they're all expecting more. more efficiency. more benefits. more growth. when you realize you can give your people everything, and more. thank you very much. [applause] ask, "now what?" here's what. you go with prudential to protect, empower and grow. with everything you need to deliver, you guessed it... more. one more thing... who's your rock? learn more at prudential.com why are we the only birds heading this way? who's your rock? ♪ ♪ what is that? duck à l'orange. what's duck à l'orange? it's you, with l'orange on top. good tuesday morning. welcome to another hour of "squawk on the street." i'm sara eisen with mike santoli live from the floor of the new york stock exchange. the street debates the pause in the rally and the timing of the first fed cut.

chief market strategist is here on why it's hard to argue for any move before march. hall of fame retail analyst matt boss from jpmorgan, his big es headline from this holiday shopping season so far. could a rise in sports betting lead to a rise in the housing market. s&p 500 marginally positive. the nasdaq recovering after a couple of weaker days. up about two-thirds of 1%. there had been rotation in prior days in favor of smaller caps and nontech stocks. that seems to be partially reversing today. topping the tape this morning, the disagreement about the path of the economy and what's next for the fed. are investors right to expect and hope for rate cuts? steve liesman is with us to go through this debate. hey, steve. >> hey, mike, good morning. yeah, it's getting kind of serious, this growing disagreement between the market

and the fed. if you take a look at the probabilities, first of all, we're showing you january just to be safe. it's only 11% now. but that's what march was a few weeks ago. we're putting it on there so people can watch the change if it happens. the bigger story is that 61, which is, since we made this chart, 63% probability of a rate cut in march. and that seems sort of far away. guess what, it's only three meetings. at some point the fed and the market are going to have to come together. we've had these kind of disagreements before but it's getting closer,mike and sara. it's something we have to watch for and listen for as to whether or not the market comes to the fed or the fed comes to the market. >> i guess that depends on what happens, steve, with inflation, if it continues to come down. on the economy, if it continues to weaken. so far the data on both looks like that's sort of happening, right? >> that's exactly right, sara.

you're right to peg inflation as the big story here. i think the story from the outlook is the market has a view on inflation and the view on inflation tends to be one of a straight line down. by the way, guys, in the back, that's the chart i wanted, exactly right. this is the view also of how the fed cuts, which is in view of the inflation, which is coming down on a steady basis. you can see quite a bit of rate cut is built in for the end of the year. you're looking at the off months where there aren't meetings. you can see fairly steady with a bigger jump towards the end of the year with 120, 130 basis cut points built in. the next screen shows a market view of inflation, which is powell's indicator that looks at

core services, ex-housing and ex-energy. and one view is looking year-o year-over-year, 6%. the three-month annualized looks quite a bit better at 2.73%. as you may or may not know, some big numbers will start to jump out of that calculation from november, december, january of last year. that's going to flatten the index whether or not inflation is coming down on the front line. >> that's one of the things the market is aware of, we have some undertone to inflation in the months to come. the other things the market knows is the average span between the last hike and the first cut historically, averages out to about eight months. the only move to bet on next, if you're going to bet, is a cut. in fact, morgan stanley out with their fed outlook this morning saying they don't think there's going to be a cut until june but they say the committee might have a hard time, it's going to

test their patience if they were to hold for that long, almost a year. there's almost an imperative in the markets that something is going to happen along the way to cause a move away from a hold. >> i think that's right. and i think the -- i would just be a little careful about averages in this cycle, mike. as you know, every part of this cycle has been different from every other cycle. the attempt to create the 1970's analog is withered by the data that's come in. that said, i don't think the first cut is the problem. i think the second cut is the problem. the problem is going to be the fed stopping the market from pricing in all manner of cuts if it were to cut. again, that could be a reason for the fed to delay. then again, think about a world in march, if we have three steady declines in the inflation numbers over that time. i think it might be difficult for the fed to hold the line and so i don't think it's crazy if you get that straight line down

in inflation to think about a march or may cut. >> fed is on the record saying they would be likely in cut mode if that were the case. steve, thanks very much. let's continue this conversation. our next guest says it's hard to argue for a march cut giving projected economicing and earnings growth, that's in the consensus right now. joining us, crossmark chief global strategist victoria fernandez. good to speak with you this morning. you're certainly not on board with this idea we're going to rush to easing by the fed, but how does that play into your overall outlook for the markets and the economy? >> yeah, so based on the conversation that you guys were just having, you're right, we got earnings expectations for 2024 that are double digits. it's 11%. revenue growth expectations over 5%. gdp expectations going higher. it's hard for us to look at that and say that's the type of environment when the fed is going to start cutting rates.

i know we talked about inflation being the key number for the fed to be watching, but i think even if you continue to get disinflation but the economy is holding up in regards to consumer spending, in regards to gdp growth, again, i don't think the fed is going to be in a rush. i think it's going to take some kind of a trigger or mild recession to get the fed to start cutting rates. that trigger is probably going to come from the labor market. we got labor market news this morning. we saw the jolts come down. that works along the story line of the economy starting to slow down. that's where i think people need to be focused to see what the fed is going to do. we do expect to see a mild recession or pullback as we go -- or around the second quarter, middle of 2024, that's when i think the fed will start to act. >> it does seem tough to have it all, good economic, profit growth and, perhaps, easier policy from the fed, however i

did happen to look back to the year 1995, which is the classic, perfect soft landing scenario. s&p earnings growth, 10.5%. nomal gdp growth just over 5%. the fed trimmed rates two or three times, no big deal, but acknowledged inflation had been beaten. there is some precedent, perhaps. >> there is some precedent, mike, but i think you have to look at other soft landings that were achieved when you look at '66, '85, again, '95, the environment was very different. banks were actually easing their lending standards. not tightening like they are now because credit card delinquencies are up, tighter lending standards, less loan growth. we saw in the third quarter real revenues decline. not nominal, but real revenues come down in the third quarter. there are some things different than what we saw in the last soft landing. i think you have to take that

into account that the environment could position itself for maybe a little bit more of a harder landing than what people are expecting and the market is getting a little ahead of itself. >> i feel like what's ultimately happening is what's happening with treasuries. this morning we're at 4.1 on the ten-year note yield. i wonder how much downside you see and what that will mean for equity performance. >> i'm so surprised at the level -- or the pace we've seen these yields come down. i mean, third week of october we were north of 5% on the four-year. we're down 80, 85 basis points in such a short period of time. granted, you look at some of the things and you can see, they're short covering. you look at the open interest along that time period and that's come down a lot. there's been a lot of short covering. people are trying to get some income and they're coming in there. there was less concern around demand at the auctions. there were some reasons for yields to come down. but i think maybe it's a little overdone at this point.

i wond be surprised to see yields go a little higher once we start bringing out the january or the march rate cut that the market is anticipating. that's going to have to be priced back out of the market, in our opinion. we'll see yields probably settling around that 4.30, 4.50 as a trading range. >> 4.30, 4.50, that doesn't mean you take a lot of losses on bonds if you bought them today. where do you think there is relative value out there across asset classes? >> we think you have to take this opportunity as a way to diversify across different things. look at absolute return strategies that have long short positions in them. we like fixed income on the short end and long end to lock in some yields. we think you need to look at sectors in the equity market that have been beaten down a little bit. we like financials, we like some names in the health care space. you have to be specific and choosey. we're not going all in. do your homework. we think there are sectors there.

you can buffer the volatility with some income with covered calls as well. >> victoria, thanks so much. >> thanks, guys. >> still to come, the number one retail analyst on the street, matt boss, who was just inducted into the all-america research hall of fame. joins us on the stocks he thinks are a buy heading into 2024. >> can sports gambling reshape the consumer and, in turn, the housing market? mayor ♪ it's raising capital to help companies change the world. ♪ opportunity is making the dream of home ownership a reality. ♪ ...and driving the world forward to a greener energy future. [applause] sometimes the only thing standing between you and opportunity is someone who can make the connection. at ice, we connect people to opportunity. (sfx: stone wheel crafting) ♪

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fedex shares on the move. jpmorgan raising the target, more than $50 higher than where it trades right now. still cautious ahead of earnings on the 19th. the firm expecting another beat from the ground shipping segment as well as a raise of the lower end of the company's guidance. key questions for investors, both involving its chief rival, u.p.s., is a parcel price war under way? how intense is the price for volume right now? shares up 50% right now.

they're flattening up, down about 0.75%. after black friday shopping numbers beat expectations, our next guest sees the big takeaway as consumers returning to pre-pandemic shopping trends. when it comes to where to find growth this holiday season, look to value names like tjx and macy's as well as gift beneficiaries from best in class brands like nike and birkenstock. the number one ranked analyst who was recently inducted into the all-america research hall of fame, jpmorgan's matt boss. how do you go from number one analyst to hall of famer, i think is the question people want to know? >> thanks for having me on, sara. >> it just means you win a lot, right? >> you could say that, es. >> it's good you didn't have to be retired for five years before you got in. >> so, let's talk about winning picks this holiday season. so far it seems okay, the overall spending data, right? how do you pick winners? >> i think the holiday season is off to a very strong start. i think you are seeing a return to some of the pre-pandemic

behaviors and demand. so, we think apparel and footwear is up at least low single digits right now. that's the same as the five years prepandemic. i think you're seeing the same return to e-commerce, but stores are holding. as you said, you're seeing a gifting focus. at the same time, you are seeing a value focus. that's a very good thing for best in class brands. ralph lauren, calvin klein, birkenstock, nike, lululemon. i think some of the gift destinations that stand for value, macy's and tjx, have fared very well to start out. >> does that extend into 2024? is it just sort of a holiday gifting fa phenomenon? >> i think you to be selective but from a macro perspective, the biggest inflationary pressures have started to subside. you look at gas prices, food inflation. we were facing double digit food inflation. this fourth quarter it's less than half of that. i do think some of the pressure points on the consumer have

eased. i think the consumer is being selective and discerning with their dollars. i think you have the bifurcation between the higher end and lower end, but opportunities in retail. for me it's valuation, self-help through 2024. >> if inflation is coming down, it's a good thing for the consumer, but is it good for the retailers whose margins have been fattened up by price increases? >> great point? >> i think one of the biggest themes we're seeing right now into holiday, and into '24, the inventories are very clean. so, if you think about a year ago, you had inventories that were bloated, far too much clearance. that was as a result of the pandemic, which delayed the supply chain. this year a lot more fashion on the floor. much greater newness and retailers can chase. especially the specialty retailers, the department stores and direct-to-consumer on the

brand side. so, i think that leads to a lot more full price selling. so not only do i think you have the potential for a very strong holiday but i think the probability will be there with it. >> what represents a company that has the self-help theme? is that like a macy's? >> pvh on the global brand side is a very good example. you have profitability, opportunities into next year that are idiosyncratic self-help. same thing, ralph lauren is similar as you move to next year. still average unit retail expansion driven by mix that is less macro reliant. what we're looking for in an uncertain, as you said, choppy consumer back drop, as you exit holiday and into 2024, are stories that can stand on their own. that's where we like the best in class brands. i would put birkenstock and nike as well, as you think of some of the issues nike has faced in the last two years. >> is it either/or, nike/lulu? >> i don't think so.

i think the total addressable market is larger on the other side of the pandemic. i think it ties into casualization. that to me is the multiyear mega trend. i think there's room for nike and lulu to both succeed and a total addressable market on the other side. >> birkenstock as a gift-giving beneficiary, you say. is that a new phenomenon or a staple? >> i think birkenstock is a little misunderstood post-ipo. it's not so much core footwear as the foot bed. it ties into the health and wellness. as you think about the benefits from a health and recovery perspective, i think the opportunity for birkenstock is a lot larger than the sandal moving forward. >> what about online-focused retailers, how does that fit in with the strategy and your view? etsy has had a tough year, for instance. did well during the pandemic. gave a lot of it back in items of returns. how do you deal with those that

are exposed? for walmart, for instance, it's been helpful. >> you had the pandemic drive of e-commerce and digital, obviously. you then cycled it. i think we're more or less through the normalization. that's kind of what we're making the call this holiday, is the return back to e-commerce sales will outpace brick and mortar. the real combination you're looking for are those that can succeed in omni channel. you need experience at the stores. i would go back to lululemon, which i think is one of the prototypes and best in class direct-to-consumers. as you think about direct-to-consumer brands, one of the things they built out during the pandemic was their own stores and own e-commerce. you need the combination of both. some of the best in class brands that are a destination that offer service as well as an expense, but at the same time have made the investments on the e-commerce front, i think that's your prototype for success on the other side of the pandemic.

>> no matter the weather? they're complaining unusually warm weather, looks like we're going to get cold weather. looks like a swing factor. >> that said, i think you could get a very positive multiple beneficiary this holiday. last year, winter storm elliott was a major headwind that week right into christmas. this year, more stable weather and the break of colder seasonal weather to start the holiday season. i think november benefitted after an unusually warm fall that got the holiday off to a strong start. >> do you want warm weather for shopping but they want cold weather so they can sell boots and jackets. >> we want to be able to drive to the store. >> you want warm enough weather to get to the stores to drive the traffic but you don't want the disruption of a major storm like you had last year, especially during a key period, right into that christmas holiday. >> matt boss, thank you. hall of fame research analyst from jpmorgan.

a lot more coming up on the consumer. the luxury producer is looking to grow profits by 20%. ceo of zegna is here with us. watching cvs, higher after providing updated guidance and raising its dividend by 10%. ceo karen lynch will join krcnb today at 1:00 p.m.

european markets mixed this morning.

the german dax has been very strong. it's setting itself up for a record close, but the british ftse trading lower. shares of barclay's weighing on that after qatar holding 500 million pounds of stock. there is optimism from ecb with executive board member telling reuters that, quote, a further rate increase is unlikely. didn't rule out a potential cut in april either. outside of europe, moody's cutting china's credit to negative citing risk from growing debt. they did maintain an a-1 rating on the country's sovereign bonds but issued that warning. the move causing the shanghai composite and hang seng to drag more than 1%. the china authorities came out quickly and said they were disappointed. i think everybody's wondering about the growth target for next year, which we don't quite have. 5% was this year. and then how much of a stomach the chinese regulators will have

to stimulate, which is one reason moody's is worried about the debt risk and wall street is worried about the growth risk. >> the market doesn't seem to think they have easy answers of the old playbook to stimulate, or maybe not the willingness to do it. keep waiting for this market to prove it's washed out by not going down on bad news, but market near a low -- >> the chinese market, yeah. >> you get this headline, it's moody's. it's not always a tangible effect, and yet we -- >> sometimes it marks the bottom. >> that's what i'm saying. i was looking to see if we rallied on something like this, but not yet anyway. we're about two hours into trading. let's go post to post with bob pisani. >> kind of a strange day here. the s&p was briefly positive. we're getting a mega cap tech rally so amazon, apple, nvidia. the biggest big cap stuff is moving. and not much everywhere else. i keep mentioning ibm, the little stock that couldn't. underperformed for a decade, the s&p and tech.

it's been fabulous the last month. it was 140 a month ago. we're near a six-year high on ibm. one of the few names that keeps working day after day. we're getting some earnings. the first crop of the november-ending quarter numbers are coming in. generally they've been very good. we talked about auto zone. sara mentioned auto zone, the comments from the ceo. domestic results solid. those numbers came in. this is november ending ones. smucker came in, too. generally pretty good. that's up about 4%. next week we'll get a whole bunch of other ones out there. ad adobe, costco, darden will be out next week, lennar, oracle. these are considered early warning signals from people who watch the earnings situation. again, their quarters end in november, all of these companies. so, generally as they go, it's a good early warning sign. still a little too early. the first two companies are not

bad. elsewhere, if you look at what else is working, not an awful lot. still yield plays are doing well. as you can see here, $15, the beginning of november. now, $17. it's had a horrible time. it's a 6.5% yield right now. this stock hit 14, 14.25. go back again. way back in july or august, that was the lowest -- to get to 14, you have to go back to the 1990s. that's how bad this was. this was 30-year lows and struggling to come back as a potential yield play as rates come down a little bit. what the heck is going on with the oil stocks? here's greg. greg handles exxonmobil. oil is up today. it's not moving. nothing is moving. this was $120 in september. this is a big stock. and it just keeps going down. and they all keep going down.

occidental, the oil services sector, the drillers, apa. i looked at halliburton. everything keeps going down. people are trying to play these stocks right now. and it's not working. i don't quite know why but a lot of people standing down here saying, when are they going to keep bouncing again, these oil stocks? back to you. time for a news update. kate rooney has that for us. hi, kate. >> hi, sara. the fbi director christopher wray is making a plea to congress to renew what he calls an indispensable surveillance tool. section 702 of the foreign surveillance act expires on december 31st and facing scrutiny from republicans who allege the fbi has been weaponized against conservatives. a massive house explosion rocked a washington, d.c., suburb monday night as police were investigating a man who fired a flare gun dozens of times from inside. no officers were seriously hurt

in that inferno in arlington, virginia. police have not confirmed if the suspect survived. the supreme court is weighing a case to answer whether people can be forced to pay taxes on stakes in foreign-owned companies even if they have not derived any income from them. it's the same case that attracted some scrutiny when justice alito rejected claims he should not participate in that ruling because of his ties to one of the lawyers involved. back over to you. >> thank you. ahead, how the rise of legalized sports betting could lead to major demographic changes and potentially hit the housing market. stay with us.

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oppenheimer, bullish on

domino's pizza stock calling it a top idea headed into the company's investor day with a price target of $450. the firm says it's, quote, a must own restaurant stock for the next restaurant stock, robust domestic and international sales opportunity, its third-party delivery outlook part of the call. intriguing valuation, all the catalyst behind that bull call. stock hovering around $400 a share. the record high is above $550 over two years ago. up about 20% year-to-date, sara. >> when it was ahead of everybody on technology and then it kind of fell back? >> it rode the 2021 tech mini bubble and then came down. staying with the consumer, our next guest points out that spending and leisure has experienced rapid growth this year and the rise of sports betting is one main reason. that growth in betting isn't just impacting spending, it could also have a lasting impact on the housing market. joining us is meredith whitney. it's great to have you back. >> thank you. >> and i love this original take

on the consumer. so, explain why you started looking into sports betting. >> the consumer drives everything i look at, in terms of housing, my economic outlook. monthly i look at the specific consumer data that i've been looking at for over 20 years. two weeks ago, a week and a half ago it said something i've never seen before, which i know retail spending has been down all year. restaurant spending, travel, leisure, they have been bellwethers, but you think of the taylor swift effect. we all assume that is what was driving growth and spending, but actually they called out that the fastest growing leisure spend is fantasy sports and online sports betting. i looked further into that.

looked into draftkings. what you see is this massive growth. sports betting has only been legal outside of nevada for five years. so, in five years it's gone from one state being legal to 29, plus the district of columbia. it's had mediocre growth. everyone talks about nvidia. draftkings has doubled that performance. you understand why. you have this massive secular wave behind it. the negative impact is that it's all young men. i parallel that with -- or dovetail that with pew research which says 63% of young men are single. that's the highest it's ever been. and 50% of those young men have no interest in dating. not even casually. and 30% of those men -- or 30% of young men said they have not had sex in over a year. and don't seem to care. the point being -- >> people are getting pleasure out of sports betting instead. >> sports betting now through technology is as easy as buying

something, ordering a pizza online or shopping online. what you see is young men who have grown up with gaming are used to doing everything on their phone and now they can do all sorts of betting on their phone. you can do real-time parlays on your phone during a game. and it's been explosive. if you look at the growth -- so, draftkings says that, you know, they doubled revenue every year, expected to double revenue over the next three years. that's just on the existing states. the most populous states don't have legalized online sports betting -- or sports betting, and that's california and texas. so, if those come online, you've got double, triple the type of revenue adjusted ebitda. what this means for housing, then, you have the lowest household formation growth in over 60 years. it could be longer but that's as long as the data has been comprised. you have young men who don't want to date and young women who are spending their time really

with instagram moments, going to the taylor swift concert. i don't know if you've been to them. it's all filmed about yourself at the taylor swift concert. so -- >> so they're not getting married and building homes. >> they're not getting married. 74% of the housing stock is owned by people over 50. 90% of the housing stock is owned by people over 90. when these people want to sell, i believe they'll start to sell with a vengeance next year, who are the buyers going to be? i just think, you know, i think that home builders are smart, they're building a lot of rental properties, but people are not going to be buying into these biggerhomes. >> doesn't that come at a time when we have record low levels of housing inventory and including the back drop of would-be buyers, including even those who are not starting families? >> right now you have a demand/supply issue. i think that switch is very suddenly to a supply/demand

issue. 30 million units will come on the market, if you look at average existing home sales per year have been around 5 million. i think something's got to give. "the new york times" has done a series "dying broke," which it's very expensive to get old. people will start selling their homes. not everybody has the luxury of having, you know, like five homes and the luxury of -- we live in a bubble here. i think most people are going to have to downsize to pay for the cost of getting older. >> is the point that sports betting was sort of an unappreciated sizeable factor in demographics, in spending data, and that might have longer term implications? >> if you look at the chart of draftkings, it really peaked in the covid -- the peak of covid. i think the assumption for the naysayers on it is that, oh, well, the covid stimulus money is drying out. you can see and the history of

me looking at credit card spend of consumers, you have the prioritization of payments. you're dealing with a finite kitchen table economics. where the young men are spending money on online sports betting, they're not spending money on -- when you were growing up, did you have a hot rod to impress the dates and clothing and whatever it may be. >> a pickup truck. >> a used car. >> but that cool, old used car. that's not happening. they're sitting in their mom's basement or on the couch in their apartment and they're not buying -- and you see that reflected in retail sales data. you see -- i think that says -- the whole shift in spending has changed. and so you'll see young women be consumers, older people that have all the wealth. young men and women have income. there was an interesting article in the economist last week in terms of income inequality is really narrowing but wealth is not. wealth is diverging. the older people, the homeowners have the wealth and the younger people have the income. they'll keep spending. one thing that was clear in this

month's -- or last month's spending data is that the older consumer are pulling back and the younger people keep spending. >> if you're right, then we should see leisure spending continue to be strong. >> you'll see leisure spending continue to be strong. travel has weakened, but leisure spending should continue to be strong. >> very interesting, meredith. love having you with a fresh take on sports betting and housing. our deep dif dive on consumers continues after this with the ceo of luxury brands like tom ford, zegna. the cnbc new series "cities of success" show power centers driving change across the entire u.s. economy. first stop, nashville. don't miss cnbc's one-hour prime time "cities of success" tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. eastern. >> i think other cities are taking note of nashville and other locations throughout the world of where the communities

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american express near session lows. getting headlines from the goldman sanction services conference with the ceo saying billings in october fell short of expectations and that amex is seeing a slowdown for premium fee-paying cards. stock down 2.5% at the moment. let's stay with premium consumer spending. it's been a mixed bag for the high-end consumer. gushi struggling while hvmh and hermes have outperformed. zegna siping a licensing deal for tom ford fashion and announced it aims for 10% yearly sales growth for the brand. joining us now is zegna group

chairman and ceo, gildo zegna. >> it's great to be back here. >> it's great to have you. what are you telling your investors about luxury spending? >> i think that there has been a normalization, if you want, of the luxury business, i must say, after the summer. but we have to keep a positive mind. so, there are niches that you can get after. and i think that today we are better equipped to offer that. we have luxury, beside our brand, zegna, 113 years old, tom brown we acquired in 2018 and long-term license on tom ford fashion that will be really developed more and more around the world. so, i think that we have enough on our plate that we can react, you know. there has been a normalization of luxury. but we see many opportunities. >> what about china and the asia

market, which is big for you, what are you seeing the consumer there? there were high hopes of recovery coming out of covid. >> yeah. we are -- we are not back to the pre-covid period, but i think we are catching up. china is a very important market for luxury. as is america. i think we are doing the right things. even though chinese have not traveled outside china, so we can't -- at the moment we should wait, though. >> it's coming? >> maybe the second half of next year they will be coming. but i think you have to be creative, you have to be service-oriented, you have to be very innovative in how you go after them. but i remain positive on china as an important luxury market. so, we'll -- america, where we are making great progress. i think our business with america has went up a great

deal. also because many americans shop in europe. if we don't get them here, we like to welcome this europe. >> you refer to it as a n normalization. we're back to trends pre-pandemic. how does it look longer term, in terms of not just which brands people are favoring, but whether they want to dress at all in america? >> listen, you see the way i'm dressed. since after covid, i've adopted the luxury leisure wear attire. no tie, no suit. i mean, these cashmere lightweight jacket, could be leaning into summer, casual shoes. >> we'll be the last ones wearing ties. we need a place to put the microsoft. >> there is an alternative to that. i think the world is going to go casual. i think we are lucky because we are one of the few luxury brands that is part of quiet luxury, the luxury movement. so, we are taking advantage of that. we have an entire supply chain

of traceable, sustainable material. most of our product is produced in our own supply chain in italy. so, i think that the customer wants experiences, want the product, want personalized service, which we can wants the personalized service. we have a made to measure project we can deliver anywhere in the world. we are well equipped to go after the luxury business. it is going up. probably the luxury business is slowing down but the luxury business is going up. we have one of the few. >> i see that in just the price tags of some of your clothing. i wonder what's happening on pricing because coming out of covid it felt like for some of the luxury brands there was no ceiling, but now inflation is

coming down, consumers started softening. what do you do on pricing? >> i think there is also normalization pricing going on. the supply of luxury material was a kind of tight after covid because everybody wanted to buy it. we are back to normal supply. we had some impact, also, and then zegna went up. we went up to sell expensive products with a very high value. we are not seeing in terms of -- >> you're not seeing resistance? still high prices? >> i think the luxury customer understands the difference of

excellence in quality and service or appreciate exclusivity of material, we are creating traceable product and sustainable product. i think this is worth a lot. we are creating -- we are utilizing a super fine fabric like wool, the finest cashmere, which is very small supply. if you want to have the best, you have to pay for that. we are not seeing the prices that you're talking about in luxury. >> thank you very much for the update, gildo. happy to have you. gildo zegna is the chairman and ceo. airbnb sending a memo to staff. role chang fesor management. we have the exclusive details next.

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it's not just possible, it's happening. some executive shuffling over at airbnb as the company looks to shift its strategy. deirdre bosa has the news in today's "tech check." good morning, dee. this is a shake-up that puts growth front and center. i got hold of an email that brian chesky sent to airbnb employees announcing the move. "we're about to embark on our next chapter as a company. airbnb is at an inflection point." and, he says, we're not ready to turn the corner. dave stephenson is the chief business officer, ellie mertz the cfo and catherine powell is transitioning out of the company. growth is something investors

and i have been asking about for a long time, as of the end of september the company had an $11 billion in cash pile and more than $4 billion in free cash flow over the last 12 years. it's been giving some of that back via buybacks but the question persists, how can it use that to find new streams? revenue growth was 70% coming out of the pandemic. it has stagnated at 18% year over year. what might better growth look like? international expansion and even a services business. dave stephenson is in charge of the growth efforts, he spent nearly two decades at amazon. could he bring that to airbnb. whatever they do, though, their timing could be smart. wall street is looking for the fed to cut rates and that means markets will be valuing growth over profitable.

the year of efficiency could give way to the year of growth and airbnb would be well positioned and it's not the first tech company to move a cfo into a broader strategy road. alphabet's ceo is transitioning into president and chief investment officer where she will oversee health care and self-driving cars. meta's dave whener moved into the role of chief strategy officer. all three tech companies are looking to expand beyond the core and have tapped cfos to oversee that charge. dave stephenson is the latest. >> i hesitate to call it mid-life adjustments but maybe it does qualify in figuring out the next phase. does that include something like advertising which seems to be everybody's pot of gold they're chasing? >> especially the gig company economies, uber and doordash,

instacart, that seems to be the silver bullet when your core isn't all that profitable. in the case of airbnb it is profitable. it's a platform. 90% of users go directly to airbnb, they don't search through google. that is they valuable they could take advantage of. the idea of a services business, advertising as well, there's a lot of possibilities there. >> deirdre, thank you. deirdre bosa. speaking of companies getting into advertising, walmart ceo doug mcmillan. they're a bellwether for so much more. the stock down more than 8% since it reported earnings on november 16th, but had been an outperformer leading up to that moment on the idea they are winning as people look for

value. >> it had built up a huge defensive quality premium so when people try to feel better about the overall condition of the economy sometimes money flows out of walmart into the less advantaged names. >> in the meantime, the s&p and dow are lower. don't let that fool you because the nasdaq is up and so are the mega caps. >> it's a rerotation. the ten year below 4.2. >> let's send it over to scott and "the halftime report." welcome to "the halftime report." i'm scott wapner. front and center this hour, several key moves by our investment committee today as the rally took a bit of a pause. joining me for the hour, josh brown, stephanie link, joe terranova and amy raskin. the dow is down by about 137. the s&p is off by a fractional amount there. the nasdaq with a nice bounce. look at the ten year, 4.17. it's been as low as 4.16. we're keeping an eye on that. i mentioned at the top we have a number of moves and that is where i want to begin today. stephanie link, i start with you.