Foreign Companies From Shell to Daimler Abandon Russia

You can also listen to our radio show at two pm Eastern Time on the Bloomberg Radio or watch us on YouTube. Search Bloomberg clovel News. So among our most read on the Bloomberg A mass exodus is underway as foreign companies from Shell to Dame Lair, Dame LERK. Excuse me, Tim, they are running away from Russia. Yeah. This story by Stephanie Baker, edited by Ethan Browner, Senior editor at Bloomberg News. Ethan joins us now on the phone from New York City.

Ethan Carroll mentioned some of the companies the list, though it continues to go on. It includes payment processors UH credit card companies, for example. In addition to that general motors. How would you characterize the way that American and multinational companies have exited their Russian businesses in recent days. Well, it's been absolutely a rush for the exits, so I mean.

And it's such a specific sort of reversal of what happened thirty years ago when the Yo Silva Union fell apart and everybody saw an incredible new market of consumers and potential h joint ventures on oil and minerals and

so forth. So there's a huge numbers amount of companies that have gone in over these thirty years, and suddenly, between the sanctions and their own anger at what's going on and their inability to get around swift and other things, they are either shutting down or actually abandoning deals that they've had. But not every company, as Stephanie points out in her piece, Mackenzie and Company was one that really

caught my eye. The global managing partner took to LinkedIn on Sunday to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and declare that the firm will no longer do business with any government entity in Russia. But the company is not pulling out what's the distinction here? Oh? Yes, of course, there's an important distinction, and you're quite right. The story does note that there are a bunch of companies that are trying to sort of keep their head down, shall

we say, and mckensey is one of them. Obviously, the heads of mckensey rejected that this wasn't sufficient, but internally and externally they've gotten a lot of complaints. And you know that's true of a bunch of other companies too. Um. And some companies are more worried about slowing down or stomping in Ukraine obviously legitimately worried about their their staff and the safety and so forth, but they haven't necessarily said anything about what they're doing in Russia. So you're right.

It is across the board a range of activities, a bunch of pulling out, a bunch of stopping, and a bunch are sort of holding and watching. How important is the Russian market two global companies? You know, Um, it looks like it's less important than say Western Europe and North America. Um. You know, if you look at sort of consumer companies, they typically Russia typically uh takes up

maybe two, three, four or five of its market. You know, I'm looking at to stay Lauder, General Motors, Harley David's and those kinds of things. But you know that's not nothing. Those are not that's not nothing. Right, And multiple markets add up to little pieces of markets all around the globe add up to something. What I do wonder, um is that you know, ethan, will we see like fingers crossed,

that this gets resolved sooner rather than later? Will we see them companies say Okay, things have calmed down, We're going to go back, Because you know, companies the world has a very short memory sometimes, especially when there's money at stake. So I'm just curious, what's what's the read on this? Look, I think you're right to ask that question. We can't know. We can't know how critiquous can end.

We can't know how it will end, right. I mean, if it if it were to end in a way that many here we're like with putin no longer in power or something like that, that would be a whole different game. But if it just sort of a deal is struck and horrible things have happened, I think you're right to ask the question. I have no greater clarity than you on who would stay and who would actually leave, But I think we have to see ultimately how much of a rogue state Russia is deemed to be when

this is all over. Yeah, that's that's a certainly an important thing to keep in mind, Ethan. And one thing I do wonder about is is the consumer side of this. Companies that are consumer facing, do they face uproar for doing business in Russia on the other side of this, if if that is indeed the case, if we do play this out, and do we see something like what

we saw in the nineteen eighties with South Africa and apartheid. Yes, that's a very good question and not at all impossible, because I think that you know, unlike, uh, let's say, the way the Saudi's killed Washington Post columnists and anger over that. That's one thing, But the idea that like South Africa, Although to be honest, this is even worse than South Africa in the sense that it is a takeover of another sovereign state. Internally, how people handle their

own issues, of course, or sources of moral outrage. But the idea of sort of been imposing your will on another country entirely that the world recognized as a legitimate, separate country. In a way, it could be worse. Even can we liken it to another country invading the United States? Like, how do we need to be looking at this as global citizens? That is absolutely how we can, Absolutely how we can liken it. There's no doubt in our minds and the minds of vast majority of people around the world.

Ukraine is not a legitimate part of Russia, despite historic ties and Russian speaking and so forth. This is absolutely an invasion by one country of another, utterly from our perspective, without justification. Hey, you than just in the last forty seconds that we have with you, what's the next thing that we need to keep our eye on? What companies do we need to watch? What developments do we need

to be focused on? You know, I think that some of the for example, like the French total energies, some of the ones that have done less to see whether they start to feel the pressure to do more to get out because a bunch of companies, I mean, Shell and BT have been very clear and about getting out and making their statements unambiguous. But I think there's a whole bunch of other things like McKinsey, as you mentioned, So I think we have to see if this continues,

what's going to happen to those companies? Ethan Bron, thank you so much for finding some time for us. We really appreciate it, Senior Editor, Bloomberg News. A story foreign companies from Shell to Daimler abandoning Russia. It's a must read, an a most read on the Bloomberg terminal. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. As we continue to focus on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, let's not forget we're

still globally fighting a health pandemic as well. Each day that goes by, there are still more cases, more deaths, as well as solutions. So let's get some thoughts on that. Dr Kevin Tracy, as President and Chief executive Officer of the fine Stein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health. He joins us on the phone from Manhasset, New York. Dr Tracy, how are you good? Good afternoon, Good afternoon.

It certainly feels like you know, I I don't want to use the term feel because we have so much data and we certainly are looking at the data here, but it seems to be like, we are in a really good spot with cases declining and governors across the country removing their mask mandates. Do you agree that it's a good idea to remove mass mandates right now? You know, it's two years in two March thirteenth. Two years ago was when we really started dealing with this in New York.

And what we hoped for two years ago was sort of a three pronged approach right vaccines, treatments, and containment. And I think that with the available, widespread availability and use of vaccines, we can start to look towards relaxing these other measures. Having said that, and we talked about we're still in a pandemic, but things certainly in some parts of the world certainly feel like they're getting a lot better. We feel it here in the United States. Uh,

certainly here in New York City. Um. We're also learning about new treatments increasingly. And I have to say, on our planning call, uh this morning, when our producer mentioned you were coming on and you want to talk about pepsid um as a as a treatment for COVID, we were all like, wait, what, so explain this to us. Sure? So, first, Uh, it's important to point out to everyone that we're talking now about treatment, not vaccines. Vaccines are the foundation upon

which everything has to start. Vaccines prevent UH death and dying from people who get infected with COVID, and that's that's the objective. But for patients who get sick despite the vaccine, or patients who are not vaccinated here or in other countries, perhaps there still is a need for treatments and and treatment of the COVID nineteen syndrome has to be has to be thought of in two ways. First, you can target the virus directly, and that's where the

drugs which are called anti virals come in. And second, you can target the body's reaction to the virus UH. And these would be anti inflammatory molecules, molecules that suppressed cytokine storm, which which we've come to learn is really the problem. The immune system makes molecules called cytokines that actually can kill the patient. And this is where decks and mesason became part of the standard of therapy because

it blocks cytokine storm. But from the early days of this pandemic in New York, my colleagues and I have been exploring the possibility that promotidine, which is the active ingredient in pepsi, also can restrain or suppress cytokine storm and may also be useful in some cases of COVID, and our our newest data points to that being potentially true. Well,

Dr Tracy, I'm I'm wondering. You know, we've heard so much about drugs in development, specifically for treating treating the virus, and I'm I'm wondering why you would need something like this if there is you know, a packlovid for example,

available from Visor. So if there's if if the key word is if the drug is available, as you said correctly, So, if the drug is available and you have access to these anti viral drugs that target the virus, by all means those are going to be essential, necessary, and useful. There will be places in the world. There will be places in the United States where those drugs may not

be available. And now it's interesting to consider the possibility that a drug like promotidine, which has been around for decades and is essentially pennies on the dose to manufacture and distribute and is very very safe. The question is if it's effective in a country where potentially millions of people can have the disease. If it helps a small percentage of millions of people, you're talking about potentially helping many,

many people. So we just we don't have all the scientific answers yet, but we certainly for those reasons one and know alright, we're gonna leave it on that note. Hey, listen, thank you so much. Dr Kevin Tracy, President and Chief executive Officer at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, joining us once again on the phone from Inhascant, New York. You know, it's just a reminder, Tim, right, and you and I talked about it kind of behind the scenes.

It's just, you know, the medical community finding different ways to treat patients who come down with COVID. Hopefully they've gotten vaccinated, because that is a big for many people, a big thing that is certainly keeps them alive. But

there's still treatments being developed well. As many doctors have told us over the last couple of years, Carol, one of the signs of it moving from a pandemic to an endemic is learning how to treat it, learning how to live with it, and learning how to get past it. And that's one thing that we're doing with these different treatments. Now you're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer

and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. As the world opens up increasingly follow the latest COVID variant, where are a lot of people headed? Turns out it's decentraland and what is decentraland is it? It's the metaverse. Joining us now to talk all about it is Cecilia Donna Stasio, video game reporter for Bloomberg New She's with us now in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers. Check out her story. It's going to be featured in the upcoming issue of

Bloomberg Business Week magazine. You can read it now on the Bloomberg and at Bloomberg dot com Slash business Week. Also with us is Joel Webber, editor at Bloomberg Business Week. He joins us not in the metaverse, but all four of us are here together in real life, Joel, why are we not in the metaverse? Unless it is the metaverse?

But don't exactly. I love it that, you know, we're all talking about the metaverse and what it's going to be and how it's gonna upend tech and fortunes are going to be made and companies are gonna be born and die on this thing. And the first place that we get to see what it looks like? What are people doing there? It's sin right kind of so so cecili, let's bring you in. Um why why why is it that we could have these grand ambitions for the future

and yet we just end up gaming. Yeah, it's not unusual. A lot of new technologies have been ushered in by gambling, by you know, nights nanti one, the year that the first PCs were introduced. Video poker was already very popular. The Internet was in part ushered in by casinos, even cryptocurrency bitcoins. Some of the first applications were gambling. And now at the what people say is the dawn of the metaverse, we have poker. So tell us what the

central end like if you go there? I mean, do I Am I really going to see a picture of Jamie Diamond? You can if you'd like, You talked about it yesterday where that happened. Um, so tell us about you go in. What's the experience. It's a funny experience if you're someone who's played video games, because what does Sunderland look like? Is a virtual world in the kind of virtual world you might see, you know, on a random web browser, and like the early to mid two thousand.

Thank you. I was reading this story earlier today and I said to some colleagues sitting next to me, I'm like, what, how is this not Second Life all over again? It kind of is. And actually, you know, there are a lot of things that Second Life does that to Central Land can't do. But the Central Lands big pole is the fact that it is to Central lines. It runs on the Ethereum technology and um they're selling real estate for a lot of money, millions of dollars even what

do you mean? What do you mean they're selling real estate so you can buy a plot of land in the virtual world like UM does. Central Games has done with their ice poker casinos, and you can bring people in and do business there, typically using cryptocurrency. Is that numbered negotiable? Maybe ask them and find out. So what else can you do there other than you know, play a little poker? Sure, so intes Central and there are

a lot of things that you can do. So you can tour you know, a Southeby's art gallery, you can um come on Paris, Hilton, you're bearing the lead Paras. Hlton performed a conference a uh concert there. I think Dead Mouse did to the electronic musician. Um. The there's like going to be a Barbatos embassy there soon apparently. So people are doing all kinds of things, sort of speculating on the metaverse into centraland how do you. Let's go to poker though and talk a little bit about

what people are doing. As you mentioned, it has historically helped usher in you know, gaming has helped us or in new technologies. UM. The legality of this, it's kind of like a little bit you know, wishy washy with what's what you're allowed to do, what you're not allowed to do. I think the timing is really interesting because we're talking about sports betting on sort of a wide scale, at least through your phones now being available in many

different states. Are people allowed to just kind of gamble with real money in the metaverse? It's really complicated, it's gray area. So UM, in order to gamble in US states mostly, UM, you will need a gambling license. UM in the states that do happen to allow gambling. UM ice poker, which is the game we're talking about that exists into central and it is great because you're not necessarily gambling with chips that you then cash out for money.

There are a number of different currency systems and digital assets that each have varying values that people are kind of playing with. In order in order to actually access UM the gameplay, you do have to be either you have to either buy or be in possession of an n f T that sells for you know, five thousand and seven thousand dollars or more UM. But gambling experts aren't sure whether that qualifies as consideration, which is something that someone would put up in order to gamble in

real life. That's a lot of money. Yeah, it's a nice to say. I feel like all of our browser for it a little bit so a glimpse of the future here tell us is there a greater meaning in all of this way? What's your what's you're reading of? What what business mean for for the metaverse and and the companies that are going to be doing business there. That's a great question. I think it's really interesting that there's been a lot of speculation on the Metaverse and

it's proces x UM. Morgan Stanley, for example, said that it could be a trillion dollar opportunity in the future. But what we're seeing right now is that the metaverse is a a lot less populated than top video games be you know, looks like maybe an older video game, and see one of the big draws there right now is doing something that looks a lot like gambling. So I think it's to be seen exactly what the staying

value add is of the metaverse. I do wonder though, the way you lay it out in the story is I'm starting to kind of get a picture of could I I'm not a gambler, but could I spend a day where I'm doing a couple of things in the metaverse? Right? Um? Like, is that how we kind of a gambler but only on Saturdays? And I also do a couple of the things like go to the mall Carol's future here we're Carol.

No just because if I'm from New Jersey, you're saying you said that, not me, But right, Like that's how I get it, just quickly, Like, right, that's how we could maybe spend our future. I would rather personally spend a future and select popular video games, but there are people out there who I think are getting a lot out of the metaverse. I don't know exactly how much time they spend in there, but I'm sure they're getting what they want. Love it man, Oh my god, shoulder

paths here we come. Um, Cecilia, thank you so much, really appreciate Cecilia. Uh. Donna Stachio. She is video game reporter here at Bloomberg News. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. All right, we've just got about ten minutes left to in today's trading session. As you heard from Charlie,

we have taken another leg down. We are at our loads of this session, so that means down two point two of both the Doubt and the nasjack S ANDP down two percent. That headline, and you have to wonder Apple, which has been bouncing around like lots of other names, that looks like it went to session lows today. And of course the headlines of Apple, specifically UH saying it has paused all products sales in Russia, and that's a big player certainly when comes to the NASDAC also the SNP.

It's about twelve percent of both the NASDAC NASDAQ one hundred, about almost seven percent of the S and P five. Well, let's get our next guest take on all of volatility that we've seen in recent weeks. Laocha, senior investment manager for pick t A Asset Management, Ella joins us on the phone from London. Ella, how are you hi? I'm doing great, thank you and thanks for thanks for having us. Yeah, well,

thank you for joining us. And on a really important day too, we see stocks extending their decline, the NASDAC down two percent, the SMP five hundred down two percent, to Dow down two point one percent. Um, how do you help us make sense of the volatility that we're seeing right now? And I wonder to what extent we should be thinking about, uh, the effect of the Russia

invasion on in Ukraine on global markets. Well, the markets have been having a bit of a tougher time since this year started, and I've been predominantly the cause of tighter policy expectations from the Fed, UM and other central facts. So things didn't start pretty to begin with. And and of course now we've had this uh geopolitical factor thrown into the spanner which forces the reassessment on on pretty

much all vectors. So on the first basis is on the growth side, probably more of a risk for Europe than the US, more immediate risk, but also on the fact that it causes a bit of a supply shock, um, you know, with commodity prices already elevated heading higher, so again you know, hitting the growth spectrum, but still within

the backdrop of much higher incasion. So a very tricky holisymics probably most of hinto the nineties seventies, which is when we last experienced a bit of a you know, not a bit, but this type of magnizude of oil

oil price shocks. Very difficult time, Yes, it is a difficult time, and that's something we heard from Congress and for Citadel, who has seen his own share of ups and downs, built a successful hedge fund UH Citadel Securities as well, but saying that, you know, we're in this incredible and interesting period of volatility, and we just don't quite know yet he caused it a very very volatile inflection point, and just don't know whether or not the

Russians will be satisfied by simply extending their effective borders in the Ukraine. That's Ken Griffin talking to David Rubinstein for Bloomberg Wealth and Exclusive there. But I guess so at this point, there's a lot of ifs out there. So, Ella, do you want as our Abigail Doolittle, who covers the markets for us, say that the place where we're seeing money move into is cash essentially, is that where you want to be right now? Just to kind of write

it out, I mean, cash is an investment choice. We tend to forget that. It's not a popular choice because of where you know, real rates are for the time being, but in uncertain periods, it's definitely want to keep higher CASHA locations. Would you recommend investors do that right now?

Is that what you would be recommending? Like, I mean, we would clearly recommend um for the investments in your typical safe havens, your sort of treasures, gold, cash, they are good places to to hold money now, although we have been, you know, for our from our end, we have been increasing our cash holdings for the funds that we've managed for our clients as well. Um, cash is not a bad place to be. It's really interesting to hear that, Well, how do you know when to deploy

that cash? Again? Well, we need some clarity on the geopolitical situation that seems to be the most difficult one now And as you said that your prior speaker, Um, we just don't know. We have to react to the information as it comes along. I mean, let's just not forget, let's not faced this type of geopolitical crisis certainly not for for a good four five decades. So it is interesting too, thow because at tough times, and we know that this has been a tough market environment. We've seen

a lot of volatility. We've seen parts of the market sectors do you know, official corrections, We've seen even some particular you know, certain names or certain aspects of the market go into a bear market. It also means sometimes that that's an opportunity. Where are the opportunities aside from maybe saying play it safe and go to their safe havens,

where do you see the opportunities. Well, for us, it's been a case of um, you know, in terms of fixed income pushing back again some of the more hapkish expectations built in the markets in the industry very front and of the curve. We don't see tremendous value in credit markets here. We have to say, but you know, I still have to insist. I'm afraid that you have to sit with It's such uncertain times, with so many educations.

We do not understand that I would not there. You know, it's not often that it happens that I wouldn't also recommend spots and places. You know, if I must fully take one place, one of the regions that's re priced the most was in Chinese of the state for you know, Asia was ahead of that, and go, so perhaps that one place U but you know, with with a lot of areification, I say that, yeah, hey, hello, thanks to

the notes that our producers got us about your appearance. UM. You drop parallel between perhaps a historical parallel here, uh the seventies oil price shock, and I'm and I'm wondering what we need to know as investors if we get to a scenario like that. Well, just a scenario for the seventhies. UM is basically one where the FED cannot be fully insensitive to what's happening to inflation. You know, it has ramifications for society, as as seen in the

US has been very hot on the debate spectrum. UM, so it's a very very different setup for the e CB. We find for the European counterparts, because um, for them, we actually believe it's a little bit more like nine eleven. You know, I know it sounds a bit dramatic, but it is much more looking to the situation. Well for the for the fat it's it's you know, it's a sort of an inflationary shock where it need to take into consideration that element. So perhaps the FED is less

inclined to do a lot more here relative to the ECB. Well, we will certainly see. We're gonna hear from j Powell over the next couple of days. Um Ella, thank you so much, Ella Hotel. She's senior investment manager at Picti Asset Management. On the phone from London. 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

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