♪.
WITH.
NEIL: ALL RIGHT.
LOOKS LIKE TWITTER IS GOING TO
LAY OFF ANOTHER 200 WORKERS.
IN CASE YOU’RE COUNTING THAT IS
GOING TO BRING THE HEADCOUNT
THERE TO JUST UNDER 2000.
I BELIEVE WHEN ELON MUSK
FORMALLY TOOK OVER THE SOCIAL
MEDIA CONCERN IT HAD ABOUT 7500
WORKERS.
SO WHAT TO MAKE OF WHAT’S GOING
ON THERE, A READ OF TECHNOLOGY
AND MARKETS IN GENERAL, LOU
BASENES PUBLIC VENTURES
PRESIDENT, CHIEF MARKET
STRATEGIST.
LOU, GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS NEWS?
>> IF WE EVER NEEDED A BETTER
EXAMPLE ABOUT TECH’S
OVEREXPANSION.
TWITTER HAS CUT OVER THE 70% OF
THE WORKFORCE SINCE ELON MUSK
HAS TAKEN OVER.
IT IS STILL FUNCTIONING JUST
FINE.
IT MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT ALL THE
EMPLOYEES WERE.
IF YOU LOOK AT TECH SPACE,
AMAZON HIRED 600,000 EMPLOYEES
DURING THE PANDEMIC.
GOOGLE, AMAZON, ON A HIRING
SPREE.
ELON MUSK COUNTERING BALANCE,
LIKE OLD JACK WELCH, HIRE
SLOWLY, FIRE FAST, FIRE A LOT.
I THINK WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO TO
TURN TWITTER AROUND.
I WISH THE STOCK WAS
PUBLICLY-TRADED AGAIN AS MUCH
CHEAPER VALUATION.
THESE MOVES WOULD BE APPLAUDED
IN THE PUBLIC MARKETS.
NEIL: ANOTHER THING, YOU LOOK AT
PERCENTAGES,0% FROM THOSE HIGHS
HAVE BEEN LAID OFF AND WE HAVE
SEEN LAYOFFS IN THE TECH SECTOR
HAVE BEEN RAMPANT BUT RELATIVELY
SMALL.
CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THEY GOT
ANYTHING APPROACHING THAT
MAGNITUDE?
DOES THAT INDICATE OTHER TECH
COMPANIES WILL LOOK AT EACH
OTHER, SAY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF
OUR LAYOFFS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY
TAME?
>> YEAH.
I THINK YOU’RE HITTING THE NAIL
ON THE HEAD, NEIL.
LOOK ACROSS THE BOARD, USUALLY
ABOUT FIVE TO 10% OF THE
WORKFORCE HAS BEEN LAID OFF IN
TECH.
FOR ME THAT IS PRUDENT
MANAGEMENT AS WE COME INTO A
TOUGHER CYCLE FOR TECH, HIGHER
INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT.
I WANT TO SEE THEM DOING THOSE
THINGS.
MICROSOFT LAYING OFF 10 TO
12,000 EMPLOYEES.
THOSE ARE GOOD THINGS FROM
SHAREHOLDER BASIS.
NOT IF THE YOU’RE THE EMPLOYEE
BEING LAID OFF BUT THOSE ARE THE
PRUDENT FINANCIAL MOVES YOU WANT
TO SEE COMPANIES MAKING IN THE
FINANCIAL MARKET HERE.
NEIL: WE’RE LOOKING AT MARKETS
ATTEMPTING A COMEBACK TODAY,
AFTER A SOUR WEEK, ONE OF THE
WORST WEEKS FOR THE MARKETS
GOING BACK TO LAST FALL.
THEY’RE HAVING A DEVIL OF A TIME
GAINING ANY TRACTION HERE.
HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THINGS?
>> I MEAN, INTEREST RATES ARE
GOING TO BE THE TAIL THAT WAGS
THIS MARKET FOR THE INEVITABLE
FUTURE.
LAST TIME I WAS ON TALKING ABOUT
POTENTIAL FOR THE FED TO KEEP
HIKING RATES.
SOME PUNDITS SAYING ONE OR TWO
MORE HIKES.
AFTER FRIDAY’S HOT INFLATION
DATA, I THINK ODDS OF A 50
BASIS-POINT HIKE AT NEXT MEETING
GOTTEN A LOT HIGHER.
ALMOST NONEXISTENT, FUTURES
TRADING, PROBABILITIES, THERE IS
AT LEAST 30% CHANCE OF THAT
HAPPENING.
UNTIL THE FED STOPS HIKING, YOU
GO BOTTOMS-UP, NOT TOP DOWN.
INDEXES WILL BE REALLY VOLATILE.
PFIZER SENDING A MESSAGE TO A
PLACE LOOK IN THE MARKET WITH A
DEAL BUYING SEA GEN, A LEAD ARE
PLAYER IN CANCER THERAPEUTICS.
IT IF I’M IN PHARMA WHERE IS THE
PUCK GOING NEXT.
IN THE BIOTECH MARKET IT WILL BE
TARGETED THERAPIES.
A LOT OF COMPANIES OPERATING IN
THAT SPACE.
SEVERAL NAMES PEOPLE CAN LOOK
AT.
QUE BIOPHARMA.
I OWN, MY FIRM OWNS.
ANOTHER NAME IMUNONE.
LANTERN PHARMA, THESE COMPANIES
SOLD OFF VERY DEEPLY BUT HAVE
PRECISION THERAPEUTICS
POTENTIALLY WORTHWHILE
INVESTMENTS IN A MARKET, IF YOU
SEE PFIZER BUYING A COMPANY, 30,
$40 BILLION F WE BUY THE
COMPANIES FOR 3,
400 MILLION-DOLLAR COMPANIES
THAT IS GOOD RISK/REWARD IN THIS
MARKET.
NEIL: MORE BIOTECH THAN JUST
TECH?
>> YEAH.
BECAUSE BIOTECH, IF YOU LOOK,
NEIL, BIOTECH SOLD OFF VERY
STRONG, STEEPLY WAY MORE THAN
THE REST OF THE MARKET.
NASDAQ CAME IN 30% OF THE
BIOTECH FROM PEAK TO TOUGH WAS
DOWN ABOUT 65% WHICH WAS SECOND
WORST CORRECTION HISTORY IN THE
BIOTECHS INDEX.
YOU SAW RISKIER AREAS OF MARKET,
BIOTECH, SMALL CAPS, MICROCAPS
GET HIT FIRST.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE RUSSELL 2000
IT IS UP 8%.
IT WAS UP 13% AT ONE POINT.
THE SMALLER END OF THE MARKET IS
FARING A LOT BETTER BECAUSE THEY
SOLD OFF SOONER.
THE VALUES GOT MORE OBVIOUS
THERE SOONER.
SOME BIG CAP NAMES STILL TRADING
AT A LITTLE BIT OF FROTHY
VALUATIONS.
AGAIN I THINK, LIKE I SAID
BEFORE IN SUMMARY, DON’T GO BIG,
GO SMALL.
LOOK WHERE THE PLAYERS MIGHT BE
UNDERVALUE IN THE MARKETS.
NEIL: I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK,
LOU.
ALWAYS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.