"squawk box" begins right now. good morning, welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. i'm michelle caruso cabrera along with joe kernen. scott wapner, becky and andrew are off today. the world has lost a beloved actor, father and comedian. a look at the career, life and legacy of robin williams. >> the death of robin williams left his family, friends and a generation of fans across the world in shock. >> we lost a great, great person today. >> williams was found dead at his home north of san francisco today. an investigation into the death is currently under way. preliminary reports report to asphyxia. according to his publicist, williams had been battling depression in recent weeks, having been this drug rehab this

summer. williams first captured america's attention in the late '70s, the role of alien mork made him a break out star. >> good morning vietnam! >> and his comic mania carried into movies, playing a wartime dj in "good morning vietnam" bought him a golden globe. so tt role played largely in drag, "mrs. doubtfire." williams im provozational style. but the julliar trained actor excelled in roles including good will hunting. in all williams' films grossed more than $5 billion worldwide at the box office. the actor's wife released a statement saying, quote, as he is remembered, it is our hope

that the focus will not be on robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions. a gifted actor and genius whose sudden passing mean those who knew him and those who watched him heart broken. stephanie stanton, nbc news, hollywood. >> joining us now, david poland, editor of city news.com. he is a new york film editor for variety. obviously, collectively, the entire nation is talking about this, david and ramen. and there's been so much commentary and the twittersphere, for good or for bad, i already feel like everybody weighing in, is there more to talk about, david? i guess there is, right? >> well, i mean, williams really was the coppock and the comic personality that took us out of the nixon era. when it comes down to it. late '70s. cynicism and anger was all the

range and this guy came out and was this amazing bund of energy and intelligence. he always had something to say but he also was incredibly sincere. it's ironic that 32 years ago, he was there the nice belushi died. i think that's the last time we had somebody that seminole in comedy pass away. >> that's the chateau of -- a very sad, weird foreshadowing. >> well, it's just -- unfortunately, drugs -- and that's something that i've grappled with, ramen, you know, you don't want to point to addiction, but -- and whether maybe personalities are predisposed to it, whether the addiction itself causes or brings on depression. it's a horrific chicken and egg thing. but to be in that much pain, i think all of us collectively realize that we wish someone could have been aware to reemp out and i mean, there's a famous

quote that robin williams says right into the camera, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. once again, it highlights if you're in pain, it's just -- you wish you could get help for people that are in pain. >> the thing with robin was is that he did get a lot of help. he had gone to rehab a number of times. he had -- >> that in itself, david, to keep going and then to slip again. and then, you know, to maybe go on -- and probably the feeling after another bing or whatever, i have no idea what he went through. >> he was very open with his struggles. and he was sober for many years starting in the '80s. and he went back to rehab recently. he was in rehab over the summer. but i think what we should do today is really remember and honor him. it wasn't just for people out of the nixon era. robin williams was a comedic icon throughout the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, many millennials

on twitter were remembering him for roles in "jumanji ", "hook," president obama issuing a statement yesterday. even though he struggled and he was very open about his struggles, many people were very aware of his struggles. but sometimes when you're dealing with addiction and depression, it's a very, very difficult battle. >> you're right. you're talking '70s, '80s, 9 0s, 2000s. >> i went to the university of colora colorado. in the 1978, "mork & mindy" put the downtown boulder sign street and we were sort of -- even though it wasn't -- i don't think it was filmed there, but it put boulder on the map. that's what i remember first. >> i remember him coming into happy days. >> as mork. >> and i was a little kid and thought, who is this person? he is interesting. i mean, just startling. >> you were going to say something, david?

>> he did his first hbo comedy special in '78. that was kind of the beginning for hbo. robert cline had done one, but he was the seminole figure for hbo's comedy push. that was so different from what he was doing on "mork & mipdy." and it turned out that he wasn't a great actor at that point, but he became a great actor. he really could do almost anything. and it took a while to find that out. but it was a remarkable thing. it was what belushi had wanted to do. it's what a lot of bull murrays wanted to do. very, very great people could do that only. >> bull murray comes on the show when we were in pebble beach. he stayed for an hour afterwards. and the point he made was if you can do comedy, you can do drama. and it seems like one would be not tied to the other. >> i think it would be the

hardest art form. >> he said it was easitory make the move from comedy to drama. >> the other way around the much harder. >> much harder. >> how important do you think it was for robin williams to be known as a serious actor? even though he made his move in comedy, he made the transition well enough to win the october car as a serious role. >> particularly that '78 special last night which has not been available from hbo for years. and he was doing -- he did a piece welcome to the mind of a comic which is crashing. and he did the id and the ego and the iper child and the emotions, he did the entire range of emotional life in a standup comedian. he wasn't a traditional tell a joke comedian at all. he was a living, breathing actor from the very beginning. he used mind training, everything. there has been no one quite like him.

>> a lot of times, being of service for people that are having personal problems, that's enough to give life enough meaning to -- you know, to preclude some of -- it's still apparently wasn't enough. which is another indication of what the man has been going through, right? >> absolutely. he was very open about it and he joked about his so brighty in an effort to help other people. but, you know, again, i think we should look tow career that he had. all the roles we've talked about, he was the voice of the jeanie in "aladin." >> i was remember a magazine from "mork & mindy."

they would do a scene six times, and the crypt says robin ad-libs here. his costar said he was as funny every single time he did it even though it was completely different. and a skill set that was incredible. >> and that's what a lot of people were surprised on the set of mork & mindy." he did improvise heavily. so for robin to create a character that was on lunchboxes and posters and, you know, that was such a popular character in the '70s, the alien. >> inspired by jonathan winters, too. as he said many times, he was able to do the same thing. i wasn't aware that he -- robin had grown up in a privileged home, he said he had parents that were -- he felt raised by the maid to some extent and played with toy soldiers and was alone talking to himself a lot, i think. >> he was a very quiet guy.

it was almost like you -- at times he seemed to fragile that you didn't quantity to bother him. but there was always a smile there. there was a great deal of happiness for all the concern about how unhappy he was in this place that is sad and horrible, it only took a second for him to be quiet, reserved separate robin to having something funny to say and a different way of looking at the world. he was a unique individual. every time you saw him in a private situation, he was, you know, very much -- there was an energy that was different. jonathan was much more tough in real life and robin was always kind of -- you know, he was separate, but he was also happy in a way. >> we're going to get a chance to see more of robin williams' work in the months, i guess, and few years ahead, correct? he did leave some film projects behind. >> he did leave some film

projects behind. he's going to be seen in most notably the new "night of the museum" film. one movie that he will not finish, the sequel to "mrs. doubtfire," i think one of his biggest hits of his career, he was set to begin production on that shortly. and there was an issue -- the studio issued a statement saying that the film will not be going forward at this time. we'll see. it would be hard to imagine a sequel to mrs. doubtfire without robin williams in the starting role. >> the impact of movies that he did make, in cannes at the film festival, there was somebody doing mrs. doubtfire, people doing character, people were taking pictures of him wandering around the restaurant. that's how popular he is, even years later. >> an enduring character, for

sure. >> gentlemen, thanks for your time and analysis. just your feelings. appreciate it. >> it's a big loss. >> thank you. >> thank you. robin williams, phillip seymour hoffman not that long ago. another tremendously tallaned actor i know many of us saw his films. >> he completed some work, too. >> yeah, including a film that's currently made us a spy. >> the eternal question is the depression that leads you to the abuse, is it the abuse that leads to depression? if you are depressed, imagine, we talk so much about the issues of mental illness in this country. you have all the money that you could need in order to seek help. you've got people around you. and yet still not to be able to overcome your demons, to show an

incredible pain and the struggle. >> are you deftined to it? >> and does it fooel feed your comedy? >> and that's the thing. another comic. a lot of comics seem -- >> have a very, dark, dark core. >> what i took away from it is that happiness should be shared. if you're imminently happy, you shouldn't take it for granted, probably, i would think. >> it looks like there's going to be some sort of news conference coming out of the west coast regarding mr. williams' death at 11:00 a.m. pacific time. i'm sure we'll learn more of the details surrounding this specific incident. so coming up, the chaos in iraq. in baghdad, there's a power struggle. the prime minister and the president in the north, the kurdish crash with isis.

the u.s. is providing air support. what is the next move for the white house? plus, we're front and center on today's market action. futures are higher at this hour after a meandering day yesterday. the averages are slumping. we'll run it down next. in jobs and infrastructure.f do thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov

welcome back. german economic sentiment dropping sharply in august. the key industry reading hitting its lowest level since december

2012. the euro adding to losses against the dollar after the zew which is an indication of german confidence in business community and likely related to the increase in the russian sanctions. you can see there is a buck 33 and we've been watching to see what happens in the german ten-year yield. 1.06% is where it stands right now. >> this is aftera pretty disappointing industrial production number of last week? late last week? >> yeah, last week. >> so there are concerns at this point. for sure. >> beyond italy, beyond some of these other economies that the most important and ig best one -- >> a stall wart. >> is petering. >> absolutely. and then recession and you have this whole -- >> does anyone ever take a step back and say i'm going to give you 10,000 is in euros or -- since it's germany. but i'm going to give you that and you give me 1% and you get it for ten years?

>> and yep yet people do it. >> it makes me worry about the prospects and everything else. >> recently there was a story about the 50-year french bond. >> because of paris and my -- >> we had a guest who said -- >> people aren't going to stop going there. you better hope that some country is doing okay. but we'll visit their great country. it's not internally generated. >> no, it's all external. >> yet i want to go there and i envy their -- we work the -- we lived to work or work to live? we live to work, they work to live. >> i was there at the beginning of the summer. >> why? >> rome and the coast. >> no way. >> positano? >> yes. >> where did you stay in a room?

>> near the borguese edge. >> nice. >> i said that yesterday. >> that's true. >> i can live for free in my parents' living room if i can live in italy. would you? >> that's what you said, yeah. >> but you would have no idea and you always -- >> that's like a -- >> exactly. >> that's a dig, though. you throw it in like they don't know any better. >> i think they do know better. >> 28 dollar croissant, right? and that's if you don't get caught. >> google. let's show you what's going on with european stocks. nostalgic. >> you should lay off the pasta. >> is germany flat to lower, these are all flat markets, except for italy which continues its rebound by 0.75% after the massive sell-off that we saw. the dow would open higher by 32

points, nasdaq by 9 and the s&p 500 by 6. a convoy in ukraine from russia is heading into ukraine on a humanitarian relief mission. the red cross says the has no information on what these trucks from russia are carrying or where there are going. they could be a point of concerns. ewe kraeb is saying they're not going to allow any of russia's cop voi with these humanitarian aids into the country. here is the russian stock market rebounding slightly today, around 0.3%. it's been a very bad july as those tension ves heated up. >> iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki refuses to step aside, this even though the country's new president has named a replacement. the obama administration is

calling for the new government to unite. >> the new iraqi leadership has a difficult challenge. it has to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively, but also by taking steps to demonstrate their resolve. >> nbc's duncan golisani joins us now with the latest. duncan. >> hi. so the question is are we heading into some kind of political showdown in baghdad? this new prime minister has been appointed. that appointment has been welcomed by the united states as we just heard. and by the united nations. the question is, did nuri al maliki go quietly? so far, every indication we've been getting is he's going to try to dig in and hold on to power. yesterday we were hearing about security forces loyal to him move across the streets of baghdad and his party said his point lacks legitimacy and some

ignore a close political ally that they will challenge this in the courts. that is exactly what the united states does not want to hear. they need some kind of upty in baghdad, a government that can bring sunnis, kurdes and shiites together. because as far as many countries are concerns, this is the only way this fight with isis is going to be won. you could overrun them on the ground if you want to put international troops here, but not many countries want to do that. at the moment, the focus is on some kind of unity government. back to you. >> thank you very much, duncan. as long as he doesn't sit down and we end up with some kind of shia on shia battle, a civil war -- >> is it more likely at this point? >> the question is does he bring in his independent militia and try to fight to hold on to power? the reason i bring that up is because the shia on the conference in the south, that's where you could start to see oil prices move. that's the big concern. all the oil production is in the

south. >> there are no indications that he is going to leave quietly. duncan raises the question if -- >> right. twice he could malign the whole process and he's not leaving. >> let's get a turnout on cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood with more on the global issues hanging over capitol hill and right before i -- i look at all the different blogs and stuff, john. i'm by partisan that way. huffington post, drudge, do you think the president said criticism of the syria policy by hillary is horse shih tzu without the tzu at the end, john? >> i didn't see that. what does that mean? >> president obama got angry at lawmakers that seshd have armed the syrian rebels -- >> criticism is so unheard of in your mind that i have to describe any of it to you for you to understand what i'm saying? >> joe, i couldn't understand what you're saying.

but who is quoting the president as saying that? >> this is in "the daily by beast," it's on "drudge." obama told lawmakers the criticism of his syria policy is horse blank. >> not with reference to hillary specifically. it wouldn't surprised me if he said that. >> lawmakers or hillary -- the criticism that he should have armed syrian rebels -- and i saw his comments on that, to think that he could have done back and picked just the right group in the early days when it was coalescing. i see the merit in his argument there to think that we're smart enough to hand-pick -- and we tried to get people to pick weapons to in afghanistan. it always comes back to haunt you. they get used against you eventually, don't they, john? >> whether he said it or not, i'm sure that's how he females about the criticism.

>> what do you think of hillary -- i mean, that's -- >> well, look, hillary -- >> the clintons don't think everything is calculated, but i think the clintons calculate every single that they do unless it's a mistake. >> well, look, it appears that she's running for president and her independence critical running for president is that she was president obama's secretary of state. the world is now blowing up. so that is a big problem for her. and so she's going to be looking for ways to separate herself from the current foreign policy issues. she did that to jeffrey goldberg of the atlantic where she said the failure to arm those northern factions in syria left a void that the gee whatdies built. when i interview her a couple of weeks ago, she said -- you happen, i asked her about her responsibility for the best in the world. and she said well any

administration has to read and manage things as best they can and we did that in the first term. in the first term. we're now in the second term. and i think you can expect to see a series of things going forward where she's going to try to separate herself from the administration, as anybody would running in her circumstance because voters are very reluctantly to give the same party a third term in office. obama's ratings are low. she's going to look for a way to make her mark. she did this on russia, as well, she said the reset worked with russia, but then when putin came back, i told the president we needed to change tactics, and now here we are. >> she did and room nigh did. he doesn't really listen.

>> annoy, supposedly there's some spicy stuff about the clintons in that book -- >> which book? >> ed cline's book. >> there's nothing well sourced about ed cline's book. >> i knew you'd say that. but i still don't think there's a lot of love loss necessarily. if i believe the notion that some people are encouraging elizabeth warren to run -- >> no, no. no. >> when hillary says something like i remember before things hit the fan, the huff post talked about don't do stupid stuff, how that was brilliant because they did so much -- presumably did so much stupid things. so they actually said that that is a great obama doctrine, don't do stupid things. for hillary to come out and see -- to quote that, don't do stupid stuff and say that is not an organizing principal, that is slowing down -- that is slowing

down. that is right there down to the curb on the obama doctrine. >> yeah. no, fair enough. look, that's the point. she's going to -- if she runs, and i think she will, she has to find a way to say all the bad stuff going on right now, that's not my doing. >> we thought hillary clinton would be the heir apparent to oba obama. but she's saying all this hawkish stuff. the far left is not going to be thrilled with a lot of this. bankers, she actually thinks the private sector is a productive part of the economy. i mean, she's got a lot of views that are crazy and they're antisetical to the new left. >> that's crazy. look, there are going to be some people on the left who unhappy

with herr. he's going to think hillary is too far right. but i think the import of that opposition is going to end up being rather small. >> we are dwg to see some scary tough happening. there will be criticism on the right and left about what the president does in iraq, too. the more you're reading from experts, these guys can't -- the air strikes -- i didn't understand why it won't work. there's not that many of them. they say it's not likely to challenge the calculus for isis. why not? we can -- you know, are they not all in one place? why wouldn't that change the calculus? >> well, i think this is a broader problem throughout not only iraq, but also syria. and the immediate question is the one mushl put on the table, which is how hard is maliki

going to fight to retain power or is it just -- is he positive touring for a payoff? is he positive touring for safe exit somewhere? i don't know. >> john, real quick, what does the president do, then, if these targeted air strikes don't work? >> then he's in a real dicey political position, is he not? >> absolutely he is. and i think he's going to continue for some period of time until he figures out or concludes that it's absolutely futile and if he candidates that, he's going to have to figure out a way to extricate himself. >> john, don't be a stranger. you know football is coming back, too. we have a lot to talk about there. skins are revised. >> that's where you break from the pack normally. i don't know what to call them at this point.

skins might be -- you know, let's not go there. anyway, thank you. john hardwood. you've got to get out of here. >> i know. coming up, what is it like and not to like in social media? what investors should prepare for heading into these final weeks of the summer. and tesla respond to go consumer reports review of its luxury sedan. that stock closing at another all-time high. more squawk is next.

good morning and welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc. i'm joe kernen along with mushl

caruso cabrera and scott wapner. becky and andrew a off today. you got a middle name? >> yeah. >> do you want to use three? >> no. andrew ross sorkin, and -- >> michael wapner. >> not scott judge wapner. >> they do always call me judge. they do. >> and making -- if scott was going to read this, he would do. make one -- >> would you read it with the -- >> i don't know if i -- that's hairsy. >> i give you permission. >> making headlines this morning, consumer reports has a complain or two for tesla. last year, it gave the model s like its highest mark ever, top marks. but now it says the electric car is -- it owns has had, quote, in its words wsh r, more than its share of problems. now, i think it is helping me.

>> when you're the judge, you -- >> you have to know who's who. >> only judge judy. i think she makes $50 million a year. >> that syndicated show does phenomenally well. >> i don't think judge wapner did that well. >> no. consumer reports, though, back to that, says that the car has impressed its staff and has nearly traveled 16,000 miles. but it warns that there have been many quirks that might dampen consumers' experiences. among the issues, the center screen went blank and the automatic retracting door handles would not work. tesla fixed the issues.

it issued a warranty. and they said we err on the side of being proactive to ensure the best driving experience possible. that means we are particularly attentive to addressing potential issues, even if those issues appear to be very mine or have low likelihood of causing any future problems. we are so attuned to what's happening to our customers that it seems like anesthesia -- >> i am completely distracted by this music. shares of tesla closed at record high yesterday. they made a remake of that movie, as well.

did you see that? >> no. >> think of the duke boys. >> great memory from my childhood, decree. wailen jennings. >> that's right, i was thinking of whalen. >> fantastic. in pharma news, exact science is getting fda approval for a noninvasive test that screens for colon cancer. >> shooter. >> sorry. >> this guy is going to be on. >> tesla, colon cancer and now you're saying shooter? >> not only that, but the dna based -- >> go ahead. ♪ just a good old boys never meaning no harm. ♪ ♪ >> it's a one of a kind test to get regulatory okay. >> how does it work? >> it's a dna based test. and it's designed for people ages 50 or older. you qualify. >> thank you. >> or who are considered average risk for colorectal cancer.

>> i had the -- you had the camera done before you were 40? >> i did. >> before you were 50? >> i did. >> not really. but i was a little concerned. >> whewee. >> do you want me to get my family -- normally people wait until 50. i just -- you know, unless there's something there and then you're perfectly -- >> you know what? let's just go there. >> i figured i should get one. >> you're absolute lit right. and it used to be he five years, but now if there's no familial history, it is 10. >> it is so hot out here right now. >> no, it's not. only for immature people that can't discuss serious topics -- >> you discuss it anytime you want. >> this is cool. it is cool because -- >> do it. >> to do a dna test, for example, how many -- if we can

find genetic anomalies, how many of these tests will we be able to do? it's going to be good. they will join us live at 7:30 eastern. >> okay. >> it's cool. then you don't have to get the colonoscopy. >> he told us about it. >> the colonoscopy itself is not the issue. the prep is the issue. >> you're sleeping during the thing, okay? >> how about ghee your political tensions? >> that drug was -- i woke up feeling better than i did when i went to sleep. that was the same drug that michael jackson also went to sleep with. but you're right, it is the prep that is the part that is -- people don't like. >> all right. geopolitical tensions driving the market action these days. today is no exception. joining us now, michael pollard. thanks for joining us. michael, every week goes by and

it's drama on the international stage and yet it's like we move along, nothing to see here, market keeps going higher. we seem to have gotten over this last hiccup. ultimately, this comes down to earnings and profitability? >> i think so. i mean, you know -- >> and -- >> to happen, you know, the tension, they occasionally may move markets for a day or two. but the long-term trend of the markets is driven by earnings and by dividends and those are still packing in very well. the economy here is in a strong uptrend. the issue that i think investors have to think about in the u.s. is that more or less half of s&p 500 earnings come from overseas. so if europe is slipping into a double dip recession, or if we have preponderance somewhere else with economies, that could have some impact on the u.s. stocks, as well. >> and via the german data lately, i don't know if you saw the zew this morning. that was much worse than

expected. german business sentiment has dropped dramatically, the industrial production, you're saying that kind of data could ultimately -- to u.s. company earnings? >> absolutely. we need to see that europe and in particular germany are showing some revival kinds of drugs. so far, the numbers are looking somewhat disappointing. that suggests to me the central bank has to be somewhat more aggressive to stimulate the economy there. otherwise, it will have an impact on global economies. >> if there is a silver lining, maybe that situation is what slows the pace of interest rate hikes or -- in this country, no? >> you know, only if the u.s. is in a bubble, then we would say u.s. interest rates have to go up. we are beginning to see bits of inflation. we are beginning to see a little bit more tightness. >> yeah. hello. >> well, you know, saying that, i mean, the long end of the

market would have enough autonomy that it would head in the direction that it sees fit based on, you know, the results of economics around the world, essentially. and right now we're near the calendar year lows and once again, it seems to be the fed that is directing the long end, but it's kind of the opposite world. because the ten-year has gone down in yields since the 3% -- at the beginning of the year during the taper, just like the ten-year yield has fallen once qe1 ended and once qe2 ended. so it's as though if not for the fed, then there is very little chance of it may be a dynamic economy or inflation taking hold. >> the s&p, on the same hand, along with the geopolitics and the overseas profits, the s&p, the only times over the last five years during this rally that we've had trouble is when qe ended and that coincided with trouble in europe both times. now we have that eci wage data.

that maybe got some people concerned and that was the result of the big down day that we had a couple of weeks ago. kubl that with the geopolitics and this is an interesting time. >> thank you. thank you guys. appreciate it. when we return, you know it's you, right.? mark mahanny is up next on squawk.

welcome back. time now for the squawk planner. ahead of the opening bell, the national federation of independent businesses gives is monthly business report. the company behind candy crush,

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it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. welcome back. we're coming up on the tail end of earnings season. close to 90% of all s&p 500 companies are reported results including the hottest tech and

internet names. let's get an inside look at that sector plus find out if king digital's results will be sweet or sour. with us on set making a rare east coast appearance is mark mahaney the lead internet analyst at rbc capital markets. thank you, good to have you in the house. >> good to be here. >> let's talk king dig. what do you expect? >> we think numbers should be fine. no clear evidence of major upside or downside. this company needs to prove two things, that they can continue to diversify away from candy crush. >> can they do that? they have enough in the portfolio? >> sure, they do. they also have to prove they can do that while still growing the top line sequentially. if they put that to the the stock goes up. if they don't, the stop doesn't go up. >> people are worried about zynga and what zynga delivers. now there's this concern on candy crush. >> they're completely unrelated except they both have massive fashion risk. that's why it also trades at a discount to the market. can you put out the next candy crush.

what's the game that's going to really lock in users? that's a very hard thing to do. >> what do you make of priceline and the way the market reacts to those earnings? they were good earnings. the outlook was a little conservative. that was the concern going in. stock traded lower. we pointed out here in our interview with a gentleman yesterday morning we thought maybe the thing would go positive. it did. the right read by investors? >> i think so. you have to -- here you have to look not at revenue but gross profit growth. the growth there is extremely consistent. 35% gross profit growth for four years in a row. when people see that they work through the numbers. they continue to buy the stock. we didn't look at it as a dramatic quarter one way or the other. but the momentum is positive and the stock should continue to trade up. >> you weren't here when we had the guy who started this analyst ratings service. and it happened to be backed by former governor eliot spitzer. but instead of the ii model where institutional investor, it's access to the guy, and it's weather the companies like him, and it has no correlation with stock picking.

this just ranks analysts based on their ability to be right about stocks. and mahaney was like the top guy and we mentioned it at the time. so we, when he says -- he's not just another pretty face. when he says like buy or don't buy or sell -- >> the third best stock picker in the entire universe. >> so we need stock -- so you know, for fast money. >> right down the list. >> good. >> all right, twitter. silence the doubters? for good? >> no, not for good. that wasn't the breakthrough quarter. there's a new disclosure that they figured out again what their maus were and how many were automatic users. >> monthly average users? >> yes, that's right. if you're going to buy social media stocks don't start with twitter. start with facebook. that's one of our top picks in the group along with priceline. we have an outperform on twitter. so it's a speculator buy for us. after facebook you buy this. they have a lot of things they need to prove. we think they actually will. we think the debate is wrong on the street about twitter. we think they actually can increase engagement. there's a lot of things they can

do to mainstream the service. we think they will. the stock can go higher. valuations are much more compelling. >> just us media people that think it's more -- i think of twitter as more ubiquitous than facebook. i don't use facebook. but it's not more -- >> the numbers are straightforward. about 1.3 billion people on this planet, 800 million people a day who use facebook. you're not one of them. people who use twitter is a tenth of that. >> mm-hmm. >> but if nothing else, then, with the last earnings report, the twitter show people that you could own both twitter and facebook, that you didn't have to make a distinction between the two when it comes to your portfolio. because the argument had been out there for some time you cannot own both. >> yeah. >> i think they did prove that. there's two really nice simple and easy things about twitter. one is that the financial model's already been proven. that is facebook. 60% ebitda margins. secondly this company can dramatically ramp up modernization. they're generating a quarter of the revenue of users.

and both of those are about a quarter of google's level. >> i'm looking at your list. ebay outperform, netflix outperform, priceline outperform is there anything you don't like? >> groupon is our sell. so that's a company that we think has got real structural problems. this is the company that's a little late to the e-commerce game, it's going into an extremely crowded field and it's likely to face inflationary online ad pressures. >> mark mahaney. in the house on the east coast. good to see you. >> when we return, talk more about the passing of robin williams, the actor and comedian generated billions at the box office from disney's "aladdin" to his oscar winning role in "good will hunting." a look back at the life and times of robin williams when we return.

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chaos in iraq. leadership clashes in baghdad overnight sparking fears of new troubles in the southern portion of iraq. this while airstrikes continue in the north to try to keep isis at bay. a developing story in the fight against colon cancer. the fda giving the green light to a new noninvasive test for this deadly disease. the chairman and ceo of exact science is here first on cnbc with the details. and the death of a comic legend. funny man actor, oscar winner robin williams, dead at the age of 63. the entertainment industry mourning this sudden loss. the second hour of "squawk box" begins right now. >> are we visiting somebody here? >> no, why? >> just seemed like the only normal person around the place.

good morning and welcome to "squawk box" on cnbc i'm michelle caruso-cabrera along with joe kernen and scott wapner. becky and andrew are off today. the global markets reacting to weak economic data out of germany along with geopolitical tensions in ukraine, gaza and iraq today. the futures suggest right now the dow would open higher by roughly 21 points. the ten-year yield at this point stands at 2.43%. not a whole lot of movement there. in corporate news, shares of tesla trading near all-time highs. but consumer reports now says the model "s" has quote more than its share of problems. its staff has been impressed with some of the aspects of the car but cautions there have been many courts that might dampen experiences. tesla says it fixed the issues under warranty. >> the world is mourning comic legend robin williams this morning dead of an apparent suicide at age 63. condolences have been pouring in from celebrities, politicians and industry titans. one of the things that caught our eye this morning, china

paying its respects to williams. state tv playing dead poet's society and here to look back at a nearly four decade career at generated billions, our own julia boorstin. good morning, julia. >> good morning, scott. robin williams death has been met with an outpouring of grief from around the world from entertainment industry giants like disney's ceo bob eisner and filmmaker j.j. abrams to president obama and even secretary of defense chuck hagel praising williams for his work entertaining the troops. last night through this morning robin williams trended on twitter and on facebook. both in the u.s., and worldwide. williams landed on the scene in mork and mindy which aired between 1978 and 1982 and became a comedic icon with signature improvisations and rapid switching between different characters. but he also found great success with drama. winning an academy award for his role as a teacher in "good will hunting" in 1997. also winning three golden globes for "good morning vietnam," "the

fisher king" and his iconic role as "mrs. doubtfire" the hit that is so popular it's still the most frequently played movie on basic cable. his dozens of film grossed $3.2 billion at the u.s. box office and $5.2 billion worldwide and those numbers are not adjusted for inflation. most recently williams starred on the crazy ones, a sitcom on cbs which was canceled after one season. a sequel to the 1993 hit "mrs. doubtfire" was in the works at fox but hadn't started production yet and presumably will not go forward without williams. williams had already wrapped shooting on a couple of films that are scheduled for release. he's reprising his role as teddy roosevelt in fox's night at the museum, secret of the tomb. that's the third film in that franchise due out on december 19th. another film called merry freaken christmas is due out in november. joe, people are really going to be watching those films and i'm sure revisiting a lot of his

various movies and tv shows in the coming days. >> you know, those numbers are staggering. and that's not, you know, what we want to focus on obviously. but, the man had a huge impact on just life in general, but when you look at numbers like that, from one man, it does sort of drive home the point. he was an incredible talent. julia, stay with us. joining us on set brent lang variety senior film and media reporter and richard roeper a film critic for the chicago sun times joins us on the "squawk" news line. where do you want to start or how do you want to start? >> it's -- >> very individual thing. >> very difficult day. i mean, he was, you know, you see terms like genius thrown out there. i don't think it's disputable that robin williams was a genius. he was a comic force that really hasn't been seen before, and probably won't be seen since.

and his versatility was just awe-inspiring. when you look at those clips, to have the same actor be in "mrs. doubtfire" and just hilarious and break our hearts in things like "good will hunting" and "the fisher king" it's a staggering accomplishment. it's the reason there's been such an outpouring -- >> some of that was scripted obviously. but the other thing about it, and anyone that watched him, most of his material probably was developed in the space of milliseconds, not even seconds when you watched how he could -- how he could improvise or how he could do stand-up. it wasn't something he thought of even three seconds before. was it? it was almost instantaneous. >> no. he had a singular genius where there was no doubt, film roles, tvs, and certainly to stand-up where there was always room for robin williams to do what he probably didn't even know he was going to do until that very moment. it was, the key there so very well said is his versatility. there's only a few i can think

of who could so nipbly step back and forth between drama and comedy like robin williams did. >> yeah, and he also clearly had a really remarkable wit. if you look at -- read through some of these one-liners that he said, he was just so smart and so clever, and you see that that was really, that clearness is what drove his ability to improv so well. and if you look at the way that he shot a show like mork and mindy. they just allowed him to improvise. and i think that his ability to improvise, whether it was as mork or as aladdin in the disney animated film really distinguished him from so many other comedians out there and allowed him to connect with so many people with his sort of ability to be all these different characters, all at once. >> when we look at, brent, we look at movie roles that make people stars. i'm always surprised to see who turned down the role. and i think, wow, so it wasn't just that person. i look at, and you think, well there's writers, there's producers, there's creative geniuses that thought of how to

develop this. but something about could there have been any of those movies that could have starred someone else, because he really did generate those billions because of the sheer force of his personality and genius. >> i think you're exactly right. i was talking to jeffrey katzenberg last night. when he was at disney he worked with williams on aladdin and on good morning vietnam, and he was saying, you know, this guy he made those movies. those are iconic roles. there's nobody else who could have done them. in some ways you look at them. he deserved a cowriting credit. he was just coming up with this stuff off the top of his head. you know, the genie in aladdin, people were actually talking about you know, will he get an oscar nomination he was so good. >> richard you're a film critic. what was his greatest film? is it even possible to say? >> you know, going through the list yesterday, you could have a list of five or six comedies, and five or six dramas that would be at the top of the list. you can't ignore "good will hunting" it's the obvious choice

because he won the oscar. there's one scene where matt damon asked him when did he know he had found the one woman that was the love of his life, and in 2 1/2 minutes robin williams recreates game six of the 1975 world series and has us crying thinking about this woman that he had fallen in love with and demonstrated his range all within about 120 seconds. >> the only people that were crying were red sox fans. i am not crying when i think of the 1975 -- i am crowing. i'm laughing. >> you will if you watch that scene again. >> there was a seventh game, and i remember bench hit a home run in like the third -- >> they were kind of -- >> well, richard, is there another actor who you would point to who had sort of similar range? a lot of great actors obviously have great range. but one who was sort of born, if you will, as a comedic talent, and one who, you know, arguably will be remembered equally for his dramatic abilities, as well as his comedy? >> well, the first actor that

comes to mind is tom hanks who is one of the great actors of all time. and you know, he's just a singular talent, as well. but the distinction where robin williams has even one more, you know, amazing ability is tom hanks was never really a stand-up comic. or steve martin who's done drama and comedy. robin williams in addition to the sitcoms, in addition to the comedies, in addition to the one hour photo was one of the top stand-up comics. he was along with richard pryor and george carlin. >> that is weird because we've been making a point, brent and richard, that you can go from comedy -- it's not -- you wouldn't think it, but i've been told by someone like bill murray you can go from comedy to drama but i don't know if you can go from drama to comedy. >> it's extremely difficult. >> we can pick a couple names -- >> you mentioned where they fall really flat, great dramatic ators. but, if you're able to age whatever it takes, i guess stand-up -- >> and i wouldn't -- >> i just think you can't

underestimate the power of this improvisation. i mean it's so unusual for studios to allow someone to just go. and say like with aladdin we're just going to let you imthis pr this and see what comes. it's unusual to trust someone like robin williams to give him that much leeway. >> they were talking about, i had read in tiger beat magazine when i was little because i was such a fan of robin williams when he was doing mork and mindy, they would do the scenes six times and he would do it differently every single time and it was tough to decide which one was actually going to go in the show because every single one was so funny. >> and that's so unusual and so rare in hollywood. >> when you look at a lot of improvisation it would be inconceivable to think of those type of films without a robin williams. he showed there was a market for that kind of humor and that you could really pull it off in the structure of a feature film. >> hanks is a good example,

right? bachelor party hilarious. >> hilarious. >> and then -- >> the show where he was a woman? >> could the same talent that did those films be in castaway on the beach? right? >> bosom buddies to that. >> bosom buddies. >> bill in caddyshack which not a single line that he did in caddyshack was written. >> no? >> and then last in translation, or any of the, you know -- >> that's right. >> pretty amazing. >> brent, thanks. richard, appreciate it. thank you. >> thanks so much. >> all right, coming up -- >> julia, too. julia is -- do we need to thank her? >> she's family. >> thank you, julia. thank you anyway. >> coming up, more airdrops of u.s. aid to some 40,000 people escaping the militant group isis. and while there is more chaos in baghdad over who will leave the country at the same time what does the u.s. need to do right now? how to get the situation under control. and check out shares of exact sciences. the fda giving the green light

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there's the dow an implied open up 22. the s&p and nasdaq look like they, as well, would open to the plus side. among this morning's stocks to watch, intercept pharma, shares soaring in extended trading. the company releasing positive data on an experimental liver drug. a clinical trial showing the drug many have had -- may have had a more benign effect on patients' cholesterol levels than first thought. in geopolitical news, secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. will consider additional military economic and political support to iraq once a new inclusive government is formed. president obama under fire by critics for underestimating the threat there. joining us more on the volatile situation larry korb a senior fellow at the center for american progress. and a former assistant defense secretary, and michael reuben is a resident scholar at the american enterprise institute and a former pentagon official. let's approach it two ways, guys.

larry and michael, number one, any of this our own making or the president's own making, that if something had been handled differently years ago, that maybe we wouldn't be in this situation, larry? or is it -- i mean the problems in iraq are well documented. it's been, you know, not even just hundreds of years. is there anything we need to take responsibility here for, larry? >> oh, definitely. by invading iraq unnecessarily and under false pretenses, not sending enough troops to control the situation, and then trying basically their civil society, we created this situation where you have the prosecution of these religious minorities. and the other thing is, we put maliki in to power and then kept him in there in 2010, when it was clear he was moving in a very noninclusive way and going after people who aren't -- >> take it a step further,

larry. so that happened, all right. so go to the current administration, and what happened in syria. any responsibility there for letting this underestimating the problems, and letting it get to this point? >> people said you should have armed the moderate opposition. those were a bunch of farmers and bankers. they did not have military capability. had we armed them, isis would have gotten the same equipment they got from the sunnis even earlier. because they would have been able to beat these people. >> all right. michael, that's the centers for american progress take. does the aei have the same take? >> no, look, saddam hussein wasn't exactly known for civil society. and when it comes to the rise of isis, a group which oftentimes isn't only iraqi, and the kurds just killed a chechen the other day, you have a situation where president obama is like a doctor who diagnoses cancer, but waits until it hits stage four before giving any medicine. the fact of the matter is, this

problem metastasized largely because we hadn't taken action at a time when we could have had preventive medicine in syria. >> larry i always like the retro, sort of hindsight view of iraq now. so it was just such a nice, peaceful place before we went in there and screwed it up. i mean, you know, with kuwait, and with gassing the kurds, and with a couple of wars with iran and hundreds of thousands of deaths. i really miss that saddam hussein character. >> well, wait a second. wait a second. okay. we ate at saddam hussein when he fought iran, okay? >> but there's a couple -- when you say we, the same thing -- >> -- the united states did. >> right. >> and yes he's a horrible dictator. i agree with that. but it was a stable -- we dealt with a lot of horrible dictators, like mubarak, for example. assad was on our side. the guy who runs syria, in the first gulf war. so by going in they created this chaos -- >> the spirit of joe's question,

larry, is president obama inherited the situation. and what should he have done? and could he have done anything differently so we wouldn't be here now? is there anything -- >> yes, what he could have done is not allowed maliki, who lost the 2000 election to take power. that's the first thing he could have done. >> so the united states should intervene in what is presumably a democratic election -- >> no, no, he -- >> and tell them how to do their business. >> he lost the election. okay? he lost the election. that's what -- that was the problem. and we still threw our weight behind him. he didn't win that election. he won this one. but he didn't win the last one. it was very clear, even by then, he was not an inclusive leader. >> michael any way to -- this has a good outcome based on what the united states does at this point? is it our -- is it in our wheelhouse to try to be the one that decides how to work this out? or is it an iraqi problem?

>> well, ultimately it's an iraqi problem. but let's also be clear. it's all well and good to scapegoat maliki but no matter how generous he might have been in a perfect world, to many of the sunni provinces inside iraq, it wouldn't have changed the ideology of isis. this isn't a battle about freedoms it's a battle about ideology. giving more concessions to sunni tribalsmen wasn't going to change the misogyny of isis, their hatred, their bloodthirsty hatred of religious minorities. the fact of the matter is we've got to recognize that sometimes terrorism is rooted in ideology and not in just -- >> larry, would -- what is the center for american progress think the president should be doing in terms of airstrikes or involvement in iraq at this point? >> well, it's not the center. it's me. >> what do you think? >> basically -- >> you want to keep working there? >> we're doing the right thing because the -- in kurdistan the

peshmerga will fight so that's what happens. the fact of the matter is the iraqi army was much better than isis but they folded because the sunnis up there didn't support maliki. they're one of the best trained militaries in the -- in the region. and so by the peshmerga, they'll fight, we're giving them equipment and we're dealing with the humanitarian catastrophe which we created by creating chaos in iraq when we went in there. >> michael the failure of the peshmergas this last time around we had to step in and help them. what's your assessment of why that happened? >> you know i see a lot of problems -- first of all there's got to be introspection about why all the militaries we're training fall apart once we leave. you can't blame ethnic and sectarian division on the failure of the peshmerga to fight effectively what you've got to look at is corruption and nepotism. the president of iraqi kurdistan made his son head of special forces and made him a general at age 30 and the fact of the matter is, the kurds didn't fight well this time because they didn't have ammunition.

but they could have bought ammunition on the open market, instead barzani's son bought a $10 million mansion in suburban washington, d.c. we've got to address corruption, which is more corrosive than terrorism throughout the region. >> tough to fight isis in the suburbs of washington, d.c. >> indeed. >> all right. larry korb, thank you. michael rubin, thanks. where's larry? you got me and michael. >> thanks, larry. >> you're welcome. >> there's larry. all right, thanks, larry. >> coming up the terminator meets the jetsons. why the next time you need a bellhop or room service at a hotel a robot could be knocking at your door. "squawk box" returns in just a moment. what does an apron have to do with car insurance? every time you tie on an apron, you make progress.

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us with the big news first on cnbc. and will investing in theme parks leave you stranded? this weekend's break down at six flags leaving passengers stuck 75 feet in the air and putting a industry under the microscope. that's coming up as well.

welcome back to "squawk box." headlines at this hour, jpmorgan is selling part of its private equity business to two investment firms. they'll buy about 50% of the portfolio companies held by jpmorgan's one equity partners. terms were not disclosed. google and five asian telecom communications companies are teaming up to build a trans-pacific cable network connecting the united states to japan. the partners will invest about $300 million in the project. the network will be named faster. construction will begin immediately. it should be ready for service in the second quarter of 2016. joe? >> thank you. michelle. there was a time we would have talked about the nfib small

business in 15 seconds we're going to do that. because it comes out at 7:30 exactly. we're head nothing 15 seconds. check out the futures. they don't necessarily move in anticipation of anything. maybe they will some day at the nfib. they're up about 17 points on the dow after we saw yesterday -- here it is. small business optimism rose in july, it remains well below historical averages though. the national federation of independent business says its monthly index edged higher. 95.7, up 0.7 since '95. the group says the numbers shows small business part of the economy is still not pulling its weight as it has been a long time since it -- dunkelberg tells us that every time he's on and recent economics numbers confirm that. that idea. small business. tough. what's the problem?

>> well, i mean beyond the amazing conviction the way you delivered that was the incredible way you vamped, as we say, in your lead-up -- >> yeah, because it had been 15 seconds. next thing you know, it's 5 seconds. funny that way. how it works. >> why don't you vamp here and get to the stupid markets. you got another guy named scott. you going to get confused because his name is scott? >> i won't. scott nations from the cme group. he's chief investment officer at nations shares. scottie, good morning, good to see you. >> good to talk to you, scott. it's interesting -- joe loves that small business number, doesn't he? >> couldn't you tell? >> you were all over it, baby. >> it wasn't the number -- it was we're going to check the futures. it's embargoed until 7:30. we had to do it right at 7:30. otherwise someone might have that drop-dead important info. >> can't mention it early? >> we would want to be right on tune with a market moving number like that. >> yeah, but it's not necessarily -- go ahead.

>> okay. >> don't do that on the show. >> sarcasm -- >> sarcasm equals trouble? >> it does. >> scott how should we be thinking about the markets here after the kind of -- couple of weeks that we've had and the return of volatility, the geopolitical flashpoints, et cetera? >> i think we have to look at what happened yesterday, at least in the s&p, and be pretty confident. now overnight, we got german investor confidence which was horrible, about what you would expect. not many places in the world where you would expect investor confidence to be even lower than in germany. but it was even worse than expected. but here i think people feel pretty good given everything. i mean we got in the middle of the morning yesterday we got the news out of iraq that maliki is not going to leave quietly, and the s&p at that point was up about six and i thought it would actually come all the way back to zero or unchanged on the day given that that news was obviously not good for our

markets. i think we're starting to see that even in the face of reasonably bad news our market is pretty resilient. that's probably largely a function of the fact that 90% of the s&p companies have now reported earnings. that earnings are really good, and probably more importantly, in the s&p, revenues are better than expected. for several quarters in a row, if companies made their eps numbers only because of the stuff in the middle of the income statement. that is expenses they were cutting. now it seems that revenues are growing as well and we're also going to get a bunch of reports from retailers this week, we're going to see if they're finally getting out -- >> but for how long can we seemingly ignore what's taking place in europe? i mean, if you have the italian economy slipping into recession. and then now you have worries about, you know, the behemoth, germany, having economic issues, as well, how long can the s&p

ignore that? regardless of what the earnings are here? i mean at some point it's going to run its course. >> as long as ten-year yields in some of the p.i. ooncht g. countries are lower than the ten-year yields here in the united states, as long as that is the case i think that we can, if you will, whistle past the graveyard. until we start to see some nor flight out of sovereign debt in some of the second tier european countries, i think our market is going to do just fine. but i think that that will be to use an overused analogy, that will be the canary in the coal mine. >> all right, scott we'll talk to you soon. scott will be on futures now at 1:00 p.m. eastern today only on cnbc dotcom. >> i wanted to get to kevin conyers here about the nfib thing. the breakthrough about colon cancers. the fda just approving the first noninvasive colon cancer screening test.

a company behind the new test is exact sciences, and its good to see you, kevin. there's a -- i want to show a one-year chart because you were here a year ago. kevin conyers, ceo of exact sciences. so for anyone that was watching, nine bucks, and the reason you were on last time, you have seen some positive phase three trials for this, right? >> we ran a 10,000 patient study that was published in the "new england journal of medicine." and in that 10,000 patient study, cologuard this new screening test detected 94% of curable stage cancers, stage one and two cancer. 92% of all cancers. noninvasively. colon cancer. >> colon. so the stock was at about $9 when you did that. it's going to be at $18 or so today. market cap is approaching $2 billion. i've got a lot of questions. number one, the -- we know about colon cancer. we know to get a colonoscopy

because you have these polyps form and they're serial mutations over a long period of time that can finally result in colon cancer. what is this detecting? which mutation is this detecting? >> colon cancer does develop over a very long period of time. precancerous polyps take 10 to 15 years -- >> and they're presumably more mutations occurring as this goes on. is it -- testing a mutation or testing something that's -- >> it's detecting dna mutations. something called dna methylation and protein. and so -- a blood protein. so 11 markers altogether. we developed the test in a deep collaboration with the mayo clinic where we identified the markers. and developed all of the technologies, a really difficult test to develop, with the mayo clinic we developed all of the technologies to detect these various markers. hard thing to do. let me take one step back. one of the great things that occurred yesterday was the fda and cms acted in parallel for

the first time in history -- >> centers for medication. >> cms proposed national coverage decision. every three years medicare -- >> how much does it cost? >> so we -- are pricing the test at $599. which is a great price. >> how much is a colonoscopy? >> medicare we're proposing $502. colonoscopy costs about -- $2,000 to $2500 on average. >> so how many -- >> is that the test there? >> yes, it is. so this is a collection kit. one of the great things about the test is once your doctor -- >> hold it up -- behind the box. looks like a little garbage pail. this collection kit gets sent to you. u.p.s. actually ships this directly to your home. so it's the only colon cancer screening test that's highly effective that can be performed in the privacy of your own home. and when you're finished you call u.p.s. and they come back and pick up the collection kit. in a sealable leakproof

container. >> you sit on -- how do you? >> so it's really simple. you figure it out easily -- >> that goes on the toilet seat. >> the top comes off. a preservative goes over the sample and then the collection kit goes back in to the container. >> you're talking about collecting stool. >> we're talking about collecting stool. >> we actually had to put that -- >> i think most people figured out, we're talking about colon cancer here. and if you're going to do a colonoscopy. the thanks you're going to be doing aren't that great either. >> back to your point, joe. so colon cancer develops over 10 to 15 years through these acquired mutations, methylation. >> like so many cancers. >> like so many cancers. >> if you find a precancerous polyp and remove it we know that it actually prevents the disease. and this disease -- >> slow moving. this is a disease we ought to be able to handle. and it kills a lot of people. >> no problem. >> how many false positives do you get? >> you get about 10% false positives in patients with a perfectly normal colon. so that's really reasonable.

>> so they can go get checked -- if they you know they'll be scared but if it's a false positive they at least get it checked and have a full col colonosco colonoscopy. >> that's right. >> you got to get a great guy doing the colonoscopy or he might give you a false positive or worse he may miss a precancerous lesion. >> and the problem that we're trying to fight -- >> how often do you -- >> very small percentage of time -- >> -- only 6% of the time. but in the compare test curable stage cancer was missed 30% of the time. five times greater. to put this in perspective colonoscopy is known to miss about 5% to 10% of cancers. >> so it's not that different. >> it's not that different. >> let me ask you a question about the price again because i'm looking at a story here that says you new test would cost $599. which you said. comparing to about $25 for a traditional stool blood test. you said like $2500. >> that's for a colonoscopy. >> there's a reason that the

current blood stool blood test only $25. they detect later stage cancers much better than they detect -- >> markers that are -- >> definitive for cancer. >> it's looking for blood in the stool. >> will you find a precancerous polyp with this? >> you can find a precancerous polyp -- >> stage one stuff. >> even prior to stage one. >> what do you think the market -- >> 15 years before cancer. >> what is the potential market two years from now, now that it's -- >> well without speaking to what it is two years from now there are 80 million americans in the average risk screening group. 80 million people, only half of them are regularly getting screened with colonoscopy. so, the market for this, we estimate, to be at least about 8 million americans per year. achieving only about 30% market penetration. so assuming that only 30% of people -- >> what's that come out to?

did you do the math? >> it's a big opportunity in the u.s. only. >> that's the math you did? it's a big opportunity. what is 30% drs >> it's a multibillion dollar u.s. opportunity and a multibillion dollar global opportunity. >> are you surprised, the stock's had obviously a great run already leading up to the expectation of the approval. are you surprised it's not up more this morning? are you surprised? >> i'm surprised because i -- >> i don't want -- >> those kind of numbers. >> i don't want to do this. and i worry, can i do this at a doctor's office? can someone help me where i just am not that involved with the whole -- i'm acting like a child. >> this is far better than a colonoscopy. don't get me wrong. >> there's a lot of distasteful things you have to do with your health. catheters, and injections -- >> a real focus on the 50% of people who are notcolonoscopy. >> presumably -- >> they could do it really easily. >> in fact the american cancer society said this year their goal is to increase compliance from about 60% to 80% by 2018.

>> good. >> you don't get there without a new test like cologuard to get there -- >> there should be urgings with public service announcements. >> yeah. >> if we're going to worry about how our kids eat lunch this should be a good thing to promote. >> katie couric did a col colonoscopy live on tv. maybe you could -- >> you're making a joke about this again. i don't -- i don't -- okay. maybe you know, let me think. >> live on television, you know. >> yeah. i had a colonoscopy so i'm all set. i'm good. thank you, kevin conyers, we'll be watching. stocks at you just saw it up about 7%. >> just one more quick question. there's no prep, so to speak. >> there's no prep. >> no prep at all. >> you don't have to drink all that stuff? >> this is a simple, and easy as it gets and it's widely accessible. this test cologuard for the first time you can screen a population with the help of u.p.s. it's a big deal.

>> and there is a book that you read as a kid, everybody, you know, poops at some point. >> my kids have read that one. >> all right. coming up. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> coming up, the latest roller coaster scare leaving 24 people dangling 75 feet above the ground. it may have been a good time for all of these people to get tested they were probably pretty frightened. do incidents like this hurt the bottom line? that's next. and later oscar winning actor and comedian robin williams was found dead, if you haven't heard yet, in his california home yesterday. fans around the world remembering the improv genius. including the president robin williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny and everything in between, but he was one of a kind, the president said we're going to have more on his apparent suicide in just a bit. "squawk box" will be right back. we started zya with the thought that the kid on the back of the bus might have a song that he has in his head but he just can't get out. with the technology of cloud, we change all that. i can sing something into my device,

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welcome back to "squawk box." checking the futures now. let's see how we're shaping up for this day on wall street. are we going to make it three in a row? when was the last time the dow did three days up in a row. implied open of 13 points. s&p looks like it could be a little higher off the open and there's the nasdaq which outperformed yesterday.

looks like it, as well, will be positive off the open. making headlines this morning, nascar officials are holding a weekly meeting today, and they are expected to discuss the deadly sprint car race last weekend involving tony stewart. "usa today" reports officials will discuss driver altercations, and rules to keep drivers in cars under caution. the paper also notes what it calls the entertainment component to driver altercations. speedways use the fights in promotions, focused on selling tickets. michelle? >> 24 riders rescued after being stuck for hours on the joker's juice ride at six flags in maryland over the weekend. do these accidents hurt business or is the business of big coasters booming bigger and better than ever? joining us now is oppenheimer and company senior research analyst. ian, good to see you. >> good to see you. thank you for having me. >> are we going to see an impact on six flags business or the roller coaster business in general? the theme park business in general because of this situation? >> you know, i think these, what

i call them incidents, the incidents tend not to have any impact on attendance. it makes for great social media and i think in today's day and age, you're seeing a lot of social media. for instance i woke up this morning and i know 15 of my friends are feeling blessed today. ten years i would have never even known they were blessed. because of social media we now know that. so i think a lot of this is really more blown out of proportion than anything else. >> you don't see -- do you ever see a one-day drop in attendance? maybe the particular park or any kind of ripple text? >> oh, yeah, you know, if you see, you know, something more significant, let's just say a fatal toy in a park, yes, you'll absolutely see a degradation in attendance. you know, there's been incidents before or accidents before and fatalities. they tend to be relatively localized. to just that park, and then they tend to dissipate over, you know, the ensuing two, three months or so. but yes, you know, initially you do see that. >> how much of an arms race, so

to speak, do you think is going on between these theme park companies and trying to come up with the latest and the greatest and the highest and the fastest and the scariest coasters to drive their attendance? >> yeah, well, i think, you know, as technology progressed, the rides have gotten more advanced, you're able to do things that you weren't able to do before. for instance six flags used to have a wooden roller coaster. they put in a steel track to make the banks steeper and make the ride more thrilling. i think the more sophisticated the rides get, the more technology you add. i'm not saying that you're going to see more of these incidents but it's almost like your car. the more technology in your car, you know, the more likelihood that there is going to be something that fails. i mean the idea is really to prevent a catastrophic failure. not necessarily, you know, people being stuck on a ride. and a lot of times people being stuck on a ride might be a safety feature. they're not falling off the track and they're being contained. >> so data that shows year over year growth when it comes to theme park attendance is 2% to 3%. that isn't all that exciting.

do you recommend six flags at this point based on the fundamentals of the industry? >> and the stock's big run, too. >> yeah. so i've been covering the stock for a long time since bankruptcy, it split twice already it's done a very good job. and the idea was never, hey, look, this is, you know, big growth story. it's a relatively mature industry. it does grow 2% to 3% but the pricing is pretty significant. six flags in particular is underpriced relative to their peers. there's a big gap where they could raise the pricing. they could reduce the discounts, fence in discounts and get people to pay full price. it's more of a pricing story than a cash flow story, as opposed to let's just say an attendance growth story. >> ian thank you so much. thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure, thank you. >> coming up, can a new prime minister in iraq stop the islamic states from redrawing the border? we're going to discuss with the director of a peace building and human rights clop at columbia university. we needed 30 new hires for our call center.

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take a look at some stocks to watch this morning. intercept pharma releasing positive data on an experimental liver drug. a clinical trial showing that the drug may have had a more benign effect on patients' cholesterol levels than first thought. and that's pretty interesting news. and that stock today, the stock up about 58%. when you break down that symbol,

wapner, please, for halftime report? don't you think you might want to look at that? >> i think we'll talk about that. >> are you going to watch? >> you don't have to force every day -- >> you're welcome >> speech recognition software maker nuance communications posting earnings in line with estimates. revenue, though, missed the mark. in current quarter guidance, falls short of consensus. apple's siri feature is powered by nuance. people don't use siri nearly as much -- have you tried it? >> i think i've used it maybe once. >> you can use it for everything. call home, call -- >> do you use it? >> yeah, you can use it when you don't -- you should be using it at times when you're not. where you can just say, find a domino's or whatever it is. whatever number that you're looking for. or call someone -- >> you use it? >> yeah. you don't do that? >> i don't do it very often either. >> works pretty well. and i dictate all my e-mails now. >> you do? >> you can say some really funny

stuff. you may have to change a few words. she comes up with some khaki stuff. >> at your desk and talking in front of everybody or this is when you're driving? >> whenever -- i will start trying to do an e-mail by doing it that way. >> really? >> yeah if it's ten simple words like yeah, let's do that. let's make it -- >> instead of typing. >> it's not like the autocorrect is all that great, either. that comes up with some wacky stuff. >> exactly. >> you always have to check that before you hit send. >> yeah, you do. >> rackspace earnings were in line with estimates forecasting current quarter revenue above analyst estimates among the at list an increase in demand for its cloud management services. of course all these stocks reacting to that nfib report that we had at 7:30, as well. that's sort of in the mix sort of market influencing. keep that in the back of your mind. 95.7 versus 95. >> should we talk about nfib in the half? >> yeah, for sure. >> at your own peril. >> coming up -- >> do you want viewers -- >> no.

>> coming up, robin williams remembered. the actor found dead yesterday in his home in northern california, a live update is just ahead. plus geopolitics in focus again this morning. former council of economic advisers chair will join us to talk politics and intersection of the economy. plus robots invading starwood hotels. an exclusive preview of new technology that could change your hotel stay. "squawk box" will be right back. d where the reward was that new car smell and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one. redeem earnings toward part or even all of a new chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac - with no limits. so every time you use it, you're not just shopping for goods. you're shopping for something great. learn more at buypowercard.com

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leadership in iraq in question. airstrikes continuing as isis looks to make its next move. what you need to know about the situation and what it means for markets around the globe. checking in with the ceo of choice hotels. >> i think you misspelled the word vacation. >> one of the world's largest hotel chains on the summer lodging season and the state of the business traveler. >> and oscar winning actor and comedian robin williams being remembered this morning. >> what do you think i should have? >> oh, anything that's on the menu. >> oh, how about this fly? whoa! >> his legacy and how he will be remembered, as the final hour of "squawk box" begins right now. >> good morning, vietnam!

♪ i'm driving in my car >> welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc. first in business worldwide. i'm joe kernen along with scott wapner and michelle caruso-cabrera. of course, we have played this, i'm not going to mention for -- we played in the background for certain guests. this is robin williams, doing the classic driving in my car -- yeah. >> i'm trying to think of who we played this far. >> i am, so. oh, he's on, on -- checking the -- >> no. >> checking the futures right now, we are looking they've come down a little. up only 5 points. you know, so this would be three days in a row.

after a couple of dicey weeks. last week a good rebound week. week before, got a little bit scary gave back all the july gains at one point. right? >> yeah. there's concern out of europe this morning, german economic sentiment dropping sharply in august with a key industry reading hitting its lowest level since december of 2012. take a look at the euro. a little bit of pressure 1.33 it is right now. the german ten-year, there it is, well yielding 1%. geopolitics dominating the market headlines this morning. a convoy of 280 russian trucks headed for the eastern part of the country early this morning. this comes a day after a deal was reached on an international humanitarian relief mission. but the red cross says it has no information on what the trucks are carrying, or where they're going. mean time in iraq, political leaders are in a battle for power. iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki refuses to step aside this even though the country's new president has already named a replacement.

the obama administration is praising the new leadership, and calling for the government to unite. we're going to have more on that situation in iraq, and ukraine, and elsewhere in just a minute. and the world is waking up this morning to an outpouring of condolences for the death of robin williams. the comic legend dead of an apparent suicide at age 63. his movies brought in more than $5 billion worldwide at the box office. michelle? >> all right. beyond containing the current crisis what does the obama administration need to do to turn the tide against terrorism in iraq? joining us now is david phillips, director of the program on peace building and human rights at columbia university's institute for the study of human rights. also a former senior adviser and foreign affairs expert at the u.s. state department during the administrations of presidents clinton, bush and obama and he's also the author of the forthcoming book the kurdish spring plus cnbc contributor. good to have you here. >> how. >> before we can figure out what the president should do we have to identify the problem and they

seem to get bigger and multiply by the day. nuri al maliki refusing to step down, incredibly defiant for the last two days even in the face of potentially a new prime minister. could we have a shia on shia civil war in iraq? >> there have been civil wars between shia factions before. right now maliki has been replaced. but he's refusing to leave the office. he's take iing -- to the courts. he's made most of the judicial appointments. he also controls the security services -- >> he has his own militia, correct? >> and they've taken to the streets. they've closed the airports. there's a real risk of a coup. >> if that occurs, that seems to be where we might start to see a big impact on oil supplies, because the south controlled by the shia groups, right? i mean basra in the south -- >> so far it hasn't been affected by turmoil in iraq and there's been plenty of it. so we might not see a significant effect. what it does impact on is the

administration's plan for an inclusive government in iraq that's going to solve the country's problems. >> why would the peshmerga fail this last time around? they have this mythical reputation, they stood their ground when the iraqi army disappeared. a couple months ago. what happened this time around? >> they were just seriously outgunned. they went into battle each peshmerga with 60 bullets and faced an islamic state army loaded with state-of-the-art equipment made in the usa and it was seized when they rolled into mosul on june 10th. they just couldn't stand their ground against heavy armor. >> we had a guy on last hour from the aei who says maybe corruption. barzani's son buying a place in washington, d.c. spending a lot of money, suggesting there's money going to places it shouldn't be, and could have gone to better equipment, even if the united states didn't provide it. >> you can speculate all you want about that. the fact is the peshmerga are capable and loyal and motivated. if they have the equipment to do the job they'll be able to

defend the country. >> what happens with these targeted airstrikes that the president has now launched? do you think it will work? and if not, what is the longer-term strategy to deal with this developing crisis? >> it has worked already. i mean isis was on the verge of taking erbil. a city of a million people. they would have gone in, and slaughtered thousands. so, it came just in the nick of time. but air strikes alone won't rule back the gains that isis has made on the ground. you have to arm the peshmerga, not with covert cia shipments but a robust train and equip program run through the pentagon. they need training. and they need to coordinate with the peshmerga so you've got an air and ground force operation that can stand against isis. >> does any of that require boots on the ground? >> it does not. peshmerga are the boots on the ground. what it requires is the political will in washington to make decisions to stand behind our friend and ally the iraqi kurds. >> you tried to get in to erbil this past weekend, correct? >> i got right up to the pushish

iraqi border. all the flights were canceled. i wasn't able to get in. there's a huge regional humanitarian crisis. including the aziddies who were stuck on mound sinjar. the fact that we've dropped humanitarian supplies has helped to save lives. but they still need a humanitarian corridor to get off the mountain. into a sanctuary. >> you talk about what can be done when it comes to the united states helping out the kurds to push back isis. what about the political drama under way in baghdad? is there anything the united states can or should do there? >> we've already called al abadi. >> the new guy. >> and congratulated him. probably the less we do the better because iraqis will react against u.s. intervention. maliki's already played that card, saying that this move is an unconstitutional effort that's been run out of washington. our whole strategy for dealing with iraq's stability in the future is based on an inclusive government. we might just have to come to terms with the fact that iraqis

don't have any tradition of consensus politic and they just are not going to continue as a viable state in the future. in which case we're going to have to look at who are our friends in iraq and instead of trying to placate our foes and adversaries work with our allies. >> you're talking about the kurds? >> of course. >> i was reading, as well, where there's pressure on cameron in britain to get involved in some way, shape or form with us. does that change the dynamic at all? does it make decisions for our president any easier? does it change the strategy that could be used there, if more of our allies are involved in whatever process this leads to? >> both the british and the french have stepped up and said they would join a humanitarian airlift but they're not involved in any military action beyond that. the big question is, how is turkey going to react? turkey is a nato member. a frontline state. it's already set up a comp on the border for iraqi turkmen. so far we haven't heard from

ankara about how they're going to assist the situation. in the background there's speculation that the turkish government sympathizes with isis and has a history of supporting them and helping their logistics. >> if the benefit from the airstrikes is limited, and now i see that it gives jihadists another reason to feel good about what's they're doing because it's against us again, it's against the united states again and almost enboldins people to want to join up because here we are, you know, interceding again where they don't want us. are the benefits outweighed by the -- actually giving more? you know, it almost induces people to join us with isis, doesn't it? >> ryan crocker who used to be our ambassador in baghdad called baghdadi the head of isis incarnate evil. our involvement isn't going to motivate them any further. their goal is to kill shiites, because of the divisions between islam. and anyone who is pro-western like the kurds or the minorities -- >> they're already --

>> are going to be targeted. >> i guess they're already seen as u.s. friendly. >> we should point out david's got a book coming out where before all this started predicted that kurd stan would become independent. at some point rather soon. and -- you're in a race against time, because it looks like it's happening. >> so biden went from a buffoon to write about what we should have done in iraq in the first place, right? >> biden's plan for the partition of iraq has been mislabeled. he was always talking about decentralization. and federalism that distributes power from the center -- >> so you think it would have been a better idea? it would have worked? >> at the time it was the right thing to do. in fact the 2005 constitution made arrangements for that. the problem is that maliki came into power in 2006 and he refused to have a referendum on kirkuk. he refused to distribute oil revenue to the regions. so all of the arrangements that were embodied in the constitution essentially broke down. >> now you're saying that that plan's dead on arrival, you got to go full division of the

country is what you're suggesting? >> that plan was overtaken by events. i think you have to continue to try for a political fix that brings iraqis together. i just don't think it's going to be possible. particularly given maliki's recent action. and if it's not possible you need a fallback plan. which is looking to iraqi kurdistan as a pro-western entity that serves as a security buffer. and a framework for the united states -- >> does the u.s. have a fallback plan do you think? >> it looks to me like we're flat footed in response to these events. we're reacting as things are occurring on the ground. we don't have a fallback plan. we need to start thinking about the future. >> all right. >> doesn't look like we have a plan "a" or a plan "b." >> thank you, david. good to have you on. >> all right, thanks. >> all right. >> -- he just signed it. >> coming up -- but it kills you if i say something against hillary, wellesley. >> yes. >> it's all about wellesley. >> it is. >> coming up, how one of the world's largest hotel companies

is faring this summer. the ceo of choice hotels joins us next. later the remembrances pouring in this morning following the death of robin williams. the actor passing away yesterday at the age of 63. a live report from the west coast minutes away. as we head to break, check out the "squawk box" market indicator. the cadillac summer collection is here. ♪ ♪ during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month and make this the summer of style. in today's market, a lot can happen in a second. with fidelity's guaranteed one-second trade execution,

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the most important time of the year for the hotel industry, what do bookings tell us about the health of the american consumer this summer season? steve joyce is president and ceo of choice hotels. take a road trip across the country, and you won't be able to avoid seeing his properties. brands include comfort inns, quality hotels, and econo lodge. i'll be darned. >> look at all those. >> among like -- >> there are. there's a bunch of other, rodeway, suburban, he tended, mainstay. i just stayed in one of your comfort inns, dude. >> hopefully we took good care of you. >> it was awesome. and there was like a buffet breakfast the next morning. >> free. >> that i was gorging on the -- >> free wi-fi. >> free wi-fi! i noticed.

>> free parking. >> and it was a suite that was as good as like the embassy suite where -- this one is up in upstate new york. where is the racetrack up there? >> saratoga. >> yeah, saratoga. we go up there for a family thing and stayed -- >> i've been there several times. >> good job. it's franchise. >> 100%. >> and how many rooms total in the u.s.? >> well we have almost a half million rooms worldwide. so it's 450,000 in the states. >> when we talk -- >> one in ten hotels. >> we have, because we're cnbc so we'll talk you know, ritz-carlton sometime, or we'll talk fairmount and we don't always necessarily talk you know the motor lodges on the freeways. was it the same dynamic after the financial crisis with you? >> you know what's funny is our business actually held up better than some of the other companies. and so, we're big leisure components. we've got a lot of people that are vacationing. we're obviously, because we represent the 99%.

that's -- >> people drive to your hotels. >> we're the hotel chains people drive to. we're doing several things. we're not only on the road but we're also not providing resort accommodations you know, where people want to be. you know, beaches and national parks and everything else. >> there was a pool at our comfort inn. >> and if you're driving your ford vehicle you can book a room hands free. >> from your car? >> from your car. >> and it was a lincoln that i was driving. this is really hitting home. okay. my serious question is rev par i guess occupancy came back for all the big chains and luxury chains, rev par still is not where it was? >> no, no, no. this is the year where it's gotten back -- >> for everyone? >> pretty much everybody. >> prices level -- >> the luxury hotels and the urban hotels came back first. but we had a huge quarter. we were up almost 8%. and so one of the strongest performances out there, and so as a result, you know, the american public is feeling good about their jobs.

they're feeling good about their financial condition, and they are out there traveling. we did a survey, our folks told us they were going to take two vacations this year to drive and stay in our hotels. >> is that different than -- >> yes, it's up significantly over the last couple of years. so it's actually, it's good and we're doing lots of different things. we're trying to reach out to the newer kids. we've done vaca gone carca. >> what does that mean? >> a video, one of the biggest things on the internet if you know it -- >> might be a buyer here in a second. i'm sorry. >> -- we can dress you up -- >> it's happened. anyway we've got -- >> look at that. >> 10 million views on the internet. >> with these -- >> and what it is is they're redoing vacations gone bad and there's a big contest and re-enact the ones that wins. >> this is for the hipster crowd? >> the millennials, the younger, my kids. >> we didn't talk about the hands free reservations. >> the ford -- >> you would know that if you

weren't trying to have an implosion on set from spilling -- >> i didn't talk about it. >> well how do you make -- >> it was great. it's franchises. what if you have some, you know, bad owners that -- >> well you know, we have a lot -- we have 5,000 hotels in this country. not every one is perfect. but we have a lot of people overseeing them. >> you ever do undercover boss? >> i have done undercover boss. >> you did? >> i absolutely did. >> what did you find? did you get bed bugs? >> we did not have bed bugs. >> you didn't go through any of the rooms with ablack light? >> i have done that several occasions. we let consumers tell -- tell us what they think of the hotels and we put that online. we call that verified reviews. we also have inspectors, independent inspectors that go out. and we also have our own people in those hotels regularly. we have a pretty good idea. we're not perfect but we try hard. >> what would you pay for the highest level room at your -- at any of your -- >> the presidential suite if you have one -- >> you don't have any

presidential -- >> we have hotels -- >> we have hotels in new york that want a busy new york, you know, weekend -- you could pay -- you could pay $400, $500. >> but at a comfort inn in a normal place in the midwest -- >> in cheyenne -- >> $79. >> no way you're over $200. >> you're paying, $79, $89. >> with breakfast. >> with breakfast, parking and free wi-fi. we are the value oriented brands. in new york we're the value. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> good to see you. >> thanks. >> so what was your disguise undercover? >> they shaved off my mustache, which has remained off. >> you don't have a mustache. >> i had one since the time i was 12. but then -- >> are you undercover right now? >> no, i'm not undercover now. there was a vote in the company and i'm the only one that voted for the mustache. >> coming up next remembering robin williams. the latest from northern california following the actor's sudden death yesterday. news conference scheduled for 11:00 a.m. pacific.

acclaimed actor and comedian robin williams was found dead yesterday afternoon. the medical examiner now in the process of conducting an autopsy. a news conference scheduled for late deer in california. nbc's jennifer is live in california where robin williams resided. >> michelle, it's still shock and disbelief in this neighborhood. we're here in front of robin

williams' home that he shared with his wife. his wife making the stamgt that she hopes that people will remember him for his body of work, and all of the things he did to make people laugh, rather than the way he died of an apparent suicide. she was the last person to see him alive at about 10:00 on sunday evening. the next day, paramedics were called. he was found unresponsive, he was pronounced dead about noon on monday. and as you said the medical examiner is working on cause of death. although preliminary indications were that it was a suicide and it was some sort of apparent asphyxia. williams' publicist had said that he had suffered from depression, and williams himself was very vocal about his past struggles with addiction, and drugs and alcohol and he'd gone to rehab as recently as a few months ago. again, robin williams dead at the age of 63. and press conference later on this morning. hopes to shed some light on what

else may have happened. what might have led to this. but that's the latest from here in california. jennifer bjorklund reporting live. >> appreciate that. when we return, former bush economic adviser ed lazear is with us. his take on the state of the economy and the growing issue of tax inversions, could they actually be good for america? "squawk box" will be right back.

welcome back to "squawk." abercrombie & fitch upgraded to buy from hold at steeple nicklaus. they fight a favorable change in the merchandise mix. kate spade on the rise this morning. the company reported an unexpected profit for its latest quarter with analysts having predicted a break-even performance. kate spade also boosted its guidance for the full year on surging sales. and head phonemaker skullcandy saw its shares upgraded to hold from underperform at jefferies. though jefferies says the road to recovery is a long one.

it does see sustained fundamental improvement. joe? >> okay. you should just move that water -- >> i don't know. take the sharp objects away. yeah, are you -- we're all set now? okay. i'm good. one of the hottest -- >> one spill is enough -- >> you're testing -- >> the eleven trok inning -- >> one of the hottest debate in -- that's what dp said. one of the -- in washington on wall street right now should american companies be allowed to avoid taxes by moving their headquarters overseas? mark cuban told us he wouldn't invest in companies that do that. but he had just gotten out of an operation, and was still i think underen es theesh yeah or something. one republican commentator said inversions could be good for america. i can see how you'd argue that it could force some action. in that way it could be good. >> the argument is once the company moves overseas the $100 million that they would have had to repatriate and pay taxes will

be reduced. now the $100 million they invest in the united states is a full 100 million. >> ed lazear served as one of president george w. bush's economic advisers. eddie, i'll talk to you about that in a second. i'm kind of more interested in what you always talk about, and we can get an idea about employment based on jolts. because we're now, you know, i heard biden, vice president biden say it's the greatest job creation period we've ever had in the history of the world. i think he said at one point. i mean, if you add up months, and how many it had been on the surface it looks good. but there's more ways to look at it. there's, you know, part-time, and there's participation rate. the jolt number that you always look at, gives us a better picture. why? and what is it? explain it. >> all right. well jolts actual stands for job openings and labor turnover survey. it's an index that's been around for almost 15 years now. it's not one that gets as much attention as you know your

monthly job report. but it does tell you some things that the job report doesn't tell you and in particular what it tells you is the number of hires in any given months and the number of separations. so it gives you a much better picture as to what's going on in the economy. and they're pretty astonishing facts that one gets from looking at jolts. and here's probably the most astonishing. in the typical month. in a good month, we would have, say, approximately 5 million hires, and 4.9 million separations, which gives you a net gain of 100,000. but the 100,000 is tiny relative to the gross number of hires that you have. so, all of the action is coming from hires. and the reason that's important is that what it says is if we do anything to slow down the rate of hiring, we're going to have very dramatic effects on job growth. and that's really the important message there. >> so has the jolts number confirmed that things have gotten much better in the last year?

>> they have gotten better. but it also tells us how far we have to go. so, if you look at the jolts number, in the very worst month of the recession we had 3.6 million hieshs. now, that's an important number by itself because what it tells you is that even in the very worst month of the recession, we were still hiring at a rate of about 40 million a year which is about a third of the labor force. so it's not like no one is hiring. there's certainly plenty of hiring just at a lot slower pace than we see in normal times. where are we now? right now we're up at 4.7 million which is good. so we're considerably up from where we were at the trough. but, if you look at the peak, where we need to be is somewhere in the 5.2, to 5.5 million range. and so, we're only about, you know, half to, i don't know, 60% of the way back to where we need to be. and for that reason we know that we still don't have a healthy economy. you mentioned that -- sorry joe i just want to make one more point. you mentioned a couple of other numbers that we look at. the number that i like as kind

of a summary of what's going on in the labor market is the employment rate. that's the ratio of the number of people who have jobs, to the total number of people in the working age population. and that number is still at about 59%, even correcting for demographics, and the aging population. that should be about 61%. so we're still about 5 million jobs below where we need to be. >> all right. the reason i didn't immediately go into inversions is i've just gotten frustrated because both sides -- actually, it's not really both sides. it's really just being demagogue, i think, by left but i see what they're saying. the president can't get a tax reform deal done. i don't think. so why even pretend -- why even talk about what we really should do, when you're not going to get to do it anyway. and he's just saying, we're not going to have any corporate tax base left by the time it's all done, so let's just put in a stopgap first, and then try and maybe do the long-term -- so i almost understand what he's saying. although it's frustrating.

because we should want to have a place that attracts capital. and it's not just taxes here. we should be building facilities here. by not allowing companies to incorporate or to do inversions, that doesn't change that they're still going to build manufacturing elsewhere. it doesn't change any of the other outflow of capital that we need to do. so it's really us from traiting that we're not addressing the crux of the matter. i know you think that just this palliative stopgap measure isn't the way to do things. it's actually counterproductive because it takes our eye off the ball fixing it. >> absolutely. i agree with everything you said. in fact, i think that even as a short run measure it goes in the wrong direction. the way i like to think about this is in terms of baseball. suppose you know you see that too many balls are being hit out of the park. well, you know, the obvious thing to do is to move out the fences. what the president is suggesting is, telling each batter that it's his patriotic duty to bunt. you know, that's not going to

work. and it also is going to ruin the game. and that's exactly what's happening here. what the president is suggesting is that we move in the direction of stopping capital from flowing. you simply can't do that. >> right because it's not just our companies deciding to try and move somewhere with an acquisition over there. our companies are easier bought by companies elsewhere with lower tax rates, because they can make -- our companies are valued more under their tax structure over there, so we're going to continue to lose stuff based on -- and you can't -- what do you want to do? not allow foreign ownership of companies now so we're going to -- that's going to be the next thing we do to fix this? >> right. and this is a very general point. it's not just inversion. what we know from all of the academic studies, and there's virtual unanimity on this, this is not just the right wing guys saying this, we know that the most mobile factor of production is capital. that's the thing that can move most easily and it does move easily and it moves in response

to tax rates. so what happens is if you raise the corporate tax, you have the most distortionary effect on the economy because capital can flee, and does flee and that's what we see. so if you look at even studies by the oecd which is hardly a right wing organization, they argue that the most distortionary tax is the corporate tax. when the president talks about tax reform, for the most part what he's talking about is higher taxes, not a restructuring of taxes. that's not the right way to go right now. >> ed, let's switch gears to the postal service. >> ben garrett? >> no. >> i got it. >> $2 billion loss in the quarter. >> yeah. >> i don't know, what -- what needs to be done? i mean, the mail gets there every day. >> yeah. but, you know, the good thing is that the postal service actually does produce a pretty high quality product. so if we compare our postal service to those around the world we actually do a pretty good job. >> and we were doing that here on the set before the set -- >> we're making fun of me. >> from a business standpoint.

>> no. >> the postal service can't get out of its own way. >> you can't defend -- i mean, to spend that much money to get -- michelle is saying hey we get the mail every day. $8 billion a year. $8 billion a year. >> a lot of countries spend that money and they don't get the mail. >> here's the thing, though. the problem is this. the postal service has a monopoly on first class mail. when you have a monopoly, you either can use it to make money, or you can use it to subsidize someone. in this case what the postal service has chosen to do is to subsidize. so the question is whether those sub sid -- whether those subsidies are sufficient for the economy. i tend to not like subsidies in general. i think that it tends to cause distortions in the long run. my view is that the postal service unfortunately is an aging entity. in a defining industry and there are good substitutes for it and over time it's going to die a slow but probably appropriate death. >> how much time? we're talking about something that's lost, has recorded a loss in 21 of the last 23 quarters.

this is what people are going to be talking about, right? they're happy to get their mail. >> i love my mailman. i love my teachers. i just don't like the people running it. you know. >> that's right. >> the bureaucrats that have no accountability. >> yeah, well absolutely. and i mean look. the postal service could, if it wanted to, earn higher levels of revenue, simply by restructuring their prices. bulk rate mail for example is priced low. that could go up. so there are a number of things that could be done, perhaps should be done. >> you're suggesting a private competition is the way to go here, when you use words like the postal service has a monopoly. is that what you're suggesting? >> yeah, exactly. and we've already seen private competition. obviously the reason that even first class mail as you know has declined in terms of volume over the last year, that's just a reflection of two things going on. one is electronic mail, and the other is mail that takes the form of u.p.s., fedex, other express mail services that are

good substitutes for first class mail. so, again, i think this is a -- you know, this is essentially something that's going to correct itself over time. the issue is whether we're willing to bear the cost in the short run, and who knows how long the short run will be. you know. but, look, in terms of budgetary problems this is an annoyance but it's not a major budgetary problem. the major budgetary problems are on the entitlement side, not the postal service. there's plenty we could be doing to get our budget back in line and the postal service may be one of them but it's small potatoes compared to what we need to do to get our budget back on track. >> thank you, ed. i appreciate it. >> before the end of the show i'm going to try and play some postal service for you. >> the band. >> okay. >> such great heights i've ordered that up. you know def jam right? the front man is also the front man for -- never mind. anyway -- >> is there crickets again? i understand it with wild wild

west. but this is now. this is -- you should know -- this is -- "saturday night live" they're big. no? >> when we return -- >> -- martin. we'll play that. >> room service will never be the same. robots roaming the halls in one hotel ready to fetch everything from food to extra towels, we're going to tell you where it's happening next. and have you accepted the ice bucket challenge? getting blasts of cold water for a good cause is sweeping the nation. we'll explain why when "squawk" comes back in a minute. over 1.2 billion eyeballs are on us during the two weeks at wimbledon. true tennis fans want to know what's happening. they don't want to just see what's happening, they want to know and understand why it's happening. anybody can just put data up, but we want to get a reaction, make it far more interactive. we rely on the cloud to provide that immersive digital capability. give fans more then just the game with the ibm cloud. the ibm cloud is the cloud for business.

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welcome back to "squawk box." the futures right now are suggesting that we would have a slightly positive open. not anymore. they've fallen. dow would open lower by three points. call it flat across the board. >> that nfib. >> you're right. >> that moved it negative? >> here is crude oil. the reason we're showing you this the international energy agency says the oil market is well supplied and that is despite conflicts in key oil producing areas. the savior the big increases in production from north america, wti at 97.21 lower by 87 cents and brent remains low 103.45, lower by more than a buck. >> i thought you were going to segue from jolts with lazier to enfebruary. >> liesman loves that nfib. >> he does. >> he's going to be mad that we're making fun of it. >> he is. >> we're not making fun of it. >> we're not making fun of it --

>> not him. >> i love him, too. you never know whether he's going to have a mustache. >> starwood is sending in the robots. the aloft hotel in kuper tino, california, will soon begin using robots to deliver stuff to your room. josh lipton joins us now with more. >> guys, i want to introduce you to my newest friend, alo the bot-ler. yes i said bot-ler. we're here at the hotel part of the starwood family. they think this could be game changing technology when it comes to providing and services their guests. here's how this technology really works. so a guest would call down to the front desk, order a tooth brush, a razor, or a towel. the front desk employee loads up the botler, types in a room number and sends it on its way. it uses wi-fi to call for an elevator, makes its way down the halls and calls for the room when it has arrived. once the door room opens the

botler can tell and opens up to reveal the items requested. this is just a pilot program here at aloft. but the senior vp of the brand tells us if successful he hopes to see the program in nearly 100 properties. the robot itself is designed by start-up savio which has received funding from the likes of google ventures. the company's ceo thinks hotels could be just the beginning. >> there's always places, hotels, elder care facilities, hospitals, that have a few hundred robots maybe but no significant numbers. we think that's just a huge opportunity. >> now starwood is paying for this pilot program and has an exclusive contract with the robotmaker through the end of the year. but maybe the best part guys of my friend alo's service is that if you're happy with this services, he actually only accepts tweets as tips. back to you. >> ah. speaking of which, so how much does it cost? i mean it's got to be -- does

it -- i'm assuming the reason you would do this it's cheaper than hiring an employee. >> well, no word on cost. the hope is that the central costs come down it would only cost a few thousand dollars. in terms of how it works the employees the company's saying his purpose isn't to actually replace employees but rather the idea is he sort of takes over the small tasks so they can focus instead on more customer face-to-face relationships. >> got it. okay. cool stuff, josh. thank you. >> he sounded like r2d2. >> coming up tipping into jim cramer's tuesday morning radar. plus an ice bucket challenge right here on cnbc. the viral sensation raising awareness for lou gehrig's disease. executives from biogen set to take the plunge today. the details and the importance of the effort still to come.

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welcome back to "squawk box." the futures are suggesting a flat open right now. the dow would open higher by two, s&p by two, the nasdaq by two. >> let us get down to the new york stock exchange. jim cramer joins us now. jimmy, i was looking at, i understand this intercept deal

now. remember when it went up in the first place. i guess there's some really bad liver disease that's like cirrhosis almost but it's nonalcoholic. right? it's 5%. >> right they call it nash. nonalcoholic. >> and it's horrible. i think you need liver transplant eventually from it. intercept had this great drug that seemed to work but then it came out that there were some bad cholesterol increases with people taking it. i guess they -- some new data showed that the bad cholesterol increases were -- didn't last long, or that it wasn't as bad as they thought, and it's up like 50%. this is a pretty big deal today for intercept. >> yes, it is. i think this is one of the things we've got to get used to. you had a great guest earlier, exact sciences. there was another situation where initially the fda was very cool on it. then you talked about the false positives. but the false positives are the ones that just say listen you have to have the coggenoscopy. intercept looked initially not so good. i want to try to ask about what

happens initially you get this setback and then you just keep plowing on and this intercept's going to be a very big drug. this is the kind of drug, kind of company that i think that janet yellen was saying don't go and get involved in. >> yeah, right. >> i wish i were involved in it. >> it's $5 billion before this move today. will move up almost 50%, so that moves it, you know, that's in one day pretty big. the thing with the colon cancer, there's a cms thing, and i think it's 590 is what it costs, and cms is willing to do 502, $502, so everybody could do that. if you know you're not going to get a colonoscopy, why not do this for $500? >> totally great. there's innovations that save the system money. i remember when we first on "mad money" said exact science has to go through. it was rejected. we had the ceo -- i mean, how can you reject this?

people don't like the colonoscopy so they don't get it. now there's no choice, here's the optionsment i think it's something that saves the system instantly. you wish washington would recognize this is something that came along so fewer people have colon cancer. fantastic invention. >> before stage 1, markers for po pollyps. you can't guarantee the kbie doing the colonoscopy would find them. you could do both. >> i know. this is great. you have guys on, just, oh, yeah -- no. these are the guys who save the system money and save lives. fantastic stuff. >> you have a colonoscopy, right? >> yes. >> just one. >> would rather have this thing. >> me too. >> loutly. >> thank you. >> thank you. all the rave, for a good cause, the viral ice bucket challenge coming to cnbc. the details after the break when

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corporate leaders getting in on the ice bucket challenge. the development team set to take the challenge for a good cause.

cnbc has more. meg? >> reporter: that's right, i'm here at the headquarters in cambridge, massachusetts where in a couple hours, joined by dozens of researchers on the als team, the lou gehrig's disease. this affects 30,000 americans at any given time, and there really are not any cures or any good treatments on the market. biogen is working hard in the space. we'll be joined in a couple hours by a few dozen other researchers to take the challenge involving a couple dozen of these dumped on their heads. we'll see that. this is a challenge that's swept the nation. president obama has been issued a challenge. we'll see if he takes it. the als association says they raised 2.3 million from this since july 29th when it began. that compares with $25,000 raised in the same period last year. this is raising awareness and funds. back do you. >> are you going to do it?

>> reporter: we shall see if i'll do it, and we'll see if your favorite cnbc faces might take part in the challenge. check that out on "halftime report" later. >> what? on your show? >> yeah. >> did you know this? >> no. >> uh-oh. >> dude, are you going to get wet? >> getting out of here now. >> is that why you spilled the water? >> thanks. >> yeah, thank you. >> reporter: thank you, guys. >> 60 years since lou gehrig gave the speech, and they got every first baseman to read part, and finally showed -- my mother died of that actually -- but i showed my kids the speech, and that was phenomenal. he was playing every day, and he was only, like, 39 years old. >> retired young. >> that was ad lib what he said about it. i'm the luckyist guy on the

phase of the earth, just -- got teared up, and i saw joey, he did it, and all the different mlb guys from today read part of the speech for lou gehrig's and said, i know people think it's a tough break, but he was never seen again in public and died a few years later, 4 is 1. it's not a pleasant way to die. it shuts down your muscles that control your breathing, and it's harder to breathe and swallow. >> the guy who started this ice bucket phenomena was a pretty celebrated, i believe, college baseball player up in massachusetts who was diagnosed with als at an incredibly young age, in his playing career in college, and he's now sitting in a wheelchair, and they started this whole entire phenomena that's just absolutely captivated the country. >> and i think it's -- i've done

work for muscular dystrophy benefit in new york, and als was part of it, but just muscular dystrophy diseases, there is a cutting edge technology now where the gene is truncated or the protein is truncated so it does not work, but they make the message run past it. fix one thing, and they are actually almost ready now to cure the worst -- >> wow. >> -- type of muscular dystrophy based on genetic engineering. we really are on the cusp as we saw today with the colon cancer and intercept. >> we'll see the biogen folks on "halftime," and i have to watch my back. >> i think you have to do it to yourself though, aren't you? >> the video though showed other people dumping it on. >> can be self-inflikted.

she tried to out me to get me to do the thing with the school test live. >> i challenge you. >> that was universally challenged. >> it was. i challenge you to do this today and you won't do this, spilled water on our equipment, and that's the equipment, you don't even care. >> first of all, i didn't say i wouldn't do it. >> i'm challenging you. my show's over. >> are you going to watch the "halftime show,". >> ask carl icahn to do it. >> yeah. >> together. >> yeah. >> could you imagine? >> or ackman. should have after the herbal life presentation i think. >> okay. >> what? >> before we go, a couple headlines, corporate shares, shares of tesla trading high, but the model s, quote, has more than a share of problems. staff has been impressed with some of the aspects of the car, but caution there's many quirks that dampen consumer experiences.

tesla fixed the issues on the model s under warranty. we have a lot more on those stories coming up in just a little bit, right, joe? >> i can't believe the perverts we have watching on twitter. >> why? >> the world is waiting for mcc to do the ice bucket challenge. >> what are they referring to? >> join us tomorrow, "squawk on the street" is next. good tuesday morning, i'm carl quintanilla with david faber, and we are trying to build on two up days in a row as the dow is flat year to date, down six or seven points, analyst calls on retail, and apple working on a new ipad, fascinating pharma trials as well, the three-year note option in a