00:00 I wish I had a crystal ball. We've been around for 231 years on the New York Stock Exchange.
00:04 The United States is the deepest pool of liquidity and capital in the world. Capital costs capital.
00:09 Welcome to The Big Question, the series from Euronews where we speak to some of the most
00:21 influential people in the world of business. Well, we're here in Davos at the World Economic Forum
00:27 and joined by the New York Stock Exchange Vice Chair John Tuttle. John, your 16th consecutive
00:33 year here in Davos. How have you seen it evolve over those 16 years that you've attended?
00:39 Well, it's evolved quite a bit. I would say that the themes have continued to evolve. Now more
00:43 focused on technology, less on global affairs, which is still important, but more focused on tech
00:49 and employment and the future of work, which is, I think, refreshing for a lot of businesses to
00:54 talk about and learn from one another, the leaders that are here. But also, you know, I will say one
00:59 thing that hasn't changed is that oftentimes this place can be a contra indicator for what's actually
01:04 going to happen in the world. So too many years that I've been here, I've heard the mood be poor
01:08 and depressing and the markets perform well. I hear there are years where there's euphoria
01:13 around the markets and they don't perform as well. So that's a trend that I suspect will continue to
01:17 some degree. That's really interesting you say that, John. And of course, this Davos is taking
01:22 place against a backdrop of crisis, the economic global slowdown as well, and the conflict in the
01:28 Middle East, the disruptions in the Red Sea as well, and among many other things, the development
01:33 of AI. What's the sentiment among business leaders and economists here that you've spoken to and the
01:39 panels you've been in on? You know, the sentiment is a little different than past years. And I say
01:44 it's muted in the sense that people aren't advocating in one camp or the other. They're
01:48 here to learn. And you have a lot of experts here, everybody from Microsoft and Sam Altman to a lot
01:53 of companies and academics that are here. So this has really become a forum this year where I feel
01:57 like people have their mouths closed and their ears open a bit more. Okay, interesting. And talking
02:02 about that, has anyone been talking about the Bitcoin ETFs and the decision by the US regulators
02:08 to give 11 Bitcoin ETFs the green light because it was a contentious matter, wasn't it? But it was a
02:15 major win for Wall Street. What's your view on that, John? It's come up quite a bit here as well.
02:19 And frankly, this is a project we've been working on for the better part of a decade with some of
02:23 our partners and obviously working closely with the regulators. And our view is that, look, the
02:28 more products we can make available to the marketplace that provide the protections and
02:32 liquidity of the public markets, that's a good thing and will allow investors to decide whether
02:36 they want to be part of that or not. But we're proud to have played our part in bringing more
02:40 access to more opportunity for more people in the markets. And this is a big win for obviously those
02:44 in the Bitcoin community as well. And John, let's move on to talk about as well the relationship
02:54 with the foreign exchanges like the CAC 40 in France, Germany's DAX, FTSE 100 in London.
03:00 We've seen in 2023, last year, many big European companies move over to US stock exchanges,
03:08 opting to list their instead IPO there. What has been the big attraction with US indexes to move
03:13 them away from their home turf? Well, first of all, the New York Stock Exchange has long been
03:17 a global exchange. We have 2400 companies from over 47 different countries on the NYSE. So
03:23 companies are moving over from Europe and other parts of the world, including South Africa and
03:28 parts of Southeast Asia to bring their primary listing to the United States. And they're doing
03:32 it because no matter how you look at the data, the United States is the deepest pool of liquidity and
03:37 capital in the world. It has the broadest investor base. It has a lot of analysts and investors that
03:42 are focused on growth, not just dividends and value. And also a lot of the global peers for
03:48 these companies are listed here. And by moving to the United States, becoming a primary listing in
03:53 the United States or even domiciled in the United States, these companies are eligible to be
03:57 included in many indices as well that they would not be if they were continued to be based outside
04:02 or listed outside the United States. That brings them more capital, a more stable shareholder base
04:06 and ultimately can help increase their valuation as well. So we've seen a lot of momentum,
04:11 particularly over the past two years, and it continues to accelerate into 2024.
04:14 And with that momentum, John, which markets, which companies are you particularly watching in 2024
04:21 that you found particularly interesting and you're watching their growth? Is there anyone we should
04:25 be watching? Well, I won't talk about any specific companies you can imagine for a whole host of
04:28 reasons. Of course, of course. But there are a lot of exciting companies looking to come to market.
04:32 A lot of them have stayed private for a long time and they see now that the time is right for them
04:36 to come to the public markets, to raise capital, to include public investors in their journey.
04:41 And when they're ready to come to market, we'll be ready to welcome them.
04:44 You'll be ready to welcome them. And John, as well, you work with private companies looking
04:48 to go public. Can you just talk us through the process and a couple of
04:52 challenges perhaps at the moment for those companies with coming to IPO,
04:56 listing on the stock exchanges at the moment globally? What do they have to consider and
05:00 what advice are you giving them? Right. So, you know, there have been some macroeconomic
05:04 headwinds, but that creates the perfect opportunity for us to be a partner to these companies
05:08 as well. And many people aren't aware that we actually operate over a dozen exchanges worldwide.
05:12 We're one of the largest market data providers in the world. And so we've become these companies'
05:16 first call, not only as they think about the public markets, as they think about debt,
05:19 as they think about managing market risk as well and just preparing themselves to be
05:23 better companies. So sharing insights on everything from ESG and governance to how
05:28 they should be thinking about structuring their business as they become a public company.
05:32 We've really become an even more important partner to them in the process
05:36 as they prepare to go public.
05:37 US elections are in November. And do you think they will influence the timing of companies
05:51 coming to the market? Yeah, I would say two things. First of all, we've been around for
05:54 231 years on the New York Stock Exchange. There have been world wars, there have been
05:57 natural disasters, there have been elections. But when you pull the lens back, the markets
06:02 always been open and the chart goes from the bottom left to the upper right. So I'm optimistic
06:05 no matter what the outcome is. But with regard specifically to IPO activity and new equity
06:10 issuance, interestingly enough, you hear a lot of rhetoric, even here around Davos, that in an
06:14 election year, we expect a quieter marketplace. I don't buy into that. I actually think those
06:19 IPO windows may narrow a bit. But I think, you know, high quality companies can come to market
06:24 when they're ready. And we have a lot of high quality companies lined up to come in 2024.
06:29 Okay, brilliant. I've just got one more question for you, John. Obviously, you know, we're
06:33 economists, investors, stockbrokers, we're all following very closely the monetary policy path
06:38 of the Federal Reserve and what interest rates are going to do and the impact of inflation and
06:43 commodity markets, etc. What's your prediction for the markets for 2024? Your forecast? Or what's
06:49 your thoughts? Do you think we're going to see a soft landing as they're saying here in Davos
06:53 this week? Well, you know, it's I wish I had a crystal ball. But look, you know, what happened
06:58 over the past couple of years with the Fed and other central banks around the world increasing
07:02 interest rates meant that money was not free anymore for companies and capital costs capital.
07:07 So it forced companies become much more disciplined from a financial and an operating standpoint,
07:11 which better position them for 2024 and beyond. So the state of the consumer remains strong,
07:16 at least in the United States and other parts of the world. Businesses have become more resilient,
07:20 as I said, from an operational financial perspective, and even a governance perspective
07:24 as well. So as you can imagine, I'm an optimist. Brilliant. John Tuttle, thank you ever so much
07:29 for joining us on The Big Question. Absolute pleasure to have you on the show. Great to be
07:33 here. Thank you. Thank you.
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