Latest news with #PaulGruenwald
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How economic health impacts the pet care market: Rover CEO
Rover CEO Aaron Easterly joins Catalysts with Madison Mills and S&P Global Ratings global chief economist Paul Gruenwald to discuss the pet care marketplace company's transition from publicly traded to going private under Blackstone (BX), the impact of inflation and tariffs, and more. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. Pet care platform Rover expanding its international footprint, bringing the marketplace to two new countries and acquiring a European-based dog sitting and walking platform. The company planning to invest $15 million over the next five years for further expansion. Joining us now, we've got Aaron Easterly, he is Rover's CEO. Aaron, great to speak with you. I know that Blackstone had taken the company private in a $2.3 billion deal back in 2024. Walk us through how that has impacted your growth story since and how that's impacting your ability to expand in these areas internationally. Yeah, overall, it's been a net positive. Um, one of the nice things about Blackstone is they're a pretty long-term oriented investor. Um, so when that transaction closed, we took a look at a lot of investments we were excited about that may have been a little bit more difficult to execute in a public company setting, um, and decided to go ahead with them. Um, so further expansion in Europe is one example of that. And talk to me about more broadly how you think about public versus private, having experienced both. What are some of the shifts that you've noticed as you've gone private and why did that make sense for Rover? Yeah, you know, I'd say that we are always a company that's been mission first. We want to make it possible for everyone to experience the unconditional love of a pet. The logistics of pet care is one of the barriers to more people having pets. And so that's always our primary focus. There are pros and cons of being public, there are pros and cons of being private. Um, so we're always very situational around what makes sense for the next stage of the company, um, and being able to be a little bit more longer term oriented in some of our investments, um, that take a little bit of time to develop, uh, made being private a nice thing at this point in time. And I should mention that for our audience, you can look up private company data including the likes of Rover on the Yahoo Finance platform under our private markets page. But I do want to bring in Paul Gruenwald, my guest host. He has a question for you. Hey, Aaron, it's Paul. I've never asked a pet care question before, I'm an economist, so forgive this. But Maddie and I were just chatting before. You know, we're talking about an economic slowdown and we're talking about consumers having like a, you know, uh, a discretionary bucket or a necessity bucket. So, where do you think the pet care, you know, your business fits in? Is it something that people do on a kind of discretionary basis or is this becoming more of a necessity as we kind of look through the the economic cycle? Yeah. Um, if you look at pet parents, um, historically the view has been that pet parents view it as a necessity. Right. About 72% of pet parents, if you ask them, do they view themselves as a pet owner or specifically a parent, they will say parent. Um, so it's more akin to a parent-child bond than, uh, piece of property. Um, and with that, uh, the pets tend to be the last thing or spending on pets tend to be the last thing people cut in tough times. That being said, we did see not a reversal that trend, but a little bit of a moderation that trend over the past couple years. For the younger generations, um, inflation outpaced, um, their income growth. So you actually had a slight shrinking, uh, of real income for that group. And for the first time in maybe 20 years, we saw some amount of pet parents be a little bit more modest on, uh, how extravagant they were going with their pet food and treats and toys, um, and things like that. Uh, but overall, pet parents, uh, prioritize their pets in a lot of cases about themselves. Yes. Great to know. Thanks. Yeah, it is great to know and it's also interesting, Aaron, too, one thing we've been talking about is whether pet parents might also be coming pet babysitters for others amid an economic slowdown. Can you talk to me about whether or not you're seeing an increase in gig economy work on the platform amid a moment of economic uncertainty? We, uh, straddle the line between, uh, passion project and gig work. Um, so most of the people that are on Rover are doing Rover as side income. So in that sense, it is kind of like a gig. Um, but they're also doing it because they specifically love pets. Um, and so in that sense, you get people that choose to do this for reasons unrelated to their hourly earnings potential. Um, it's a a preference, um, in addition to a job. Um, we have seen an increase in the number of sitters applying to be on the platform. Um, you know, if anything, we have to moderate that a little bit to make sure that the demand ramps in pace with the supply. Uh, but we've been very happy with our supply dynamics and the amount of people that are excited to be on the Rover platform. And and talk to me, too, about a stat that you all have. You did a Rover true cost of pet Parenthood report indicating that 52% of pet owners are concerned that tariffs will increase pet costs. Just curious what that signals to you about the way that tariffs are impacting some of the consumer sentiment of people who are using your platform. Yeah, I'm in general, the inflation in the pet economy for the past several years has actually outpaced inflation in the rest of the economy, uh, particularly on the service side, particularly on the veterinary side. Um, and for several years, there's also really high on the pet food side, but that's moderated this year. Um, so pet parents are looking at these dynamics and saying, wow, there may be a 10% increase in the cost of having a cat this year, a 7% increase in the cost of owning a dog this year. You know, what are some ways that I can be a little bit more frugal while still prioritizing my pets? Um, but when you add in these other things like tariffs, um, yeah, there is definitely some concern that that's going to, uh, push them over the edge so to speak in terms of the cost that they're going to have to eat. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 GDP revision takeaway: 'Softer' consumer spending
First quarter gross domestic product (GDP) revisions released Thursday morning show that overall, the US economy contracted less than expected, while consumption growth was revised downward. S&P Global Ratings global chief economist, Paul Gruenwald, and Kayne Anderson Rudnick chief market strategist and portfolio manager, Julie Biel, join Madison Mills on Catalysts to break down the data and examine the health of the US economy. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
S&P cuts US growth forecast to 1.5% in 2025, rules out chances of recession
AI generated representative image S&P Global Ratings has lowered the US GDP forecast for 2025, sharply by 50 basis points to 1.5 per cent, while raising its inflation forecast . For 2026, the US growth projection has been lowered by 20 basis points to 1.7 per cent. While there is an increased risk to the downside across all regions but S&P does not anticipate a material slowdown in growth. "We see a material slowdown in growth, but do not foresee a US recession at this juncture," the S&P statement said as quoted by news agency ANI. This growth projection by the rating agency S&P comes amid uncertainties arising out of the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US. Along with the US, S&P today lowered growth projections for several other large countries - India, Canada, Europe, Germany, Italy, the UK, China, Japan, among others. "A seismic shift in US trade policy has added to the uncertainty that has roiled markets and raised the specter of a global economic slowdown," S&P argued in its Global Macro Update. To help understand the potential effects, S&P has updated its macro view, including GDP growth and inflation forecasts and chances of a recession. "The jump in US import tariffs , trading partner retaliation, ongoing concessions, and subsequent market turbulence constitute a shock to the system centered on confidence and market prices. The real economy is sure to follow, but by how much?" said S&P Global Ratings Global Chief Economist Paul Gruenwald. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo "The risks to our baseline remain firmly on the downside in the form of a stronger-than-anticipated spillover from the tariff shock to the real economy. The longer-term configuration of the global economy, including the role of the US, is also less certain," said Gruenwald. Since assuming office for his second term, President Donald Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure what he termed "fair trade". The tariffs have been kept in abeyance for 90 days, as several countries have reached out to the US administration for a trade deal. The April 2 tariffs and their aftermath have led S&P to lower the GDP growth forecasts. It reiterates that there are no winners in a scenario of escalating protectionist policies. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Times of Oman
02-05-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
S&P cuts US growth forecast sharply but rules out chances of a recession
Washington DC: S&P Global Ratings has lowered the US GDP forecast for 2025, sharply by 50 basis points to 1.5 per cent, while raising its inflation forecast. For 2026, the US growth projection has been lowered by 20 basis points to 1.7 per cent. While there is an increased risk to the downside across all regions but S&P does not anticipate a material slowdown in growth. "We see a material slowdown in growth, but do not foresee a US recession at this juncture," it said. This growth projection by the rating agency S&P comes amid uncertainties arising out of the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US. Along with the US, S&P today lowered growth projections for several other large countries - India, Canada, Europe, Germany, Italy, the UK, China, Japan, among others. "A seismic shift in US trade policy has added to the uncertainty that has roiled markets and raised the specter of a global economic slowdown," S&P argued in its Global Macro Update. To help understand the potential effects, S&P has updated its macro view, including GDP growth and inflation forecasts and chances of a recession. "The jump in US import tariffs, trading partner retaliation, ongoing concessions, and subsequent market turbulence constitute a shock to the system centered on confidence and market prices. The real economy is sure to follow, but by how much?" said S&P Global Ratings Global Chief Economist Paul Gruenwald. "The risks to our baseline remain firmly on the downside in the form of a stronger-than-anticipated spillover from the tariff shock to the real economy. The longer-term configuration of the global economy, including the role of the U.S., is also less certain," said Gruenwald. Since assuming office for his second term, President Donald Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure what he termed "fair trade". The tariffs have been kept in abeyance for 90 days, as several countries have reached out to the US administration for a trade deal. The April 2 tariffs and their aftermath have led S&P to lower the GDP growth forecasts. It reiterates that there are no winners in a scenario of escalating protectionist policies.
Times of Oman
02-05-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
S&P lowers India's growth forecast, second time in two months over US tariff uncertainties
New Delhi: S&P Global Ratings has lowered India's GDP forecast for 2025-26 by 20 basis points to 6.3 per cent, and by 30 basis points to 6.5 per cent for 2026-27. Previously, the global rating agency had reduced India's growth projections for 2025-26 to 6.5 per cent from 6.7 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India also recently lowered the growth forecast for the current fiscal 2025-26 to 6.5 per cent from 6.7 per cent, amid uncertainties arising from trade worries following the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US. Since assuming office for his second term, President Donald Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure what he termed "fair trade". The tariffs have been kept in abeyance for 90 days, as several countries have reached out to the US administration for a trade deal. Along with India, S&P today lowered growth projections several other large countries - the US, Canada, Europe, Germant, Italy, the UK, China, Japan, among others. US GDP growth expected to fall by about 60 basis points (bps) over 2025-2026, while Canada's and Mexico's GDP growth falls by a similar amount. In Asia-Pacific's major economies, China sees growth drop by 0.7 percentage points in 2025-2026, while Japan and India see a reduction of 0.2-0.4 percentage points. "A seismic shift in US trade policy has added to the uncertainty that has roiled markets and raised the specter of a global economic slowdown," S&P argued in its Global Macro Update. To help understand the potential effects, S&P has updated its macro view, including GDP growth and inflation forecasts and chances of a recession. "The jump in US import tariffs, trading partner retaliation, ongoing concessions, and subsequent market turbulence constitute a shock to the system centered on confidence and market prices. The real economy is sure to follow, but by how much?" said S&P Global Ratings Global Chief Economist Paul Gruenwald. While there are increased risk to the downside across all regions but S&P does not anticipate a material slowdown in growth. "We do not foresee a US recession at this juncture," it said.
