Police Hunt for Killer of Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk

Summary

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Bloomberg Businessweek | Police Hunt for Killer of Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk

Date: September 11, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec

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Episode Overview

This episode of Bloomberg Businessweek takes place on the 24th anniversary of 9/11, contextualizing today’s threats—both domestic and international—against a backdrop of heightened political violence in the US, notably the recent killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec are joined by political, security, and market experts to discuss:

• The state of political violence and discourse in the US
• Geopolitical tensions facing NATO, Poland, and Russia
• US national security post-9/11 and evolving defense strategies
• The future of US energy policy, with a focus on offshore wind
• Market and M&A news, specifically the Paramount Skydance/Warner Brothers Discovery development
• Economic outlooks and investment strategy with BlackRock’s Christy Coolian

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Remembering 9/11 and Addressing Political Violence

Guest: Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI)
Timestamp: [02:03]–[05:58]

• Reflecting on 9/11:
  Congressman Amo opened by honoring those lost and the brave first responders, noting the somber tone set by the recent murder of Charlie Kirk.

• Condemning Political Violence

  • “We should not disagree and be disagreeable to the extent of taking people's lives away. ...Murder is never, never acceptable.”
    — Rep. Gabe Amo [03:05]
  • The Congressman called for renewed civility and denounced the increasing violence tied to political disagreements.

• Turning Down the Temperature:

  • Importance of treating each other as neighbors and shared citizens.
  • Appeals for leaders of all stripes to “recommit to moving forward with rhetoric that isn’t going to inspire action like violence in our communities.”
    — Rep. Gabe Amo [04:24]

• Challenges in Modern Discourse:
  The hosts and Amo recognized that democratic debate increasingly gives way to polarization, with the Congressman maintaining:

  • “We have to do better. ...But I'll tell you what isn't and will never be acceptable. And that is violence.”
    — Rep. Gabe Amo [05:58]

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2. NATO, Poland, and Russia: Heightened Geopolitical Tensions

Guest: Congressman Gabe Amo
Timestamp: [06:24]–[08:21]

• Poland-Russia-NATO Standoff:

  • A drone incursion into Poland by Russia prompted consultation requests to NATO.
  • Amo characterized President Putin as “testing our resolve and commitment to NATO and our European allies.”
    — Rep. Gabe Amo [06:49]

• US & Allied Response:

  • Stronger military and rhetorical support for Ukraine needed; inconsistent signals from the US, Amo argued, embolden Russian provocation.
  • “When you have rhetoric that is uncertain about our commitments to NATO, that helps to fuel Vladimir Putin's test.”
    — Rep. Gabe Amo [07:38]

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3. US Energy Independence: The Role of Offshore Wind

Guest: Congressman Gabe Amo
Timestamp: [08:21]–[11:47]

• Offshore Wind’s Importance:
  Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind was “80% complete ...and you’re sending people home. That’s the president's actions, not creating jobs, taking them away.”
  — Rep. Gabe Amo [08:48]

• Tough Choices & Political Tradeoffs:

  • Governors consider easing resistance to natural gas to win back wind approval; Amo voices long-term support for renewables but acknowledges “very tough decisions.” [10:07]

• Federal Engagement:

  • Ongoing talks between the administration and state governors; Amo urges federal commitment to wind as “a linchpin to growing the industry across the Eastern seaboard.” [11:08]

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4. Media Industry M&A: Paramount Skydance Eyes Warner Brothers Discovery

Guest: Caroline Hyde (Bloomberg Technology co-host)
Timestamp: [14:16]–[20:29]

• Breaking News:

  • Paramount Skydance preparing a bid for Warner Brothers Discovery, sparking a surge in Warner’s stock (+30%).

• Strategic Rationale:

  • Industry consolidation is viewed as inevitable and desirable for survival against tech and streaming platform competition.
  • “The competitor to TV now is YouTube. The competitor to streaming platforms is TikTok. ...For them to sustain themselves going forward, you've got to allow M&A, otherwise they just start to die out.”
    — Caroline Hyde [17:57]

• Consumer Implications:

  • Anticipate more bundling: “Before we wanted everything to split off, now we want it once again back in our bundle.”
    — Caroline Hyde [19:56]
  • "You’re seeing even deals done across the aisle with Amazon... We will just generally want one go-to button that we can click and suddenly voila, we can get all of them." [20:21]

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5. Market Trends & Investment Strategy

Guest: Christy Coolian (BlackRock, Head of Investment Strategy for the Americas)
Timestamp: [21:18]–[27:53]

• Economic Outlook:

  • Sticky inflation but a weakening jobs market; “good enough” CPI data.
  • “We’re still constructive [on equities] ...but we prefer the more quality end of the spectrum.”
    — Christy Coolian [22:26]

• Interest Rate Expectations:

  • BlackRock expects a 25bps cut from the Fed, preferable to “leave themselves more optionality.” [22:26]

• Cash vs. Equities:

  • Despite high cash allocations, BlackRock advocates investing now—fixed income (intermediate curve) sees more opportunity than duration play.
  • “We still think it makes sense to get and stay invested even though rates are coming down.”
    — Christy Coolian [23:47]

• Risk & Returns:

  • Growth concentrated in large cap/technology; “so much of the growth is coming from the top and so much of it is coming from the AI trade, that we think it’s really hard to sit out.”
    — Christy Coolian [26:41]

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6. US National Security: Lessons from 9/11 and the Kirk Shooting

Guest: Mark Cancian (Ret. Colonel, Senior Advisor at CSIS)
Timestamp: [30:13]–[41:14]

• Personal Reflections on 9/11:

  • “It was an overwhelming experience to be in the middle of it. ...We could see part of the building was burning and evacuated our offices. But it was a long time before we knew exactly what had happened.”
    — Mark Cancian [31:03]

• Greater Public Safety Today, But...

  • General public is safer from terrorism post-9/11 due to improved security measures, even as inconvenience has grown.
  • “There hasn’t been [another] hijacking in the United States. There have been very few terrorist incidents.”
    — Mark Cancian [32:36]
  • Political figures face new domestic threats: “We have seen this terrible incident with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. ...That is politically inspired murder, which unfortunately is increasing.” [33:56]

• From Counterinsurgency to Great-Power Rivalry:

  • US shifted from fighting insurgents post-9/11 to deterring Russia and China post-2014 (after Crimea, ISIS, aggressive moves in South China Sea):
    • “There was a break at that point ...and they started focusing on great power conflict, recognizing that Russia and China were going to be threats in the future.”
      — Mark Cancian [35:13]

• New DoD Focus and Rhetoric:

  • Under Trump, Department of Defense rebranded as Department of War, “about maximum, maximum lethality, not tepid legality, violent effect, not politically correct. We're going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.”
    — Host paraphrasing Sec. Pete Hegseth [39:19]
  • Ensuring force readiness vs. balancing with homeland security duties remains an unresolved “tension.” [39:19]

• Recruitment and Force Readiness:

  • So far, recruitment and retention “has been very good” despite concerns about recent policies and rhetoric.
    — Mark Cancian [40:48]

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Notable & Memorable Quotes

“We should not disagree and be disagreeable to the extent of taking people's lives away. ...Murder is never, never acceptable.”
— Rep. Gabe Amo [03:05]

“Vladimir Putin is testing limits. He is testing our resolve and our commitment to NATO and to our European allies.”
— Rep. Gabe Amo [06:49]

“That’s the president's actions, not creating jobs, taking them away.”
— Rep. Gabe Amo (on offshore wind project halt) [08:48]

“For them to sustain themselves going forward, you've got to allow M&A, otherwise they just start to die out.”
— Caroline Hyde [17:57]

“So much of the growth is coming from the top and so much of it is coming from the AI trade, that we think it’s really hard to sit out.”
— Christy Coolian [26:41]

“People forget that at one point ...the Pentagon was an open building. ...Now, after 9/11, they put in really severe security measures, but were required given the new environment.”
— Mark Cancian [32:36]

“We have seen, of course, this terrible incident with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. ...That is politically inspired murder, which unfortunately is increasing.”
— Mark Cancian [33:56]

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Segment Timestamps

• [02:03]–[05:58] : Congressman Gabe Amo on 9/11 and political violence
• [06:24]–[11:47]: Congressman Amo on geopolitics and energy policy
• [14:16]–[20:29]: Caroline Hyde on media consolidation and Paramount/Warner deal
• [21:18]–[27:53]: Christy Coolian on market trends and investment strategy
• [30:13]–[41:14]: Mark Cancian on US security post-9/11, Kirk shooting, and military strategy

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Tone and Language

• The tone throughout is somber but resolute, with guests and hosts alike acknowledging both threats and opportunities facing the US.
• Guests speak candidly about deeply partisan issues, yet the discussion aims for constructive, forward-looking insights—emphasizing unity, practical policy, and vigilance.

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This summary captures the episode’s multi-layered exploration of modern US dangers—both from foreign actors and domestic sources—while linking those realities to political, economic, and even technological trends shaping America today.

Transcript

[Host/Anchor]

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Podcasts radio news this is Bloomberg Businessweek daily reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead with insight on the people, companies and trends shaping today's complex economy. Plus global business, finance and tech news as it happens. The Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast with Carol Massar and Tim Stenbeck on Bloomberg Radio.

[Host/Anchor]

We are, as you know, noting the 24th anniversary of 911 today. It's a day when we continue to see geopolitical threats and tensions and unease here at home following the shooting and killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during that campus event in Utah. And on a global scale, we see tensions between Poland and Russia and so NATO certainly watching and we would assume the US Is as well. For perspective, we want to head to the U.S. house of Representatives. Congressman Gabe Amo, Democrat for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district. He joins us from the Cannon Rotunda in the nation's capital. Congressman Amo, thank you so much for joining us. It is.

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

Thanks for having me.

[Host/Anchor]

This 24th anniversary of 9 11, it's a reminder that terrorism on a grand scale can and did happen here in the US We've seen other forms of political violence, numerous shootings, political figures and officials. And of course, we're talking about Charlie Kirk today. You your reaction to the shooting and killing of him?

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

Well, first and foremost, remember all Those lost on 911 and the brave first responders and civilians who stepped in. And of course, we have another somber note today as we reflect on the killing of Charlie Kirk. And I start from a place of great sympathy, sympathy for his family, his spouse and children, and turn to political violence that we have seen in this country in a way that we should not be experiencing and it is not acceptable. We should not disagree and be disagreeable to the extent of taking people's lives away. You can have political divisions, you can have divides, but violent actions, murder is never, never acceptable.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And yet it happens. And the attacks have happened quite a bit in the last few years. We heard some of them from Carol, the Minnesota legislatures, Steve Scalise, Nancy Pelosi's husband, attacked, of course, the attack on President Trump's life twice last year, including that assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. What is the right way to turn down the temperature in the United States right now?

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

I think the right way to turn down the temperature is to treat one another as neighbors, treat one another as people who belong in the same community. America is great because we have origins that span the globe. But we come here because we can achieve great things and they always happen when we work together. And so I say that to every person with a platform, a title, a place where you can influence others to today commit recommit to moving forward with rhetoric that isn't going to inspire action like violence in our communities. We, yes, have things that we don't agree on, paths ideologically, paths based on our belief that might be different than those of other people in our community. I, as a Democrat, do not need to be mad to be angry at a Republican. We can disagree on the substance, but at the end of the day, come back and realize we're in the same mission for the same country and advancing leadership in the world. And that's what I'm going to commit to and encourage others to look inwardly and see how they can do that today.

[Host/Anchor]

But Congressman Alma, with all due respect, that political discourse, that productive technology, conversations, excuse me, and debates, when you don't agree with someone's thoughts on something, it doesn't seem to happen anymore.

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

Well, we have to do better. I'm not going to, you know, suggest that we have found the way to resolve our conflicts in the best way. But I'll tell you what isn't and will never be acceptable. And that that is violence. And so we have an extra burden today to keep trying to keep working towards meeting the ideals that I know that we share.

[Host/Anchor]

So let me ask you about geopolitics, because you are a vice ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. We did have a big story today about Poland seeking a consultation with NATO specifically and NATO powers after shooting down drones that crossed into its territory during Russia's latest massive airstrike on Ukraine. They called the incursion and, quote, act of aggression. What are you hearing from US Officials and the White House on this?

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

Well, look, I go back to the president's summit with Vladimir Putin. His deadlines that weren't meeting met. Vladimir Putin is testing limits. He is testing our resolve and our commitment to NATO and to our European allies. And the way we must respond is by recommitting to Ukraine's fight against Vladimir Putin's aggression that has only become harsher, has been more aggressive against civilians, and is seeking to undermine our strength and our alliances in Europe. And so I need to hear from the White House, and we need to see a commitment to Ukraine in an even stronger way.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

What does that commitment look like?

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

Look, that commitment goes to certainly supporting them militarily and continuing to provide the support they need on that. And but beyond that, when you, you have rhetoric that is uncertain about our commitments to NATO, that helps to fuel Vladimir Putin's test. And he certainly wants us to have uncertainty in our relationship with Ukraine, our relationship with Europe, and continuing to see an inconsistency from this administration provides some of that concern, continued motivation for Putin to try actions like he did in Poland.

[Host/Anchor]

All right, so there are definitely geopolitical concerns with everything that's going on overseas. The other thing we think about a lot is security and independence when it comes to energy. You're a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Environment. Wind power is something that has been singled out several times critically by President Trump. Talk to us about how important offshore wind is to the state of Rhode Island.

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

It's very important. Offshore wind is incredibly important to Rhode Island. We have a project that received a Stop work order Revolution Wind that was set to power 350,000 households between Rhode island and Connecticut. And unfortunately, the stop work order not only implies perils. Our solution to the challenges of climate change, our work to lower energy costs, but it also puts people out of work. Right. You know, we talk about the all of the above strategy. The all of the above Strategy has to include wind. And this project was 80% complete, 45 out of 65 turbines in the water. And you're sending people home. That's the president's actions, not creating jobs, taking them away. And so we're continuing to work very aggressively across the aisle with Republican colleagues as well to speak to the wisdom of continuing this project.

[Host/Anchor]

Well, let me just ask you something, Congressman. Governors in the US Northeast are considering dropping resistance to natural gas pipelines and other fossil fuel projects in the hopes they can convince the president to allow those offshore wind farms to move forward. Do you agree with that possible trade off if that's what needs to be done to save wind farms in your own home state?

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

Well, unfortunately, we've seen this is a mysteriously troubling turn. However, when you know the president has been at the negotiation table, this is something he has impressed upon. And you know I'm committed to Windows. But again, if there is going to be an all of the above strategy, it has to include when not excluded. And so I know that the governors are making very tough decisions. I think in the long term, renewables are going to be the path that achieve our cost objectives and our climate objectives. But this has certainly been part of what the president has put forward when he has engaged these governors alongside members of his administration.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay, so let's talk about engagement of those governors. You did say working alongside Republicans here, working across the aisle to come to a resolution here. Has the president actually agreed to discuss offshore wind with the governors of those northeast states, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts?

[Congressman Gabe Amo]

I know that there are conversations ongoing with members of the administration. I don't know of a specific commitment from the president, but the facts are clear. We need wind. And I'm hopeful that the president and his cabinet members see the wisdom in continuing a project like Revolution when it is important to my state of Rhode Island. But it's also a linchpin to growing the industry across the Eastern seaboard, including in places like Virginia, including in Connecticut and Massachusetts. So I want to continue to see progress here and I know those governors are working vigorously to get to the table.

[Host/Anchor]

All right. So appreciate your time on this Thursday. Congressman Gabe Amo, Democrat for Rhode island, joining us there from the nation's capital.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Business WEEK Daily. Coming up after this.

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[Host/Anchor]

We are keeping a watch on that. And then there's several stories that are going on today that are certainly impacting the markets. At this moment, we are seeing news of Paramount Skydance getting ready to make a bid for rival Warner Brothers Discovery, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. This story, initially reported out by the Wall Street Journal, now matched by our own Lucas Shaw. We see shares of Paramount skydance, up about 9% in today's trade, and Warner Brothers Discovery as the target. No surprise you're looking at this one, Tim, up more than 30%.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Caroline Hyde is the co host of Bloomberg Technology on Bloomberg tv. She joins us here in the Bloomberg businessweek studio. Caroline, initially we did see shares of Paramount Skydance lower on this. And then they ended up moving higher. Not typical that we'd see both companies higher with news like this. But I guess, hey, people aren't concerned about the cash source of David Ellison, so.

[Caroline Hyde]

Right. Because it looks as though the cash source would be family Ellis.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Caroline Hyde]

And who was at one point the most wealthy person in the world yesterday and then settled just $1 billion below Elon Musk, but Larry Ellison. And that was on the enormous move we saw in Oracle. Now you see a similar plus 30% move on Warner Brother Discovery, which would be the target in this particular area. It's a record move for the stock. But I think so many people feel that fundamentally this is what we need to do. See, in the industry consolidation. You're seeing David Zaslav over at Warner and Brothers Discovery unwinding the deal he did several years ago.

[Host/Anchor]

Right.

[Caroline Hyde]

Because ultimately you've got cable on one side and then you have studios and streaming on the other. You want to split those apart. And likelihood is Paramount would be interested in the studios and that area.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Well, to that point, we should know Netflix share is hitting a session low, down more than 4% after this report came out. So this is all about.

[Host/Anchor]

Starts to get interesting.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That's what it's all about, though. It's all about Netflix, it's all about.

[Caroline Hyde]

Streaming, and it's all about M and A. And I think you'll speak to so many analysts on the street have just been waiting for this sort of thing to happen. But you did need certain areas to come into force. You needed, of course, Comcast to be starting to split itself into. You needed Warner Brothers Discovery to be talking about splitting itself into. The interesting deal is why is Paramount trying to buy both bits? Most people feel that the value for Paramount as a key studio maker, as a key streaming focus would be, of course, the areas of growth, Harry Potter and the. And the DC Comics and the studio side of Warner Brothers Discovery. Why do they want cnn? Why do they want some of the more struggling cable parts of the business? Or maybe they feel that they could get more than some of their parts if they then sold those off in more interesting M and A.

[Host/Anchor]

Right. Like just buy it. All right? And then figure out, like, the parts that they don't want. Any chance somebody else comes in, could there be another interested party? I mean, as we've heard, like the expectations around consolidation in this industry.

[Caroline Hyde]

Exactly. And look, you talk to some of the new leadership that have thinking about when you see Versant that's been splitting off, for example, from the Other key areas of Comcast, they've been saying, look, we're not going to be like a dying ember of cable news here and cable sports, we're actually going to be acquisitive. But many feel that they're actually going to be acquisitive. More in the air of startups, more in the area of the future of sports growth, the future of news. But perhaps not other cable networks. But they haven't taken their name off the table when it comes to remember there's A and E out there. There's so many of these other companies that could be really interesting targets. I think Bloomberg Intelligence are basically already saying, look, from a water brother's discovery perspective, you're looking at maybe $17 would be the right sort of price for the whole business as a whole. And you're seeing it move up to that as we speak.

[Host/Anchor]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You know, at the beginning of like our careers this would be a regulatory issue.

[Caroline Hyde]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

The true government would get involved and say we don't want this much media consolidation. Is that not even part of a concern for analysts right now? Because the ecosystem has been so beat.

[Caroline Hyde]

Up and the competition just isn't from cable network to cable network, but it's from its eyeballs. The competitive to TV now is YouTube. The competitor to a street. The streaming platforms is TikTok. Everyone is fighting for your and my eyeballs. And what is the future growth story? Is it advertising? Well, advertisers are all going to new different platforms platforms. Is that different ways in which you can charge subscription base driving for this value of the business? I think this is an entire industry that has been upended and I think most feel to even allow them to sustain themselves going forward, you've got to allow M and A otherwise they just start to die out.

[Host/Anchor]

You cover this world, you know, it just feels like media technology, everything is just kind of merging. I don't know what are you watching out for? Like what might be the next kind of shoe to drop here in terms of this story?

[Caroline Hyde]

Well, I think after this story it is going to be interesting as to, you know, whether we see these purchases happen in cash only, whether you start to see interesting ways in which of financing certain deals. I think a lot of the storytelling for these new businesses, particularly in the cable areas that we're going to be splitting off so saying we're going to be cash rich, actually we're going to have the balance sheet to be able to put to work. For me this is just look, we are at record highs in the Stock market, you are seeing people going all in on the artificial intelligence story. But there is still so much optimism in dealmaking. And I think it's more pretty phenomenal that you're seeing these sorts of cash bids come. I don't know how many more billionaires are out there who can start buying all these, all these bids, but Larry Ellison is clearly something different.

[Host/Anchor]

Or how many can say, hey dad, I need a little help here.

[Christy Coolian]

I'm just kidding.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So finally, on the streaming side of this for consumers, should we think about this from the context of one option perhaps in the future for Paramount plus subscribers and HBO Max or Max or whatever it's called now subscribers, this becomes one thing, it's supercharged. And you can get everything from Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Skydance.

[Caroline Hyde]

I think you're really smart to put it that way because look how we're seeing Disney trying to interact with its own bundling. And the way I just did one.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And ESPN, Hulu, Disney, 30 bucks a month. I just bought it.

[Caroline Hyde]

And suddenly it makes more sense. Like what old is new again? Before we wanted everything to split off, now we want it once again back in our bundle. And I and I think that that ultimately has to be the way in which they can drive cross pollination. And you will see people want to be able to just go to a one stop shop. Look, you're seeing even deals done across the aisle with Amazon having being to offer other rivals. I mean we will just generally want one go to button that we can click and suddenly voila, we can get all of them.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I think you could do that with a cable subscription.

[Mark Cancian]

I think you can do that, right?

[Host/Anchor]

Exactly.

[Caroline Hyde]

It's called Revolution Evolution guys.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Exactly.

[Host/Anchor]

Exactly. Incredible story. Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Technology co host Caroline Hyde Catcher and Ludlow every day at 11am Wall street time.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Host/Anchor]

You know you've got investors moving into equities, also into bonds, which is why we've seen yields all along the yield curve move down. We talked about this earlier with our team. The 10 year right now still at 4.01. But as we know Tim earlier today and as we heard from our Stuart Paul, it really was on the weekly jobless numbers that he said you saw that movement down when it comes to us yield.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, I want to see what Christy Coolian has to say about all this. She's head of Investment Strategy for the Americas at blackrock. She joins us once again from San Francisco. Curious how you're reading this macroeconomic data. The sticky inflation but also a weakening jobs market. What do you see?

[Christy Coolian]

Yeah, it's great to be back with you and happy CPI day to all who celebrate.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Thank you, you too.

[Christy Coolian]

I think we're what we, you know, what we got today was a good enough reading. Obviously there was some acceleration in pockets of some of the places we expected to see acceleration, some of that tariff pass through happening, you know, things like food and apparel. But I think the market is really reading this as again good enough for the Fed to be able to continue to focus on rate cutting in terms of kind of the balance of their dual mandate. It seems like attention is fully focused on the jobs market right now. So again I think we're seeing a reaction of good enough inflation data to allow for some cutting to happen through the rest of the year.

[Host/Anchor]

Do you think that makes sense in terms of a rate cut? And I'm just curious how much you think is already kind of baked into the equity trade where we've kind of hit record after record after record.

[Christy Coolian]

Yeah, absolutely. You know, our view is that the Fed is going to cut 25 basis points next week. We think that that's more likely than going for a jumbo just to leave themselves more optionality into the rest of the the year. Obviously that can be good for equities, but to your point, it's pretty well expected and well broadcasted at this point. So, you know, I think that I'd characterize our view on equities as we're still constructive but we prefer, you know, those companies that have pricing power that are highly profitable. We prefer the more quality end of the spectrum. You've seen a bit of a junk rally, you've seen small caps rally over the last couple of weeks in anticipation of some of these rate cuts cuts. But in our view, you know, you need to see both the amount of rate cuts that are expected actually be delivered and you need to see growth stay really strong. It's a tightrope in terms of that both of those things being able to happen at the same time. It leaves us cautious on small caps. So we like equities, we like leaning into large caps, we like staying really nimble and dynamic. Something like dynf, which is our factor rotation actively managed fund. It makes a lot of sense in moments like this.

[Host/Anchor]

So when you want to remain nimble, does that Mean you increase the amount you have in cash or cash like investment so that you can maybe reallocate as you feel like some of the uncertain aspects of the market maybe become more certain.

[Christy Coolian]

I mean normally I think the answer would be yes, but when you look at the data, investors already hold so much cash. We think it's actually more of a time to get invested. If you look at just flows over the last three years, more money has been allocated to money market funds than to stock or bond funds. And so again, there's a pretty big wall of cash. We still think it makes sense to get and stay invested even though rates are coming down. I think we're having a lot of conversations in fixed income about where to seek the income that you're maybe losing on some of your cash, your money markets, your high yield saving accounts, returns. And within fixed income, we like kind of the intermediate part of the curve and focusing on the income on it more than the duration is where we're really going to get returns for the next kind of 6 to 12 months.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Is that where you think the cash is going to go more so than in equities or different products? I'm just, I just having a hard time understanding if people have are you see these high yield savings accounts or products with higher returns and fixed income. Where does that trillions of dollars go when rates fall?

[Christy Coolian]

Yeah, I mean I think one answer is escov, which is our short dated etf. It has taken in a tremendous amount of money that we do think is investors considering that as sort of an alternative to high yield savings accounts. So short dated fixed income. We don't see this as, you know, every investor is going to pile into the equity market. It's, you know, it's dry powder to an extent, but it's in cash for a reason. I just think that there's more opportunistic ways to source that yield now since it's going to be coming down in some of the very front end or some of those cash like instruments, like money market.

[Host/Anchor]

Christie, do you find it interesting that there's still so much money in cash? And there always is a fair amount of money in cash. It's just the way it goes. But do you feel like when you see record after record on Wall street that there is still not more movement out of those cash investments or what's sitting in money markets? Like what does that tell you? That maybe investors don't buy it or they're just like, you know, there's always.

[Christy Coolian]

A reason to be concerned right there's always some risk on the horizon. And so I think that that's part of it. I also think that there was a bit of a structural shift in terms of cash and where it was held and maybe moving from deposit accounts into things like money market funds. So some of that cash is really just set aside for emergencies. It's not investable. But even that said, you know, we've seen really strong participation out of the retail community and equity markets where we see the institutional community is actually still relatively muted compared to what was at the end of last year. So certain pockets of the institutional community maybe look a little bit longer in terms of positioning, but kind of the traditional asset managers, some of the pension funds and some of those long onlys, they're not, as you know, they're still well off. The highs in terms of equity exposure where they were at the end of last year. So we think that there's still room for some of that cash to move into markets for sure.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Are you bullish on the equity markets right now?

[Christy Coolian]

Yeah, again, I do. I would characterize this is still fairly risk on, but we're really focusing on where the growth is happening. So if you look at the composition of returns for US Equity markets so far this year, you know, if you look at kind of the large cap growth, if you look at technology, you know, 80% of those returns have come from earnings growth. So it's incredibly fundamentally driven. It's only about half for the broader S&P 500 index. It's about a third for the value portion of the index. So we are still risk on. We still see opportunity in equity markets, but we do prefer being really focused on where the growth is. And so even though, you know, I know that investors get concerned about valuations, a lot of the, you know, I think that some of the valuations and some of the concentration that you see in US Equity markets, it's a feature and not a bug. So much of the growth is coming from the top and so much of it is coming from the AI trade that we think it's really hard to sit out. But, you know, being really deliberate about diversification elsewhere, being cognizant of some of those risks that you introduce.

[Host/Anchor]

All right, Christie, good to get some time with you. Christia Coolian, head of investment strategy for the Americas over at BlackRock, joining us from San Francisco.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Stay with us. More from Bloomberg businessweek Daily coming up after this.

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[Co-host/Interviewer]

24 years ago today the US was attacked. President Trump made comments earlier from the Pentagon, one of the sites that was attacked. On 911 he paid tribute to firefighters, police service members to one service member who was there on 911 Mark F. Cancian. He's a retired colonel, U.S. marine Corps Reserve, now Senior Advisor for the Defense and Security Department at the center for Strategic and International Studies. He writes about military forces and operations. Mark also served two tours in Iraq with the Marines. Mark's with us now from Washington. Mark, first, thank you for your service. We're going to talk about the change in US national security since 9 11, because as you've written about for years, it's significant. And there was a significant shift a little over a decade ago. But first, a day like today is somebody who experienced it up close. What does it mean to you?

[Mark Cancian]

Well, I actually called one of my former staff members and reminded him where we were 24 years ago and what had happened. It was. It was an overwhelming experience to be in the middle of it. I think what people often don't appreciate is just how confusing it is because nobody really knew what had happened. You know, we could see that part of the building was burning and evacuated our offices. But it was a long time before we knew exactly what had happened. We heard a story that a plane had hit the Pentagon. I was thinking a Cessna, didn't realize this was a passenger aircraft, that many people had been killed, and that it was part of a larger terrorist plot.

[Host/Anchor]

You know, since then, I feel like there are so many different security levels that are now part of our world. I just think about when I go to fly, whether it's face, finger, hands. Like, it's just amazing things that we now just assume to be kind of ubiquitous in our world. And I'm just wondering, do you think we are more secure here in the United States? And I asked this on a day when we have had what we assume to be, you know. Well, what we've seen is the shooting and murder of one conservative activist. We see politics, politicians really under risk, whether it, you know, attacks and other shootings, if you will, even the President. I'm just wondering, do you think we are safer here in the United States?

[Mark Cancian]

Well, I think the general public is safer. You know, there hasn't been hijacking in the United States. There have been very few terrorist incidents. Right after 9 11, there was great concern that there were going to be other terrorist attacks like what we had experienced with 3,000 people killed, you know, and nothing like that has happened. We've endured a lot of inconvenience. Tsa, you know, taking your shoes off for all those. Those years. I mean, all of the security, every building now you have to be badged to get in. People forget that at one point in my early career, the Pentagon was an open building. I mean, you could just walk in. Anybody from the public just walk into the Pentagon. You could walk up to the Secretary of Defense's office if you want. You couldn't get in the office. But you could walk up to it then in the 90s, they put in some sort of basic security. And of course after 911 they put in really very severe security measures, but were required given the new environment.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

But to Carol's point, is it a bigger threat? Is there a bigger threat coming from inside the United States, from our own neighbors who are close to us fellow Americans, than from people outside of the U.S.

[Mark Cancian]

Well, I think both threats exist. And we, you know, we have seen, of course, this terrible incident with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We saw legislators in Minnesota murdered and attempts on President Trump's life. Those are different, though, because that is political inspired murder, which unfortunately has not been, is increasing, has not been part of our culture. But then we have the broader question about the public. And if you are not politically prominent, I think that the threats to you are much reduced compared to what they were on 99 11.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Mark, as I mentioned, I want to talk a little bit about what you've been writing about for years, military forces and operations and the evolution or the change that we saw when the US Moved away from counterinsurgency and instead focusing on Russia and China. When was this and what was the reason for doing this?

[Mark Cancian]

There's been an evolution. If we go back to the end of the Cold War, there was a period of time when it wasn't clear what the enemies were, what our adversaries were. Article Princess Fukuyama, the end of history question mark. And that ended in the 90s. The defense budget came down by 40%. Forces shrank by 40%. But then we had Bosnia, we had Kosovo, we had some incidents with Iraq. So the defense budget plateaued and started coming back up, you know, just for these general concerns that the world, you know, had was not always a safe place. Then we have 911 and two things happen. Of course, we embark on these two huge counterinsurgency campaigns. You know, first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq, and then homeland security becomes part of our national security strategy. But back after 9 11, it was only a small part of what DoD did. It was much more of a law enforcement effort. DoD did do ballistic missile defense. It did do some work on the southwest border. Most of it was tsa. It was FBI, which got a big plus up. It was domestic counterterrorism. And that was our strategy that had our focus up until 2014. And in 2014, three things happened. Russia took over Crimea. ISIS roared out of the desert and nearly captured Baghdad. And the Chinese continued their assertive actions in the South China Sea. So there was a break that at that point, it was at the end of the bomb administration, and they started focusing on great power conflict, recognizing that Russia and China were going to be threats in the future. Initially, they put Russia at the top and then China. The first Trump administration reversed that order. China, then Russia, but again focused on great power conflict. The Biden administration essentially didn't change that, although they probably wouldn't admit that they were very close on national security policy with the first Trump administration. But you get a lot of continuity there. What we've seen in the last couple of months is a shift. Early in this second Trump administration, the focus was still on China. Secretary Hegseth was talking about how Taiwan was our driving scenario. And in fact, we were going to shift forces into the western Pacific. Of course, a couple things happened. You have the events in the Middle east, you have Hamas and the wars there, and then you have an increasing focus on homeland security in new ways.

[Host/Anchor]

Right.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

The.

[Mark Cancian]

Well, go ahead.

[Host/Anchor]

I want to jump in only because we have about three minutes left or so. But we're talking with Mark Cancie, and he's senior adviser, Defense and Security Department at csis, the center for Strategic and International Studies, retired colonel with the US Marine Corps Reserve. One thing I want to ask you is that we've had President Trump come out with plans to change the Department of Defense to the Department of War. And in doing so, our defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said secretary of War. So the department is now about maximum, maximum lethality, not tepid legality, violent effect, not politically correct. We're going to raise up warriors, not just defenders. What's the message if China is, as things have evolved, our biggest threat? What's the message is that we are willing to go to war with China in this new environment, this new reality.

[Mark Cancian]

I think what Higseth is trying to signal is that the United States is able to conduct a conflict if that becomes necessary. There is some tension between that notion about lethality, which is appropriate in a conflict, and the focus on homeland security, where it's not lethality, it's a variety of other tools to reduce crime, reduce immigration, reduced drug smuggling. And that tension has arisen in the last couple of months. The department still hasn't resolved it. We understand that their new national defense strategy is going to try to straddle that, put homeland security at the top. Those initiatives we've seen with the Trump administration, you know, they had tremendous policy implications so far. They haven't demanded a lot of forces. In other words, what we've seen in Washington, D.C. for law enforcement, huge political and law enforcement implications. Hasn't taken a lot of troops.

[Host/Anchor]

Well, and that's what I was thinking about too, like the military aspect of of the U.S. i mean, are we attracting enough if we are building out this Department of War and we've just got about 25 seconds because it does. I don't know. I'm just curious your thoughts on that as a veteran.

[Mark Cancian]

Well, people have worried about that, but that isn't reflected in the numbers at least yet. Recruiting and retention has been very good. The administration has highlighted that due to their policies. Might be true. Hard to say the increase in recruiting started under the Biden administration. It's possible that some of these recent actions will discourage people, but you know, we haven't seen any indication of that yet.

[Host/Anchor]

All right, going to leave it on that note. Really appreciate you joining and sharing your perspective. Mark Hansian, He's Senior Advisor, Defense and Security Department at the center for Strategic and International Studies, retired Colonel at the US Marine Corps Reserve. Joining us from Washington.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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