Bloomberg Businessweek

Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec bring you reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead, plus insight on the people, companies and trends shaping today's complex economy.  Watch us LIVE on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

  1. 6H AGO

    White House Explores Opening Antitrust Probe on Homebuilders

    The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House sharpens its focus on tackling the country’s housing affordability crisis. The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. No decision has been made and the administration may abandon the effort without launching an investigation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information. One potential focus is on how information is shared through an industry trade group called Leading Builders of America, according to the people. Officials have grown concerned that the trade group — whose members include Lennar Corp. and DR Horton Inc. — could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing, the people said. A White House representative referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment. Representatives for the homebuilders and the trade group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration’s interest in homebuilders comes during a period where the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the Covid-era housing boom and subsequent interest rate hikes weighing heavily on buyers. It’s also a precarious time for the builders themselves, with the inventory of unsold homes hovering at high levels. President Donald Trump put the industry on alert in October, when he used a social media post to compare big homebuilders to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which wields immense control over the oil market. Today's show features: Bloomberg News Real Estate Reporter Patrick Clark discussing on Trump administration officials mulling an antitrust probe into US homebuilders to tackle the country's housing affordability crisis Gregory Daco, Chief Economist at EY, on expectations for the upcoming January jobs report and the broader US economic outlook Mark Mahaney, Senior Managing Director and Head of Internet Research at Evercore ISI, on mega-cap tech firms’ AI spending splurge and recapping earnings from Alphabet, and Amazon Bloomberg News Executive Editor for Crypto, Payments and Digital Finance stacy-marie ishmael on this week’s large swings in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    35 min
  2. 1D AGO

    Bitcoin Drops Below $63,000, Wiping Out Gain Since Trump’s Win

    The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bitcoin tumbled below $63,000 as the unwinding of leveraged bets and broader market turbulence deepened a selloff that has wiped out all of the gains since President Donald Trump’s election set off a speculative rush into cryptocurrencies.  The token fell as much as 14% Thursday to $62,267, the lowest since October 2024. The rout has erased half of Bitcoin’s value since it reached a record four months ago and has spread to other tokens, related ETFs and companies like Strategy Inc. that hold vast sums of coins. The downturn has marked an abrupt retreat from Bitcoin’s meteoric rise through much of last year, when the return of the crypto-friendly Republican to the White House sent investors piling into such tokens and the Wall Street vehicles that have sprouted up around them. The market started cracking this month as rising geopolitical tensions sent tremors across global financial markets and curbed risk taking. That sparked Bitcoin’s precipitous decline from mid-January and set off a self-reinforcing cycle of selling as funds liquidated assets to meet redemptions and unwind leveraged bets. The slide has echoes of the one in 2022, when prices retreated sharply from the surge seen during the easy-money era of the pandemic as the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy. It has already taken a toll on intermediaries like the exchanges Coinbase Global Inc., whose shares have tumbled more than 30% this year, and Gemini Space Station Inc., which said it plans to cut up to 25% of its workforce and wind down operations in the UK, European Union and Australia. Today's show features: Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winning Economist and Research Professor at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, on his latest Substack column about the dive in the price of Bitcoin and broader market for cryptocurrencies Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, on the investing landscape and on whether the recent market downturn is a sign of what’s to come. Bloomberg Opinion Senior Executive Editor Tim O’Brien on his column examining the potential national security risks of the United Arab Emirates seeking deeper access to advanced American semiconductors James Cakmak, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Clockwise Capital, on quarterly earnings from Amazon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    37 min
  3. 2D AGO

    Alphabet to Blow Past Investor Expectations for AI Spending

    The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Alphabet Inc. shares slipped after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations but said it plans to spend far more than investors expected in 2026. The Google parent said it will spend $175 billion to $185 billion this year, compared with the $119.5 billion analysts expected. The company’s fourth-quarter sales, excluding partner payouts, were $97.23 billion, surpassing the $95.2 billion expected on average by analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said the investments are paying off. “We’re seeing our AI investments and infrastructure drive revenue and growth across the board,” he said Wednesday in the statement. “Search saw more usage than ever before, with AI continuing to drive an expansionary moment.” Google Cloud revenue was $17.7 billion, beating the $16.2 billion analysts expected. Google has raced to reinvent its business for the AI age, working to keep consumers in the habit of going to its search page even when they could also go to chatbots from rivals like OpenAI. The company has quickly improved its Gemini model and integrated it throughout its products — an effort that has required massive investment in data centers and chips for model improvement and cloud customers. The industry has leaned on Google’s progress. Google is supplying up to one million of its specialized AI chips to Anthropic, cementing Google’s position as a key infrastructure provider in the AI space. Gemini will also be a provider of AI for Siri on Apple Inc.’s iPhones. The Gemini app has 750 million monthly active users.Today's show features: Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Global Head of Technology Research Mandeep Singh and reacts to quarterly earnings from Alphabet Dan Ives, Global Head of Technology Research at Wedbush Securities, on Alphabet earnings and why he sees the world's biggest software companies weathering the storm brought on by artificial intelligence Bloomberg Economics Chief Geoeconomics Analyst Jennifer Welch on Wednesday’s call between President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, and strained talks between the US and Iran Axel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer of Merk Investments, on the precious metals trade and the potential market impact of a Kevin Warsh-led Federal Reserve See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    38 min

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Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec bring you reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead, plus insight on the people, companies and trends shaping today's complex economy.  Watch us LIVE on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

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