, 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:08.160 these could be mystery boxes, it isn't it. Don't The 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.160 companies that trans transport these containers know exactly what's in 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:17.520 every container for the most part, Yes, Um, each container 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.520 has a manifest and it's sealed, and so there's there's 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:22.800 not SUPSI to be any tampering, but there's shenanigans that 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.000 go on and and sometimes the manifest is vague. In 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:27.920 the case of the one that I wrote about in 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:32.440 the story, it just said household goods bracket car and 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:34.800 they was what that meant? Does anybody's gass? Like what what? 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.000 What value? Do as on to that? It's like a complete, 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.000 you know, random gas. Um. But he was telling me 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.760 sometimes this wasn't in the article, but there's a trade 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:46.600 where people basically because you cost money to dispose of stuff, 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.960 especially dangerous stuff. So what they'll sometimes do is they'll 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:56.040 they'll bundle up you know correctly, um say plastic recycling 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.360 in the front of a container, and then behind that 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.080 it's like either just junk or garbage or something hazardous 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:04.920 and then then you ship it, you know, to Asia 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.960 or to Africa, and then it's you know, effectively you're 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:09.920 disposing of it. The same day I was there, he 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.680 showed me the car. He had a load of tires 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.640 that had been illegally shipped off and had been sent back, 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:18.720 and so he was going to dispose of that. So 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:22.520 I understand why someone might not claim twenty containers full 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:27.160 of what was formerly known as cabbage. But why why 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.280 would something like that car not get claimed? Like? How 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:33.440 how frequently does stuff just not get claimed at the port? 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.680 He is not a detective. His job is just to 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.120 figure out what to do with this stuff, and he 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.760 like the quicker he can do it, the better. So yeah, 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:43.560 my instinct is the same as yours. I'm like, how 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:45.920 do you know? But he that's not his approach, so 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:47.960 he doesn't know, Like he has no idea what happens. 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:49.880 This guy could have died. He could have just like 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.320 looked at the storage charges and been, um, I don't 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:55.200 want to deal with this anymore. But this is a 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:59.680 real problem. You know, the containers sit there and whatever 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.480 is in it is not gaining any value, and and 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.840 the costs are mounting. I actually wound up. I was 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:07.840 I was over in the UK doing a couple of stories, 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:09.639 and I wound up sharing a cab with a woman 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.280 whose son was in the furniture importation business, and she 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.399 was telling me he was looking at he might go 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:18.000 bankrupt because there's such a shortage of truck drivers because 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:21.280 of Brexit. All their truck drivers left and they have 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.439 a real problem. They just can't move stuff and the 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.160 longer it sits, you know, worst. So I just had 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:29.920 this image of him like rubbing his hands together and like, oh, 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:34.040 suppledging problems, all those containers you know, sitting out there. 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:36.439 Is he like is he just you know, kind of 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:42.320 expecting kind of a windfall? Well, um, I mean it's 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.560 been good, but he but there's plenty for him to 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.040 do anyway. I mean, this is you know, what's so 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.800 interesting about this story is that you know, containers are 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:54.200 kind of routinized. I mean you're basically taking what used 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.200 to be every item was was individually, you know, put 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.159 on board a ship by Steven Oor's and everything has 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:04.120 been kind of routinized into these identical boxes and moved 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.680 by the tens of thousands through these ports and it's 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:10.520 it's we are are all around the world part of 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:13.520 the system that is that is brought together. And here 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:16.000 you have these guys who are kind of breaking that 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:18.960 mold and there and they're and and they're sort of 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:23.120 taking things back to the idiosyncrasy that's kind of inherent 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:27.120 in all these little transactions that are packaged onto these boxes. 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:30.159 Which doesn't answer your question, all I I grant you, 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:37.639 but but is the problem getting worse. Well, the problem 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:41.399 is bad there. It's like we have a slightly different 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:43.520 problem here. We don't have Brexit, and we weren't quite 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.480 as affected by the blockage of the Suez Canal, which 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.679 had these sort of ripple knock on effects over in 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.280 Europe but not so much here. Um, but we do 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:55.359 have the kind of COVID backlog. The President had a 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:59.679 press conference last week where he specifically addressed this, um 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.600 and the people that I talked to everyone has kind 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:05.840 of a different sense of how long this is gonna look, 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:09.080 but it's it was anything from eight months to two years. 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.680 This is gonna be with us. Yeah, I just think, 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:13.600 like a guy like this, it's just like it seems 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:19.080 like this would be like Christmas every every month unless 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:21.800 you're getting and it's like a six year old. It's like, 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.879 you know, anything that's wrapped up is like a surprise, 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:31.560 and like this is the very counterous things. Right when 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:34.199 things are going bad for everyone else, it's good for them, right, 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:38.280 the more stuff. Every time things rot or go awry, 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:40.720 these guys are here to pick up the slack. And 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:43.120 I think there's you know, even when things are quote 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.679 unquote normal, things always go awry. I'll pass on the 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:50.919 cabbage and say yes to the Sedan, even though you 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:54.200 know it's so what, so what. I probably could sell 0:19:54.240 --> 0:20:00.400 it more now than I could have. There's no title control. 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:03.399 You'll sell that car quickly, all right, Jeff Wise, this 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:06.080 is a great read. Freelance contributed to Bloomberg Business Week 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:08.800 in the upcoming issue of the magazine. Jil Webber, Editor 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:14.960 Bloomberg Business Week in our interactive broker studio Pumpkin Seeds. No, 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:17.720 I know, all right, you're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:22.439 This is Bloomberg Radio. This is Bloomberg Business Week with 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:27.359 Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:30.000 Among our most read stories on the Bloomberg, this one 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.920 is about a secretive robot that is helping one investment 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:36.280 firm locate winners. Robots and finance. They're not new to him, 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:38.520 but this is something different. Yeah, this is not just 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:43.240 about picking the winners, but it's about avoiding picking the losers. Right, right. 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:45.080 This is the the same with investing. Right, It's not only 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:47.240 about gaining money, but it's about making sure you don't 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:48.760 lose a lot of money. It is, but there's also 0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:51.920 a big human element involved. Unfortunately, we have a Hammond 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:55.440 Deals Report human Bloomberg News a human. Not last time 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.439 we check robot, although yeah, he gets scoops like a 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:01.080 like some sort of super hero EDHAMM. Did it great 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:03.919 to have you with us this afternoon? Tell us about 0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:08.000 this robot that Stripes is using and has been using. 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:11.800 Great to be with you guys. Um, look, I think 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:14.199 that's the first thing said. Yes, the robot's secretive, but 0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:18.399 only because Strikes itself is secretive. It's a very very 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:21.480 private exity firm. And by that I mean they have 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:24.159 never done the press release, they've never done an interview. 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.359 They don't really go out and make any noise about 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:29.639 what they're doing. Do you know what? You know what? 0:21:30.560 --> 0:21:32.800