Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - August 29th, 2025

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 Business Week Daily Podcast with Carol Masser and Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio.

Hi, everyone, Welcome to the Bloomberg Business Week Weekend Podcast. Carol is off this week, and let's be real, It's a week that's really been about two things. The question of FED independence after President Trump moved to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, which escalates his battle for more control of the US Central Bank. That's a story we were all over this past week. Also all over earnings

I'm Isabell Lee, and I joined Tim for the conversation with Jay Goldberg. Later on in the chat, we'll bring in Bloomberg News Big Tech team leader Sarah Fryar.

And as a reminder, Jay is the only analyst tracked by Bloomberg who has a cell rating on in Nvidia.

My thesis is that in Nvidia is good company, good products. They have this Blackwell ramp coming now, But I think it's it's just getting harder for them. It's gotten so big so quickly. I think it's getting harder and harder for them to outperform the sector. We've all gotten customed to the having these massive blowouts quarter after quarter, and it just couldn't continue.

Right.

This is by any normal company, this would be an okay quarter, right, but it's in Nvidia. We all have heightened expectations and it was just, I think, very difficult for them to live up to it.

I feel like it's the outlook for a sales of fifty four billion plus or minus two percent that is fuzzy against estimates around fifty three point forty six billion. But in both cases, remember the wide range of analysts forecasts due to the unknowns of China, and I feel like this is what we've talked about tim, how there's such a broad range and it's hard to predict now, especially with China. But the all important forecast revenue fifty four billion dollars looks good compared with consensus.

I think it's okay.

I think that the China factor is interesting because like a year ago, if somebody or some country or some even some company wasn't able to take allocation of their chips for whatever reason, there would be a line out the door of other customers waiting to take those chips, and it doesn't seem to be that the line is that long anymore. Right, There's still there's still demand there, but it's not this sort of triple oversubscribed demand that they enjoyed a year ago.

We're speaking of right now with Jay Goldberg, you senior analysts for Semiconductors and Electronics with Seaport Research Partners. So were you proven right this quarter that you're the only analyst tracked by Bloomberg that has accelerating on the terminal.

I'll take I'll take the win.

I'll take I'll take a lowercase W in this case.

I mean, it's not trading out one hundred dollars yet.

No, But I, like I said, my thesis has all along been that it's just getting harder for them to beat expectations. And I think this is exactly what happened to here.

There's there's not much.

Growth in data center. You know, you read all the other headlines. It seems like AI is taking over the world, But in reality, I think there's just it's we're going to need some time to digest the AI we already have, and I think it's natural that things slow down here. For in video who's been leading for so long?

Is it a red flag to you in any way, Jay, that the company is authorizing this share buyback. Do growth companies do that or is that more of a sign of mature companies.

It's a little bit of a red sign.

I mean, it would seem to me that there's there's so much opportunity out there in AI, why why not spend that sixty billion dollars in furthering their growth? I mean, as a shareholder, I would appreciate it, but as an outside observer, I have to wonder couldn't they find other ways to deploy that?

So you make the point that it's just hard to grow from here on out? How much of diversification is hinged on that? We know that forty percent of the revenue is from Microsoft, Meta Amazon, and I'm missing one.

I can't I'm blanking on that name.

But Vida now offers computers, networking gear, software services.

Can we account on that?

I think there's just it's it's good company, good products, But like this kind of exuberance seems to be getting the head of reality of the market. And I mean, I have to wonder you have all the hyperscalers spending these immense amounts of money half a trillion dollars among the six or seven of these companies, it's hard to see them getting a return on that anytime soon, right, you sort of look through it. I don't think they

I want to bring in Sarah Fryar. She's Bloomberg News Big Tech team leader. She joins us from San Francisco. This was the one we've all been waiting for, and finally it has arrived, Sarah. The company giving a tepid revenue forecast for the current period, it fuels concerns that

Well, you know, I think we have to put it all in context because Nvidia is this in this space of having so much uncertainty around the China market, around the future of spend on data centers. The analysts who cover the company had like fifteen billion dollars in variants on what they expected the revenue outlook to be, whether or not they included China in their models, So a little bit of a grain of salt on that revenue

I want to bring back in Jay Goldberg, he's senior analysts at Seaport Research Partners.

Jay.

Aside from nvidiou struggles in China, the biggest impediment to growth seems to be also the available lidy of supply. Can you talk to us more about that. How Invidia doesn't own factories and relies on outsourced production.

So yeah, in videos manufacturing is done at TSMC, and for a long time, last couple of years, that's been the big constraint on in Videa's capacity is what they can get out of TSMC, in particular the cook packaging, the advanced packaging that TSBT does. That's starting to ease

And there's a lot of.

Complaints from people who have to, you know, go through all kinds of special tooling and get out special equipment in order just to make basic configurations here. So I think all of those are sort of constraining Blackwell to some demands.

Point, are you updating your price target? Are you coming out with a note like what's the conclusion that you have?

So I absolutely will come out a note. I don't think I can comment on my price target. But I see this as a lot of things moving in the direction that I've been talking about for a while now. You know, nothing in here makes me think I'm going to change my outlook.

I want to bring back in Bloomberg News Big Tech team leader Sarah Fryar, who joins us from our San Francisco bureau. So, Sarah, you did a great job sort of contextualizing what else is happening from the customer perspective of Nvidia and the companies that have come out and said, yeah, we are still spending a lot of money on these

Tech Well, I think your analyst there did make a good point that a lot of these hyperscalers, although they are all in on investing in AI and and they have backing from their own investors on Wall Street to do that, they are showing that it's not really giving

That's Bloomberg News Big Tech team leader Sarah Friar and Jake Goldberg, Senior analyst of Semiconductors and Electronics, with Seeport Research Partners. They helped us break down invidious earness results earlier this week.

Coming up. Another story dominating this week fed Independence, That and more with Natasha Sirin from the Yale Budget Lab.

I think that the Court has already signaled directionally that they really think protecting this institution and protecting its independence is immensely important, and I hope that that's what they continue to say.

Is this particular legal case plays out in the courts. But the thing that I'm worried.

About is the sort of institutional credibility and the view by the markets and by the public and by other countries and other investors that our central bank is independent for any type of politicization.

That's kind of a genie that you can't put back in the bottle.

It's something that's taken decades and generations to build.

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Independence at the US Stuttle Reserve is certainly in focus this week after President Trump's move to Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook takes political pressure on the Central Bank to new heights. The morning we recorded this, Cook filed a lawsuit suing President Trump over his attempt to fire her for alleged mortgage fraud, kicking off a historic fight over

Does?

I mean, should we be worried about the president's attack on the Fed?

He should be.

And I agree moleheartedly with Bill. I think you're in such unchartered territory at the moment, because remember this is coming on the heels of many months of the administration arguing that the Federal Reserve should be cutting interest rates and accord with the political whims of the.

Trump administration, rather than based on its.

Very particular dual mandate, which is about inflation and it's about the labor market, and the fact that we have a central bank that's independent that cares about those two things, and those two things alone is a really significant source of our economics security. The way I know that is because we have experimented in the United States, as of other countries with federal reserves that become politicized. In this country.

The FED said they will abide by what the Court decides, and President Trump yesterday also said he will abide by the same. But if the court decides that Lisa Cook can stay, are we pass a red line? Is the damage already done when it comes to the credibility of the FED?

I hope that the answer to that question is no. And I really hope that what's important to note in.

The context of the legal discussion here is that the Supreme Court has really gone out of its way in a case of that removal that had nothing to do with the Federal Reserve to signal that the Federal Reserve is special and that these types of positions, because it's a quasi private institution with a particularly important role in our economy, these types of positions are really only four cause removal positions, and frankly, four cause rises to a

In the courts.

But the thing that I'm worried about is the sort of institutional credibility and the view by the markets and by the public and by other countries and other investors that our central bank is independent for any type of politicization. That's kind of a that you can't put back in the bottle. It's something that's taken decades and generations to build, and I worry that it evaporates pretty quickly as a result of some of the types of attacks that we're seeing.

Reserve of recon.

So let's keep your law professor had on for a moment, Natasha, and talk a little bit about the definition of four cause in this context. You touched on it. But I'm curious if, let's say, the allegations about mortgage fraud end up and we haven't seen the evidence here that we don't have that yet. But when it happened, if it happened matters, I'm my understanding is intent matters as well.

I'm barred from an expert I on four cause removal if I looked at the specifics of this particular case, and nor frankly could we have at this point, because Lisa Cook hasn't been charged with any crime or anything. This is a set of allegations that have been leveled

Earlier this month, our team reported that the average US tariff rate will rise to fifteen point two percent if rates are implemented as announced. This is according to Bloomberg Economics. It's up from thirteen point three percent earlier and significantly higher than the two point three percent in twenty twenty four before President Trump took office. Just today the latest, the President opposed to fifty percent tariff on Indian goods to punish the country for buying Russian oil. That's the

Fortunately, what we should understand, and my colleagues the Budget lab are hard at work. By the way, updating our estimates with respect to what happens to the effective teriff rate and what happens to the type of revenue that we're going.

To see coming into this country.

But roughly speaking, you've seen about an eightfold increase in the average effect of teriff right over the course of the last eight months of this administration, bringing in about three trillion dollars of revenue into the country over the

I'm glad you brought that up, because I'm curious if you think this will undo all the years of goodwill that the US and India have built.

Well.

I think that I'm worried about, frankly, is that you are in a situation where we are very exposed to particular relationships that it's taken to And this actually relates to our conversation about the Federal Reserve in that a lot of the sort of goodwill that you're describing our things that it's taken decades acrossministrations to try and build the types of working relationships with our allies that have made us this global hedgemon and have made us a

Are key to spend time in and around. And so what you worry about.

In some sense is not just are you alienating one particular ally or are you moving us sending some other countries closer into the arms of China.

Of course you're worried about all of that, but also I think what you're worried about is the general sort of chaos of not exactly knowing where these tariffs are going to land, not knowing if.

It makes sense to try and shift part of your manufacturing supply chain into India, because if India's effect of terror braid is fifty percent, it's no longer the type of place where you're going to want to be pursuing a lot of that.

Type of business.

So I think it makes decision making really complicated for the United States and for the businesses that in this country, And it also runs real risks geopolitically that are pretty concerning.

I promise we'd go everywhere. We have a few minutes left, and I want to talk a little bit about the labor market and productivity and the context of record low birth rates in the United States, immigration that has come down quite a bit during this administration, and what it means for a workforce moving forward. How do you weigh those two things.

It's so interesting because I was actually talking to some colleagues at the or some friends who work at the Congressional Budget Office who have said that one of the reasons why you have productivity growth over the course of the next decade, that their estimates are going to average in the one point eight two percent range, sorry, GDP growth in the one point eight two percent range over the course of the next ten years is precisely because it's on the back of an increase in labor supply

And the reason why that's so important is because, as you're describing, Tim, we have an aging.

Population in this country, so a big chunk of people are going to age out of the labor force. It's really important that you have that supply coming in in a world that when you don't have that supply coming in meaningfully and you kind of shut down pathways to immigration.

As you've seen policy wise.

Over the course of the last many months, you start to lose a very significant driver of labor force growth, and then you start to lose a very significant driver of productivity and broader economic growth.

But with AI investment booming, do you think that AI will be able to offset the lack of workers, whether in relation to immigration the supply of workers that we have are we facing right now?

It's kind of.

Hard to answer that question right now in some sense, because it's hard to know exactly what to make of the very significant capital expenditure investments we're seeing in AI, and hard to know what to make about the role that AI is having in the labor force thus far.

Of the labor our. Thanks to Natasha Sarin, president and co founder of the Yale Budget Lab. Still ahead on Bloomberg Business Week, More on the economy with the CFO of the Fast Casual Chain Kava, who weighed in on the so called fog affecting the US consumer.

This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at two pm Eastern on Applecarplay 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 eleven thirty.

Earlier this month, Kapa reduced its outlook for sales growth this year, causing its stock to drop twenty two percent just in a single day. The Fast Casual Chain foresees a potential twenty basis point impact on margins from President Trump's tariffs in the second half of the year as import costs for items such as Australian beef or Greek

Well, certainly in.

The environment, it's still a little fog out there, and the consumers.

Are doing the best that they can to navigate it.

But what we're here at Cava is to make sure that we're delivering great value for the consumer with amazing cuisine and wonderful hospitality, and we believe when we do that well.

The consumers want to keep coming back. So we want to do everything that.

We can to make sure that we are delivering a value for them, so that if they're in a fog that they want and they want to enjoy a meal out, they want to come to Cava and we believe we've positioned ourselves.

To do that.

Tricia, thanks for joining us and to a photo up on that. Just wondering why do you think your stock sold off so much after the results? Like, of course, I know you have strong comparisons. You grew a lot in recent years, so probably tough comparisons is a better word to say it. But why is the stock done so much?

Yeah, you know, hard to say the stock market goes up when the stock market goes down. We've focused on the long term and certainly making sure that we keep in mind those strong results that we were.

Lapping as we entered into this year.

So over the last three years we've driven traffic twenty percent and our two years saying restaurants sales growth were over sixteen percent and three year at about thirty five percent. And so there's a really strong damynamics and really reflecting the strength of Kava and how much the consumer loves the brand and wants to continue to be with us. So the reflection of the Q two comps was more of an anniversary or laughing over some of those higher results in the prior.

Year and just wondering if we're thinking about the remainder of the year and also next year, of course we'll see how that plays out. Wondering and how far you prepared for a slowing economy in which also a consumer might make changes to their preferences in terms of where they eat, how much they spend, how often they eat out.

Yeah, one of the things that we do know is consumers love innovation, and certainly at Kava were prepared for that.

Over the upcoming quarders coming.

Soon, we'll have chicken Sharma in our restaurants, which is a handstacked, spit roasted white meat chicken that is a new offering in our restaurants in September, and then closely following that will be our cinnamon sugar Peda chips that are coming. Peta Chips are a fan favorite for us, and we look forward to bringing them with a little side of honey to our guests later on this year.

So the goal is basically to also have new menu items on the calendar, so that you basically have something that draws people in, potentially offsetting any weakness you might see.

Certainly a robust calendar with culinary innovation, as well as continued execution and enhancements to our loyalty program which are already planned for later this year. And right now, we've got some excitement in our restaurants. We partnered with ADDIE's Coats, it was a former employee of ours to create a plushy that it's our Peina Chip plushy, which has created a lot of buzz and excitement. I even my mom down in Florida reached out to me and sought on Instagram, which.

I was surprised.

Nearing eighty she was in tuned to what was going on and she went to go find them in her market in Palm Harbor and was unable to find it.

They were already sold out.

So making sure we're culturally relevant with great cuisine as a combination that we think will be successful.

So I need to hear more worldless plushy.

Is it a LaVoo bu it is?

It is our version of a lavooboo.

So, as I mentioned, we partner with the creator of Hippie Potter and he did work at COVID at one point in his career and now he's a New York City based creator.

It's super cute.

I encourage you to go take a look and see if you can buy them if they're still.

Left where you are.

Letricia, it sounds like you all are finding really interesting ways to get more creative during this uncertain time period. What about any sort of price softening. Are you all thinking about bringing down the price point at all to meet consumers where they are?

You know, price has been something we've been focused on for a very long time. So over the past five years, from the end of nineteen to the end of twenty four, we raised our menu prices about fifteen percent and CPI went up twenty three percent, so we were eight percent below CPI and I believe, as you know, in the fast food place, prices went up during that time period over thirty percent.

So we're always focused on creating strong.

Everyday value for our guests and we believe we're positioned to do that. So in twenty twenty five, we've raised MANU pricing less than two percent at one point seven percent, well below the CPI for food away from home, and again wanting to be thoughtful at Kava, we have very robust restaurant level margins and we want to make sure that we're reinvesting those margins back into team members and

And Trusia just talk to us a little bit about the impact of tariffs. I know that you import beef from Australia. You also import olives from Greece, so I would assume there's some price impact from tariffs. Will you posseas on to consumers and how about price increases next year?

Yeah?

So we do receive some items from overseas, and we have an excellent supply chain team that has really navigated this very fluid environment regarding tariffs and minimize the impacts as much as possible, But we have no plans for the rest of twenty twenty five to pass along any price increases to absorb any tariff impact that we might experience.

Looking thoughtfully at twenty twenty six.

I know it's a supply chain question, but you're the keeper of the books, so there's obviously a reason you're importing some of these things. Could you buy us beef rather than import it?

We do buy US beef, so we have a blend of US and Australian beef and there's no antibiotics ever at it.

Could you exclusively could you exclusively buy us beef?

We think it's important to have a balanced, scalable supply chain strategy and having a very diversified base of suppliers with high quality ingredients as the best path board for us. Always exploring what options are, but want to make sure that we're in a position for the long term to provide these high quality ingredients to consumers.

Each and every day we're speaking with Kavas CFO Trisha Tolliver joining us from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I want to talk a little bit about automation and ways that you can save costs within the restaurant. What can you tell us about ways you're exploring automation that consumers don't yet see, whether that's in the ordering process, whether that's in the delivery process and actually bringing that food the consumer who's waiting for it, or if it's actually in the preparation process.

Yeah, so always.

Looking at ways to make our team members' lives easier, to really be more efficient in our restaurants and also creating a better guest experience. So one example in our Connected Kitchen platform of automation is leveraging our kitchen Display systems so kds, and so we're adding those systems to over two hundred restaurants across our fleet. And what that does is allow our team members to fill orders more

And that's something that we're focused on.

And this should also increase efficiency in the restaurant overall. Another way is, you know, even more simply and not automation is making sure that we find ways to make things more efficient in the restaurants. So a little while ago, we got all of our Peeda chips. We used to slice them in house to make our pedic crisps, and worked with our partners to slice them ahead of time so that we remove that complexity at the restaurants themselves.

We don't plan to ever do that on the front of our line. We think human.

Connection is so important and the way we leverage technology is to enhance the human experience and not replace it.

Tricia, you talked about all the ways that you all are trying to make the space more inviting for customers. Do all have any plans for maybe celebrity partnerships or any sort of advertising and marketing in that sense?

You know in the first quarter of twenty twenty five. We partnered with Gabby Thomas on our campaign during that first quarter of the year and really liked the opportunity for Gabby to talk to us about how she loves our food and how it fuels her and highlighted our

Tricia, one more question for me. I'm just wondering in terms of plan growth of the company. I know that you're exponding and you have upped your plan for for new stores. I'm just wondering how a you're thinking about construction costs on the back of tariffs, and also are you hiring new people at this point?

And so our new growth is very robust this year.

So team's done a great.

Job, and as we grow, we anticipate that we will have needs to continue to support that growth.

As we move forward.

That was Tricia Tolliver, CFO of CAVA Our thanks also to Nina Trentman, Bloomberg News Senior editor and writer of the Bloomberg CFO Briefing newsletter, Norah Melinda joining us in our next hour as well. That wraps up the first hour of the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. Ahead in our next hour, we check in with two mayors about how they're tackling challenges and creating opportunities for their communities.

Yes, well, Geary is one of those historic cities to help build this nation, of course, founded in early nineteen hundreds and nineteen o six, Valus Steel Gary Works, the US Steel Plant is the reason why Geary even exists today. We sit on the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan. Like you mentioned, in your opening remarks about thirty minutes from downtown Chicago, so our logistics and proximity in the Midwest is very unique.

Plus from puck Stopper to power Starter, New York Rangers, legendary goaltender Mike Richter on helping businesses transition to clean energy.

I've always had an interest in the environmental world and energy in particular, and that intersection between finance and energy is a massive one. It's only grown in the last two decades. So the stop at Yale was excellent to helped me kind of position myself and have a segue from one world to another.

This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Tim Stenavex day with us. Today's top stories and global business headlines are coming up right now.

You're listening to the Bloomberg Business Week Daily podcast. Catch us live weekday afternoons from two to five eastering. Listen on Applecarplay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app, or watch us live on YouTube.

Plenty ahead in our second hour of the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week, including a lineup of mayors from across America cities touching on topics from housing affordability to rebuilding financial opportunities, to even the president's threats of deploying the National Guard. Plus he's a US Hockey Hall of Famer, a three time NHL All Star, a Stanley Cup champion, and now he's dedicated to saving the planet one efficiency measure at a time. New York Rangers legend Mike Richter

Yes, well, Geary is one of those historic cities to help build this nation. Of course, founded in early nineteen hundreds. In nineteen got six y US Steel Gary Works, the US Steel plant is the reason why Gary even exists today. We sit on the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan, like you mentioned in your opening remarks, about thirty minutes from downtown Chicago, So our logistics and proximity in the Midwest is very unique. So a lot of progress has been happening.

I guess it's not a bad thing. I'm from Mayor, I'm from Ohio, so I have seen a lot of Japanese owned businesses do really well, employ a lot of Americans, make great products. But what does it mean to you that a company like US Steal is now going to become a wholly owned subsidiary of subsidiary of a Japanese company.

Well, we know that the.

US Steal is an iconic brand, is still an American company in my eyes and many of the eyes of those that are close to the city and to this deal.

You know from certainly doing some of these city leadership programs and city programs and certainly anyone familiar with the programs that Bloomberg is involved, and that a strong economy for city is not just necessarily one industry, right, you want diversification. Talk to us about what you're doing on

Yeah, so for so many years the city had been dependent upon a steel industry, and I've been very intentional on diversifying that. I was State Senator for nearly eight years here in Indiana representing Gary in Northwest Indiana, served as ranking minority on appropriations. So I'm very passionate about the economy from a macro and micro level. But we're also in a very good and strong position of growing transportation and logistics in the city of Geary in northwest Indiana.

We are talking right now for those of you just joining us, with Mayor Eddie Melton, the mayor of Gary, Indiana, famous worldwide at one point for the Gary steel Works and the city itself the birthplace of the Jackson family.

Of course, I think.

The first, the first major city with the black mayor. I believe in the in the late sixties. And Mayor Melton, you have done some things. You've cut homicides in Gary, You've stabilized city finances in Gary, and you've reversed the population decline. How have you managed to do that? And I was going to ask how you keep up momentum, but how have you even done that to begin with? Especially reversing the population decline. That seems like a huge step for any city, but certainly for Gary, Indiana.

Yeah, it's a collaboration of partnership. We have a really good team. One of the things that I learned being a part of the Harvard Bloomberg program is and this is something that Michael Bloomberg came and shared with us, is you have to build a good team first. And that was something I was very passionate about I was one of the cohorts of twenty twenty four the new mayors to help Bloomberg helped build our one hundred day Plan with us, and this is the fruits of that labor, right.

Mayor Melton, I just want to ask him, just got about forty second. Indiana has come up as one of the possible states that could do redistricting mid cycle. Jd Vance, the Vice President, is going to Indianapolis. I believe it's tomorrow. What impacting might redistricting have on your efforts to revitalize your city.

Well, I've always loved to be a bipartisan elected official, but I don't know how much more power they will want in a state of Indiana that they already currently have a super majority. This is simply to win more congressional sleep seats and to bring back the legislature. Right now, I don't know if that's going to be the best use of text dollars.

That was Eddie Melton, the mayor of Gary, Indiana, along with Carol and Bloomberg News TV anchor Matt Miller, another mayor who's been in the news lately is one who's a little closer to home for those who live in the Tri state area. Ahead of New York City's upcoming mayoral election in November, Mayor Eric Adams sat down with the Bloomberg News senior reporter Miles Miller to address President Trump's threat to deploy the National Guard in New York like he's done in Washington, DC.

The partnership between the federal government and the city and state government is extremely important, and I think there's a role we need. My role is to make sure New York are safe, and the numbers are shown we're doing that, and the partnership of making sure guns don't come into our city, and that's what we want to continue to

You're listening to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Coming up, we stick with the mayors of America and check in with the mayor of New Rochelle, New York on tackling housing affordability. That's next. This is Bloomberg.

This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at two pm Eastern on Applecarplay 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 eleven thirty.

Well.

Housing is an issue all over the country. We know this. There's not enough of it, it's too expensive because there's not enough of it, and politicians at the national level only have so much control thanks to the local zoning laws and the reality of local politics. So what is a city to do. New Rochelle, just outside of New York City, is trying to buck the trend and build homes. We're joined by the mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert. She's a Democrat of New Rochelle. She joins us here in the

Mayor Ramos Herbert, thanks for being here. Thank you for having me.

As we've been discussing, we know the US housing supply and affordability really remains a prominent issue for so many Americans who are looking to find a place to live. Tell us a bit more about what you're doing in the City of New Rochelle, which of course we know is only about seventeen miles away from where we're sitting right now in midtown Manhattan.

What are you all doing to address some of these concerns?

Absolutely so. Back in twenty fifteen New Rochelle setup, but

Ninety days. I mean, that's like a different language. Then we're like a different reality than we're used to if we're talking about development. Just contextualize that for us. How long would it typically take if you weren't able to fast track this?

I mean, I guess, and.

You were from five to ten years?

Is anything I mean within.

The last ten years in nine years, woy exactly exactly.

You mentioned RXR. Talk a little bit about public private partnerships here and how you view as mayor the need to partner with for profit companies in order to get this done.

Absolutely, it's been a key to what's allowed to be successful. Those resources allow us to invest in our community without raising property taxes. We worked with the community here do you want to see in you Rochelle? And through our public private partnership, we've enhanced plazas, We've brought murals, we've increased ev charging stations, We've bought a black box theater, right to our main street. We're opening parklets and so

So what have been some of the challenges.

Of course, this isn't something I imagine had to have been easy to accomplish, So what were some of the challenges that you all experience as you were trying to deliver a world an area city in which things are a bit more affordable.

Sure, I mean what's really wonderful is when they started. I wasn't on the city council. I was a mom of two kids, so I was the resident sort of being like, I want to see stuff in the downtown.

I want to know what's going on.

I think change is hard, right and right now I kind of call it like our teenage years, you know, where two thirds of our buildings have been approved, We've authorized eleven thousand units, eleven thousand kitchen table moments, and about two thirds have been authorized and leasing up and so there's construction and there's and maybe the right turn you make for coffee you have to make a left

What have been the politics of this, Because when we talk about zoning and we talk about the idea of building more dense and affordable housing or just more housing people, I guess I could rephrase this. People love to complain that housing is too expensive, but then when it comes to actually building that housing, if it's put up to a vote, m they strike it down.

Not in my neighborhood, they don't want it.

Understand well, it depends on It depends on where you live, because that has to do with zoning, and that might not actually be up to you. In certain parts of New York City. It's not necessarily up to us, and we've seen that play out. But politically this stuff can get really charged. What do they think of it?

Absolutely?

I mean it's the forum based zone coding essentially allows the city council, the elected officials to set the scaffolding and sort of pinpoint where and then hands off the professional staff actually closed the deal. We have a council manager form of government, so our city manager, our commissioner of development, we have an industrial development agency that really work out the nuances, the financial elements of it, and

So you mentioned that you spent a lot of time talking to the community, engaging with the community to see what they'd like to see reflected in the area.

What are some of the things that they've been interested to see.

Green space, of course, more space for kids to play.

More dogs are a big.

Hit, and so dog runs and opportunities for dogs to have space to kind of stretch their legs. I guess leaving the apartments we are a huge lover of the arts. So, as I mentioned, we have a black box theater that's going to open the first half of twenty twenty six, and we've added murals to the community. But the downtown development has also served as the list for other parts of development. So we have a project called the Link.

So we like talking to mayors because and everybody who listens and watches our program knows that it's where the rubber meets the road when it comes to actually getting stuff done. Sure, really being accountable each.

And every jors catch us love on that afternoon, specifically transportation and in environment just live on you.

Talked about, Okay, well, if there's more density, if there is more housing, you might have to wait more when you take a right turn to get your coffee because the traffic is increased. Do we live in a world where we can realistically think that we could improve mass transit in small towns or have we shown that as a country we just cannot make those investments. I mean, look at California's high speed rail and the failure that I think many people would say we saw there.

So New Rochelle already has the privilege of being the second busiest line on the New Haven's lines, second only the Grand Central believe it or not, And the majority of our buildings are actually being built around this transit oriented development. We're also a hub to nine bus lines, county and city bus lines, so you can get to the Bronx or Yonkers right from the same transit center. And our development allows us to invest in some micromobility options.

That's interesting to hear that, like at a micromobility level in addition to changing the way traffic patterns are. We're speaking with Yadira Ramos Herbert, the Democratic mayor of New Rochelle, joining us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker's studio. As I mentioned, housing is probably one thing that Democrats and Republicans at the national level can agree on needs to be addressed. Their way of doing that doesn't necessarily fall in line with one another. They don't see eye to eye.

I mean, I think some of the models that can be barred from a streamline processes. What are the pain points every municipality.

You're essentially saying, get rid of.

Regulation, streamline processes regulation.

How do you do that without getting rid of regulation? Now, do you make sure that environmental review that you're not going to kill the sea turtles or whatever if you build here.

So we did conduct an environmental review back in twenty fifteen and with in partnership with RXR. So it's not that we're getting rid of it, we're just front loading that process so that you have a sense already of if you choose to develop in this site, what are some of the issues, what's the investment you're going to have to make to meet those kind of codes. So I think that's one We looked at a lot of

In bad shape.

You know, former schools that were closed but the structure was still there. And so every municipal leader knows their community, they know their corners where they could be a little bit more energy and lights on, and that with that in combombination with streamlining processes, I think will allow some positive results for this in the housing front.

So I want to go back to your earlier question just about what types of advice. I know you mentioned like some of the things that you all are working on, but I would say, you know, more logistically, what type of advice would you give to other parts of the nation, because not everywhere is like Neuroshelle.

Of course we were talking about LA we could talk about New York City.

Here in Manhattan Midtown, sure, what is some advice that people can take away here?

I still stand by you know your corners, you know your blocks, you know the underutilized sites, you know where maybe it's like there, really business hasn't grown there there really has, It's been empty, there's lack of density. And I know it's tricky to say mid Tom Manhattan, and right, you're gonna use that specifically. I appreciate where we are,

You have a lot of degree. Yes, you're a litigator, Yes, in a previous life or currently. Is this a job that you can do while you're mayor.

Yes, that's a great question.

I would not be able to do it at the same pace that I did when I was a new lawyer. I was also an associating at Columbia Law School prior to becoming mayor. But I actually am looking to do a little bit of practice on the side.

So this is the question about your own future and how you think about your own political path forward. What's next for you.

I don't think about my political path forward right now. The job is to make sure all eleven thousand units homes, kitchen table moments are catalyzed. It's to make sure the link launches. It's to see the landing project, the waterfront project. And we also started something called the Vanguard Initiative. We're investing two point twenty five million dollars in small businesses. I want to turn on those lights on every one of those first floors in my downtown.

That's my mission.

That's the only thing I'm focused on right now.

You don't think at all about a bigger platform.

I love the portfolio that Mirochelle has given me, and that's really one. I want to finish the job, and to think otherwise would take my distraction.

When do you think the job will be finished?

That's a great question.

I mean the link, you know, maybe I think within I would argue within five to seven we will see a significant transformative change in the downtown that can be measured through sales tax revenue and other initiatives and incentives coming to life.

That was Yadira Ramos, Herbert, mayor of New Rochelle, New York. Bloomberg News cross asset reporter Emily Graffeo joining me there as well. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week, coming up from saving pucks to saving the planet. How New York Rangers, legend to Mike Richter is looking to build bigger, better and more sustainable buildings.

We are simply transferring heat. It's the idea of a cold beer in your hand on a warm summer day. There's a really a therm transfer, a heat transfer from that warm hand to the cold beer. The beer heats up, your hand cools down. We use the thermal mass of the Earth to do that, and it sounds complicated, but it's just physics and the really the general temperature of

That's next. This is Bloomberg.

You're listening to the Bloomberg Business Week Daily podcast. Catch us live weekday afternoons from two to five Easter and listen on Apple Karplay and Android Auto with them work Business up or watch us.

Live on YouTube.

Brightcore Energy is digging deep for geothermal heating and cooling. Not just geothermal, though, they're also working on energy efficient lighting, solar energy, really everything to help big buildings use less energy. Mike Richter joins us. He's president of Brightcore Energy, also former three time NHL All Star goalie, a nineteen ninety four Stanley Cup champion with the New York Rangers. He joins us from Armack, New York. Also with us in

I did not?

Adjis scate it at all. Okay, I can't either. I just want to make sure before we move forward a full disclosure. Mike Richter's brother, Joe Richter, works here at Bloomberg for Bloomberg's Research arm Bloomberg Intelligence. Good to have you both with us, Mike, I just want to start with you. For people who know you from your career in the NHL, what was your transition like going from playing hockey professionally to working in sustainability with a little stop at yell between that.

Well, well, first, thanks for having me on. Great it was. It's it's an adjustment.

I think I ended my career about thirty eight years old back in twenty twenty four, and you're a little rudderless. You've been given your time, energy focus to being as good as you can be in one very specific area, and it is a bit of an artificial world. And I loved every second of it, and I had, you know, it was a great gift to be able to play in the league and in the you know, New York

So, Mike, tell us about your transition to developing sustainable buildings. I'm particularly interested in the geothermal I've seen some projects do that. It's unique. It's not something we're seeing a whole lot of yet, but I think we might be seeing more of it.

Great question. I guess two things. The energy efficiency is kind of always InVogue, right. If you're using less resources, you're going to be paying less. And so ultimately our value proposition is selling savings to commercial industrial buildings. And there is no better way of heating and cooling and

So we're thrilled by this.

And as you know, the energy costs are going up and demand is skyrotting, so good time to be in this place.

The geothermal involves digging a lot of holes in the ground. Is this something you can add to an existing building or does it have to be when you build the building new?

Yeah, and that is a great question. That is the joke point where it gets quite complicated. You know, eighty percent of the building stock in a city like New York, for example, is going to be here in twenty years. So we've done new builds, and we love it. It's virgin territory. You command, you get the wells stuck in the ground, you cap them, and you're connected to the mechanical system inside, build a building around it and you're done. How do you go into a building that's existing and

We literally have smaller rigs.

Now I can get into these tight spaces nine and a half feet of clearance and be able to go five hundred feet down through the substructure of the building into Manhattan. Shifts the bedrock and it's very stable seismically, the thermal conductivity is phenomenal. It's a really amazing thing that you can do, and it actually enhances the strength of the building.

It doesn't weaken it at all.

But you get a transformation in terms of not only your greenouse gases, but really, as I said, we're selling savings what you're paying operationally month to month to the energy companies.

So you can put solar on the roof and geo thermal in the basement and make savings at both ends of the building.

You really can actually and these heat pumps are moved by the power that they use is electricity, and they're very, very efficient. But I think in a place like New York, there's limited opportunities we can change every light bulb. We're probably not putting solar because you think of a posted roof this massive building below fifty story building, for example, You're just not going to get much power from that small solar array.

What do you do?

And we've been able to actually do retrofits in Manhattan, right in the heart of Manhattan, and it profoundly changes the trajectory of that building's ability to afford payments on the energy and just see an ROI that's really substantial.

We're speaking with Mike richt Or, president of Brightcore Energy, also former three time NHL All Star goalie nineteen ninety four Stanley Cup champion with the New York Rangers. Also with us in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio. Will Wade, energy reporter for Bloomberg News.

Mike, talk a little bit about the regulatory environment. There's been a lot of headlines when it comes to tax incentives for green energy. Is that area helping or hurting your business right now?

There's no question.

We're a young industry in North America anyway, and so the incumbents have an advantage. They have scale, and that's why you have these incentive structures. The Trump administration recognized the efficiency that's brought by geothermal and this Reconciliation bill we came out really well at these massive federal tax treatments are transferable, so not for profits can use them.

Higher ed houses of worship.

Again, we're in the commercial industrial space and it's really meaningful. You can actually start to save up the forty and if it's an economic development zone, fifty percent of the capex of the front end costs. And it's already established that the operational costs are there. The problem was you could never get to them because it's so expensive upfront, all those holes in the ground. That's a meaningful expense that you wouldn't have with, say, with air source heat pumps.

And that's at the federal level.

These things are stackable, so you have federal incentives, have individual states have better or worse, and even different utility zones. And the utilities understand the squeeze that they're in because there's so much demand coming with AI and data center.

So what do you do with that?

You look toward efficiency and if I can make say the Empire State building more efficient than it once was in the ex use of forty percent less electrons, that's a meaningful diminishment for kan ed in this case and kind of territory. So they are they've been incredibly creative and supportive. So we're in a very very good spot with that.

The upfront costs though with this technology are pretty high when you think about the capex involved. How do you make the numbers work and sort of especially compared in places where energy isn't that expensive.

Well, thankfully this is where my goaltend and background helps. I leave it to the finance department and they've been incredible. Look, you can't lie with these numbers. So a problem, that's the problem, right, But the physics have to work, and so we do a no go to go evaluation right up front, understanding how what the thermal load of the building is and how many boreholes we can get in there, and how much is going to cosset for linear foot

You know, natural gas speakers.

And whatnot, and it's it's case by case you have to do that evaluation. And truly we don't expect people to say, hey, I want to pay extra for being green or sustainable. No one knows what that is. They do understand I'm saving operationally, and there's a return on investment. And these things are really robust, right. They're not just flood proof and fire resistant because they're literally underground and capped, but they have a life expectancy of seventy five to

Buildings are going in the next five to ten years.

Our thanks to Mike rich Dr, president of bright Core Energy. Mike a three time NHL All Star and in nineteen ninety four Stanley Cup champ with the New York Rangers. He joined me alongside a Bloomberg News energy reporter Will Wade. Our thanks to Emily Graffeo for joining me there as well while Carol was out. And that wraps up the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. Thanks

This is the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Daily Podcast, available on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. Listen live weekday afternoons from two to five pm Eastern on Bloomberg dot com, the iHeartRadio app, tune In, and the Bloomberg Business app. You can also watch us live every weekday on YouTube and always on the Bloomberg terminal.