David Shapiro in NYC: Soaking in US mood, a Nasdaq listing, what to buy

On Rational Radio this week, Biznews.com's Alec Hogg caught up with SA's favourite market commentator who is visiting family in New York City. David talks about the mood in the US, witnessing his first Nasdaq listing and what he has learnt about the stocks South Africans should be buying – mini-spoiler: he loves Naspers but isn't that excited about Uber..Well David Shapiro is with us. David I've been trying to get hold of Magda. I know that she's somewhere in the world but the reception is really bad but I'm so pleased that the United States is better. You still in New York?.___STEADY_PAYWALL___.I am in New York sweltering..What is sweltering by their weather?.It'll be in our 30s, in their 80s. There's not a day that's gone by in the last week or so where we haven't been under 8o's. But it's lovely. I've never been in New York at this time of the year. I'm normally just either in what they call spring or autumn, so it's always been chilly but this is lovely..Is there a particular reason for you going there? I follow you on Twitter. How many years have we been on Twitter now?.I know exactly because my handle is at David Shapiro 61 and I'm 72, so 10 years..Okay so we having your decade and there's 33,000 people who are interested in everything that you have to say but according to Twitter you're in New York because of a listing of a company that your son in law is the chief financial officer of..That was partly the reason, the other was to see my grandchildren. It just coincided. My son in law is from South Africa and he's always had an interest in biotech. He's a medical man by profession. He gave up being a doctor – he was a qualified doctor and did an MBA and has been leaning towards biotech. He's loved that kind of area.This company's called Prevail Therapeutics which uses gene technology to find a solution for Parkinson's. What's interested me is that they like to be close to the hospital and to the universities that produce the technicians, the scientists. So when they get to that point, there's a fair degree of success. They've got to go through a lot of testing but they've passed quite a few hurdles..https://twitter.com/davidshapiro61/status/1142063224872996869.I always thought that Nasdaq was a floor, I've never been to Nasdaq. I've been to the New York Stock Exchange but it's nothing more than a room. It's almost a television studio. So we weren't allowed in. We were watching from outside but big celebrations. They're coming under a bit of pressure now. The short sellers come in as they do, but it was one of a number of businesses that listed on that day on Nasdaq. It just identifies, or demonstrates the level of technological advancement in the US and that's what fascinates me. It just doesn't stop..What kind of businesses were they sharing the stage with?.All tech and a lot in pharmaceutical as well. So those kind of business would tend to migrate towards Nasdaq which is better suited for them to list..David, when you walk the streets of New York and you talk to people there, and you see a country with under three percent unemployment, how is the mood at the moment? When we see the news we hear Donald Trump who is apparently splitting the American people in two, where you are, would presumably not be great country for Trump but how do the New Yorkers see the future, how is America going?.New York is not really a reflection of greater America. It's almost an economy of its own, but you don't see unemployment. It is summer, so I've seen a lot more people sleeping on benches than I've ever seen before. I think summer attracts them here because there's so many tourists, they feel that if they put a cup in front of them they're going to raise more money and it's much more comfortable. But by no means what we see in South Africa. I'm talking about a handful of people but you do see people on the train who do a little bit of an act, but overall wherever you go you'll see "help wanted" particularly in retailers over this period. People are not as bullish as I thought they would be but they're not bearish in any way at all. So it's somewhere in the middle. Politics is very big here and they debate issues. I've been fascinated by the Democratic debates. The actual issues that people talk about. Immigration is a big thing. Abortion is a very big subject. So the Democratic leader or the contender, will be selected – I think first to beat Trump and secondly on proper issues, not party politics. So I always enjoy listening to what they say. You've got Bernie Sanders who is a socialist. Elizabeth Warren who wants to break up business. They're big names and Elizabeth Warren is doing well. So that's the difference that you pick up here. People are very conscious of what the candidates stand for..Obviously it's still another year to go, but are Americans likely to reelect Trump? We've got Bloomberg Radio now on Biznews radio with our licenses at Bloomberg and our licenses at The Wall Street Journal. We've got a lot of great stuff that we carry through and I listen to it all day and I'm hearing more and more commentators suggesting that it's Trump's to lose rather than the Democrats to win..I don't think they've got a powerful enough candidate. The only one who could stand up to him would be Joe Biden but he's a man in his mid to late 70s and I think carries with him a lot of issues and certainly not likely to attract the younger vote. Another thing that people don't understand is you only hear Spanish in New York. So there's a massive amount of younger people here – Hispanics. So I think that's a very important vote as well. I'm fascinated by the number of outsiders who actually lived in New York. Of expats. Another aspect is a massive development, I've gone down to Hudson yard now which is Chelsea – I don't know what it was previously called, the meatpackers district. These were low end areas and they've all been gentrified. Hudson yard today is a massive area, a massive residential and business area and where ever you go you've got these pencil thin skyscrapers going up in 100 stories plus, unaffordable to us, totally unaffordable. There's another element we don't quite appreciate when it comes to New York, Broadway as a money spinner. It' a huge employer and it's a very important aspect of the New York economy. It's not only the actors but it's everybody associated with a production..When you come home what shares will you be buying?.It leans me more towards tech because I think this is the missing equation. I'm trying to reconcile: like you I'm a Bloomberg radio listener and watcher, I like whatever is in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and I'm finding it difficult to reconcile some very negative comments about equities. So I've got to say equities or the global economy with what you see in technological advancement. And that's where I think there's a kind of almost a disconnect. We are all worried about the noise around whether the Fed's going to lower rates or when they're going to do it; is it 50 points or is it going to be 100 points. We continue to debate issues like that. And yet there's a whole element of the economy that's just moving ahead despite that. I sat down with my grandson of 11, Giddy, he'll be twelve soon and he plays Fortnite. And I didn't realise the compelling attraction of games. Why does he play it? It's a social issue. He sits with earphones talking to his friends all over the place and they talk to each other playing this game together. So it's much more social than just sitting there aimlessly knocking out people. And at one stage 96 different people around the world were playing with him..So you should be you should be coming back and filling your boots with Naspers because these are in tech and and of course the biggest holding, Tencent, is in the games business..I've been there forever. I watch people Alec. I think you've got to watch younger people or people what they're doing with their phones ,what they are streaming, what they're looking at, what's coming through there. And I think it's a big element that's not really factored in 2% or 3% economic growth. And that's why by choice I prefer to go to these kind of stocks rather than the traditional ones that we've always been attracted to..Dave talking technology and the US and New York – part of the the lexicon now is Uber whose shares are now listed on the market. Have you had a chance to look at it and and from the way that you're talking, is it one of those stocks that we should be considering?.I admire the technology but it's too easy to copy I think. And that's one of my biggest worries,I love what they've done and everybody Ubers, you just see wherever you go here people are Ubering – there's another one called Via where you share a ride, so you can pick up a ride that's going down a road, you can just hop on and hop off for five dollars. So there are many of these competitors coming I think. You don't know who the winners are going to be. But I think definitely you have to follow them. I mean you might not buy them Alec but you can't ignore them..Well you can't ignore Uber. And you can't ignore Elon Musk. He came out with quarterly results from Tesla yesterday blew everybody away doing far better than anticipated. How big a story is he in the US. We know from South Africa he's a South African, a Pretoria boy so we give him great coverage..He is a superstar here. Everybody knows him. They love his motor car because it's a very prestigious car to drive. And the other thing is that it identifies who you are. You know people are very conscious of changing the environment, of being a modern person. And I think when you drive a Tesla you're making a statement. And I think people want to make that statement. He's a superstar..And well known. People love to have a go at him and they love to criticise him and but you can't take anything away from what he does. You know without Elon Musk, I'm a great admirer of the Bezos's the Zuckerberg's etc. just for what they have done and how they've changed the way that we do things.

David Shapiro in NYC: Soaking in US mood, a Nasdaq listing, what to buy

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