Slate Money – "Old Bob, New Bob"

Date: February 29, 2020
Hosts: Felix Salmon (Axios), Anna Szymanski (Breaking Views), Emily Peck (HuffPost)

Episode Overview

This episode of Slate Money offers a wide-ranging, insightful, and lively discussion of the week’s most important stories in business and finance. The hosts tackle the sharp decline in the stock market (colloquially: “stonks went down”), the economic and political implications of the coronavirus outbreak, a deep dive into Disney’s CEO succession intrigue (“Old Bob, New Bob”), and the peculiar world of French Ponzi schemes. The discussion flows naturally, mixing sharp analysis with humor and a conversational tone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Stock Market Turmoil: "Stonks Went Down"

• [01:19 – 04:03]

  • The panel kicks off by noting the extreme focus on headline alerts when the stock market drops, particularly sudden drops as opposed to slow declines or rises.
  • Emily Peck highlights how "A sudden drop is much more scary than a gradual decline. Like, walking down a little hill, you know, is okay, but, you know, falling off a cliff is more troubling, I suppose." (02:50 – Emily)
  • Felix questions why investors and media become much more alarmed by abrupt market movements, despite 10 years of steady increases getting little attention.

• [05:29 – 09:20]

  • Anna suggests the current correction is a mix of rational response—due to potential coronavirus impacts on the supply chain and real economy—and panic.
  • The group notes that, despite the latest fall, the stock market remains objectively high by historical standards.
  • Discussion on “V-shaped” recoveries (down then up quickly) – previous viral scares showed rebounds, but the timeframe and severity remain uncertain for COVID-19.

2. Coronavirus Crisis: Economic, Social, and Political Impact

• [03:00 – 12:37]
  • Hosts comment on the blending of economic and public health fears in public consciousness, with President Trump seeming to worry more about markets than citizens' health.
  • Emily critiques the appointment of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and economic advisor Larry Kudlow to the coronavirus task force:
    • "Noted health expert Larry Kudlow." (05:01 – Emily, sarcastically)
  • Detailed discussion of how the U.S. healthcare system may worsen the crisis:
    • Lack of sick leave and high deductibles make people less likely to seek medical care or stay home, raising contagion risks.
    • "Yeah, the health care system in the United States is almost designed to exacerbate this kind of thing." (11:47 – Felix)
  • The CDC warnings marked a turning point for market sentiment, particularly as it hit home for U.S. investors and businesses.

3. Disney’s Leadership Shuffle: “Old Bob, New Bob”

• [12:40 – 22:55]
  • Disney’s CEO Bob Iger steps down (or "up" to Executive Chairman), replaced by Bob Chapek.
  • The group finds the “Executive Chairman” title inherently contradictory:
    • "Executive Chairman is an oxymoron...It’s basically a way of CEOs to not be CEO anymore but still be in charge, which makes no sense." (13:10 – Felix)
  • Anna calls the structure “bad corporate governance,” and Emily notes the gender assumptions in the term “Chairman.”
  • Bob Iger’s remarkable record—transforming Disney with acquisitions (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox) and turning it into an omnichannel IP juggernaut. Felix observes:
    • "I cannot think of any other company that has been so unbelievably good at M&A." (16:40 – Felix)
  • Debate on whether a creative or operational leader is needed now that the complex empire is established, paralleling changes seen at HBO.
  • Ambiguity over Iger’s new “head of creative” title and how Disney’s creative strategy may not be as innovative as it would seem:
    • "The thing about all of these IP franchises, whether it's Star Wars or Pixar or Marvel, you know, Avengers and all of that, is they're not that creative." (21:23 – Felix)
  • Caution that Disney’s two biggest bets—21st Century Fox acquisition and Disney+ streaming—are still unproven and need careful stewardship.

4. French Ponzi Scheme: The Case of Gerard Léroutier and Astrophil

• [23:52 – 29:33]
  • Felix brings up David Segal’s New York Times story on Gerard Léroutier, who ran a Ponzi scheme involving rare books and manuscripts—a "deliciously French" twist.
  • Rare books are a niche, illiquid asset class. Anna summarizes:
    • "It's just not the type of alternative asset that is going to appreciate in value enough to securitize it." (28:11 – Anna)
  • Léroutier promised his clients a safe, steady (but unsustainable) 9% return—close enough to Madoff’s 10% to seem credible but moderate.
  • The twist: Léroutier won €2 million in the lottery, but even that couldn't save the scheme.
    • "It's just so unreal." (28:47 – Emily)
  • Classic Ponzi dynamics: when the scam collapses, investors blame authorities for intervening rather than the fraudster.
    • "When Ponzi's go down, the investors in the Ponzi blame the government and not the Ponzi. This is…absolutely standard." (29:33 – Felix)
  • Comparisons drawn between Ponzi dynamics and speculative investments in markets and companies.

5. Numbers Round

• [31:21 – 35:54]
  • Anna: $330,000 – Steven Seagal’s SEC fine for promoting a shady cryptocurrency (“Bitcoin2Gen”).
  • Emily: 29 – Leap Year Day and a hilarious "Ask a Manager" story about an employee with a Feb 29 birthday only getting time off “every four years”.
  • Felix: 25 – Section 25 of the German Nationality Act; his personal tale of inadvertently losing German citizenship by becoming a U.S. citizen due to bureaucratic fine print.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sudden market drops:
  • "A sudden drop is much more scary than a gradual decline..." (02:50 – Emily)
• On U.S. coronavirus response:
  • "Noted health expert Larry Kudlow." (05:01 – Emily, sarcastically)
• On the Disney exec shuffle:
  • "Executive Chairman is an oxymoron...It's basically a way of CEOs to not be CEO anymore but still be in charge, which makes no sense." (13:10 – Felix)
  • "No one does their best work with like the former CEO breathing down their neck and second guessing everything they do." (14:55 – Felix)
• On Ponzi schemes:
  • "When Ponzi's go down, the investors in the Ponzi blame the government and not the Ponzi. This is…absolutely standard." (29:33 – Felix)
• On losing German citizenship via bureaucracy:
  • "The thing I did was fail to read section 25 of the German Nationality act, and now I have lost my German nationality." (35:27 – Felix, personal and poignant)

Important Timestamps

• 01:19 – Market headlines and panic psychology
• 03:00 – Intersection of coronavirus fears and market moves
• 05:01 – Critique of Trump’s coronavirus task force
• 10:28 – Real-world effects of coronavirus in New York’s Chinatown
• 12:50 – Disney CEO succession and the “two Bobs” conundrum
• 16:40 – Disney’s M&A triumphs
• 21:23 – Creativity (or lack thereof) in Disney’s business model
• 23:52 – French Ponzi scheme breakdown
• 28:47 – The lottery twist in Léroutier’s Ponzi
• 31:21 – Numbers round, including Steven Seagal’s crypto fine
• 35:27 – Felix’s German citizenship story

Tone & Style

The hosts maintain a witty, sharp, and conversational tone. They mix levity (“Old Bob, New Bob”) and dry humor with thoughtful, well-informed discussion, delivering both entertaining anecdotes and substantive analysis. The language is direct, clear, and often self-deprecating.

Summary

"Old Bob, New Bob" captures a turbulent, headline-filled week in finance with Slate Money’s trademark blend of sharp analysis and humor. The panel dissects the psychology behind stock market panic, the U.S.’s complicated economic vulnerabilities in a pandemic, the confusing (and perhaps troubling) leadership shuffle at Disney, and the whimsical, yet ultimately predictable, downfall of a French literary Ponzi scheme. For those seeking insight into the intersection of markets, corporate shuffles, and financial absurdities, this episode delivers a both breezy and substantive listening experience.