Sweden’s Wallenberg Says Business Must Adapt to New World Order

Swedish business leader Marcus Wallenberg said companies and governments must adapt to a “completely new world order,” in which tension between China and the US has driven western countries to pour billions of public dollars into clean-energy industries.

Bloomberg News

Laura Dhillon Kane

Published Oct 08, 2023  •  Last updated Oct 09, 2023  •  3 minute read

Marcus Wallenberg during an interview in Ottawa on Oct. 6. Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg
Marcus Wallenberg during an interview in Ottawa on Oct. 6. Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg Photo by David Kawai /Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Swedish business leader Marcus Wallenberg said companies and governments must adapt to a “completely new world order,” in which tension between China and the US has driven western countries to pour billions of public dollars into clean-energy industries.

While the chair of Wallenberg Investments AB described himself as a free trader at heart, he said the current geopolitical circumstances have forced everyone to adapt and recognize the need for investment in the sectors of the future.

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Here’s how going viral impacts small businesses

NEW YORK –

The Lexington Candy Shop in New York City has served burgers, fries and shakes to hungry patrons for decades. Last remodelled in 1948, the diner is the definition of old-fashioned.

But that hasn’t stopped it from getting a wave of new fans.

In August 2022, this old school business met the new world when Nicolas Heller, a TikToker and Instagrammer with 1.2 million followers known as New York Nico, popped in for a traditional Coke float — Coke syrup, soda water and ice cream. Naturally, he took a video. It went viral, garnering 4.8 million likes.

“The next day (after the video was posted), the lines started forming at 8 in the morning,” John Philis, the diner’s third-generation co-owner, recalls with amazement. “And it was like, huh!”

When a smaller restaurant unexpectedly goes viral on TikTok or other social media, the sudden demand can be overwhelming. Owners have to adapt on the fly, revamping operations to quickly serve a crush of people. But savvy business owners who are able to adapt can parlay newfound fame into a lasting boost for their business.

Ali Elreda opened Fatima’s Grill in Downey, California, in 2016, drawing in customers with an eclectic range of tacos, wraps and burgers.

He sprinkled Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in some of them, inspired by his daughter’s love of hot chips. By 2020, Elreda had worked hard to develop his restaurant’s social media presence, shooting videos with music. But after a TikToker dubbed @misohungry posted a video of Elreda’s Flaming Hot Cheeto Fusion burger that August, things suddenly “just went crazy.”

Dominique Ansel, second from right, greets people who have been waiting in line for the opening of his namesake bakery in New York, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. In 2013, before most people knew the term “going viral,” the French pastry chef created the Cronut, a cross between a croissant and a doughnut, at his newly opened New York bakery. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Lines to get into the restaurant ballooned to two to three hours — for months. At first, the store wasn’t ready for the influx.

“We just couldn’t adjust,” he said. “We would stay late hours to prep for the next day and then the lines would continue and continue and continue and continue.”

Opening two nearby restaurants helped relieve the pressure. Elreda now has 10 locations, including newly opened restaurants in Detroit and Brooklyn

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Who profits most from America’s baffling health-care system?

ON OCTOBER 4TH more than 75,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente, a large health-care chain, began a three-day strike. The walkout was the biggest in the history of America’s health sector, and called attention to the staffing shortages plaguing the country’s hospitals and clinics. In the same week ten drugmakers said they would negotiate medicine prices with Medicare, the public health-care system for the elderly, following legislation which all but forced them to. It will be the first time that companies have haggled over prices with the government.

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These events are symptoms of deeper malaise in America’s dysfunctional health-care system. The country spends about $4.3trn a year on keeping citizens in good nick. That is equivalent to 17% of GDP, twice as much as the average in other rich economies. And yet American adults live shorter lives and American infants die more often than in similarly affluent places. Pharmaceutical firms and hospitals attract much of the public ire for the inflated costs. Much less attention is paid to a small number of middlemen who extract far bigger rents from the system’s complexity.

Over the past decade these firms have quietly increased their presence in America’s vast health-care industry (see chart ). They do not make drugs and have not, until recently, treated patients. They are the intermediaries—insurers, chemists, drug distributors and pharmacy-benefit managers (PBMs)—sitting between patients and their treatments. In 2022 the combined revenue of the nine biggest middlemen—call them big health—equated to nearly 45% of America’s health-care bill, up from 25% in 2013. Big health accounts for eight of the top 25 companies by revenue in the S&P 500 index of America’s leading stocks, compared with four for big tech and none for big pharma.

Big health began as a constellation of oligopolies. Four private health insurers account for 50% of all enrolments. The biggest, UnitedHealth Group, made $324bn in revenues last year, behind only Walmart, Amazon, Apple and ExxonMobil, and $25bn in pre-tax profit. Its 151m customers represent nearly half of all Americans. Its market capitalisation has doubled in the past five years, to $486bn, making it America’s 12th-most-valuable company. Four pharmacy giants generate 60% of America’s drug-dispensing revenues. The mightiest of them, CVS Health, alone made up a quarter

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Israel-Hamas war: Business leaders on causes, ripple effects

The attack on Israel this weekend sent shock waves around the world, prompting world leaders to weigh in on the rapidly evolving conflict. Also watching the turmoil were prominent figures in the business community, many of whom shared their insights and reactions. 

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who heads Pershing Square Capital, criticized President Joe Biden and previous administrations for poor leadership. He lamented in an X post that the U.S. “did nothing” in response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, “abandoned Afghanistan in a sloppy withdrawal” in 2021, and most recently took Ukraine “out of the budget to keep the government temporarily open.”

He added: “Why did Hamas invade Israel last night? Because the United States has consistently not kept its word on its foreign policy commitments and we look very weak. Terrorism loves a leadership vacuum and we have created one.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has faced accusations of amplifying anti-Semitic voices on X, wrote of the attack: “Sorry to see what’s happening in Israel. I hope there can be peace one day.”

Musk directed attention to Iran, which backs Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel. “[Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei’s official position is clear that the eradication of Israel is the actual goal, not just supporting Palestinians,” he wrote on Sunday. “That will not happen. All that actually happens, decade after decade, is a never-ending cycle of violence and vengeance. Stoking the fires of hatred isn’t working. Perhaps it is time to consider something else.”

Jacob Helberg, who previously led Google’s policy efforts and is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote: “Make no mistake: the new revisionist authoritarian axis is China-Russia-Iran. Russia is waging a campaign in Ukraine. Iran is waging a campaign in Israel. China is preparing a campaign in Taiwan. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of VC firm Social Capital, turned his attention to oil, writing on Sunday: “How does oil not spike again now on the back of two hot wars (Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine) and a 1.5M barrel production cut by OPEC with an SPR [Strategic Petroleum Reserves] that is at the same level it was in the mid 1980s?”

Energy traders quickly turned their attention to Iran’s oil exports, which have helped to moderate fuel prices amid supply squeezes by Russia and Saudi Arabia.

“I think this development will

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ChatGPT Will Now Use Current Data

Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 – ChatGPT can finally get up-to-date answers from the internet – here’s how.

ChatGPT, the popular chatbot from OpenAI, can now retrieve accurate up-to-date information. Prior to this, the chatbot’s search function would mostly work with data through September, 2021. That limitation was removed recently as OpenAI made several updates which also include five distinct voice features programmed to have conversations. ChatGPT-Plus subscribers can now access current data for deep-dive research or quick fact-finding. The Plus membership fee is $20 per month. (Source: TechRadar)

Why this is important for your business:

Right now this is available to Plus subscribers but soon even the free version of ChatGPT will be able to access more current data. This has been a significant limitation of the chatbot since its introduction and one of the things that competitors like Google’s Bard has touted as its advantage (Bard uses current data from the Internet).

2 – Intuit Mailchimp and Wix enter a strategic multi-year partnership.

Intuit Mailchimp – the email marketing platform – is partnering with website builder and hosting service Wix to boost functionality and customer engagement in the small business sector. (Source: PR Newswire)

Why this is important for your business:

Both companies are hoping to make it easier for small businesses to streamline their online web and email marketing efforts with a combined system that offers more integration, easier setup and more powerful functionality.

3 – Zoom goes all-in on hybrid work as back-to-office mandates abound.

Collaboration platform Zoom continues to accommodate the remote work model that escalated during the pandemic. (Source: Computerworld)

Why this is important for your business:

The company is touting its integration with the employee experience app Workvivo – as announced in April of this year – and is asserting its prioritization of helping companies maintain optimal engagement with employees who work from home. The Workvivo application is designed to maintain a high-level of communication throughout the workday among employees who connect from different locations. Video conferencing, survey feedback and team chats are just a

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