Greetings from the Beverly Hills Hilton, home of the Milken Conference.
It’s 3:24 a.m. PT here and the hotel is empty, a different scene from a crowded house on a Monday afternoon. You may be wondering why I am here at this time? Well, we’re recording an interview with Disney’s (DIS) Hugh Johnston shortly after earnings. I’ve known Hugh for a decade, during his long stint as CFO of PepsiCo (PEP).
So, considering that and my natural tendency to wake up, why not show up early! (Our live coverage of Day 2 of Milken begins at 9 a.m. ET on our network, which is a more regular time)
Some random thoughts that crept into my head during the bloated Uber ride to the hotel:
1. I spoke with a source of mine who I have known for years and who has knowledge of the Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer relationship. Or should I say no relationship – it seems the two haven’t spoken in years because Steve is a “family man” and doesn’t agree with some of Gates’ life choices in recent years.
2. If Kevin Hassett is chosen to be the next Fed Chairman in the runoff of Trump’s presidency, as the Wall Street Journal recently predicted, he didn’t show it in an interview with Akiko Fujita and in your interview yesterday afternoon. He actually downplayed the importance of it happening off camera. Then again, whoever in Trump’s inner circle wants to speak out against him in any way — don’t bite the hand that feeds you, I guess.
3. Some thoughts below by Apollo Global Management (APO) CEO Mark Rowan on the campus protests below. Rowan has been very vocal about this issue. (Note: Apollo is the parent company of Yahoo Finance.)
4. Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Yasmine Khorram was in the room for a long-awaited interview on the main stage at Milken with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk last night. Khurram reported that people were leaving early during the meandering conversation.
“Infuriatingly humble alcohol fanatic. Unapologetic beer practitioner. Analyst.”