it does bother me. we saw that kind of thing in 2021. i've got to take that in. it's a data point that i have are to respect. charles: here we are, we don't have is much time left, but you're always looking for opportunities. have you begun to pivot to areas that may be overlooked right now? >> no, i bought another a.i. stock. [laughter] and i know this one is good because when i'm coming in here, i was talking about on the phone, and the lyft driver wanted in on it. charles: really? back in the day the taxi driver? >> these massive chip stats that generate a lot of heat, this is the cooling system for this -- charles: what's the symbol? if sphwhrrks v-r-t. charles: all right, folks, over to liz claman. liz: oh, my goodness, we have some big news here on many fronts. charles, i want to start with this breaking news in the auto world, apple has reportedly

totally scrapped its multibillion dollar plan to build an electric car and will instead focus on its artificial intelligence technologies. the stock is up about 1% reversing earlier losses. in an internal memo the employees obtained by bloomberg with, apple said the team working on the car will be shifted to focus on yen rahtive a.i -- generative a.i. projects. we have put in a call to apple, but apple's reported exit from the space and, by the way, we never saw an apple car, but with we knew that they had an opportunity that were cooking it up, the exit from the space has shares of other u.s. ev makers reacting. tesla is moving higher, in fact, they all are. general motors, up a quarter of a percent. ford up just a fraction. rivian up 5% fisker is up 11.77%. again, that is just a 67-cent stock. and we do want to mention that a it's been up all a day because it just put out a new product

guide for its ocean model. ev makers in the green. all right, to the major indices which were down across the board earlier in the session, the s&p and nasdaq now high her, are these minor intraday movements nothing to see here, folks, or the beginning of an extended breather or if stocks after a torrid run? the dow is adding actually another 109 points to its 62-point loss yesterday. right now we do have the s&p up 6 points. and take a look at the nasdaq. the 20 points it lost yesterday have been erased, and now the tech-heavy index is flat at the moment. stands at about, let's see, that's, that's nasdaq, the company. we need the nasdaq 100. so let me check that. we do have the nasdaq 100 at up about let's call it a quarter of a percent right now p. okay, you want to see torrid? just look at the gain in bitcoin. after experiencing a technical

breakout yesterday during which the crypto blasted above 53,000 for the first time since november of 2021, the booster rockets then kicked in. in the last 24 hours, bitcoin has a sprinted past $54,000, 55, 56 and now $57,000 to stand at the moment at $57,188. that's a gain of 4.4% right now. later in the show our countdown closer, george ball -- he's a pretty conservative guy, has been in the industry forever -- he has some advice right now on how to play bitcoin's moving target. in the meantime, we need to show you the leader on the s&p 500. it is a pretty significant jump in the carbon-free energy price or constellation brand. constellation energy, rather. up 15.25%, that is an all-time high. the driver? stronger than expected guidance and a boost to its dividend of at least 10% annually. folks, this is not just a one-day move. the stock has doubled in a year.

but perhaps most notable is the reason it gave today for its better guidance. the company citing, quote, customer demand for clean energy. the near-constant debate in washington, d.c. over clean energy, and we've talked about that, is actually taking a back seat at this hour to the looming government shutdown part 900. i mean, how many times are we going go through? president biden meeting the top four congressional a leaders at the white house this afternoon in an effort to break the deadlock and and avoid a possible shutdown -- partial shutdown which would kick in friday at midnight. chuck schumer and house speaker mike johnson, whom you see exiting the white house, left the white house optimistic that a deal was brewing. but a senior house gop source telling fox news' chad pergram, quote, i think we shut down. okay. we'll see. we have til friday night. amazingly, none of the beltway drama is causing market jitters. the vix is lower by 1.6% at 13

if.51. maybe that's because we got slightly cooler economic data which investors believe, correctly or not, might allow the federal reserve to cut interest rates before the end of june. keep wishing. to the floor show. let's join in with trader keith fitz-gerald. you're an apple share owner. i need to get your reaction to this report that apple is exiting its entire plan to build an apple car. >> well, this, to me, is not a surprise because i thought this was the year we were going to hear apple and a.i. in the same sentence for the very first time. so i think it's a precur or sor to the monster move. we're going to learn more about it in june. to me, this is the time to get your hands on apple if you don't already have it or you want more. liz: well, yeah. if you look at the one-week chart h kind of missed the one-week opportunity, but when you stretch it out, it's actually adopt to say lagged the other -- i don't want to say lagged the other magnificent

seven, but, yeah, when you compare that to the gains in microsoft, to the gains in nvidia which, by the way, at last point -- let me just pull this up in realtime here, it's flat, nvidia's flat on the session. but fit gains, it's on track for its fourth record close. you say apple. give me a sense as you broaden this discussion about the overall market and the appetite investors have for risk considering they've had quite an appetite over the past 6-10 months. >> you kw,s a very sharp or question. here's the thing, right? a.i. is not going away, but what people are beginning to realize right now, liz, is that it's not just a question about a a.i. as a technology, it's a question about a a.i. as a transform ty input -- transformative input into our world. we're going to see lots of other businesses coming along for the ride. so the question with isn't just about a nvidia, it's who's using nvidia chips, how and why. that's where the real value is created. liz: yeah. well, we've talked a lot about

that. orlando bravo, the big private equity outfit leader, has said go into not on the surface-looking a.i. names, but go into the health care -- >> bingo. liz: -- that is really gaining. let's bring in shelby mcfanned of motley fool, senior analyst this. we were just talking about apple, specific names like that, but crm, salesforce reporting earnings. give me a sense of that name as an a.i. play. >> yeah, absolutely. first and foremost, even hoe they are sort of maturing as a company, we do still think there is a bit of top-line opportunity there. there does still, of course, remain some room for operating margin expansion. and then again when we think about sort of products, that's where a. a.i. can come in, where there's that opportunity to say how else can they serve their customers and cross-sell by their increased productivity with the use of a.i., that sort of co-pilot. so not necessarily revolution fakeer but where can a.i. kind of come in, enhance the product that they have and go ahead and

sort of expand the opportunities for cross-sell. liz: yeah. you know, you're still buying it if you, you know, it's up 84% over the past year. shelley, would you wait for -- shelby, would you wait for a dip? >> yeah, i mean, when we sort of look at the company versus us the valuation, if you're wanting to enter for the first time, or you my might want to wait and look to see for more softness. but when we think about the company as a whole, it is worth adding to the portfolio if you've got that long-term orientation and you're willing to go along for the for the ride and enter a little bit more are rich of a valuation for the exposure of something more sticky. liz: you gave me a goodway when you said the ride. you -- segway. we showed you what's happening in the ev world, but you have a long short that involves two companies, two auto companies, byd and familiar ifly. ferrari,ing by the way, ticker symbol races, hitting a 52-week

high, $423.87. you are long byd, the chinese outfit that just came out with a luxury ev. you're short race. tell me how you came up with this and why. >> absolutely are. so this is the called a pairs trade. it involves taking on two sets of stocks at the same time. one of which you want to own, one of this which you want to avoid or short. so, to me, ferrari is getting ahead of itself. china is coming. now, i may be totally early to the party here on this one. i think byd, which has global as rations to -- aspirations to sell starting in europe and particularly the middle east may actually steal some of ferrari's thunder. perhaps not immediately, but this is very much the playbook with we saw in the late '60s, early '70s, people thought detroit was unassailable. i see a repeat. liz: i'd be remiss if i didn't brick up durable goods -- bring up durable goods. these are sales of big ticket items that last between 3-5 year

or longer, we hope. washing machines, cars, etc. they actually came in a little bit lower than expected. the estimate for january year-over-year was a crop of 4.5% -- a drop of 4.5%. came in down 6.1%. it doesn't worry the market. they look at this as a signal that the fed has some air cover about cutting rates sooner. how do you see it? >> yeah, you know, i think i probably have to agree there because when we think about the comps, we know they're a little bit enhanced. based off of the fact that consumers were with still working through that extra savings, starting to tap into credit cards whether it be store cards or standard cards, and going ahead and improving things around their homes. now they're getting into 2024, that sort of propensity to consume those durable goods is beginning to come down. and i think the market just recognizes that as normal. as one, you know, getting out of that the extra savings and, two, realizing that financing any sort of these durable goods

purchases is more expensive now with rates being higher and credit conditions being tighter. i think the market just recognizes it as sort of par the course. anything further you have double-digit drops that might be a little different. liz: it's definitely still a soft land aring picture at least. shelby, keith, great to have you. appreciate you being here.. -- thank you so much. anchors away, one shopping mall anchor store revealing a pretty stunning turn-around plan which looks to some like a disappearing act, but it kind of isn't. one of the nation's top retail analysts digs into macy's dramatic cost-cutting move. why they're great for two specific retail names under the macy's umbrella. and she'll give us her must-own stock pick in the space p. we should with look at the s&p retail everything tx, the xrt. -- etf. it has a gained about a 21% over the past three months. the consumer can't be in that bad shape, right? if the dow increasing its losses, down about 107, but the

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are. liz: fox business alert, we are t-minus 44 and a half minutes until to two major rea tail names in the teen and young adult demographic open thairg quarterly books. urban outfitters and stitchfix after the closing bell. ahead of the release, urban up 2.6%. that is very close to an all-time high. and statefix -- can stitchfix, up to $3.34. it's been a little bit of a rough go. but macy 's, let's get to that, because big news out of that chain, gaining about a 3.8% after a fourth quarter beat and a significant new growth

strategy. macy's outlining a plan to reinvigorate sales that involves the shuttering of 150 of macy's 500 stores while at the same time opening, growing more of its luxury brand storefronts. that plan includes the buildout of 15 new bloomingdale's stores and at least 30 you mercury beauty shops over the next three years to boost sales and nester confidence. at least today it's working, the stock's up. but joining me now after this morning's retail reports the sw retail advisers' finder stacy bidlets. i was so glad you were here because i was really interested to know, listen, macy's had to do something. just as we saw consumer spending soar during the holiday quarter, macy's sales during the same time period slumped 2% what's your assessment of whether the new plan will work? >> that's exactly it, liz. you've seen here may -- macy's, we've been through over one of

the biggest retail booms from precovid to post-covid, and macy's has not participated. and today they're announcing really that they're going to shrink by closing 25% of their square footage which represented only, by the way, or 10% of their sales. so that's ooh how those stores are underperforming. so this is overdue, and it's a great step. but it doesn't mean, in my opinion, that you want to own the stock here. so they're shrinking the outdated department store, macy's space, and, of course, they're going after things that work like beauty. they bought blue mercury years ago, so they'll be expanding that and and also their bloomingdale's footprint somewhat. but, again, the mainline are stores, as we know, the department store space is a bit of a dinosaur, and it's going to continue to shrink are. liz: it's interesting, shrink b. so it sounds like you're a little skeptical here. the luxury store expansion part

of this, bloomingdale's, but also blue mercury. blue mercury is, that's an interesting one because it's a little bit higher end than one of your topping picks, which is all that. how do you think consumers are sort of welcoming the opportunity to see more blue americalys out there? -- mercuries out there? >> well, liz, the beauty space, it's booming. it's on fire. and that's largely led by innovation. it's not just about the old school brands that we saw 10, 15 years ago, it's all about newness, and it's about innovation in hair and skin care, also even the younger customer, teen skin care. so the whole space is growing. and when you give a platform to the consumer to test out and really get a view of all the new, emerging brands, they're going for it. and the traffic remains up at ulta, you know, the ticket has been up. so this is where the consumer's interest is, and this is where

they're splurging at this point in the consumer's wellness journey. liz: ulta's hitting at least a one-year high at the moment. it is really on a roll here. 562.42. let's talk about other apparel retailers, specifically the discounters. tjx. let's, i mean, i hear so many good things from analysts about a it. i'm a devotee, certainly. you walk in with an idea to buy one thing, you walk out with 38 things. [laughter] but what are the growth opportunities in that name that you really see here? >> yeah. so tjx has been, you know, a sell-side sweetheart forever, and it's been one of my favorites for if almost a decade here. but i think if you look at tjx, you know, what we've seen over the past year, two years is that even's been raising prices. -- everybody's been raise rahing prices. some prices with brands have been up as much as 30.

but tjx is different along with walmart which is they've actually been growing their traffic in addition to the basket or the ticket. so it's a real standout there. and the consumer, particularly now, they don't have all those savings pent up from the covid years, they're looking for value. and and they're looking for that treasure hunt. and that is not going to change anytime soon. andi would also a say with tjx, you know, they have a footprint in europe. they're, you know, in terms of their growth is over the past 10 years, it's really starting to accelerate particularly in the u.k. as that consumer's discovering exactly what we all know in the u.s. which is, as you said, you walk in that store and you walk out with baskets full of things that you may or may not need. liz: yeah. it's the treasure hunt, and they get me with the gel wily beans at the -- jelly beans right when you're about to pavement oh, i need nine of those packets -- >> exactly. and some moisturizer. liz: urban outfitter s is doing really well. t not a discount name.

neither is stitchfix. ebay out after the bell. what's the tate to have the consumer as -- state of the consumer as a you see him and her? >> well, the consumer is healthy, and you' that by traffic that's still growing. walmart talked about discretionary's a little less bad. we've heard from home depot and lowe 's today. obviously, big ticket stuff is still under pressure. we're going hear from best buy this week. durable good orders obviously were under pressure. that highlights a lot of that was transportation, but still the big ticket stuff that everybody spent on during covid is, they're kind of understood winding now, so it's softer there. after the bell tonight you see or urban outfor its, that's as much an anthropology if story. there are a couple of brands if that have made these my rack louse turn-arounds, and that is ab aer carom by. -- aber abercrombie, and that is under the urban banner which is anthropology that has been -- they are not promoting.

on the flip side, urban outfitters continues to lose share and decline double digits here. so while one brand is kind of coming up, the other is falling off a cliff here. liz: yeah. both were moving up at the same time personal life and career, you know? >> never happens. [laughter] liz: stacy, great to see you. stacy widlit dis, we appreciate your perspective. folk, the 2024 presidential campaign trail is right in the metten state, and the gloves are still off between nikki haley and donald trump. you are looking live at voters in bloomfield if township, michigan. we're aiding straight into auto the country for more on today's michigan primary. here's how some of michigan's top companies are trading. ford and gm she land stellantis, we know all about that. chrysler and whirl pool in michigan as well. we are coming right back. we are coming right back. the dow down 116. ♪

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♪ ♪ liz: the countdown clock, we are 4 hours and 32 minutes away from primary polls closing in most locations in michigan. finish let's take you there. you're looking live at one of the voting centers in grand rapids, the state's second biggest city. pretty mellow picture there. early signs though indicate another sweeping victim isly for former president donald trump. meanwhile, former south carolina governor nikki haley, she's already off and on to

campaigning for super tuesday. at any moment now, we are expecting haley to appear if at a rally in continental, colorado, one of 15 states hosting primary voting next tuesday. right now you see the stage, some people are gathering in front of the cameras giving their opinions. let's take you back though to michigan because that is the story of the moment. grady trimble is in bloomfield, township with with more -- bloomfield township with more on how the voting's going if on the ground. >> reporter: you know what in it's been steady but not overwhelming here at this particular voting location. we've been talking to republicans and democrats today, and it's interesting, let's focus in on the democratic primary first. president biden isn't facing necessarily a main challenger other than the word uncommitted. that's something voters here can select on the ballot that -- if they're, one, not happy of his handling of the war in gaza, in other places people concerned

about his age. voting uncommitted is sort of a way to protest and get his e attention in this critical swing state. >> it is entirely possible that the uncommitted vote could sway with the president's policy on this. >> right now i would not vote for him, no. >> reporter: on the republican side, former president trump is counting on strong support from michigan's blue collar workers and voters we've 130ebg spoken to who say this primary is all about the economy, crime and even all the the way up here near the canadian border, liz, about immigration. what do you think of the current administration's handling of the border? [laughter] >> i think it could be a whole lot better. yeah. i don't think that, i meaning i just don't know if there's a whole lot of handling of it, honestly. >> the border's terrible. the border's terrible. >> i'm worried with about illegal immigration and people coming over here with criminal records. if. >> reporter: former south carolina governor nikki haley is doing everything she can to stop trump or at least eat into his

lead here. she's had two stops here in michigan this week, and for the rest of the week, as you just showed live, liz, she's visiting super tuesday state thes trying to make the case that trump can't win a general election in november. but if the polls are right here in michigan, former president trump is on track for another big win in an early voting state. should point out, liz, there are 16 delegates up for grabs in the gop primary today. 39 additional delegates will be divvy ised up at a state gop convention later this week. that will get us to the grand total of 55 delegates or that are up for grabs this week in michigan. liz? liz: grady, you could hear a pin drop behind you. i wonder if that says something about what the polls show is. [laughter] it might really be true, that there isn't a huge desire to see a biden-trump rematch. >> reporter: it could be that, liz, but it could also indicate that voters here think that it's

a foregone with conclusion who's going to win these states because, of course, president biden isn't really facing a challenger other than the people who are concerned about the war in gaza and those issues, and president trump is looking like he's going to run away with this one. so if you're a nikki haley supporter, maybe you're motivated to come out. but if you're on the fence and don't care, then you just stay home. liz: gotcha. next tuesday, super tuesday. grady, thank you. fox business alert, another competitor jumping into the weight loss drug race. viking therapeutics is hitting a record high after the biotech reported boffo results from a mid-stage study of its anti-obesity drug. viking says the drug helped patients lose up to 14.7% of their weight after just 13 weeks of treatment. the company still has to replicate the results in a bigger phase three study. look at that stock gain 13.7 percent.

123.7%. the new potential competition here impacting eli lilly and ozempic maker novo nordisk. eli lilly down two-thirds of a percent. we should rook at zoom -- looked at zoom shares. the sid owe conferencing king on pace for its largest percentage increase in more than a year with. zoom proving it's more than just a pandemic era darling after reporting a fourth quarter revenue beat and announcing a $1.5 billion share buyback program. norwegian cruise line, it is sailing all the way to the top of the s&p 500 after forecasting a first quarter profit above wall street estimates. the cruise line operator cited cost control, higher ticket prices and steady demand for cruises globally, and that is enough to punch this stock 19% higher. no surprise here that the news has rival royal caribbean and carnival also floating higher. you've got carnival up 7.5%,

royal carrib up 3%. jetblue air aways and spirit airlines both flying a bit higher after showing they be will fight to overturn a judge's ruling blocking their $3.8 billion merger. the airlines say the u.s. district judge, quote, improperly chose to elevate the interest of a small set of hypothetical consumers over the interests of everyone else. and is the two airlines are urging an appeals court to reconsider. it's been a year since the department of justice sued to block that deal. the doj isn't the only one working to squash american mergers and acquisitionses. the federal trade commission just sued to stop the grocery chain version of the microsoft-activision blizzard merger. why? is it about protecting consumers from already high food prices or protecting labor unions? coming up next, the federal trade commission bureau are of competition director is here with us in a fox business

exclusive to tell us why his agency feels it's important to break up the marriage between kroger and albertson's. and you know what? you can get your carrots at krogh or's or to albertson's, but you can only get carrot top in las vegas. scott is carrot top thompson -- that's a segway w come on. he's my can guest on this week's everyone talks to liz podcast. he planned a career in marketing until he got bid -- bitten by the comedy club bug. with just a few problems and a -- props and a host of original jokes, that calling has brought him massive fame and an incredibly lucrative residency at the luxor in las vegas. but even in his 18th year there, carrot top reveals in my podcast episode why he almost quit four for good and what a got him back. yeah. he took time out to shuck

oysters. i am not cudding you. and then something so -- kidding you. and then something so unbelievable happened to him, he went back to stand-up comedy and found real successful apple, google, spot phi -- spot fire, iheart radio. checking the dow 30 heat map. disney at the very top up 1.5% to $109.19. at the bottom we've got amgen, down 2.6%. "the claman countdown" is coming right back with a very important interview on the kroeger-albertson's potential merger. ♪ ♪ not you. you! your business bank account with quickbooks money now earns 5% apy. (♪) that's how you business differently. intuit quickbooks. they're waiting for you. hey, do you have a second? they're all expecting more. more efficiency. more benefits. more growth.

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it's time. yes, the time has come for a fresh approach to dog food. everyday more dog people are deciding it's time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmer's dog. made by vets and delivered right to your door precisely portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come. liz: the biggest e grocery chain deal in history just i called for a cleanup in aisle 8. authorizing a lawsuit to block the $25 billion grocery deal between kroger and albertson's. so the ftc argues the deal would reduce competition, raise

grocery prices and hurt workers, but albertson's and kroger assert a merger would actually allow them to compete with much more mavis players like walmart is and amazon which which have way more power and market share and to give consumers a pure play grocery option. what's really behind the ftc's suit? joining us now is the bureau of competition director, henry lou are. henry, thank you for being here. >> liz, thanks for having me. it's great to be here. liz: what's the outcome of a kroger-albertson's tie-up that you view as so constructive that you're willing to block it? >> it's a great question, liz. this is the single largest supermarket merger in u.s. history, and our complaint alleges that if this merger's allowed to proceed, it'll result in higher grocery prices for everyday goods like eggs, bread, milk and worse wages and benefits for the hundreds of thousands of employees that these two companies employ today. it's important to underscore how

i enormous the combined company would be. i mean, we're talking about a $25 billion merger, 5,000 grocery stores, 4,000 retail pardon me says, approximately -- approximately 700,000 employees. it's not just kroger or and albertson-branded stores. fred meyer, safeway, harris teeter, osco, act a maine and -- act amy and numerous other banners. we see significant evidence that kroger and albertton are each other's top competitors today, and if the merger's allowed to proceed, that competition is eliminated and, ultimately, that would lead to higher prices across the board for millions of americans. liz: i'm confused by one thing. you say this is an absolutely massive potential merger. so between the two of them, kroger and albertson's, they would have a $48 billion market cap. walmart, which has a 30 market share in grocery, has a $478

billion market cap. amazon, which owns whole foods, $1.8 trillion. i mean, these guys are the 800-pound grill rahs. kroger and -- gorillas. kroger and albertson's argue it would give them more heft to buy in volume, and groce i have is such a thin margin type of business that the winners are able to do huge volume. why does that not fly with the finishing tc that these two together are still tiny compared to those big names? >> it's a great question, liz. a couple of points. one is that in many hundreds of local communities around the country, kroger and albertson are the top two providersover groceries for those communities. and if you look at the market share of these companies in places like alaska, oregon, washington california, the combined company is one of the few options that individuals would have for groceries. the other thing that's important, liz, is that our complaint alleges these two

companies are each other's top competitors, number one competitor. they aggressively compete against each other for to motions, discounts -- promotions, discount, better service, quality of goods, and that's exactly the type of competition between two competitors that the antitrust laws were intended to reserve. liz: you also -- preserve. you also have expressed that you're concerned about the worker. now, both those grocery chains are unionized whereas walmart and and amazon are not. as we go to the later piece of this, henry, one thing that you're challenging that's somewhat novel is focusing on the bar bargaining power of unions. isn't antitrust law about correcting the -- protecting the consumer versus thinking about unions? >> liz, the antitrust laws were originally created to not only protect consumers or, but to protect worker. and in our case, we follow where the facts lead us. here the evidence that our staff uncovered suggested that the two

companies, kroger and and albertson, that the competition between those who two companies for workers led to better wages, better benefits, things like hours and more flexible schedules across the board and allowing those two companies to merge eliminates that competition and ultimately results in worse outcomes for the 700,000 employees -- liz: so let me interrupt you there because, listen, we want workers to do better. we want a vibrant middle class. i mean, that really makes us a brilliant democracy. but by blocking this, aren't you strengthening the non-unionized players, walmart and amazon? >> we don't see it that way, liz. we see the evidence as our staff investigates this merger thoroughly, rain we see significant -- and we see snap significant evidence that competition exists between these two companies going after the same workers in the context of collective bargaining negotiations in mar, workers

playing -- in particular, workers plague one company off another ultimately leads to better wages, better benefits and for the many, many employees that these two companies employ today. and that the ultimately, competition is the name of the game. and the her we very would reduce that competition, ultimately affecting the livelihood of many americans that rely on these two companies. liz: it was interesting when the news came out yesterday, there would be a lawsuit to block this by the ftc. the white house came out and said we want to fight for lower grocery prices for all americans. how much of what you're doing is being, i mean, let's just call it what it looks like to some, driven by the white house as opposed to your independent interpretation of the law? because it looked like a coordinated comment. >> we don't see that it a way, liz. obviously when the announcement of the lawsuit are happened, there was a lot of interest in this particular merger. likely because it has such a wide-ranging impact on so many

americans. i think there's just a recognition in the public that these two companies are one-stop shop for many americans for everyday essential goods, and there was widespread recognition that this merger could really affect a lot of people. and, ultimately, that's why we brought this case. we saw the evidence indicate that competition would be reduced as a result of the merger and would lead to higher prices for goeslies and everyday goods. liz: it's pretty shocking considering the federal reserve had raised rates and inflation has come down since june of '22 when it was 9%. we're back down to around3 % still hotter than the 2% that's their target rate, but back then when things were awful and prices were incredibly high, the administration was very quick to blame covid-related supply chain snafus. and now that those have cleared up -- i mean, that was absolutely true. but now that those have cleared up, the blame shifts to mergers. and this one hand even gone through, but blaming mergers for

the high prices. what proof do you have that consolidation in the grocery space, the actual, like, hard proof would be the very thing to raise prices? if. >> a couple of things, liz. we don't make our enforcement decisions in the abstract. we make them based on the evidence in every particular case. and here in this instance as a described in the complaint that we filed yesterday, the head to head competition between kroger and albertson in very specific instances led to lower prices, superior products and better with services for many americans. and we reviewed that the evidence and our staff did a tremendously thorough investigation. and they ultimately concluded that competition in this instance as a result of this particular merger would be eliminated. and that was something that we needed to act on. liz: well, the final chapter not written, obviously. we'll continue to follow it. but please come back with, as we do watch this story.

thank you very much. >> thank you, liz. liz: henry lou. up next, charlie gasparino breaks it on the battle for paramount not merge, ripping it apart in different pieces? wait until you hear the new players out there. ♪ and more about discovering magic. rich is being able to keep your loved ones close. and also send them away. rich is living life your way. and having someone who can help you get there. the key to being rich is knowing what counts. everywhere but the seat. the seat is leather. alan, we get it. you love your bike. we do, too. that's why we're america's number-one motorcycle insurer. but do you have to wedge it into everything? what? i don't do that. this reminds me of my bike. the wolf was about the size of my new motorcycle. have you seen it, by the way?

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♪. liz: former chief executive of nbc universal jeff shell has now officially joined private investment firm redbird capital alongside former cnn chief jeff zucker. the move comes as the firm emerges the lead contender to talk about media's most talked about acquisition target paramount as warner brothers/discovery is out. joining us with the latest, charlie gasparino. >> let me clarify, i don't think warner brothers was ever in it. liz: you said that. >> we said that in the show 100 times. zaslav, the david zaslav, the head of warner brothers/discovery,. liz: kicked tires. >> i'm sure he signed an nda. we reported that he was not in deal mode. it was kind of official t was probably official weeks and weeks ago. we should point out weeks and weeks ago red bird, not really red bird, essentially skydance, right? keith ellison's firm, larry

ellison's firm is, and redbird has a major take in that firm, okay? they're the ones that's going to lead the buyout of this thing as least from what i understand. that is what they're negotiating. they are, what i understand for weeks. liz: david ellison. >> david ellison, i'm sorry, the lead bidder on paramount. and what they are going -- the way i understand it is this, they're going to buy shari redstone's stake, okay? whatever that is, three billion, two billion, whatever it is, okay, or maybe more. they're going to pay off the common shareholders who will sue because they get screwed in this is structured. the mario ga little gabelli es, warren buffett, we don't know if he is in the stock, common shareholders will get bade under the deal, that is why they're taking a long time.

they will back it out as a public company. who will run it? mr. ellison will run a lot of it but from what i understand shell will play a role in this, recently departed nbc universal chief. i asked if zucker would play a role. not really. at least he is not involved in the talks right now. shell is apparently involved in it. liz: could we see intraday of paramount because it is heading back up -- >> because i reported. liz: i wanted to show that. get it back up there. >> i just reported this, put it on social media on twitter it bounced from my report. this deal is likely to get done. liz: two huge media guys, zucker and shell, no matter what their involvement is. >> the way i have been told, who know how it works out, ellison, but shell is going to play some sort of role if this thing happens a significant role. this is entree back in the business.

what does that mean? does he run cbs? remember paramount controls cbs? a lot of people thinks ellis sown wants paramount, the studios, that is where his head is at, mr. redbird, mr. shell, look at other properties particularly cbs. they really want to run that. you could see a situation where mr. shell makes a comeback. liz: if they have the capital to do it? >> byron allen says he has the capital to do it. liz: show me the money, right? >> we're trying to get mr. allen on to talk about this. liz: jeff and jeff would both be welcome too. >> yes. liz: thank you, charlie. >> we could do the deal right here on claim man --! man "countdown." then they don't have to pay goldman sachs. liz: that way they don't have to pay those guys. the original cryptocurrency skyrocketed from below 56,000,

now to, it was 57,100 plus. just this month it briefly traded above 57,000. a market has not seen since december of 2021. now you may have heard of the phrase, buy low sell high, right? but our "countdown" closer has a twist on that. he says buy what people are buying. right now that is bitcoin. let's bring in george ball, the chairman of sanders, morris, harris. his company manages 4.9 billion in assets. george, feels like you're saying catch the wave. it is a momentum trade but it is a trade, right? >> it's a speculation and nobody should put more than a small amount of their portfolio into it, however i do think, two reasons for buying bitcoin now. one is the currency debate. one, to the extent that the u.s. government runs huge deficits they will end up paying for it by printing money and debasing

the currency. so there is offset in the cryptocurrencies and bitcoin that exists there. the second is a speculative one. if you live in asia, if you live in a lot of restricted countries, you need someplace to put money that has a chance of surviving changes in government. the bitcoin offers that. yes, there is a definite momentum element to it, lose. a lot of people are buying it. liz: as we're bumping up against the closing bell, ibit, the blackrock bitcoin etf, hitting a high of 296. i'm sure the rest will follow. george, thank you so much. [closing bell rings] the dow finishes in the red, not below the lows of the session. nasdaq up 65. coming up -- ♪. larry: hello, folks, welcome to