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MercadoLibre Tumbles After Net Income Miss on Spending Boost Feb 25, 2026

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Shares of MercadoLibre fell after fourth-quarter net income missed analysts’ estimates as the company continued to invest heavily in its main business lines. MercadoLibre posted $559 million in net income, below the average forecast for $596 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. However, the company posted a 45% year-on-year increase in net revenue to $8.8 billion, beating consensus analyst estimates of $8.5 billion, as customers took advantage of free shipping perks in Brazil and piled into MercadoLibre’s credit offerings. That marks its 28th consecutive quarter of annual growth above 30%.

Martin de los Santos, the CFO of South America's largest company, discusses quarterly earnings and the e-commerce giant's continued efforts to scale its fintech platform, Mercado Pago. Martin speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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TikTok Provides Boost for 100-Year-Old Food and Beverage Manufacturer Feb 25, 2026

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The Jel Sert Company is a family-owned business that has been at the forefront of innovation in the food and beverage industry since 1926. Jel Sert's products include dessert mixes, drink mixes, and freezer bars, and are made exclusively in West Chicago, Illinois.
Ken Wegner is President of The Jel Sert Company. The grandson of Jel Sert founders Charles and Lillian Wegner, Ken grew up in the business and has worked at the company since 1985, helping steward beloved brands while expanding Jel Sert’s community impact, and growing its workforce to more than 1,400 employees. He discusses the firm's recent expansion within West Chicago, as well as how real-time searches and social data from platforms like TikTok are guiding new flavor development and brand partnerships for Jel Sert. Ken speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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Boaz Weinstein Warns ‘Wheels Coming Off’ Private Credit Funds Feb 24, 2026

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Activist investor Boaz Weinstein is stepping up his warnings on private credit, saying the turmoil surrounding Blue Owl Capital’s funds is exposing deeper cracks in the $1.8 trillion industry.
“All you need is the snowball to start going down the hill and it started. Blue Owl is right in the middle of that,” the Saba Capital Management founder said Tuesday at the iConnections Global Alts conference in Miami Beach, Florida. “I think we are in the super-early innings of the wheels coming off the car.” The comment was the latest salvo by Weinstein against the private credit industry, which is reeling from worries about overspending on artificial intelligence and lending standards after Blue Owl restricted withdrawals from one of its funds.
Saba Capital, alongside Cox Capital Partners, has announced cash tenders for stakes in three funds managed by Blue Owl Capital at steep discounts to their stated value, after the alternative investment firm restricted redemptions in one vehicle and began selling loans to raise cash for investors.
The offer price is expected to be 20%-35% below net asset value and aims to give a liquidity solution to retail investors wanting to exit positions that have been harder to redeem as withdrawals surged across the sector.
During the panel, Weinstein warned about market dislocations, where some credit assets are currently trading at historic highs while related equity and fund structures are at massive discounts. He added that he is looking to launch a fund to capitalize on an expected wave of opportunities, particularly around the Blue Owl situation and similar semi-liquid products facing redemption pressures.
Saba and Cox sent notices to buy Blue Owl Capital Corporation II shares on Feb. 17. They plan to make similar offers for Blue Owl Technology Income Corp. and Blue Owl Credit Income Corp., which are also business development companies. Blue Owl’s shares have plunged around 50% in the past year, even as the firm’s revenue continued to climb in that period.
Others have sounded warnings as well in recent days. JPMorgan Chase and Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon on Monday drew parallels between the present day and the era leading up to the 2008 global financial crises, when the scramble to make loans ended disastrously.
Today's show features:

Bloomberg News Finance Reporter Katherine Doherty on JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying he's starting to see parallels to the era before the 2008 financial crisis
Lauren Goodwin, Economist and Chief Market Strategist at New York Life Investments on the US economy and geopolitical risks in markets
Bloomberg Tech Co-Host Ed Ludlow on Meta’s multi-billion dollar investment in AMD equipment and stock, as well as the latest news from Anthropic
Elise Giuliano, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Columbia University, on the four-year mark since the official start of the War in Ukraine

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MTV Pioneer on the Future of Media and Entertainment Feb 24, 2026

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Tom Freston is a cofounder of MTV and the former CEO of Viacom, where he oversaw Paramount Pictures. After launching a successful clothing export company out of Afghanistan and India, Freston transitioned into the media landscape, helping found MTV and bringing it to international fame in more than 150 countries. Before his Viacom roles, he ran MTV Networks for seventeen years, overseeing Nickelodeon, VH1, Comedy Central, and other legendary networks.
In addition to currently serving as the Principal of consulting and investment firm Firefly3, Freston also recently released his memoir, “Unplugged Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu,” which details some of his more unique experiences as he rose through the ranks of the entertainment industry. Tom discusses his unparalleled career as well as some of the pressing issues in the media business today, including the ongoing battle between Netflix and Paramount Skydance over control of Warner Bros. Discovery. Tom speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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EU Warns That Trump’s New Tariff Policy Breaks Trade Agreemet Feb 23, 2026

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
A European Union assessment found that President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy will increase levies on some of the bloc’s exports, including cheese and some agricultural products, above the level permitted in their trade agreement.
After the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of an emergency-powers law to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs around the world, he announced a new 10% global levy, which he then threatened to increase to 15%.
The European Commission, which handles trade matters for the bloc, told lawmakers Monday that the new global tariff will be added to levies that are already in place, according to Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee. The new cumulative rate means some goods would be above the 15% ceiling the EU and US agreed to in their trade deal.
Under Trump’s new tariff program, some products including butter, plastics, textiles and chemicals would have levies above that 15% ceiling, according to people familiar with the commission’s assessment. The new global tariffs can stay in place for as many as 150 days.Commission spokesman Olof Gill declined to comment on the assessment.
The EU-US trade deal — struck last summer between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — would impose a 15% tariff rate on most EU exports to the US while removing tariffs on many American goods heading into the bloc. The US would also continue to impose a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum imports.
The bloc agreed to the lopsided deal in the hopes of avoiding a full-blown trade war with Washington and retaining US security backing, particularly with regards to Ukraine. European Parliament suspended legislative work on approving the EU-US accord on Monday, requesting clarity on Trump’s new trade policy.
Today's show features:

Kathryn Judge, Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, on the next steps in the legal process following Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump’s tariffs
Greg Daco, Chief Economist at EY, on the latest global trade rumblings from the 2026 National Association of Business Economics (NABE) Policy conference
Bloomberg News Health Reporter Madison Muller on Novo Nordisk’s next-generation obesity shot delivering less weight loss than Eli Lilly’s rival drug
Ryan Vlastelica, discussing the week ahead for tech stock traders ahead of Nvidia’s earnings
Bloomberg News Weather Reporter Lauren Rosenthal on the latest blizzard to hit New York City and the Northeastern US

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Gen Alpha Arrives With Very Grown Up Spending Power Feb 23, 2026

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Gen Alpha, the cohort born from 2010 to 2024, has been subject to harsh critiques, including being addicted to phones, lacking self-discipline and social skills, and being unable to read or spell. Despite these criticisms, Gen Alphas have strengths such as teamwork, empathy, honesty, and creativity, and are highly tuned into world events and global issues due to their access to global platforms and networks.

Bloomberg Businessweek Contributing Writer Stacey Vanek Smith discusses how Gen Alphas are already showing significant spending power and influence over adult purchasing decisions, with many having a strong sense of self-expression and a desire for luxury products, and are expected to play a major role in shaping the future of work and technology.

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Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - February 20th, 2026 Feb 21, 2026

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Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show “Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.”
Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio.
You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW

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Trump’s Global Tariffs Struck Down by US Supreme Court Feb 20, 2026

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

The US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, undercutting his signature economic policy and delivering his biggest legal defeat since he returned to the White House.
Voting 6-3, the court said Trump exceeded his authority by invoking a federal emergency-powers law to impose his “reciprocal” tariffs across the globe as well as targeted import taxes the administration says address fentanyl trafficking.

The justices didn’t address the extent to which importers are entitled to refunds, leaving it to a lower court to sort out those issues. If fully allowed, refunds could total as much as $170 billion — more than half the total revenue Trump’s tariffs have brought in.

Trump said at a press conference that he will reimpose some tariffs using alternative legal tools. The fall-back options tend to be either more cumbersome or more limited than the wide-ranging powers Trump asserted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Stocks rose on news of the decision given investors previously fretted tariffs would hurt the outlook for economic growth and company earnings. Treasuries extended declines with yields rising broadly and the rate on the benchmark 10-year note climbing to 4.10% as investors priced in the likelihood of lower tax revenues. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar fell as much as 0.2% before erasing the drop.

Today's show features:

Bloomberg News Supreme Court Reporter Greg Stohr on Supreme Court decision to block Trump’s tariffs
Bloomberg White House Correspondent Kate Sullivan on latest from White House on tariff/Supreme Court news
Olu Sonola, Head of US Economic Research at Fitch Ratings on today's Eco data
Alan Eyre, Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow at Middle East Institute, on how Iran is viewing a potential strike by the US

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Trump Has Called Bluff on the Era of Good Corporate Citizen Feb 20, 2026

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For a few brief, shining moments, the dream of Milton Friedman must have seemed closer to reality in corporate America than ever before. Donald Trump had been reelected president, and the tax cuts and regulatory loosening he’d promised were on the horizon. Whatever leverage ordinary workers had managed to scrape together in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic had mostly been quashed, and surely the incoming administration would take care of what remained. Gone, too, were the days when executives would have to evince corporate disapproval of racism or sexism or homophobia if they didn’t feel like it, as many of them had been goaded into doing during #MeToo or the Black Lives Matter movement. They could get out of talking about politics—which is not quite the same as getting out of politics, period—and get back to maximizing shareholder value however they pleased..

Bloomberg Businessweek Senior Reporter Amanda Mull discusses how corporations have largely avoided criticizing Trump, with some leaders only speaking out after extreme circumstances, such as the killing of a Minnesota man by CBP agents, and even then their statements have been muted and avoided direct condemnation.

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A Blue Owl-Linked Structured Note Is Now Worth Just 47 Cents Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

At least one structured note tied to Blue Owl Capital Inc. is being quoted at just 47 cents on the dollar after the asset manager restricted withdrawals from one of its retail-focused private funds.
The security, which was issued by a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., is due later this year. Another 2028 note that was offered by a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. is quoted at about 68 cents, while a Bank of Nova Scotia instrument partly tied to Blue Owl was at 87 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Structured notes are bonds with embedded derivatives, giving holders exposure to a number of assets, from stock prices to currencies and interest rates. There’s generally no secondary market for those bonds, with prices only coming from the banks that arranged them.

Blue Owl’s stock fell as much as 9.4% in New York on Thursday. The notes were already quoted below face value prior to the announcement about the withdrawal restrictions.The depressed prices underscore the pressure on Blue Owl, whose stock has already fallen by about a quarter this year.

The plan to limit withdrawals signaled a reversal from a previous arrangement to resume redemptions this quarter.

Today's show features:

Olivia Fishlow, Bloomberg News Leveraged Finance Reporter, on Blue Owl Drops as Redemption Halt Stirs Private Credit Concern
Dylan Field, Figma CEO, on earnings and collaboration with Anthropic
Kate Gulliver, Chief Financial Officer of Wayfair, on quarterly earnings and the health of the American consumer
Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz, co-producers & co-directors of ‘Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media, on Mark Zuckerberg’s Day in Social Media Addiction Trial

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