Episode summary
Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - August 28th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 37 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec
Summary
The weekend show centers on three themes: the Trump administration’s influence on markets, the loosening of bank-charter approvals, and a lesson in entrepreneurial risk-taking. The host opens with Nvidia’s blowout guidance, then moves to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan to expand long-dated bond buybacks, which billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller publicly attacked as unnecessary, hypocritical, and dangerous. A guest says Druckenmiller sees the move as a fight against fundamentals that the government is unlikely to win, especially with deficits and interest costs already high.
The second segment examines how World Liberty Financial, tied to President Trump’s family and business associates, has received conditional approval for a trust charter. A guest says the approvals reflect a faster, more permissive regulatory climate, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approving 22 bank charters in the first 19 months of Trump’s second term, more than the previous five years combined.
The final conversation turns to Spin Master co-founder Ronen Harari, who argues that people in their 20s benefit from energy, confidence, and “the power of not knowing.” He says his own learning disability forced him to grind, while early risks like Air Hogs and Earth Buddies helped build the company.
Key takeaways
- A guest says Stanley Druckenmiller views Bessent’s bond-buyback plan as unnecessary, hypocritical, and a direct challenge to market fundamentals.
- The guest argues rising long-term yields reflect inflation risk and bigger U.S. deficits, not a bond-market malfunction.
- Paige Smith says World Liberty Financial’s charter bid shows how much easier and faster it is to get approvals under the Trump-era OCC.
- Smith says the OCC approved 22 bank charters in the first 19 months of Trump’s second term, more than the previous five years combined.
- Ronen Harari says young founders benefit from energy and risk tolerance, and that “the power of not knowing” can be an advantage.
Notable quotes
“few people would argue that he is the best investor in modern history. Never a down year when he was running Dukane Capital Management”
“There is no crisis. Yes, yields are rising, but that is the market functioning the way it is supposed to function”
“Once markets believe Treasury is defending a price, every rise in yields becomes a test of official resolve”
“the first 19 months of the president's second term, the OC approved 22 bank charters. That's more than the f previous 5 years combined”
“there's a power of not knowing, right? It's very magical sometimes when you know too much”
How the episode opens
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 Stenbec on Bloomberg Radio.
Hi everyone, welcome to the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Tim Stenbec. Carol is off this week.
This past week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bassant declared a quote economic D-Day against Iran. The US Canada trade fight escalated and the Kansas City Fed's annual gathering in Jackson Hole put monetary policy front and center yet again. And then of course, earnings from the world's most valuable company, Nvidia.
The chipmaker announcing guidance, expecting revenue to grow as much as 70% in the next fiscal year. For the latest on all that and more, head on over to the Bloomberg terminal or to bloomberg.com. Coming up this hour, we're going to examine how the Trump administration is reshaping market fundamentals.
Why Stanley Ducken Miller is calling Treasury Secretary Scott Besson's bond buying a mistake. Plus, how the Trump family is fast-tracking a national bank charter for cryptoreated financials. All that to come, but we begin with a rare public rebuke from one of Wall Street's most influential investors.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has recently pledged to increase the Treasury's purchases of longdated bonds.
We are going to continue the with our regular program of auctions. So, you will be hearing from us again the at the beginning of next quarter. We haven't bought a single bond yet. The next time uh we have an operation is September 9th. So we we will see on September 9th.
However, billionaire investor Stanley Ducken Miller is now warning his former protege against trying to push down long-term yields.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- business and finance news
- global technology
- politics
- economics
- markets updates
Watch the episode
Watch “Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - August 28th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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