conference in san francisco because it was so bad. he stuck it out and met with leadership to see how they could clean it up, but that's number one. put consequences and accountability in place so that businesses know that they have a shot to actually operate without getting theft and stolen from. next question comes from mark springer on instagram. he says are you going to throw out the first pitch at a yankee, at the yankees game this year. whoa, your question is great, and i love it. i want to hear from the mlb, because my first time that i threw out the pitch was right over the plate. look at that. [laughter] there you go. so where is the yankees? why aren't the mets calling me? come on, give me a call. i'm -- put me in the game, coach. >> there we go. great windup. march more come on. [laughter] tiana lowe doescher, todd piro, mark ten everything thank you so much. see you tomorrow. stu is going to take it up next. "varney & company" is next.

stuart: good morning, maria. you've got a great arm. maria: that's because i practiced. stuart: good morning, everyone. this is a big day on all fronts. a landmark case at the supreme court and disarray boarding on chaos among republicans. start with the money. the milestone i'm talking about is 5,000 on the s&p 500. this is a broad-based indicator, and it shows the breadth of the market rally. by the way, 76 of those 500 companies closed at record highs wednesday, expect s&p will start out at a record 5,010, right there. the averages, not much changed elsewhere. the dow up maybe 20, nasdaq down about 19. interest rates, the 10-year treasury yields 4.14, and the 2-year coming in, where's that now? 4.45, getting closer to 4.5%. bitcoin, $45,000 -- 44,9. okay, got that. let's get to politics. it's a very big day.

the president goes to a democrat party retreat in virginia. he will bring good news. the republicans in congress are in disarray, making him look good. republicans tanked the border bill, failed to impeach mayorkas and couldn't muster enough votes for aid to israel. nevada holds its caucuses today. trump is the very strong odds-on favorite to win. he'll get a viewing party in las vegas to sell rah bait tonight. and then -- celebrate tonight. and then the supreme court will consider colorado's decision to kick trump off the ballot. the hearing starts in one hour. the democrats say trump the led an insurrection on january the 6th. trump's lawyers say it wasn't an insurrection, and even if it was, trump wasn't engaged in pit. on the show today, converting vacant office space into housing. the conversion business is booming. another gaffe from the president. it's a daily occurrence. his cognitive decline is getting worse. his handlers are nervous every time he appears in public. it is thursday, february the

8th, 2024. "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ ♪ stuart: you know that song is called flirting with disaster? >> is that the republican party now? [laughter] stuart: maybe they're flirting with disaster. lauren: i'd say the democrats, and you'll find out coming up. >> oh, okay. stuart: that's an interesting uncert right there. the -- insert right there. the stock market rally is alive. anyone if owning stocks is almost certainly in the money these days, and the s&p 500 has crossed the 5,000 level for the first time ever. adam johnson with me this morning. what's driving this stock rally? >> stuart, the three es, earnings, employment, economy. and on top of that, we're going to get rate cuts. you add that all up, that is a

powerful tonic for stocks. i think we're to going higher from here. stuart: higher from here? >> yes. the sort stuart how long does this last? 2024 has been a repeat of 2023, are we going to hit 40,000 on the dow? >> yeah, that's not unreasonable. that's not unreasonable. and i'll tell you why. the rally's going to start to broaden out. up to this point if you didn't own facebook, amazon, google, nvidia, etc., that's where all the action's been. i think we're starting to see the rally broadening out, and i say that because of the e part, earnings, that part of the three es. we are about two-thirds of the way through the current earnings season, and and on average, companies are beating estimates by 8%. that's pretty good. they've also posting growth of 5%. again, so you don't just there have to own the magnificent seven anymore. i think we're going to find industrial companies are doing better, banks are starting to do better especially as rates come down. you broaden out that rally, that's very healthy. stuart: chaos in congress, and the stock market rallies.

there may be a connections there. sick around -- stick around for the hour. critics are casting new doubts on speaker johnson's leadership. ben domenech with me this morning. ben, does republican chaos give biden a lift just as he needs it most? if. >> you know, i think that it would in a situation where we had confidence in the leadership prosecute white house. from the white house. in a situation where he was projecting normalcy and stability, trying to, you know, very clearly add advocate for an agenda and able to go in front of the american people and make the case for it. i certainly think that he would be able to take advantage. but he can't do that because he keeps having seances with, you know, long dead leaders of european states. and he just doesn't have the confidence of the people in his own party around him. that's what we see reflected in poll after poll across the country around this general election. now, it's a long way from a general election.

but i do think that the republican chaos is not doing them any favors when it comes to lower down seats, you know, competing and holding a narrow congressional lead, advancing in the senate is going to be very tough if they don't have something to run on. and i think that in this case they've really hot themselves in the foot by their -- shot themselves in the foot by their inability to work together across the lines in the house and the senate. stuart: ben, stay there, please. i want about to turn to president biden. he was in new york city yesterday, crisscrossing the city, actually. he was collecting all the campaign cash. tell me about this new gaffe that the he made, lauren. lauren: it was similar to the others. he was talking about his first campaign trip as president, and fox's jackie hine rich describes this latest gaffe. at the second and third events today, the president seemed to say that helmut helmut kohl, who died in 2017, was are there with him at his first foreign trip as president talking about january 6th. angela merkel was the german chancellor in 2021.

very rim missent of the -- reminiscent of the days before when he couldn't remember names like hamas or macron. watch. >> the better response from the opposition, but -- yes, i'm sorry. from a maas. right after i was elected, i went to what they call a g7 meeting, and i sat down and i said america's back. and mitterand from germany -- i mean, from france looked at me and said, said, you know, what -- why -- how long you back for? lauren: mitterand died 30 years ago. dean phillips, a democrat who likes biden but is challenging biden, posted both of these videos. and he says democrats are complicit in seeing this and leading us to disaster. stuart: all right. adam a, do you think we're piling on here?

i think sometimes that i'm, you know, we do this every day. we put those gaffes -- lauren: at the so much the show. stuart: at the top of the show. am i being unfair? >> no. this is what's happening. you're, you know, fox news, right? here's the news. we report, you decide. you're saying, this happened. you can make of it what you will. i certainly have an opinion. i think you would have an opinion. lauren clearly has an opinion. but, you know, people can decide for themselves. this is not a pile-on. this is something that we are all a witnessing. it's uncomfortable. he is our president. whether we support him or not, whether we are democrats or republicans, you do want the president to be strong because a strong the american president is strong for america. that's good for all a american. and seeing this is uncomfortable. all you're doing is saying here's what's happening, and you make of this what you will. if you choose to vote for this man, you're going to have to deal with this not only for the next several months, imagine him 4-5 months from now. stuart: i can't. >> right. and that's really the issue. stuart: thank, adam.

the white house was asked when are we going to see a biden press conference. roll tape. >> reporter: [inaudible] if. >> stay tuned. >> we are. >> stay tuned. [laughter] [inaudible conversations] the president takes questions pretty regularly, but stay tuned. stuart: okay. come back in here, please, ben domenech. surely, there is a limit to how long they can keep biden out of sight, isn't there? [laughter] >> you know, there's a comment among those of us who pay a lot of attention to the white house and to the way that they approach dealings with the press that i've heard multiple times over the last six months which is kind of feeling like karine jean-pierre is so bad at her job on purpose. it's trying to avoid these questions in a way that is so obvious and so clumsy that it won't -- it'll become so awkward that it doesn't really become as much news. i think that this is a situation that is just untenable. and, you know, if the president wanted to get out there and

restore a lot of confidence among the american people, he'd be doing things like giving the traditional super bowl interview, he'd be out there on the trail talking to normal people. but instead, he's behaving in the way that he is because they have to keep him removed because they can't have any confidence that he's able to function, and that's one of the biggest reasons why i feel as much as republicans have a problem with the chaos on capitol hill, this is the thing that is dominant in the minds of voters today. stuart: i think so. ben, always appreciate it. see you again soon. >> good to be with you. stuart: rnc chair ronna mcdaniel plans to step down later this month. lauren, has she responded to that report that she's stepping down? lauren: she sent a memo to rnc members saying she's staffing up in 15 states and on the road fundraising. i think the fundraising is a pressure point here. the are rnc took in $87 million last year, the lowest haul in a decade. that a money helped trump fight his legal bills in part, right,

and the other issue is republican losses in 2020 and 2022 when both she and trump were, you know, there. [laughter] stuart: right. go back to how much money they've raised. the lowest in a a long time? lauren: yeah, since 2013 or 2014. $87.2 million in 2023. democrats were with over $100 million off the top of my head. stuart: and that's a problem for ronna mcdaniel, he hasn't brought in enough money, is that it? lauren: yeah. you want a strong war chest including cash at hand. the cash at hand totals are not strong either. stuart: trump's bringing in money from his campaign -- lauren: from small donors, yeah. but with biden is pulling in more from big donors. stuart: money counts, doesn't it, adam? >> it does. and we have heard from some large republican donors that they're hesitant to give because they don't want the money to go to legal defenses. they want a more productive use, but it's hard to specify. stuart: okay. thanks, adam. coming up, speaker johnson says

mayorkas will be impeached despite if the setback. roll tape. >> on impeachment, last night was a setback, or but democracy is messy. we have a duty and a responsibility to take care of this issue. mayorkas needs to be held accountable, and we will pass those articles of impeachment on the next round. stuart: why try to impeach him again if nothing changes, and who would be speaker of the house? good lord. republicans in chaos both in the house and senate giving president biden the advantage. is that correct? does he get advantage out of this? do republicans see what they're doing? i'll put that to senator ted cruz. he is next. ♪ bless your soul. ♪ you really think you're in control? ♪ well, i think you're crazy ♪

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stuart: congressional republicans in disarray after the house failed to impeach secretary mayorkas and the senate tanked the border bill. let me quote from the "wall street journal" editorial board. here we go. the death of the border deal is a bloody-minded operation by mrg border chaos through november and, if possible, bring down mitch mcconnell as senate gop leader, end quote. senator ted cruz, republican from texas, joins me now and, no doubt, heard exactly what i just said. mr. senator, republican chaos with helps the president, doesn't it? >> no, it doesn't at all. and this border deal was misguided from the beginning. why is that? because this deal was drafted by the democrats, it was negotiated with the democrat accurates, and it was designed -- democrats, and it was designed not to secure the border. it was designed to take joe

biden's open borders and put it into law. this bill on its face codified open borders. this bill on its face codified catch and release. this bill on its face normalized 1.8 million illegal aliens a year. that would be 6 million illegal aliens over the 3 years of joe biden's presidency. we've, in fact, had 9.6 million illegal aliens. so what senate republican leadership was basically saying was we're for two-thirds of joe biden's open borders. that was really foolish. not only that, this bull gave illegal aliens lawyers paid for by the tax funds, and it also gave them immediate work permits. this was a bad bill which is why, which is why they kept the text secret for months. stuart: okay. >> they released it sunday night, and within 24 hours the bill was dead because republicans understood they couldn't support a bill that leaves the border each to. stuart: nbc news is now

suggesting that the president will issue executive the orders to halt the flow or stem the flow. in other words, he's going to do what you wanted him to do, and he's going to take the credit. because if that flow slows down, he'll come right in there and say, look what we did. we fixed it. >> well, stuart, i'll believe it when i see it. but he caused this problem. let's just review a little bit of history. when joe biden came into office, he inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. umped president trump we -- under president trump we had made nor mouse progress securing the border, and all joe biden had to do was not screw it up. he deliberately, on day one, broke the border, and he did three decisions that caused this crisis. number one, he immediately halted construction of the border wall. number two, he reinstated the disastrous policy of catch and release. and number three, he pulled out of the unbelievably successful remain in mexico agreement. that caused this crisis. it caused us to go from the

lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years to the highest rate in the history of our country. in the month of december, we had over 300,000 people cross illegally, more than 10,000 a day. that is the highest month since the united states became a nation. so if joe biden is going to reverse those decisions, great. he could have done so any day during this presidency, and he didn't because the democrats want this in invasion. they look at the 9.6 million illegal immigrants, and they see them the as a future democrat voters. stuart: do you want minority leader mitch mcconnell to step down? >> look, i think it is well past time. i think there have been a lot of enormous mistakes, but this mistake was the worst. and throughout this battle he goes out and what he is saying is benefiting chuck schumer and the democrats. why did chuck schumer do this misguided border deal? he knew he wasn't going to give in on mig to actually secure -- anything to actually secure the border. schumer wanted this to fail. why? because every single democrat

running for office, every democrat senate and house candidate is now out saying, gosh, i wanted to secure the border, but the mean old republicans wouldn't let us. and that was spectacularly stupid. and what's us from a traiting, stuart, mitch mcconnell is saying the exact same thing that chuck schumer is. i think that is malpractice for the leader of a party in the senate. stuart: now, the border bill down, down and out by the look of it. are you going to get aid to ukraine? >> you know, it's not clear. my view is it is important that russia lose. it is important that putin lose. but it is important and it is more important that we secure our own border and defend our nation. and if so my position has been i am more than willing to fund aid to ukraine. i've voted for every military aid fund bill for ukraine so far, but i will fund aid to ukraine where after we secure our own border. we will secure ukraine's border only after america's border is secured. that seems to me a common sense position.

it's certainly the position of texans back home. stuart: there is going to be, i am told there will be a vote on separate a aid to ukraine. will you vote existence it? >> i will. -- against it? >> i will. every republican several months ago said in unity we will not vote to fund additional aid to ukraine until if we solve the broader -- border crisis. that was, by the way, mitch mcconnell was one of them. and then what happened was he negotiated a deal that didn't do it, that didn't actually secure the border. but what it did do is give political camouflage to chuck schumer and the democrats. i think that was a grave mistake. stuart: mr. senator, we always enjoying is you on the show. >> appreciate it. thank you, stuart. stuart: yes, sir. aishah hasnie is joining us now. where with does the nat's foreign a aid package -- senate's foreign aid package stand now? >> reporter: good morning to you. it's folks like senator ted cruz, senator mike lee that could prevent this package from rolling out of the senate and

heading to the house. we shall see. the senate is actually out until noon today. it's been paralyzed since yesterday afternoon as lawmakers try to chart a path forward on this foreign security package, the one that would include the $60 billion in ukraine aid, the one that ted cruz was just talking about, $14 billion for israel, $4 billion, i believe, for taiwan and the indo-pacific. so the bill replaces that controversial border security bill that failed on wednesday. a majority of republicans, stuart, and several democrats voted nay on this. notably, gop leader mitch mcconnell was the final nail in the coffin with the 41st no vote. and he did that because he wants to move on and pivot to this global aid package now. very pro-ukrainian as are several republicans in the senate including ted cruz. but they haven't been able to move on to that because there's really no agreement on amendments yet. republicans want to offer real amendments. ironically, some on the border. and they want schumer to ohioan

that. if this -- honor that. if this moves out of the senate, it needs if 60 votes, it would be the first thing congress hasn't rejected this week, but it would also be tricky for speaker johnson. his israel-only aid bill failed this week, and he'd be hard pressed to put this package on the floor. he hasn't ruled it out just yet. senate republicans, especially those who do not want to see us giving $60 billion to ukraine without some assurance, one and, two, without first focusing on our own border security, they can still stop this thing from moving through the senate, and all of that action, stuart, starts this afternoon. stuart: who would want to be speaker these days? [laughter] we'll see you later. thanks. all right, check those futures, please. it is thursday morning. a little bit of green for the dow, a little bit of red for the nasdaq, and we will be back. ♪ ♪ ♪

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stuart: two minutes til the opening bell. dow up 50, very little change for the s&p, and the nasdaq. but the s&p is at a 5,000. how about that? d.r. barton with us. i've got to give it to you,

you've been saying ibm's a winner. it was $130 when you first mention pded it, and it's $182. my question is, where to from here? >> well, stuart, you know, when i was coming up to new york every week and we were sitting in the studio watching ibm revenues go down, down, down for years and i'm talking back in the mid teens in years, we were wondering what they could do to turn things around. well, they went to consulting, they went to the cloud infrastructure, and they went to a.i. i think they can go back and challenge those all-time highs this year, and that's another 10% up from here. they pulled that right to a really good support level. i like putting some more on right here with that 3.5 percent dividend. stuart: that would take it to $200 a share if you're right. you get 10% out of it. okay. next case is amazon. i know you like it. you've been boosting it on the

show for some time, it was $140 in november, now it's $170 just about. is it going to go up from here? >>s it is, stuart. and last week right before earnings i said it was going to surprise for the earnings call as you'll remember. i said advertising's going to get a boost from tiktok because tiktok really screwed up some retail sale problems that they were having. amazon took huge advantage of that, beat their advertising guesses by 3%, and i think they have more upside to go driven by a.i. algorithms, getting all a those eyeballs that come to the web site to click on advertising space. heir going to keep -- they're going to keep doing well there. aws has steadied out. their cloud. i do think we have more upside for amazon. stuart: ibm and amazon, more upside says d.r. barton. it's 9:30 eastern, the lady has pressed the button, and the

market is open. right from the get go, wait til they all hope. -- open. it's about half and half at the moment amongst the dow 30. the dow is up 48 points. look at that level, 38,718. you know, it's not that far from 40,000 now, is it? the s&p opening above -- [laughter] just a fraction below 5,000. lauren: i know. >> tease thing us, stuart. lauren: i thought we were going to get it. stuart: sorry about that. it's down all of .03%. the nasdaq is up .04%, hardly any change whatsoever. hoe me big tech, please. it might be a mixed bag this morning and, yes, it is. alphabet and and apple are up. microsoft is down a fraction, but look at that level, $413 on microsoft. and and we've got meta, 467. amazon, 170 right there. let's start with disney. big gain this morning. 7% after their report. okay, lauren, is the turn-around a, that's what they're looking for, is it in effect? lauren: uh --

[laughter] yes. but it's more about cost cutting and and big deals that are really exciting investors. their streaming business is still losing money, but the ceo, bob iger, announced a $1.5 billion stake the in epic games, put disney characters in the game request. that's cool. then yesterday, the sports streaming deal with fox and warner brother withs-discovery. then he announced a buyback, hiking the dividend 50%. look at that. shares back above $100, and he wasn't done. one more thing. like steve jobs used to do. taylor swift, her concert movie will stream exclusively on disney+ starting march 15th with five new songs. are more people going to sign up for disney+ because of that? haven't they already seen the taylor swift -- >> well, probably not. lauren a lauren -- concert film? stuart: she's a fee if mom, and he's latched on to it, so what's the downside? lauren: there is no downside. stuart: you agree?

>> do the deal. stuart: you're not buying disney at 107, are you? >> i own it. i thought how cool they're doing that deal, i think it's cool to see it back above 100. stuart: i bet you do. [laughter] big drop for paypal. is this another big drop? it looks like it. 7% down. what's the problem? if. lauren: the problem is the guidance, and their active accounts fell by 2%. brokerages are piling on the price target cuts today. they don't believe that management can make paypal a leaner and and meaner company even after they announce ifed a few days ago 2500 job cuts. i bring in one analyst comment from seaport. they say all this chaos is leaving us with a deeper appreciation for tom cruise as a paypal increasingly looks to us like mission impossible. that hurt. that stings. stuart: you know that the elon musk was an original cofinder of paypal way back when. remember that in? >> yes. stuart: this guy's been involved in everything. >> incredible. lauren: and that a's why he wants to put financial of

services on x. stuart yes. lauren: everybody uses venn motioner i just don't get why they can't monetize it. >> i prefer square, by the way. that one i own. they've got more going on. stuart: the i write checks -- lauren: and i give you your stamps. stuart: yes, you do. [laughter] arm, arm holdings. what's that, up 32 support? i know, guaranteed, that's all about a a.i. lauren: yeah. and a.i. chips are more expensive. everybody wants these more expensive a.i. chips. arm designs them, the smartphone if business is recovering for pcs. arm said it shipped 7.7 billion chips in the most recent quarter. yeah, ceo rene haas will be on with liz claman today at 3:00 eastern. stuart: big numbers there, aren't you? lauren: 32% stock gain. stuart: tell me about conocophillips. lauren: production up 8%, they're going to return $9

billion to shareholders this year. stock's up 2. stuart: harley davidson. lauren: demand is down. they're expensive, we don't have a lot of money. more loans that harley davidson finances are going can bad, so it's setting aside more money to recovery loan losses. stock completely flat. stuart: hershey, as in chocolate. lauren: okay, they're up a little bit now. the guidance was bad. they're cutting jobs, maybe around 5 if. we're snacking less because their volumes fell more than 6% in the quarter because skinny pop popcorn, hershey's kisses and reeses' peanut butter cup are expensive. >> it's to to semiping effect. lauren: i agree. he doesn't. stuart: you get chocolate every single morning. lauren: i have some right here. it's actually hershey. [laughter] stuart: spirit airlines. lauren a larp let me see the share reaction. here's why. revenue fell 5%.

still losing money, just not as much money as wall street expected. so the loss is narrowing. the ceo came out on the call, he said, look, booking trends are from it good. domestic economy rebounding, and they still want to close the deal with jetblue. stuart: okay. it's that time when we get stock picks from adam johnson. and he's starting with manager that he's mentioned before -- something that he's mentioned before, symbiotic. >> i mention it because, egg on me, i said i was buying the stock at 50, or it's now $39. they came out with blockbuster earnings the other day. they beat on a number of metrics. they guided down ebitda, $10 million on a revenue base of $420 million. i think that is the algorithms hitting the stock. these guys are the ones who are converting all the warehouses of walmart to robotic, fully-automated warehouses. i love the company. i'm accepting egg on my face and buying it down here. stuart: you're buying more of it? >> yes, i am.

stuart: next case, chubb, insurance company, i believe. >> yes. this is the best run insurance company in the country. maybe e even the world. the lowest combined ratio which means they're very efficient. they also invest their money very well, and and it's still only trading about 11 times earnings with a 3% -- actually, 3.55% dividend yield. i've been buying this since $200, it's 245 and i'm still buying it. i think it goes quite a bit higher from here. stuart: tell us about nvidia. would you be prepared to start selling just a little? >> well, you know, i just upped my target, it's now $700, i just upped my target to $900. bought it at 175. my first target was 475, then 625. even i will admit that at the moment it has spiked and maybe just let it sit, you know, sit a little bit. stuart: settle out, don't buy more, but would you sell some knowing that you don't have to pay the capital gains tax until april of next year? >> that's a fair point, be i --

but i have already sold some admittedly lower, 625, so i'm okay with sitting with the position right now. stuart: don't forget to send in your friday feedback. i love hearing from you, and i can take the good, the bad and the ugly. varneyviewersfox.com, that's how you reach us. travis kelce's mom, donna, does not seem confident she'll be watching her son from a box at the super bowl. role tape. >> well, you can understand -- roll tape. >> well, you can understand that the boxes in vegas are mull by -- multimillion dollars, so i have a feeling i am in the stands. as far as i know, i'm in the stands with everybody else because it is a pricey super bowl. stuart: it's true, you know? if you want a box, some of them go for millions of dollars. can you believe that? if i want to buy a regular ticket for the game, what would it cost me? i don't know at the moment, but i'm going to ask stubhub spokesperson who will be on the show later. work from home leaving office buildings half empty. we have a report on converting

those empty office as into living space, housing. that report is next. ♪ ♪

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stuart: 12 minutes into the market session, not much movement. dow up 14, nasdaq down 10. very little movement so far. the problem in commercial real estate being felt here at home and across the globe. madison alworth's with us. the stock of new york community bank is way down way more than 50% because of their -- [inaudible] in commercial realities. are they doing anything about it? >> reporter: they're trying, stuart the. they're promoting their non-executive chairman to executive chairman effective immediately. this after moody's downgraded their rating to junk status the citing, quote, multifaceted

financial, risk management and governance if challenges at the bank. the new executive chairman now i is vow ising to reduce their concentration in the commercial real estate market. they're not alone in the concerns there. pvv, which is the german lender focused on real estate, is bracing for what it says will be the worst decline in commercial property values in 15 years. now, part of the reason for why this is happening now is because by 2025, $560 billion in commercial real estate loans are coming due. those looming debt maturities are weighing heavy on developers and banks that will need to refinance loans at much higher borrowing rates. >> buying properties with valuations that were too high, and they were the also using too aggressive in terms of debt rate. so that's to make sure it's going to explode at some point, and i think we're seeing the beginnings of that now, and it's going to continue probably for the next 24 months. >> reporter: and offices just

aren't what they used to be with occupancy hovering just above 50%. the sign that commercial real estate could be in trouble, they've been around for the four years since the pandemic. because of this, transactions are plunging. there is so much uncertainty among buyers and sellers over how much these buildings are now actually worth. so banks concentrated in the commercial real estate market, they could have have a huge problem on their hands, but treasury secretary janet yellen, she says she thinks the problem is manageable. stuart? stuart: thanks very much, madison. according to a new report, conversions of half-empty office buildings to residential properties, that business has skyrocketed, up, what, 357% since 2021. that's interesting. joe stitt is the expert in this area, and he joins us now. am i right here, converting these office buildings to housing is a booming business? >> you know, there's big disruption gown on in the world. -- going on in the world. one of your copartners here at

the channel was talking about a a.i. a.i. in technology is creating winners and losers. the big loser is offices. it's not justback loans coming due -- just bank loans, it's the need. if you think about it, the call center, even your lawyer's work now is starting to be done by a.i. i. so that's creating the winners. one of the winners is, as you said, are residential, but probably the biggest winner is a data centers. this voracious appetite and need for information, all what's being changed and being disrupted taking away from human beings occupying an office is now moving into these technology certains. stuart: a data center, that's a huge building full of servers, right? >> massive building and full of servers. and we've come a long way. in the 1950s was the first messing with it by the defense department. we've come all the a way to a.i., all the way to generative a.i. and the massive need, if you think about it, let's take one

thing. we learn a lot from companies we invest in. it's a private company called sandbox. it was eric schmidt together with a guy named jack hittery purchasing google x which is their a.i. and quantum division. one of the things that they're doing is they're mapping the moll coombs of -- molecules of a human body showing a virtual submission of medicine. so instead of having, let's say, 90% failure rate of drugs, you're increasing the failure rate or better performance, lowering the failure rate to 50 or 60%. to be able to map the human body, the voracious need for information, the same thing could be automobile driving and everything else. massive, tremendous need for space but different kind of space than office space. stuart: that's fascinating. joe, or thanks very much for being with us this morning. you know what you're talking about, and we kind of appreciate that. you know what i mean? you're all right. thank you, sir. we're really going to change

the subject now. whoopi goldberg doesn't seem to be sympathetic to nose struggling concern those struggling to buy a home in this market. lauren: whoopi says you have to work hard to be able to afford a home. >> you can't buy homes in this -- >> l i'm sorry, when i tarted out, i couldn't buy a home either. [applause] you have to work your way up. >> i was not picky. >> that is not the first thing that happens when you come out. you've got to go out and get a job. this is how you break it down. y'all, i know you're young, but here's what it is. you work. and you can afford a house and you go and get one. you're living in new york city. can't nobody afford to live -- lauren: isn't that true. actually, i would love to talk about this with everybody on set here because i think this is generational. whoopi is a boomer. she's in her late 60s. alyssa, who with she was confronting, is a millennial. alyssa's point is it's too hard to get ahead in biden's economy. her generation won't be better off a than her parents, won't do

better than the previous generation. whoopi dismisses that, and many people are saying whoopi is out of touch. stuart: there's no news here. everybody knows when you start out in life, you're not able to buy a house. usually. you've got to go to work, get a job, save your money -- lauren: okay. but at what age should be you be able to buy a house? should it be 34, the age of alyssa farah a in. stuart: you work hard to afford it. it's a lifelong story -- lauren: so whose side are you on? stuart: i'm on the side of history. whoopi goldberg's side is, absolutely. get a job, work hard, save your money, buy a house. in that order. something wrong with that? >> no. stuart: you think that's harsh, ladies and gentlemen in. >> no, you are not being harsh. stuart: i don't think so. >> the news is whoopi goldberg, a democrat, starts to sound like a republican. stuart: oh, i like that. you rest rescued me. today, president biden heads to virginia. he brings good news. there's chaos among republicans in congress, and it makes him

and the democrats look good. that's my take, top of the hour. steel workers not happy about the planned $15 billion sale of u.s. steel to nippon steel of japan. they say the company is turning its back on american families. we'll break that down next. ♪ you know, you make me want to shout. ♪ kick my heels up and9 shout. ♪ throw my hands up and shout. ♪ come on, now puck. ♪ ♪ ameritrade is now part of schwab. bringing you an elevated experience, tailor-made for trader minds. go deeper with thinkorswim: our award-wining trading platforms. unlock support from the schwab trade desk, our team of passionate traders who live and breathe trading. and sharpen your skills with an immersive online education crafted just for traders. all so you can trade brilliantly.

stuart: microsoft, all-time high, $414.50. i saw the other day that they're going to advertise on the superto bowl. they're going to tell everybody what they're doing with a.i. and how you at home can use it. stock's up, $414 right now. steel workers sounding off on the planned sale of u.s. steel to japan's nippon steel. lydia hu is from a u.s. steel plant in pennsylvania. what a are the families, what are the workers saying? >> reporter: stuart, the workers i talk to say that they are from multigenerational lines of people that have worked in this steel plant here in pennsylvania. they say they're proud to be a part of the american industry that has built america, and they're concerned about what their futures could look like

when their company, u.s. steel, is sold to a foreign entity. watch. >> i think they're taking the shareholders at play more than the stakeholders themselves, the workers, retirees as well as the communities and our national defense. >> i feel that they turned their back on the place, the places that a made them what they, what they are today. >> reporter: now, u.s. steel said in a statement, quote, nippon steel's investment will strengthen the american steel industry for the benefit of american customers, employees and communities. meanwhile, nippon steel has are pledged to honor the union's collective bargaining agreement, promising no layoffs or closures. but concerns about the sale of u.s. steel are reverberating even on the campaign trail. former president donald trump has said he would stop the merger. here's more from his recent interview on "sunday morning futures." watch. >> we'll put big tariffs on

steel. i saved the steel companies, and now japan is buying u.s. steel. u.s. steel. do you know what a name that is? that's the most important name. fifty years ago there was no company like u.s. steel, now japan is buying it. i don't think i'd let that deal go through. >> reporter: and president biden says the deal needs serious scrutiny. still, the workers shared their very serious concerns. stuart, back to you. stuart: we hear you. lydia, thank you very much, indeed. , and adam, thank you very much, indeed, for being here. thank you. still ahead, the administration's considering executive action to deter illegal migration. he's doing, biden is doing what the republicans want him to do, and he's going to take the credit. i'll ask tom homan about that one. do republicans in the house see they're creating chaos, which is a very bad image to promote? i'll ask florida congressman mike watts. -- waltz. ing the 10:00 hour is next. ♪

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