health care is one of the leading secretaries still this year up 10%. >> "squawk alley" is live. ♪ good tuesday morning, john ford, sarah eisen, as we watch markets in the red, the white house already moving the president's meeting due to the winter weather. we have more on the nor'easter.

>> the government started a three hour delay. a lot of workers here, you're seeing sidewalks being cleared off. things were dicier earlier this morning and that's why things were in a delay. enough to really slow down everything. dc public schools were on a two-hour delay. they're open now, but my kids are texting there are only five kids in class. a lot of people had to be creditive getticredi creative getting to work. >> how tough was it to get to work today? >> piece of cake. i'm used today this. >> i'm meeting with students. i have to get there. >> you're ubering to the metro? >> yes. >> we could be getting a little snow later in the day, but

they're saying about one inch. it is a modified schedule. we're told over 500 flights were canceled. you want to check your flights again. it is supposed to be very cold tonight that could mean slush and freezing rain mess could freeze over. the big blizzard. >> for more on the travel impact, we're talking thousands of flights canceled. bob crandall, it is always good to see you. >> i'm good, how are you today? >> this is somewhere in the top quartile of disruptions, are airlines getting better at this? >> they are, and i think this is kind of interesting. as you know, the forecast was

for a lot more snow, a lot more upheaval than there actually was. now they're in the process of deciding how quickly can they recover and put the crews and the airplanes back where they belong. this is the side of the theater you go through each time when it occurs. how bad is it going to be. how quickly can we recover. >> bob, how different would things be today if the forecast got it right. is there many more flights. the weather is still bad, there would be some flights cancelled, but maybe not on this scale. >> you would find lots more cancellations over a longer period of time. so i think, my guess is, because i don't know, each individual

carrier will manage it, things will be back to normal sooner than a worse case scenario that would have developed. >> if people realized that we were only going to get what we got, my sense is that a lot of these were canceled in advance. because they thought it would be worse. >> of course, that is what makes this an interesting one. in years past, i think people were more inclined to take chances and leave several of the carriers some years ago. it is in very serious straights and they didn't cancel enough soon enough. when that happens, you have aircraft out of place, then you can't recover. it is easier, than i think for the long run, better for the traveling public to cancel too

much rather than uncancel. >> thinking about the impact on the various airlines, and they're all being hit by this, do the bigger airlines, the more diversified airlines, fair better in these selections, does it not matter. it will obvious i will be a different differential. so the areas will be exacted more adversely than others. but the particularized impact in a given area is the same from one carrier to the next. >> going back a couple years, we were in a period where the sector from a share standpoint was beating a lot of the benchmarks. it has not been the case certainly this quarter, and really for 12 months or so. what has changed. are we watching limits of

capacity efficiency? is it about oil. one of the things that i think is most important is that we have failed year after year after year. we have been working on this now for two decades. most other countries moved to a more efficient way of managing their inflight operations. we have not done so. we're getting way behind. if you fly between the united states and canada today, talk to pilots, they will tell you the canadian air traffic management system is lightyears ahead of our own. i think that is having an impact that is unquestionably making it more difficult for the u.s. carriers to use their equipment and their crews as efficiently as they should. we need to get on with passing the bill that is now in congress. shuster's bill which would in

effect establish a nonprofit corporation to manage inflight operations. >> you're saying that is having a direct impact on the airline business. if it passes, what kind of a boost do you anticipate you'll see? >> unfortunately you're not going to see an instantaneously. if that bill passed, and we got a nonprofit corporation set up in 2017, you would see an immediate impact in 2018 as operations became more efficient. that greater efficiency would compound itself in the years beyond 2018. >> i have a question about this big data. a decade or more we didn't have the data that we had now or the ability to react as quickly. having the right plans in the

right places. people focus on days like today when things don't go as expected. over all, has there been a real productivity increase based on the quality of weather data we have now, and the ability to sort of move assets around more quickly because of technology? >> i think there is no question that there has been, one of the things that we need to be very careful about, however, is you know you heard a lot of discussion about infrastructure and most of the infrastructure discussion tends to be about bridges and roads and so forth. u.s. weather satellites need to be replaced. we have not been investing sufficiently in weather forecasting satellites. we're going to lose some of the information and data we have today. that is a very important piece of infrastructure, always not often included in that

discussion. we can't cut government so much that government can no longer do the things that only government can do. >> finally, bob, we had you on before. i think it is fair to say you have been critical of then president elect trump. markets on a tear, deregulation, opens for legislation coming in the next year or two. are you impressed. >> no. i'm afraid i'm not a fan of the president like every other citizen. i hope he will succeed because having an unsuccessful presidency is not good for the country, but i do not agree with the various thing ls he is doin and most particularly we are to trade lower taxes for people like me. less medical care for people that need it. >> certainly that is the debate of the day, bob, it's good to

have that cbo storm. we'll see you soon. >> hope you will, see you then. let's go over to john harwood who has results from the business round table ceo. >> the snow we have been talking about is keeping them from meeting here. they are just releasing this morning the results of the krshs eo economic outlook index and it is bullish all around from these ceos of major u.s. corporations. first of ul, we have seen the highe esest quarter to quarter in 2009. we have seen it above the historical average for the first time in two years, and we have seen double digit increases for sales, hiring, and cap-x in executives. former white house chief of staff. the ceos are responding to early indications that the

administration will support job creation and investment improvements in the washington environment legislatively. as you just indicated, we're having a big debate right now on health care. that is in some doubt. i still believe the prospects for a corporate tax cut later this year are bullish. >> all right, we'll see. they want to do health care reform and taxes in that order. tensions rising between turkish and european leaders between a key election for the netherlands. let's get right to steve segwick who spoke with the prime minister, steve. >> yeah, there is real tension growing. there used to be about immigration. about concerns for immigration, islam, and the eu as well. because the turkish have a key presidential referendum where

they want to grab more power for himself, he is sending them out for himself, but they said no, your ministers cannot speak and there was rioting because they refuse to let two ministers from turkey speak. the tensions have built up. the dutch and the jer mans nazis which is a big call from them as well but he accused the dutch of standing by during this massacre in 1995. i got the reaction from the mime minister rutte. >> in turkey today, it is increasingly hysterical. he has now met a historical and unwise remark. and it is totally off of the mark. rewriting officially, unacceptable. >> there are so many issues that come up here about eu immigration, the relationship between turkey and nato member,

and the dutch, and the germans also nato members about the flow of people from syria. millions of syrians have basically fled the country via turkey. and about eu concessions. the april the 16th election, and that is why we have that massive collision right now. >> it will be a big story for you guys and for us. as we go to break, take a look at shares for valiant today. millions of shares being sold. stock as you can see around 1061. more "squawk on the street" continues, down is down 71.

s&p is down half a percent. let's go out to scott walker with an early read on what is going on. shares near session lows down near 12%. >> not surprisingly it will be a big topic on our show today. the big saga of bill ackman getting into val yant aiant and getting out. stock went up and now getting out at 11 and change and the

conversation i had with big yesterday where he said look, i made many mistakes when it came to valiant. the biggest was not selling 18 months ago. and really started the onslaught of the stock going down. that day when an investigative report came out. the stock went down 35% on that day alone, and bill told me yesterday that his biggest mistami mistake of all, among many, was not selling some 18 months ago. not seeing the writing on the wall, and admitting he didn't really understand the problems inside valiant until he got on the board. you see all of the problems and you're limited in what your options can be. he also told me that once he had

a chance to sort of see the company through some changes, he is obviously in favor of the new ceo joe papa. they made changes on the board. he feels the company is in a better position to recover in the future. it just didn't make any more sense to send all of the time he was spending on valiant that even if the stock doubled or tripled it would not move the needle enough to spend all of the brain power and the investment any more. he says it required a large investment in resources. and he is trying to spend the time for the betterment. to save from a precarious position. people are weighing in today on what exit means, and we're going

to discuss that as well with an analyst that has been on the negative side of val yaian vali while. he was really contrite when i talked to him yesterday. maybe in a way that i had not heard him in awhile. he freely admitted many mistakes, and he emphasized many. he said i made many mistakes on the way, but i want to be clear i think i did my best to put the company in a position now to be in a position to recover and succeed in the future. it is great color, but a lot of investors wondering why now. what it means for valiant's future. had when we come back, the company teaming up with apple to

produce their first ever tv show, planet of the apps. first, rick santelli, what's on your radar today. >> the first day of a two day fed meeting. it is baked in the cake that we will get our third 25 point basis increase. what will it do in the markets? those are questions we'll discuss after the break. hey! i just wanted to thank your support team for walking me through my first options trade. we only do it for everyone gary. well, i feel pretty smart. well, we're all about educating people on options strategies. well, don't worry, i won't let this accomplishment go to my head. i'm still the same old gary. wait, you forgot your french dictionary. oh, mucho gracias. get help on options trading with thinkorswim, only at td ameritrade.

it's that time for the santelli exchange. >> the first day of a two day fed meeting, this one like the last two decembers, has a lot of traders with intensity that we'll see in a move from the zone from 75 to 100, right? we may know that, but how are

you supposed to drad it. when you look at the yield curve and you look solely at the two-year for the two year, just started out around 50 basis points. in general, and it made it to around 100 basis points when tightening to 60 in junish. but we all know what happened in july of 2016. we went down to 135 for the historic low matching 2012. then, many didn't believe they didn't see many tightenings, but there was plenty of communications from the fed to the contrary. maybe that's what we're supposed to pay attention to. if rates were rugs we have seen them pulled out from under the

market several times. this one really feels different. it is a lot of economic growth, so they're saying look for the short end to stack. it seems to be what is going on these days becaus because we'reg close to 140. here is where it gets interesting. even though most think you're going to stack it all along the curve, if you get two more hikes, there is another 50 basis point you have to add into every maturity. but there is b wild cards here. we have issues with banks even though on a higher level, growth year to year is improving.

what does that mean? if we had a flight to safety and a tightening fed environment, it might effect their strategy, but it will most likely tack the lighter end of the curve. flatteners are the wild card and with the yield curve, growth, inflation, flight to safety, central banks and their balance sheets, but this time for the next year or so, the yield curve will give us a couple surprises so say the traders, john fort, back to you. >> always surprises, thank you, risk. flight aware ceo, daniel baker, will join us, we're back in just a moment. at fidelity, trades are now just $4.95. we cut the price of trades to give investors even more value. and at $4.95, you can trade with a clear advantage. fidelity, where smarter investors will always be.

good morning once again, everyone. here is your update at this hour. north korea threatening the united states with mercilous attacks if they i think fringe on their dignity. they say it is part of a scheme to attack it. >> plumes of smoke rising above western mosul as they continue an offensive to oust isis. they vow it is only a matter of time before they defeat them. >> the department of justice

says the victims of the june 2016 mass shooting at an orlando nightclub will get $8.6 million dollars for emotional support. and former house speaker john boehner will get a medal from japan. he received the award from shinzo abe from his office in tokyo. >> all right, back to you, thank you so much. normally at this time we would be wrapping up the european close for you, but due to u.s. daylight savings times, they will be closing at 12:30 eastern. the british pound is down half a percent, almost to a two-month low. the latest hurdle to teresa may, cleared by british lawmakers, so now she is free to invoke lrl

50. it is expected to be a very messy, very intense two-year period of talks, guys. the british pound falling nicely into my visit, but seriously there are a lot of quest about how the talk will go, and the ftse going down. >> yeah, sounds like end of the month, but time will tell. >> yes, she is free to do it now. potentially the end of the month. we're also going into a dutch election tomorrow. we're watching those markets carefully, and the french polls as they start their first round of reporting. >> and stella is still hitting the east coast hard. it has caused thousands of flight tracancellations. the storm is moving further west, bringing with it, both

snow and sleet. joining us now is the flight aware ceo daniel baker. the reddest spot on the mess ri map is new york followed by dc and boston. how bad is this? it looks less man than we expected here in new york. is this a big sales moment for you. are people getting premium accounts so they know how they can get from a to b. >> we are hearing that the weather perhaps was not quite as bad as forecasted. but in order to make sure that passengers are accommodated and flights are not getting stuck in the problem areas. the airlines canceled a large number of flights. 8,000 flights canceled so far this week. 5500 today. virtually every flight to and from the new york city area is canceled. so it is crippling travelers.

we estimate that this week over 400,000 traveler wills be impacted by all of these cancellations. it is a tough storm that starts in chicago yesterday. we saw a third of the flights that are slowly making their way east and northeast. it impacts a lot of people the inaccurate alerts saying the flight is leaving in 20 minutes, and it is leaving 20 minutes from now, and then it keeps rolling. do we just need more accurate reporting into the services like flight aware. >> yeah, they call it the creep, right? you know it is ultimately a two-hour delay that gets dolled out to you in ten or 15 minute increments. the airlines, in the case of the big cancellations tend to be

pretty good at saying 24 hours out look, it's not going to happen. in the events that you're talking about, where it is just slowly creeping out there, we do need more information. something that you can do, it is called track inbound flight. where is my plane doming from. that allows you to track the airplane coming to where you are to take you on your trip been we have all been in that situation where you're sitting at the termin terminal, looking at the gate, and waiting to load but there is no plane there. so if you can track your inbound flight on flight aware, and you see it is not arriving for 30 minutes, you can go to the restaurant, go to the bar, and make better use of your time, but you have to have a little savvy and now that you can do that. >> i had no idea. thank you for educating us on that, daniel. which airlines are seeing the

biggest amount of cancellations. today, it is just across the board. we're seeing virtually every flight in and out of new york canceled. the international operators, and then it is just across the board from boston to dc. there is no good airline to be on right now if you're trying to get to or from the northeast. with the airline con ssolidatio they have more hubs. if you're going from the west coast to europe, or connecti, yu can look at their other hubs. change your routing, and connect some place else. avoid the northeast entirely and take advantage of the larger airlines that you're flying on these days. >> have you noticed over time

regarding the northeast corridor, are they more or less parable with weather? are they quicker to issue a full ground stop giving precip or snot. >> they're facing a tarmac delay rule that is new legislation that requires them to pay a huge fine if they push away from the gate and live the passengers. it's not practical, and no one is expected to pay the fine, the idea is don't do it in the first place. they certainly are more likely to cancel flights, as a result, we're seeing cancellations. it's not just that they're cancelling flights, but they're communicating better with apps and they can set expectations. there is no longer you have to

show up and wait around. >> why don't we have ways for airlines. we if owe it it is not there, of course it is not leaving if five minutes, thank you daniel baker. >> when we come back, mark zuckerberg with harsh words for fake news in north carolina. first, a check on where we stand in the markets coming off of the lows after the saudis say they look to comply with some of the opec production cuts. back in a minute.

we're really against fake news. there have been accusations that we want this kind of content on our service because it is more content and people click on it, but that is crap, right? no one in our communitiments fake information. every wants real information. >> that is facebook cofounder and ceo mark zuckerberg roughering to accusations that facebook wants fake news. he met with the duke men's basketball and north carolina men's basketball teams as well as coach k and roy williams ahead of the tournament. he is hosting a q and a session there where he made those comments. it's a problem that is not just facing facebook but also

google's you tube. they have really started laying into them to take responsibility for the quality of content that advertising is going next to it, it's not going away. >> i think what zuckerberg's comments are, they reflect the issue. billions of people using their sight, it's good for their sight, but clearly it is an issue because they got a lot of heat lately with arguments to be posted and clicked on. >> and cramers point they're playing the long game. when we come back here, the producer behind hits like "the office" and "jane the versilver. and check out nike, a bullish note on the company, on the stock, taking the price

target from 60 to 67. stay with us. uh, yeah. it's over, larry. what is? the whole wheelie thing. what do you mean? i just got this baby to get around the plant floor. right, but now ge technology monitors every machine. yeah, it brings massive amounts of information right to you. so you don't need that. well, it makes me look young and uh..."with it." time to move on. oh i'll move on... right into the future. ...backwards. you're going backwards. the future's all around us! not just on your little tablet, my friend. we cut the price of trades to give investors even more value. and at $4.95, you can trade with a clear advantage. fidelity, where smarter investors will always be.

apple's first ever tv show is set to debut. they are creating planet of the apps. a cross between shark-tank and "the voice." joining me this morning, ben silverman is back. it is always good to talk to you. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, carl, guys, thank you so much. >> you have put together some

big tv shows in your career, was this -- did this feel any different? >> well, working with apple was an extraordinary opportunity and they're a company that we like to say makes magic. we were thrilled to be in business with them as they go on fair first effort into episodic content. >> all right, are we at the beginning of a big, new chapter in content? what is your sent having been through the exercise? >> i think across the board, you're seeing more and more companies, silicon valley based companies differentiate their offerings, and they have done a tremendous amount of investment and have been a huge success.

and as they're launching their apple music platform, and looking for ways to reach their audience and consumer, and more screens available to communicate through than any other company in the world, i think they are leaning in as well. >> ben, when some people particularly in the tech community developers saw the trail tore planet of the apps, they kind of held their nose. what was your take to the online reaction of this. was this a case of the wrong community perhaps looking at the show and judging it based on the wrong things or what? >> i think it was just the setting in which it went out. once they see the show, i think they will really connect. we are celebrating the developer community, and celebrating the diversity within the developer community and how hard it is to come up with build and launch

these apps. i think they're going to find a lot of happiness in how they're feeling and the process. but the show is for people who love popp culture, not just developers. it is those who will develop on the american dream. >> and everyone is wondering about what apple's ambitions are. how did you find the company. they have never really done this before. show it different working with apple? >> they have been a fantastic collaborator, and we're learning as we go for how we work, but i have been super in pressed. really our main posz running the

platform, they're very comfortable with content and talent. so they have been great to deal with, and they are really coproducing it and with us in the trenches and i have enjoyed the process. i'm learning a lot as we go as well. our content and deliver it through their service and a lot of the technological integration that we're developing into what we're doing. and the show has been extraordinary because it is a friend that connects the culture to the culture of the consumer. i'm excited about putting it together. i just watched mark zuckerberg with the north carolina basketball team and i immediately thought that's a show. but how these guys and gals developed and generated these

apps are the new rockstars. >> it is an amazing small mississippi story and it grows into a large business story. are we going to see ratings? >> i think just as net flicflixm zon are not compels to release who is watching their showing, i think it is just a different system. i don't think they would figure out how to corral kal. but the system is built around sellingtizing and the subscription is very different. >> as you see, it is a show with contestants.

are you interested in being involved with that? >>. >> i imagine they're going to figure out what they want to do, and i know that we're an early part of that class and potentially the best i've ever worked on. and i hope that is to build a bigger and larger relationship with them in the future. at the same time, we continue to produce for all outlets. just a great time to peabe a creative person in the business and entertainment business because a lot of new players that are open to new ideas and new ways of distributing those ideas and new ways of delivering those ideas to the consumer and that's really exciting for me who likes to tell stories. >> ben, is there a single executive in charge at apple when it comes to video? eddie q. and started to speak for them, but it's not clear to me if there is a single point

clear person as there is at netflix. >> there is in our world. we have a very strong dynamic and very clear relationship and clear set of stakeholders in the company who are working on the project with us. so, we've had a very seamless and transparent process. >> we can't wait to see it, ben. >> i think what -- thank you so much. i think what's going to be interesting is both sides are learning from each other. the traditional media players are learning from the new entries and visa versa. >> ben, come back soon. >> i will, thank you, guys. >> ben silverman, the show, of course, is "planet of the apps." apple's first tv program essentially. arnold donald will join us from the world's largest cruise conference with the dow down 20.

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the cruise industry largest trade show of the year going on in ft. lauderdale and susan lee is down there with a special guest. hi, susan. >> hi, carl. yes, hello from c. trade global cruise taking place in ft. lauderdale, florida. looking at the best wave season in years and demand growth is

high and ships are being filled. joining us now, arnold donald owner of carnival cruises. great taso see you a. >> in the face of strong u.s. dollar and best wave season and bookings in years. >> we think it is the cumulative effect of, number one, exceeding guest expectations and just having people thrilled in our case on our ten brands and investing to create demand. four television shows on various networks here in u.s. shows in europe and else where. but really creating demand for cruise. >> that is what you can control. but some things you can't control like policy from the government and that includes confusion or, right now, some uncertainty over what's happening with taxes. >> susan, we're global. every year there are issues. various tax changes and

regulatory changes and that's a normal part of our business. as long as things stay reasonably normal with changes, we're fine. if it becomes a cascade where a large portion of the world people are not allowed to travel, that would be a problem. >> what aboutthe travbout trave immigration. executive orders signed. >> china is now restricting for a time travel to korea. so, the things that can impact us to some extent are the particular orders. today it only impacts us where people choose not to travel because of it. so, we have to pay attention to that. there are unintended consequences by various governments. >> has that impacted bookings yet? >> we're between quarters and earnings and i can't give a tone in business. but what i can tell you is what we had in the last quarter ahead on bookings and we more than

doubled our earnings in the last three years and more than double our return on invest on capital. we attract more people to cruising every year. >> the business of cruising is that you don't pay corporate taxes. i know you pay, you know, other fees, of course. but when there is talk about reducing corporate taxes, would that even benefit you? >> we're not domicile technically in the u.s. and we haven't been from the inception of the company almost 45 years ago. the reality is that we pay a lot of taxes. we pay federal departure taxes and we pay immigration taxes and we pay harbor maintenance fees and agricultural fees and many, many other taxes. >> what about border taxes. >> border tax we would have to see the specific execution of a border tax to see. we sail everywhere in the world and other nations have taxes and so on. for us, we have to look at a corporate income tax. that is the one tax we do not pay. and then we pay sales taxes and

we have lots of american workers. the most important thing about cruises is a great economic multiplier. it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs here in the u.s. and else where. from when we go into a port provisioning the ships and great source to the economy. in fact, china, has put cruise in its five-year plan as a priority for economic development. >> hey, arnold, it's sarah. nice to see you. >> hi, sarah, how are you? i know with all that snow you're probably thinking about a cruise right now, aren't you, sarah? >> we're very jealous of you in ft. lauderdale. i want to ask you about cuba. this hot growth, new market. what about at the trump administration roll back some of president obama's opening up policies towards cuba. what does that mean for you and your industry? >> you know, sarah, we're so proud and privileged to be history to making the first

cruise line to sail to and from cuba to america. including our paradise ship sailing in june and pending other lines about to be approved. we're very excited about cuba and wait and see what the administration does. i think it's in the interest of americans and cuban americans and americans more broadly. certainly an interest of cuba. that, you know, we move forward and bring people closer together to have the economy's respond and thrive together. so, we're optimistic that we'll be able to continue to cruise and we're looking forward to taking more and more americans to cuba. >> good to see you. when there's bad weather outside, people do start booking and thinking about that next cruise. >> absolutely. come cruise with us. we look forward to hosting you. >> arnold donald of carnival, thank you. back to you. >> enjoy ft. lauderdale. very nice. >> not fair. >> especially on a day like today. dow has actually stocks have

managed to trim their losses. not sure if this happened around the headlines that saudi arabia would try to comply more with these opec production cuts, but, clearly the worst of the session beginning to see a ramp here mid-day. >> tesla looking good. up 2%. in the meantime, let's get back to scott wapner. >> welcome to the "halftime report." the valiant crash. the stock tanking today. sells his entire position. that stock now down a stunning 95% in two years. the trade going down is one of the worst in hedge fund history. telling me yesterday during an exclusive phone interview that he made many mistakes with valeant starting with not selling 18 month ago and starting the stock on its long and painful slide longer.