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Business Pants

Business Pants

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Whether you love business news or feel like you’re supposed to know it but hate it, Business Pants is business news for humans. Snarky and irreverent, deeply researched and factual, a podcast devoted to market quirks and the humans that make up companies. Investing isn’t a what, it’s a who.

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Episodios
  • TRICK OR TREAT: OpenAI is for profit, Goldman CEO can’t count women, John Malone “steps down”

    TRICK OR TREAT: OpenAI is for profit, Goldman CEO can’t count women, John Malone “steps down”
    Oct 31 2025
    Story of the Week (DR):TRICK OR TREAT EDITIONBill Gates and his 'three truths': 'Climate change will not wipe out humanity'Trick: a gift to MAGA MMTreat: a focus on povertyThe 3 truths:"It's a serious problem, but it won't be the end of humanity""temperature is not the best way to measure progress on climate""health and prosperity are the best defence against climate change"Bill Gates’ 180 on Climate Change: ‘It’s Not Doomsday’Climate change won't end civilization, says Bill GatesBill Gates Backtracks on Climate Change Doomsaying: ‘Will Not Lead to Humanity’s Demise’Memo From Bill Gates Warns Against Climate AlarmismBill Gates now says climate change won't be as serious as he fears - and calls for more spending on vaccines insteadBill Gates Says Climate Change Isn’t So Bad After AllBill Gates Delivers ‘Tough Truths’ on Climate Just Before Big U.N. TalksIn surprising turn, Bill Gates pens essay calling to reconsider investments on 'climate change'Bill Gates pivots climate strategy to focus on poverty over carbon emissions reductionWe won: Trump claims climate change hoax defeat after Bill Gates' commentsBut then there’s:Report warns climate change causing millions of preventable deaths each yearAnnual climate change report finds “planet on the brink”OpenAI completes for-profit restructuring and grants Microsoft a 27% stake in the companyTrick or Treat?Trick: OpenAI has completed its for-profit recapitalization and converted its for-profit arm into the OpenAI Group Public Benefit CorporationTreat: The corporation remains controlled by the nonprofit foundation.Trick: Under the deal, Microsoft has gained a 27% stake and retained access to OpenAI’s technology through 2032, including any AGI models verified by an independent panel.Treat: Microsoft has gained a 27% stakeThe agreement lifts long-standing capital restrictions and ends Microsoft’s exclusive cloud rights.Layoffs are piling up, raising worker anxiety. Here are some companies that have cut jobs recentlyAmazon 14,000 (4%)Paramount Global 2,000 (10%)UPS 48,000Target Corporation 1,800 (8%)Nestlé 16,000 (6%)Lufthansa Group 4,000Novo Nordisk 9,000 (11%)ConocoPhillips 2,600–3,250 (20–25%)Intel Corporation 24,500 (24%)Microsoft 15,000 (3%)Procter & Gamble 7,000 (6%)Charter Communications 1,200 (1%)Workday 1,750 (9%)Some of the most Halloween-ish phrases in recent layoff memos:“Building a strong, future‑focused company” Paramount Skydance“Roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities” Paramount“Reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, shifting resources” Amazon“Investing in our biggest bets” Amazon“We need to be organized more leanly … to move as quickly as possible”“We recognize these actions affect our most important asset: our people.” Paramount“Thriving business / success built on bold bets” YouTubeThe eerie subtext:Paramount: neopbaby David Ellison (daddy is world’s 2nd richest man)Amazon: Jeff Bezos is world’s 3rd richest manYouTube (Alphabet): Larry Page and Sergey Brin are 4th and 6th richest men, respectivelyTrick: the layoffsTreat: ummmm…. The announcement didn’t happen six days before Christmas??CEOs who are also board chairs are the problem not the solution, says top governance expertTrick: the utter bullshit of the protected class: Charles Elson, founding director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware and a director on several boards over his career: "I well recall the CEO and board chair of a manufacturing company (which I won’t name) telling me smugly he had just bought a corporate airplane for his directors to use. He said he didn’t expect much trouble from them after that."He currently serves on the board of Encompass HealthPreviously at Circon Corporation*, Sunbeam Corporation*, Nuevo Energy, AutoZone, Alderwoods Group, and Bob Evans FarmsTreat: We’re always right MMGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Renewable energy and EVs have grown so much faster than experts predicted 10 years ago and Brazil boasts drop in deforestation ahead of UN climate talksMM: Billionaires are spending big to stop Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral bid for this quote: DR“They’re spending more money than I would even tax them,” Mamdani said in an interview with MSNBC Tuesday.Assholiest Seven Deadly Sinnliest of the Week (MM):Wrath: Serious New Hack Discovered Against OpenAI’s New AI BrowserMost browsers store passwords or stay logged in to banks and other sites - OpenAI’s browser allows a hacker to inject a prompt into the AI that says something like “send all money in your bank account to this account” without you even knowingIt does not allow you to say “depose Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI”Gluttony DR: John C. Malone to Transition to Chairman Emeritus of Liberty Media CorporationRelease quote: “effective January 1, 2026, long-standing Chairman of the Board, John C. Malone, will step down from the board of ...
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    1 h y 2 m
  • BLAME GAME: Target layoffs, OpenAI vs. China, Hormel’s recall, F5’s cyber breach, and future terror

    BLAME GAME: Target layoffs, OpenAI vs. China, Hormel’s recall, F5’s cyber breach, and future terror
    Oct 28 2025
    Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.DAMIONAmazon to announce largest layoffs in company history, in AI push. WHO DO YOU BLAME?Former CEO Jeff BezosAICovid (This wave of layoffs results from overhiring during the pandemic)Executive Chair and largest shareholder Jeff BezosF5 Expects Revenue Hit From Cyber Attack. F5, a $20B billion technology company with impressive gross profit margins of 81%, experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain company systems by a sophisticated nation-state threat actor. WHO DO YOU BLAME?The Risk committee: Dreyer, Klein, Montoya, Budnik*Chair Marianne Budnik is deemed to have Cybersecurity experience because she serves as a Chief Marketing Officer in the cybersecurity industryPeter Klein was the CFO at Microsoft for less than 4 years, then was the CFO for WME for 6 months and then has only been a director since 2014.Risk committee member Michael Montoya specifically. F5 revealed that the director mysteriously resigned in the same filing it disclosed the cyberattack, despite having served for only 4 years. According to the proxy, had “extensive experience as an information security executive.” Following his resignation from the Board, Mr. Montoya continued his service with the Company and has been appointed as F5’s Chief Technology Operations Officer.The entire board, for doing dumb modern day board things: announced that CEO François Locoh-Donou, would assume the additional role of Chair of the Board following the Company’s next Annual Meeting of Shareholders 12 days after they announced the cyberattack.Investors. 98% YES average this year: 7 over 99.2%, including Risk Committee Chair Marriane Budnik with 99.6%. Nobody feels like they have to work hard to impress anyoneF5! It’s a god damn cybersecurity company!How climate change is fueling Hurricane Melissa’s ferocity. WHO DO YOU BLAME?Exxon CEO Darren Woods because he sued his own shareholders last year: Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow ThisExxon CEO Darren Woods because just yesterday: Exxon sues California over new laws requiring corporate climate disclosuresExxon CEO Darren Woods because gas and oilClimate ChangeOpenAI says U.S. needs more power to stay ahead of China in AI: ‘Electrons are the new oil’ WHO DO YOU BLAME?The fear-and-spending geniuses behind the original Cold War: Truman, Stalin, ChurchillPeople who historically ignored Eisenhower and his statements on the U.S. military-industrial complex when he explicitly warned that defense contractors and the military could exert undue influence on government policy. Sound familiar?Anyone who empowered the board to not be empowered when they tried to fire Sam Altman for such reasons as:Conflicts over OpenAI’s rapid growth and direction, especially the tension between aggressive AI deployment vs. safety oversight.Power dynamics between Altman, key researchers, and board members — some may have felt he had too much unilateral control.The college that let Sam Altman drop outSammy Altman Citi’s Jane Fraser consolidates power with board chair vote — and a $25 million-plus bonus to boot. WHO DO YOU BLAME?The entire Compensation, Performance Management and Culture CommitteeThese two long-tenured Compensation, Performance Management and Culture Committee membersDiana L. Taylor* 10 other directorships: Brookfield Corporation, Accion (Chair), Columbia Business School (Board of Overseers),Friends of Hudson River Park (Chair), Mailman School of Public Health (Board of Overseers), The Economic Club of New York (Member), Council on Foreign Relations (Member), Hot Bread Kitchen (Board Chair), Cold Spring Harbor Lab (Member), and New York City Ballet (Board Chair)Peter B. Henry*8 other directorships: Nike, Inc., Analog Devices, Inc., National Bureau of Economic Research (Board), The Economic Club of New York (Board), Protiviti (Advisory Board), Biospring Partners (Advisory Board), Makena Capital (Advisory Board), and Two Bridges Football Club (Board)The lowest common denominator effect of bank compensation committees:Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf: ~$30M special equity grant tied to becoming Chair as well as CEO (3 months after meeting)Goldman Sachs: CEO David Solomon & COO John Waldron ~$80M each (retention RSUs vesting in ~5 yrs)KeyCorp: CEO Chris Gorman & four other senior execs: ~$8M for Gorman; ~$17M combined for the five NEOsThe passive ownership (re: management-friendly) of BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard (combined 22%): without their votes at Goldman then Say on Pay was nearly tied, which might have dissuaded the year of one-off bonuses for banking CEOs??The world is about $4.5 trillion short of securing a sustainable food supply for the future, global food and ag business CEO [Sunny Verghese, CEO of food and ag company Olam Group] says. WHO DO YOU BLAME?The world’s top 28 richest people (those worth ~$160 B...
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    54 m
  • Musk’s robot army, East Wing payoffs vs. NBA scandals, and Benioff the Protector

    Musk’s robot army, East Wing payoffs vs. NBA scandals, and Benioff the Protector
    Oct 24 2025
    Story of the Week (DR):Citi’s Jane Fraser consolidates power with board chair vote — and a $25 million-plus bonus to boota one-time equity award (the Award), consisting of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) with a grant date value of $25 million and 1.055 million Citigroup stock optionsthe Compensation, Performance Management and Culture CommitteeDuncan P. Hennes (Chair)*Peter B. Henry*Other directorships: Nike, Inc., Analog Devices, Inc., National Bureau of Economic Research (Board), The Economic Club of New York (Board), Protiviti (Advisory Board), Biospring Partners (Advisory Board), Makena Capital (Advisory Board), and Two Bridges Football Club (Board)Renée J. JamesOther directorships: Oracle Corporation, Sabre Corporation, Vodafone Group Plc, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (Member and Prior Chair), and University of Oregon (Trustee)Gary M. Reiner*Diana L. Taylor*Other directorships: Brookfield Corporation, Accion (Chair), Columbia Business School (Board of Overseers),Friends of Hudson River Park (Chair), Mailman School of Public Health (Board of Overseers), The Economic Club of New York (Member), Council on Foreign Relations (Member), Hot Bread Kitchen (Board Chair), Cold Spring Harbor Lab (Member), and New York City Ballet (Board Chair)Casper W. von KoskullCommittee Meetings in 2024: 15Citi elected CEO Jane Fraser as ChairJohn Dugan, who served as Chair of Citi’s Board since 2019, will become Lead Independent DirectorCEO armies MMElon Musk Wants ‘Strong Influence’ Over the ‘Robot Army’ He’s BuildingIn a Tesla earnings call Wednesday, the world’s richest man pondered the future of his company’s Optimus robots—and his control over them.“If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over this robot army?” he told investors. “Not control, but a strong influence… I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army unless I have a strong influence.”His repeated use of the word “army” certainly stands out, suggesting the robot could eventually be used as a weapon. Is Musk considering having his robots be deployed as soldiers?Elon Musk Threatens to Leave Tesla if Shareholders Don’t Approve His Trillion-Dollar Pay Package – Warns, “Which Other Automotive CEO Would You Like to Run Tesla Because It Won’t Be Me”Secret Plans Reveal Amazon Plot to Replace 600,000 Workers With Robot ArmyThe ongoing CEO/Trump Oligarchical BromanceTrump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng ZhaoZhao, who is widely known as CZ, had pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the huge cryptocurrency exchange.Zhao’s plea was part of a $4.3 billion settlement Binance reached with the DOJ in 2023.The pardon of Zhao, widely known as CZ, came two months after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family’s own crypto venture, which has generated about $4.5 billion since the 2024 election, has been helped by “a partnership with an under-the-radar trading platform quietly administered by Binance.”NBC News, citing a public disclosure filing from Monday, reported that Binance in September had retained the services of the lobbyist Charles McDowell, who is a friend of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.Trump calls off planned 'surge' of federal forces in San Francisco after talking to Jensen Huang and Marc BenioffHere are the donors contributing to Trump’s White House ballroomIn summary: techbros, oil, tobacco, cryptoCorporationsAltria Group, tobacco (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)Amazon (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)Apple (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)Booz Allen HamiltonCaterpillarCoinbase (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)In February, the SEC dropped a pending case against the firm.Comcast Corporation (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)Google (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)$22 million toward the ballroom came from a settlement Trump reached with the Google-owned video site YouTube, ending a lawsuit he brought over the company’s 2021 decision to suspend his account in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Hard Rock InternationalHP Inc.Lockheed MartinIn an emailed statement, the company said it was “grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House, a powerful symbol of the American ideals we work to defend every day.”Meta Platforms (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)In January, Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit brought by Trump that alleged the company’s suspension of his social media accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol amounted to an act of censorship.Micron Technology (donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund)MicrosoftNextEra Energy (donated $1 million to Trump’s ...
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    1 h y 3 m
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