Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein Weighs in on Market Volatility, Crypto, and Trump
Kristen Scholer sat down with Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs, to discuss the economy, his relationship with President Trump, and where the company stands on cryptocurrencies.
Blankfein most recently saw President Trump in Davos and admitted that, even though he wasn't a supporter during the election, he agrees with Trump's message that promoting America's interests doesn't mean withdrawing from the world. Blankfein knows it may not be a popular opinion, but he says President Trump is good for small businesses and America's economy.
Plus, Blankfein comments on Gary Cohn's place in The White House. He believes that Cohn, who previously served as Goldman's Chief Operating Officer, has accomplished everything he set out to do under the Trump administration.
And don't expect Goldman to jump into the crypto craze anytime soon. Blankfein shot down rumors that the company will open a trading desk, saying that it will clear futures contracts for customers. He says there's a lot of "hype" over the digital assets and that he doesn't "love" the concept.
Goldman is also focused more on digital distribution and turning around revenue numbers for its trading division. Blankfein discusses the company's "Marcus" division, which has issued $2 billion in consumer loans in the year after its launch in October 2016.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
