tv Squawk on the Street CNBC December 26, 2014 10:00am-12:01pm EST
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all-time highs on the s&p. 9.25 points to 2100. dow going for its 52nd record of the year. basically a record of the week so far. >> crude under pressure. nat gas continues to take it on the chin. >> six of the ten s&p sectors setting multiyear highs. nat gas dipping below $3. all the trades you need to know. >> let the returns begin. ups expecting to return 4 million packages by the first week of january. the international council of shopping center says holiday shopping season saw the best sales growth in about three years. >> the controversial film "the interview" opening in more than 300 theaters christmas day without incident as it becomes the top movie sales on google
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play and youtube. do not miss our interview with a theater owner who screened the film. first the markets at record highs. s&p 500 set for its 52nd closing high of the year. will the rally continue into the new year? joining us, hank smith at haver haverford trust. do you expect this record to continue into 2015? >> yeah. we wrote about it last year and again we are writing expect pullbacks, expect corrections. they are a normal part of any bull market. we haven't had a correction in 3 1/2 years technically speaking, a 10% decline. they should be short-lived and relatively shallow. there's been lack of participation with retail investors.
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this is one of the most hated bull markets in history. people are now finally looking to enter the market and they are going to buy on the dips. >> is that a good sign for the market? we were talking to a trader last hour who said when retail finally emerges, you want to sell. >> that's a long process. it just doesn't happen overnight. this market is not cheap, but it's not expensive. it's fairly valued and relative to interest rates and relative to inflation, could you make the case it's attractively valued. >> people say markets are forward looking. you look at 2015. you could build a case that geopolitically it's going to be more volatile. you still got me hank? >> yelp. >> markets are forward looking. 2015 you can build a case it's going to be volatile geopolitically.
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earnings are going to be slashed because of energy. why wouldn't you want to sell here? >> the fact is the economy is finally gearing to a new level. we have been stubbornly stuck in this 2% world we've been complaining about the past five years. we are entering a 3% plus world. the economy has momentum. at the same time there is low risk of a recession out. recessions kill bull markets. not geopolitical events not politicians, it's recessions. there's very little likelihood of a recession out 18 to 24 months. when the fed does begin raising rates, let's remember fed policy will still be extraordinarily accommodative for a long period of time. >> what happens to rates in 2015? there is this idea we might finally see that bull market in treasuries come to an end. something predicted this year
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that never happened. if reits shoot higher could that be a barrier to the stock market running higher soon as rates spike up everyone says is this going to kill the rally? >> right. not only this year i mean last year, the year before the year before that. we have all in the investment community been predicting higher rates and all been wrong. i think the key is not if the rates go higher but how they go higher. if they go higher on a gradual basis within a range, markets can deal with that accept that and it will be viewed as healthy. it will be viewed as a reflection of a positive economy. if rates should spike dramatically, i think that is a sign of danger. we don't expect that to happen. >> what do you tell clients who say active managers are having one of their worst years in a decade? i would have been smarter to throw it in an index and right
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it all year long. do you think active managers will have better performance in 2015? >> perhaps. i don't know. the most important determinant to an investor's success is time invested in the market. whether it's an active manager or passive fund what gives you the greatest opportunity to be a long-term investor? that dictates investment success. not whether you are a point ahead of the market or a point behind but how long are you an investor? are you an investor 20 30 years? if you are not getting in and out of the market, but staying invested, you will be very successful. >> we are now looking at an all-time high in terms of intraday for the russell index of small caps. it's up less than 4% for 2013. is that where you want to go small caps which lagged as we
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look toward a better u.s. economic environment? >> right. small caps entering 2014 were a very overvalued asset class. this relative underperformance has improved the valuation picture. yeah. you might want to take advantage of that. another underperforming asset class has been emerging markets which look attractively priced. europe continues to look from a valuation standpoint attractively valued. >> hanks, thanks so much hank smith. you mentioned the russell. maybe we can throw up a one year of the russell. the russell tried two times, three times if you go back late last year to top some of these levels. it has not been able to do it. 1213 now. all-time intraday high for the russell. that has not happened since july 1st. >> finally joining in the party.
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besides the markets, retail today is one of the busiest shopping days of the year according to shopper track. dom chou live from a mall in new jersey. numbers starting to come. in. >> that's right. people are starting to come in here more. a lot are coming here physically to use the gift cards they got. one of the big headlines we've seen already this holiday season is walmart is starting a gift card exchange program with website card cash for consumers to bring some of those gift cards they may or may not use and exchange them for walmart gift cards. this is a pilot program. that agreement allows people to take a gift card from any one of these stores and turn it in for decent amount of value in terms of a walmart gift card. spreads vary.
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the national retail federation estimates 1/3 of all holiday shoppers were going to buy gift cards. last year $163 in gift cards were purchased by every consumer. gift cards are becoming more and more a part of the culture of christmas giving. when it comes to the holiday season that's when walmart steps in and does one of these programs. if you don't use that gift card you may be use it as walmart if you turn it in at card cash. >> i think that is very clever. how many times do you end up with gift cards you don't want? >> that you don't use. >> pretty innovative. >> financially it's interesting. the spread at which they give you cards is different. if you have a starbucks gift
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card they may give you more cash value than for a gap or some more speciality apparel one. it depends on liquidity. >> blackhawk network is the one cramer would be mentioning right now which had an amazing rub since october. dom, gopro having a great run. 25% gain in a week. with no sign they will get a consumer drone. >> we talk about consumer electronics being one of those huge drivers for holiday sales. a lot of that stock price is appreciation off the lows we saw because they thought gopro hero 4 was going to be the must-have of the year. we haven't gotten real indication whether or not that is going to come to fruition. a lot of analysts are saying if you can get some traction and show you can have a product in
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its next evolution or iteration, that could be a huge deal. people are starting to bid the stock up despite the fact more and more shares are available for people to sell. interesting story to see. we'll see what happens whether those sales will justify some of that valuation we see. >> people already nicknaming it the dronie that takes selfie pictures. can you imagine? it's so the to be launched next year and could be just in time for the holidays. >> my wife bought one of our nephews a drone. i don't know if it can carry a gopro of that weight but it's an interesting idea. a lot of people will try to make their own drones and attaching their own cameras to it.
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>> are you going to hot topic or spencer gifts? what do you do? >> listen this sweater, i mean you can't find this sweater just anywhere. i've got to go trawling around. i'm going to try to find a few more store hears. >> i bet his wife picked that out. i know her favorite color. >> you know too well. yes, you are right. >> dom chu talking retail for us today. how have their management skills translated to their stocks? our boss of all segment coming up.
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after reporting slower growth facing increasing competition from facebook's instagram, twitter ceo has always been under pressure lately. what's coming up for the social media giant? bill george is former chair and ceo of medtronic, harvard business school professor, on the boards of goldman and exxon. happy holidays. >> good to be here. >> correct me if i'm wrong. you've been supportive of marissa meyer at yahoo. what is your take on how costalo
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is doing? >> i love twitter. it's a great broadcast medium to get things out on articles and leadership. his leadership has not provided. we talked a few weeks ago about larry paige and mark zuckerberg. owe is not in the same class. they need that leadership. it's a great app but they're stuck. >> what is lacking? is this monthly average users? is it ad loads? what has he fallen short on other than the stock price? >> clearly, the year base is starting to slow down. he's got an inflexible approach 140 characters. you can be more creative and open up more things. advertising is hard to use and not very apparent. they are almost against advertising. i don't think they have a sound business model. the problem is they lost $175 million last quarter. will lose almost as much as last year.
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they are losing 50 cents on the dollar. their stock is down 50%. facebook is up 50%. it's a question of leadership. costello is not a product guy. he doesn't understand the way larry page or zuckerberg does. you need a new team at the top. >> do you have any names you can throw out? >> names in this space are scarce. i do think you need a product person on top like most of the tech companies and sound business person. you've got to have product leadership. what costolo is doing, he keeps getting rid of his product
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developers. he brings in the next set of young guys that haven't proven themselves. we need some get strength in there. they need to go outside and find someone. >> how vulnerable are they to being bought? >> i think they are vulnerable on activists. this is a perfect place for an activist to come in and put pressure on them. i think that's likely. they may wind up merging with someone. i love the app, i love twitter, but it's not going where it needs to go. >> since we've got you with expertise on corporate governance. how about sony? how have they been managing this tack attack crisis now that the movie has been out. went out without a hitch in terms of showings on christmas day. what about how they handled this whole mess? >> sony has a lot of management problems. though have not had clarity. in this case they are being totally reactive to the north
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korean attack. i had a very indepth review of that attack. they left a lot of doors open into their i.t. systems. looks like attackers have been in there well over a year. it's not been well handled. they didn't counsel with the white house. now it's out and sony's got to get its mojo back. it, too, needs new leadership in japan and the u.s. it's a great company with a great heritage. i love the company. they sure lost their focus and sense of strategy. and their clarity of management. if you can't respond in a crisis, i think that's the real test. >> finally on energy we know you work with exxon. i'm not sure how much you can address specifically. what do you make of this environment and do you think it will be long lasting? >> i think we have a clear
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supply/demand imbalance. the u.s. producers. the cash cost taking oil out of the ground is not high. it's where you have to explore more. probably some exploration will come off here and around the world. there's a lot of production in the u.s. that will continue. saudis aren't blinking. you'll see real geopolitical shifts harm being done to russia, iran and venezuela. that is going to continue for -- who can predict the price of oil? it's going to continue for a while. the strong get stronger. a company like exxon, this will make them more efficient. this will weed out marginal players. exxon is conservative. and some of the international oil companies like chevron and conoco. >> incredible. saudis resolve, big story today how they are not changing their budget in the wake of these prices. >> what happens in russia. putin has taken the hard line trying to convince his people
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this is all about the u.s. this is going to mean big changes around the world. i don't understand why we can't export liquid natural gas to the germans. we need free markets. that would make everything better. whether this is strengthening the u.s. position helping u.s. consumers. it's got to be good for the u.s. economy. if people don't have a good economy, they are going to suffer. >> bill, thanks so much for the time. >> thanks having me back on the show. very good to talk to you. on that note wti is now lower, $59.69. we are watching the price of natural gas. warm weather hurting nat gas as prices dip below $3 this morning. how should you play the commodity space next year? lly has no hidden fees on savings accounts? that's right. it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that?
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>> 2014 was a wild year in commodities, and for many people, not in a good way. a confluence of cyclical changes, dry weather and geo politics led to big disparities in the asset class. 2015 won't provide much relief there. here are three predictions. first, coffee goes higher. with a prolonged drought in brazil and nasty fungus affecting crops in central america, some key producers are handicapped at the moment and have been for some time. coffee was one of the biggest movers rising more than 50%. that streak is likely to continue. second super cheap oil. american drillers haven't gotten the opec member and the two groups are in a stare down as to who will cut proddics first. oil will trade in the $50 or $40 range with no obvious floor. as one trade other puts it people need to stop thinking of this commodity like a stock with technicals. in other words there is nothing to stop it from falling way
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down. third, gold skids further. with a bullish november jobs report growing usgdp and federate hike expected we are emerging from the financial crisis finally. gold will have the losses to show it. look at the yellow metal to flirt with the $1,000 range some point in the coming year. >> we are watching the price of natural gas dipping below $3. let's bring in bertha coombs at the nymex to talk more about this sharp slide. >> we were on the east coast yesterday, short sleeves for christmas. that is not what you expect this time of year with warm temperatures, nat gas under pressure falling below $3 the first time in two years. the president of chicago energy trades nat gas here. thanks for joining us peter. we are seeing sub$3 nat gas here. not a surprise to that many people. >> not at all. because of the short term
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weather we have here looking very mild and with marcellus gas the first time in a long time trading underneath the dollar. it looks as though there is going to be a lot of pressure on the market. >> a lot of it as we are seeing with oil, as well. marcellus shale, it's the shale gas production. last year this time we actually had more in storage. we had a smaller deficit. then when we had all that cold suddenly hit us in the winter we saw prices spike to $640. do we have the makings for that? >> last year was unprecedented. we only got up to $6.50 without the north american shale gas, we would have been $12, in the old days. as you put on your crystal ball look into your crystal ball for 2015, absent a really bad winter like that could we see really cheap gas? what does that mean for
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production? >> what you need to look at you look at the weekly charts and monthly charts. it looks like crude oil did when it started its descent. with that being said people are very short the front end of the market because of what we see with weather and what we see with supply. all of a sudden today, we had december 2015 being weak while the front of the board was up. what does that tell me? that says to me there's a lot of shorts in the front for good reason. you always have to remember this is natural gas. with people being very short because of what they see, if we have any sort of weather, you can see a quick pop in it. it's very doubtful right now. >> thanks for joining us. certainly, if you are heat your home with natural gas or even heating oil, so far this winter you are really seeing a very nice trade and lower prices. back to you. >> thank you, bertha coombs. when we come back "the interview" that sparked that cyber attack available in 331
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theaters. how did it do on its first day? we'll talk to a theater owner who screened the controversial movie. elon musk tweeting this over christmas. roadster upgrade will enable nonstop travel from l.a. to san francisco, almost 400 mile range. why is tesla up $33 in a week? they're coming. what do i do? you need to catch the 4:10 huh? the equipment tracking system will get you to the loading dock. ♪ there should be a truck leaving now. i got it. now jump off the bridge. what? in 3...2...1... are you kidding me? go. right on time. right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. we call that predictable. thrillingly predictable.
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about on hour after trading on this day after christmas. some stories we are watching 7:30 on the west coast, 10:30 on wall street. ruble rising to the strongest levels after they were ordered to sell hard currency revenues. amazon recording record-breaking sales for its prime subscription. 10 million new customers used the program on the holidays. gopro up almost 3% today off the highs. the stock last friday was at $53, now $68. the company ipoed at $24 in june and hit a high of $98 in october. "the interview was sold out across the country on christmas day bringing in nearly $1 million on its opening day. it took the number one spot with video on demand services online. joining us is terrace theater owner from south carolina paul
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brown. we spoke to him before the christmas holiday. paul how did it look? how were sales? >> it was crazy. we've been in business since 1997. that was our biggest day ever. it was chaotic, organized and people were in such a good mood having a great time. >> sold out shows? >> every show was sold out. we are not an advanced type sikt place. a lot of sales in advance. even our latest shows were sold out. our other shows that day did well, too. people were coming out to the theater to support theater and support independence and support the movie. one lady came up to buy a ticket and she just said i'm not going to go to the movie. i want to buy a ticket because no one is going to tell me what i can and can't see. >> we talked to you earlier in
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the week. you argued vod would not have an effect. some owners are considering moving it to additional screens if demand requires it. could do you that? how does that work? >> watching a comedy by yourself and watching a comedy with 200 other people in the room is such a different experience. one could argue sort of a longing tale or some different genre movie may have an equal experience, but to sit in the theater and hear all the people roaring with laughter. the energy that comes from that is what movie going is. we've got our five screens filled with great holiday movies. it's in our largest cinema. since we are the only ones in the city people will keep coming back. >> any sense of how many of those that came to see the interview were not typical
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movie-goers at the terrace theater? >> a lot. a lot of people came in because we have beer and wine and it's an art deco looking environment. we sell high-end concessions, a lot of people came in and said wow, i've never been here. never knew this existed. for me that's a real win. i love that. >> paul walk us through some economics of theater distribution. we are hearing $1 million in one day in 331 theaters. is that impressive? >> that's a healthy number for sure. this is being shown in untraditional environments. a lot of people are used to going to the box stores, the soulless cinemas of the big chains and are not familiar with the smaller independents. for us to attract them to us as
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i said people who would not normally have come to a certain part of the area or certain part of town that is a real win, i think. >> are you amazed cineplex or the major chains have not said, we want it as well? >> i'm not sure -- i think they are governed by larger corporate interests. i don't know what their position is. i'm excited. i know that the mother of our sony rep who lives in the area was there last night that. was fun, too. >> did you have security incidents? anything out of the ordinary? >> no we weren't allowing any backpacks or knapsacks or bags. everyone adhered to that. the local county and sheriff and police department were by all the time. they'll continue to come by all week. everyone was really -- there is a sense of pride there, which is
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nice. >> i was going to ask how many of the people -- how many people were there just to make a stand, a political stand, free expression patriotism versus those that just wanted to see a funny movie? >> it was a mix of both. a lot of people wanted to see a funny movie. especially as the night went on the crowd got younger and clearly into the comedy part of it. a lot of people who wouldn't normally come to a movie like that were saying thank you, thank you, thank you. people said wow, that was way better than i thought it would be. i didn't want to take up a paying seat. >> did you not see it? >> i haven't seen it yet. i haven't had a chance. it was crazy. >> i think you deserve to see it. it is your theater. thank you so much for walking us through this crazy week. >> thank you.
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>> maybe we'll see you. >> thank you, guys. speak to you soon. >> paul brown joining us from the terrace theater. what a story. >> maybe more seth rogen movies into art house cinemas now. tesla potentially getting an upgrade. here is a tweet yesterday. roadster upgrade will enable nonstop travel from l.a. to san francisco almost 400 mile range. details tomorrow. merry christmas. joining us on the newsline phil lebeau. >> this is not going to mofbt needle. roadster has been out of production for a couple of years. there are a few thousand of them out there. what we are likely to see when tesla makes this announcement is an extended range on the new battery pack allowing the roadster to go further. for elon musk it was a slow news day and nobody fills a news void like elon musk. he sends out a couple of tweets.
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gets some mentions in the business press. that is classic, vintage along musk. >> i don't know. i think a few hours earlier he was tweeting about chocolate chip cookies versus oatmeal raisin. if you had to wrap up the year or tesla, there were some bumps. they have a delay in having the suv, the widely anticipated model x. how was the year for him. >> over all they delivered on what was expected. i don't think there was anybody aside from the tesla fans who truly expected them to deliver the model x this year. it is not uncommon when you have a brand-new model that it does not roll out when the company originally projects them to. in all my years of covering, most times brand-new models are
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not on time. we'll get it by the middle of next year. the real test is if it delivers and can attract a broader audience to tesla aside from the model s. >> phil intraday in one week this name has gone 17%. went from a low of $192 last week. any reason it should have outpaced the broader market the past five seven days? >> there have been positive comments from analysts who cover it. almost all centered around the fact the sell-off in tesla shares over the last month, a lot was driven by your momentum traders trying to tie tesla stock with the fall in gas prices. there is no relationship. when there is a mass market tesla and you talk about a consumer who might make a decision for buying a vital,
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right now the model has no concern at all about gas prices. that trade is starting to unwind. >> valuable perspective as always. thanks for coming on to the newsline, phil lebeau. tumbling oil prices giving some states a major boost. which oil-rich states are getting hurt? "squawk on the street" will be right back with that story. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 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.
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crude oil has fallen over 40e% this year. the plunging price is creating winners and losers when it comes to the states. scott cohen knows a thing or two about states and joins us in san jose. >> low prices at the pump in every state should free up money for you and me to spend elsewhere. that's the thinking. analysts say we should start to see the effect soon in sales tax receipt. these are the states with the
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most to gain states most reliant on sales tax. nearly 2/3 of tax revenue in washington state comes from the sales tax. nevada, florida, south dakota get more than half their revenue from sales tax. tennessee just under half. moody's has been keeping a close eye on the state by state impact. >> overall, most states will farewell through this oil price down turn. overall, oil revenues are only about 2% of state revenue. even in some of the other big energy producing states like texas, new mexico and oklahoma, oil and gas revenues are only between 4% and 8% of general fund revenue. >> one notable exception is alaska which gets nearly all of its state revenue from oil taxes. they have been counting on $105 barrel north slope crude oil this year with the price about half that they are looking at $3.5 billion budget hole and counting.
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these are the states that stand to lose. 19% come from oil in new mexico and texas gets 8% or 9% from oil. the last oil shock in texas was ugly back in the 1980s. state finances there are better than 30 years ago, but there are concerns whether it's enough to dodge a bullet in top oil-producing states. 1/3 oil production comes from texas. employment growth is continuing to outpace the national average, but there are fears of job losses. >> job losses and a hot housing market there. people are concerned that could cool off. >> it's large. it's a big economic engine for the country. we've seen that in the top state studies. it's going to be interesting to see how texas fares. if this starts to spill over into real estate which it did in the '80s, things could get
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ugly. >> that's the hard thing about these predictions. we don't know rig will do. that multiplier is all over the map. it could mean three additional jobs lost outside energy. it might be ten. that makes the range of expectations wide. >> a lot of it resolves around how fast this happens if we see a prolonged crude oil price in the $50s or so it could be a slow drip drip drip effect. the longer it plays out, the more potential is to ripple that economy. it is a huge economy. >> good to see you, scott. come back soon. scott cohn getting up early for us. >> let's head over to meg terrell. >> good day for gold stocks moving significantly higher. precious metal rallying almost 2% in thin post christmas trading. back to you. >> gold is up. dollar down a bit against the euro. holiday season kicking into high
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gear. how will the cruise industry fare? the president of crystal cruises joins us next. lly has no hidden fees on savings accounts? that's right. it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees from the bank where no branches equals great rates. here's a question for you: if every u.s. household with a computer used sleep mode when they weren't using it how much could we save on electricity each year? up to $1 billion?
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$3 billion? $4.5 billion? the answer is... up to $4.5 billion. using your computer's built-in energy-saving features can generate real household savings. take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 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.
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>> good morning. good to be here. >> you cater to the high end crowd. how does the season look? >> crystal cruises is definitely at the luxury end of the sector. but overall, consumers seem to be very bullish on the cruise industry. so business is booming and we're delighted. i say call your travel professional and book a cruise now. >> how much is the average cruise on crystal? >> well averages are hard on crystal because we have everything from five nights to 108 nights. so you can certainly sale on one of our five nights in the vicinity of about 5 to 6,000 or you can go up to the 108 night around the world cruise at prices starting in 40 k up to a half a million of a couple. >> wow. it can be expensive. i know you got a lot of press recently for becoming the largest cruise ship and the
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first to travel the icy package alaska and new york. how has that shaped up? and i know a lot of people want in. >> it was very exciting. and people pick cruises for the itineraries. and this is the first time ever in august 2016 that for 32 nights you can sale from anchorage to new york city via the northwest passage. we sold out in threedays. and to date we've been sold out since last august when we opened for sale. and concurrent to that we have over 700 people on a wait list wanting to do that itinerary. so we're very happy and excited to offer a new and innovative itinerary for luxury cruising. >> we had an analyst on the past hour talking about how much money cruise lines are going to save on fuel.
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carnival alone half a billion dollars next year. have you run your numbers yet? >> we have. and running the number for the fuel piece is fabulous because as prices continue to come down every cruise line that is one of the biggest expenses. so when we can save money on that it is a big one. and the certainly carnival has one of the largest operators their numbers would be that high. we're much smaller with only two vessels. >> your prices come down 40? >> at least u yes. >> wow that is amazing. and where does it get redirected since you don't have to spend it on fuel? >> on creating new and innovative itineraries. we spent two years researching the northwest passage alone. and with cuba opening up that will be another nice new possibly itinerary to offer. >> when it comes to hedging, are
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you locking in here or do you trust oil is going to be remaining lower. >> we don't hedge at crystal cruises. some cruise lines do. but at crystal we do not hedge so currently the answer is no. >> whose your biggest competitive edy? is it the other more main cruise lines? or is it hotels and people who otherwise wouldn't take a luxury cruise. >> certainly at the luxury end of the sector e, we have three quote unquote luxury cruise competitors. but our biggest competitor we're competing with is really time. luxury is time for people today. and as well some people are vacillating between an irmez
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birken bag or that cruise. >> was there a moment edy a couple years back where you truly were worried about the long-term stability in pricing. kosta concordia got so much press and initiation to other various mishaps, not your own of course that people had doubts about with whether anyone would ever cruise again. >> things are cyclical and those were unfortunate incidents but we spend a lot of money as an industry to make sure we live the safety first. for the crew and our guests. and as an industry we do a phenomenal job to ensure that we are are a safe wonderful alternative for vacation. during the downturn, i would say at the luxury end we at crystal
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let's take a look at markets. green across the screen as the dow and s&p scale new record highs heading for second week of gains for u.s. stocks and a seventh day in a row of gains for the dow. something we haven't seen carl since back in the spring of 2013. plenty of winners. all s&p groups, the major ten are higher with utilities in the lead on the back of the lower interest rates. treasuries in demand today, something we've ben seeing all year lower interest rates especially the ten year and 30 year yields both lower. >> in the meantime nasdaq has gone posit for december. all time highs for the dow, the s&p, for the russell as well.
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people especially buying things that have dramatic losses for this year so far. so talking first solar, urban outfitters a trans ocean. of the top ten s&p gainers roughly half have lost 19% this year. some 40 60%. >> maybe a preview of what's to come. bargain pickings into the year. we also noted bio techs are up. and microsoft putting out a statement here that the xbox issues. some users were unable to sign in to xbox live our teams worked to resolve the issue. with all that good morning. it is 8:00 a.m. in palo alto california 11:00 a.m. on wall street. "squawk alley" is live.
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>> good friday morning, jon fortt, kayla tausche out today. but sarah eisen will not go away. >> lucky you. >> as we're looking at record highs for all the averages today. sony's "the interview" officially hitting screens in over 300 theaters across the country. even seth rogen showed up at one in los angeles along with kevin goldberg. >> we thought this might not happen at all. >> this is our neighborhood. we live around here. >> yeah we live around here. >> we've been here before. >> told audiences you are the
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best. we weren't even sure this was going to happen. our kate rodgers is outside one of the theaters in new york city. >> seth rogen hasn't shown up here yet but we are finally getting the see "the interview" at independent theaters like cinema village behind me. in an interesting twist professional movie critics not really loving it so far. it's 50% rating but that hasn't stopped fans to show up. >> i thought it was a bit silly. it's just a movie. apparently it's not very good of a movie but i'm going to go see it anyway. >> and initial box office numbers are pretty strong according to variety considering how limited of a release it is. they are estimating it brought in just under $1 million on christmas day alone. there is a strong viewing on
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youtube and google play. can torrent websites is saying it's downloaded more than 750,000 times in being available for just under 20 hours. fans say all the drama has done is make them want to see the movie more. >> i think it's poetic that one of the films showing behind you is the force du jour. kara swisher joining us. happy holidays to you. gald good to talk to you. >> how are you doing. >> whether do you make of where we are in part of the that narrative. >> it's part of the narrative. people want to see what everybody's talking about. so it's not a big surprise people want to go see it once it became available. >> your point is, what, this is normally sort of a slow news period the -- >> no it got so much publicity.
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and there's nothing like marketing for a movie. please don't see this movie. it could kill you. and people want to see things where a lot of controversy. and this is more serious but [inaudible] everybody wants to rush to it. and that has gotten worldwide global attention so it's not a surprise people want to see what the fuss is all about. >> what about the fact it was released online, youtube, google play, this is breaking knew grounds when it comes to releasing movies for digital for online viewers. >> that was a first choice because national chains didn't want to be liable if something had happened. and depending who it was even though there were threats of attacks, you know, i think probably it is a choice. it is not a surprise. but, you know, there is a lot of independent theaters and they wanted to show it. and releasing online makes
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sense. everybody is relatively safe in their home watching it. [inaudible] >> michael lynton. let's talk management. he is a harvard business school grad. when the hbs case study is written about this story in two, three, four, five years. will people think he acted the right way. >> i'm not sure there is any way to deal with something like. this what exactly would you do when everyone one of your emails is leased. don't say crazy things in e-mails? guess what i think still people will. he should have made a stronger stand initially saying we're going to release it. [ phone vibranting ] >> hold on. sorry. that's my phone. they probably should have
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released it immediately and said, you know, we're going to do it anyway. but they were in shell shock. so i suspect there probably wasn't good thought or pr around what would have happened but online would have been a perfect place to do it and make a stand. and but i think people forget that. >> any idea as to to how much sony is going to lose on this movie? >> i'm not sure what it cost. it's much more than it is going to make. but i think people will continue to buy it and especially watch it online. and i almost did on christmas night, last night or the night before. we werelike oh let's watch it. and there are so many great movies out there that i do want to see. that the fact that we wanted to do it and then everyone's likes let's maic a stand. and i'm like against what? >> against a dictatorship that wants to control freedom of press and information. >> i guess. >> in the u.s. >> it really is just a movie.
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i think that's what the guy said. as the movie. but, you know, it's still not clear if it's the north koreans. i think we'll never figure it out. and it seems to be. and maybe it's not. maybe it is these insiders. i don't know what it is a stand against but people sure like a show. the show goes on. >> it is who we are in so many way. kara next gopro stock closed friday at 53. it's above 66 right now. a gain of about 27% in just one week. there was a positive note last week. a lot of people looking towards the potential use of drones in the consumer space and holidays shaping up nicely here's. has it surprised you the secondaries haven't had more effect? >> i think it's a popular product. my nine-year-old wants a gopro. i didn't get him one. and the kids want a bunch of
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drones. it is a big thing. i think that a lot of people want to try these out. it makes sense. the as hot item. and so christmas season would be a grade season for them. again i think these things once everybody has one. we'll see. we'll see where they go with their products. if they come one the really tiny little camera it could be cool. drones could be cool. if they transfer themselves into a media company which seems to be their shtick. if it works. we'll see. it makes sense. it is a very hot holiday product. people seem to like it. >> does it tell you anything about technology valuations of new ipos with exciting runways for growth in terms of where investors are valuing those companies. >> products are tough. you know when you have a product you look at a lot of these fitness bands, selling, selling,
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selling, and now they have to come one new stuff. it will be interesting to see if apple will jump start that area. but when doing any consumer product it is a very two-edged sword and people get tired of the product but they keep developing it and going to to new areas and people seem to want to keep buying them. >> you mentioned apple kara. really quick, does it surprise you they didn't jump in on the sony film "the interview" in anyway? people said why not. it would have made such a huge statement because of their size and scale. didn't happen. >> i know. i think every single company got in there and thought oh what should we do? google certainly stepped in and used the opportunity. and again it is a marketing opportunity. and yeah it is probably surprising they weren't more firm about it. >> yeah i wonder what google can
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with this. now that they have the credit card number. you become part of the customer base. how much of a competitive advantage is this that google got this into their system. and youtube for. you go to youtube for cat videos not big block buster releases. >> it's interesting the head of youtube was pregnant and then had a baby on christmas day. skit's a interesting. she's a very dynamic leader [ inaudible ] and i think youtube really does have to do things like that and differentiate themselves instead of being just a [ inaudible ] and probably see a lot more from her. she's very much like that to put -- you know, to start to do dramatic things around their very large audience. and why wouldn't you. >> yeah. a new upgrade coming to the
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roadster. elon musk tweeting it will eliminate non stop travel from -- >> i still can't afford one. >> what do you make when he tweets? do you just shake your head? >> well it is a big circle. one marketing thing to the next marketing thing. he's a genius of marketing, isn't he. he's got his product to. everything is about new and fresh and interesting. and the problem with the electric cars are batteries. and the battery technology is the most important thing around him. and i think people like them. i my brother has one but the issues around it the ability to [inaudible] again he can't afford it either but the issues around battery
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are really important. so it creates excitement if they can make these to drive a distance with them. >> we'll keep our eye on that obviously. stock is on the move. >> yeah. he's a great marketer too. >> as are you kara swisher. >> no not at all. i have nothing to sell carl. >> kara it's great having you every friday. even after a holiday. thanks so much. >> thanks a lot. have a good day. >> >> announcer: we do >>. we do want to check on the markets. record highs for the dow and s&p. would be the 52nd week of highs. check out shares of rejen ron. it's currently the biggest winner right now on the s&p 500. that sector has been hammered as of late. and you are seeing buying in the
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beaten up sectors and names. and the price of gold up about 1 and a half percent this morning. a lot of the gold miners are also rebounding. to your point, rebounding it's been a tough year for gold and a tough year for them. >> -- >> when we come back stores are expected to be packed across the country today. but not everyone showing up to buy. more on that in a moment. plus is 2015 the year facebook makes its big move into china? details what mark zuckerberg might have planned overseas. and we'll be back in in just a moment. there's a difference when you trade with fidelity. one you won't find anywhere else. one-second trade execution.
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welcome back to "squawk alley." shares of groupon trading higher. a unit of goldman sachs is considering acquiring a stake in groupon's south korea ticket monster business. the deal of the day website is down almost 30% year to date. >> that 6% gain today helping a bit. 'tis the season for returns. considering to new data about 23% of all returns for the year actually take place during the holiday season and a ton of those are coming from online purchases. dom chu live at newport center mall in jersey city. >> here is why the returns are perhaps a story about -- the positive for retailers. returns are going to happen but
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what it gives bricks and mortar stores ability to do is get traffic into the stores. so they can try to up sell or keep that business within each individual retail outlet and that gives them the chance to keep the business and/or get people to buy more stuff. so traffic a silver lining for return process. now the online story is also interesting because at least this year things seem to be getting better in terms of online traffic. ibm has this whole data analytics team that looks at cyber spending. and what they found is on christmas day just yesterday we saw 8% gain in online spending. if you did traffic some of the retail oumt outlets online chances you you did it from a smart phone or tablet. and if you actually turn into a purchase that is even more impressive. 30% of all online sales were
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done via mobile device. and call it what you will more optimism about the improving economy, lower fuel cost mur security in jobs. for whatever reason ibm says this christmas day in 2014 people spend little over a hundred dollars per transaction. that is a 6% gain over the same christmas day last year. so online shopping is very interesting. the returns are just a portion of it. but no matter what all these retailers want to keep that business inside their stores and within the organization. that is why maybe it is not such a bad thing when people come here in droves to traffic the stores. >> yeah and they can see how good the bargains are. makes sense. dom chu, thanks very much. and speaking of online sales, helping amazon post record sales this season. (trader vo) i search. i research. i dig. and dig some more. because, for me, the challenge of the search... is almost as exciting as the thrill
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amazon announcing a record breaking holiday season. saying more than 10 million new members tried amazon prime this holiday. also total holiday sales for the amazon app for smart phones inspect u.s. doubled in 2014. shares are in the green on that news. still they are down more than 20% for 2014. over the last 12 months down almost 25%. >> still shaking my head at that statistic that 60% of customers bought on a mobile device which is not far from what dom is saying is happening across retail in general. crossing over that 50 market and going to 60 is amazing. >> that a lot of those online sales are pushed into the mobile. and you wonder a if they are spending as much. and if they are returning as much because mobile is more sort of an impulse buy. those will be key trends. >> of course the stock hasn't
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done very well since black friday. i think on the lais of retail sams since black friday down like 11%. >> and the year in general has been difficult for amazon. we'll have to watch this one into next year. investors love affair with the stock and the strategy jeff bezos has. grow grow grow. expand has sort of fallen out of favor. this is the strategy. take market share wherever you can. monopolize so you can get customers. >> and facebook mark zuckerberg seeing big consumer growth potential in an unlikely place and that is china which has blocked the services for the past six years or so. the information 2015 will be the year. we learn more about the growth strategy in china. joining us on the phone is founder and editor in chief of the information. jessica lessin'.
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>> thank you for having me. >> what do you think we're going to learn? and any sense on the timing? >> i think it is clear there is some move coming. we've seen the company lay the groundwork now for a number of years. and i think things are really accelerating. he made a trip there recently with a very prominent q and a. we've been looking at the option they are looking at. some going back many years. but there is really a slate of options for them that range from launching a the version of the traditional site in compliance are chinese law. as well as a group of new products that may be left sensitive but help them get a toe hold. >> we call them facebook but they are really more of a con conglomerate of enormous platforms now. is the china play a facebook
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play? a whatsapp play? do we know the answer yet? >> i think it is going to be a combination. if you look at the company and the goals of the connecting the world. and the push around internet.org it is a multiproduct company and i think they are going to use that and those tools to their disposal to get there. i think it is going to be, you know, this is a company that is very very efficient and they take a very long view. i could easily see them going in with something that is [ inaudible ] maybe even trying to build some games, you know, to get an engineering presence to begin to soak up the talent. i think it is interesting that mark joined the advisory board of one of the top engineering schools out there. i think clearly talent is another reason they are interested in this market. so i think they will take a very long-term view. but what amir wrote for us in the information is they are clearly accelerating efforts
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there. >> and i read that he conducted that q and a session almostly entirely in mandarin mark zuckerberg did. the fact he's made a lot of his employees read about the communist party in china. clearly he is focused on it and he's trying to -- he's trying to win over the chinese government. is there indication from beijing on its side of the story and equation that it is loosening in terms of attitude towards regulation and letting facebook in? >> it is a great question. i was out there several months ago asking about this question, out in china more broadly. and i think if you go to the highest levels of the chinese government and we probably don't realize this. they care about western internet companies or tech companies only in the smallest of ways of, you know, it is not such a huge focus and i think that is important to remember. because we assume that, you know, this is a top priority for officials over there. and i think it's probably more
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of a nuisance when they got bad pr or. but i don't think there is any sign that government at large is really changing their stance on censorship or anything about western companies. if anything it's probably getting a little worse but that said i think for a handful of companies you can look at apple, they are sort of interested in finding ways to work together when they think it is beneficial. and [inaudible] like china mobile and i think that is also part of the strategy to maybe put pressure on the government as well. >> we were talking last week with nick bilton from the times about facebook. and he said the beauty of zuckerberg is that he had managed to find a way to identify the next big thing and then buy it before it got to them. would you agree? and has anyone done that better?
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>> i think that is certainly a skill they have. i don't know if it's responsible for where they are today. but i think it is going to be critical going forward. you know companies like facebook have the resources to be able to do that. but i this think the next couple of years are going to be when we get the verdict back on whether that strategy will work or not. >> do you think we'll see any acquisitions overseas to get a bigger footprint in emerging markets whether in china or the rest of the world? that is a big growth spot for facebook international. >> absolutely. i think investments are probably more likely in the short-term. and we know that is something they have also contemplated in china. as well as working with partners like potentially baidu, witch. which is something we saw from uber in the past week or so. i put my bet on investments
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before acquisitions but facebook is not going to rest being confined to the markets where it is. and i think they are going do take a very long term view to get everywhere they can get. >> and congratulations on all your success, we'll talk to you soon. >> thank you very much. have a great new year. >> same to you. it is almost 11:30 eastern on this day after christmas. normally we'd be bringing the european close about now. today the european markets closed thanks to the holiday boxing day. and tomorrow things will be back to normal. when we come back why did sony change its mind and decide to release "the interview"? we're going to do ask one of the first groups that asked sony to do exactly that.
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welcome back. take a look at the markets this morning. all the major averages are in the green. off highs here but s&p about 10 points from 2100. did hit some all time highs this morning along with the dow and russell. mary thompson is live on the floor. >> hey carl. as you said a record rally on this day after christmas shouldn't be a surprise because the s&p is usually up the day after christmas and extending the strong gains we've seen recently. let's look at the one month
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chart of the s&p 500. this hit a record earlier in the session. it's pulled back a point or so from best levels of the day. i want to look at the month's leaders in the s&p. a great many have been utility stocks. a defensive play there in response to lower interest rates. this in turn is helping to power the dow utilities average to a record high which it also hit today as well. within the s&p 500 if we look at the different sectors we're seeing multiyear if not record highs for a number of these different groups. of course, it shouldn't be a surprise. a number of factors, low interest rate, improving employment, record auto sales or strongest auto sales in at least a number of years. and all of this helping to power consumer staples and the consumer discretionary. s&p technology at its highest levels since 2000. banks also posting strong gains today. the financials highest levels
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since 2008. and within the group, the big bank wells fargo certainly at a multiyear high. morgan stanley at its best levels since 2008 and bank of america its best since 2010. the russell of course also hitting record today. small caps finally joining the rally. of course coming off lows in october when the russell is down over 16%. this is a first time a russell hit a record since july. so again the day after christmas continuing to leave presents for investors. >> living up to historical patterns. thanks mary. sony grosses $1 million yesterday in this theater. a number that doesn't include online sales. a big push. joining sus barbara twist t conference manager at the art house convergence which is the group that represents int pent
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theaters and started that petition last week. joining us on skype. good to see you. >> good to meet you. >> we heard the 1 million figure. can you talk us through numbers of your member theaters in terms of ticket sales and traffic over yesterday? >> yeah. so we haven't gotten any specific box office reports from all of the individual theaters but we do know that of the 331 theaters that screened it about two-thirds of them are theaters that we know or we know someone at this those theaters. and i know personally at the state theater which is in ann harbor michigan where i'm normally based we had two near sellouts at our theater. i know cine family sold out their opening midnight. and others sold out their christmas day screenings in austin.
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columbia south carolina has sold out their screenings. i've been hearing a lot of sellouts. that said i'm not sure on seat counts overall but it looks like a lot of our theaters who have chosen to do it have done well with those screenings. >> as the story continues to unfold can you walk us through what it was like when the major theaters said no we're not screening this. and your grape group put out a petition that you wanted to show it. how was that sf and was it like deeming with with sony through the process? >> yeah. we've been following it since the very beginning. as we work with sony quite a lot in the different divisions for the first run films we show and first and foremost we put out a note that was really about supporting sony and supporting all of the employees the sort of
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hack they have gone through and the data dumps have just been awful for those employees. and we work with them every day and we really appreciate them. so it was first a note of support to them. and through that we thought, well how can we help? and we're as we're movie theaters the best thing we do is show movies. so we offered to screen the interview if that was something that they wanted to do. and through that we got a lot of the support from our area theaters. and so we decided to do a petition or really more of a sign up that should show sony here are all of these different exhibitors who will actually show it. so we're putting the money where our mouth is. and with that we got over 500 signatures on the petition. and of those 500, about 150 to 200 were theaters film programmers, film exhibitors who were willing to screen the film. and that kind of got the ball rolling. and on monday we had conversations back and forth with sony through tim lee and
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they just asked basic questions you know, how many theaters would they screen it? do they are the capable silities and based on the answers they were able to accommodate the theaters in the release plans. which turned out to be pretty great. >> and i don't believe we've discussed box office economics this much in the history of cnbc. i just wonder if you had to make a bet with some of your colleagues in the distribution channels would you guess this is going to go into broad release or not? >> that is a really good question. i kind of personally feel based on where it is going with v.o.d. and the theatrical release it has had i don't know if i see it moving into the 2,000, 3,000 screens initially booked for it. because i think this sort of
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unprecedented v.o.d. release of this scale has really kind of struck a cord. and i think a lot of people who wanted to see the film have done so over the last 24 hours. and i think that a lot of people who certainly would not have had this on their christmas watch list have seen it as well. so guess i'm not quite sure whether or not sony will look to expand the release. it would be -- yeah i mean i think it is a really situation and it is a really interesting release strategy that they have done. and it will certainly, you know, be an interesting thing to look at for other films going forward what those release strategies might look. >> your art house theaters known for showing good movies. critically acclaimed.
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do you care it's getting beaten up by the critics. >> i think it's really important is who really is the arbiter of good taste? who really makes a movie good? and are we required to show moves that are good? or are we required to show showmorphingsshow morph movies that our community wants to see. i saw it yesterday and i thought it was funny. but i also saw it through the lens of the stoner comedy of the james franco and seth rogen. i kind of knew what i was walking into. >> i agree with that. >> and, you know, i think that what independent theaters are known for are for showing the films that their communities want to see, known for showing controversial subjects known for showing films that may not otherwise quitget released. and no one expected a big budget comedy like this to be that film. but the sort of perspective that i take is that if a big budget
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comedy with seth rogen and james franco can't get released what about all of the other ones? >> good point. thanks for joining us. barbara twist of the art house convergence which represents all those art theaters playing the int view. >> when we come back, why you will not be able to use your wifi on your next hotel and has google and microsoft firing back. "squawk alley" right back. ok, why's that? no hidden fees from the bank where no branches equals great rates. at whole foods market, values matter. so we're transparent about the fresh wild seafood we sell. and the species we don't. independently rated for sustainability. traceable from dock to store. sent fresh from over 50 u.s fisheries with responsible fishing practices. like bornstein seafoods because to us, value is inseparable from values.
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the dow's strongest run care into 2015 or is santa stealing games from ahead. and popping the korks for new years. the wines that make your celebration sparkle from a man named the best small yea in the world. >> check out shares of gilead sciences moving higher. --. using cash generated from its block buster hepatitis c drugs. the move would be a good use of cash and a way of signal confidence. gilead up about 2.7%. >> a little rebound for some of those bio tech names. in case you missed google and microsoft have joined to fight marriott. this summer marriott asked the
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sec to use special equipment to stop wifi. in this position marriott argued gets can use their phones to launch attacks against the hotel's network or steal other guest's personal information. more than just about the bottom line i guess carl. marriott would argue. and re/code pointed out boston logan international airport tried something similar a few years ago when they tried to ban airplanes from giving free wifi in airport lounges and it turns out the request was denied. >> -- except for the ebola scare right in the middle. >> is that what that dip was. >> well they have been buying back stock. and expanding a lot of growth plans. >> so true.
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as 2014 does draw to a close. cnbc is breaking out the playbook for 2015 looking at ways you can make money in the coming year. this hour it is pop culture. with our own jane wells. >> reporter: a look inward a look ahead and a look behind literally. three pop culture predictions for 2015. one, the racial divide. the shooting death of michael brown by a ferguson police officer has relit racial tensions and in 2015 american pop culture will force us to look inward with image, movies and music about pop culture. and two, food fight. new super foods hoping to satiate american's never ending need for new. gluten free grains and keep an
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eye out for kalettes. a love child between kale and brussel sprouts. and three, booty call. 2015 will bring up the rear for. but dialing. kim kardashian's even broke the internet. but the fanny fan will fade. probably after someone's glute implants explode during the grammys. >> that's a bold call. counterintuitive call. >> that the butt fad will fade? >> yes. >> i'm going to go out on the food and call --. coming up. many got smart phones over the season if no. it's called grid iq. the 4:51 is leaving at 4:51.
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♪ they cut the power. it'll fix itself. power's back on. quick thinking traffic lights and self correcting power grids make the world predictable. thrillingly predictable. they're coming. what do i do? you need to catch the 4:10 huh? the equipment tracking system will get you to the loading dock. ♪ there should be a truck leaving now. i got it. now jump off the bridge. what? in 3...2...1... are you kidding me? go. right on time. right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. we call that predictable. thrillingly predictable.
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when you run a business, you can't settle for slow. that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business and get the fastest wifi with the most coverage. comcast business. built for business.
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there are fresh reports that north korea continues to struggle to stay online following the cyberattack on sony. which begs the question how good the internet for us? and if start-up recently announced almost 11 million in funding. miesha, great to have you. >> good morning carl. >> we've been talking about this during the break. how can it work if you don't have wifi or cell coverage?
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do you want to walk thus thank you technology. >> fire chat is a mentaling app that -- messaging app that works even when you don't have internet access. it uses the same radio you use to connect for a wireless speaker for example or you use when you want to connect to internet access in the coffee. and it use ss wireless -- to connect the cell phones directly together. >> mesh networking, correct. >> it's called mesh networking yes. and when tough smart phones messaging can flow from one phone to another directly. >> does it mean like it is an almost open ended party line no privacy at all. >> today when you arrive it is many to many messaging experience. you can enter chat rooms and share your thoughts and have direct sessions with hundreds of
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thousands of people at the same time. and when you are at a concert for example or in a stadium at the ballpark you are able to keep on having this conversation even if you don't have internet access pause yourbecause your messages flow from one phone to another. >> so that is the knock against it. why would people want to use that in a regular setting. i get this took off in a hong kong protest when there was limited access to internet and e-mail and people needed to communicate. but why would you want to do that fw a public forum when people can read your conversations in every day life. >> it's like a twitter feed or the facebook page. people exchange messages live. and on fire chat it is the same thing and much more interact ich. more direct. it is more dictateaddictive. because messages flow at the pace of a messaging app. and we were used recently during the the largest music festival
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in india for example. when you are in these places so many people the all the mobile networks are congested and with fire chat you can keep messageing and having communication with your friends. >> you are the first company truly leveraging mesh networking at scale. what is the end game here? >> yes we are the most advanced and made mesh networking basically available to the public through an app which has never been done before. it means we are paving the way of the new mobile internet. the next 5 billion smart phones are all going to be shipped in emerging markets. we'll enable people in the emerging markets who can't play for the mobile plan to be able to have their first connectivity experience and that is huge. >> i'm curious how you view facebook.
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are they competitive for you o or wow at partner with them or kpet we are them and maybe have them buy you to you can get phones to available where. >> i think fire chat is very complementary to existing social networks like facebook or twitter, for example. the difference is we work in places where facebook wouldn't work or twitter wouldn't work. so we are really enabling new users to on the internet or access for the first time. there is a big market to be taken and we are going after it. we just got this $11 million funding. we also have other investors. and we believe fire chat has a great future and the good market to two after. >> miesha thank you for your
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time. happy holidays to you. >> thank you, happy holidays to you. >> when we come back sarah eisen with a mea culpa on what was one of the worst investments of the whole year. back in a moment. ied about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees from the bank where no branches equals great rates. ♪ ♪ oh what fun it is to ride.
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get the mercedes-benz on your wish list at the winter event going on now - but hurry, the offer ends december 31st. [ho, ho, ho!] lease the 2015 c300 4matic for $419 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. can it make a dentist appointment when my teeth are ready? can it track my crew's performance and protect their heads? can it tell the flight attendant to please not wake me this time? at cognizant, we see opportunities for every company. to meet the new digital demands of their customers. can it process my insurance claim? like, right now? can it download a track while i'm sampling it? can my keys find me?
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with the power of digital, analytics and automation now every little "thing" can provide even greater value. ok, so can it tell the doctor how long i have to wear this thing? the answer is yes, it can. so, the question your customers are really asking is can your business deliver? so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 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.
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♪ most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪ ♪ with the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer ♪ >> 2014 almost done and one of the worst investments of the year? bit coin. look at the chart of 2014. it's fallen nearly 60% so far this year. ouch. many people who are haters of bit coin, some on this program perhaps, look what happens. this is what happens when you champion bit coin. first i never give investment advice. but the fact that it has stabilized here around the 300s makes it legitimate and the fact it is growing in terms of adoption. many more retailers accepting it this year in the face of stable prices also makes this a continuing story for 2015. >> yeah a continuing story. we don't know which direction.
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you have to admit you feel bad for people who were mining it at 800 and came on saying others should as well. >> because it got a lot of media play. and every day there was a story this retailer is accepting it. this big high-tech profile investor is supporting it. and that doesn't necessarily correlate to the price. we had that -- disaster with the blow up and the loss. bit coin it is coming off age. just watch. >> and big players continue to out the it. maybe not the brand but the notion of a cyber currency continues to have a lot of weight. we'll see where it goes. >> as a technology not necessarily as the investment or currency. buyer beware when it comes to that. >> real investments this morning morning. nasdaq at 4800. that is a turn around.
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>> a lot of uselosers playing catch up. and also mentioned that microsoft is the worst performer on the dow right now after we learned that there was a hack on some of the voogideo games. sony and microsoft. woe don't know exactly if that was related to the int view or not. but we're watching that. >> let's get to head quarters and scott wapner and the half. >> carl thanks very much. welcome to the halftime show. the starting line for the day, steven weiss jim laventhal. and jon najarian sira tetee and dayna tellsy. the plan looks like this. who shopped? who dropped? the best and worst from holiday
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