Greetings from the Beverly Hills Hilton, home of the Milken Conference.
It’s 3:24 a.m. PT and the hotel is empty, a different scene from Monday’s packed house at noon. You’re probably wondering why I’m here at this time? Well, we’re recording an interview with Disney’s (DIS) Hugh Johnston shortly after earnings hit. I’ve known Hugh for a decade, dating back to his long stint as CFO of PepsiCo (PEP).
So, given that and my natural inclination to be awake, why not pop things early! (Our live coverage of Milken’s day two starts at 9 a.m. ET on our network, a more normal time)
Some random thoughts that came to mind during the inflationary Uber ride to the hotel:
1. I spoke with a source of mine who I have known for years and who knows about the relationship between Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Or should I say no relationship – the two apparently haven’t spoken in years because Steve is a “family man” and has disagreed with some of Gates’ life choices in recent years.
2. If Kevin Hassett was chosen to be the next Fed chief in the Trump presidency’s runoff, as the WSJ recently speculated, he did not show it in an interview with Akiko Fujita and yours truly servant yesterday afternoon. In fact, he downplayed what was happening, off-camera. Then again, who in Trump’s entourage wants to speak out against him in any way – don’t bite the hand that feeds you, I guess.
3. Good thoughts below from Apollo Global Management (APO) CEO Marc Rowan on the college campus protests below. Rowan has spoken extensively on the issue.
Note: Apollo is the parent company of Yahoo Finance.
4. Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Yasmin Khorram was in the room last night for a highly anticipated interview on the Milken Main Stage with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk. People were leaving early during the meandering conversation, Khorram reports.
