Bloomberg Businessweek

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show “Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.”
Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House sharpens its focus on tackling the country’s housing affordability crisis.
The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. No decision has been made and the administration may abandon the effort without launching an investigation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.
One potential focus is on how information is shared through an industry trade group called Leading Builders of America, according to the people. Officials have grown concerned that the trade group — whose members include Lennar Corp. and DR Horton Inc. — could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing, the people said.
A White House representative referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment. Representatives for the homebuilders and the trade group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The administration’s interest in homebuilders comes during a period where the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the Covid-era housing boom and subsequent interest rate hikes weighing heavily on buyers. It’s also a precarious time for the builders themselves, with the inventory of unsold homes hovering at high levels.
President Donald Trump put the industry on alert in October, when he used a social media post to compare big homebuilders to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which wields immense control over the oil market.
Today's show features:
Bloomberg News Real Estate Reporter Patrick Clark discussing on Trump administration officials mulling an antitrust probe into US homebuilders to tackle the country's housing affordability crisis
Gregory Daco, Chief Economist at EY, on expectations for the upcoming January jobs report and the broader US economic outlook
Mark Mahaney, Senior Managing Director and Head of Internet Research at Evercore ISI, on mega-cap tech firms’ AI spending splurge and recapping earnings from Alphabet, and Amazon
Bloomberg News Executive Editor for Crypto, Payments and Digital Finance stacy-marie ishmael on this week’s large swings in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices
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ConnectOne Bancorp delivered an 8% increase in adjusted pre-provision net revenue in its most recent quarter, reflecting margin expansion and operating efficiency. Bloomberg Intelligence notes that management tempered loan-growth expectations for 2026 to 3-5% from 5% vs. estimates of 5.5%, and expects net interest margin to exit 2026 at 3.35-3.4% vs. consensus' 3.45%.
Frank Sorrentino, Founder and CEO of ConnectOne Bank discusses the state of regional and local banks as Santander snaps up Webster for $12 billion in a push for US expansion. Sorrentino says smaller banks benefit from consolidation as clients move from firm to firm and bank product options change. He also discusses the state of the consumer and the housing market as the Trump administration mulls different housing-related proposals centered around affordability. Frank speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.
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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Bitcoin tumbled below $63,000 as the unwinding of leveraged bets and broader market turbulence deepened a selloff that has wiped out all of the gains since President Donald Trump’s election set off a speculative rush into cryptocurrencies.
The token fell as much as 14% Thursday to $62,267, the lowest since October 2024. The rout has erased half of Bitcoin’s value since it reached a record four months ago and has spread to other tokens, related ETFs and companies like Strategy Inc. that hold vast sums of coins.
The downturn has marked an abrupt retreat from Bitcoin’s meteoric rise through much of last year, when the return of the crypto-friendly Republican to the White House sent investors piling into such tokens and the Wall Street vehicles that have sprouted up around them. The market started cracking this month as rising geopolitical tensions sent tremors across global financial markets and curbed risk taking. That sparked Bitcoin’s precipitous decline from mid-January and set off a self-reinforcing cycle of selling as funds liquidated assets to meet redemptions and unwind leveraged bets.
The slide has echoes of the one in 2022, when prices retreated sharply from the surge seen during the easy-money era of the pandemic as the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy. It has already taken a toll on intermediaries like the exchanges Coinbase Global Inc., whose shares have tumbled more than 30% this year, and Gemini Space Station Inc., which said it plans to cut up to 25% of its workforce and wind down operations in the UK, European Union and Australia.
Today's show features:
Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winning Economist and Research Professor at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, on his latest Substack column about the dive in the price of Bitcoin and broader market for cryptocurrencies
Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, on the investing landscape and on whether the recent market downturn is a sign of what’s to come.
Bloomberg Opinion Senior Executive Editor Tim O’Brien on his column examining the potential national security risks of the United Arab Emirates seeking deeper access to advanced American semiconductors
James Cakmak, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Clockwise Capital, on quarterly earnings from Amazon
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Amazon said it plans to spend billions more than expected on data centers, chips and other equipment, fueling investor concerns that the company’s massive bet on artificial intelligence will take longer to pay off than anticipated.The company reported $39.5 billion on property and equipment expenses in the fourth quarter, topping estimates by almost $5 billion, and said its capital expenditures would reach $200 billion this year. Bloomberg Businessweek Daily hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with: Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst for E-Commerce and Athleisure Poonam Goyal and James Cakmak, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Clockwise Capita
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