♪ if you want to have a good time, just give me a call ♪ ♪ don't stop me now ♪ i'm having a good time, i don't want to stop at all ♪ ♪ it's a great tyke to be at cnbc. you have been at this two-day conference, and the read -- red sea parted and nothing is going on except right here. ♪ >> that looks pretty good, putting the week in some perspecti perspective. tech moving on from the beats deal, apple kicking off a conference, big day for mic

microsoft, and will.i.am is going to joins us. and kayla tausche here is here as billion golden is up. they expect hardware refresh on stock performance. ubs showing caution own apple. they're saying they could hipd ir the business in china, it's coming ahead of a worldwide developers office. and we will be outside of the center on monday. big thoughts ab the golden note. >> wwbc is the big mobile event in the mobile world. you get a peek, and it will be delivered and it will get downloaded and adopted by consumers. so you have providers, large and small, to try to figure out how

to get their apps ready. those with the best apps that get ready get a surge in use. >> life will be different as a result. do you think it will actually be different? >> i think that is a wink at the fact that health book is coming out. it's for monitoring your sleep, it will do plood pressure moblo monitoring. we have discussed if there will be hardware, it's typically not a hardware event. but he kept saying such exciting stuff is coming. i think you will get a retina mac book air. the watch would knock everyone off their seats. >> you said it was sales talk, happy talk, typical apple speak, but why would you say it and raise expectations to deliver

nothing on monday. >> it's like a reflection. it's like that. it's something they say in light of the things they have been doing, particularly this beats aquisition. >> yeah, they say i can't guess it but it's amazing. >> but yesterday, roger said that apple is the great value play in the market right now. he could not believe it was priced in the 600s because he thought that was such a steal for this company. even though there are analysts that say we should be cautious here, they are overwhelmingly bullish. >> i think everyone feels like if it's not going to happen at this event, they will get a larger screen ipad. if you can be patient, there is value there.

>> apple is underowned. >> 642 does not lie. make sure you stay tuned, "squawk alley" will be at the worldwide developers conference on monday. we'll have more on the apple's beat deal from a founding shareholder, which is will.i.am. talking about looking for capital. next up, google taking their first steps to comply with the right to be forgotten rule. they are giving anyone in europe an easy way to ask the company to take down links that could contain or have damaging information. they said it was tanamount, and they said it was unfair, but they will comply in the e.u.

>> yeah, and danny has a great comment on this. this is not the right to be forgotten. it's the right for fuzzy memory. when they take something down as they have with copy right in the past, they put an explanation and they link to possible sources. so about 32% of the things requested have been for arrests or convictions for serious crimes. so conceivably they could put in something like linking to a database or referencing what has been removed. >> a pedophile, a doctor wanted to remove bad patient reviews. it will be interesting to see who is the wizard of oz in this situation. who calls the shots to say this qualifies and this doesn't. the criteria is very fuzzy. >> this is not necessarily every request that google will honor. i think people are being

forthright. i think they will push back against some of this and they should. this is a conversation that ought to happen, not just the big company determines what's out there. >> do you think they will publish the requests? is. >> they won't link to the individual. the vast trove of investigation should be there. google will have a high threshold. nothing that will move it that way. >> what's smart is that google is complying quickly. they're not getting into a fistfight with the e.u. >> the front of the "usa today." he gave them props for that, but the data, 2% black, a few percent hispanic, but testosterone valley. >> yeah, i did a project more than ten years ago looking at

these companies. through an open records request. and the numbers are not far off of what a lot of companies have. in engineering there is less diversity. more in sales and marketing. there are areas that google can move the ball down the field more quickly on this. but kudos to them for putting the numbers out. >> fab has to put theirs out now, everybody has to. >> that's a headline that google doesn't want to see. do you remember when marisa meyers went. and they said they had a new algorithm? they wanted to find a way to get more women to google and they clearly have not found a way to solve it. >> meanwhile, he is back --

>> bomber! ♪ >> can you imagine the sideline behavior in the next few seasons? your new l.a. clippers owner, maybe, steveba ballmer possibly buying them from shelly. >> and the only league by 2020 that will have their rights reupped. they need to be renegotiated. he could do a lot for them in associating their overthe top rights. only two years left with turner that operates the website and has programming websites. they only get $939 million a year for their rights, and they're going to look for $2 billion.

ballmer can do more than own the team. >> i'm a fan. he did good things as ceo, and helping build the company to where it was before he was ceo. but you know who is also a big winner? nadala. he owns 100% of the clippers now, he may be the larger individual shareholder -- >> and he essentially bought the team for ballmer. their stockholders are up since he stepped down, so it was like a gift to get him out of the house. >> donald sterling, we think might have to approve this. the roi looks pretty good on this, but do you see any reason why he could turn it down? >> no, the folks that do sports business for us have a better sense, but i read that the

family foundation pushed this forward. he doesn't have to sign off at this point, and ballmer is the ultimate owner. he will spend money to win. he knows the sport, he is passionate, what else do you want. >> how do you value the vanity. is $2 billion ridiculous or do you get it? >> i get it. >> that's four times the last sale. >> but look at the media rights and live media rights have gone up since that time. youtube could bid, microsoft, that's why i'm obsessed with the media anger. mlb.com does not compare to nba.com. >> it's not like it will distract him from something else, $2 billion, okay, have fun. >> that's comfortable to what the dodgers went through as

well. maybe l.a. is just a sports town where you will just pay anything to get your hands on them. >> clippers selling for $2 billion, seriously? >> ronald reagan the president? yes. >> the squawk on the tweet, what new name would you give the clippers under ballmer. chippers has been the number one name. >> the clippies. >> and will.i.am is going to join us. and so is mrs. facebook. we might get the president as well after his meeting with eric shinseki. ♪

[ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

the president is expected to make a statement in a few minutes after meeting with eric shinseki. >> i'm just outside on the white house driveway, carl. i think all signs point toward general shinseki being removed from his job giving the

magnitude of the political pressure. he does not like to fire aides and give into pressure of that kind. but this is getting very, very substantial. tammy who used to work at the va. now a member of congress, is calling for him to resign. i think it's difficult for him to stay on, we'll see what the president says in a few minutes. >> if there was a turn, john, from the last public statement, was it that last inspector general report that found that the v.a. did falsify records? >> yes, i think it was the inspector general report. and the general is also bringing a report of his own to the white house, or one was due today. i think it just started rolling downhill and got bigger and bigger so you had prominent democrats calling for him to

lead. you did not see that from nancy pelosi or john boehner, but scores and scores are calling for him to leave. it's difficult in that circumstance even if these problems are not eric shinseki's fault, and it it suggests there is longstanding problems at the v.a. never the less, it's difficult to do your job in an atmosphere like this. >> with that said, john, what is the fix? clearly replacing the secretary is not a holistic answer. what might we expect today? >> you're right, it's not a holistic fix at all, a couple things they're talking about on kmil is empowering the minister to get past some of the civil service rules.

>> okay, here is the president. good morning, everybody, a few minutes ago secretary shinseki presented me with the department's initial review of the v.a. facilities nationwide. what they found was that the misconduct has not been limited to a few v.a. facilities, but many across the country. it is totally unacceptable. our veterans deserve the best, they earned it. last week i said if we found misconduct, it would be punished and i meant it. secretary shinseki now started the process of firing many people responsible including leaders at the phoenix v.a. he canceled bonuses for this year, and he ordered the v.a. to personally contact every veteran in phoenix waiting for points to get them the care they need and

deserve. this morning, i think some of you also heard rick take a truly remarkable action in public remarks, he took responsibility for the conduct of those facilities and he apologized to his fellow veterans and american people. a few minutes okay, secretary shinseki offered his resignation. with considerable regret, i accepted. rick shinseki has served with honor for nearly 50 years. he did two tours of combat in vietnam. he is a veteran that left part of himself on the battlefield. he rose to command in the first val calvary. as secretary of the v.a., he enrolled nearly two million new

veterans in health care, delivered more disability pay, made it easier for veterans with post-traumatic stress, and injuries to get treatment, improving care for our women veterans. at the same time he helped reduce veteran homelessness and helped more than one million service members and families pursue their education under the post 9/11 gi bill. rick's commitment to our veterans is unquestioned. is service to our country is exemplary. i am grateful for his service as are many veterans across the country. he has worked hard to investigate and identify the problems with access to care. but as he told me this morning, the v.a. needs new leadership to address them. he does not want to be a

distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and make sure our vets are getting the care they need. that was rick's junctidgment on behalf of his fellow veterans. i agree, we don't have time for distractions, we need to fix the problem. for now, the leader that will help move us forward is sloan gibson who will take the reigns as acting secretary. he, too, has devoted his life to serving our country and our veterans. his grandfather fought on the front lines of world war i, his father was a tail gunner in world war ii. most recently, he was president and ceo of the uso, which does a remarkable job supporting our men and women at war, their families, our wounded warriors, and families of the fallen. all told, sloane has 10 years of

private sector and nonprofit experience to build a 21st century v.a. i'm grateful he is willing to take on this task. i made it year that reforms should not wait, they need to proceed immediately. i asked rob neighbors to say temporarily to help through the transition and complete his own review of the v.a. we're going to look diligently for a new secretary and we hope to fill that post as soon as possible. we're going to do right by our veterans across the board as long as it takes. we're not going to stop working to make sure they get the care, benefit, and opportunities they earned and deserve. i said we would not tolerate misconduct and we will not. i said we have to do better, and we will. too many veterans are receiving care right now that deserve all

of our best efforts and an honest assessment in something is not working. this week i visited men and women at different stages of their service. our troops that are currently serving in afghanistan, our veterans and military families at arlington. what i saw was what i have seen in every single service member, veteran, and military spouse i had the priviledge to meet. a selfless clear-eyed commitment to serving our country the best way they know how. they're the best our country has to cover. they do their duty. they expect us to do ours. so today, i want every man and woman who served for us to know that if your tour has been over for decades, or is just about to end, we will never stop trying

to do right by you and your families. let me take a couple questions. >> mr. president, what changed in your opinion for secretary shinseki. you said you had confidence in him, what made the difference in your mind? >> rick's judgment. i think his belief that he would be a distraction from the task at hand, which is to make sure that what's broken gets fixed so that his fellow veterans are getting the services they need. i want to reiterate he is a very good man. i don't just mean he is accomplished. i don't just mean he has been a outstanding soldier, he is a good person. who has done exemplary work on our behalf.

and under his leadership we have seen more progress on more fronts at the v.a. and bigger investment in the v.a. than just about any other v.a. secretary. he cut veteran homelessness by 24%. he brought in folks that had been exposed to agent orange that had been waiting for decades. making sure that post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury was handled in a proper way. and opening women's hospitals so they could get specialized services they needs. he has been a champion of our veterans, and he has been ready and willing to get in and fix

them. with the disability backlog that shot up as a consequence of the admission of the agent orange veterans and making it easier to apply for post-traumatic tress disorder claims, when it spiked he went at it in a systematic way and we cut it by 50% in the last year or so. he is not adverse to admitting where there is a problem and going after it. but we occupy not just a environment that calls for management fixes, but we also have to deal with congress and you guys. and i think it's rick's judgment that he could not carry out the next stages of reform without being a distraction himself. and so my assessment was,

unfortunately, that he was right. i regret that he has to resign under these circumstances, but i have confidence, and i share the feeling that the number one priority is making sure that problems get fixed, so a veteran out there that needs help is getting a schedule and they can come in and see a consider. and if there are not enough doctors, nurses, or space, that that information immediately gets in the hands of decision makers to that we can get more resources in there to help folks. that seems to be the biggest problem, i think that's what offended him the most in the course of this process. he described to me the fact that when he was in theater, he might have to order an attack just

based on a phone call from some 20 something-year-old corporal, and he had to trust it was good information, and it's life or death. i think he is deeply disappointed in the fact that bad news did not get to him. and that the structures were not in place for him to identify this problem quickly and fix it. his priority now is to make sure that happens, and he felt like the leadership would serve our veterans best, and i agree with him. >> mr. president, based on the audit, the early stage audit, is there a sense of criminal wrong doing, and how much responsibility do you personally bare now that you're at this

point. >> i will leave it to the criminal justice department if there was criminal wrong doing. i always take responsibility for what happens and this is an area i have particular concern with. this predates my presidency. when i was in the senate. i heard firsthand veterans that were not getting the kinds of services and benefits they earned. i pledged that if i served at commander and chief, we would fix it. the v.a. has had problems for a very long time. in some cases management, and in some cases funding. so we try to go after the problems that we're aware of, and fix them. and where we have seen our veterans being not properly

served, whether it was too many veterans, or claims that took too long, we would go at it and chip away to fix it. we have increased funding for v.a. services in an unprecedented fashion. we understand that it's not enough to just give lip service to our veterans and not be willing to put our money where our mouth is. so what i can say confidently is this has been a priority. it's been a priority reflected in my budget, and that in terms of managing the v.a., where we have seen a problem, where we have been aware of a problem, we have gone after it, fixed it, and have been able to make significant progress. but what is absolutely clear, is this one, this issue of scheduling, is one that the reporting systems in the v.a.

did not surface to a level where wick was aware of it, or we were able to see it. this is not something we were hearing when i traveling around the country, the particular issue of scheduling. and part of the review will be to see how do we make sure we get information about systems that are not working. job just explained to my, in very specific detail, how in some of these facilities you have computer systems for scheduling that date back to the '90s. situations in which one scheduler may have to look at four or five screens to find a slot where there is a doctor available. situations in which they're manually passing requests for an point other to someone else who is importing them.

so you have, in many cases old systems, broken down systems, and this is stuff that is not eminently fixable, but we have to know about it. the big concern that i got, and what i will be interested in finding out, is how is it that in a number of these facilities, if you have veterans waiting too long for an point, that that information didn't surface sooner to go ahead and fix it. one last point i want to make on this. when veterans have gotten access to the system, the health care they are receiving has gotten high parks from our veteran service organizations and the veterans themselves. so i think it's important to keep in mind that what the review indicates so far, is there has been great strides

made in the care of the veterans, and the challenge is getting veterans into the door, particularly for their first appointment in some cases, and where they don't have an accomplished relationship with a doctor in the system. part of that is technology, but as rick shinseki said is that there is a need for a change in culture within the vha, and perhaps the v.a. as a whole, that makes sure that bad news gets surfaced quickly so that things can be fixed. i know that was the attitude of secretary shinseki and what he communicated to folks under him. but they did not execute and that is a problem. christie parsons, last question. >> you said it was the general's own judgment that made the decision for you here. if i remember correctly

secretary sibilias offered you her resignation after you didn't take it. so i'm wondering if there is scapegoating here. it seems like the problems are very deep, so is lopping off the head -- is there a political reason for removing him other than going straight to the problem? >> well, the distractions that rick refers to, in part, are political. he needs to be, at this stage, what i want is someone at the v.a. not spending time outside of solving problems for the veterans. i want someone spending every minute of every day figuring out

dth we ca have we called every veteran waiting. did we make a realistic assessment of how long the wait times are now, and how will we bring them down in certain facilities where the wait times are too longs. if we need more money, how much more do we need to ask for from congress, and how can i make sure they will deliver on funding. that's what i want someone at the v.a. focused on. now how are they getting getting second guessed, and speculations about their future and so on. that's what rick agreed to as well. with respect to secretary sib

sibilas at the time. in each instance, my decision is based on how can i deliver service to the american people, and in this case, how can i lir for our veterans. and because they're people of integrity, i think in both of the cases of secretary sabilias, they're view is what will best deliver on behalf of folks who had been let down. >> at the time you felt like she had so much knowledge about what went wrong, you couldn't afford to lose that. >> well, we will need a new v.a.

secretary. but the nature of the problem that has surfaced and but the cause of this attention is one that we can start attacking right away, and without completely transforming the system, we can immediately make progress. we will have longer term issues to take care of. my first step is everyone out there waiting, get them an point. if we need more doctors, let's figure out how we can get doctors in there to make sure they're getting the help they need. what i want to make sure of, then, is even if it is still patch work, how do we make sure that there is no slippage between a phone call and getting an point scheduled, and let's

have a real estate time frame for how soon they will get an point, those don't require rocket science, they require execute and discipline. those are things that sloan has. there will be progresser issues that we have to tackle. the information systems in the v.h.a., those will have to be changes. they will cost money and they will take time. i think there will be have to some changes in the culture of the v.a. they're provided good service and medical treatment to our veterans when they get in the system. but they don't have, apparently, the state of the art operations that you would want to see, for example, from a major medical center or hospital. keep in mind those of us outside of the system, and trying to get an point with a doctor in a private sector, and trying to

get an point for -- schedule a hospital visit. there is wait times as well. so we have to figure out realistic benchmarks for the system, and my suspicion is that with all of the veterans coming back from iraq and afghanistan, but also the ageing of our vietnam vets, who may have more chronic illnesses and may need more visits, we may need to get more doctors and more nurses. and that's going to cost some money. which means that will have to be reflected in a veteran affairs budget which, i have consistently increased, even during fiscally tight times, there has been no area i have put more priority other than making sure that we're delivering the kind of budget necessary to make sure that our veterans are being served, and it may still not be enough.

before we start spending more one, our first job is let's take care of some basic management issues that i think can be fixed. all right? thank you. >> that is the president accepting the resignation of eric shinseki, and pointing out that the problems at the v.a. are not limited to a few hospitals. sloane gibson will take over as head of the v.a. cnbc has been covering this story since november and you can still see our documentary "death and dishonor crisis at the v.a." when we come back, will.i.am talking about the beats deal. the world has gotten you far,f but what if you could see more of what you wanted to know? with fidelity's new active trader pro investing platform, the information that's important to you

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on the front lines of the beats apple deal, but one face has stayed in the shadows and that is will.i.am. i was going to say thank you so much for waiting patiently for the president to wrap up, but i realized you can use that time to count your money. >> i was listening. thank you so much, i was listening to the feed of what

obama was speaking on. >> you called this the craziest roller coaster you have ever been on, can you explain how it all came together? >> how what came together? what part? >> well, the difference between the time of the announcement, officially yesterday, earlier this week, and the speculation of the deal that goes back a couple of weeks, obviously. >> well two months ago jimmy and i had a conversation about may. jimmy left it very vague. he is like what are you doing in may, make yourself available. and he didn't really tell me anything specific on what was going to happen. he just said be available in may. that was pretty much it. he is the kind of guy that when he tells you, gives you clues or hints toward things, you want to follow that lead. you don't want to ask time after

time what is it you want many e to say available for. he says i can't tell you but it will change your life. that's all i needed to know. every step of the way, he has been that guy for me in my career and vice versa. >> i know that until recently, you were director of creative invasion at intel. now tech companies are trying to look not only to artists like yous as sponsors, but to bring you in as specktives. and now dre and jimmy, what advice do you have for artists to help them succeed in the executive roles when companies do that. >> a lot of ahead to companies.

i think it got between technology and culture, right? so for tech sake, things sitting on your self, and six months later it goes into a warehouse. that seems to be what everyone is clambering for. so my role, like when i go work with these companies, consult g consulting, i take what i learn from my travels. see what is happening in culture and translate that to help ahead to companies better execute how they inspire -- i don't like the word customer, people to purchase their stuff, and how that stuff they make fits into their lives, so that culture and

tech has not been done properly. the only thing you choose to wear is beats. and all of that talk, you're wearing things that tether to things. with beats, we got it right. companies are trying to figure that out. no one saw beats coming. all of these headphone companies, they didn't see beats coming. apple, you know, purchase of beats, is because of how we execute culture and teblg, but it is tech. >> you have a small black band on your wrist, you have been saying vaguely that is your phone. can we find out where wearables are going forward. >> i don't have anything on my

wrist, just kidding -- i don't know what you're doing below the screen early screen, but i saw it earlier. >> i'm different than most of the people in my field when it comes to musicians. i take pride in the s.t.e.m. work that i do with kids in my community, getting kids up to speed, and getting them interested in science and mathematics. in my personal life, i'm learning a code. i go out there and surround myself with engineers and things. so i have like a 40 plus team making consumer electronics, and i'm going to try until i get it right. in 2006, i told jimmy our industry is in a tough

situation. our consent is selling other people's hardware. we took that seed, we nurtured it, and it's an amazing company. there is so much stuff behind the curtain of things that beats is going to do in the curtain, and there is things that i have up my sleeve or on my risks that i will be doing in the future, soon. >> we met at the s.p. angel event. what's the next acorn that you're excited about in the software space that you think could be the next oak. >> well, i don't want to do that. i don't want to tip people to what i'm -- >> you could pick a general trend you like. you talk about the intersection of culture and beats -- what other broad areas get you excited and keep you up at night. >> there is a lot of things that

keep me up at night, and one of those things is this fusion of tech, coders, and this cross disciplinary environment. and how we put things into market and you don't know if it is tech or culture, it's things you want. nokia was amazing. and what happened? soni, their music, hardware, movies, what is going on there? there is a huge gap with the giants that beats figured out how to fill. the gap that big tech giants could not seem to fuse.

tech and culture and putting them together. i make my music on apple products. my music that i sell is on itunes. there is a thing that we're all trying to figure out. the big guys, the little guys, right? and the david and did have to b it's a collaboration. imagine if goliath and david collaborated. goliath wouldn't be laying on the floor. so it's about collaboration. >> you mentioned nokia's troubles, you mentioned sony. you're still doing business with hp. all of this through beats. if apple is doing it best, is no one else even close or is there a runner up so to speak? >> in my mind what apple is doing is probably going to go down this history as the smartest thing that no big tech

company is even fathoming right now. so i'm in london. angela aarons who used to run burberry, she's at apple now. she understands culture where she triumphed was asia. angela is amazing. jimmy is a culture guy that triumphed culture, popular culture there music to now hardware. amazing. look at what apple is doing. they're making sure they don't do what nokia did. they're making sure they are surrounding themselves with people to collaborate with, the unlikely candidate. right? they're apple. they make things that make things. i make music on their laptops and their desktops. our music and movies are sold on their u tunes. black eyed peas launched ipods and itunes in 2004 like ten

years ago. think about that. just ten years ago, we does a song called hey mama that was an ipod commercial and now here it is that i can make hardware? i never thought that was possible ten years ago. think about that. that is crazy. >> obviously huge congratulations to you. and please come back. because as you said, you saw hardware happening a decade ago and we want to know what you see coming next. thanks for your time. >> the exciting thing right now, i want to put this out to the kids out there, just playing basketball, just doing music, there are bigger things to dream of. take this beats success as another thing to aim for. get yourself into a s.t.e.m. program. there is a program called first robotics. if you're a parent and you you got a 9-year-old, 10-year-old, get them in first, get them building robots. there is a whole new thing about to surface and you need to get

our kids dialed in so they can participate and be a part of the conversation 10, 20 years from now. >> a lot of nodding heads at this desk. we'll see you next time. and here's how social media reacted to the news with the help of twitter. every time the word beats or apple was tweeted, we saw it flash on this to wit awitter da. dow is down 19. let's get a market flash. >> i'm all fired up from will.i.am. so i have to get my bearings straight for this market flash. dow jones report that the ftc is likely to approve the merger between the two men's chains here. men's warehouse up 4%, joseph a. bank up 1% temperatu. the speculation leading to the jumps in prices. co-founder of groupon still

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of group on. brad, walk me through where we are on loyalty. we know the pain of the groupon transition, but what is working right now? >> well, this is not about groupon, it's about belly. but belly has shown that loyalty is a powerful platform and i think way beyond belly, loyalty in general is what merchants of all sizes are searching for. it's about taking your existing customers and making them more profitable, more repeated and more loyal. so that is what it's all about. >> logan, we talk often about how the small business recovery has taken a little bit longer than some of the bigger names. but i'm just wondering, to use your product you need a qu code, a tablet. are you seeing small businesses across the united states willing to make the investments to sign up for belly? >> small businesses know 80% of their revenue typically comes

from 20% of hair custom their c. so ensuring they come back more often is the key driver to successf success. and belly provides everything the company needs. we provide the ipad, all the physical cards and place them in our mobile app. so it's a full all in one solution for businesses. >> there are lots of rumors out there about various tech companies jumping into the payment pace. and i tend to sea that the payoff is pretty obvious for the merchants. they want this loyalty information, what people are buy, et cetera. what is in it for the consumer and how much more does that area need to be pushed for this to really move forward? >> well, for the consumer, the average consumer has about 17 different loyalty cards or loyalty programs. so with belly, we have the ability to create one card or app that they can use at all of their favorite locations. and then obviously for being a loyal customer, they are able to redeem completely unique customer rewards. so the value prop is the consumer is pretty clear.

you have a free program. one card or app that you can use at all of your favorite local businesses for rewards. >> brad, i know this is about belly, not about competitors, but there is a lot of competitive pressure at this point in the game, four square, yelp, groupon. a lot of these companies are trying to help the consumer find deals nearby and build that loyalty. i'm just wondering why you think belly is superior to some of the more established businesses. >> well, a good example of why belly is so powerful is the relationship it has with 7-eleven which has really taken the belly platform and implemented it across broad network of stores. it's a platform at belly that is customizable, but at the same time, it lets a consumer that is part of the belly program use the belly card at multiple different locations in their community. so i agree that there a lot of activity in payments in all kinds of services targeted at

lool p local merchants. but they're also sometimes part of national chains and that's an exam bell where belly really thrives. >> guys, thanks for your insight. good to talk to you. >> thank you so much. that does it for us here. do want to mention john john's last day at buzz feed. congratulations. >> thank you. >> let's get to scott wapner and the halftime. several big names on the nasdaq have a seismic shift in may. but where will they go from here. mr. softy's new buzz. how all things microsoft are suddenly cool again. top gun, jacksonville jaguars blake bortles on the challenges that lie ahead. let's meet today's starting lineup. we begin with the final trading day of what has been a surprisinglym