Federal Reserve Policy Divergence and Streaming Industry Consolidation

Key Quotes

"if i woke up this morning and i'd been in a coma and all i had was the data i would think well this federal reserve must be neutral or hawkish heading into this period they are in an environment where inflation has been above target for 55 months the unemployment rate is extraordinarily tight in fact there's only two times in history going back to the 1970s when the unemployment rate has been this tight what happened to the concept of normalizing and growth is fine so what i want to hear from chair powell today is why are you cutting"

Frances Donald of RBC Capital Markets questions the Federal Reserve's rationale for considering interest rate cuts. Donald points to persistent inflation above the target and an exceptionally tight labor market as indicators that suggest a neutral or hawkish stance would be more appropriate. She expresses a desire to understand the reasoning behind potential rate reductions given these economic conditions.

"i really lean on this it's the employment cost index and it's a blended study of wages and benefits it's different than all the other wage series some people believe in it some people don't i look at the year over year the view from 60 000 feet and the answer is from the high wage and benefit gains that we saw out of covid we're coming down but we're not back down yet to normal you really wonder if wages and benefits get down how that would change some of the ideas like we just heard from ms donald"

Robert Fishman highlights the importance of the Employment Cost Index (ECI) as a key economic indicator. Fishman explains that the ECI, which tracks both wages and benefits, provides a comprehensive view of labor costs. He notes that while there has been a decrease from the high gains seen post-COVID, the ECI has not yet returned to normal levels, suggesting continued inflationary pressures.

"when you think about who the natural dance partners are it was comcast and it and it still is paramount skydance now after the skydance deal and warner brothers discovery that those three are the most natural players because they're all subscale in streaming so when thinking about how to solve that streaming scale issue from a global basis it's just natural to think that you need to see some combination of those players and so that's essentially what's playing out in front of us"

Robert Fishman identifies Comcast, Paramount/Skydance, and Warner Brothers Discovery as natural partners in the streaming industry. Fishman explains that these companies are all considered "subscale" in streaming, meaning they lack the necessary size to compete effectively on a global level. He suggests that a combination of these entities is a logical step to address the challenge of achieving sufficient scale in the streaming market.

"paramount skydance needs these assets in order to accelerate the timing to reach the scale that they're desiring on a global scale basis for paramount plus so yes we very much think that the combination with paramount skydance is a must have"

Robert Fishman asserts that a combination involving Paramount/Skydance is essential for achieving desired global scale for Paramount+. Fishman explains that Paramount+ requires these assets to expedite its growth trajectory and reach its target scale internationally. He concludes that such a combination is a necessary strategic move for the platform.

"the kind of phishing hacks do online is a lot like this kind of fishing they cast their lines bogus emails fake websites deceptive login screens hoping you'll take the bait with online phishing there's no calm no peace well until now with cisco duo fishing season is over duo goes beyond multi factor authentication delivering end to end phishing resistance built on passwordless authentication session theft protection and help desk verification all at half the cost of traditional solutions so when fishers cast their lines they come back with nothing at all that's why attackers hate us and users love us"

The speaker draws an analogy between online phishing and actual fishing to explain the concept. They describe phishing attacks as casting lines with deceptive tactics like fake emails and websites to trick users into providing information. Cisco Duo is presented as a solution that ends this "fishing season" by offering end-to-end phishing resistance through passwordless authentication and other security measures.