go public with an ipo. it's wednesday, february 25th 2015 and squawk box begins right now. ♪ live from new york where business never sleeps this is squawk box. >> good morning, everybody, welcome to squawk box here on cnbc. i'm becky quick. the dow, the s&p and the russell 2000 all closing at record highs. the nasdaq is now on a ten day winning streak. that's the longest positive run since july of 2009. turning in the third highest ever to finish at yesterday's session high janet yellen continuing the same message of patience. >> if the fed were to raise

rates too soon senator we would risk undermining a recovery that is really just taking hold and is really succeeding i think in improving the labor market i don't think we're back to attaining yet conditions i'd associate with maximum employment. normal labor market conditions. things have improved notably but we're not there yet. >> yes also said there's risks in waiting too long to raise rates. they have been at the floor for six years and there is something there for everybody. >> journal says yellen puts fed on the path to raise rates. >> so does the financial times. she did a very good job of walking a fine line. warning that the change is coming telling people to still be patient and markets looked at

it and took off which was an amazing performance by her. >> we took a lot of it. i was watching it. i understand the problem with millennials trying to watch that. i looked around and found cspan. nothing was happening. it was a camera showing the room. it was about the same in fact. it's hard. this is important stuff but it's not necessarily like watching. >> it's not like a film where there's car crashes and things like that. >> come on this is a film every morning. >> you didn't watch any of it. >> no i didn't. >> it's hard. it's hard work but the deciders need to watch this stuff. we'll tell you what the market thought about it too. >> tense the problem. >> yellen will return to capitol hill today if you missed it yesterday you have a second

chance. >> beyond the fed a couple of other stories we're watching this morning. heres what's happening. the housing department will release figures on new home sales for january. that's 10:00 eastern time today and then the consumer also in focus among the companies set to post quarterly results we have target coming up tjx, campbell soup dollar tree and sodastream and then global news data on china's manufacturing sector. surprisingly to the upside. the pmi rising above the 50 mark which apparently is a demarcation between expansion from contraction. >> the hsbc pmi. >> the bank. >> i'm going back to for your fyi -- lol. i mean. >> supposedly good news. that's the take away. >> that's wiw. wtf? are we going to say any words? huh?

>> you know what it means. >> those were 8 letters in a row. >> you like some of those letters. >> many case you missed it. >> i used to think that was a pyotech company. i thought it was for pharmaceuticals. why am icon constantly getting information on pharmaceuticals. what's fmao -- what is that? >> what's that? fear of missing out. >> and then there's the company morris and foster. i don't know -- >> bad. >> yeah. we have to talk about this at some time. becky and i have been talking about this again today.

could you ever see the cop concedes fight to obama on fed raising -- is it an agency or not. >> for anybody that hasn't seen it gop concedes to obama -- >> obama told the fcc what to do they did it. the gop can't stop it. are you allowed to do that or not? can the president tell the fcc what to do? the new york times seems to think that's fine. obama and fcc declares victory. >> obama declares victory over the fcc is how i might think about it. >> no it's obama and the fcc declare victory over the gop. >> because the plan in place before the presidential directive was different. >> it's weird that you can tell an agency what to do and no one raises an eyebrow. you try to do that to the fed

but elections fundamentally have consequences. this is a fundamental thing we'll live in based on the election in 2012. we're also paying attention to crude oil. saudi arabia's oil minister saying demand is growing and markets are calm. these are some of his first public comments since oil prices started to rebound from a near six year low yesterday. a senior opec delegate was quoted as saying prices around $60 barrel are okay for now. that's 20% higher. i guess so. maybe they're talking about brent. some cartel members have been calling for an emergency meeting before the group's next scheduled gathering in june but you wonder if they can call the shots anymore. >> i think saudi arabia still has a card to play. if they were to cut production. >> if the cartel could have kept prices higher they would have. >> yes, but if saudi arabia chose to cut production i think

it would probably still have an impact on oil prices however they don't want to do that and let everybody else continue to produce as much as possible. they're no longer willing to say okay we will be the ones that bare the brunt of all the pain. >> these guys are like -- they just nod and sort of -- we're not even going to interview them. they're just here -- >> becky is right. >> you guys are the studio audience. will you laugh when we say things. >> why don't we introduce them. >> waiting for the introduction. >> we are going to do that. >> we keep digressing so they keep getting stuck in our conversations. >> first time i've ever done that. >> very unusual. shares of hp getting slammed. the earnings beat by a penny but the company warns it's full year profits will fell well below current consensus because of the strong dollar. lending club tumbling since the december ipo. the loan provider reported earnings in line with expectations but the full year

revenue guidance was cautious. and boston beer under pressure. the maker of sam adams posting sales well below forecasts. also dreamworks getting hit. the media company reporting a bigger than expected loss and the studio cautions it expects revenue to decline in the mid teen percent change. >> a house subcommittee will hold a hearing today. the fcc is set to vote on the issue tomorrow. report sas this morning that senior republican lawmakers are conceding that fight with the white house over internet regulation. it appears to be over. they're expected to rule for regulating services. that was on the front page of the paper. but can i say one thing -- i'm surprised. even though i think it would be hard for republicans to change this i'm surprised you haven't seen more come out publicly and say this is a huge problem. >> i think they have been but not necessarily going to be picked up by -- >> no but i haven't seen it picked up -- i haven't seen it anywhere. >> did you see the hill

yesterday? had a piece on one of the fcc democratic commissioners had big problems with it but she'll rollover in the end. >> we don't know that -- >> she wants to change. >> we don't know that. there are some things she disagrees with and they need her vote because the chairman needs both democratic votes. >> republican senators and congress people are screaming from the roof tops putting on statements where have you been. >> it's been in the papers every day for the last three months. they were going to try something legislatively. they can't get it done. >> i would argue not in a meaningful way because it's not a -- because oddly it doesn't seem to hold popularly. >> no it doesn't. >> because of the words that they use. >> that's because they call it net neutrality. who would not be for net neutrality neutrality? you use that word and you look at it and it's basically

regulating from end to end. government regulation end to end of the internet. you saw what i sent you. three times as much investment in this country. in the united states. you saw what i sent you. did you read it? >> i did see it. numbers by the way just changed between 2013 and 2014. >> it's probably true. there's been a lot of investments. >> i looked upright to work statistics because of wisconsin. one side is missing facts and the other side the same they have all the same things but on the other side every myth is a fact. liars figure and figures lie. >> there is a middle ground in this debate that they reached before. it was verizon that contested it and because of them taking it

back is where we got to the more complicated ruling on this. people think verizon was out of its mind to fight what was there before. there's a middle ground though that looks like what was put in place before. >> you get new fcc in there. it's going to be tied up in litigation for years anyway and i don't know if i'd be that worried. >> there's no clarity for investors. >> and then depending on who gets elected in 2016 and depending on which fcc guys you put in charge to do whatever you want as president maybe they can change it. >> me? >> no but now we know you can tell them exactly what you want to do and they won't say a word about it. let's check on the markets this morning. check on the futures. nothing happening at all. s&p down about 1.5. dow jones down 2. nasdaq has been on a big winning

streak. it will be fun to have jeff on today. he never gives interviews. it will be interesting because you remember he had to take over for the legend peter lynch and then in the late 90s he got out of tech too early. although. >> too early or in time depending on how you look at it later. >> i think it came in or something. either way we'll have him on. he does something else and we'll ask him about it at this point or whether 5,000 on the nasdaq is warranted now after all the earnings gains and revenue gains. it's a far different universe than back in the late 90s. let's look at europe quickly. see if anything is happening over there. europe, no nothing is happening over there. let's move on. asia -- what? >> way to sell it. >> well i did. how much am i selling that yellen testimony. wow, tune in today for that. sorry you missed it yesterday. that painted my living room.

you can check that out too as it's drying. there's asia. is it doing anything at all? >> yes, it's back below 2%. that's something the market is paying attention. >> will you go. >> how about a trip to europe as drones fly all over nuclear facilities in par gattis. there's the euro at $1.13 and nienlly check out, you know just like nasdaq let's check out the yellow metal gold. >> precious yellow metal. >> precious yellow metal. it's interesting. maybe i'll mention that. you saw they were smuggling gold. >> i didn't. but that's a good tease. >> yeah but you have to smuggle it places. >> maybe i won't talk about it. the dow, the s&p 500 and russell

2000 closing at highs. the nasdaq within 32 points of hitting 5,000. joining us now with the more on the fed and the markets is the wells fargo security chiefs economist. he is the lindsey group chief market analyst and cnbc chief market analyst. we have a lot to talk about today but we want your thoughts on all of this too. what did you think of yellen's performance yesterday? i was impressed. >> she's creating more flexibility in term of policy. it's good to get away from the idea that once we drop patience two meetings later we're going to raise rates. it's a good idea to get away from that. you have to be flexible in terms of policy going forward. >> i was also impressed by the reaction for some of this. i thought rate hikes are coming as early as june. what do you think? >> that she's completed non-commital is all the markets needed to rally.

it's interpreted as dovish and another reason to rally. it's really a pathetic state that six years at 0 with the economy doing what it's doing that she can't even make a decision. she can't even make a decision. >> the way i read it is its not as dovish. you could be look at a rate hike as early as june. maybe the market is reacting to the idea that rate hikes are coming. it's okay and maybe they actually pulled this off. >> the economy is doing fairly well. the unemployment rate really has declined. wages and salary growth is pretty solid and consistent with good consumer spending and you're talking about basically 3% growth in the economy. so i think the economy is actually doing quite well. and the labor market is functioning quite well. >> do you think the market is in denial peter? it's up and going to give back if it does have rates. >> i think the market is playing chicken with her. you look at it trading around 50 basis points.

maybe she'll raise rates this year or maybe it's one and done. >> or maybe it's wait a meeting and raise again. i don't think we're setting ourselves up for a rate hike every meeting. >> definitely not based on where the markets are priced but i think the markets don't think she'll be able to pull off a success of rate hikes. it's not beginning to the end of the year and i think the markets are thinking that she doesn't have the guts to pull this off. >> if she does what's the market reaction? >> i'm going to camp that qe and 0 rate versus been a major booster to multiple expansions so there's going to be turbulence when she starts doing it. >> you have been waiting for that for a long time. she was right though wasn't she? >> i don't know. i hope so. >> going for a long time. you're like crying wolf or something. >> yeah. >> i missed out on everything because i listened to you.

>> i've been bullish on japan, india and china. >> oh thanks. i could have invested here -- you're not selling me there on that. that's what bill -- that's what he used to say about the bond market. oh we were long in some bonds. got out of everything in the u.s. at 4%. >> well it's you know in the late 90s you could have been wrong for awhile too. >> that's right. that's the question. whether we're that. >> i think the third double in 15 years could go on for longer than we think but it's going to end similar to the previous two. >> what do you say to some of the guests that think we're in a 15 year bull market? >> well i look at valuations in a variety of metrics as the second most expensive since the 1920s so with overvalued markets in my opinion it's not the set up for a long-term bull run. so i'm not necessarily in that

camp. >> when you look at the economy, what are the things that make you most positive about markets and is there anything that you say maybe we should look at it in terms of this? just with other economies catching up to it at some point. >> the things that concern me are the extension of credit. we're looking at more and more auto sales, both new and used are made with sub prime and near prime lending. >> are we back to 2007? >> we're in the slippery slope. when you're looking at articles recently where we're making more sub prime lending and housing. so we're pushing that envelope again. so i would say that if the fed were to raise rates. we think it is june and we think it will be limited this year that you get more national pricing in the marketplace. a lot more loans today are made to sell rather than just hold. that to me is like you're not

holding? you're trying to sell it? a small rate rise in june but not 1.1% by the end of the year could give more rational pricing in the marketplace. i think it's asset price inflation that we need to be careful about. money can go anywhere and it seems to not be going to goods inflation but the asset price inflation. >> we want to thank you both for joining us. >> thank you, becky. >> coming up we'll talk about home improvement chain lowe's with better than expected earnings and revenue this morning. next lowe's entering the most important selling season of the year. but first here's a look back at this date in history. we're back in just a moment.

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now with the xfinity tv go app, you can watch live tv anytime. it's never been easier with so many networks all in one place. get live tv whenever you want. the xfinity tv go app. now with live tv on the go. enjoy over wifi or on verizon wireless 4g lte. plus enjoy special savings when you purchase any new verizon wireless smartphone or tablet from comcast. visit comcast.com/wireless to learn more. >> lowe's earnings up 46% in sales. brian on the squawk newsline with his instant reaction now. what do i buy? home depot or lowes?

>> good morning, i think they're largely the same stock at this point. i was on your show yesterday discussing home depot results and we said they were good. >> make this interesting today. that's your assignment. >> make this interesting today after we talked all about every single thing about how improve lt yesterday make it interesting today how lows is different. can you tell us anything or should we move on in the next segment? >> look the one interesting thing here with lowes as i think about lowes over the next several quarters is operating margins are still repressed. so that does suggest to me as i look over the next couple of quarters with the back ground of the housing environment lows has more potential to show earnings upside. >> that is interesting. what do you attribute this to? does home depot have better execution? better management from the top? better -- do they somehow train

their managers at the different stores better? where's the operating manager difference. >>? my mind i have written a lot about this to our clients, if there's an x factor it's real estate. lowe's has been late opening the stores so now as the housing market recovery continues it's beginning to hit the less than optimal markets. that's benefitting lows. in other words the less well positioned real estate is now an asset or positive for the company. >> is it a friendlier place? home depot can be a little bit intimidating i would think lowe's was more friendly to the ladies or whatever. home depot is still a big warehouse or did they change that and make it friendlier?

>> i spend a lot of time in these stores and there used to be a real difference. home depot was the warehouse and lowe's was the softer more friendly shopping environment. >> home depot with lights and employees and everything else but home depot is better with employees. i get greeted immediately when goi in there. >> yeah i think the two stories are much more similar today than five years ago. >> so it's the same stock except for real estate. they have expanded more and has an advantage there but i guess both of them have saturated the united states. >> that's right. they're barely opening stores. this is on a base of 1800. it's basically what we call a comp store sales it's existing capacity. >> okay, they have both done gun

great -- great over the past year. we're definitely on the other side of the whole rate story but it's going to be slow i guess. is there any reason to get worried about the housing market? not improving over the next two or three years? >> well look i think rates is a very interesting discussion point here and my team and i did work on this too and what we have seen consistently if you look at the past fed tightening cycles is that home depot and lows tend to continue to perform very well. well into the tightening cycles. so all the chatter about higher rate i don't say think are much of a real threat to these stocks. >> that's because the rates are going up for the right reason because the housing market is improving and housing market is improving. that makes sense. that would be more important than 25 basis points on a mortgage rate that's already down at 3%. >> that's exactly right. >> really? >> exactly. >> you did make this interesting. you made me feel good.

>> thank you. >> well done brian. >> nice talking to you. >> a little warm feeling right now. >> okay. you stay over there. when we come back unknown drones buzzing over paris's most famous landmarks including the eiffel tower. that story is next. everyone says content is king. why is viacom not feeling the love right now? but first here's a look at yesterday's winners and losers. opportunities aren't always obvious. sometimes they just drop in. cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities.

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♪ oh my gosh. >> welcome back to squawk box. what did you do? >> i'll tell you in a second. >> we are in the chairs looking at stories that got our interest this morning. here's a story for us in the cable business. i don't know if this is good or bad. i don't know if it says something about content or viacom but a cable operator that operates in oklahoma and texas serves about 1.14 million people. so small cable operator dropped viacom completely. mtv, comedy central, everything. >> what happened. >> virtually nothing. >> 99.7% of the subscribers stayed with them.

they lost a couple of subscribers upset about it. does it mean that viacom and those channels don't have the power they used to have and nobody is interested or does it where the unbundling becomes more difficult. >> it's a very small sample size. i don't think you can take too much away from them but it raises a little bit of a question. >> yeah. >> but sponge bob, something happened a couple of years ago. >> you mean the value of nick. >> but in general sponge bob -- no one is watching nearly as much. oklahoma they're not watching job john stewart. >> but i remember watching mtv. >> i don't know, oklahoma mtv, no. >> i lived in oklahoma. >> so you're marking it down as a viacom problem. that the channels that viacom has aren't as important as they used to be in the world. >> i don't know, steve burke talked about it a little bit

yesterday. it's tough to grow. i'm not sure what happened. it's my complaint about the millennials. they're all glued to their stupid devices and, you know they're not watching tv. >> maybe it is something that we said about capable in general. the content is still king. >> and then they can find it. >> where it's not measured. >> you can't get paid. >> interesting story. >> what were you guys whispering about? >> oh no. >> people smuggling gold. but the last line is they smuggled it up their butt. gold it is a maliable metal but that sounds painful to me. >> did you take her story? >> when we first came back i didn't realize we were on camera. i will tell you very quickly this gold in particular was not

smuggled in that way. india seized 60 kilograms worth of gold. it was estimated $2.56 million worth but since they put a series of tax hikes on gold imports it now costs about 10% to get gold into the country. india is the biggest user of gold and they started smuggling it all in and have come up with different and unique ways of smuggling it in. >> it's biscuits. >> my thing was i've been a couple of places where suddenly you look behind you and you see one of these drones and it almost looks alive but there's actual eyes probably human eyes -- >> helicopter drones? >> i'm talking about any kind of drones. in this case they're seeing them at night and they allocate a lot of money in paris to try to prevent this.

it's illegal to do this but they're seeing these drones at landmarks in paris at least five different places. when i first read it i said you can get beautiful shots of the eiffel tower at night. maybe that's all there was but then it said they're also around nuclear facilities. nobody is taking beautiful tour shots of nuclear facilities with drones at night. that indicates to me that given the recent developments in paris that it could be a more ominous sort of reason. >> this is the problem with drones, we could look outside and see drones in new york city. they could be anywhere. >> but if you see them flying around like the george washington bridge from every different angle or the new world trade center. >> you want to regulate drones? >> not against them. >> i do. >> i'm afraid of the mall of america world. i'm afraid of all of these things. i don't know what happened but i they we need to be well aware of our surroundings. where ever we are now.

>> you like the faa. >> what's your point? >> because you're going to have to regulate them. >> no i really wish we had a little bit stronger leadership on addressing the terrorist concerns. how's that. >> it comes up friday. >> yeah, that's a political football at this point. >> i think there's going to be a solution. mcconnell is taking up and picking up something that will fund dhs. homeland security will make sure it gets through. >> yeah. >> when we come back it's fight time in washington. we're going to talk about the big battles brewing including regulation. the keystone pipeline is back on the table. we're going to talk about all that when squawk box returns in a moment.

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welcome back. among the stories front and center this morning eddie ray rauth -- the weirdest thing i've seen is what he looked like right after the incident and what he looks like now. i can't even tell it's the same guy but he was found guilty in the american sniper murder rile. a jury in texas found him guilty of killing chris kyle the former navy s.e.a.l. whose auto

biography was turned into the hit movie american sniper. he fatally shot kyle and his friend chad littlefield multiple times at a gun range apparently in the back without any prove gags. so it's a strange story about 70 miles south of ft. worth when it happened. it was in february of 2013. >> john harang getswood joins us from washington this morning where a number of battles are brewing. john, good morning it's great to see you today. >> hey, becky. >> let's start with the net neutrality battle. that's the lead story on the new york times this morning. republicans in the senate and the house are basically conceding that the fcc and the obama administration has won on this. the vote hasn't come in yet but they're saying there's nothing we can do at this point. this is where it's going. >> i think at a the writing is on the wall in terps of anything that they could pass that would restrict the fcc's ability to impose net neutrality would be

vetoes by the president. democrats are not going to cooperate with that. i think they're accepting and they're also buffeted by this pressure campaign that was mounted by the advocates of net neutrality and you have a lot of people online that could be mobilized and various companies that were attempting to prevent, you know speed lanes on the internet and that sort of thing. put tremendous amount of pressure on washington and washington responded. >> we talked a lot about net neutrality. we do know the ruling from the fcc if it goes through is likely going to be contested. at least by industry groups on the other side of things. i guess what that means is we're talking about years potentially where investors won't know one way or another what to do. what kind of environment does that leave and how do things like this generally get resolved in washington? >> it's going to get resolved in

the courts and we're in for a significant period of uncertainty over exactly how this is going to come out and i think everybody has got to get used to that. we've seen when congress has tried to move into regulation of different aspects of the internet or taxing things on the internet it's very very difficult to move and very very difficult to do. you have some first mover advantage for the fcc in terms of laying down a set of rules that will become the status quo for awhile but i think this is a lot of litigation. there's going to be a lot of lobbying and we're not going to be sure for some time how it's going to come out. >> what about what happens for funding for the department of homeland security? it looks like there's a potential way to overt a crisis in the situation. >> i think they will. mitch mcconnell came out yesterday and said all right i'll split the vote on the president's immigration order

from funding for homeland security. harry reid didn't take yes for an answer because he said i want to know what the house is going to do. that plays into how his members react to the immigration vote. i don't think they can get all of this done by friday but it is expected and i talked to a republican member of congress last night who expected that they will pass some sort of a temporary funding mechanism to get them over the weekend and work this out next week. >> no show down is how you're get betting? >> i think not. republican leaders want to avoid one. this is the first time we have had a show down like this since they controlled both sides of the capital. they want a show and they said from the beginning after they won control of the house and senate that they did not want to have any more shutdowns or debt crisis and they're trying to figure out how to deal with the demands of the most intense

aspects aspects. their conservative base meeting today at the opening of the conservative political action conference meeting today which interesting john boehner and mitch mcconnell both are not showing up. while many of the presidential candidates are going to show up jeb bush scott walker rand paul and others but the house and senate leaders that got a big problem on their hands are not going to be there. >> is chris christie going to be there? >> he's not. >> he's not. >> you'll have rand paul that won the straw poll last year. that was a feet of organizing that people try to pull off every year. it doesn't indicate much about the future presidential nomination but it show who is can get people out in a room. but everybody is going to be watching to see what sort of reception that jeb bush gets who of course is the main establishment candidate trying to impress conservatives. >> john, thanks a lot. it's great talking to you.

>> you bet. >> when he come back we'll give you a break down of hp results. plus nasdaq survivors. the story of how legendary ceos made it through the dot com bubble and tech bubble and lived to tell about it. ameriprise asked people a simple question: can you keep your lifestyle in retirement? i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today.

welcome back this morning. tech in focus as the nasdaq approaches 5,000 again. we want to look at a number of the survivors that managed to make it will you the bubble mary thompson is here she's got that. before we do we want to check in on hewlett-packard. that stock is falling. yan ford is also here. let's go to you, john wlashgts the take-away? >> i think the take-away is new excuses for pretty much no-goes. two that grew here consumer pcs and two areas probably most likely to get commodityized along the lines. and the categories apple includes cisco even able to grow despite those. hp citing lows a big issue, two-thirds of it in europe middle east and africa particularly hard hit. but then in printing the yen

back when it was strong hp saying our costs are in yen. now that the yen is weak, they say that makes our japanese competitors stronger so we've got share issues. either way there seems to be an issue with the yen, no matter which way it goes. i think the question now when you get to separation hp and the pcs -- hp enterprises, which one is is going to the growth company. neither one seems to have that much gas in the tank. we'll see if pcs are able to pull out something in tablets. we'll see if enterprise is able to bet software moving on this quarter. this was a tough job from the beginning -- >> from she took over it almost doubled, up 50%, 60%, even down to 32. >> that's right. >> it got down to 12 or 14.

it's almost back to 40. >> where is the growth prospect from here? this company was built on the idea that scale could power you through anything they would be able to manage costs better than anyone else. that was back in the growth area of pcs. and that just doesn't seem to be a viable excuse anymore. so with cisco doing pretty well in networking. is midtier storage really going about the salvation of hp? hard to say. >> sitting here in 2015 if we talk tech i don't think you even say ibm and hewlett-packard in tech. if you talk old tech versus new tech, i think old tech is like google, right? and you know all the new tech stuff. but i don't even know what ibm and hp -- i mean digital equipment. >> i think ibm is not hp anymore. >> one is more service than the other. >> i think what's common between the two, for hp it was built on sort of a cost idea if you

compac together with hp. the biggest buyer of stuff. with ibm service was go to market. this is how we get the software out there. we get the margins really higher and on these that's going to take this. now you got the cloud era, an onlimi of people are integrated. both of those are challenged. >> worrying about ten years from now, will we be talking about ibm and hp? >> ten years from now? >> it's scary. iconic. >> we've got to get to larry's role, a lot of the stocks that drove the nasdaq to 5,000, the first time no longer exists but a couple ceos who ran tech companies back then managed to hold on and prosper. >> four ceos i'll let you guess. one the chairman of the company stepped aside as ceo. three are founders of their companies one of the ceos who is

not a founder actually ran the most valuable company in the world for a short period of time during the.com double. >> one is chambers. >> that's chambers back in 2000. at that time it was the most valuable company. >> larry is gone isn't he? >> as chairman. >> i wish people would say joe and know who i was talking about. >> the founders of the firms. basically, howard schultz. >> all right. >> a couple of things, first of all, it survived the dotcom bubble and continued to thrive. the average tenure of a top ceo is five years. >> that has gone up. >> right. it seems laurg. but that was according to them in 2013 that was the number. so let's look at what they have

in common. i spoke to a number of capitalists. i spoke to investors. i spoke to manager professors. they're business innovators. they have the ability to reinvent themselves. and this is very important. they're not afraid to hire people to help them reinvent the companies and that's pretty much been the theme with all the managers. starting with bezos. he's a founder of amazon. basically re-created the retail culture. during that time he's made a lot of mistakes. some people say billions of dollars of mistakes in the acquisitions that he's made. again, he's not afraid to trade experience. he's not afraid to trade the short term for the long term. >> $1 stiff billion market cap he could have done $10 billion in mistakes and still been one of the greatest ceos alive. >> yeah. discipline >> it's incredible. >> he's the new jobs.

>> he has no signs of slowing down. let's talk about harold schultz, returned in 2008. since he came back in 2008 i think this is important. the stock is -- actually that's since 2000. since his return the stock is up, i believe, over 600% or something. basically when he came back i read that he read a book that said remember you didn't create a religion. so you have to be willing to re-create it. he closed stores. he basically but baristas through more hiring. and one venture capitalist who i spoke with said they opened about four coffee shops and one day he walks in. always willing or able to navigate a very rapidly changing type world. we'll have more on that throughout the day. >> okay. thank you. coming up janet yellen.

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the senate had its turn. now the house expected to turn up the heat on fed chair janet yellen. what you can expect on transparency. rate hike timing and proposals to audit the fed. the chilly winter weather hasn't cooled off the markets. dom chu taking a closer look at february's hottest stocks. we're going to take a look at the ceo of the one of the

biggest gainers. and the magellan fund age of 33 now the owner of the tampa bay lightning. we'll ask about this plans to revitalize tampa. the second hour of "squawk box" begins now. live from the beating heart of business, new york city. this is "squawk box." ♪ welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc. first in business worldwide. i'm andrew ross sorkin along with becky quick -- >> wrapped up like a deuce? >> you can wrap up like a -- >> too early in the morning. chicago mayor recall emanuel facing a runoff on election day. emanuel won 54% of the vote. he is now going to face second

place to jesus garcia in april. the house gets a crack at the fed chair today. janet yellen expected to face tougher questions to audit the fed. steve reeseman has more. he'll be with us. also net neutrality. a house subcommittee will hold a hearing on the regulation. the ftc is set to vote tomorrow. republican lawmakers conceding that a fight with the white house with proposed rules may be over. expected to rule like a public utility. also, southwest airlines grounding 128 planes overdue for inspection. that represents about one-fifth of its fleet. as of last night at least niebt flights were cancelled. the planes were boeing 737s overdue for inspections for backups on systems used to control the weather if the main system failing. the faa has agreed to let southwest continue using those planes for five days while the

inspections are completed. among the stocks that we're watching this morning, they're moving around. layers is getting a boost after earnings beat wall street expectations. seeing lowe's and to me depot basically the same stock. i think lowe's has done better over the past 12 months. shares of hp hewlett-packard, trading down over 2 points almost 5%. the company's earnings were ahead by a penny. but revenue fell short. and the company warned that full-year profits will be well below where the street currently is, due to the strong balance. and boston beer under pressure. the maker of sam adams posting sales well below expectation. it can't help that there's 7 feet of know outside. you you can put the beers right in -- don't even need awe refrigerator. dreamworks shares but you don't want to jump into the snow

and run into a bottle of beer. >> that's dangerous. and dreamworks shares are down sharply. the media company reporting a bigger than expected logs. the studio expects its revenue in its future film business to decline in the mid-teen percent range. the dow and s&p hitting new record highs and domenic chu joins us with a closer look at february's hot stockings. yeah, february is almost over dom, isn't it? >> yeah it is the one with fewer days. everyone is focusing on -- >> it is. >> 28 days sometimes 29 right? the reason why everybody cares about what's happening in february like you guys said early in the program we are at record highs for the s&p, the dow. and again, we didn't get there because we had a hot january. quite the contrary, we had quite a cool january. things have heated up. material stocks are the ones that are standing out in terse of sectors.

9% gain so far and that's just in the month of february. so a very hot sector. the hottest in the s&p. technology, the second hottest. this is important. we talk about it all the time. the biggest weighting. the s&p, 8% give the bulls a little more with regard to the bullish case of the stock market. and discretion another stocks lowe's, home depotsing. the home improvement trade are helping stocks out. so the top sectors. now, let's move on what's happening with the individual stocks. first of all if you look at the dow jones shares disney shares up 8%. cisco up 12%. jpmorgan on the banking side up 12% as well. these three stock leadership in the dow right now. we can take a look at the broader look.

hospera up. martin marietta up 33%. and trip add adviser, one of the stand-alone consolidation happening in february 32% up. and finish out in the nasdaq 100 and the composite up 7% so far just in the month of february. they're on pace for their best month in 2012. the vimpelcom. a gamble there for some people. trip add adviser as we said one of the nasdaq 100s up really big. and priceline.com, the travel has been one of the hottest groups. joe, some of the hot spots here. but deep an eye on material stockings. they seem to have momentum. we'll see if that will continue as we had head into march. back to you. >> material stogs, i'm not sure what -- maybe because they've bottomed now with inflation and commodity pricing.

maybe that's why, dom? >> well, some traders say this is maybe an indicator for economic optimism. i'm not saying there is one case one way or the other. at least some places betting on the idea if we do move higher better cement for road and buildings. >> we did have a fund manager yesterday who was recommending those as well. >> dom, have you been down here yet? >> i have not been. the reason why i do some of the work i do for you guys in front of the wall. i will at some point join you guys down in new york city. for right now, management is keeping me here. >> invitation is open. >> it is. >> i felt there's a hole in my heart. >> ah that's very nice. >> we haven't seen him in a while. >> yeah. i got to see dom friday. >> you did? okay. we'll see you down here soon dom, hopefully. we're going to talk about the fed. fed chair janet yellen testifying in front of the senate banking committee

yesterday. today, she's going to be facing the house committee on financial services as we mentioned steve reeseman is actually here on the set. >> i had a blast -- you've heard of the app angry birds? well, we're going have a new app, battle of the birds. you guys were talking about the headlines throughout really a battle with the fed on the fed. and what the markets said or had hurt was she hawkish or was she dovish. "the new york times" saying -- where is that yellen ounces patients. yellen puts fed on path to lift rates and yellen pave way for rate rises this year. all these doing is retaining the flexibility to possibly move in march and that she doesn't make or suggest policy in committee -- in congress. she does it in committee. >> but it sounded to me like she was moving towards the position

where she could raise rates if they wanted to. continuing to move. >> which is -- this much hawkish. but certainly not this much dovish. >> and the markets reacted in kind. >> well they thought the fed was dovish. >> right. >> here's some of the headlines of the other feds out there. hfe, no major change in town. wrightson, did not change the policy at all. goldman saying language was broadly similar to the january meeting and minutes. take a year at what the ten-year did. ten basis points of decline in the ten-year down black below 2%. this is a real question out there, we'll be listening today as we try to redirect. i don't think she was -- maybe the market was positioned in the hawkish way. almost relieved that it wasn't more hawkish. but i didn't hear it. all i heard was basically neutral fed, as we head towards the mid-march meeting where

they're going to make up their mind to remove patients or not. >> steve, had a joke about february, you missed it. >> we did? another economics joke. >> get ready, folks. i said february on a seasonally adjusted basis is just as long as the other months. >> i didn't want to say it -- >> i've been warned -- i've been warned over a dozen days -- >> ten different management types in that chair, we've all told them don't be funny. >> that's right. and my jokes haven't improved at all. >> no they haven't. you're good at other stuff, though. >> you are. >> he tries. >> what do you call -- dead head? let's bring in another voice now. and obviously how it plays out in the markets ahead of bank of

america mall global research. would you say, in the last year or so has anything really changed with looking at how the fed could impact the stock market at this point? i feel like they're really -- they haven't been nearly as important as they have been for the past years. >> yeah a couple year ago. i would agree. i think there's a lot of hyper focus paid on -- kind of a lens on the fed which hasn't been as important as previous years. i would agree with your comments that basically the fed is not really changing their tone particularly. we're sticking with we think the first tightening is going to happen in september. it's kind of the same story. better economic growth in the u.s. the numbers have come in pretty well. >> for good reason. >> it was interesting in the commentary. the fed kind of shifted from talking about the labor markets to talking about inflation. that was a big change. >> you think they thought about that before they did it? >> i have no idea.

>> do you think it was intentional? >> yeah because the labor market is where they want it to be. and headed in the right direction. inflation, they just are waiting for the data to catch up to where they want to be which is they need to get rid of this oil which is working through the system here. >> you sue schumer -- >> schumer is pretty smart. you got to hand it to him. at least he understands -- he may be one of the smarter senators i think in terms of economics. >> his questions and stuff. like that's a pretty good question chuck. >> he's been doing it a while. he knows the financial industry because that's his district. >> warner schumer and corbett are three guys who definitely have an economic brain on and that's great. >> and i'm not -- in relation to the west i'm not saying they're geniuses. i'm just saying stand out from nat being total -- you know -- >> but the house is going to be -- >> those guys.

>> we're going to hear a lot about go by rule. >> today is going to be interesting to me because i want to know how big an issue the fed is politically. is it a big football? can they score points or not? >> i think it's still feed ertheater. >> i think so, too. if you look at the fed -- it's reacting on a daily basis to what the fed is doing. on a longer term base the market's doing really well. the comment on materials, materials has been starting to work. maybe that's a harbinger of better economic data. >> yeah. you miss them a lot close when the fundamentals don't seem to justify it. they're hoping that the economy would catch up. >> if the fed told you today, we're raising a quarter in june

what would the market do? >> i think that would be good i do. >> i do too. i think there might be a little bit of softness ahead of the tightening. but i think it would be met with upside, rather than downside. because it means that this big experiment of bloating our balance sheets actually worked and we're ready to start a normal cycle. >> okay. savita, thank you. steve reeseman thank you. you're going to do this but -- can you actually think -- >> wait i got to do something i forgot. we have jim on tomorrow. from st. louis. he's the guest host. you didn't know that -- >> on "squawk box." >> on "squawk box." on this show. jim bullard. >> you there see him, james bullard. he hangs out around 7:00 to chtan

9:00 he'll be here. >> he's a fly on the window. he knows everything. >> people actually say that the man actually changed the lyrics of the -- >> blinds by a light. revved up like a deuce -- >> it's a '42 deuce coupe. >> and revved up means excited. like a revved up engine. >> excited. >> excited. >> not as dirty as wrapped up like a -- >> i know that's not what it was. it took me to like i was 25. >> was he changing the lyrics or using the rock as a poetic license to say it differently, the lyrics? >> yeah i think so. >> wrapped up like a -- instead of revved up like a deuce. >> guys thank you for being here. when we come back this morning, it is time to play name

that stock. the ceo of this $13 billion flooring company will joins next. his stock is going up 26% since back in 1992. that what is silence of the lamb lambs dominated oscars and mcdonald's beijing and john gotti sentenced to prison. >> coming up jack gerard on the oil shock. up at 7:40 really estate with jeffrey vinic. "squawk box" will return in just a minute.

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smartphone or tablet from comcast. visit comcast.com/wireless to learn more. before the break, we had a quick challenge to name that stock. this company went public in 1992. the same year that hannibal lecter took the oscars and mcdonald's opened in beijing and john gotti got sentenced to life. and it's going up 126% since its debut 23 years ago. the ceo jeffrey lorabaum with the "squawk box" here. it's great to have you here. jeff, can you hear me there? i think we're maybe having issues with the audio. >> i can hear you. >> great. thank you for joining us today.

it's really nice to have you here. we were talking about the stock a little bit. obviously impressive runs. stocks trading at an all-time high. we wanted to have you here this morning to talk about what you're seeing in the industry. i know there are three parts of mohawk industries. the largest is the remodelling and home improvement. what are you seeing on that now? >> the remodeling business is the slowest growth of the three categories that we have. the commercial and new home business being better. anticipating it getting better as new house prices go up and people gain confidence and putting more investments in their homes. >> have you been surprised how lackluster it's been to this had point? or the glad you haven't had even stronger growth as the economy improved? >> it really is surprising. typically, as we come out, we're a leading indicator of what happens when you come out of recessions. this one we've been at the tail of it again, because we think housing prices are depressed. >> we've seen that with other

companies too. but what we've heard recently just this week from home depot and lowe's is aes's is that they're expecting to see it this year? >> we're optimistic about what is going on. we have people working more. we have lower interest rates. we have housing prices going up. we have business activity going on in businesses. so really optimistic about the future this year. >> one of the places you've seen strong home growth is with the home builders. that's one of the three segments. what's happening in that area? >> it's one of the fastest growing parts of our business. last year over 1 million homes made. this year, everybody is anticipating another 15% to 20% up. we're highly optimistic. >> what have you actually seen?

we saw new housing starts that were weaker than anticipated. maybe those are seasonal factors? >> it really doesn't impact us. we're the last thing that goes in the home before it's finished. we're right at the end. a month before it's done. with products that starts six to 12 months ago. the monthly deviations don't impact our business. >> what about the collar. how has the stronger dollar impacted things? >> stronger dollar really hasn't impacted our local businesses because the sales and costs and manufacture are all related to the same region. however, when we translate is back we get a significant translation impact. if you look at 2014 and use the current race we have about a 5% sales impact. >> jeffrey, we want to thank you for joining us today. we appreciate your time. >> thank you very much glad to be here. coming up the south bracing for another snowstorm. the south bracing for some other

snowstorm. details next. plus a video of a home explosion caught on tape. a gas leak. luckily, a lot of people have been evacuated as they look for the leak. as we head to the break, check out the shares of mastercard trading at the highest level since the stock went public in 2006. ♪ >> announcer: time now for today's aflac trivia question. what percentage of millennials plan to put their tax refunds into savings? the answer when cnbc's "squawk box" continues. claims! legend has it these hills are full of 'em. it can take months for an insurance claim to surface. claimin' takes patience. aflac paid my claim in one day. they got some new-fangled kinda one day payin' machine? hehehehe yea, i got aflac at work. aflac... in just one day, we approve and pay. one day pay, only from aflac. aflac...

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♪ >> announcer: now the answer to today's aflac trivia question. what percentage of millennials plan to put their tax refunds into savings? the answer 54.9%. talked about that yesterday, one of the best places is good news is they're saving than spend one of the better news is

they're putting it into stocks than carry. crews are preparing for messy weather that could shut down the atlanta metro area. state crews have started spreading a brine mixture in preparation for that storm. it's forecast to bring up to 4 inches in atlanta and the surrounding area georgia governor nathan deel has our already declared a state of emergency for disaster preparedness. >> if you didn't see this last night. take a look at this video. an explosion in a new jersey neighborhood is caught on tape. this dash cam video sos debris shooting in the air. it happened while crews were working on a gas main leak across from that home. 15 people were injured. two gas company employees are in critical condition. and i guess there's -- i guess there's a strong smell because they were looking for it. it had been there for a woul. >> where was it? >> i'm not sure where.

but there's nothing left. when we come back we're going to talk about a u.s. petroleum supply data. and the oil's next moves. and jack gerhard coming up. and the dow slightly lower. the nasdaq up. and s&p down 200 points we're back in a moment. ns] ♪ we are one, we are essentially the same regardless of where we come from. um, there are definitely things that are different about us culturally and everything else but at the end of the day we are the same and we really need to start seeing the world as a place that was gifted to us. [thunder and rain] [thunder and rain] [thunder and rain] [ male announcer ] your love for trading never stops. so open an

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♪ is -- with not too play with that -- welcome back to "squawk box," one of the stories front and center. hudson bay and simon property group announcing a strategic

move. 42 properties an 82% stake to help simon push growth without having to embark on major m & e. apple has been ordered to pay for patent infringement. the itunes software infringed three patents owned by the it it company smart flash. and president obama making good on his threat to veto the keystone pipeline authorization bill. the president wants the state department to finish its assessment of the pipeline. and it marked the third veto of obama's presidency. plenty of millennials are watching tv shows on labtops and tablets. but one show is re-creating the computer screen on the small screen. tonight's episode of "modern family" was shot entirely with iphones.

ipad and mac book cameras. it takes place on claire dunphy's desktop as she communicates with family members while waiting for a flight from the airport. the co-creator steve levin said he wants to highlight the modern era miscommunication. >> i'm not very good with that stuff. >> pretty crazy. >> he created the screens after. it wasn't just what it looked like, it was a lot of -- >> and sofia vergara is still out there for you. she was supposed to get married but they postponed the marriage. don't let her know that she would be disappointed if she knew you were off the market. also check this out. there is an extreme sport that you won't see on the major sports shows. but it's still pretty cool to

watch. and a matchup of skiing and mild west. the horse race and skiing on the snow. >> that's awesome. that's crazy. i love it. i love it. we're going to be watching moves in the place of oil later this morning when fresh supply is released. take a look at the price of crude. wti, 49.39.41. let's talk to jack gerard. weigh in sir. where are we going? >> it's important to keep in mind at least from the industry standpoint, if you believe the analysts today it seems to be mixed some believe we bottom. some believe we're headed back up. others believe there might be -- >> you must have a view? >> well we do have a view. we tend to read the same

analysts you read and have the same problems you do in actually predicting where the market should go. long-term projection shows the demand is only going up for the product. so the industry looks at this downcycle if you will saying longer term we're going to need more gas in the world. if you see through this cycle we remind ourselves it's a greater benefit of u.s. prouk that'sduction. we're thinking long term. >> long term is five or ten years? or long term is two years? what are we talking about here? >> longer term can be two to five to ten years in our business. as you know we make multibillion dollar investments for the long haul. >> we just want to understand the workings. >> i understand.

if you and i knew exactly where the prices were going to go we wouldn't be here today. >> i was going to go with tell us where it's going to be two weeks from now -- >> go ahead, keystone. >> let me ask it in this context. the fracking revolution and how many barrels did we have in the past five years i don't know did that make keystone more important or irrelevant? >> i think it's as important as it's always been. you can't build a pipeline in the united states unless it's subscribed and unless you've got customers for it. what's happening with keystone it's bringing in heavier crudes to the gulf of mexico displacing some of the crudes we're bringing in from venezuela. the second thing we should note the knee for infrastructure within the united states. to stay competitive globally and have potential to potentially export product which is the new vision, if you will out there to allow u.s. producers to capture additional shares. we're going to need additional

infrastructure. keystone is front and center. >> does the api have a stated explanation or response to the veto? in other words, how long has it been, six year seven years? >> seven years. we're into our seventh year on the keystone pipeline. >> what is api's response to -- is it legitimate or totally political? because it's been studied up -- there's pipelines all over the country. >> there's been five studies, joe. every one of which have concluded that there's no -- >> right. why not do it now? what's the rationale? >> that's a great question. our view is one of great frustration. we've got strong bipartisan support in the house and senate. think about it you have nine democratic senators who say, mr. president, we don't agree with your views. we need to build this infrastructure. we need to move forward. and they voted to get keystone to compel the president. >> if it's purely political,

that's a disgrace? >> i think it's highly political. >> do you want to say it's a disgrace to finish the sentence? >> i'm not saying that. i'm not trying to put words -- >> others have described it that way, prime minister harper described it as no-brainer. >> how does that this changes depending 0 ging on who the president is two years from now? >> it could be -- >> will it be headed to china? >> well, as you know know now, we're still producing. it's moving on the rail and to the gulf of mexico which experts tell you adds about $3 a barrel. >> probably more risk. >> the point is can this come back? >> well the leadership both in the house and senate both senator mcconnell and also speaker boehner have said this is only the beginning of the struggle of this fight. they fully expect that they're

going to find a vehicle on the hill legislation, where they will continue to push this until they ultimately get this approved. >> let me ask this one other question, though is it just symbolic? how real -- if you really do the math, how important is this particular pipeline relative to everything else? or has it become sort of this symbol of the political debate in washington? >> that's a great question. it's port of the symbolism of the marketplace. it's sending a signal to the marketplace that's chilling on the infrastructure. we talk often about the highway bill. building bridges, building roads. >> infrastructure. this is also -- >> this is -- >> if you're infrastructure you'd think you'd be for private infrastructure. >> other frustration is there's a recent report that shows over the next 11 years the oil and gas industry is projected to

spend $1.1 trillion. that's a "t." just building infrastructure. that's sending a message, wait a minute, where government's involved and this administration is involved there's a risk -- >> from the left there are forecasts it would add 37 jobs exactly. we've had someone on tell us with a straight face keystone's total job creation would total 37 -- and we said -- remember we said 3700. -- no 37 period. >> let me give you the data that comes from the obama administration -- >> i'm not going to believe that. >> well it says it creates 42,000 jobs. now, they can talk about temporary jobs as i remind the people -- >> all infrastructure is temporary. >> you're absolutely right. so why should we distinguish or hold this out of the mix. it should be treated like the others it should have been approved five years ago. >> it's the climate change lobby

that prevailed. >> it's a challenge. and we're hopeful consumers are going to rise up and get more engaged in this conversation and understand the true options. what does it mean to have secure, low-cost affordable energy? >> jack thank you for coming in. >> always a pleasure. when we come back a billionaire who earned this salt with the magellan fund when he was 33. now he owns the tampa bay. and the chief officer of coca-cola passed away at age 88. he's a member of the board of berkshire hathaway. praise came in from around the country. berkshire ceo warren buffett said you can sum up don's life. everybody loved him. he is known nor the creation of new coke.

it's not eelzasy to make a mistake in corporate america. but don affected the art of mea culpas. and took to the stage to apologize in front of hundreds in new york. his speech is the stuff of legend and harvard case studies. he shared some of the more comfortable responses. one address to the chief dodo that asked what ignoramus decided to change the color of coke? if you'd like to see his speech you can find it on youtube. keough is survived by his wife six children 18 grandchildren. i sure hope so. with healthcare costs, who knows. umm... everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the

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running the magellan fund in the '90s, the largest mutual fund at the time. he was just 33. took it from $20 billion to $50 billion or something. he resigned that job and started his own fund worth $4 billion.

along came his 50th birthday and the dilemma what to do with himself. he bought a hockey team the tampa bay lightning. now he has even bigger plan to redevelop downtown tampa. jeff joins us now. we can talk about anything jeff? >> anything you'd like to talk about, but my favorite thing to talk about is tampa bay lightning and the real estate development we have going on in tampa. great place to be. >> well you can thank samsung and nbc. number one. nbc took hockey on after the lockout. i think they paid us a dollar or something to take it. then high had-def, 75 inches and watching a hockey game is almost like being there right now. it's phenomenal. >> nbc, great partners. we appreciate it. we've got the best sport. i love hockey. it's fast exciting great athletes. we got the best sport. part of my admission is everybody should be watching

hockey, the tampa bay lightning. >> preaching to the choir there. i never thought i'd like any new york steam. i really like the rangers. we go and watch. my kids my family. as far as a spectator sport, you might be right about that especially if you got halfway decent seats, you can feel any hit. >> wherever you are in the building, you're right, you see the hits you feel it. you can hear the sounds of a crisp pass being received by somebody on their stick. i love hockey on tv but it is the best spectator sport in person. no doubt about it. >> nice town too, tampa. usually, it's a pretty nice place to live i'm sure. hey, jeff, let me ask you something, remember back in the '90s, obviously, you were right, eventually, about tech. do you still -- are you feeling deja vu all over again? or you just don't weigh on things like that? there are a lot more underpinnings to you know

earnings and revenue to a lot of these tech companies today than back when you were looking at overevaluation. but are we getting back in that area again, do you think? >> well i'd rather talk about the undervaluation attempt at what a great place it is. in terms tech 1999-2000, i don't think there's any doubt that is the biggest bubble any of us will experience in our lives. you look at valuations on dozens and dozens hundreds of internet securities at the time just multiples of revenue, 10 20 50 times revenues. what we have going on. most of the time i'm out of the hedge fund business. i spend most of the time on the lightning and especially on real estate development. what we have right now, we don't have a bubble going on right now. we have pockets of stock being overvalued. we have pockets of stock being undervalued. i think the economy looks just fine going forward. and i think it's a good time to be invested. >> one of your predecessors had

a degree of notoriety as well. peter lynch. you know we used to think buy and hold was one -- it was almost like in the bill of rights. and then i don't know -- then at this point, i don't think people -- it may have gone 180 degrees to where people don't think it -- you aren't guaranteed of getting your money back and getting a decent return at all anymore. what is the truth? -- is immutable about stock, do they eventually go up? >> we have a long track record over dozens hundreds of years, where stocks go up over time. you've got to be careful when you pick securities you want companies with strong managements, with strong balance sheets. the economy is cyclical. the stock market is cyclical there will be downturns. but if you have companies with strong management earnings will grow. i'm a big believer in buy and hold for the long teller. for those who don't feel secure at picking securities or

managers, index funds are a great way to go also. >> we keep calling you billionaire. i didn't know you were that loaded. it's nice. don't be shy about it. are you more comfortable with your assets in real estate. do you like being able to walk on something you own, instead of putting it up on a wall in a stock certificate? >> you know i'm very comfortable with what we have going on downtown tampa. this is a great place to live. we're building a $1 billion-plus live/work play environment. we're building office and recruiting corporate headquarters which is part of my mission right now. residential, retail new hotel meeting room space. tampa say great place. i'm a great spokesperson for this. i've got the tampa bay lightning five years ago. moved dune here with my family 2 1/2 years ago. it has been the best years of our lives. people in the northeast where i come from people in the midwest don't realize how great it is. how great the quality of life here is.

in terms of the weather, it makes a difference obviously, right now. but all year-round. in terms of the commute isn't bad. you save an hour and a half of your day. you can be with your family rather than commuting. cultural, restaurant scene, every day there's a new restaurant opening up here. sports scenes. most importantly what this area is unique for is welcoming. the people here i've been no other place in the country like it where people are so welcoming and so friendly. and my message to those -- to you guys and to everybody in the hedge fund business and in business in general, come on down. spend some time down here in tampa. very busy friendly we've got a great mayor bob buckhorn who is pro-growth. a great governor rick scott who is all about growth and economic activity. and jobs. come on down and experience it. you know what come on down i'll show you around for a day because this is a great place to

be. >> no -- are you a rick scott supporter? >> i think rick's doing a great job with our economy. created over 750,000 jobs since he came into the office. people are moving into the state. 1.5%. 2% increase in population every year. i think people have the message that florida's open for business. and a great place to do business. and i'm fully behind rick and everything he's done glp is there a deficit in florida right now, a state deficit? there isn't, right? >> no. >> you got no income tax. >> you got no income tax, how does that happen? >> you know we have a lot of economic activity here. >> yeah, i know. >> and we have great fun with it. >> we can't learn anything from that. i don't know it must be an anomaly, jeff. could be correlated couldn't it leave it in the private sector. we appreciate having you on this morning. >> very welcome. coming up the stock movers

that you should be watching. and later republicans ceding their right over net neutrality? will it be the end of so-called internet fast lanes? at the top of the very hour this very topic. we're back in a moment. automotive innovation starts... right here.

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no launch a part of the investment firm. and in settlement talks with the justice department the bank has been accused of defrauding banks. revenues well below estimates. it's quarter revenues outlooks is weak. when we come back retailer target is set to report results. we'll have the numbers on the instant analysis straight ahead. plus senator heidi heitkamp questioning janet yellen. the senator will join us in just about 30 minutes. ♪ ♪ ♪ tigers, both of you. tigers? don't be modest. i see how you've been investing. setting long term goals. diversifying. dip! you got our attention.

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the battle over the internet. we're less than 24 hours before a key fcc vote on net neutrality regulations. what impact will the decision have on the future of broadband media and your money. both sides of that debate coming up. taking aim at target. the big box retailer ready to report shares surging. plus making wearable terk fashionable. looking to make your health and data crystal clear ahead this hour as the final hour of "squawk box" begins right now. ♪

♪ space coaster get on board on the great space coaster ♪ welcome back to "squawk box." hires in the business worldwide, i'm joe kernin with andrew ross sorkin and becky quick. it's like a tampa day. happening right now, a space walk taking place today. >> the international space station, you could never be bullied. that's one thing that i know. anyway, they offer commercial crew vehicles that will one day dock at the space station. the astronauts will spend about six hours outside of the space station. let's talk about other things going on.

fed chair janet yellen testifying before the house services committee. her dependents about a patient approach to rate hikes. also take a look at shares of hp. they're dropping sharply right now. the tech giant warning the four-year profits will fall well below forecast due to the strong dollar. and the home improvement chain lowe's getting a boost. it beat the streak. we've got target numbers coming out. the company coming in with a dollar a share. coming better than expected. >> better jails. >> when you look at the comp store sales up 3.8% that is better than anticipated. >> in total 21.75 billion versus 21.633. >> those comps go up against 3% comps. and guidance for the first

quarter of 2015 it looks like they're now expecting adjusted earnings per share of $1.95. the street is looking for $1.04. >> you see what it cost to close down the canadian operations. they lost $4.10 a share. you know what -- >> wall street applauded when they did it. >> you need to back everything out to get to that. it's fun that that -- you know that's a lot. >> it's a lot to lose. again, it was a move that the street applauded when they did it. they were sick of seeing the losses in canada. they wanted that. brian korbel who has been a new ceo of target. they're pleased by the strong performance in signature, style baby kids and wellness. >> they've been making $3 and $4 a share for the past six or seven years.

$3 or $4 a share for the year cost $5.59 to close. >> more than a year of earnings. >> yeah. >> wow. well right now, it looks like the street likes what it sees stock up by 58 cents. we are less than 90 minutes away from the opening bell on wall street. we've weren't batchbeen watching the futures right now, if you check out the futures they are relatively flat. again, we have janet yellen who is going to be speaking before congress on the other side of the hill. right now, dow futures up 3 points. s&p down by 2 points. remember you're watching the markets at near or all-time highs. if you look at europe things have barely budged there. looks like the ftse down by a quarter%. greece, the market down 1.9%. a florida developer signed a deal to buy revel. >> revel.

>> $82 million. glenn stroub plans on opening a recreational complex by the summer but is not sure if the casino will be part of the plan. the casino cost $3.4 billion. they approved a strap of a sale to stroub. >> 82 million bucks is it worth it, though for $2.4 billion -- >> what do you have it's in atlantic city, isn't it? >> you should be able to charge much cheaper rate. >> what kind of a recreation complex, like a water slide or something? >> look it's a beautiful hotel. >> beautiful hotel. >> brand new. >> totally brand new. you should be able to do something. >> it's so easy it's a bargain. we don't know. that's the scary thing about atlantic city. >> that is the scary thing about atlantic city. we're going to have debate

about net neutrality. a house senate committee holding what could be a fiery meeting. tomorrow they vote on the rules. central to the debate is whether to classify broadband as a ewe it will. joining us to debate this topic is michael beckelman. ceo of the corporation that represents big companies like netflix and amazon. on the other side is john sununu. and comcast is in a deal to acquire time warner cable. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> let me ask you, since you're sitting here one of the things we've heard i don't know if john is going to say this over an over again, this regulation is going to force companies like at&t comcast, perhaps time warner might be part of it eventually torsion slow down whatever buildout they were

going to be pursuing over the next several years because of the regulation and because of the litigation and uncertainty that this is going to create. do you buy that? >> i do not. and that question has been asked. and in fact sprint chimed in with the ftc and said going to try to build out, executives from verizon said they're going to build out. and michael power who represents the cable industry on this week said the cable companies will continue to build out. >> he said they were going to have to slow down. i didn't think they were building out. >> continued to invest. >> that got sprint on board. >> john? >> well look it's not a question of starting or stopping completely. of course, no company, let alone a broad band company is going to top making investments. will it alter the rate of investment or even the monies

where the money is invested. there's no question the answer will be yes. even if we can't predict exactly how it will affect those things. the regulatory burden the cost and the uncertainty, because anyone who thinks there's not uncertainty with any government regulation, let alone one this big is crazy. so it will affect the investment profile. it will slow it down to an extent but no one can know exactly what that will be science we see how the ftc uses this. >> what the ftc is talking about a light touch. we're not talking about the full power of title 2 utility stock regulation. we're talking about a few small sections of title 2. frankly, that's really not each the conversation here. the conversation is what the end result for internet users and what's the end result for startups in this country? >> john. >> so what's so wrong about what was just said is they're talking about imposing title 2,

including sections that regulate on price or the bundling or distribution of content. but then forbearing and not enforcing in those sections. and anyone who thinks that the government bureaucrats are going to take this big new regulatory power and not ultimately use it is really fooling themselves. but what's also important to recognize this is this isn't a debate about net neutrality. it's a debate about that regulatory power. because there's no question when it comes to the principals no blocking, no link even no paid prioritization. i think those things make sense supported by the broadband community but they can be done through much smarter ways. they can be done through regulation. regulatory sections made for the internet like 706. title 2 was made for the phone monopoly of 30 years ago. >> to regulate the internet

that's modern that's dynamic, that's innovative. it just make no, sir sense.s no sense. >> i think it was 80 years ago. but that's neither here or there. the question i have do you think there's actually enough competition in the broadband markets. you're a time warner board member. i'm a time warner cable subscriber. i live in new york. unfortunately, you are it for me. i have no real option except for you. >> well, you do have options. that's not quite right. you have time warner cable and verizon verizon, almost certainly if you're in new york city. it if there's an issue with big high-rise buildings, those building operators choose whenever they want to be connected to both. so it's misleading to say you only have one says. >> the ftc just had a ruling 75%

of us have no choice. >> let me answer the question. i'm sorry, i can't quite hear am i on? >> yep it's you. >> yes. the answer to is the question is we always like to see more competition. in the automotive industry, coffee shops. we always like to see more competitive. we have more competition in the industry than we've ever had, comcast competing. >> hold on i can cite this this happened in kansas as you know where the cable companies all came together and tried to block google. and google fiber and actually kansas city as you know as a municipality actually able to offer that type of service and allow people to use the poles and everything else that would be needed to -- the easements that would be required. >> well look. the question isn't do

competitors compete? it's is there competition? as i said there are more overbuilders. more competition today than ever before. wireless continues to expand its next generation services. so for a lot of valuables, a lot of content, your wireless at&t verizon, sprint is actually taking eyeballs and competing with those wire line services. and we want more competition. so the question is does imposing a monopoly regulatory regime result in more competition? absolutely not. >> but if a monopoly -- >> you're more likely to get monopoly practices. >> let me channel joe and becky. if i'm netflix and i'm going to take up 80% of the broadband during time time why should netflix not have to pay for that? >> the ftc had a recent report that 75% of americans have no

choice. >> how is that possible in days of satellite? >> for high speed broadband which people expect. >> yes, for high-speed broadband, that's exactly right. they raised the definition of high speed broadband. >> that's what people expect of having multiple devices, being able to stream video. that's the major point here. there's no competition, you have no choice. and the d.c. circuit court found that a lot of these cable companies operate as a terminated monopoly. and the internet provider should not be able to play gate keeper and tell you what the size or what the quality. >> no provider plays gate keeper blocks content. that's a complete red herring. you know that as well as i do. >> the reason that we're here in in the first place having this conversation there are rules in effect in 2010 that verizon sued. >> both sides saying verizon was

wrong in that. >> if you look at what julius cancowsky proposed -- >> well, verizon struck it down because they want to have the ability to play gate keeper. >> i think verizon now said they made a mistake in that. >> incorrect statement, they did not sue because they wanted to play gate keeper. they sued because they thought the ftc was overstepping their authority. no internet service provider is throttling, is blocking content is discriminating or engaging in paid -- you know why it makes no business sense. >> john there's been evidence over the year of throttling. >> what evidence? in 2007 inned by touring, 90% of was pirated.

it was wrong. it was dealt with. it could have been dealt with the ftc, but it was dealt with with the fcc. you cannot give -- any internet provider -- >> with the ftc in 2012? >> was it a trade practice? i don't know the case. >> i believe it was a throttling case. >> that was wireless and not defined as high-speed broadband services. >> as wireless wire line all together because you said there's competition among all of them? see, to me you can't choose one over the other, that's why it becomes a complicated issue. >> no but i'm making the point under those areas that were covered by the so-called net neutrality rules. at&t and verizon were not covered. and they're wireless -- their

broadband or wireless broadband by the net neutrality order. they're now being covered by this one because they're being defined as title 2 services. >> mike we're out of time. just the idea of netflix users using 80% of the broadband at peak hours. >> it's really the internet user. the internet is not like broadcast tv where everything is sent out over the airwaves if i want to watch an internet show i'm pulling that content down. >> that makes me think that consumers are going to be paying much more than what they actually use. >> consumers are getting what they are paying for. i am pulling the content down. >> can i address that point? because this is where -- they the internet association and netflix really just raise everything. what you're talking about there, becky is interconnection.

it's nothing to do with the last mile of the consumer. net neutrality is about the consumer, right, the blocking throttling discrimination that we're talk about in the 2010 order. what netflix has done is bring this idea of interconnection, connecting to the internet under this title 2 legislation. >> john can you imagine a situation where -- becky's argued often over this idea that she feels she ends up subsidizing other cable users -- and she's not a netflix subscriber. can you ever see a time where you charge me a lot more money because i'm a netflix subscriber and i'm downloading more and you charge becky less? >> what everyone wanted to do is charge for bits. >> data. >> and some cable varieties have experimented with that. it's not something that customers really like very much. you know you've got to go with

what the consumers want. an alternative, a proxy for that is charging for different speeds. if you're a netflix user you're going to want a solid 25 or 50 mega bit connection. if you're not using a lot of data, a 5 bit connection is going to probably deliver you all the speed that you need if you're not streaming videos. so that's one way to minimize the subsidy that becky's talking about. but the other point on interconnection, any internet provider cnbc.com espn red zone netflix, you've got to connect to the internet and that's what interconnection is saul about. and you don't get that for free. but you have to have a level 3 or cogent or even a compass to bring that stuff to the internet. what netflix wants and whatsoever they're getting is that suddenly the fcc is going to oppose itself on that

business transaction in the a way they have before. that's also what commissioner clyburn has revolted against. and demanding changes. >> it's a great conversation. unfortunately, we've got to end it here. we appreciate it. >> thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >> blackberry and no netflix. >> i have an iphone, i have -- >> why wouldn't you have netflix, it's $7 a month. >> we've got to run. and better than expected up next hotels are giving travelers a little more incentive to use uber. details after the break.

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uber partnering with hotel chain starwood to give them an incentive. uber can now earn one starwood rewards minute for every ride they spend in an uber car. a night in a starwood hotel will end 2 to 4 points per dollar

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welcome back to "squawk box" everyone. unyon drones are buzzing over paris' most famous landmarks including the eiffel tower. nbc's bill mealy reports on the investigation into the matter. >> reporter: yes, hello from paris where there is a mystery that's really unsettling people. paris a city of course a steel so famously relaxed. well not anymore. the reason last night for the second night running, mystery drones were spotted hovering over some key landmarks in the city. it began with a drone overnight monday. hovering over the u.s. embassy. it was back last night. or at least a drone or possibly drones hovering over five locations all across central

paris. now, the police did manage last night to spot these drones and even to film them but people are worried. why? well obviously last month's terror attacks here that killed 17 people began that process. and last night people were looking up to the sky and wondering is there a new threat from above. it's not the first time this has happened. there have been drones spots above the presidential palace in event weeks. above nuclear submarines. above nuclear sites and military installations. peel are just wondering what on earth is going on. is there an innocent explanation to this. or is this something much more sin sinister. last month, in washington, d.c. a drone flew over the white house and crashed into the lawn. people are wondering if this technological tool being used as

a tool of terror. of course paris has been threatened by militants in the last few weeks and indeed the last few days. so there are real concerns here about the drones and they'll be watching in the skies above paris once again tonight. >> again thatere was an apology that came from that and we found who had been buzzing around. obviously, a point of concern and something we've been watching. >> and i hadn't even thought of it. and you say can only -- move on. when we come back this morning, senator heidi heitkamp.

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enjoy over wifi or on verizon wireless 4g lte. plus enjoy special savings when you purchase any new verizon wireless smartphone or tablet from comcast. visit comcast.com/wireless to learn more. ♪ welcome back to "squawk box." market data out, january home sales coming up at 10 eastern time. mortgage applications 3.5% last week as mortgage rates edged higher. that was driven by a drop in refinance operations. also the first day of labor talks between toyota and its

union was a bit bumpy. toyota say it will be impossible to meet the demands for $112 per month pay raise. >> the fed timetable for a rate hike remains unclear. janet yellen testifying before a senate panel says an issue will be considered on a meeting by meeting basis. >> if the fed were to raise rates too soon senator, we would risk undermining a recovery that is religious taking hold and really is succeeding, i think improving in the the way of the market. as i said i don't think we're back to attaining yet conditions i'd associate with maximum employment or normal labor market conditions. things have improved notably, but we're not there yet. >> joining us this morning, north dakota senator and bank committee member heidi heitkamp

one of the two who questioned the chairwoman. before we get to it senator, i guess we want to get your reaction of the keystone pipeline. >> yeah. it wasn't unexpected. i mean he has been saying all along that the process needs to be completed. that's what he said when he vetoed the bill. i think the more important question is, as you guys speculate, what's going to happen here on the hill. what's going to happen at the state department. i'm pretty familiar with the record of the keystone xl pipeline and there's actually no factual basis to deny this permit. every study that they've done says it doesn't have 'effect on climate. there say jobs factor involved in terms of a shovel-ready project. ready to go just to the west of my state and all the way down to the middle of the country where we could use some good news. so your guess is as good as mine but i'm probe the only person in washington who believes that

there is a real eventuality that the state department will appove pipeline. >> well you don't want to get voted off the island. you're not ready to say that the rationale is purely political, or will you say that? >> well you know what i think the whole issue of keystone is purely political. >> you're undermining your own argument. >> no, no. >> the republicans, the reason they want to build it is political, it's not about jobs? >> no, what i 19mean to say, this thing has ballooned into much more than what it is. >> you did say there's no good reason. only one side has to say it's political at this point. >> well i think when you look at how it's being approached and whether there's an opportunity to negotiate something on the keystone pipeline it's pretty much take it or leave it.

we around going to look at any more amendments. or look at four more democrats into the pray to override a veto. and i think the bottom line is there's democrats who hide behind the excuse that the president hasn't finished his process. let me tell you, a process that had takes 6 1/2 to site a pipeline that's a balk in process. it's not about whether you want to destroy the planet. and it's not about any of that. what it's about, a piece of political and necessary energy infrastructure. and that's how it should be analyzed. >> okay. you got to ask some questions. in general, was it an interesting -- how many hours did you spend listen yesterday? you're a senator, you're used to meetings like this. but in terms of your average day, was yesterday a pretty good day or were you ready to go i can't take it anymore? >> you know what it was, i

always find it interesting because people want to debate interest rates with her in the committee. do you think anything that anyone asked or anything that anyone said is going to have an effect on the chairwoman's decisions? or the fed's decisions? the answer is quite frankly, no. >> right. >> so you know i took it as an opportunity to ask generally about what she sees in terms of economic indicators for the future. you know one of the concerns that i have always in washington is that we fight the last word. we talk about what's happening today. and not what we need for 15 20 years down the road. and she looks at economic data every day. and has her expertise that many of us do not have. and getting her point of view on what the millennials are doing. getting her point of viewdisparity. and this arguing about interest rates with other members. she's going to polite.

and she was. she's going to be professional and she was. but the not going to make a difference. >> so, what do you think? after listening, you were there? depending which newspaper you are, some said she's going to be more patient. and other people said she gave an exact road map to when the first rate hike is coming? depends how you hear things. >> you know what i think she would say, she had an incredibly successful day if people didn't know what the indications were. obviously, the market reacted. i think the reaction of the market is it's going to be a longer period of time before interest rates get raised. the one thing i will tell you, i think she's extraordinarily cautious. i think she's careful. she talks about lagging indicators and that she's not going to make a decision based on a short-term period of data. one of the questions, i teased her a little bit, i said i was going to look for her definition of patience. but i didn't do that. i simply asked her about other indicators in the economy that we ought to be paying attention

to. i thought one of the good moments was senator corker talking about, you no currency manipulation. and talking about the audit, the fed issue. and senator warner reminding everybody on the committee where he's responsible for monetary policy we're responsible for fiscal policy and we're doing a very good job there. >> okay senator. i guess -- how many do you need to -- do you have any friends on the democratic side where you couldover override a veto? how many more you need? >> you need four. we keep the nine on the overinvited. one of the things i've been working very hard on is to try and say what would it take? this is not going to go away. you heard mcconnell and sandra hovan talking about how we're going to have to find other vehicles. we're going to be in this debate about keystone xl pipeline. the significant, but it's not the most important thing we have

to do here. you know, my argument to my colleagues is are you tired of talking about the pipeline? can we just move on and actually talk about early childhood education or proficiency or the highway bill and not sending the right signals and doing the right thing there. so we're hoping i'm hopeful actually that the state department will do the right thing, do the correct legal thing and grant the permit. >> so if i -- let's say i can -- you would win a million-dollar prize if you could correctly predict the next bill passed by the senate and house and signed by the president -- well, actually will there be anything like that in the next two years that actually happens? >> i think there's broad consensus on a highway bill. we have to do something. we can't keep simply kicking this can down the road. the trouble is the funding

source. everybody wants to do not only what we hope we can do but surge transportation to deal with ageing infrastructure. we've got to approve the ex-im bank. we've got to have a discussion and have a discussion or move in the direction of tax reform or stop talking about it. >> what about trade? have your liberal colleagues explained to you their opposition to trade deals? >> well i think, you know it goes back to a whole lot of sense that some groups in america got left behind during nafta. a lot of the other trade agreements. but the bottom line is 94% of all consumers in this world do not live in our country. and we need to be a trade of trade-oriented economy. and we need to have barriers reduced. we have very open markets. we see closed markets. we ought to be negotiating and listening to all the groups that

should form the coalition to get this done. my perspective here comes from the standpoint of american agriculture. we're a commodity-driven state. you see that with oil right now, with oil prices. with the high dollar value it's always troubling for a commodity-driven state. >> how about the wimps in the southern states when they get half an inch of snow and the entire place closed? you're from north dakota right? what do you think? >> i just feel so bad for them. >> you feel bad, a half an inch. >> but they are not equipped to deal with half an inch glp they're not. >> if like the movie "fargo" all i saw was white the entire time? is that what you got going on out there? >> right now, we have what we call open winter. you might not know what that is. that means we don't have a lot of snow pack on the ground. that's bad for farmers, we're sucking out moisture from the soil. that's probably more than you

want to know. >> i want you to admit you laugh at the wimpy people down there. >> i do occasionally. i laugh at people at washington, d.c. folks that are good for about 20 below for about 30 degrees out. unbelievable. senator, thank you. >> you bet. >> i like her. >> i know. when we come back this morning, we've got reaction to target's quarterly results. a programming note as well. back by popular demand it's our annual annual ask warren show. we're live on monday warren buffett. using the hash tag ask warren. you can tweet your video or line @cnbc or share a video on instagram. remember to include the

the #askwarren. stick around.

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welcome back everybody. target beat out the top and bottom line for its latest quarter. although it did take effect for a billion-dollar tax. joining us now to break down the numbers, paul russell. he's analyst of deutsche bank. paul, when you strip it out from the charts it was better than expected, what did you think? >> it was better than expected.

especially on the top line the company had given us 3% holiday sales. bottom off. and investors are certainly encouraged by that. the issue, however, with target is that we don't know how much investment spending is needed moving forward. and we're kind of awaiting this big analyst meeting that brian crennel is hosting later in new york next week. and what it will cost to keep initiatives going. will they match walmart on wages and also what kind of changes are needed in store to alter the presentation to keep the traffic going. >> they pointed to areas they call their signature categories style, kids baby and wellness. they say those are doing very well. does that make you feel better that they're in the right spot when it comes to fashion in some of those areas? >> i'm very happy to hear target focus on particular areas.

they really need to have what i would call that go-to destination category. perhaps baby and style can be that. bought frankly, amazon prime continues to grow. costco is doing well. dollar stores continue to expand. square footage of 6% to 7%. so i really think that the middle class customer has a lot of options. and, so i'm encouraged by what target is saying here but i really need to be able to walk in the store and feel like target is the go-to destination for the areas. >> so you're not going to make any call until you hear from the investor conference next week? >> correct. >> when you heard what walmart did in terms of raising minimum wages what does that make you think? >> for target? >> well in terms of walmart, too. >> well i think we are at certain yet a point where there's going to be some pressure on these retailers to match what walmart did.

i believe there was another retailer t.j. maxx who has come out this morning and commented as well on increasing minimum wage. so, certainly, i do think that this is a topic that you know big box retailers in particular won't be able to avoid. the reality of it while it may be the right thing to do it's certainly good for the overall economy, there is some immediate pressure to earnings that we'll likely see in '15 '16 from that. >> and stocks that you you're saying is a good time for it? >> absolutely, dollar general say name that i like here. it's the better kind of pure-play u.s. retailer, really benefitting in-n this environment from the improved spending power of the low-end consumer. d.g. is really our top pick here. >> thanks for coming in today. >> thanks for having me. coming up next jim cramer from the new york stock exchange. ahead of the open and other names to be watching as the

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welcome back to "squawk box" this morning. take a look at futures now. had a little -- i want to say unchanged but it's down. dow looks like it would open off three points. nasdaq down 7 1/2. cablevision earnings and revenue did beat the street better than expected quarter for sodastream. sodastream ceo saying the company will continue to reposition the brand around health and wellness and launch a new portfolio of flavored waters. the knock stock exchange where jim cramer is. promised you'd comment on target. i thought $5.50, that was like a

year right, jim, but it's worth it. >> well this is brian cornell saying it wasn't me it was the other guy. if he kept canada open any longer i would have said it's brian's fault. you have to make the swift action to show he's decisive. i like the categories that he's in those are lifetime categories. get the customer in to buy baby goods, diapers, that customer stays with you. he's a focused guy. i love the wellness category that means food is not going to be junk food it's natural, organic. everything from hay heari hear from cornell i like. >> you think lowe's and home depot are the same stock. >> my charitable trust owns lowe's. a fantastic cfo, talking about 3.6 million units rental on the market of housing starts that's where -- the housing starts are

masked by the fact that rental to ownership is coming and that's driving categories that are selling. those companies are in boon times. ihop boom times 11-year high. restaurants, cracker barrel all-time highs, all generated by gasoline, gasoline gasoline and employment growth domino's unbelievable number. somebody said it was a miss. where did they get this stuff? do some work. comp numbers extraordinary. >> maybe the greatest times for retailers and restaurants. dairy and meat coming down, corn coming down. for apparel, we haven't seen it all. cotton coming down. coffee costs coming down by. starbucks you can raise numbers but what drives starbucks is overseas. i'm seeing the best of time for retail and restaurant and no one's talking about it except you, joe, because you share my optimism. >> i you know fast food i'm trying to think if there's any i

don't like and i -- even -- >> you don't like wendy's fries. >> really? joe, i've seen you, you've been at this nice short hills, mill burn one. >> just the fries. >> that's fine casual. that's fine casual. >> burger king, i'm there three times a week. when we serve burgers or fillets, we get fries. >> it's delicious. >> just put me in front of anyone. green burrito. >> taco bell. >> in and out, taco bell. i don't think there's one that i don't -- anyway, and it's obvious, isn't it? thank you, jim cramer. >> thank you. >> i've got to come to your place. what would you -- >> serving last night, buying drinks to everybody. not bad. >> what's your best menu item? >> it's short ribs taco. >> really? >> by far. >> wow.

speaking my language. all right. see you, jim. >> is there a discount? >> probably not. >> coming up apple trading near all-time highs on the first trading dollar company ever eye popping stats on the tech giant. and the catalyst that could take it to the next level. we'll talk about it when "squawk box" returns. claims! legend has it these hills are full of 'em. it can take months for an insurance claim to surface. claimin' takes patience. aflac paid my claim in one day. they got some new-fangled kinda one day payin' machine? hehehehe yea, i got aflac at work. aflac... in just one day, we approve and pay. one day pay, only from aflac. aflac... e financial noise financial noise

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welcome back to "squawk box" this morning. one of our daily checks on apple shares right now, market cap just a hair under 770 billion. yet you heard that right. what will push the stock over the trillion dollar market cap milestone. josh lipton has a couple of ideas josh? >> well andrew consumers eager to measure their stats, calories and judge the quality of their sleep, it's not just apple watch but consumers are clamoring for jawbone fitbit, mike creasecrosoft band. yesterday pebble raised $6 million for kickstarter in one day. passion for wearable technology could become even greater when apple watch ships in april. that will lead to increased growth in the wearables mark according to analysts at idc. they project that the u.s.

wearable market will reach more than 24 million units this year. from there, it's expected to surge to nearly 40 million units in 2019. beyond the hype, though remember this is a market that does face real challenges. a third of consumers who buy wearables end up not using them or using them infrequently according to pricewaterhousecoopers. in the near term patrick moorhead of moorinsights and strategy says the market will remain small because too many wearables mimic functions of smartphones. longer term, he thinks the design of wearables will become more sophisticated and more subtle and win over more fans. if pebbles kickstarter campaign is a healthy indication of an appetite for wearables still out there. >> josh those weren't all apple watches, were they? >> no. pebble one, kickstarter. there's something called basis

out there. >> will people look like dick tracy? talking about that. >> as you go through -- >> no, i think -- >> i don't think you'll have to talk that way to it. i think you'll just talk. >> that will look good. just be walking around talking. >> broadcast -- it's like using a speaker phone-type. >> i don't know. we're done. join us tomorrow. "squawk on the street" is next. ♪ ♪ >> good wednesday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." i'm carl quintanilla with jim cramer david faber at the new york stock exchange. just moments away hewlett-packard's meg whitman live and exclusive after yesterday's earnings. stocks down almost 7% in the premarket. futures slightly in the red, after that flurry of record highs yesterday in global stocks. yellen has day two of her testimony on the hill. oil remains in that range right around 50.