>> welcome to lunch money, where we tied together the best stories, interviews, and video in business news. i am adam johnson. but take a look at the menu. the federal reserve begins a two-day meeting. in media, we meet three startups at the center of the online television revolution. a wild card, do you want to hang up with world-class athletes? it's easier than you think but it may cost you. and we're going to hear from one of the biggest names in the business. saachi andpowerhouse saachi. finally, in sports, the winter olympics are less than two

months away and we are going to catch up with one athlete and his amazing comeback story. a busy day in washington, the federal reserve beginning its two-day meeting. the senate is voting to pass the budget agreement passed by the house last week. but does this deal actually accomplish anything? >> if you go by the fundamentals, the things that needed to be dealt with were the tax code, fundamental tax reform is imperative for our international comparative. we need to mature doesn't lead a -- to make sure it doesn't bleed a lot of red ink and is an economic threat to the future. and what were the two things not in the deal? taxes and fundamental entitlements. we are moving around the edges. >> what is the risk if this does not tackle the hard issues?

go from one crisis to another. we're going to end up running out the clock. it will start all over again. it will take time to get a few things right. enough, but at least the budget removes some of the uncertainty in the markets. that is good for wall street and is also good for main street. >> getting out there and spend more. some job growth under our else. that confirmation, and that is the historical relationship between business investments and business cycles. stronger aggregate demand. they must invest more and higher more -- hire more. >> yes, it sounds like this budget deal is good for consumers. >> it is positive for consumers.

of the government shutdown impacted more negatively than anything else, consumer sentiment. now we have a legislative body that can work together, that should be positive for consumer sentiment. it could ultimately filter in >> and the markets went down. i hate to put you on this hot at the markets went down after this budget deal was passed. >> absolutely, and that makes sense, given that when they decided to postpone tapering in september, which may have expected, was concern over a possible government shutdown. that debate. they made thaten decision in september. selloff on a day like the past few days, that removes one of the headlands the fed is concerned about and could postpone tapering even further.

>> tomorrow we're going to hear from fed chairman ben bernanke so, what should we expect the so what should we expect? >> they failed to bring forward great expectations. they failed to do that over the summer. and over the last couple of months, and we heard in the press conference that they are going to try to do some more heavy lifting. maybe they lower the unemployment threshold. for example. that could be a way to do it, the thinger they do, to do is to just stop buying more assets. >> are the markets worried about what the fed may say tomorrow? >> i think everybody is worried about tapering. there's a big difference between tapering and front-end. that steep curve was good for p/e ratios.

>> so what does the fed went to see from the rest of washington? west of washington, they have to get its act together and have an environment that promotes business investment and private sector led growth. that is the objective for 2014. >> putting all this in perspective, what does it mean for corporate america? >> we cannot run a deficit forever, we cannot have a massive accommodation for upper. -- forever. engineering a soft landing is really hard. i know that myself. the earnings, that is the key thing. >> what matters most to business leaders and investors right now? >> right now, company specifics are mattering more.

you could say, hey, i did a deep dive. china, all of these macro issues. macro is mattering less. that is one key point. the second is dispersion. what we look at as the range of possibilities around as trading certain level. if it was at 30 times earning and sometimes 10, you would wonder if they were all this brutal. what do we have today? we have narrowed this version. -- narrow dispersion. we have a lot of stocks trading around that level. it does that mean when you see an opportunity you have to make it. hiring people. >> looking at the data, changes in the air. >> it feels like there is a sea change going on.

i mean we have this data coming , in the way to the upside as we move into the new year. that is the momentum you want to see. coupled with that, we have a budget deal so we know we are not going to face another government shutdown. we are still debating when tapering will come but we are pretty confident it will come in 2014. and if the fed starts tapering we have more certainty around monetary policy. >> an online television startup says it is not worried about mounting court challenges from the big four television networks. we are going to hear from the ceo. and how you might be able to watch any show, anywhere. we will explain next. ?

>> this is "lunch money" on bloomberg television.

we are also streaming live on your tablet and smartphone. i am adam johnson. tv startup aereo is facing challenges. bloomberg west anchor emily chang asked the ceo about all of the legal hurdles he is facing right now. >> i think it is going to work itself out. so far we have been winning. i think time will tell. >> why are you so confident it will work out in your favor? >> for some basic simple reasons. the law is on our side and that has been shown four times now. we think the consumer sentiment is certainly on our side. we have tremendous support. it is common sense. consumers need this change. it is so important to have competition and alternatives in the market. so, of course we will win.

>> it could go all of the way up to the supreme court. if the supreme court hears the broadcaster's position, do you think that will affect your chances? >> actually, yesterday, we filed our response to that, in which we urged the court to consider the cases well. from our perspective it is a war. we are winning and they're trying to litigate this in every possible jurisdiction. we are a small company and we want to get on with the business of building our company. that is the status at the moment. >> and this is just a worst-case scenario but if it is found legal, whatnot would you do? >> there are two or three outcomes. you needcently said

about 5000 to 6000 subscribers in any given region. 50,000at mean you need paying consumers to be profitable? >> we are live in 11 markets now. our cost structure is so low that we can break even at a low number. hopefully we will be and 15 in the next few weeks. and so far, the growth has been fantastic. now we are in a second phase of adding capacity. the company, people, resources, everybody. it is tremendous. >> how many paying subscribers do you have? >> we have 2200 or 2000. >> do you have more than that?

>> i think it is safe to say yes. and there was another company that all you need is a subscription for. it is completely cloud-based. >> on the other side of the cable back in new york. >> absolutely. >> we have taken time to work this out to make sure it is really a global service. it absolutely is something that works no matter where you are. the subscription is between the consumer and the tv provider.

there are costs associated with making the actual content available to you. so for us to break even, less than 100,000 subscribers. an antik about it being aereo product. consumers to have a fair use , and so our for -- our without is to do this having to worry about rights and legal issues. paid subscribers. >> there is an online video streaming startup.

the company ceo explained the company on "money moves." >> it has its own original content. digital audiences are amassing online. it is the same kind of technology. it is the thing that all of these media businesses are beginning to acknowledge. and really, what this does is provide analytics. consumption and audience. they are using this to make content decisions. possibilities around that

content, and then providing .asically a personalization what is different is the living room experience. people are consuming content on , sodevice that they prefer it is a proliferation of the screens that is the difference today. and one company is helping to rent an athlete. imagine. we will show you how to make that happen. and a baltimore ravens kicker. incredible field goal this was against the detroit lions. this was his fifth field goal. one more time.

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>> how would you like to hang out with a pro athlete, watch a game, get a few beers, use a star power to close a deal. a pro." "rent- it is all company things to a company called thuzio. >> the public and book professional athletes and sports figures and coaches for experiences. you can search over 1400 athletes from across the country. you can very easily see who's available in your area, what

they are good at, and how much they charge. our average price ranges $1400 for an experience. >> what is a typical experience? >> one of the most popular items is a game watch. testimoniala great come in. a financial advisor booked someone for a bar event. you are at a bar or home watching football and 22 of the 25 showed up. the financial advisor close to this for the very next day. these events can create an atmosphere we can get your clients to spend time with you. >> is the resistance from some of these athletes ash is there resistance from some of these athletes to do these things? >> there was resistance when we first started the business about posting pricing. that was something that was a little bit uncomfortable, but we felt it had to happen in order to have an upfront marketplace where consumers can have a really positive experience just like any other marketplace you go to, like amazon or anywhere else.

>> which athletes are most popular? i is the most often booked talent on our networks. tim hardaway down in miami as well as roger clemens and our most popular player is mohammed wilkerson. of the new york jets. >> are your clients business people? >> and they are. >> what's to prevent them from going directly to these athletes themselves and say, join us for an event and we will pay you a special appearance fee? >> the reason we did this is because that is very hard to do. most people have no idea where to start when booking an athlete. agents are focusing on contracts and big shoe deals. >> we have john starks -- after the fact the agents aren't around anymore. >> that is right, so we contracted them directly. >> they cannot find them. we have a team all day hunting

down these retired athletes. >> how do you find them? >> a lot of work, relationships. >> how do you even get into this line of work? >> i was with seamless. an online service. my background is in online marketplaces. i also happen to be a very big sports fan. when i was presented with the opportunity to join this company, it was a no-brainer. >> was -- is the collegiate things a big draw? alumni of certain places wanting to get closer to the stars? >> absolutely. stars that are not known at the national level are the biggest hit on college campuses. i mean i am a giants fan. , if you bring ron to wisconsin people will go nuts. so that is an example of that sort of hyper local effect that an athlete can have. >> what is the strangest or weirdest events that you have gotten a request for? >> the strangest or weirdest event? well, i would say -- i don't know how strange this

is, but we had jr smith booked to attend a bar mitzvah. he attended and showed up and the bar mitzvah was held on a basketball court creek he lifted the 13-year-old boy over his head and everybody was freaking out. >> getting tattoos. covered in tats. >> no. we thought that wasn't really clear experience. it looks to over-the-top corporate customers are names you would recognize, yahoo! and pepsico. coming up, what consumers think and what they say -- doesn't matter. we will explain what he means. and day seven in our bitcoin and answer. matt went shopping using only bitcoin. ?

"lunch money," and we are also streaming on bloomberg.com and on your tablet and iphone. in germany, angela merkel was sworn in after building a coalition government uniting the biggest political parties. among her tasks, meeting with the leaders of the european union. to group is going to try strengthen the regional banks. the jackpot for tonight megamillion lottery has jumped, and they predict another job, with the prize approaching a

record of 656 million dollars set last year. the drawing is at 11:00 p.m. eastern time, and i have my ticket, and still no takers for michael jordan's house. it was on the market for two years and then went to a option, but it fails short. it is a mansion outside of chicago with a full-size basketball court and nine bedrooms. $29 million, and it could be yours. a leading advertising man with one of the four largest advertising agencies in the saatchi, andi & the question is, how is the firm adapting? we are all screen- agers. we are never away from our screens. mobile, tv. who knows where it is going to

be? but it is going to be intimate and social. >> is it good for your industry? i did not say exciting. is it good and profitable to have the complexity of many screens, versus the simplicity of abc, cbs, and nbc? >> it is much more fun. we are creative people. ideas are the currency of tomorrow, and these are just opening up idea after idea. the media no longer has the power. brands no longer have power. >> entertainment, journalism, they are all melding. because people have the power, and it is all around them. >> in a world of constant conductivity, what are the rules? >> there are no rules. ideas are going to make the world, not discussions, not

debate, but action, and it is ideas that drive action. >> a big fan of the late actor peter o'toole, who he says his passing signifies the end of an era. great man, and he lived that idea of live life slow. he was culturally inspirational to all of us and a creative genius. i think a lot of the world we are living in now is missing those kinds of hers. >> we yearn for that. >> yes, of course, we do. look at all of the eulogies that happened with nelson mandela. it is saying, god, give me a leader. was a lot faster and sexier in those days. are we so compartmentalized?

>> you can see fantastic television shows, and i do not know, i am just a complete addict to blacklist. and house of cards. you have got these terrific investments, and you still have blockbusters coming out of hollywood, and you have got all of these youtube stunts, so it is a beautiful world, and it is and, not either/or. >> with all of these and what do you do? >> it is how they feel that matters. anthropologically close. it is not what consumers say or what consumers do that matters. the winners are going to be those people who are figuring out how you are really feeling, so not lay it on you or throw it

at you but figure out how you feel. do notnot need ads that do anything for you. you need ads that inspire you to happier tinier, tinier and how we can do it quickly. advertising is popular culture. >> and going shopping, see what you can buy in the hood with virtual currency. ♪

>> this is "lunch money," and we are streaming at bloomberg.com and on your iphone and tablet. how well is the virtual currency in the real world? matt miller took his dog, steve, to the streets of new york. >> i have just made an appointment for steve to get a walk while we go to a grocery store in brooklyn and buy from food and drinks with bitcoin. come on, buddy. this is steve. all right we are here in fort , greene, which is the heart of bitcoin merchants in new york city. because there are within a few blocks radius, five different poisons that take bitcoin. i am going to do all my shopping for the week using bitcoin.

i saw something that tom keene is going to absolutely love, cream ale. i am bringing this back for you. tom. this takes pretty much every -- pretty much every internet bitcoin kid already knows about it, but we decided to come here and check it out. >> here is the guy that runs the only bitcoin investment. he has raised $70 million. here is how it got started. >> we found it is a pain to buy bitcoin. especially if you're going to invest large amounts, so we decided to create an investment vehicle modeled after

another thing, but it is bitcoin, and it is private. >> kind of like an etf? >> exactly. but a private >> fidelity will one. accept bitcoin investments. in its ira's. it is a risky investment. >> i always equipped to win early stage startup investment. you are either going to lose all your money -- you are probably going to lose all your money or have a fantastic return. so you should only invest what you could lose. >> can we think of bitcoin as the mp3 and all the itunes and spotify that came on top of that as sort of the architecture? >> bitcoin is two things, there's the digital currency and the transaction protocol. i don't think there's any debate as to this transactional network, how big and disruptive it really is. i think a lot of people are very excited about it. bitcoin as a digital currency, that is where people are talking about ponzi schemes and bubbles. it remains to be seen. a i think bitcoin is going to establish itself as a meaningful

store of value. people who invest in gold will start investing in bitcoin, and it will then ultimately become a currency and then it will be a global value transaction network that will take on western union, changeam, and it will the way we think about the way money moves around our system. it is such a unique foreign concept. it is mind blowing. if that actually does take hold. >> you can do that on paypal. you do not need to do that with bitcoin. >> the other person has to have a paypal account. it doesn't really work across border. but they take big fees out of it. >> wouldn't someone need to have a bit wallets? >> i can send you $10 million in bitcoin for a few pennies, whereas with paypal -- the volatility is really the problem. that trish and adam and

everybody has. as a means of exchange. >> that is an important point. it has to first be established as a store of value. it will be incredibly volatile. we have not seen anything yet, but i believe next year wall street is going to move in a very big way. we are going to see meaningful dollars come in and support the price of bitcoin. >> the winter olympics are just around the corner. we catch up with one athlete who has had a painful road getting there. we will share a story with you. ♪

>> this is is "lunch money" on bloomberg television. we are also streaming live on bloomberg.com, your tablet, and your smart phone. i am adam johnson. athletes are gearing up for the 2014 winter olympics. he sliced open his leg in practice. >> i fell into the boards five months before the vancouver olympics and wound up putting six inches in my right blade right and by thigh. on my left. so i went in i bounced off the , boards, pulled the blade out, looking at this meatloaf in my leg am a wondering what was going on. it turns out i cut myself all bone.y to my femur

you can imagine being in top shape going to olympic trials and all of a sudden being taken out like that. i leave it up to my support system to bring me back. and my family was there for me, friends, sponsors. >> 60 stitches? >> 60 stitches, yes. it was a shark bite. that is what i describe it as. >> that is right. it is like a shark bite, and he is ready for sochi. >> i am small compared to my competitors. >> give us some comparison. how tall? >> 5'8", 140 pounds. some of my competitors are 6'2", you know getting up there. , i am looking at them on the line. i am like, good luck, man. >> you don't let them push you around? >> no. sometimes it does play it to

an advantage, but i try to be faster. >> talk about being fast. what is it like to whip around that track? >> it is 40 miles per hour, straight at a 180 degree radius. turn. going 40 miles per hour one way and somehow managed to turn that 180 degrees, so it is wild, man. i really cannot explain the feeling. i watched the sport outside of how do i do, like, that? it looks impossible. >> competing, you are going to be competing. russia, sochi, 2014, what did you learn from vancouver that you can apply to sochi? was 19 going into vancouver, so i was a young teenager, getting some experience under my belt, and now that i have that, i can go in with a clear vision of what i want to accomplish and put all of the years i have put into training and practicing onto the ice and hopefully win

some gold medals. >> what is the financial pressure of being in the sport you are in? >> it is tremendous. how much we train, and how much we are not able to support for ourselves, so companies like liberty mutual are helping and stepping in help me, to help me fund my goals and my dreams. of being an olympian again, and without that, i would not be able to do this sport at all. when the olympics are coming up, the sponsors kind of reach out. >> what goes into marketing and -- an olympic athlete? >> we think is going to do a terrific job. you are completely right. his story translates regardless of what happens on the ice. he is an inspiration. >> so the sponsors that are committed to him are? >> we have tried to craft a family-friendly environment, so

png, wheaties, smuckers, nike, we are in some financial and risk management. libertine you. really some interesting categories. >> it sounds like you want to hug the guy, not necessarily just state behind him. the challenge is to make him relevant for those two weeks. there is such an intertwined mess of official sponsors, individual sponsorship opportunities, and especially the russian government may or may not make it easier for you. how do you respond to that? >> it is not easy. we understand what they need to do to get the most value to their sponsors. when we are dealing with usoc sponsors and for the non- sponsors, for the non-sponsors it is important for , us to activate through the and how do we reach them through the sponsor demographic before we get into that kind of dark

period before the olympics. there is a dark period well after. and then there is the challenge that all athletes face, making him or her relevant before the olympics, and then how do you perpetuate that? and others.sabathia how do you keep that man and others relevant four years five , years out? >> it is not easy. our folks of done a phenomenal job is to athletes we have been representing for 20 years now are dan jansen and bonnie blair. we put the three of them together, and they were good enough to provide some mentoring and advice to jr to see how we can extend that career off the ice. >> and today's mystery meat from , lobster telephones to david bowie, guitars. hey, it is art. ♪

>> it is 56 past the hour, which means bloomberg tv is on the markets. let's get you caught up on the markets. stocks are falling right now. investors aren't adjusting the inflation data we got up this morning, showing inflation was unchanged in the month of november to the month prior. stocks are lower after yesterday's rally.

we did see more per reaction to the inflation data in the bond market. the fomc meeting finishes up tomorrow. that is when we will learn whether or not the fed will start to taper or whether they will leave the current policy unchanged. for more on the so-called paper talks, i am joined by steve. according to the latest survey done by bloomberg, nearly one third of economists and the fed will start to taper tomorrow. who you think they will? >> i would not be in that camp. i think march is the possibility. the fed really surprised the markets. would taper,y insinuated, in may, and the market priced that in, and then they did not actually taper, so i think that is creating skittishness, and i think they

did some damage to the credibility or their forward guidance about what they are going to do in the future. it could happen at the meeting, but it is more likely that a new person comes in, and janet yellen, and i think it will be very important. >> ok, you are in the march camp. we spent a lot of time talking about will or will not be fed taper. it should be about should they start to taper. isyou think the recovery strong enough? the fed should actually start to reduce that? >> that is a fascinating question, and the way i would look at it is my opinion really is not all that relevant. what i need to do is assess the fundamentals. i think the fed is probably going to start to taper in march, because from the calculation, the methodology they are using, the economy is probably strong enough to withstand a taper. i do not think they will conclude that it would involve a removal of stimulus, and certainly a rate hike would increase the fed funds rate.

it may even be the first quarter of 2016, so they are going to dial down the medication, but they still are going to leave the patient in the hospital. >> the big jobs number we had earlier in the month, it showed the headline number fell, but a lot of people were dropping out. >> it is kind of like the and cholesterol, bad cholesterol. it came down for some good reasons but also partially for some not such good reasons, people checking out. it is not brisk. it is a very glacial improvement, but i think wrong points include housing. next year, washington is going to stop pumping the brakes, so that fiscal deceleration, whether it was the budget deal, the debt ceiling, the fiscal cliff, that is going to be removed, and that will take the aonomy from 1.62 closer to 2.9% economy next year.

that should give it more confidence. >> you are the market strategist. where are you placing your 2014?t bets for >> bonds do not look that terrific if you are looking for a safe haven. we think the market is fairly valued. it is not cheap or rich. it will be more of going sector by sector, and it will be named by name. we also look at valuations, and europe is attractive, not that fantastically attractive like one year ago, but they will need to look at emerging markets. itok, we will have to leave there, and that is it for on the market. ♪

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