Senate Passes $550 Billion Infrastructure Plan in Win for Biden

You can also listen to our radio show at two pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio, or watch us on YouTube search Bloomberg Clovel News. Hospitals generally across the US, they are parceling out beds for COVID patients, hunting for doctors and nurses as a delta variant sweeps from coast to coast. Let's get an update though on COVID. Let's bring in Dr Ty Glackwin, his director of cardiovascular analytics

at Providence Sant Joseph's Health. You might recall we've talked to many of their team over the last year and a half. It is one of the largest health care systems in the US massive and it also has more than fifty hospitals in seven states, lots of clinics, lots of care of ours, and they were home to the first confirmed COVID case back in early Dr Gluckman joining us on the phone in Portland, Oregon. Dr Gluckman, nice to have you here, Um, Bloomberg Radio, how are you.

I'm great. It's a pleasure to be with you. I hope you're staying safe and doing well. We are. We are trying and trying to, you know, assess all of the headlines that are out there. Um, you know, you guys. What's interesting is have done a study recently, and I think this is something that we need to bring to everybody's attention about what's happening to some patients. And we're not talking about COVID patients. Why don't you get us

up to speed on that. Yeah, So, for many of us in the early surge in the spring of last year, in we're observing the hospitalization rates, emergency department rates, people coming to the hospital. We're wayed down. And we've seen several reports that have come out in the United States and outside the United States suggesting a reduction in hospitalization rates and even heightened mortality death rates for people hospitalized.

So we sought to better understand the cross are six of our states and fifty one hospitals across a broad range of different conditions. What were the hospitalization rates looking like, What were the death rates looking like, both in the spring surge of as well as the fall surge late

this past fall, and what what did you find? So, you know, a bunch to the disappointment, We saw similar things that had been observed previously, so in the spring surge, and this is compared to a period of time pre pandemics. We saw that our unplanned hospitalizations, so these are people coming in for urgent conditions, and patients with COVID nineteen were excluded from the studies, so these are unrelated to

COVID nineteen hospitalizations. Unplanned hospitalizations declined very abruptly, dropping by as much as fifty five zero percent from a period of early March through mid May, and then there was a rise back up again beyond that initial surge, but not to the same rates that the otherwise would have been in terms of hospitalizations falling again in a fall period from late October through late December as well. And so we observed that during periods of surge of COVID nineteen.

We saw that hospitalizations across our different states fell precipitously during both periods of time. In addition to this, we looked at mortality rates adjusted in hospital death rates for people who are hospitalized during those periods of time and those rows during both periods. So while hospitalization rates were falling, there was an increase in the death rates for people during that initial spring and again in that false surge

as well. Very disheartening across the different states and across a broad range of conditions that we evaluated. And so the conclusion here is that essentially people aren't getting the care that they need in hospitals, either putting it off or ignoring things, whether out of concerns about being in hospitals or what have you, I'm assuming, and so as a result, that is leading to potentially complications in their health,

and it sounds like also leading to death. Yeah, So there are a bunch of potential takeaways from this, but one of which is is that there has been a spillover effect during the pandemic. And while we can't definitively determine why people stayed away or why people died at

a higher rate. One of the biggest concerns that are to take away from this is that patients, out of concern of potentially contracting infection with stars Coby two getting COVID nineteen, that they stayed away from hospitals, from emergency departments, from clinics, and therefore when they ultimately presented for these urgent, unplanned hospitalizations, they were that much sicker when they ultimately were hospitalized, and that accounts for their higher mortality rate.

How are you do in an outreach to your community. Obviously they are patients, are doctors who have patients um that they know maybe are in compromise states or could be. How are you reaching out to your community to tackle this. It's a great question, and it was important during the

spring sturge. It's important the false surge. But I can tell you we weren't anticipating when we initially designed the study that we'd be sitting in a surge today going on and across the United States, and so I think it's really important to unambiguously emphatically let our patients know that our clinics, are emergency departments, are hospitals, are safe places to receive care, and so in patients who are concerned about their health, they should not hesitate to contact

emergency medical services, call, come to their clinics, reach out to their clinicians, come to the emergency department, because the consequences of delaying their care can be quite significant. I want to get back to Dr Ty Gluckman. He's director of the Center for Cardiovasular Analytics at Providence St. Joseph's Health with us on the phone from Portland, Oregon. You know, it's interesting, Dr Gluckman, this is something that we have

talked about with many members of the medical community. Throughout the pandemic. There was that concern and understandably as hospitals were overwhelmed that they had to prioritize COVID patients. How are hospitals managing both COVID patients and regular routine medical treatments at this point. Are you finding where there are areas of surge that you can't manage both, or have hospitals figured out a way to do both at the same time. Yeah, it's a great question, and I think

early on we were struggling. Certainly during the initial spring surgeon I will say across all of our hospitals. While we've seen in our communities rising CAITH counts, I think we're doing a great job of balancing both and making sure that patients feel safe if they're dealing and struggling with COVID nineteen to receive the appropriate care they need if they need it in our emergency departments are in

our hospital. But similarly, for those individuals that are not dealing with COVID Night Team, but are dealing with critical illness urgent medical conditions, they should feel very comfortable in seeking out care. We found ways to be able to provide that care in the outpatient setting and certainly in

our hospitals and emergency departments as well. Yeah, it does feel like you know, we said man I said so many times, we didn't have the playbook right, None of us had the playbook pre pandemic, despite warnings that have been out there for years. It's something like this would ultimately come. Um, how has that playbook filled up in your view that we are in a better position even with these new surges and what other new surges may come as a result of future variants. How is that

playbook better equipped at this point? Yeah, I believe that early on we were struggling even in things like having adequate amounts of PPE, making sure that we had ventilators for those patients who had lung related conditions that warranted it. I think today now we're just trying to make sure that we are prioritizing here for those people who need it most in our emergency departments and in our hospitals.

I want to reaffirm that you know, our hospitals and emergency departments are safe places to receive care, and we have the ability to care for people who need care

in those different specific settings. UM. I think also we figured out a way to be able to have our clinical teams UH and the range of different clinicians and care team members involved, whether it's in the outpatient setting, leveraging where appropriate virtual care, tell health strategies in the hospital, making sure that we're adequately resourced to be able to

attend to all the needs patients have. So I feel like we're at a very good place to be able to deliver the care that's needed, whether it's related to COVID nineteen or it's an unplanned need to come to the hospital for something completely unrelated to COVID. Night Team I Almoso curious, you know, as you talk about this study that you did, UH and people who are maybe putting off, you know, coming into hospitals for different reasons, how much of kind of routine treatment is still down

from where it was at pre pandemic levels. So I think our capacity to be able to accommodate a lot of basic preventive care and then usual chronic medical care is back up to where we need it to be.

I think one of the challenges that exist is how do we reassure patients who are dealing with an acute unexpected illness or those that are continuing to seek treatment for chronic, longstanding medical conditions that they need to connect with their care teams, with their clinicians, whether in the outpatient setting or elsewhere, to make sure that they're getting the care that they need. For quite a while, patients at a much greater weight than we would otherwise want,

we're putting off or potentially foregoing care, delaying care. Um. I think it's long pass ado that we need to make sure that patients with chronic illnesses receive all of the on getting care that they need and again be prepared in the clinic setting to be responsive to people who have acute EXAs, asturbations of longstanding medical conditions, or

something altogether new. And for those peoples that need to go to the emergency department understanding it's a safe place, they should not hesitate to call nine C E M. S Services when getting to the emergency department. The capacity you said is back to where it needs to be. What about utilization though, That's what I'm curious about. Where patients are actually tapping hospitals. How much down is that

from pre pandemic levels. We still across the United States, and I would say in our health system are seeing lower rates of using utilizing our emergency departments that we would otherwise like. UM, so we know that there is a capacity that exceeds what is being utilized at least comparing that to pre pandemic levels going back prior to March of and so we know that there are more people out there who need our services that are actually

utilizing it. Unrelated to COVID nineteen and so. Uh, it's opportunities like this to re affirm to patients that they should feel very comfortab able seeking the care that they need. That's true in our clinics. It does vary across different conditions, But regardless of the condition, regardless of the chronicity or acuity of their condition, we have the capacity and the

ability to be able to help take care of you. So, because we have you here, I've got to ask you, what are you seeing in terms of COVID cases right now? So we're seeing upticks. I'm out in Portland, Oregon, and we're seeing an uptick overall compared to where we have been. I think it's reflective of several parts of the country, UM, in our communities UM. And it is disconcerting. UM. And I think for many of us, we thought we would we be well behind this, whether we're in the clinical

community or not. UM, it's very disheartening to see the rising cases and rising hospitalization rates. And while it's a rate that is UH and an ability to be able to tackle it that's much better equipped than we were a year ago and earlier. UM, I would say, it's still is challenging for those of us who thought we'd be in a much better place than we are today.

Is it typically younger? Is it people who are unvaccinated, which is certainly some of the stories that we've done a lot here at Bloomberg is that the trends that you're seeing, we're continuing to see that individuals who are who have not been vaccinated disproportionately represent individuals who are

coming down with COVID nineteen and certainly requiring hospitalizations as well. UM. And I think this is again a reaffirmation of the importance of vaccination as the single most important individual tactic to help prevent severe illness and illness in general. Are you seeing as a result in uptick in vaccinations um as a result of the rise in delta cases once again, so we've been fortunate Oregon to at least succeed what

the national average has been in terms of vaccination. That being said, there's always room for improvement, and so we continue to reinforce pretty emphatically the importance of getting vaccinated for all individuals who are eligible. UH. It is a key tactic to be able to help mitigate the risk of consequences. And for those of us who have been at this for an excess of fifteen months, it is extraordinarily disheartening to see individuals with severe illness or ultimately

succumbing to something that is ultimately preventable. And I have to say within my sphere of friends and family and colleagues, I mean I do know people who have had some really difficult illnesses and have gotten incredible care throughout the pandemic um and just and didn't put things off and couldn't it was really kind of a life and death issue.

Having said that, you know, remind our audience that's something that can be in the early stages or something that is manageable, how quickly it can become a much more difficult health situation and really quickly, I mean not you speaking quickly, but how the situation get involved very quickly. Absolutely, and so people can go from a relatively stable state

to one being very decompensated very quickly. And our range of therapeutic options therapies that we have available have significantly improved compared to where we were more than a year ago. So for those individuals that have been infected with stars SCOBE two who have developed COVID nineteen, seeking medical attention as soon as possible is of key importance because our range of therapies are much greater than what we had

more than a year ago. I think the second thing is just to reaffirm that for all individuals who are eligible. Vaccination is a key importance, and I would say to all of my clinical colleagues across the United States and elsewhere, UM I spend each day when I'm in clinic asking each patient about whether or not they've been vaccinated for those that are eligible, and really, at least under Betty, getting a better understanding of why people may be resistant.

I think for those of us that are in the clinical community, we are often amongst the most trusted individuals when work with our patients and loved ones, and they are more likely to listen to us, perhaps than others, and so we play a key role in helping to help patients and their loved ones understand why if there are misgivings or uncertainty about getting vaccinated, how some of the concerns can be addressed through just discussion talk and

making sure they understand where we're coming from. We understand where they're coming from and why we're advocating strongly for vaccination. So, just as we wrap up, I wonder Dr Gluckman, if you have any confidence in terms of the visibility of where we are six months from now or twelve months from now when it comes to the pandemic and kind of getting back to quote unquote normal, although I don't think it's it's going to be a new normal, right

because we've lived through so much. Yeah, I think unfortunately, this is going to be with us for a while. And my hope is that the case rates continue to fall. But getting vaccinated to to gave the risk of new variants developing is going to be of key importance. The other thing I would say is a key takeaway is for those of us that work within health systems, you know, never in my lifetime would I ever have expected, nor

have ever experienced anything like this. And so how do we prevent the next pandemic, the next major medical problem

that does occur. How do we make sure we're well prepared, that we as a health care system communicate very clearly too at risk individuals to patients what is important, so we don't see the direct consequences as a result of the pandemic and infection, but also as our study sought to evaluate the indirect consequences, the secondary or carryover effects as a result of fear uncertainty, making sure that health systems, hospitals, emergency departments, clinics are safe places and that we're well

prepared to take care of patients regardless. Have you guys at Providence St. Joseph Health, have you guys taken specific steps so that you're ready next time around? Continue much like we're in the surge today, to go through innumerable steps to make sure we're well prepared with multiple redundancies. And I really want to credit our leadership in our organization who has done a superbly stellar job of making sure that we are well prepared for additional waves should

they occur, as well as the next pandemic. We spend a lot of time preparing for this, for other types of disasters, whether they be natural, whether they be infectious. UM. It doesn't take anything away from the fact that we continue as a health care system to struggle with the toll of just this being such a long lasting UH seeming like it has never ended UH events. But nonetheless,

we will get through this UH. And importantly, we want to make sure that all of our patients stay safe as much as possible, as we continue to make the therapies available, as we continue to address non COVID night team related illness along with that related to the infection as well. Well. Listen, thank you so much for all this time today. We really covered a lot of ground and I really appreciate it and gave our listeners and viewers on YouTube a lot to think about. Dr ty Gluckman,

thank you, and be well and stay safe. He's director of the Center for Cardiovascular Analytics at Providence St. Joseph Health. It's a massive system. He joined us on the phone from Portland, Oregon, talking about those who are not necessarily getting the care they need, also giving us an update on the COVID cases that they are specifically seeing. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. All right, there's a

lot of news on the political front today. It's not just about the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cromo, which we have been covering here at Bloomberg. Is also, of course news out of the nation's capital, the Senate passing that more than half a trillion dollar infrastructure plan. It would represent, as I said, a massive burst of spending, the largest that we've seen on a federal level in decades, and it would be a pretty big, big victory for

President Biden. In his economic agenda. So let's are with that infrastructure passage. Bloomberg News Congression Attacks reporter Laura Davison is up on Capitol Hill in d C. Laura, good to have you here. It it was a major step forward, but it ain't done yet, right, correct? It is. The bill has the Senate. The infrastructure bill has passed, but they've already started work on the budget resolution. This is the three point five trillion dollar bill. Uh, that will

kind of complete the rest of Joe Biden's agenda. So they did sort of the roads and bridges proportion earlier today, and now they're beginning, uh, the second portion, which is looking at kind of that suck infrastructure investments into healthcare, into education and childcare, um and as well as a whole bunch of climate change preventing uh different mechanisms as well. Yeah,

it's massive in terms of spending. Hey, you know, I wanted to ask you though, before we got into a little bit more of the particulars about what's next in terms of this process for infrastructure spending. Is what's everyone talking about up on Capitol Hill? Is it about infrastructure

or is it about the resignation of Governor Cuomo. No today has really been and um, a lot a lot of of of infrastructure, you know, Cuomo, certainly this was news in convery went by a little bit of surprise, but though really every major Democrat in the country had already called for his resignation, so this was more of a um, you know, kind of seeing that happen and now moving on. I think Democrats in particular are you know, looking to focus on their policy wins and maybe not

so much on the scandals and the party well. And it's interesting though, but you know this better than most that when there's somebody who is very well known within the political party, uh a face of the political party in many ways, or very outspoken, and when you think about you know, prominent Democrats, certainly Andrew Como because of his family legacy, because of him he and his own you know, involvement in government on a federal level and

of course in the New York state level. You know, you do wonder about what are the implications for the party or for a current administration. Are there any connections that can be made that makes you know, some Democrats a little bit nervous or not necessarily you know, it's it's not a huge issue, but you really do see, um, you know, kind of this issue has something that has been kind of dog Democrats of how did they address um, you know, kind of how women are treated. And then

the whole New Too movement. If we saw um Al Frankin, senator from Minnesota get pushed out by members of his own party several years ago. Um, and I think the the party maybe felt, uh, some people felt like they maybe moved a little too quickly and didn't fully examine the situation there. Um. But with with Cuomo, it was like a little bit more clear the path forward and that uh that really that the once that report came out. That but he really didn't have anyone backing him, and

that was a clear decision for Democrats to make. Because New York of course a big and important state, no doubt about it for the Democrats going forward, this new governor coming in, uh, the deputy governor, how does that change in terms of collaborations working together on a federal

and state level. Well, you know, you cool had really been sort of a a leader both policy wise on COVID response with kind of the theig new governor coming in, Um, she's really going to be more holding down the porch than sort of being a leader. She's just trying to kind of keep the ship on track. Um, for New York may find its influence over policy debates a little bit diminished in the coming years. This is you know, of course New York, UM is still a huge state.

Lots of representatives from New York. But you know, we also saw in the last census that they lost, uh, they lost more in representative So this is uh, you know, could it kind of in hindsight proved to be sort of a pivotal point for New York or influence um in the Democrat in the Democratic Party and in Washington. Well, it certainly pivotal. And that Kathy Hockle, of course, the Lieutenant governor to become the first female governor for the state of New York in that transition happening in the

next couple of weeks. All right, So go back to infrastructure. I know that's been like on your mind, on all of our minds so much. So tell us about what's next here in this process. So the Senate passed the bill and they now kick it over to the House where the House will have to consider this. UM. We

don't have a set timeline for when that's going to happen. Uh. You just kind of warring factions in the House right now, with Moderate saying they want to vote on it aston as possible, Progressive saying they want to see that this other bill play out, this three point five trillion dollar bill moved before they want to vote on the bi

partisan infrastructure bill. It's kind of a mess. Frankly. You know, this is something that Pelosi is going to have to sort out how to keep with all the various tents within the party happy um and and keeping people marching the babist sing around. You know, she only can afford to lose three votes. She basically has to keep all of her members together. She's done a pretty a good job successfully of of doing that so far. But she's got a real big test coming up here this fall.

What about Republican support, Republicans support for the infrastructure bill? It this is uh, you know it it's seen as though you will get some Republicans you know, in the House. You got uh ver, sorry, in the Senate there were nine team Republicans have joined with all fifty Democrats. Uh. Not expecting to see quite as much of uh, you know, kind of percentage wise in the House. Um, the House

is just a little bit more conservative. Um. And and members who necessarily don't get points back at home from doing bipartisan things. However, Um, there's a lot of money that goes to a lot of states, including a lot of Republican states, so you could see, um, some lawmakers

come over and vote for that. That's what's always interesting, Laura, I mean you follow this because this is a massive spending that all states will participate in this, and that means for the most part, right, everybody has something to take back home to their constituents. Yes, this is really um, you know, kind of why infrastructure has been seen as an area of by partners and cooperation for a long

long time because there's something in it for everybody. Every state, every district has rose has bridges, um, you know, relies on different transportation systems, any energy transmission, broadband. Everyone really gets a lot of benefit here. So uh that that's why it's sort of been uh you know, kind of frustrating with some lawmakers are saying, you know, why can't we get an agreement to spend money on improved the facilities in our districts. Then finally today they were able

to do it well. And Nancy Pelosi, um Speaker of the House, she has been very firm about saying that she wants to make sure she doesn't want to vote on the bipartisan package until the Senate has passed the broader economic plan. Is there any wiggle room or do you feel what you're hearing from and the reporting that you're doing, that she's not going to change her tune on that, and that means going for everything right rather than kind of parsing it, you know, part one versus

the second portion. Yeah, the timing year is going to be really really difficult to manage and to keep everybody in line. You know, this is really the issue vexing Pelosi this week of you know, how quickly, how far apart can the bill bills be voted on it? You know, one uh is coming close to being ready. Can she go ahead and move on the infrastructure bill first? Can she go ahead and clear that this is you know, we're gonna have to see how this plays out. We

really don't know yet. Just she's got a lot of people asking a lot of different things and threatening to withhold their support, which she needs if they don't get their way on the process. And let's remind everybody this package is infrastructure package. UM includes about billion and new spending for roads and bridges, seventy three billion for power grid upgrades, six d six billion for rail and Amtrak, sixty five billion for broadband expansion. Also provides fifty billion

for clean water and thirty nine billion for transit. So you know, as as you and the team and they're reporting, every state would feel the effects in some way. So President Bond is gonna make We're expecting to make some comments any moment now, and I know you'll be listening. We will be as well. What's his mission at this point, especially when it comes to the public at large. Do

they care? Can they be influential? Yeah? I mean this is uh the President will make the case that look, this is you know, a bill that will touch everybody in their lives. It will make uh, you know, transportation safer, it will make transportation cleaner. You know, it will give people access to things like broad bands where there's still you know, large spots of the country that don't have the access to uh low cost high speed internet UM.

And he's also going to make the case of look are you I when I was running, when you voted for me, I said I was going to you know, work with the Senate cut deal, cut by partisan to get stuff done. Um, And he really can have you know, a pretty good example to to hold up here and say, look, uh, you know, they said this wasn't possible. They you know, said that the Senate's broken. And we've proved today, at least for a brief moment, that the Senate can work

together to come up with with these big bipartisan deals. Hey, one other thing I just wanted to bring up, how do we pay for this? That's the other side of the equation. Yes, well, so that is really the question here. You know about half of it. Uh, it adds to the deficit. That's what the Congression Budget Office says. But they really have a whole smattering. They really searched the couch quesions in Washington to find the money. Did they

did something like the new cryptocurrency reporting requirements. They're using some of the COVID relief funds that never got spent. They're repurposing those to cover these costs um as well as UM doing a fee on some UM some polluting company is kind of little odds and ends here, uh, to come up with the with the a couple hundred billion dollars to pay for it. And let's not forget that there's a major push by a group of U. S. Lawmakers to expand the federal deduction for state and local

town axes. Right, And that's something just quickly that's also being worked on. Yes, that's in the reconciliation build. That's something that several Democrats and the House that said they won't vote on the state and local tax deduction. It's a huge deal, particularly for New York, particularly for Democrats. Um, and I think it's there's a very strong chance that we'll see some form of that tax deduction being susbanded at any build that passes later this year. Amen, sister,

I live here in the New York area. We certainly have all felt it. Hey, Laura, thank you so much. I really appreciate that and gave us a great setup for when the President makes some comments on that infrastructure plan. All right, That of course was Laura David's and she is our Bloomberg News congressional tax reporter joining us up on Capitol Hill. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio.

So we talked about this Business Week story yesterday on air. It's about how restaurants and restaurant owners are continuing to pivot in our pandemic and post pandemic world, and that means often be coming creative, innovative, changing menus, and sometimes playing bouncer. This story on the Bloomberg and at Bloomberg business Week dot Com. Here with more on what's going on.

Bloomberg Business Week editor Joel Webber on the access line in Massachuset Sits along with Bloomberg News investigative reporter Polymosens, who wrote this story along with Our Pursuits Food editor Kate Creator Polly on the phone in New York City. Joel, Man, those restaurants, I know, they're happy that the doors are open, but man, it's not easy open for some um and that's where the drama comes in. And and just like sort of at the beginning of the pandemic, when the

restaurants were really like front lines of sorts. Um uh there there again. And that's um sort of what Polly and Kate Creator pointed out and got to talk to a lot of people who are dealing with this. So, Polly, what did you hear? Well, one of the biggest things that we heard was just surprise. Restaurants feel not entirely prepared to deal with this, but they're also willing to roll with the punch. Shows they were certainly not resistant

to the idea. They just are going to need a little bit of time to acclimate because not only are they going to have to check all of their diners, they're also going to have to check all of their staff because the policy applies to their employees as well

as to the diners. Well, it's this is what's crazy, I mean, and we're talking about this increasingly right because in order for people to maybe go to restaurants, they when it feel safe, especially if they're inside, and so as a result, these owners are going are really having to police who's in there. I mean, it's it's it's like checking your ideas when you were seventeen or eighteen. Uh,

this is what they're doing. Polly. Yeah, absolutely, This is like the ultimate I D check where you'll have to show your idea and then you'll have to show your vaccine card. And just like they do with the ideas, they're going to have to be on the lookout for fakes when it comes to the vaccine cards. So so talk to us about the excel fior paths and sort of like what the people you talk to, how do they how do they feel about it in practice? So the good thing about the excels you pass is that

it is a pretty thorough app. However, in practice, it is possible to pass the phone in between two diners, you know, two folks that might be going out to dinner together. They in one case, the actually heard that the hostess and the owner of the restaurant she caught them passing the app between them. So while the app is certainly sorrow, it certainly seems to work well. You do run the risk of people just passing the phone between the two of them in order to circumvent that

vaccination mandate. Yeah, I mean it's pretty wild that that's going on. And I mean it's even trickier as you and Kate report in the story, Um, Polly is that you talk about for someone it might be an Asian restaurant. I mean, it's not just you know, policing when it comes to vaccine, But there's also other factors at play that makes it even more difficult for restaurant owners. Absolutely, it is just one more hurdle that they were going to have to deal with, and they've had eighteen months

of hurdles. And some restaurants they're going to be able to afford to offload this responsibility to security guards, but that's not something that's feasible for all restaurants. And so what is um the general sort of like mood that you get from talking to everybody that you've got to talk with and look like it feels like forever, like these eighteen months and it's been this roller coaster ride where suddenly everything had to be uh to go and then you know in room dinning started back um and

but then they took away the to go cocktails. Like what's the just what's the mood when you talk to the folks who are really in charge of these businesses? Yeah, the mood is definitely very There's some folks to say, you know, we'll deal with it and we're going to be okay, and then there's some folks who just anticipate more problems down the road. And I think overall the mood is just people getting used to constant change. There are no more surprises, you know, everything is now a

surprise in the dining industry. So a lot of the restaurateurs who we talked to, they have gotten to the used rolling with the punchers, even if they're not thrilled with all the punches. I love. There's a quote from is its Goot Gerber that's in a story, and it says, we've dealt with intoxicated people, irrational people. Uh, and he says our people are skilled at de escalating problems. I mean, yes, that's so true. But it does feel like this takes it,

you know, to a whole other level. Absolutely, I think that this definitely does ticket to a whole different level. And you know, we have seen, unfortunately in the past, people do get very violent and very upset with folks who are working the door. That's something that service workers at grocery stores and that retailers dealt with a lot in the early days of the pandemic. You know, in two instances of security guards were unfortunately even killed over

moss mandates that they were attempting to enforce. Well, you know, that was another group of people that you you you know, we we Genette already a little bit, but I do want to bring it back to the security guards, who are you know, ultimately being contracted to sort of fight these fights as as subcontractors. Really and and do we see that demand for that that job description continuing to

go up in the mouth head? Oh? Absolutely. We talked to two different security guard company owners and both of them did anticipate that there would be a rise in business as a result of this new mandate. Uh And you know, one of the owners was was optimistic, he was hopeful that people would comply and that New Yorkers would understand. And then the other one was a little apprehensive.

He he was nervous that his guard should be dealing with erratic people, especially tourists who are not from New York and perhaps once familiar with the policy to begin with, who might get very upset. You know what's interesting, too, is you talk about and I know we've touched upon this a little bit, but I do think about how restaurants are doing additional training. Right. We did it after the Me Too movement and as you know, certainly after

George Floyd. Companies adapting in general to what's happening in our world, and that's the same thing for restaurant owners right that, you know, Polly, we have to see them maybe instituting new training for their workers so that they know how to handle these situations. They've got the tools

to figure it out. Yeah, absolutely, And I'm sure they will also be looking to law enforcement in the most extreme situations, and law enforcement has had to do their own set of training as as they navigate this new

and unusual world that we're living in. So so, Polly, um, you know, just bring it back to that Excelsior app and sort of like the technological solutions and then you know, the easy work around people will nevillly come up with um and and and with delta being what um um you know, just continues to be a bigger concern with people.

Are people thinking that? But in the restaurant groups in particular, are people craving to be in restaurants right now still or are they Is it more of like uh taking a backseat, um to where we were kind of at the beginning of the pandemic. No, I think that people are still craving it. I definitely think that there will still be a market for it because it's important to understand that in New York City, we actually have a

phenomenally high vaccination rate. New York is doing really well in vaccination, and I think that the Mayor's office and restaurateurs are hopeful that this will take it to the next level of vaccination rate. So I definitely think that there is still a big market and a big desire to be out and about, and you know, this policy may encourage some people who have been on the fence

about vaccination to ultimately get that well. And you know, I also do wonder We've talked about this a lot, probably about you know, private sector public sector working together, and it does feel like restaurants have to be a little bit on pins and needles as new mandates come down from officials about how to do things, and then they've got their left kind of figuring it all out. Uh, And I do wonder if there'll be more collaboration to

kind of help restaurants through this, especially when it's stricter policy. Absolutely, I think that's the biggest thing that we heard, both from the security guard company and from the restaurateurs is just we need more time. We need to figure out how this is going to work. You know, they do need to to get acclimated to this new policy. And I think that there's the shoes that they haven't even

thought it yet. They will deal with when the time comes when people are ultimately showing up at their doors that have to prove that they're vascinating. PAULI, how many restaurants did you go to and the course of reporting this story and where do you most want to go that you didn't get to go to? Kate and yah, we we only got to visit a few restaurants in the course of reporting the story that we had talked to a whole bunch personally, I am really looking forward

to being able to go out to ed Lobster. That is one of my favorite places in the city. It is a great place and I will certainly be dining there when there's all vaccinated inside. Well, I have to say, it does feel good to walk around New York. I've actually eaten out in a couple of restaurants um since they've opened up, and it felt so good to see the activity back. And I bet you know, Polly, if you tried to do this six months ago or something,

it's just such a different scene. That's for sure. It definitely feels like there's life back in restaurants. And I think that for a lot of people who live in New York City and who love dining, this mandate will not to turn them. They will they will find a way to go out to eat, and you know, if they're really hesitant about the vaccine, they do always have the option of eating outdoors. That does remain an option even with this new policy. Not been easy, Joe, I've

been the guy outside. I got a six year old, So anytime I have to go outside, I go outside, or anything we're going to do a restaurant, go outside, because I've got a kid. That is you know, mass Dubby's doing a great job, but I haven't really wanted to drag him inside. Um and now you know, I don't think he could since you know, he's a vaccine card.

To show that's right, that's right, all right, listen, good uh story and certainly great to get an update on what's been really one of the most troubled sectors and hard hit sectors because of the pandemic. Polly Mysa and she is an investigative reporter here at Bloomberg News on the phone in New York and of course our thanks to Joe Webber, editor Bloomberg Business Week, joining us also on the remote access. I'm Broom Journal. Yeah, but you let me drive home, honey, please, I'll drivel. I don't

want to drive, just drive. Good question trying. This is the drive to the globe. Give me thanks. We'll dry up to dawn on Bloomberg Radio. All right, just about ten and a half minutes left in today's trading session, getting ready to wrap up that Tuesday trade. And it's we mentioned we did see a record on the SMP five hundred. Will see will ultimately close there, You've got the Dow really the outperformer on a percentage basis, up about point four percent. Nasaca going in the other direction.

All right, let's get to our next guest. He is Ryan Jacob. He's chairman, chief investment officer, portfolio manager Jacob Assett Management, the Jacob Internet Fun as we've mentioned before, continuing to beat just about all of its peers of the past five years. It's in the ninety percent. I'll according to data here at Bloomberg returning scent on average annually, the Jacob Discovery Fund and the Jacob SmallCap Growth also

taught performers over the past five years. And Ryan with us on the phone from l A Ryan, good to have you here. How are you It seems like it's it's good. This year is turning out to be a pretty decent one for you guys. It has been um, you know, we had a very strong first quarter. The second quarter is a bit more challenging. But but overall, um, you know a lot of our companies have been performing and uh, it's reflected in the stock crisis. Well, how

are you adjusting any of your portfolio holdings. I'm looking at some of your top holdings in your Internet fund, Voyage or Digital Digital Turbine, Twitter, Twilion, and these are I think as of the end of May, So maybe there's some some shift square zero, any changes that you've

been actively making. Uh, We've been making some changes. I We still believe the biggest challenge this year is especially in the technology spaces, which companies can kind of build off of what was kind of a COVID bump last year and can continue to grow um this year and it maybe accelerate their growth off of what was a high base. There are a lot of companies that really had a sugar high from from you know, work at

home lockdowns, etcetera, and have tailed off of it. I think that distinction is going to be the biggest challenge this year. Well, you know, and that's interesting, right because I think we obviously did see a lot of companies that benefited. As uncomfortable as that may have been to talk about it, nonetheless, there were definitely some pandemic plays. Which are the ones that you think are longer lasting. Well, US Digital Turbine, which reported last night UM is definitely

one of those. The stock is actually off a little bit. Today's surprising to US. UM you know, been accelerating their growth. It's a triple digit grower even off of last year's results. Uh. Three recent acquisitions should be very additive to revenue and margins going forward. In cash flow. Uh and uh, you know they've benefited. They provide software for mostly Android devices for app installs. They saw a big bump last year, but because of their international distribution, that bump last year

is accelerating into this year. And uh, you know, the revenue growth has been astounding and there's still a lot of room for margin improvement. All right, So have you allocated new money maintained the position. Yeah, it's it's still you know, the positions you mentioned are still our top group. You know, Zillo the stock isn't terrible in the last quarter, but the results, uh last week, we're we're tremendous and

you know, the ie ying the Zillo homes. They've been advertising it more, expanding it, and it's resonating among consumers. You know, it's an astounding statistic that you know, two thirds of all home purchases at some point go through Zillo, and so it's an extremely valuable platform. And uh, you know, they continue to execute very well. So why is the stock down? It's down about so far this year, well off the high that we saw back in February where it was what I think around two hundred or so,

now changing now trading it just below a hundred. Why what's the disconnect? Especially when you talk I think, yeah, I think a few reasons. Obviously, Um, you know, last year a huge boom in real estate and that's translate you know, that's also continued into this year, and there's concerns that that that that can't continue at that pace. We've also seen interest rates creep back up, and I think there's a lendering concern there that if rates uh

go continue to rise, that could affect affordability. But I think there's a disconnect. I mean, the results have been outstanding and again, um, even though the real estate market made cool some uh you know, in terms of the stock performance, it's been a bit puzzling. It would be this week given their continued dominance of of the market. There's another name that you like, certainly, not one that we talked about a lot, but it's tickers O p r X Optimize er r Xcess is away for individuals

consumers to save money right on branded prescription. Tell us little bit about this one, Well, think of it. Think of it almost like the good r X for doctors and insurgents, where um, what's happening is that they offer e coupon NG and other sorts of uh rebates for patients for different prescriptions, you know, as they're prescribed, and these are advertisements that are delivered through the electronic health record systems you know, directly the doctor when they're the

point of point of prescribing. And they also it's it's a way for drug companies to get their brands in front of a very important audience. And this was a business that was taking off prior to COVID. Once all of the pharmaceutical reps could no longer go out in the field, no more industry conferences, a huge push towards digital advertising for these drug brands, and so they saw a huge adoption last year. And I think that as the drug companies have seen the effectiveness and the returns

they were getting from this spending. Uh, there they became believers. And we're seeing an acceleration of the number of brands, number of enterprise deals, you know, across these global pharmaceutical companies. I think we're in the early stages of this, and Optimizes is an elite position here to deliver this kind of messaging. Hey, another name that you like because I know our audience likes here. I think you mentioned it.

Voyage Digital. Uh, this is this is a cryptocurrency brokerage service. Uh. We've been talking about crypto in regards to infrastructure and getting some regulatory rules on the books. Here. What is it about Voyager Digital that you in particular like? It's about a two point three billion dollar market cap. Yeah, a Voyager we found a little less than a year ago, very tiny uh, you know, emerging kind of crypto broker that was founded by a former senior executive for me Trade,

former CTO of Uber. We were very very impressed with the team they put together and there's their strategy and the executions been flawless. Obviously that the market for for cryptocurrencies has been booming and they've just been growing well ahead of our expectations. And even with the cool down and prices, Um, you know, they're still doing exceptionally well and they're really carving out a niche. They're not coin based, you know, coin bas is still I believe they report

tonight and obviously one of the largest global players. But Voyager, for a small upstart, has done a tremendous job. And uh, you know, I've really done a lot of innovative things that have a lot of expansion plans that that are very promising. What I'm wondering too, rhyme. You know, for our audience we talk a lot about crypto obviously, um, what would be your advice to them when they look

at it, because it's still a developing market. There's a lot of cryptocurrencies are out there, and I think many would say that the dust still has to settle in terms of how this plays out. We're waiting to see what kind of regulatory oversight ultimately. Will have just got about thirty seconds here. How what's your advice to investor, especially since you are picking names in this space. I'll try to make it quick. We definitely see echoes of

kind of the emergence of the Internet years prior. People understand that it's probably here to stay at this point. The technology makes too much sense, there's too much utility for it. But they're really trying to wrap their heads around, you know, how to value these companies. You know how they're going to be implemented, and this adoption is going to take some time, and it's gonna be very challenging to try to value so the opportunities there, but you

do have to be careful. All Right, We're gonna leave it on that note. Listen, Ryan, thank you so much, really appreciate it. Ryan Jacobs, chief investment Officer and portfolio manager at Jacob Assett Management, on the phone from Los Angeles. All Right, folks, it is time for our Bloomberg TV team to join us for Beyond the Bell. It's live on Bloomberg Radio Bloomberg TV and YouTube counting you. 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