Episode summary
Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend: September 4th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 38 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec
Summary
The weekend edition focuses on three stories about how easier access and longer time horizons are reshaping finance. First, the host examines prediction markets through the case of a Texas college student who shifted from gambling on sportsbooks and fantasy sites to Kalshi, lost money again, and eventually entered treatment. The reporting argues that prediction markets can create the same dopamine loop and addiction risk as sports betting, even if the platforms insist they are different because users are not betting against a house.
Key takeaways
- The host argues prediction markets can reproduce the same addiction dynamics as sports betting, even if platforms like Kalshi reject that comparison.
- A guest says the Texas student lost about $12,000 on Kalshi over roughly six months after earlier gambling losses reached about $100,000.
- Stephen Wong says Dub charges $10 a month or $80 a year and lets users automatically follow the trades of managers, politicians, and well-known investors.
- Natalie Wong reports the Mormon Church controls at least 2.4 million acres and roughly $20 billion in assessed property value, based on public records.
- The church’s real estate strategy is described as a generational bet, with a holding period that can stretch 50 to more than 100 years.
Notable quotes
“they own 2.4 million acres, roughly the same as two Delawares”
“they operate more like a sovereign wealth fund than they do a religious institution”
“They're talking 50 to more than 100 years. They are holding it very long term”
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. Bloomberg Business Week Daily with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Radio.
Hi everyone, welcome to the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week. Carol is off this week in her place a great rotating crew of co-anchors featuring Norma Linda, Lisa Mateo, and Christine Aquino. A big week for US economic data, reads on the labor market, the Fed Beige Book, and a few earnings continuing to just trickle out.
Also, renewed skirmishes in the US-Iran conflict after both sides escalated fighting around the Strait of Hormuz. Any sustained return to fighting risks driving up energy costs and inflation. Unnerving global investors and complicating Republicans efforts to retain control of the US Congress in November's midterm elections.
For all the latest developments and breaking coverage, head on over to the Bloomberg Terminal or to bloomberg.com. With that sense of uncertainty, this hour we talk about the unpredictability of human behavior and how the rise of prediction markets has raised concerns about their potential to contribute to gambling addiction. Plus, retail investing is undergoing a major structural shift.
We caught up with Steven Wong, founder and CEO of Dub, to talk about how a new generation of traders are navigating the market and what they want out of their trading platforms. And the Mormon church is expanding its real estate empire by spending billions of dollars. All that to come, but first
I've been eager to get to this story by Ira Boudway. He's global business reporter for Bloomberg News. This is one of those stories in Bloomberg Business Week that you start reading uh and you you just can't put down because uh it's engaging and it's about something that I think everybody is thinking about right now and that's about prediction markets and the connection to gambling specifically when it comes to sports.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- business news
- finance news
- technology
- politics
- economics
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Bloomberg
Watch the episode
Watch “Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend: September 4th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
More from Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
-
Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - November 13th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek -
Inside Jensen Huang’s Final Hours as Nvidia CEO | Bloomberg Businessweek -
Jensen Huang's Exit Kicks Off Nvidia Strategy Reset | Bloomberg Businessweek -
Special Episode: Bobby Jain on Why He Chose Millennium Again | Bloomberg Businessweek -
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily Podcast: Jensen’s Nvidia Departure -
Take-Two Releasing Long-Awaited Grand Theft Auto VI Next Week | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily, this episode and its artwork belong to Bloomberg. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
