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tv   Bloomberg West  Bloomberg  December 10, 2014 6:00pm-7:01pm EST

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>> live from pier three in san francisco, welcome to bloomberg west where we cover innovation, technology, and the future of business. i'm emily chang. as a look at the headlines. equity markets took a big hit today. the dow, nasdaq and s&p fell about 1.6%. the selloff comes after opec says oil demand for next year will be the lowest in 12 years. professoru economics michael spence tells bluebird surveillance that russian president vladimir putin is a big user here -- loser here. >> is pushed him into the arms of the chinese. >> is the dialogue ongoing?
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going back to what? 1970? >> i think it is. china is a net importer. they will benefit mightily from are the klein and they concerned about securing sources of energy. >> crude hit its lowest price in five years. walgreens on the hunt for a new ceo after current president greg --son does he will retire greg wasson says he will retire. walgreens says it is not using the deal to move its tax address overseas. a new report says disney, pepsi, fedex and microsoft skype is among hundreds of companies that have benefited from secret tax deals with ox and berg according to the -- luxembourg.
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more than 340 companies have transferred profits to luxembourg using complicated tax arrangements. the clock is on for lending clubs ipo. well above the initial range of $10 to $12. the company begins trading tomorrow morning. our lead. the fbi is bracing sony employees -- briefing sony employees on awareness as more information leaks out after the massive attack. scenes depicting the death of jim cong -- kim jong-un in the movie were personally approved by the ceo of sony himself. other e-mails are giving us a , these of the politics debacle that is the steve jobs movie that sony just sold to universal.
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and pictures cochairman amy pascal, you have destroyed your relationships with half the town with how you saved on this movie. if you don't think it's true, wait and see. shethe possibility that might steal director david fincher for a movie about cleopatra. " i'm not remotely interested in presiding over a $180 million ao bath that we know will be career defined debacle for both of us. i'm not destroying my career over a minimally talented spoiled brat that thought for 18 of this offer months so she could go direct a movie. " how bad could this get? joining us our veteran studio executive and film producer. show just howo ugly personal and political things can get in hollywood. are these e-mails representative
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of how business is done there? >> the main thing i would say is the fact that scott rudin, a well-known and successful producer has strong athenians and uses colorful language and hyperbole -- it's about as revelatory or news worry -- newsworthy that it is raining and cold here in new york. -- the factthat that people react and interact this way is well-known. i'm not sure if you're familiar with deadline who was run by a notorious gossip columnist, this is the kind of fodder that would be in her column all the time. will it ultimately have any major impact on the world at large? probably not. inside provide information about specifics of deals that could be used as leverage in future deals? maybe. in terms of the public, i don't know what the big revelation is here other than hollywood is a
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very complicated place populated by opinionated and colorful characters. >> i think i'm glad i don't work in hollywood. speak with aaron sorkin and he talked about how excited he is about this film and it's one of the best things he's ever written. take a listen to what he told me. >> this is the first time i felt at the end of the script like i wrote exactly what i wanted to write. get from my head to the piece of paper intact. >> there's been a lot of issues surrounding the lead character leonardo dicaprio dropping out. christian bale dropped out. we don't know who's going to play steve jobs. david fincher was replaced by danny boyle. is this movie ever going to get
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made? like all big movies, sometimes they have a long way to get to the screen. i think this is the kind of movie they want to make and -- [inaudible] the movie with tom hanks, it took 12 years to get made. i think it is about finding that right combination. >> go ahead, joe. >> a movie like this that is not a big popcorn movie based on a comic book or a theme park ride is having a tough time being made in today's hollywood. it's about worldwide thatxisting movie ideas
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can make billions of dollars like batman, pirates of the caribbean, transformers. is a talented writer and i'm sure he's done a fantastic job. someone will figure out how to get this movie made. i've worked with studio executives and as a user. there is always the competing issues of is it creatively interesting? has done aaron fantastic job. who is the audience for this movie and is it a big enough audience that justifies the expense it will take to make the movie? those are all kinds of factors. , when financing is tight, is having second thoughts does not reflect negatively or badly. they are trying to make the best decision that works for them financially and creatively.
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they also made a movie called social network and moneyball. those were challenging movies in today's marketplace. i would not fall sony for having a stutter step or on the job's movie. interview?"t "the the sony ceo very involved in the death scene of kim jong-un in this comedy directed by seth rogen. to seth rogen himself. as embarrassing as this is, appreciate the fact that we have not dictated to you what it had to be given that i have never gotten one note on anything from our parent company in the entire 25 years i have worked here. it lessd we will make gory. it the head explosion can't be more of secure because we honestly feel if it is any more of skier yuan be able to tell its exploding and the joke won't work. do you think this will help? the movie, the very
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reason potentially that all of this information is out there. somebody out there is very upset about this film. how unusual is it for the parent company to get involved in the specifics of a scene? times, the company hires people they are confident in and they want the senior executives to make the decision for the creative options of the film. a highly sensitive and highly politicized movie even though it's a comedy. we are dealing with a country political issues around the world. i think it is a unique situation. and it has bigger impact than just movie jokes. i can see that it could happen and i don't think this is somet
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hing -- they have a lot of confidence in the executives they put in the place. >> the government has denied responsibility but praised it. the people behind this attack, joe, once the movie not to be released. is there any chance sony will pull the film? >> i can't answer that but i want to make an important distinction here. there is an important distinction about who was behind this leak. if it was perpetrated by north korea, it's a corrupt and morally bankrupt regime and it's not surprising. more troubling is if the leak is by an american citizen who, for some reason is trying , itet at this movie or sony goes against the very fundamental basis of our country which is everybody's right to privacy. $20her somebody is making
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or $20 million. i spent years trying to crack secrets. i exposed government and public issues and public money for the public at large. i would go anywhere to get the information i needed. no one has said to me that sony , hasluding the environment huge racial discrimination, or is corruptly doing something. has a lot of sony white males at the top is no secret. it's not right. it's a problem that america and hollywood in general has. the same kind of e-mails that these folks wrote, would you want them coming out about you? i was a writer for the washington post and i love journalism. i don't think there's that much
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orference between hollywood any other highly competitive are highly charged industry. if you went to merrill lynch and you saw their internal e-mails, you would see some of the same kind of hysterics going on here. i don't want to sound too much like i am defending hollywood but i feel like i need to do that. >> it makes you think twice about what you put in print. just in case it comes back to haunt you. longtime studio, veteran, and catherine arnold. we will be watching to see what comes out tomorrow. one member of the paypal mafia is going back to his startup roots. we will talk to david sachsen on his new geig. you can watch on bloomberg.com or apple tv or amazon fire tv.
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>> i'm emily chang in this is
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"bloomberg west." human resources startup is one of the fastest growing in silicon valley today. they have just hired a new coo with a long track record. sacks, former ceo of paypal and yammer, which he sold to microsoft. joining me now is david sacks himself. we have talked for a long time. it you could have retired and started your own thing. could have been ceo at a lot of faces. -- places. of the mostne exciting companies i have seen in the last 15 or so years. parker got introduced to raving about this
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company and telling me i had to check it out. got me more and more excited about what he's doing. his vision for the company, his , it's unlikend it any other company i've seen. thinking you have been about what your next move would be and here you are going back to your operator startup roots. why? and guess i'm in addict hypergrowth is a drug. the times in my career that were the most fun were the times when i was dealing with extremely fast-growing companies like paypal and yammer. the other thing i was thinking about doing was going off and i just decided that i liked these companies better. it was more fun. one zenefits has done in
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year it took yammer three years to do. it's a really extraordinary and unique company. >> the highlight of my day was a picture of david sacks being compared to lebron james. i'm not disputing that fact. but really? why the comparison? >> david, there are just so few people out there that have seen what it's like to scale a company that is growing as quickly as we've been growing. who have started and run businesses. david was the first guy out there that kind of saw enterprise software could be approached with this sort of consumer software level. this is sort of like a really unique hire of someone uniquely talented.
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we need great people like that in the company to take on the challenges that we are taking on. one of your investors compared you guys to jay-z and jt. >> i have no athletic ability whatsoever. [laughter] >> but what are you going to do here? was number one on your list? >> whatever they want me to do, basically. they have more than enough to keep both of us busy. >> ic david is a real partner in the business and someone that will be able to go wherever the fires are hottest in the company. >> is david here to take this -- company you? public for you? >> we haven't even thought about it.
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>> yes, you have. >> nothing seriously. >> people say zenefits is a rocket ship. where do you see your niche in this market? >> we connect them all up and we give the employees a single place to do everything. will focus on people instead of paperwork. that sort of integrated approaches what is unique about us. there are lots of people with about 1000 ans, ploy ease -- employees in the
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u.s.. alarm'ssounded the about startups saying valuations are too high, companies are operating at rates that are too high. they can vaporize or disappear. you guys just raked money out of million valuation. how concerned are you not becoming one of those companies? >> i think it really depends on the company. the company has real revenue. i have never seen anything like it. like parker mentioned, you have characterized it as sort of this spoke model. we are selling a product that every small business needs for free because the spokes are basically playing us -- paying us.
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>> people thought you would end up at paypal. why didn't that happen? doneve been there and that. i'm super excited to be part of benefits -- zenefits. >> who's jay-z and who's jt? >> i don't know. >> probably neither of us. excited to see parker and david and action. , thank you for joining us. when we come back, changes in the air for the tv business. amazon is now allowing users to stream shows in ultra hd.
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>> this is "bloomberg west." i'm emily chang. mark your calendars for may 20 of next year when david letterman will host his final broadcast of the late show. retiring after more than 32 years on late-night television. the last 22 of them on cbs. he's being replaced by stephen colbert, the current host of the colbert report on comedy central. you may now have the option to watch movies in 4k ultra hd. amazon prime subscribers can watch at no additional charge. people who are not try mentors -- prime members can purchase select sony movies. and coming up, a glimpse at the -- andays of apple with what it was like walking away
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giant.f tech
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>> you are watching "bloomberg west" where we focus on innovation, technology, and the future of business. i'm emily chang. there is a third player responsible for getting apple off the ground. and he is not a billionaire because he sold his 10% stake for $800 12 days after the company started.. -- started up. up tooffering memorabilia $50,000 at a christie's auction today. ron joins me now from new york with more.
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talked before. the story is long and legend. let's start with the option. you held on to some of these things since the 70's. why sell now? what is up for sale? >> a set of documents that is in two parts. one part proves the original apple one manual consisted of drawings and pages i made up, the graphics i made for the manual. the second part that you are picturing here is actually documentation for the first apple ii that was the first production unit produced by apple. the documentation was something that steve jobs asked me to put together. he wanted me to design an enclosure for the apple ii.
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this includes concepts, sketches, and some of the detail drawings and assembly drawings. were used for the apple ii which was the first production unit of the apple. likemind us, what was it working with steve jobs in steve wozniak? why did you sell your stake? >> to begin with, it was a fun time. particularly somebody like was ozniakt who was -- was th who was a whimsical character. i was in my 40's, those kids were in their 20's. i worked with steve jobs for two years at atari and we've become rather chummy. he wanted me to help him with the setup of the original apple environment. which i did.
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several reasons why separated myself from the company. -- toe least of which was begin with, i was a product engineer in my own right but i knew i was standing in the shadow of giants. addition, steve jobs had seen me set up a documentation system at atari and was very impressed with it. to run the wanted me documentation department for the new apple enterprise. i would spend years in a large back room shuffling papers. you have admitted you are not a wealthy man. it you are at peace with a decision that you made. how many times over the last 30 plus years have you thought, what would my life be like if i
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didn't sell that stateke? >> to be candid, there were many reasons i separated myself, i never regretted it, and to be quite candid with you, very simply, i was in my 40's and those kids were in their 20's. they were whirlwinds. it was like having a tiger by the tail. i probably would have wound up the richest man in the cemetery. was that high speed and enterprise i was not prepared to be part of. never been ae monumental success in my lifetime. i've never been rich but i've never been hungry and i'm mytainly not going to waste time worrying about yesterdays. i'm selling off my documentation now to ease my retirement years. and that's basically what it comes down to.
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>> how much do you follow apple today? have you played around with the iphone 6 or the six plus? i have to admit i've had almost no apple products in my lifetime. i'm not heavily involved in social media or in modern communications technology. >> what kind of phone do you use today? >> leave it or not, a tracfone. >> what is that? >> it's almost a throw away. it's a telephone that uses telephone technology, walk around telephone technology and that's it. >> it is not a smartphone? >> no, it is not. >> have you ever been tempted to use more advanced products? smarter products? does the smart watch attract you in any way? >> not really.
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i am 80 years old, i am virtually retired and i almost never get out of the house. there's no reason for me to have that kind of technology. i have my internet and regular communications and that satisfies all of my needs. once you auction these products off, what will you buy? >> gold as security for the future. my savings has been in gold for the last 40 years. , always great to have you on the show. we will watch how these apple products due at auction. thank you for joining us and sharing your story. third and most unknown of apple cofounders. up prices are looking across the base for cheaper -- cheaper rent. how long until oakland prices start soaring?
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us onn watch bloomberg.com, apple tv, and amazon fire tv. ♪
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isi'm emily chang and this "bloomberg west." the bay area city with the fastest growing rent in the united states is not san francisco. in fact, it is oakland according to a new mpf research study that says oakland rent has jumped 9% in the last year, outpacing san francisco's 7.4%. it is attracting residents priced out of san francisco's crowded real estate market thanks to the tech boom. is it looking for the same fate as san francisco? i am joined by oakland mayor elect that takes office in january. first of all, let's point out it is still a lot cheaper to live
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in oakland then it is in san francisco. but rent is going up quickly. how do you plan to attract business but balance these rising property prices? it soldnd cannot sell for growth and it does not need to because oakland has space to welcome new residents. it is great people are discovering oakland's awesomeness, our secret sauce, what makes it a great place to work and live. in san francisco have done a lot of things hotly criticized offering tax breaks to companies like twitter. would you consider doing some of those things to attract business? think there are better incentives than tax breaks. i think our focus has got to be on building market rates. so there are places for new residents to move into. the great thing about oakland is we have just gone through some real detailed areas, specific
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plans. we've spent a lot of time figuring out where we want growth and where we want preservation. -- isn'tit expecting new housing expected to be limited? 11,000 in the entitlement process and in the pipeline actively being permitted. includingeat projects a huge waterfront development. >> there are reports that say the opposite of that. 31 units of housing, the ground has been broken and they are under construction. i am not making that up. that is what oakland needs. it we need to grow. is a company that left san francisco and went to oakland. there are reports that there is another tech company moving into the old sears building.
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who is it? >> it is not public information but ec or's will be an exciting kind of centerpiece to downtown. you should see the renderings with gorgeous views of san francisco sunsets. oakland is an exciting place for tech companies to come to. have 100 new bars and restaurants open within the last 18 months. this is a fun place to bring your business and there is a sense of vitality, creativity that i don't think you can find anywhere else in this country. >> what about west oakland? residents are not happy about business is coming in. makeu can't always everyone happy but we just completed the west oakland area specific plan. we spent a lot of time talking to residents old and new and we hammered out a plan for growth and preservation.
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it balancing both. and designating the appropriate locations for that growth. >> when i know things have improved dramatically over the years, how are you combating crime? when you talk to businesses that you want to be part of the oakland community that crime is not going to be a problem for them? enjoyed a very decisive victory because i campaigned on a safer oakland. reducing crime is something i am most serious about. that is the thing that oakland has really longed for. we are on track for a significant reduction of crime. i am committed to growing our police department and doing a full host of things creating a safer city. >> a lot of protests in the aftermath of the michael brown grand jury results as well as eric garner. what is the latest?
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what is going on in oakland today regarding these issues that people are still very concerned about? >> two things i'm happy about and one thing i'm disappointed about. lead to anur takes absolute de-escalation of the protests over the days they were in oakland. the protests have moved to berkeley now. i am pleased with the level of accountability. we arrested more people for vandalism, arson, failure to disperse than any other city. >> is that something to brag about? >> people can't get away with destructive behavior. i'm talking about vandalism. arson. we are not arresting people for protesting. we welcome and facilitate people demonstrating, exercising their right to free speech but not smashing windows. >> what are you doing going forward to make sure they don't
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come back to oakland? >> welcome protests, facilitate it -- >> do you have extra patrol on the streets? what kind of reinforcements? be honest.o our officers and communications staff has worked two weeks straight. they have put in tremendous dedication over this period of tiem. -- time. we have relied on mutual aid. calling in the highway patrol and other jurisdictions that have helped us like we have been in berkeley. as you take office and thanks so much for joining us today. in, a tops are company to work for. it which tech giants lead the list and which go off the list? we have the answers, next.
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>> i'm emily chang in this is "bloomberg west." without the -- the annual list of top companies to work for, the search giant known for including free food, shuttles, laundry services, even massages. other companies include facebook, apple, linkedin. absent from the list is twitter. could the executive chef be to blame? twitter was on the list last year and it's not on the list at all. twitter is a top tech company last year. they are still a great place to work from the standpoint that they are well above average in terms of their ratings but they did not make the top if d. -- top 50.
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they rank high their ipo year. there is a pretty big halo in the employee base around them and it's not uncommon to see some change. , a new vps a new coo of media, a new cfo. lot in the product and engineering teams. satisfaction has fallen some. i think twitter is going through adolescence. i suspect they are making the changes that need to happen at twitter and we will probably see them back next year. peoplemention a lot of that have been turned over. they seem quite happy. how do you put this list together? >> every month, we collect hundreds of thousands of reviews and ratings that work at these companies.
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they tell us how much confidence they have in their senior leadership, what the balance is like in a quantitative way and they write in words what it's like. list isankings for this based mostly on the quantitative analysis. >> google at the top? why? >> google is building agile h.r. the h.r. team surveys the employee base frequently and responds rapidly to things that they need. employees need more support for worklife balance and in particular, families. google has stepped up maternity leave, paternity leave, day care. >> i wish. >> in general, they make google a place where you can both have a life and give your best to
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google. employees have responded really well. >> facebook has dropped. bit of movement but still an amazing place to work. they have fallen 10 spots or so. it is the ability to impact 10 billion people. on the other hand, it's becoming a really big company. >> you're seeing more non-tech companies. they have been known for the ping-pong tables and massages and free food but other companies are wising up. >> this year we have more diversity than ever. the number of tech companies is down. we have more pharmaceutical companies, retail companies. we have more consulting companies. we even have two auto companies on the list this year.
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we see them borrow concepts from tech. as the economy has recovered and the war for talent has moved. they have introduced free food. they have introduced flexible work hours. places like ford, which previously was the germane of tech companies. what are the issues that will define the list next year? >> as the war for talent heats up, we will continue to see this tond where companies will go the mat for the best talent. and it will be about retention because there's only so much great talent to go around. we have seen this in tech and and otherresting -- industries. providing employees with real reallife balance with
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meaning in their work. >> interesting stuff. thanks for sharing the list with us today. we will be watching that year. time for the bwest byte where we focus on one number that tells a lot. bryan womack is with us with a special bite today. what do you got? willian -- million. instagram, we know they are growing very fast. they are actually bigger than a rival called twitter. a big day for instagram. >> 300 million monthly active coming from outside the united states. there were concerns about their growth slowing when they got under the facebook umbrella. does this put those concerns to rest?
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we remember when mark zuckerberg announced this huge deal. what are they doing, the growth was in question. 300 million is a very nice number and a lot of those critics and concerns are fading away today. >> talk about facebook not being cool, is instagram still cool? >> its influx a little bit. we see a lot of different things happening but instagram still has the hearts and minds of teenagers and young folks. >> everyone from kids to kim kardashian to cory johnson. thank you all for watching this "bloomberg west." all the latest headlines on your
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phone, tablet, and bloomberg.com. see you later. ♪ .
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