tv On the Money CNBC May 21, 2016 5:30am-6:01am EDT
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welcome to "on the money," i'm becky quick. how come the do not call list doesn't seem to work anymore and what you can do to make them stop. he's been nominated for an astounding 43 oskars. our conversation with brian grazer. >> the woman who wants to change the way people shop. how she says her website can change you time and money the old-fashioned way. what in the world is tipsy elf and what does vitt to do with
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ugly sweaters. "on the money" starts now. >> we begin with robo calls, you won a free cruise, increase your credit limit. if you've gotten one of these calls, you're not alone. every month 150,000 consumers complain about robo calls. what can be done to stop them. >> this is an amazing opportunity. >> sound familiar? robo calls make up an estimated 35% of all calls placed in the united states. telemarketing fraud costs millions a yearment 220 million calls have been started to the list since it started in 2003 and yet the threat of fines, many ignore the list.
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and with new internet technology, robo call operators can make millions of calls cheaply. many originate overseas and spoof or fake the number on caller i.d. making it harder for law enforcement to catch the cal lers and for you to tell you're getting a call in the first place. experts say, if you receive a robo call, just hang up. responding in any way let's the scammers know they've reached a real person. and report it on the do not call list. more than 220 million phone numbers are on the do not call list and the number of calls rise every year. why is this problem getting worse and what can consumers do to keep them at bay? joining me is the consumer man, brad herman, a company that facilitates robo calls. thank you for being here today. >> you're welcome. >> thank you, guys. brad, i want to start with you because i have to admit the robo
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calls drive me crazy. at times i'm ready to rip my phone out of the wall at home. why do you think this is a legitimate business and what can people do to protect themselves? >> there's five types of businesses and organizations using us. the first would be schools. the second would be employers. so maybe an employer is trying to fill a last-minute overtime shift on the weekend and needs to reach out to their employees. we have lots of churches, nonprofit organizations that you may be a member of. >> would you be calling me from the red cross if i had never given money to the red cross? >> no. no. so everyone that a company like mine calls, you need to have given them their phone number and they need to be calling you with informational messages that are not proportional in any way. >> it sounds like brad is one of the decent players in the entire pool. i can't tell you how many calls i get. why is the do not call registry still not working at this point? >> it does work in general for legitimate telemarketers. the problem is, the calls that most people are complaining about are from scammers that use it as a way to get into your
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house by using the telephone. even if you're not on the do not call list on your land line phone, you can get a robo call for a charity, for a survey or even a political robo call. it's telemarketing robo calls prohibited on land line falls, it's all row bow calls without previous permission on cell phones. >> i know there was legislation passed, a movement to try and tell the phone companies that i should have the power to block these unsolicited calls and i should be able to do it automatically myself. the phone companies have been dragging their feet. why do you think that is? >> these companies insist that they don't want to invest the money to make it work on their land line services because they are going to expand the money to the internet in the future and don't want to invest the money in doing this right now.
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>> if it's 35% of all calls coming in, are the phone companies making a profit on this? >> there's two problems with call blocking technology. it certainly is a part of the solution. but the first problem is that there are good calls that do need to get through, especially in emergencies. the second problem is that, let's say, for example, the really bad guys we're talking about overseas and frankly don't care what laws we pass. they are making today, let's say, a million calls and they are going to make them with an irs caller i.d. or a bank's caller i.d. as we get better and implement more call blocking technology, they are going to make the same million calls with a million different caller i.d.s. they will get past the call blocking technology. >> that's an argument to continue to fight against us. i have to tell you, even if this blocked out every call coming from your company, i'd be okay with that, too. because if i find out about a school closing, it comes on an e-mail or text anyway. technology is moving past the point where anything you have is something i care about.
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>> understood. there's certain situations where there's time-sensitive matters and a lot of people aren't checking their e-mail every five minutes like you and i may be and they need to get critical information. the problem is, the call blocking is part of the issue. the bigger problem to solve is validating a person making the call is actually the owner of that caller i.d. or has permission to make calls from caller i.d., and that combined with call blocking can really make an impact on this. i think that's ultimately the biggest problem, is that someone overseas can make calls with a bank's telephone number and that's crazy and the underlying technology we need to focus on improving and get the carriers and telephone any infrastructure to improve so we can solve this once and for auchlt >> gentlemen, thank you. i appreciate it. it's an issue that drives me nuts but i appreciate both of your time today. >> happy to help. here's a look at what is making news as we head into a new week "on the money." the federal reserve spoke and the stock market shuddered.
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the janet yellen-led fed left the door wide open for a rate increase in either june or july if the economy continues to improve. that seemed to catch the markets by surprise. traders didn't like the idea of the hike. the dow tumbling during the week. stocks rebounded on friday. inflation may be starting to creep into the economy. consumer price index, a measure of retail inflation, climbed at the fastest pace in more than 3 years in part because gasoline prices jumped. amazon has a new weapon in it is bid to rule the retail world and will rule out new lines of private label brands and perishable goods. they could start appearing as early as june. up next, we're "on the money." he's an oscar-winning producer. on the power of curiosity and how when he was first starting out in the business he made it in to meet warren beaty. and want a summer job? how your high school can land
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curiosity may have killed the cat but led one oscar-winning hollywood producer to an incredibly successful career. brian's movies and television series have been nominated for an amazing 43 academy wards and 158 emmys. his book is called "a curious mind: the secret to a bigger life." when i spoke to him recently, i asked how he began what he calls curiosity conversations. >> for 35 years, once every two weeks i will go meet someone
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that's expert in anything other than entertainment. so science, medicine, politics, religion. so i would have these curiosity conversations where just a total engagement process where you really are steadying the other person and expanding your mind and your emotionality when you're in these conversations and i always had faith that each one of these conversations, they didn't have to have an agenda but that they represented some dot in a greater constellation of other dots and some day they would connect. >> when you enter into these conversations, do you know how these dots will connect? >> i have no idea. all i do is homework with no agenda. >> one thing that is so amazing about this is something that you developed at the very beginning of your career. it's how you got into this career. >> it really is. >> what happened? >> i graduated college, got accepted to law school and also got a job as a law clerk. but it just happened to be at warner brothers. i asked a lot of questions in my little cubicle of people and then eventually there was a
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senior vice president at business affairs that was fired and i said to my boss, do you think i can use his office? he said, sure, go ahead. so i used it. i actually inhabited it. this man had two secretaries which i inherited. every single day i would call out to somebody that was really getting something done at the time in show business. that was my beginning. and i got to meet with lew wasserman. some of the greatest directors. >> when you started as a law clerk, you said you couldn't handle the papers so you met lew wasserman or warren beaty. >> they said, can you hand the papers and i said i have to hand them to mr. beaty directly. they said, that doesn't make sense. i said, they are not valid unless i hand them directly to mr. beaty and that worked. so that turned into -- that
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little moment with warren beaty turned into 40 minutes sipping espressos in his dining room. >> you've had great partnerships along the way, including with ron howard. >> for sure. >> you've done so many amazing movies with. you won best picture with him for "a beautiful mind." does he approach curiosity the way you do? >> no. he's so different. so let's say, "a beautiful mind," i would have the idea to do that and i would know how the story could work, you know, in terms of creating a first person subjective experience and i can understand that stuff and alternate realities and present all of that to ron howard and he will have the patience to spend 8 to 10 to 12 hours thinking about it and digging really deep. >> like a ying and yang? >> very much so. >> you have one of the most interesting and cool hairstyles out there. why? >> in hollywood, everyone has a distinctive look. i didn't. i can't grow facial hair.
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i don't have a bad temper, so i didn't throw things at people and i always wanted to be distinguished. so i popped my hair up in front of my daughter sage. she was like 3 years old. and she said, oh, i like that, dad. and i just went into the bathroom and said, let's do it and that became it. it became a hairstyle. >> i love it. thank you so much for your time. >> great. >> i truly appreciate it. again, the book is called "a curious mind." check it out. up next "on the money," are you sick and tired of buying stuff only to have it break a few months later? one woman had enough and now she's doing something about it. and later, why it's always sweater season at this san diego startup. ge, your skin never wil. with olay you age less, so you're ageless. olay. ageless. josh, don't you have fryeah, so? ng over? it stinks in here. you've got to wash this whole room
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♪ ♪ how many products do you own that can truly stand the test of time? probably not many. after receiving an heirloom for her 30th birthday, tara button realized she wanted to change her shopping habits and start to find more items that can last a lifetime. she turned her mission into the business of buy me once. thank you for joining me. >> my pleasure. >> this was a brainstorm after your 30th birthday? >> absolutely. i was given one of these wonderful pots, an heirloom item built to last and it made me think that if we all started changing our habits and shifting over to buying things that were lasting a lifetime rather than
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constantly rebuying the same things that broke, then it would be incredibly beneficial to the environment and we'd all save money in the long run. >> it's a message that resonates, probably. >> absolutely. the response from people coming to the website has been fantastic. i've had e-mails from all over the world saying, keep going, this is what the world needs and it's really a shift that has to happen before we run out of resources. >> how do you figure out what's good, how do you come up with an idea, okay, this was not necessarily something i'd put my stamp on? how are you doing it? >> we do a lot of research, spend a lot of time looking into the products and we have very specific criteria. we look into how the product is made and what it's made of. we look into product reviews. the customers tell us whether things last long or not. >> you're not directly making money on this. the manufacturers don't pay you? >> no. >> how do you make money? >> we don't take any money to put something on the website because our integrity is key and we have to make the choice of what we think is the best in
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show in terms of longevity. we make money by putting people forward to a website where they can buy their product themselves. >> and then you get some portion back from that? >> that's correct. yeah. >> so let's talk about some of the products that you found. the la crew set pot that you mentioned is one of the items. then you have some socks here, too. >> yeah. these socks are incredible. when i found these socks, i'm like, this website will work. if i can find sox with a lifetime guarantee, i can find something that's going to be built. >> i need a lifetime guarantee for a sock? >> they are just made in an incredible way. if you're not happy with them, they have an address that you can send them back to. >> and then you have this pen. >> made from nasa. made for astronauts. this particular pen, it has enough ink in it to last the average person a lifetime, which is just incredible. it's all pressurized in there. >> seriously? >> seriously. just have one.
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>> yeah. tara, thank you for coming in today. >> no worries. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. up next "on the money," a look at the news for the week ahead. beach weather will be here before you know it. if your teen wants a hot summer job, now is the time to look. plus, how two friends turned ugly sweaters into a very attractive business. in your . you think it smells fine, but your passengers smell this. {ding} eliminate odors you've gone nose blind too, for up to 30 days with the febreze car vent clip. wow, it smells good in here. so you and your passengers can breathe happy.
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our guests, go to our website otm.com and follow us on twitter @onthemoney. on tuesday, we'll be getting a look at new home sales for april. and a long time ago at a theater not so far away, the galaxy was introduced. luke skywalker, hans solo. that's when "star wars" was released in theaters back in 1977. on thursday we'll get durable sales for april and pending home sales for last month, on friday, a second read at the first quarter gdp. and get this, hey, hey, it's the monkeys. they will release their first album in 20 years. school may still be in session, but for teens thinking about getting a summer job, hourly employers say they will fill their positions by the end of this month. joining us with tips on how teens can score a great summer gig is senior financial
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correspondent sharon epperson. why don't we start off with some of the basics, things like, are there limits on what teens can do? are there certain positions they can't take? >> i'm learning about this firsthand because i have a 14-year-old so he now has his working permit so he's able to look for a summer job. >> he's starting young. that's great. >> that's how young you can start. between 14 and 15 years old, you can get a job at any kind of nonhazardous job. not in manufacturing, not in construction, you can only work eight hours a day, 40 days a week but you can get a decent summer job. 16 to 17-year-olds, they have to work in nonhazardous conditions but they can work at any job that is there for you. >> what does the market look like, if you're looking for a summer job, is this a good time to be looking for a job or not? >> it's a great time to be looking. a lot of companies say they will have their employees set by the end of the month. so they're really looking right now. >> i mean the job market overall? >> it's doing very well and you're getting paid more. that's what is really
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significant for a lot of these kids that want to make a nice amount of money over the summer. about two years ago, the average wage was $10 an hour and now it's closer to $13 an hour. >> it's tough. if you're looking at the unemployment rate for teens, it's a much higher rate than for everybody else. >> it's a significantly higher rate so it makes it really important that teens focus on what they need to do to get this job just like anyone else would have to do because they are going to be competing against older workers, too, for these positions. but what's really key is to make sure that you show that you're available for this job when it needs to happen and that you can get there. the location of the job is key for teens because a 14-year-old, like in my case, we have to be driven to the job. the other thing to think about is what time of day can you work? can you work the hours that they want? can you be flexible which is what they really want. what all employers want, no matter how old you are, they want you to have a good attitude and prove that you want to be there by asking great questions in the interview and showing once you're there that you're dedicated to the job. >> great tips. sharon, thank you.
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one was a dentist, the other a lawyer. now they run a successful company that has nothing to do with either cavities or the courtroom. jane wells has the story of their strange success. >> reporter: evan mendleson hated his job. >> i was doing corporate law. so contracts, due diligence. pretty exciting stuff. you can tell how excited i am talking about it. >> reporter: so he started studying computer searches and in 2011 he discovered that ugly christmas sweaters were hot. ♪ >> and it just kind of was a light bulb moment. there's a ton of search for this and no one is selling them right now. >> reporter: he called his best friend and former college roommate nick morton. morton was a dentist specializing in root canals. they created a company called tipsy elf. >> it was over 100,000 we put
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in. >> we didn't know anything about making an e-commerce website or shipping or fulfillment. >> so what happened? >> we sold about 5,000 sweaters and it was about $400,000 in sales. >> i quit my job based on our first year in sales. >> what did your parents say? >> my mom said my dad was eating soup and he spit it out. i don't think he was too happy about it at the time. >> reporter: he's probably happy now. tipsy elf got an investment from shark tank and it's expanded to year-round products, outrageous ski outfits, licensed ugly college sweaters, over the top patriotic wear. >> we've sold over $20 million in product now. >> reporter: perhaps the strangest part of the success, the two co-founders are still friends after starting a business neither one of them new anything about.
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>> there's no blueprint for how to start a business no. one knows. you just figure it out as you go. >> christmas is now only about a third of their sales. a couple takeaways, they learned that you can learn just about anything online. they learned how to make an e-commerce site, they learned basic design with adobe. the second takeaway, they learned that we're used to being in control of everything. as you grow, it gets harder and harder to relinquish control to your team. >> jane, thank you. loved the story. that's the show for today. i'm becky quick. thank you for joining us. next week, long security line as the the airport, will they ruin your summer vacation? keep it right here. we're "on the money." have a great one and we'll see you next weekend. olay regenerist renews from within... plumping surface cells for a dramatic transformation without the need for fillers. your concert tee might show your age... your skin never will.
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we're live at the nasdaq market site on a beautiful friday afternoon. the guys here are getting ready behind me. while they're doing that, take a look at what's coming up in the show. >> money's going to be huge! >> sure it's not the shoes? >> i'm sure. >> actually, it might be the shoes. it could be causing nike some problems. we'll explain. plus, it's a secret indicator that stocks may have hit a near term top. >> i can tell you, but then i'd have to kill you. >> no need for all that. we'll tell you what it is and how you can profit. and -- >> i could get cash for this gold medallion of me wearing a gold medallion. >> you could. but we have a simpler way to make money on gold.
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