ADVERTISEMENT

Here's What You Missed at the Milken Conference on Monday

Here's What You Missed at the Milken Global Conference on Monday

(Bloomberg) -- The Milken Institute Global Conference kicked off Monday, convening 4,000 power players in Beverly Hills, California, to opine on topics from breaking up the big banks to chasing credit yields.

Among the day’s speakers were Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Co-President David Solomon, Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan, billionaire private equity executives Tony James and Josh Harris, Guggenheim Partners’ Scott Minerd, former Barclays Plc CEO Bob Diamond and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

If you weren’t able to attend -- tickets can cost $12,500 to $50,000 -- here’s what you missed:

Mnuchin Says Ultra-Long U.S. Bonds Can Absolutely Make Sense
The first ultra-long bond issuance could “absolutely” make sense to help finance the U.S. government, Mnuchin said on Bloomberg Television, while indicating he’d be reluctant to swell the federal budget deficit to pay for planned infrastructure investment. Yields on longer-term Treasuries jumped after the comments.

Citadel’s Griffin Urges Breakup of Big Banks, Echoing Trump
“Should we think about separating the investment banks from the commercial banks, a new Glass-Steagall?” Griffin said on Bloomberg TV. “I would be really excited to see that. I think it would be great for the economy.”

Don’t Stampede Into U.S. Credit, Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd Warns
The hunt for return on capital is driving institutional investors -- in particular from Asia -- to the U.S. where yields are higher than what they can pick up at home, Minerd said.

Goldman’s Solomon Blames Market, Not Bad Bets, for Trading Miss
“This was not a quarter defined by positions losing money,” Solomon said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “This was a quarter defined by lower client activity.”

Apollo, Blackstone Leaders Wary of Public Infrastructure Deals
Executives from the two largest U.S. private equity firms are unconvinced that the country’s infrastructure deficit will be solved via public-private partnerships -- at least as they stand today.

Diamond Supports Barclays’s Staley Amid Whistle-Blower Probes
Jes Staley has done a good job leading the British bank and should be allowed to continue as he faces probes for trying to unmask a whistle-blower, according to one of his predecessors. “He is the right guy for the job,” Diamond said.

Mall Developer Caruso in Talks With Amazon in Web-Retail Embrace
“E-commerce is the best thing to happen to brick and mortar,” Caruso said. “The good retailers have gotten better.”

Wells Fargo CEO on Board Changes, Taxes, Regulation (Video)
Tim Sloan discusses shareholder dissatisfaction with the management board, U.S. tax policy and bank regulation on Bloomberg TV.

Commerce Secretary Ross on Trade With China, Nafta (Video)
Ross discusses U.S. trade with China and the renegotiation of Nafta on Bloomberg TV.

--With assistance from Saleha Mohsin Simone Foxman Katia Porzecanski Sally Bakewell Sridhar Natarajan Dakin Campbell John Gittelsohn Melissa Mittelman Hema Parmar Christopher Palmeri and Spencer Soper

To contact the reporter on this story: Devin Banerjee in New York at dbanerjee2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Josh Friedman, Dan Reichl