Episode summary
29th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference Special: Day Two | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · Hosts: Joe Mathieu, Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Steve Mnuchin, Amos Hochstein, Denise Leonhard, Maria Korsnick, Suzanne Clark, Bridgit Mendler
Summary
The Milken conference day-two broadcast centered on how markets are absorbing a mix of AI-driven capital spending, geopolitical risk, and policy change. A former Treasury Secretary backed the SEC’s proposal to let companies report semiannually instead of quarterly, arguing that too much management time is spent chasing earnings beats and that companies should have the option to choose the cadence that fits their business. He also said the U.S. remains the “gold standard” for listings and argued that AI-related spending, especially on data centers and cloud infrastructure, is still in early innings.
Geopolitics kept pulling the conversation back toward energy. Amos Hochstein said the oil market and stock market are diverging, warned of physical shortages, and argued that markets are underestimating how long disruption around the Strait of Hormuz could last. Maria Korsnick of the Nuclear Energy Institute said nuclear is gaining momentum because data centers need reliable, clean power, and she pointed to new construction, life extensions for existing plants, and policy support as evidence the sector is moving from ideas to execution.
The broadcast also highlighted how payments, regulation, and technology are reshaping business. Denise Leonhard said Zelle moved $1.2 trillion last year and is expanding into bill pay and recurring use cases. Suzanne Clark of the U.S. Chamber said permitting reform is the biggest bottleneck to affordability and long-term growth. Bridget Mendler said Northwood Space is building the ground infrastructure for commercial space, with customers ranging from government to telecom and plans to scale quickly across multiple countries.
Key takeaways
- The former Treasury Secretary said semiannual reporting would let companies focus less on quarterly earnings pressure and more on longer-term growth.
- He argued the U.S. remains the world’s premier listing venue because of its liquidity and transparency, even if some issuers switch to semiannual reporting.
- Amos Hochstein said oil and equities are pricing different realities, warning that the physical energy market could tighten further as Strait of Hormuz risks persist.
- Maria Korsnick said nuclear is already supplying 20% of U.S. electricity and is positioned to benefit from demand for reliable power from data centers.
- Suzanne Clark said permitting reform is the most important structural fix for affordability because delays of 5 to 7 years discourage investment and building.
- Denise Leonhard said Zelle moved $1.2 trillion last year and sees small businesses as its fastest-growing segment because payments settle almost immediately.
Notable quotes
“I think there's too many companies that are too focused on quarterly earnings and whether they miss or beat expectations, analysts expectations”
“the stock market is is is really not discounting uh this going on for a long time”
“we're 20% of the electricity sector today. So, I would say nuclear is already making a difference”
“we had $1.2 trillion moved on the platform last year. So that's larger than the GDP of Switzerland”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business App. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube. Carol Master Joe Matthew live here at the Milin Institute global conference in Beverly Hills
With a very special guest that we want to welcome here to our set at Milin. It's the former Treasury Secretary Steven Minutuchin. Thanks for being with us, sir.
Good to be here with you. We've got a lot we'd love to talk to you about, but we've got breaking news that just went right on the terminal right before we began the broadcast and that is a proposal by the SEC to go to semianual reporting or at least allow it. And you can look at two different sides of this coin.
Do you think this is good for the markets? Is it good for investors? Well, I I support the proposal.
I think there's too many companies that are too focused on quarterly earnings and whether they miss or beat expectations, analysts expectations. So, I I I think the idea of giving companies the option of whether they want to do quarterly or semiannual is a good thing. I mean, I can imagine there are a number of companies, particularly companies that are growing that are still going to be interested in showing quarterly earnings and showing their progress through the year.
But I think giving companies the option is a very good idea.
Does it do anything to kind of the global perspective from investors about how US market is kind of the gold standard. So transparent because of those quarterly reports and so much more and some of the rules and regulations that really govern our companies here.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- global conference
- public policy
- payments
- nuclear energy
- business leadership
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Liberty Strategic Capital
- Zelle
- Nuclear Energy Institute
- US Chamber of Commerce
- Northwood
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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