detroit. detroit currently owns 1.5 million tons of aluminum. a charge about $.48 per ton per making 700 $20,000 a day, and the longer it stays, the moneyoney it makes, and can be a powerful motivator. >> what kind of disadvantage does this create for the buyers? >> allegedly, it wound up raising prices. if you look at premiums, they have really soared, up like 90% since december. buyers will tell you that has left them at a huge disadvantage. tim wiener is the global risk manager and miller coors. he testified before the senate. wait,d we are forced to in some cases, over 18 months to take physical delivery or pay the high physical premium to get aluminum today. it has cost miller coors tens of millions of dollars. he said it might have inflated global aluminum prices by $3 billion in 2011. >> thank you, alix steel at the nymex on the copper markets. ecb president, a speaking right now. we will keep our eye on breaking news. they're easy futures in reaction to the jobless claims. vicki much muted, still up about .2 -- vicki much muted, still about two -- .2%. los angeles is getting ready to .an cigarettes from smoking to drinking, jack daniels is out with a new whiskey, but it is as hard to find as a place to smoke cigarettes. they "in the loop." ♪ tol.a. is the latest city ban the use of electronic furtheres as regulations or contemplated at the national level. we are joined by the president of logic technology, the second-largest electronic cigarette manufacturer in the united states, and you say it is anisnomer to say that electronic cigarette manufacturers are opposed to regulations. you want to work with the regulators. >> we do not want children to get products in these hand -- in their hands, we support the ban of favored -- flavored products. we support the ban of internet sales and of using television and paid spokespeople. arereality is our consumers adult smokers. we want to correct -- connect with them. they -- the u.s. cigarette businesses $70 billion, and our business is to billion dollar area >> it is growing fast. criticism -- one is that it will encourage people to smoke. >> right. >> it can lead to an addiction to nicotine. and the second thing is it is targeting consumers no matter what because there are other products on the market, vapor electronicre not cigarettes, but they look just like them and they are being smoked by teenagers. >> that is why the fda needs to take action. we would support the sale only in retail stores where there is age verified. andtalk about those pens what we would call a hookah, we would support the ban of flavored products. our products are intended and soul to adult smokers. we have no interest in that business. >> what will you do that others are doing? >> won't you do that others are doing? >> we would like science-based regulation. it is different from a cigarette. to carbon copy cigarette regulations, we would disagree with that. those are the things like taxation, usage prior to science. we think the fda, the cdc, and the nih are the organizations that should at her and communicate to adult smokers what are the differences and then let the regulations follow. the piecemeal approach by the sensibilities prior to the science and fda -- >> you mean banning the e cigarettes. >> banning them. >> you are a small portion, but are you not taking market share from cigarette makers? >> clearly. >> people treat them like a different version of smoking. >> product use might be the same, but regulation must be different. it is not determined what is the harmfulbenefit -- the aspects. quick to are saying there is no >> youom being around -- are saying there is no harm from being around an electronic cigarette? >> we are not saying anything. we would like the fda to weigh in and then let that guide the regulations. the fda is looking at these products. >> what is taking so long? have they not been studying this for a while? respect to the fda, i think it is a complicated product. they have had decades to look at cigarettes. i cannot speak to what is happening. we want to work with them. misnomerarted, it is a -- >> do they want you to work with them? >> they have had listening sessions. i think there is progress there, but on common issues like youth access, flavor, internet sales come a we are clearly in alignment. >> let's say they do find a public-health effect is as harmful as regular cigarettes, you would be ok with being banned in restaurants and public places? >> i would want to look at the science, but if that is how it shakes out -- the reality is our consumers are smokers. i do not think it would be detrimental to overall business if they had to face some of the issues that cigarette smokers face today. >> miguel martin, thank you for joining us. the president of logic technology. you will pay for a sinatraf jack daniels select. it was his favorite drink and he was buried with one bottle of it. it is appropriate that they designed the boxing in the shape of a coffin. how about the tagline -- they were inseparable, and it turns out they still are. it is being sold in limited quantities and you can read about it in the new issue of "numbered as this week -- "bloomberg businessweek." do you want to buy a soccer team? ac milan might be for sale. stay "in the loop." ♪ >> more and more companies from banks to advertising agencies are starting to pay attention to the millenial generation. a new brand has been designed with smartphones in mind what emphasis on going out. we are joined by the food and editor.ital futures great to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> this is nothing new in that we know the millenial's are a hard group to capture. respects,add in many bombarded with information right . how do you plan to capture them with your product? >> we are excited to create a site that is approachable, fun, and easy to access. a lot of our posts bridge the gap between entertainment and service. we might have content -- >> what does that mean exactly? >> we have a full spectrum of content where we have actually researched comedians to write for us. whose alias is boobs readily, she wrote a piece about how to become friends with your bartender. it is sarcastic. dying inight be chicago. a lot of the posts are short, quick, easy to digest. seconds, so5-to-30 they work well on instagram and they can be shared on social. >> what are companies getting wrong with millenials -- how are they not targeting them correctly and what are you doing to solve that? >> every successful brand wants to target this age group. 25-to-35. every brand wants to expand their reach and that is what food and wine is doing. >> do they spend a lot of money? what they do spend a lot of money. there have been stories -- >> do they spend a lot of money? >> a do spend a lot of money. there have been stories about millenial's going out and having a good time. >> is that different from y -- is a x, different -- of this many more the disposable income than others? movement of the food has tried to convince people that spending money on good food, high-quality food is important. usedations in the 1950's to be ok with that, and that we gone to the idea of where you did not have to spend a lot, food should be cheap and fast. the younger generation is starting to think we can have great food and enjoy our life as we are living in. >> others have had on this. marissa mayer, ceo of yahoo! is launching a digital magazine around food. how will you compete with that? >> to be honest, we love yahoo! food and we partner with them or a lot of content creators like weinery 29, and yahoo! food, synchronize content with them, and we feel we are doing something different. there are lifestyle sites for men and women and a lot of food sites trying to create sites for people that love food. >> it is not just about recipes. >> definitely not. vallis, thank you. mogul up, real estate joseph stitt -- joseph's it is in. ♪ >> in bloomberg sports, one of the world's most valuable soccer teams, ac milan is up for sale and you will probably not guess who the seller is. is here.alesci >> it is silvio berlusconi, the former prime minister. it has been in his family since 1986. at the end of the day, we had heard the team was up for sale for quite some time. the news here is that lazard, the investment bank, is actually sending out what is called in the industry and extended teaser that has detailed financial information about the team and talking to prospective buyers. >> who could be the buyer? >> one thing i have to say about milan is it is a great brand, a seven-time european champions. it is a very valuable brand. it has to be somebody with very deep pockets -- pockets. some people close to the say would have to come from an asian buyer that would have an unlimited checkbook because the sport is very expensive and for milan has been trying to turn itself around and it is part of a troubled league that has fallen from number one to number three behind spain and england's leagues. part of it is the businesses on a modernized yet. investors want to come in and think they can modernize them, brand them, and extend them into other parts of the world like asia where true growth will come. >> thank you, or senile ashy. it is 56 minutes past the hour, -- cristina alesci. it is 56 minutes past the hour. bloomberg market -- is on the market. watching in brussels. they are looking to solve this peacefully. we are on the markets again in 30 minutes. ♪ . . >> welcome back. you are "in the loop." it is 30 minutes to the opening bell. stock futures indicate opening higher. british prime minister david cameron says russia's moves are unacceptable. haseuropean central bank decided not to cut interest rates. policymakers are concerned about deflation. prices have been rising since inflation hit a four-year low in october. and it is a warren buffett we've never seen before. it turns out he has employed his buy and hold strategy right here on a piece of real estate in new york city. once talked that we are watching his kroger. it just reported fourth-quarter earnings a few moments ago that talked estimates. -- topped estimates. mike is here on the outlook. on thegreat to have you program. first, tell us about the kind of traffic you are seeing through your stores. exit was a great quarter and just a fantastic year. -- >> it was a great quarter and just a fantastic year. the number of households we have continues to grow. our customer first strategy continues to resonate very strongly with our customers. they're giving them friendly service and fresh products, and our checkout lines continue to be very efficient. you get people through our stores at the front and in less than 30 seconds. based on the traffic we are having in the stores, our customers seem to like what we are doing. >> what about budget cuts? how big a hit have you taken on that? when we look at those households, the way we can analyze consumer data coming through our stores, we can actually understand the snap households and what they're buying habits are. obviously, those folks have fewer benefits from the snap program, but what we are seeing from those households is that they are spending a little bit more in our stores than they were before the cuts, and they are making that up with cash from other sources. of fuel is down and that has helped them to be able to stretch their budget compared to last year. but so far, just three months are upis, our sales slightly. >> maybe that is just a temporary way for them to offset that? the problem could go -- grow worse through the year. >> we offer great price points to all of our consumers, whether you are on a budget or at the high-end looking for all natural and organic products. we believe we offer a great value to the customer. when they shop with us, they get a further does downs on our fuel centers, which are sneaking up on almost half of hours doors. -- our stores. we would expect the customer to continue to like what they get from kroger. >> you and i spent the better part of last year talking about the acquisition of harris theater -- harris cedar and how that fits into the portfolio. safeway is little bit higher-priced supermarket chain. are you interested in parts of safeway, or maybe even purchasing the entire supermarket chain? >> we don't comment on rumors. it does not do any good to comment on rumors. you did mention harris jeter and that transaction closed on february 28. now we can roll up our sleeves and start becoming one big happy family. let's take harris teeter then. it was a pretty big acquisition for kroger at a time when you had been pretty quiet on acquisitions. what is it you have found has been to -- been the biggest benefit to kroger? >> it was about a $2.5 billion acquisition. they got us into some great fast growing market along the eastern seaboard that we were not in. we were not in charlotte, washington, d.c., baltimore, delaware. in thosence they have fast-growing markets was very attractive to us. we do a lot of research. we have a little bit of overlap with harris teeter. they've always told us that they do a little bit better on the friendly and -- friendly associate and fresh product. that is something that we will dig into and try to learn from harris teeter. they have about 160 or so stores where consumers can order online and drive up and have it put in their trunk on the way home and not even have to get out of their car. it is our answer to home delivery. >> you mentioned about what you have learned from harris teeter. i'm sure you look at your rivals and competitors, safeway now being one of them, and as an industry leader what do you look at with safeway? what about what safeway does at -- how safeway does its business that you take away from? >> we spend as much if not more time in our competitors stores as a management team. there are things that we have competed against with safeway for a long time. from the rockies west we have competed with them for a long time. they have had a strong organic organ -- they have had a strong organic label program. we think we are closing that gap. we actually like the solution that harris teeter has little better with worrying about the home delivery. when is always something you go inside a competitor. a lot of people go inside to pick them apart and say you are better than them. in to see what we can learn. >> did safeway go too far in home delivery? >> no, they are very early into it. we've had a home delivery test in denver, colorado, for quite a while. in new york city, i get it. not a lot of people have cars. the dwellings are set up to accept home delivery. and in san francisco, for instance, where they are headquartered, that appears to me from the outside looking in as a market that could work. but here in cincinnati, ohio, our average customer lives less than two miles from a kroger. they probably drive by on their way to and from work. to be able to order online and ife it put in to your trunk you're in a hurry is a good solution. getting those 10 or 15 items that you need can save the customer time. that you andned your team spends ought of time in your competitors stores. -- spend a lot of time in your competitors stores. you observe how they work. they be spoken to the ceo of safeway, -- have used open to ?he ceo of safeway >> we spend time both nationally and internationally and we see as well.that aspect >> thank you for the bloomberg exclusive interview. some of the big names in tech are in california at the oasis summit. emily chang moderated a discussion with eric schmidt and google ideas director jared cowen. they were talking about how the industry has evolved in the last 20 years. >> we talked about this, or i talked about this three years ago. observation was that in my career there's always been one dominant platform. it was originally ipm -- ibm, which was threatened with breaking up. microsoft, the sentence was revoked, bital to me there was an agreement to their tactics. -- but ultimately there was an agreement to their tactics. the raw weights to models. i felt a few years ago that if we just had a couple of those that were beyond belief, it would be better from a regulatory perspective as well as our perspective, and we are clearly there now. if you look at apple, amazon, google, and facebook, they are different companies. reach andhuge market brand value. we could debate if there is a fit or a six, but let's just talk about before. each has a different philosophy ad revenue and customer service differently. when i say platforms, there are very large numbers of companies that are built on that. there are many companies that use amazon for distribution. an apple, we all understand the notion of apple stores and the music industry. google, you understand. facebook is done very well, specially in the mobile platform. seriously does google take that? make internalt to assessments of google. >> there are emerging major platforms like whatsapp. how likely is it that an upstart like that could upset the balance of the horsemen? >> in the tech industry, you worry a lot about the startups. i think, using the four companies that i've described, each of them has strong market positioning with respect to what they are doing, lots of engineers, and so on. the competitor that will be a real challenger will come from a different angle. you always have this different debate -- this debate of whether you buy the companies. and you saw that with facebook, for example. we should see- more of this. the power of connectivity is so great that you have start up after startup talking in conference and they are busy billing on top of these things and there are huge problems to be solved. health problems, knowledge problems, social problems, how do i learn. think about the sum of big data , and in insurance, banking, energy management. these are enormous businesses yet to be built. >> that was eric schmidt alongside google eric shook -- eric dachshund jarret cohen. eric schmidt alongside google's jarret cohen. coming up, joseph's it will tell me whether he has anything to brag about. ♪ >> earlier in the program, we talked about a real estate company warren buffett body 1993. he still holds it today and it is one of the examples, he says, that buying long pays off for investors. supermarket, a sandwich shop, a bank them a staples nearby. but the way came by is anything but typical. larryary investor silverstein handpicked the investment for buffett. and the malkin family, the operators of the empire state building, along with the late fred rose, they did the property deal 20 years ago and they still comanage it. buffett spoke fondly of silverstein and his tip on the deal when i reached out to him, buffett said, i've given larry all of my various phone numbers and told him he can call me day or night. to talk about the investment and how handsomely it paid off is the ceo of the real estate investment firm that specializes in high-end properties in new york. you had no idea that buffett owned this piece of real estate. >> it was a complete surprise to me. it got me all excited. i went to school at nyu. you gone into some of those stories? >> yes, and that is a sixpack of beer location. it definitely brings it all home. career as ay entire student of the real estate industry and my number when teacher has been warren buffett. it's funny how he picked up real estate parables and applied them to stocks and equities, and i've done just the opposite. taking his discipline. >> like what? things they say is time is the friend of a good business and the enemy of a media row core one. -- of a mediocre one. if you buy quality assets and hold them for the long haul, you will never regret it. no matter how high of a price you think you got, if you sold an asset of quality location, almost five years later you will look back with regret. andof the problems challenges people have as institutional investors is that they feel that treasure to sell, to trade. it is a mistake to do so. >> as you say, you buy and hold it as long as you can. we're surprised by the players involved in this, how it all came about with a tip from larry silverstein? is that the way you guys operate ? >> often, it is. we invest for institutions and we invest for high net worth investors. sayomeone will call you and , here is something. >> as they say in latin america countries, you are invited into a deal, so to speak. worthat is behind the net investor -- the high net worth investor, it is appreciation. there is a taxi will pay on the game. -- a tax you will pay on the game. it is inefficient to sell. if you buy it and hold it for the long term, you will never regret it. and as foreign buffett says, your children and great-grandchildren will thank you. >> the biggest thing for you? obviously, everyone wants to buy good, quality real estate. the biggest thing for you come how you know it is -- the biggest thing for you, how you know it is? >> don't focus on the macroeconomics. focus on the quality of the earning stream and a likely earning stream. that youhallenge is a pricebeing shouted at everyday. if you hold on, you are less tempted to sell it and you just close your eyes will stop the people that did -- close your eyes. the people that did during the downturn in 2008 are glad. >> hang on. we will be back in two minutes. 10 minutes away from the open. ♪ but moving and shanking, donald -- mcdonald's see the oh -- >> moving and shaking, mcdonald's ceo don thompson. we will be back. ♪ >> welcome back. it is 26 minutes past the hour, which means bloomberg television is on the markets. scarlet fu has the latest. .> we have the euro let's start there, because it's climbing to its highest level of the session against the dollar since october of 2011. mario draghi says inflation in europe will pick up over the next 2.5 years to get to the target of just below two percent. as for the futures, they are opening higher. the s&p 500 is right around a record high right now. jobless claims is coming -- are coming in at a three-month low. that is the direction you want them moving it. on the market again in 30 minutes. >> the only trade you need to know about today, scarlet stays with us and julie hyman joined in as well. number 10, metlife. the u.s. life insurer is looking to increase in an apartment buildings in new york city. metlife is turning to real estate to boost profit and support long-term obligations amid low bond yields. >> number nine is the foods ,istributor behind duncan hines pinnacle foods said retail sales were up six percent held by the recent acquisition of wishbone. olive the parent of the garden and red lobster chain canceled its investor meeting and will instead meet with individual analysts. darden is facing ongoing pressure from activists investors to improve the performance of the restaurant chain. >> number seven is the children's place, fourth-quarter fiscal earnings dropped 18%. winterlaming severe weather. it has also closed 125 stores -- will close 125 stores through 2016. five -- number six is the book on. in russiaa revenue and ukraine jumped 25%. five, fiscal earnings were down and sales were down at joy global. metals prices were to blame. did reiterate its revenue outlook for the year. >> number four is the yen. -- siena.d it it has said it is well-positioned for the decisions it has made. >> number three, costco. percent --l three 15%, missing analyst estimates for a third quarter. revenue from ever should fees gained four percent. >> number two at staples. the office supply chain announced plans to close as many as 225 stores in north america and cut costs as much as $500 million by the end of 2014. sales have dropped for a fifth straight quarter. reported just supermarket results that topped estimates. it is said to be considering a bid to buy safeway. as we await the opening bell, i want to bring back joe fits, the ceo of equities that invest in real estate in new york and around the world. we were just reporting on one of the stories in metlife, a a company going into apartment buildings in places like new york city. [opening bell] just another example of companies, you say, that want to buy long assets, right? >> buying quality assets and holding them for the long run. it is not something that is a fashion statement. you are supposed to buy and hold. >> you are doing the same thing. >> very much so. i think there is still value to be had. there are four different residential projects here in manhattan. we are still a believer in the market and the value of buying and holding those things for the long run. >> there is another big trend here in new york. the tech companies that are moving here, they are either -- headquarter inc. in new york or putting a satellite office here. you are seeing a lot of companies saying they will build the next tech campus here. will that raise the rent as well? >> i think the tech wave will dramatically change the landscape in so many ways. when you see a company like $19sapp get sold for billion, every kid with the dollar and the dollar and a dream is tempted to be the next, or hoping to be. one of the things you will see is a big change in the landscape and where is prime real estate and where people want to live, work, and play. >> what will be different? >> the financial district in manhattan. brooklyn is being called the tech triangle. silicon beach, it is being called. spittle field outside of london. i think the tech wave and the tech dollars that are moving toward it will change the landscape in terms of where the particularnd is, in in so many markets around the united states and around the world. >> and you were trying to play in this space as well. how will? we are focused on silicon beach, as i called it. we have purchased a property across the street from the mayor's office to play on that wave of tech businesses that are opening up. it is a phenomenon that is only just starting. wealth that is being obtained by either -- by the megacompanies, the google and facebook in terms of valuation to go out and buy tech is mrs. as well as nick -- to buy tech businesses as well as new venture capital money will provide greater demand in the market. >> when you are reaching out to the like, yous or kind of think it will be around for a long time. whatsapp is a $19 billion valuation, but will that company be around? how long-term are some of the companies echo >> first, -- are some of these companies? >> first, a company like goldman sachs, you are never going wrong with that. you're the gold standard. if tenant like that is a dream for someone like myself. but i think the days of thinking that the bubble happening again are starting to have -- to come to an end. so many around the states and even globally are saying that we badlyrd -- suffered so that we want to allocate assets. the wave now is to reverse cross, regret every property they sold and chase those markets. it is no longer just a risk phenomenon. it is something that is here to stay. risks because it is similar to the restaurant industry or something less risky. i think there will be something else chasing it. there will be companies in san francisco in particular where we have had them over time as our tenants in our building, and yes, we have seen them leave, but what happens is another tenant covenants -- comes in and they pay more rent than the previous tenants because of the increasing propensity of the tenants to want to be in the right location. >> and there is that momentum. what about the retail, though? what about the struggling retailers like sears and jcpenney? will we see a lot of action? you know these guys pretty well. what should be done with these assets? sears, that or might be their most valuable asset, not the merchandise itself, right? >> as i said, four years ago, a lot of those businesses are dinosaurs. unless they make the changes they need to make, they will become forgotten businesses and someone else will come along and eat their lunch. and we see that already. >> that is happening already, right? >> so much so. the place foro be you thought of as the melting pot of creativity, but a place to establish merchants. i think many companies fell asleep at the wheel. come in andpanies are starting to eat our lunch. they are with it, they are specialty, they are fast. >> and turning their inventory over. >> one like that art taking the business -- are taking the business from companies i jcpenney. what do they need to do? get rid of bad locations. by mail.hipping and get with what the customer wants today. >> joe, you are always with it. joe sitt, the ceo of for equities. coming up, investing in merrill -- metal warehouses. ♪ x all day today, bloomberg television is playing back the veil on the secrecy of metal have -- metal warehousing, which is riddled with long lines of customers to get the metal. us. steel joins you have spoken before about the for prices that can be metals. >> the real issue has been with the london metal exchange and its warehouse facilities. all you've got to do is follow the money. where there is opportunity, there is always goldman sachs. metal warehouse can make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. in 2010 as the lines got longer, as the premiums got longer -- got higher, and as traders started to use them for financing, banks ought in. goldman sachs currently owns 17 warehouses run by metro international. it's detroitsed as -- of some of the as410 410 days.ome as long jp morgan bought in 2010. they also use some henry baath warehouses, but they are not accused of any long lines. we also saw some big trading with glenn clore -- glenn core and others. >> aside from making a couple hundred million dollars a year, what is in it for them? >> you could argue that is not a lot of money for the bank. when you talk to it industry insiders, here is what they said. first, banks just took the normal bottlenecks in the commodities market. tight supply and strong demand and banks will profit. is kind of like trading a stock or a bond. it also gave them operational information. they got to see the physical flows of where the metal is going, when, how much of it, and got to trade against that. and third, someone will have that information. the question that many industry insiders have is whether that leaves banks in an unfair position of power. flows, not just see the but are they creating the flows deck are they