Bezos Blue Origin Spaceflight a Success

You can also listen to our radio show at two pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio, or watch us on YouTube search Bloomberg Global News. The Delta varrant now making up an eight year percent of all sequence COVID nighteing cases here in the U S. New York City vaccine

rate drops though as COVID cases rise. Francesina jumping vaccination, Apple pushing back its return of office deadlines, Tokyo still struggling just before the Olympics, and we did also report a White House official and staff member for Nancy Pelosi both tested positive for COVID after attending the same reception last week that coming are confirmed to Axios back with us a voice that we've reached out to throughout the pandemic. Dr Peter Alpern, who is vice president now at the

publicly held Doximity. It's a professional network medical network for physicians. He is with us on the phone in Austin, Texas. Dr Alpern, good to check in with you once again. How do you see this delta variant breakout and rise in COVID cases? Yeah, well, thank you for having me, Carroll. UM. So the delta variant is concerning and is obviously becoming

the predominant strain of COVID that people are catching. It's clearly more contagious UM and is beginning to make up the vast majority of the cases that people are seeing. I should note that the the delta variant outbreaks do seem to be much more prefable and obviously and people who are unvaccinated as opposed to vaccinated, so it does UM. It is largely a a pandemic or epidemic among the unvaccinated population, but that still is a very significant number.

So it's extremely concerning UM and people are obviously paying very good attention. So help was that because we were all, like you know, we've been told get the vaccine you'll be okay, or you'll be in a much better position. Uh. And yet at the same time, in talking to medical professionals like yourself, we are reminded that this is a much more contagious and more um, you know, virulent virus.

And so I guess I'm just trying to how do we I don't know, how do we figure out the risk reward balance here as we increasingly get back to life. We do have a bit of a playbook here. And yet, um, there's nervousness. We see it in the financial markets, certainly saw it yesterday. Yeah, I think, um, you know, I think all the basic things we know to be true remain true, which is that, um, getting vaccinated helps prevent

the disease. We have three extremely good options in the Visor and MODERNA vaccines as well as the Johnson and Johnson vaccines. So if you haven't been vaccinated, and you are eligible and don't have a reason that you shouldn't take the vaccines, it still is absolutely the most important thing that you can do. Um. Uh. In terms of the virulence as you refer to it, it's really more contagious what we've seen with the delta. The delta variant

is it's much much easier to catch. It's got a much higher contagiousness rate that are not that people would talk about in the past, UM, but it does not seem to lead to more severe illnesses as compared to

the regular strains or the original strains of the virus UM. So, and then in terms of the vaccines that people have already received, if you are vaccinated in a far more than two weeks out from your second dose UM or your first dose of the J and J vaccine, then you do do appear to be greatly protected with a

very decreased risk of severe illness or hospitalization. So the last thing in terms of the other sort of masking and those things, which is very much implied in your question, UM, you know, if you are going into a very crowded space, it probably makes sense to UM to you know, to

be air on the side of caution. So if you're at a concert or something that's extremely crowded and wearing a mask is certainly not out wrong UM and certainly can also afford some a bit of comfort to those people around you, because you really obviously can't tell who's vaccinated INTOISM. And thanks for the clarification, because you're right, it's more contagious, and I guess the fear is getting a variant that is more contagious as well as just

much more severe. Right, that's the tricky point. So listen, one thing, since we've got about two and a half minutes left here. You guys are at the forefront when it comes to telehealth medicine. How does that stay with us? Um So, you know, telehealth is something that is continuing to UMU to stay as a very important part of the way that physicians and other health care professionals are

treating their patients. And I think you know, this latest outbreak of the delta variant um is something that just sort of is reinforcing that. I think both from the professional side, on the side of doctors, they're aware that they're able to see more patients or deliver care to patients who they otherwise wouldn't be able to see through

the use of telehealth. And then on the flip side, if you're or a patient knowing that you can communicate with your physician and not have to go to a hospital or go to a clinic where that you might see people, and maybe you are someone who is unable to be vaccinated because of an underlying medical condition. And so telehealth is clearly something that is playing an important role and we'll continue to play an important role and something that we see um, you know being discussed UM

quite often on the Ductionmity network. What's the guidance in terms of well doctors at some point say well, that's a case where I need to see you in person. That's a case where I can see you, um, you know via online or you know telehealth in a telehealth method. And how is it that we as patients need to say no, this is something I need to go in for. This is something I can just quick get online with you about and just kind about. It's a it's a

great question. Um. So there's always going to be a situations where you're not able to be fully evaluated via telehealth visit. That there's certain elements of the physical examp for insince which you're just impossible to do via a video visit. Um. That said, I think it's a conversation between the patients and their and their physician. If either side is not comfortable with the telehealth visit then um, and in person's visit is absolutely the next step um.

Sometimes it's obvious, right if you have a cut or something on that certain need to go to the emergency room obviously, but for other things it will be just a combination of that conversation. If you, as a patient are uncomfortable and want to be seen in person, then you should emphasize that with your physician. Alright, great step to and a great point to end on. Peter, Thank you so much, Dr Peter alper and he is vice president at the now publicly held Oximity. They went public

in June. They are a professional medical network for physicians. And Dr Alpern joining us on the phone from Austin, Texas. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. It's one for the history books. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and three others landing safely after Blue Origins first flight to space with centers aboard, a key milestone in the company's effort

to make space tourism viable. After the flight, Bloomberg Technology anchor Emily Chang getting the first interview with Jeff Bezos, and they talked about a lot, including the long term view check it out. What we're doing is we're building infrastrar This is a road. We're building a road to space so that future generations can build the future. We live on this beautiful planet. It's the most beautiful planet in the Source System by far, and we have to

keep it safe and protect it. And the way to do that is slowly, over decades, to move all heavy industry, all polluting industry, out into space. That's what we're gonna do so we can keep this planet the gym that it is. But to do that, we need reusable spacecraft. We need low cost spacecraft. And to get that, we've got to practice. And that's what just touris and mission is about. That's Jeff Bezos alongside his brother Mark, speaking to our Emily Chang earlier right after they landed after

going into space. Emily along with my co host and Bloomberg Cricktake anchor Tim Stanevik, leading our coverage of the mission. It was in credible this morning. Both are in Van Horne, Texas and join us now. So Emily and him, I guess I was glued to my phone watching the whole time. It took my breath away. Emily, you caught up with Bezos and his brother Mark, as I said the first interview after they landed, what struck you about today, Carol?

It was an absolutely surreal day. You know, we as journalists cover a lot of different kinds of stories, and this is definitely one that I will remember. I mean, watching the rocket take off, there was this moment where you know, you look at it going up and then suddenly you say you realize again, oh my goodness, Jeff Bezos is on that rocket. Wow. Um And talking to him, being the first person to talk to him after he

landed from the press, um was an incredible moment. I mean he was kind of at a loss for words. He said it was all inspiring, and then couldn't quite find the right words. He turned it over to his brother and said maybe he'd have to send a poet up to space so somebody could put into words. Um more eloquently just described that that feeling that he thinks

everyone should experience. Well, and Tim, I'm gonna bring you in a minute, but Emily, this is something Jeff Bezos has been working on, you know, aspiring to do for whatever twenty years, twenty years perhaps, I mean his infatuation with space. His fascination with space goes back decades to when he was a child watching lunar landings with his grandfather. And Blue Origin itself is one years old. I mean, people don't realize that he has been at this a

long time. There have been delays, there have been design issues, there have been UM prototypes exploding in mid air, and so the company has had to tackle that along the way. And him deciding to be the first UH passenger going up to space was actually a huge show of faith

and everything that they've been working on. Nobody here necessarily expected it to actually have two astronauts on staff that everyone thought would be the first people on the first crude mission, But then Jeff Bezos raised his hand and said, no, it's gonna be me. Yeah, making a big statement by doing so, and then also bringing along the youngest and oldest astronaut ever. Ultimately, Hey, Tim, come on in on this. How was this trip similar or different to Alan Shepherd's

historic trip into space some sixty years ago. Yeah, Well, you have to remember that the rocket that carried Bezos

and crew up into space is named New Shepherd. It's it's a nod to Alan Shepherd's historic flight, and he mentioned it after the press conference and and said that the launch profile was very similar, and indeed it was, but the similarities kind of end there because this rocket from Blue Origin fully automated the experience from launch to touchdown, fully automated, obviously not that's not what happened with with the Mercury and with Alan Shepherd. In addition to that,

um the idea of it being reusable. This was the third flight for this stack. That means that it had been the combination had been flown too times previously, and that's not something that was able to be done until just a few years ago. In addition to that, the capsule is much larger. Those huge windows that Blue Origin loves to talk about take up a third of the entire capsule. And then again, this is a vacation, this is an experience. This is meant to appeal to people

who are tourists. Right, if we think back to what happened sixty years ago, we were locked in a dead heat with the Soviet Union and the space race, and in fact, many would argue that the Soviet Union had gone further than we had in a short time. The whole idea that was autonomous also just kind of blew my mind. My dad having done a lot of things in the space, but you always had a pilot, and

then you had a back up pilot. Emily, I wonder if we did an injustice in terms of the media initially saying, you know, it's kind of the billionaire battle for space. It's much more than just a billionaire Emily going into space. Absolutely, and you know, Jeff Bezos, of course, uh, you know, space tourism is just the tip of the iceberg here. And he did say today that they've made almost a hundred million dollars with people buying tickets on

the next two flights. But the real goal is to build that road to space, that infrastructure that will allow other entrepreneurs, other businesses, other people who don't have as much money as Jeff Bezos, uh, to do great things in space. He believes that Earth is the best place to live. This is not about getting to Mars. All other planets, he says, are inhospitable. We need to create the space economy to protect Earth, to tap the energy

resources from the Sun or water from the Moon. And you know, it was interesting in the press conference, you know, somebody asked are you gonna do it again? And he said, hell yeah, And then we actually went out to the landing pad. We saw the booster where it landed on the landing pad and uh, they came out again and I said, it looks like it's ready to go back up. I mean the point is it's reusable. Are you ready

for this event soon? And when he said yes, tomorrow. Um, so you know he's he was he's incredibly excited, and you know it's it's there is something poetic about this. Yes, he's being criticized. Um, yes, not everyone understands why he's investing in space. And his answer is it's it's not about not caring about Earth. I care about Earth. This is this is to help Earth in the future, very specific perspective, and I love it. While he funk, I'm assuming would also say I would go, and I'm guessing

Tim and Emily might also be willing to go. I just will just ignore the quarter of a million dollars to get there. I'm journal now, but you let me drive? No, no, no no, home hone please, I'll do the drivel. I want to drive. Drive the question this is the drive to the globe. Give me thanks, we'll try us dawn on Bluebird Rady. So just about ten and a half

minutes left in today's trading session. Charlie of course breaking down the trade here, and we have seen stocks up across the board throughout the day and holding near their best levels of the day. So let's get to it. Let's bring in Danna Dioria, CO, Chief Investment Officer, the Publicly Held Investment PMC, on the phone in Pennsylvania. Hey, Dana, good to have you back with us. You, guys, UM are all about providing support for financial advisors. You provide

them tools. Tell us a little about what you are hearing from some of your clients. Yeah, thank you for having me so. UM, you're absolutely right. We provide tools to retail advisors, and certainly in this space, there's a lot of question around where should we be diversifying, how do we manage the fact that yields are so low? Um, you know Fixingcome right now. If I have a sixty forty, which is just the standard model for a lot of clients, you know it is going into something that's really low

yielding and um, potentially negative real returns. So I think, UM, a lot of discussion on urns around, you know, alternative investments in other places to diversify. So when you are looking at alternative investments, like what really pops out for you right now? Well, certainly, I think, Um, there's questions about a couple of different things, right, hedge funds for diversification.

Certainly last year with covid um, there was kind of resurgence of interest and hedge funds because they did perform well amidst the volatility, you know, and that from the perspective of what we hear from clients, that was a bit of a reversal because we have been a bowl market for so long that anything that didn't have high data was you know, not necessarily is that much interest. So resurgence there for the diversification, um, you know, the

ability to not have as much volatility. And then you know private markets, right, private credit, private real estate, um, you know, private equity to just get a little bit higher return, a little bit higher yield. What do you make of, Okay, a little bit of correction or or selling yesterday, we bounced back today the bond market, while we've seen some firming when it comes to the yield on the tenure, certainly off the loads that we saw yesterday,

nonetheless still very low. So what story are equities telling you? What story is the bond market or treasury is telling you? And are they the same stories? It's it's such a great question. It's definitely something that I think asset managers in general are wrestling with and and wealth managers the like, because of course you are seeing such strong equity markets, I mean, notwithstanding yesterday, and we have had some pullbacks which make a lot of sense, right when you when

you think about the delta variants in COVID. You know, we're gonna have no spectators at the at the Olympics this year, so there's definitely some concern that, well, maybe we're not past this, so some pullbacks makes sense. But all in all, equity markets have have really been up obviously and and done fantastically well and earning beating estimates

and expectations that that continues. So um and then you have just this, you know, the drop of the yield them a tenure which suggests that there is concerned in the market about future real growth and you know, maybe a policy error from the SUD So definitely conflicting messages. Obviously that the market is trying to deal with You know, I teased earlier that, um, we're gonna talk a little bit about E s G with you as well. And I think it's an interesting day where you have Jeff

Bezos going into space Blue Origin. Uh. It has certainly been one of our focal points today. Jeff Bezos is talking about space exploration is about how to improve things on Earth and taking care of Earth. Amazon obviously someone that makes a big carbon footprint or has its impact right because we're you know, moving a lot of stuff around. Um, but Jeff is making that point about, you know, we have to really protect Earth, that this is what it's

all about. I mean, why wouldn't we want to in terms of what's here specifically, And it kind of feeds into that bigger, broader investment theme of E s G, which we know a lot of companies are talking about it. We just mentioned about black Rock specifically when it comes to directors at companies, you know, the pressure they're putting

on companies to be more climate sensitive and proactive. UM, E s G. It is still there's so much gray area there because the metrics aren't there to really measure it. How do you make us or how should we be thinking about it? And how do investors be smart about it? It's it's a great question, and you raise a lot of really important issues, right, So so we'll hit like these universal owners, these big owners like Black Rock, State Street.

Obviously they're using their muscle to get better engagement from the companies that they're invested in. These are universal owners. You know, if there's a problem that comes from a transition, right, whether it's a physical risk of climate change or just transition risk, they know they're going to get hit, right because they're they own across the board, so there's no

likes finding, you know, a shelter from that. So they're very much in tune to this, and the fact that they are, I think it gives information content about where maybe the rest of us should be thinking in terms of out there is systematic unpriced risk on this, and I think certainly when you drill down into different industries and different stocks within those industries, there are very very much varying postures on how they're handling this transition to

a low carbon economy. So if you're a stock picker, that's where you're kind of focused, right. So moving away from the systematic and saying and look, there's there's risk here and there's also opportunity. And what we're seeing in the asset manager space now is the effort to integrate E s G into fundamental analysis, into looking at what should I look at for multiples on this stock? What should I look at in terms of the discount rate? Um?

You know, and it crosses obviously into the SMG as well in terms of you know, how I'm treating my workers and um, you know the my governance policies and how does that impact. Now. You could argue a lot of this is just fundamental analysis that should always be taking place. But I think we're getting to your point. Data sources, they're not matching, they're not necessarily super Bowl or it did, but it's it's it's data that we didn't used to have. It's data that we didn't used

to have, and I think it's going to increase. I think that's going to make for better asset management over time. Well, in a f I SEC chair Gary Ginsler has his

way right, He's talked about a climate disclosure rule. Uh, and so we've talked about this with the CFO of Cisco, specifically about the need for you know, true disclosure and make it the responsibility of a regulatory body like the SEC, so that investors really know what they're investing in, so that when they are committing money, uh, if what they want to support is true E s G. That money

is going to their commitments. Yeah. I think that's going to be key because what you have now too is even in the asset management industry, just such differences in what folks mean when they say, well, this is an E s G fond, right, and and what do we mean by that? So you absolutely need um better disclosures

on these things better, you know. Obviously Gensler has talked about like is this an instrul issue where obviously you know, you're held too much higher standards if if it is, or is this you know, just something that you work out into, you know, kind of through the disclosures that the asset managers make. Hey, Dana, one thing I want to ask you. So yesterday the reopening trade was not in fashion. Today it's back in fashion. So what do you advise your clients or what do you advise investors

to do at this point? Do you buy airlines? Do you not? Do you buy hotel companies do you not? Do you buy cruise companies? Do you not? How do you play it? So investments Yodeli unit gets data on spending UM, so it gets very early data that kind of is nice signaling for us at ahead of time. And you know, certainly there has the indoor reopening trade has not looked as good or spend I should say, um has not looked nearly as good as the outdoor UM. You know. So, uh, that's something to kind of take

into account. But I would say at a higher level, UM, broad diversification is kind of the antidote, right, I mean, you just it's it's timing this and in the level of volatility of going back and forth between cyclicals, you know, uh, factors that are sensitive to the economy and to reopening and those that are not. Is just for the retail client, um, yeah, You're what you need to do is diverse by across at these different areas. All Right, we gotta run. Hey,

Dana thinks so much. Really appreciate your perspective. Danny Dioria, she's co Chief investment Officer Investnet PMC on the phone from Pennsylvania. Thanks for listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Download the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot com, and you can also listen to our radio show at two pm Eastern on Bloomberg Radio or watch us on YouTube. Search to Bloomberg Global News