Ted Cruz Blasts FCC Chair’s ‘Mafioso’ Tactic to Bench Kimmel

Summary

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Bloomberg Businessweek – September 19, 2025

Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stanovec
Featured Guests: Hannah Miller (Bloomberg Media Reporter), Annalina Baerbock (President, 80th UN General Assembly, Former German Foreign Minister), Lauren Does (Bloomberg White House Correspondent), Walter Todd (President & CIO, Greenwood Capital)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Carol Massar and Tim Stanovec guide listeners through the political, business, and international issues shaping the week. The episode opens by examining the Jimmy Kimmel–FCC controversy and the resulting media industry shockwaves. It then pivots to a timely conversation with Annalina Baerbock about the United Nations’ future and the global climate for multilateral cooperation. Later, the show addresses President Trump’s recent dealings with China, immigration policy shifts, market highs, and economic trends on both national and regional scales.

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Main Segments & Key Insights

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1. Jimmy Kimmel, FCC Pressure, and Media Industry Fallout

[01:59–10:59]

Discussion Points

• Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension:

  • ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel after controversial comments about the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk.
  • FCC Chair Brendan Carr allegedly pressured ABC, sparking debates about censorship and executive influence over media content.
  • Late-night hosts (Colbert, Stewart, Fallon) showed solidarity with Kimmel.

• Media-Politics Relationship:

  • The Trump administration’s overt antagonism toward mainstream media and entertainment.
  • Past lawsuits, settlements, and public funding cuts for outlets like NPR and PBS.
  • Today’s media is more fragmented and reactive due to social media and rapidly shifting audience habits.

• Business Stakes:

  • Media companies’ reluctance to publicly oppose administration directives due to commercial interests like FCC approvals (e.g., NextStar’s pending Tegna deal).
  • Executives acting preemptively to avoid regulatory or financial repercussions.

Notable Quotes

“Trump is very outspoken about how unhappy he is with the way the media treats him, whether it’s news media or late night entertainment hosts.”
— Hannah Miller [03:12]

“Media execs are fearful of standing up to Trump. ... They have business stakes at play.”
— Hannah Miller [05:00]

“Brendan Carr, he’s very outspoken on social media… implied something would happen if no steps were taken against Kimmel.”
— Hannah Miller [06:07]

Timestamps

• 01:59 – Late-night reaction to Kimmel's suspension
• 03:12 – Trump’s fraught relationship with media
• 05:00 – Industry capitulation and corporate motivations
• 06:07 – FCC Chair’s public threats

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2. Tech, Censorship, and the Expanding Reach of Government Influence

[06:35–07:59]

Discussion Points

• Government pressure is not limited to traditional broadcasters.
• Under both Biden and Trump, tech companies faced requests or veiled threats to moderate content (e.g., during the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Increasing alignment between segments of the tech industry and political figures.

Notable Quotes

“We’ve seen debates about misinformation. Who has the right to say what is published on the Internet... A lot of tech leaders align with the Trump administration.”
— Hannah Miller [07:30]

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3. FCC’s Internal Divide & Freedom of Speech Debate

[07:59–10:59]

Discussion Points

• FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez (a Biden appointee), on Bloomberg Tech, directly rebuffs Chair Carr’s license-revocation threats.
• She emphasizes that Jimmy Kimmel’s comments do not present grounds for revoking broadcast licenses under current law.
• Hannah Miller recounts Gomez’s strong warnings about the dangers of political coercion in media oversight.

Notable Quotes

“Let me be clear. There is no basis for revoking any licenses because of the Jimmy Kimmel content or because of normal editorial decisions from a broadcaster.”
— Anna Gomez [08:14]

“She was very adamant… these threats are empty, that there’s this coercive element here. She’s talked about how scary this is and what’s happening.”
— Hannah Miller [09:21]

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4. UN General Assembly Preview: Annalina Baerbock on Global Togetherness

[13:08–29:20]

Discussion Points

• UN’s Turbulent Moment:
  Baerbock, newly elected President of the General Assembly, spotlights global crises (Ukraine, Gaza, geopolitics) and stresses the urgent need for UN reform and robust multilateralism.

• Reform Priorities:

  • A more efficient, effective UN, beyond the failures of the Security Council.
  • Highlighting successes in humanitarian work (UNICEF, WFP, WHO) that are less visible to the public.

• Financing the UN:

  • Calls for all members, especially the U.S., to honor obligations.
  • Current U.S. administration has threatened to halt funding, jeopardizing peacekeeping and other missions.

• Transatlantic Relations:

  • Stresses Germany’s deep historic and current ties to the U.S.
  • Navigating disagreement and cooperating in the UN as a neutral forum for dialogue.

• Climate Crisis & Economic Trends:

  • Ten years of progress: From Paris to present, renewable energy becoming mainstream.
  • Even fossil-fuel-dependent economies now invest heavily in renewables; the “logic goes where the money goes.”
  • Warns that U.S. risks falling behind if it ignores this global trend.

• Effectiveness of the UN:

  • Candid admission that the UN hasn't always been effective but argues its absence would worsen global crises and humanitarian disasters.

Notable Quotes

“If we wouldn't have the United Nations, we would have to build it. Because none of these global challenges… could one country face alone or even solve alone.”
— Annalina Baerbock [14:11]

“Imagine… 125 million people would have literally starved last year if the World Food Program wouldn't have supported them.”
— Annalina Baerbock [15:16]

"The logic goes where the money goes. ... There's a clear trend, facing out fossil, not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, but in the next decades."
— Annalina Baerbock [24:26]

“Hope is not the conviction that everything will go right, but hope is a conviction that you do the right thing.”
— Annalina Baerbock [26:34]

Timestamps

• 13:08 – Introduction, UN session challenges
• 14:52 – UN reform priorities
• 16:28 – Funding and U.S. role
• 19:48 – Adapting the UN for an “America First” era
• 21:20 – Navigating geopolitics, climate, and rights
• 24:26 – Renewables, global investment trends
• 26:20 – Responding to UN critics, defense of diplomacy

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5. Trump-Xi Call, Tiktok, and U.S.-China Relations

[29:47–37:11]

Discussion Points

• Deal-Making & Global Signals:

  • President Trump announces progress in a call with Xi Jinping on trade, fentanyl, the war in Ukraine, and an anticipated TikTok deal.
  • Both U.S. and Chinese readouts remain vague; China subtly rebukes U.S. unilateralism.

• Long Road for Trade Talks:

  • Realistically, any Sino-U.S. trade or tech agreement will be a complex, slow process.
  • Trump’s unpredictability remains a challenge for global markets and counterparts.

• Market Reactions:

  • Dialogue is welcomed by markets as a sign of stability, but the lack of detail fosters ongoing uncertainty.

Notable Quotes

“Progress, I think is the key word when we want to look at this phone call. The details are really scant.”
— Lauren Does [31:06]

“The Chinese readout was interesting because it kind of chided the US, saying not to pursue unilateral trade or go back on agreements…”
— Lauren Does [32:10]

Timestamps

• 30:12 – Trump’s China call overview
• 31:06 – Analysis of outcomes & unknowns
• 32:10 – Significance of Chinese official tone

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6. Market Highs, Risk Factors, and Investing in Uncertain Times

[39:52–47:35]

Discussion Points

• Historic Records:

  • S&P 500, Dow, NASDAQ 100, and Russell all reach concurrent records for only the 25th time this century.
  • Recovery and growth driven in part by broader participation—small caps performing with large caps.

• Regional Economic Perspective:

  • Walter Todd provides a South Carolina view: strong business demand, but housing shows softness as higher rates take effect.
  • “Tale of two economies”—bottom 50% struggling more with inflation and job market.

• Risks on the Horizon:

  • Government shutdown prospects (Polymarket odds hovering ~50-60%)
  • Market arguably priced for perfection; individual stock volatility remains high.

• Investment Advice:

  • Be patient, tactical; look for value in volatile names, don’t chase markets at highs.

Notable Quotes

“It just seems like the markets may be running ahead of the pace of the economy at this point. That’s our thought.”
— Walter Todd [41:37]

“The market is just not discounting a lot of bad news or any risk at this point... be more tactical right here. You be patient, look for opportunities...”
— Walter Todd [45:28]

Timestamps

• 39:52 – Market records & economy
• 41:37 – South Carolina’s business landscape
• 44:08 – Government shutdown odds & investor stance
• 46:11 – Tactical moves for investors

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “If we wouldn't have the United Nations, we would have to build it.”
  — Annalina Baerbock [14:11]
• “Trump is very outspoken about how unhappy he is with the way the media treats him...”
  — Hannah Miller [03:12]
• “There is no basis for revoking any licenses because of the Jimmy Kimmel content…”
  — Anna Gomez [08:14]
• “It just seems like the markets may be running ahead of the pace of the economy at this point.”
  — Walter Todd [41:37]

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Summary Table of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | Key Focus | |-----------|---------|---------------------------| | 01:59–10:59 | Kimmel-FCC | Censorship, media business, regulatory pressure | | 13:08–29:20 | UN General Assembly | Reform, funding, climate, transatlantic ties | | 29:47–37:11 | Trump-Xi, US-China | Trade talks, TikTok, market reactions | | 39:52–47:35 | Market/Economy | Historic highs, economic divergence, investment |

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Closing Tone

The episode leans into Bloomberg’s signature mix of sharp, data-driven business reporting and wide-ranging insight—with a particular focus on how political interference, regulatory pressure, and geopolitical uncertainty shape everyday decisions for leaders in media, international affairs, and finance. The tone is engaged, solution-oriented, and honest about today’s headwinds.

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For more, listen to the full Bloomberg Businessweek episode or visit Bloomberg.com for further reporting on these topics.

Transcript

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Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this is Bloomberg Business Week 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 businessweek Daily Podcast with Carol Massar and Tim Stanweck on Bloomberg Radio.

[Carol Massar]

Well, a late night Comics continued on familiar terrain last night as they hosted their first shows after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel's program over comments that he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. I still have a show though, right?

[Annalina Baerbock]

Okay, good.

[Carol Massar]

Yesterday, after threats from Trump's FCC chair, ABC yanked Kimmel off the air indefinitely. That is blatant censorship. We have another fun, hilarious, administration compliant show.

[Tim Stanwick]

I do know Jimmy Kimmel and he's a decent, funny and loving guy and.

[Carol Massar]

I hope he comes back all right.

[Tim Stanwick]

That of course was Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon last night, which got us all thinking about how US Presidents have long had adversarial relationships with the media, news media, comedians, Hollywood and more media altogether. Writing about all of this is Bloomberg's Hannah Miller. She's Bloomberg News Media Reporter and she joins us here in our Bloomberg Interactive Brokers Studio. So Hannah, you know presidents have had difficult relationships with media, it's the job of a journalist, after all, to hold power to account. Is what's happening different? Like what, how do we make sense of what's happening right now?

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah, I mean, this administration has a particularly contentious relationship with the media. Trump is very outspok about how unhappy he is with the way the media treats him, whether it's news media or late night entertainment hosts. There have been multiple lawsuits of major news organizations. We've even seen settlements come out of some of those. There's also been federal cuts to funding for public radio and public television.

[Carol Massar]

It also comes at a time, though, where the media industry is under pressure. I mean, it kind of feels meta just talking about this in one of the traditional forms of media. But we're also, you know, we also embrace new media here. And I think everybody is doing that. This is not, you know, the 1950s or 1960s before the advent of cable, before the advent of the smartphone, where, you know, tens of millions of Americans tuned into these three networks every single night. Does that change the story at all?

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah, I mean, I think part of it is just how fragmented media is. You have people tuning in on social media, sharing clips. People can dash off their thoughts within seconds and have millions of people see them. That's just up the stakes here. You know, Trump is very closely following all these different trends. We know he's someone very tuned in to what's happening on television, what's happening on social media. So it's unsurprising, you know, that he is making these comments and taking these steps.

[Tim Stanwick]

So what does it mean for anybody who's running a media company? Because I do feel like what we've seen are deals done, money paid. I feel like in many ways, the heads of media companies are being pretty quiet in this environment, but actions are certainly being taken. I can only imagine what's going on behind closed doors. What are you hearing?

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah, I mean, a lot of industry watchers have commented on capitulation, you know, that media execs are, they're fearful of standing up to Trump. A lot of them have business stakes at play. Play. Even with this recent thing with Jimmy Kimmel, you know, NextStar, it needs FCC approval for its takeover of Tegna. And that's, you know, that could be a reason why it put pressure on these ABC affiliated networks to not show Kimmel. So, yeah, that's something that we have to take into consideration that there are business stakes at play here.

[Tim Stanwick]

Do we truly understand the course of events, of pressure? Kimmel's comments Carr The FCC chair on.

[Carol Massar]

The podcast with Benny Johnson. And then.

[Tim Stanwick]

Right. And then like the affiliates coming in, like, I'm trying to understand, like, do we actually, because you look at this story, we talk about it so much in the newsroom. Is it freedom of speech? Is it what Jimmy Kimmel said? Is it folks anticipating kind of getting on the good side of the fcc, some would say, like, do we kind of understand exactly how this all laid out?

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah, it is very. It can be very muddled. And a lot of these business entities will step forward and say, hey, these are two complex, completely separate issues. We're thinking about this from an economic terms. We're thinking about this from viewership. They cite ratings as the reason why they're making these decisions. What we do know is that Brendan Carr, you know, he is also very outspoken on social media. He does these podcasts and he, you know, implied that something would happen if no steps were taken against Kimmel.

[Carol Massar]

You know, one thing that I've thought a lot about in recent days is the power of the FCC and the power of the government when it comes to traditional media versus what, what happens in, in social media. And we actually saw during, and we this has been reported out that even tech companies during the Biden administration face pressure over what they show, what they showed on social media when it came to the COVID pandemic, for example. So even in a world where there isn't necessarily a government agency that is responsible for regulating some sort of medium, there still can be pressure even on tech companies, 100%. So it's not like a tech companies. It's not like, okay, well, people are going to flee traditional because of worries about regulations. There's also concerns about impact from government officials on these other companies too. Correct?

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah. This is also very much a tech story. And we've seen, you know, debates about misinformation. You know, who has the right to say what is published on the Internet, what is shared on social media. We've seen also a lot of tech leaders align themselves with the Trump administration, you know, appearing at events, things like that. There have been significant changes to X under Elon Musk's ownership. So it's interesting to kind of see some of that trickle over now to traditional media.

[Tim Stanwick]

You know, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez was on Bloomberg Technology today. We should point out she's been an outspoken critic of the FCC chair and President Trump's attacks on the media. But she did join the gang. And we just want to play it out for everybody. Listen up.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Yes, we can initiate an Investigation based on a complaint that is filed. We can also initiate it ourselves. But let me be clear. There is no basis for revoking any licenses because of the Jimmy Kimmel content or because of normal editorial decisions from a broadcaster. The last time I can think of that we revoked a license was for failure to air a particular broadcaster for.

[Lauren Does]

More than a year.

[Tim Stanwick]

Okay. That again was FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez earlier with the Bloomberg Technology Btech gang on Bloomberg tv. I do want to point out that the FCC chair, Brendan Carr has said he's talked about when you've got an FCC license, it comes with an obligation to operate in the public interest. And he likened Jimmy Kimmel's comments to maybe news distortion, which is against FCC's rules for broadcasters. But it. There does feel like two sides to the coin here. And, you know, and then you throw in freedom of speech. I mean, there's a lot here to be kind of continually unpacked. I feel like. Where do you think this all goes?

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah, I actually got to see Commissioner Gomez speak yesterday at a conference, and she was very adamant in what she had to say and that, you know, these threats are empty, that there's this coercive element here to making these businesses aligned to a single viewpoint. So it's. And she's talked about how scary this is and what's happening.

[Tim Stanwick]

And I believe she was appointed by President Biden. Is that correct or.

[Hannah Miller]

Yes.

[Tim Stanwick]

So she just to be fair and.

[Hannah Miller]

Fully transparent, yes, she's fully embraced her role. But she said, you know, a lot of the times this is from yesterday, she's in the dark. You know, she doesn't know that car is going to go out there and make these comments. So she sees herself as, you know, an opposing voice.

[Tim Stanwick]

Makes me wonder about, again, going back to CEOs who are running media companies if they feel like they're in the dark.

[Carol Massar]

So that's exactly where I want to go. Just the last minute we have with you, because you and Lucas Shaw have this great big takeover. Bloomberg businessweek, it's all about David Ellison and the pressure that he faces. Just give us 40 seconds on this story.

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah, this is a really fun story to write. The Ellison family has increasingly become a powerful force. And in media, we're seeing that. With TikTok, we're seeing that. With Paramount, we're seeing that, you know, Paramount potentially consider submitting a bid to buy Warner Brothers Discovery. There is so much happening here. So it was very interesting to dive into David Ellison's background, you know, his time at Skydance building out that company and what he envisions for Paramount going forward. He wants Paramount to be very technologically forward. He's kind of modeling it, you know, off the Silicon Valley startup culture. Um, he wants to make changes fast too, so it's going to be exciting to see what he has in store.

[Tim Stanwick]

Friendly with the Trump administration just quickly.

[Hannah Miller]

Yeah. I mean, they've been at two UFC matches together.

[Tim Stanwick]

Okay. So it's just, you know, all kind of fitting together and stuff. Anyway, this is a great read. Highly recommend everybody head to the bloomberg or bloomberg.com to read the reporting by Hannah Miller and Lucas Shaw on what's going on at Paramount. All of this stuff. Hannah Miller is a media reporter at Bloomberg News. She rocks. Thank you.

[Carol Massar]

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

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[Tim Stanwick]

Carol Massar along with Tim Stanwick live here at Bloomberg headquarters in New York city. Well, the 80th session of the UN General assembly is underway here in the city with the first day of the high level general debate Happening next week. Former German Foreign Minister Annalina Baerbock was elected president of the General Assembly's 80th session on June 2. Her appointment comes as the regional group that includes Western Europe takes its turn at the helm of the world body. And we are delighted to have her here in studio. President Maybach. Speaker, so nice to have you here with us. It's a shame there's nothing going on in the world to talk about. Let's talk about it. And I'm going to give you a little bit of a list. Very familiar, I'm sure, to you. Russia's war with Ukraine, now three and a half years old. Recent incident when Russian drones flew over Poland, Israel and Hamas. Coming up on its second year anniversary, the tech war, the trade war, China, Taiwan. Question marks President Trump saying he had a productive call with President Xi just today. Two largest economies in the world. Top of mind for you as world leaders are gathering here at the UN this week. It's a lot.

[Annalina Baerbock]

It's a lot. And it underlines why it needs this world Parliament, the United nations, more than ever. However, looking around the world, we are not only in shaky times, but this institution is under heavy pressure politically and financially, and therefore we have to reform it. This is the biggest task for this upcoming year and as well, and this is what I would like to underline as president of this General assembly and the United nations, that if we wouldn't have the United nations, we would have to build it. Because none of these global challenges you just mentioned could one country face alone or even solve alone. And this is why the theme of this session is better together.

[Carol Massar]

What is your priority in terms of reform? What is the number one reform that you intend to accomplish?

[Annalina Baerbock]

It has to be more efficient. It's a very big organization. It does incredible work. But all we are talking about is the failure of the Security Council because as you mentioned, the war in Ukraine going on because a permanent member of the Security Trade Council can just put a veto. So many are asking, so if you're not delivering on peace and security, why does it still matter? But there are institutions like unicef. Everybody knows millions of children wouldn't go to school without the UNICEF. 125 million people would have literally starved last year if the World Food Program wouldn't have supported them. And imagine the COVID pandemic, even the biggest countries like the U.S. a strong economy like my country, Germany, we could have not fought this virus alone because Covid didn't have a passport. So you can only do it together with the help of the World Health Organization and vaccination going on. But people don't know about these great successes. So make clear that this is all the UN and the money goes to the points where it actually delivers on the people is the biggest task. And this is why it needs this reform. But it needs also the political commitment of leaders. It needs obviously the funding of member states. And currently especially the host country is questioning this.

[Tim Stanwick]

What can you tell us about funding and where you are and how much it's difficult and what more could you use and what do you need?

[Annalina Baerbock]

Well, every country should pay their obligation. And the United States has been one of the biggest donors. I'm also always underlining this. Germany has for a long time been the second biggest donors. But it's in the self interest of every country itself. Because if we would not have these kind of organization, imagine also like terrorism, how would we fight it together. But at the moment there have been the announcement by the American administration that they might stop everything. So we are in the depths of discussion like peacekeeping. If we want to keep peacekeeping going on, then we need also the funding from the US side.

[Carol Massar]

How do you look at the US right now as a partner, if you indeed do look at the US as a partner right now?

[Annalina Baerbock]

Well, as a transatlantic not only friend, but like my country owes to the American people, not only that we could recover after the Second World War, the biggest horror my country did around the world. Actually also the reason why this United Nation was founded and this is why Germany is so committed, but also lately reunification that east and western Germany came together again. And we are. These countries are all together in NATO. So it's the understanding of one for all and all for one. And this is why I think the transatlantic bond has to be stronger than ever before. But obviously they are also at these kind of times, different views on different topic. And this is why the United nations comes into play. This is a place where you talk about also disagreements.

[Commercial Narrator]

Well, but on that.

[Tim Stanwick]

And I want to kind of pursue the US role. I mean, what would you ask of the United States now? Because you know, there is certainly pushback and we've got a president who at times has said we've done a lot as a, as a nation. What more though, and how important is it for the US to continue to take a leadership. Leadership role? We've talked a lot about the importance of soft power to globally. But how important is it that the US take a leadership role here when it comes to the un.

[Annalina Baerbock]

It'S one of the biggest countries in the World, it has strong economic interest like many countries in the world. And we saw already not only with COVID when global trade stopped, we saw it also when the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea, what it would mean for global trade. We saw it when one cargo ship was turned in the channel a couple of years ago. So the effects also for one of the biggest economic powers like the US without a world of free trade and rules which are based on the UN Charter on every country having the same rights, would be horrible. I mean, it detaches employment, touches economic growth. And maybe one of the recent topics, artificial intelligence. Like the whole competence lies in this country here, in some other countries around the world. So the whole setup for artificial intelligence. And there's a high interest also from the US Administration. This will take place on Thursday, actually, at this high level week you mentioned, when all the tech companies are coming together together with governments to say, okay, this is a new potential for the whole world. But it obviously also regulation. Like if we look at deepfake and the dangers for the use, how does.

[Carol Massar]

The role of the United nations change in a world where countries increasingly are looking inward? And I speak about the United States, for example, and the America first mentality and the America first agenda of this administration. How do you convince this administration that the UN is worth it?

[Annalina Baerbock]

Good diplomacy, in my point of view, is not about convincing. And it's not like just speaking with the people who have the same opinion anyhow. Then you can just speak to the mirror, actually, but it's actually taking the people from where they are and try to understand why are they arguing that way. And if I have understood correctly, this administration, this president is very keen about bringing peace to the world. So I invited all heads of states to think about this much better together. How can we bring peace to this divided world? You need partners, and many partners are smaller countries. So you need majorities and coming together and ask themselves, so what could I do for the United nations so the United nations would deliver also for me, especially with regard to peace support the United nations peace plans around the world you can only do together if you are also engaging with smaller and other countries around the world. And the President has announced that he will come on Tuesday, that he will speak on Tuesday. And I think this is really the place to be for world leaders at this United Nations.

[Tim Stanwick]

We're talking with Annalina baerback. She is 80th UN General Assembly President, foreign German foreign minister, joining us here in studio. You know, we know the division that exists geopolitically we see it every day. You've been a very strong voice on things like climate diplomacy, human rights. When we have such divisive division when it comes to trade wars and business wars and tech wars and just plain out wars, how do we move forward on things like climate and climate change, which I feel like it's safe to say we are all seeing it every day in terms of its impact, human rights violations, which I think now is becoming a discussion here once again in the United States in terms of human rights or free speech. So I'm just curious, how do you tackle those and have smart discussions with world leaders about that against the broader.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Backdrop that's troubled, maybe starting with the climate crisis. Anyhow, I always say if you're not staying positive, you should not be in international politics, then you choose the wrong job. But for the climate crisis, for example, I've been at the climate conference in Paris 10 years ago and this was after failure of, failure of climate change conferences worldwide. And people said we should just stop. And then 10 years ago the world agreed. Well, obviously climate crisis is happening and it's really touching us. But they didn't dare to say phase out of fossil fuels. They didn't dare to say renewable energy. They just said we had a problem. And now in 2025, actually last year when the world came together at the climate conference, they said the future is renewable. Yeah. So it was only 10 years time and was kind of a resolution. So you could dislike that, say I don't like renewable energy, but I mean the power goes where the money goes. And the big industry around the world, they have invested into renewable energy. If we want to get into the markets around the world, like on the African continent where still millions are not being electrified, this is only possible through renewable energy. So I think there's so much investment having spent in the renewable sector that there's no drawback. Not even if by a political decision, because this would be all stranded investments. Yeah. Companies invested into these new trends. So in this regard, kind of the economy has taken over, doesn't mean that we still have also other ways obviously to go. But if already the Gulf countries, I mean the oil producing countries are saying we are standing on a second leg and this is renewable, then obviously the world have changed in this regard. And I mean, you have seen it here in your own country. No money in the world can protect anybody against the climate effects. When in California like the richest neighborhoods were burning. It didn't help that you have money. You can only help together if you do climate protection measures and protection and development around the world.

[Tim Stanwick]

So world leaders, you are continuing to have the conversation, companies are continuing to spend and you're seeing a movement continuing to move forward when it comes to renewable energy.

[Annalina Baerbock]

These are two trends. But obviously this is our world of capitalism. Yeah, the logic goes where the money goes. And if you just see at the numbers of the last years where the investment, the big investments went, there's a clear trend and this clear trend, sorry, facing out fossil, not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, but in the next decades.

[Carol Massar]

The President of the United States has made his disdain for renewables, specifically wind and solar, well known. He doesn't like windmills, he likes fossil fuels and oil and he likes also stay with power. But we know there are challenges coming up after this. In your view, is the U.S. going to be left behind if we don't invest in renewables?

[Annalina Baerbock]

Well, my role is not to commenting on national politics. However, I've been to Texas actually as a foreign minister. Obviously also you're listening very strong on fossils, but they showed me there, especially all the wind farms and they showed me how you make ammonia carbon neutral because this is the source for the future with global technology. So I would say that also in these countries they are like parallel trends going on and which trends prevails. This is a decision of every national state. But if you see the trend worldwide, if you see it in China, if you see it in Europe, but if you see it in Africa, where the population of the future is living, it's crystal clear where the future economy will go.

[Carol Massar]

I just want to ask a big picture question. Carol went through this list of the challenging environment that we're in. Russia's war with Ukraine now three and a half years old. Israel and Hamas. Coming up on its second year anniversary, the challenges between China and Taiwan. You said you want to make the UN more efficient, but what would you say to a critic that says it hasn't been effective in the last few years?

[Annalina Baerbock]

You're right, not effective enough. But I always turn the question around. Would any country in the world be better off without the United Nations? Because the logic of those who argue, well it didn't deliver on the good would be stop doing the right thing. But then evil would prevail. Would any like truck of humanitarian aid would enter Gaza if we say the UN doesn't work anymore? What the war in Ukraine would stop if we wouldn't have peace negotiations going on? Not at all. So we have to try harder. This is our job. And we know from history that the most important thing is to keep up hope. And hope is not the conviction that everything will go right, but hope is a conviction that you do the right thing. And diplomacy is about doing 300 days or sometimes even 3,000 days. Yeah. If you look back in history again, Second World War lasted for years and years and years. And then afterwards we built the United Nations. So it's about not giving up, trying even harder. And always remember, what would you like to do, your neighbor would do. This is what I asked as a European when there was a full invasion of Russia in Ukraine. Imagine that this was only 8 hours drive away from Berlin capital. Would I not want my neighbors helping me out when we would have been invaded?

[Tim Stanwick]

Well, having said that, as a European, do Europeans, you know, feel like the United States has abandoned it and an important ally and group, if you will?

[Annalina Baerbock]

Well, you bring me in difficult situation. I switched my job. No, no. And I'm speaking now for 193 member states. But obviously I do have also a national identity. But I mean, this is also democracy, government change, and therefore policy change. But I'm a believer, as I said, not only an optimist, but a believer that deep inside when everybody asks themselves, so what do I wish for my own children? What do I wish for my family is like to have clean water and food, to live in peace and security, to go to school and to wish that my friends are helping me out. And especially between Europe, Europe and the U.S. i mean, this has been the deepest friendship over the last decades. So the motto we had together, all for one and one for all, I think this is what held us really also the freedom in our different countries. And I believe that the majorities on both sides of the Atlantic sees it still the same way.

[Tim Stanwick]

Well, I have to say, while the UN General assembly always creates gridlock in New York City and it gets a little crazy moving around, it always does give me a lot of hope and optimism. We get an opportunity to talk to leaders like yourself, global leaders who are seeing different perspectives, different views and just talking about progress and things that are getting done around the world. So it always gives me some hope. So I'm so glad we got some time with you. Good luck this week.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Thank you very much and all the best.

[Tim Stanwick]

Take care. Annalita Baerbock. She is the 80th UN General Assembly President, foreign German Foreign minister joining us right here in studio.

[Podcast Host]

This is the Bloomberg Businessweek Daily Podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at 2pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg business app you can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg 11:30 President.

[Tim Stanwick]

Trump adding a new $100,000 fee for H1B visas in the latest crackdown when it comes to immigration, a lot going on when it comes to the president in the White House. He did also say the president, that is, that he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and hailed progress toward finalizing a deal over TikTok after a highly anticipated call earlier today. He put stuff out on social Tim.

[Carol Massar]

Here'S what he said. Quote, I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues, including trade, fentanyl, the need to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok deal. The call was a very good one. We will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval and both look forward to meeting at at apec, trump added.

[Tim Stanwick]

All right, let's get more on that conversation. The week that was a busy one in Washington, although also was over in the UK and elsewhere. So there was a lot going on when it comes to the chief executive of the United States. Let's get to Bloomberg News White House correspondent Lauren Does. She joins us from the Bloomberg News bureau in the nation's capital. Lauren, where to start? Where to start? The president. Let's start with Xi and the president, because two largest economies, what they say, what they do impacts the world. Was it a very productive phone call?

[Lauren Does]

Progress, I think is the key word when we want to look at this phone call. The details are really scant. The president mentioned some sort of progress with this deal with TikTok, but we have no idea what that means.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Truly.

[Lauren Does]

I think the most substantive thing out of the phone call, at least from the details that we have so far, which as you two noted came from the truth social post, is that he has he will meet with President Xi on the sidelines of APEC that will be in South Korea next month. Of course, the details are still unknown. We don't know if it will be before or afterward or specific days, whatever. Obviously every journalist in town is trying to figure out when exactly that's going to be. Honestly, every journalist in the world, this is the biggest story in the world really. And trying to figure out what exactly these two leaders have agreed to, what these means for tariffs as well as TikTok, we just don't really know yet. So any further details really are is what everyone truly is going to be chasing.

[Carol Massar]

Well, we got other details from the Chinese readout of the call. It struck a more measured tone. How is that different than what we heard from President Trump in his social media post?

[Lauren Does]

Yeah, I mean, clearly it was a good conversation. It was a productive conversation, but really both were really scant on detail. The Chinese readout was interesting because it kind of chided the US Saying not to pursue unilateral trade or to go back on agreements that had been reached before. Kind of a nod to Trump going his own way. And also, you know, we've seen Trump also on social media, kind of pull back on previous agreements with China. So really, I think China is trying to deal with an unpredictable leader to describe Trump. And I think Trump himself, you know, he is very clear that he doesn't want to telegraph what he's going to do, whether it comes to the war in Ukraine, dealing with Russia, et cetera. He's not going to say what he's going to do ahead of time, at least in terms of negotiating. He really wants everyone to be on their toes and to really try and get the best deal. He says, for America.

[Tim Stanwick]

Lauren, as long as the two are talking, that's a good thing.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Yes.

[Lauren Does]

And markets feel that way as well. The idea that the two are working together and, you know, not icing each other out. And we're also not seeing over 100% tariffs on goods from China by the U.S. i mean, I think we can all see that as a good thing.

[Tim Stanwick]

And also good to be fair. Right. To acknowledge that anything that goes on between these two nations, as we said, the two largest economies in the world, we've talked about this when the trade and tariff, tariff spats started, or whatever you want to call it. But that any trade agreement with, with China is going to be a complicated one, a long one. So we have to understand that it's going to be a lot of back and forth before we can kind of say something's a signed deal.

[Lauren Does]

Absolutely. And I think that was kind of the issue, at least initially, when President Trump on Liberation Day 2.0 said that they were going to make 90 deals in 90 days, to a certain extent, glossing over the fact that trade deals take. Take years to iron out. There's a lot of nuances there. There's obviously a lot of interest, and that's with any country, much less these two global superpowers being the US And China. And so to try and hash out a trade deal, it doesn't happen quickly and it doesn't happen easily. And I think any, any capital anywhere in the world can say that, whether they're trying to get Howard Lutnick or Scott Besant on the phone to hash out details with their own trade deals, clearly it's very complicated. And so the idea that the US And China negotiations are ongoing and taking some time, I think is, is understandable.

[Carol Massar]

Lauren, it's Friday, so maybe we'll do a little week. That was when it comes to Washington, an official visit with the UK Tech agreement with the UK Involving investments by US Companies. The president's turning to the Supreme Court to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The president's effect on social media. What about next week? What does that have in store for us, help us push this forward bit.

[Annalina Baerbock]

A little.

[Carol Massar]

Little bit.

[Lauren Does]

Great question. We do know that the president does want to go to the Ryder Cup. He said that he's planned to go to the Ryder Cup. Obviously, President Trump's affinity for golf is well established. It's also in New York. He loves New York, so we'll at least see that. But really, like not to sound ridiculous, but every week holds something new and unexpected with this president. And he at least will not get his state dinner for the third time. Trump back in the UK Very much enjoyed his time with Charles and Camilla, said that it was the highest honor of his life that he was in the UK So while he's onward and upward and headed to the Ryder cup, there's also it won't be quite as gilded and full of pomp and circumstances. This week was at least okay.

[Tim Stanwick]

Yeah. And I was just thinking about kind of the coming week. I mean, I it's really we live on things that come out of the White House that come out on social media. But there is still a lot going on. We've got two wars that are still going on overseas. Something we're going to talk about with our next guest in just a moment after our break. At the same time, we are still kind of figuring out trade deals and what they mean kind of longer term. I mean, CEOs. We're going to get into a new earnings season and they're going to be talking about that. We saw FedEx talk about that. That's something we're going to talk about in just a moment as well. So there's still a lot in terms of those areas to come from the White House.

[Lauren Does]

Absolutely. There's, I think, so much uncertainty in terms of how this White House deals with, you know, projecting what they want to do. And I think even in the reporting process as we're trying to figure out what's happening. So much of what we hear is, you know, it's official when Trump says it, it's official when the president president puts it out. And until the official word is coming from the president's lips or truth social, that's when we will then ultimately get certainty. And I think certainly for CEOs and you know, really anyone who's trying to navigate these markets, it can be a little uncertain and obviously having some sort of close eye on the president's true social. But also, you know, what he's saying day to day really just depends on, on where his headspace is.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Yeah.

[Tim Stanwick]

Or moments ago when we got the headline that the president is expected to sign a proclamation to overhaul the H1B visa program requiring $100,000 fee for application. Something we will follow through the rest of the day and probably into next week. Lauren so appreciate it. Lauren does. She's White House correspondent Bloomberg News, joining us there from the nation's capital.

[Carol Massar]

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

[Podcast Host]

This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at 2pm.

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[Tim Stanwick]

We saw yesterday the S&P 500, the Dow, the Nasdaq 100 and the Russell all hit records at the same time. Something we have not seen in. Was it 21 years or something like since.

[Carol Massar]

I think it was since 2021.

[Tim Stanwick]

Since. Oh, okay. Sorry, I think.

[Carol Massar]

But. Or. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Carol, you. I'm going to get the right information, okay, because you're putting me on the spot. I have it written down.

[Tim Stanwick]

Yes, we get the knucklehead.

[Carol Massar]

We get you. Will you please, will you please continue with the introduction and then I will get you the right information.

[Tim Stanwick]

It's in our. I think it's in our.

[Annalina Baerbock]

In our.

[Tim Stanwick]

I know, I know, I know. Anyway, it's a big deal and it's made everybody think about to have all of these major averages, including the Russell, the small cap that in terms of the markets moving up, stocks moving up. It's been much more broad based. Over to you.

[Carol Massar]

Okay. The first time this has happened since 2021. It's only happened on 25 other days.

[Tim Stanwick]

There we go. This century, 25 years, 25 days.

[Carol Massar]

It's only happened on 25 Other Days. This century. And that would be the S&P 500, the Dow, the NASDAQ 100 in the Russell 2000 closing at a record simultaneously. It did happen yesterday, but might not happen today with the Russell.

[Tim Stanwick]

Walter Todd is definitely saying, you knucklehead, just come on over to me. Yeah.

[Carol Massar]

He's like, what are they doing? Help us, Walter.

[Tim Stanwick]

It's just a Friday here at Bloomberg.

[Annalina Baerbock]

Hey.

[Tim Stanwick]

Walter Todd is president and chief investment officer of Greenwood Capital Invest Associates. Excuse me. He joins us from Greenville, South Carolina. Nice to have you here. I don't know if you're watching Southern Charm. I'm just going to put it. I have a bunch of family in South Carolina. It's an area where real estate's been booming. There's a lot of companies that have set up shop over the past few years. You come into the airport, you pass the Boeing planes, like it's just kind of a lot happening. How do you see the economy, what you are seeing on the ground and what you think is happening more broadly when it comes to the U.S. yeah.

[Walter Todd]

Well, great to be with you guys this afternoon. So I have a lot of ties to Charleston. My mom, my sister, my daughter, my stepson are all down there. So I go down there quite a bit and it is booming. And here in Greenville, this, you know, this city, this part of the state, and really the whole state of South Carolina, the Southeast in general, right. Has benefited from a lot of, a lot of tailwinds. So, you know, the economy seems to be doing well. Anecdotally, I know there's a lot of mixed messages in the, in the national data and I think you kind of heard some of that confusion and Powell's testimony or his press conference on Wednesday. So again, I think in general economy's okay. I just think, you know, talking about the markets and the new all time highs that were hit across the board, it just seems like the markets may be running ahead of the pace of the economy at this point. That's our thought.

[Carol Massar]

Okay, so, so you said the economy is generally okay. Where are you seeing weakness right now?

[Walter Todd]

Yeah, so we're seeing in housing. You know, I was talking to some folks in the industry here. They're seeing more existing homes come on the market. They're sitting on the, the market for longer. They're not getting the asking price. You know, a year ago if you, a house barely came on the market here in Greenville and it was gone or it may not have come on the market and it was gone. But now you're seeing houses set for, for weeks and months. So we're definitely seeing some pressure in housing. We saw this with Lennar's report last night and their call today. So that rates are definitely impacting that. You know, the service business is very strong. Travel is very strong. South Carolina, big tourist state destination. So we're seeing good, good business there as well. But I mean, definitely the, obviously the lower tier, the, you know, the bottom 50% of earners are I think challenged with the, with the price environment right now.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah, I think, look, that's not going to surprise anyone. We've talked a lot about a tale of two different economies right now. And I think anecdotally, and you can even look at the data to, to think about the difficulty that some people are having finding jobs, especially young People, that's certainly a challenge. There's also the challenges when it comes to inflation on certain things, the price of beef and what tariffs on imported meat from Brazil and other South American countries in Australia too will do to beef prices. We'll see what happens there. There's also the question about what happens with the US Government and the probability of a government shutdown. Our producer shared some notes with us. You think that probability is at 56% right now? Now, do you still believe that? Even after we saw some movement in the House, but things go to the Senate now?

[Walter Todd]

Yeah. So that statistic comes from poly market. That's the 56%. So that's probably better than anything to look at a probability. I think both efforts to do a continuing resolution, a short term stopgap measure was blocked in the House and Senate, if I'm not mistaken. I think that was the headline this afternoon. So it looks like, like we're at least as we see here today, more likely that probability has probably gone up.

[Carol Massar]

It just went up to 59. It went from when you said it was poly market. I went to check. It was at 58% and then as you were speaking, it went up to 59% on polymarkers.

[Walter Todd]

So that, yeah, again, government shutdowns, you know, usually don't have a long term impact on the economy or the market for that matter. But you know, given the kind of the tensions in Washington right now, maybe this lasts a little bit longer than anticipated if we do get one. And given that the market is kind of priced for perfection in a lot of ways that could have an, you know, an adverse effect on stock prices as well.

[Carol Massar]

And the one that I'm looking at is, is there going to be a U.S. government shut down in 2025? That's at 50, right? That's at 58% to back down to 58. And then there's another one. Will the U.S. government shut down by October 1st? That's a 52% chance. So if that, if that does indeed happen. What I mean, we've seen this rodeo before, so. Oh yeah, what should investors sit on their hands?

[Walter Todd]

No, I mean, again, I don't think you invest around that necessarily. It's just one of those risks and there are many out there that our view is that the market is just not discounting a lot of bad news or any risk at this point. So again, as I said in my notes to you guys, I think you'd be more tactical right here. You be patient, look for opportunities, be opportunistic. Because individual stock volatility is very high compared to overall market volatility, which is very low with the vix sitting around 15. But you get these really dramatic moves up and down with individual, individual names. And we would just advocate for, you know, kind of being patient, taking advantage of those.

[Tim Stanwick]

All right, so what I always like to ask people, somebody comes to you, Walter, and they've got some new money to put to work, where do you do it? Because it did sound like you think that the market is ahead of what's going on in the economy. So I'm not quite sure if you would say, say, sit on that money, put it in something like cash or cash, like, I don't know, what's the play here?

[Walter Todd]

Yeah, so I have to give the obligatory, you know, every situation is different.

[Lauren Does]

I know, I know, I know.

[Walter Todd]

Hard to give advice on anyone situation.

[Tim Stanwick]

Like niece and I come and I say, what do I do with my money, Uncle Walter, what do we do?

[Walter Todd]

Yeah, yeah. So we, again, I think what we would do is just, you know, be patient. I mean, there, there are names, you know, in our portfolios that we, we would absolutely take full positions in today, but there are also names that we hold in our portfolio that we probably, you know, wait for to add full positions. We might take a starting position in the name that's run, but we, you know, Oracle, for example, you know, we're fortunate enough to own that went up 40% in one day. We actually sold half the position in that. So that's not a name we would, you know, go into, you know, full bore right here. So again, being a little bit more tactical with how we would put money to work with new money coming in.

[Tim Stanwick]

Probably more like your favorite sister in law. I'm just going to put it out there. Walter Todd. Have a good weekend. So appreciate it. He is president and Chief Investment officer of Greenwood Capital Associates. Joining us from Greenville, South Carolina.

[Podcast Host]

This is the Bloomberg businessweek daily podcast. Available on Apple, Spotify and anywhere else you get. Your podcasts listen live weekday after news afternoons from 2 to 5pm Eastern on bloomberg.com, the iHeartRadio app, TuneIn and the Bloomberg Business app. You can also watch us live Every weekday on YouTube and always on the Bloomberg terminal.

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[Carol Massar]

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