good morning. happening now, wild swings in the oil market as the saudi oil minister tells cnbc that a nine-month production cut could be prolonged if needed. 23 million more people uninsured. that's what latest analysis of the gop's healthcare estimates if the bill becomes law. the detail ahead. and trump at nato. the president is in brussels to meet the organization he once called obsolete. a live report from belgium coming up. it's thursday, may 25, 2017. "worldwide exchange" begins right now.

♪ good morning. welcome to "worldwide exchange" on cnbc. i'm sara eisen. >> i'm wilfred frost. good morning to you from me as well. it's throwback thursday. this week we're throwing it back from songs from our first ever cds. this is yours? >> mine. early '80s, madonna by madonna. "lucky star" wasn't on it. it was on a later one. >> you were buying cds when you were three or four? >> my parents would buy cds. i grew up in a music household. i guess there were cassettes before cds. i have a bit of both. even this or ace of bass. and i love ma ddonna. >> can't wait for yours. >> hard to compare me to the person i picked. we'll get to that at some point and from the rest of our production team. let's look at futures. we are called higher by a decent

margin. the dow up by 76 points. the nasdaq by 18. the s&p by 7 points. the s&p hit a record close again yesterday. did only gain about 0.25%. the dow and nasdaq were a bit stronger than that. all in all another day of muted gains. the fifth day in a row of muted gapes, so that 2% fall we saw last wednesday has been recovered again already. week to date, up a percent or so. it was a lackluster rally. more high beater sectors like banks were down. the more defensive sectors led that fifth day in a row of small gains. >> tech was up a lot. >> had a decent day. overall interesting thing today, a more marked gain in the futures markets than we've seen over the last couple of days of 75 points. oil prices in focus with that oil meeting. we'll have a live report from

steve sedgwick. oil prices dipped after the announcement of a nine-month extension. 51.54, but back to flat. quite quickly the markets realizing this is what was expected. yesterday oil fell 0.2%, breaking a five-day winning streak. for the week as a whole, up 2%, which highlights owe pick is delivopec is delivering. >> the shanghai comp closing up 1.4%. a better vibe overnight from the eamericamerging markets after t federal reserve indicated patience yesterday. green in asia. as for the early indications in europe. early trading there, less of a buoyant picture. you are seeing some gains in france. the ftse 100 up 0.1%.

>> ten-year treasury note. not a huge move off the back of the fed minutes. yields slipped a bit. about 2.3 before the minutes. 2.25 at the moment. the dollar did slip again. not too significantly. the index lost about a third of a percent. 0.3% yesterday. it had been flat before the minutes came out. that slippage was the sort of belief that with the tapering confirmed that likely happen, we may not get as many rate hikes, but a lot of this expected, so only slipping about 0.2% or 0.3%. gold prices rebounding. a bit of a dollar strength against the yen, softness against the euro. as you can see, gold prices up about a third of percent. they were flat yesterday and plat for t flat for the week. steve sedgwick is live in vienna where an opec meeting is

underway. kayla tausche is in washington with details of last night's cbo scoring of the healthcare bill. and hadley gamble is in brussels where president trump is meeting with eu and nato leaders today. let's start with steve sedgwick on opec and what is moving the price here. good morning. >> good morning to you both. this has been one of the most well orchestrated opec meetings i've seen. i've come into meetings where there's rancor on the outside from the hawks, the iranians, venezuelans, but everyone was well choreographed before the meeting saying yes, we think a nine-month extension. it doesn't look like there will be deeper cults. the saudi oil minister thinks despite them going for a nine-month extension of the agreement made last november, ie 1.8 million barrels off the table from opec and non-opec allies, he believes he can do it in six months. let's listen in. >> we found out that nine months with the same level of production that our member

countries have been producing at is a very safe and almost certain option to do the trick. >> there's an awful lot of producers who want to produce more within the opec grouping, the likes of libya and nigeria, which have been outperforming. they don't have a cap on production and they won't get one according to the saudis. but what about the big players? the iranians and iraqis desperate to grow their production? iran previously talked about 3 million extra barrels at some stage. they have the reserves to do so, they just need the technology, and concerns about the trump administration just hanging in the balance there. i spoke to the iranian oil minister, he said even he was happy for the moment to have production at current levels. i think that's an admission that they are struggling to grow their production beyond the current levels of 3.8 million barrels a day. the other one people were concerned about was iraq.

yesterday the iraqi oil minister said they were happy to abide by the current levels. there are smoke and mirrors in this, because production is not the same as exports. whilst production has been cut in these countries, they have been getting down inventories and exporting, and reducing the pain for the consuming nations and getting down their need for inventories. so there's accord across the board for oil producers. >> when do we get official word of the announcement? >> what is interesting is -- and this is a first, you have the non-opec 11 also in town. alexander novak arrived yesterday for a meeting with the saud saudis, and they were in the same car. it was a show of unity. there's a meeting today with the non-opec members, so the likes of russia, kazakhstan and

others. so they might wait for the grand big announcement until after that one which happens this afternoon. it seems inconceivable that they have not agreed to at least a nine-month extension of the cuts. >> i saw you speaking to the iranian oil minister what did he have to say about the rational for why president trump is taking a tougher stance on iran than his predecessor? >> if i may say, he was quick to talk about mr. rouhani sending the right signal. you will all recall and viewers will recall he was up against a hard liner in the form of ebrahim raisi. if that leader had gotten in, we may have seen a harder line from iran which may have brought a harder line from mr. trump's administration. when i mentioned the u.s. and concerns about sanctions, he hopes u.s. iocs will be able to invest in iran at some stage.

>> steve sedgwick for us at the opec meeting. let's switch to politics. the cbo is out with its scoring of the healthcare bill and the analysis could make the fight to get the bill passed more come p complicated. >> the cbo found there were some improvements in the number of people insured and the premiums that healthier participants would pay, but it comes at a cost. it would insure 23 million people than the affordability care contact, and premiums would fall 23% if you are young and healthy, but rise 800% for older folks. the report gives new fuel to democrats critical of the plan, and despite a win as hailed by paul ryan it was panned as

inaccurate by the white house and the department of health and human services who said the cbo was wrong when they analyzed obamacare's effect on cost and coverage and they are wrong gone. in reality, americans are paying more for fewer healthcare choices because of obamacare. as many as four senators have come out against the cbo report and against the ahca and said the senate will be starting from scratch. we will have a brand-new proposal. these are the four senators who yesterday distanced themselves. there could be more as the day goes on. but it appears that the senate is going to be trying to regroup and planning a whole new approach now as some of this criticism continues to see a second wind. >> i'm looking at some front pages this morning. "usa today" leads, not surprisingly, with 23 million rise in uninsured forecast. cbo score, gop plan, millions more uninsured. the "washington post" reads. how is this going to set up the debate in the senate?

what will it moan fean for how closely the senate republicans track the house bill? >> it's interesting that the republicans keep talking about the fact that obamacare is collapsing. yes, we have seen more insure ers pull out, but current lit popularity of the affordable care act is more popular than the trump presidency. so it's a political situation for both sides of the aisle but especially for republicans to own this plan now that there is proof, according to the cbo, that people would be losing -- millions of people would be losing healthcare coverage. this might not have made it into the national front pages, but if you want an antic do anecdote o look to montana where there is an election today to replace the secretary of interior house see the. he lashed out at a reporter last

night and got charged with misdemeanor assault when asked about the cbo score. >> that was a trump area won by 20%. so we'll see if trump is still an electoral asset, i guess, going forward. that will be a good test for the primaries. very quickly, mitch mcconnell yesterday, senate majority leader, did seem to pour some cold water on the prospect of getting the votes necessary for health care. i wonder if that changes the timeline at all for healthcare reform and tax reform. >> well, it was clear, sara, that the senate was going to be drafting its own proposal or at least starting as much from scratch as you could imagine. yesterday when the senate majority leader said there are not 50 votes for this in the senate, he was putting into words what everyone had thought and supposed about where the senate stood. but that was a firm line. some uncharacteristic pessimism from mitch mcconnell yesterday.

>> all right. thank you very much for setting up the healthcare debate. president trump continuing his first trip abroad with a stop in brussels. hadley gamble joins us from there with a look at what's on the agenda. hadley? >> good morning, wilfred. president trump has in the past called brussels a hell hole and called nato obsolete, but that has not stopped the president from proposing an additional 4 $1.4 billions to a european reassurance fund. we will see the president not just with european leaders but also nato leaders. one awkward potential meeting is that meeting with theresa may, the british prime minister. we've seen the uk coming out and saying they're not going to be sharing intelligence with u.s. officials going forward surrounding the manchester bombing. let's listen in to what the nato secretary-general told me earlier. >> intelligence is of great importance for nate to we are stepping up our efforts and our work when it comes to sharing

intelligence. we just established a new intelligence division at headquarter headquarters so we can better analyze, understand, and share intelligence. >> on the agenda today is intelligence sharing. it will also be focusing on getting all of the nato member states to pony up when it comes to spending. you stillunited kingdom, greasece, astonia pullg their share, so you will not only have talk on spending but also intelligence spending. >> away from the specific nato agenda based on the leaders in the room, part of this foreign trip, almost throughout the foreign trip, each place he's gone he's had to wrauf seoffset

campaign rhetoric, it's gone all right is there a sense that european leaders are the ones with the most skeptical view of the president and that this will be the hardest part of his trip in order to offset some of the negative views that may exist from leaders in the room? >> absolutely. what we saw in the middle east is that it all played well in saudi arabia and israel, but you have to remember whether these european leaders are going to open up to the president is another issue. he also has to compete with the fact that the former u.s. president, barack obama, is in berlin today making a speech. and approval ratings, when you look at former prrmesident obams approval ratings and the president's approval ratings today, there is a gap there. but they also need u.s. intelligence and u.s. help when it comes to tackling the threat of russia. >> thank you very much. >> i saw on twitter yesterday a

comment where in the middle east president trump was embraced because he was the anti-obama. in europe, he's viewed as skeptical because he is anti-obama. >> it's a good way of summing it up. we'll pay attention to more fed speak and earnings from retailers. best buy, dollar tree and aber come by and fitch are out before the opening bell along with medtronic and hormel foods. after the close, costco and gamestop. weekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. and fed president james bullard and fed governor lael brainard will speak today. they have been warning they have not fulfilled the inflation part of the picture, which is the key fed debate going on now. not hitting inflation, hitting the unemployment rate, which one whips out in terms of policy. when we come back, the stocks to watch including better than expected earnings from the maker of tommy hilfiger and

calvin klein. and officials in washington are digging deeper into ties between president trump and russia. now they're getting deutsche bank involved. details when we return. stay tuned, you're watching "worldwide exchange." so you miss the big city? i don't miss much... definitely not the traffic. excuse me, doctor... the genomic data came in. thank you. you can do that kind of analysis? yeah, watson. i can quickly analyze millions of clinical and scientific reports to help you tailor treatment options for the patient's genomic profile. you can do that? even way out here? yes. even way out here.

>> good morning. welcome back. yesterday we saw a record close for the s&p. it only gained about a quarter percent. we saw the dow and nasdaq up a

fraction more than that. five straight days in a row of gains for the dow. for the most part they have been small gains, but together they have scrubbed out that 2% loss we saw last wednesday. so resilience again, albeit the gains slightly small each day. this morning a decent set of futures. so far in the last couple of days it's been flat, but we've got a decent third or so of a percent of gains. the dow up 76 points. opec ministers are meeting in vienna. we have to the had the official announcement yet, but basically got it from the saudi oil minute centers and others that th s t t oil ministers that they are continuing that nine-month cut, and though we're down 0.2% this

morning at 51.25, all in all a successful opec meeting. we did fall during the press conference but we have recovered. it's ban decent run already for oil over the last couple of weeks. democrats on the health financial services committee asked deutsche bank to provide information on whether any accounts connected to president trump have tied to russia. lawmakers sending a letter to the deutsche bank ceo, john cryan yesterday, seeking details on whether loans made to trump were backed by the russian government. the probe is also seeking information on that mirror trading scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out of russia into foreign currency. deutsche bank already paid 6$63 million in fines as part of that investigation. we talked to max seine waters at this yesterday. it's only democrats. so it's unclear if they can force deutsche bank to hand over the information. she says they got a positive response from deutsche bank. you called.

you did not get a response. >> there was no comment from the company. there was a moment of excitement yesterday because there is a quirk of german law that says when they ask for information, if it's market sensitive, they have to respond within a certain period of time. this doesn't really apply to that. >> she also said this is probably that the house and senate intelligence committee will have to look into. but they wanted to take the first step as the financial services committee. they have no republican support at this time. >> deutsche bank down just over a half percent in german trade. hps revenues beating forecasts. the pc market has benefits as companies replace their old machines. pvh results beat expectations. the maker of calvin klein is also raising the full-year

outlook. the ceo spoke to jim cramer last night on why these positive on the u.s. market. >> our brands are performing pretty well. you can see it in our heritage numbers. we're bullish about our heritage business in the second quarter. the key in this market in the u.s. is to really manage inventories tightly as well as expenses. you have to recognize that we're going through a seismic shift in the retail distribution channels. >> pvh shares up 3.6%. >> it is an amazing stand-out performer, especially when you consider a lot of their stores are sold in the underperforming department stores. they do have some international exposure in europe, maybe that helped, clearly a good brand story. shares are getting rewarded. >> williams-sonoma posted numbers already and they are up

9%. still ahead on the show, a volatile day for oil prices as opec ministers meet in vienna. we'll tell you what they're saying and what it could mean for prices. anyone can dream. making it a reality is the hard part. northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us.

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>> welcome back. let's get you up to speed on the market action. strength in u.s. futures after another record close for the s&p and nasdaq.

it was the fifth day in a row for gains for stocks. the resilience continues. we have strength into the open today. let me show you how strong asia was overnight. we don't usually do this. saw more than 1% gains in china. the shanghai comp closing up 1.4%. hong kong up 0.8. the nikkei benefiting from the weaker japanese yen. now over to you, wilfred with what's coming up. ♪ silent night ♪ holy night ♪ all is calm ♪ all is bright fallujah argonne khe sanh midway dak to normandy medina ridge

the chosin reservoir these are places history will never forget but more important are the faces we will always remember. ♪

>> oil front and center as opec members meet in vienna. the big swings in crude prices straight ahead. president trump meeting with european leaders at this hour ahead of a nato summit. and if you're a fan of the movie "love actually" you're going to want to stick around because it's back -- sort of. it's thursday, may 25, 2017. you're watching "worldwide exchange" on cnbc. ♪ good morning. welcome back to cnbc.

whose first cd was this? >> it was mine. we've gone with the title song of the track. >> leave it to you to pick the worst one. >> even if i picked something you like, would have framed it as awful. >> one thing that was not awful was your tease into the break. >> we have an interview with richard curtis, throwback thursday, we're throwing it back with some of our first cds. >> good stuff. >> you're the one who is talking and making it go longer. >> let's check in on the global markets. we are seeing another record close for the s&p. dow futures up 79 points. s&p futures up 7. nasdaq futures up 20e. big moves in the oil market as headlines cross out of opec in vienna. wti crude, 51.12. down a half percent.

the saudi oil minister telling cnbc that a nine-month production cut could be extended if needed. that was baked into the forecast and price at this point. oil has been strong. >> the intraday moves, because we did fall about 0.6%, we got back to flat and now down half a percent. perhaps people would be a little disappointed. but in general oil prices already up 2% week to date. when you consider all of that, they have, as steve sedgwick was saying, telegraphed this well and stuck to it. we expect that nine-month extension to be confirmed later today. >> as for the overnight action in asia. shanghai comp closing up 1.4%. there was some chatter with big gains and state intervention in the markets, but gentera genera strong for emerging markets after signaled patience when it comes to interest rate hikes for

emerging markets. the nikkei closing higher by 0.3%. early action in europe is less strong. the german dax has turned around. up 0.1%. the biggest gains in smpain. >> week to date, u.s. markets up a percent. week to date, european markets up half a percent. positive week for markets. let's look at broader asset classes. ten-year treasury note did move a bit off the back of those fed minutes but not very much. went close from 2.3% to 2.25% which is where we stand now. the dollar did retreat around about 0.3%. the dollar was positive on the day ahead of those minutes. 2:00 p.m. they came out, the dollar closed down 0.3%. as you look at things now, we have euro strength at the margin. but otherwise it is a dollar rebound day. particularly against the yen.

111.9 the price on dollar/yen. gold prices are essentially flat for the week as a whole. 1256. president trump is in brussels today. he just wrapped up a meeting with european commission president jean-claude juncker, he will head to nato head quarters for a nato summit. president trump as a candidate has bashed both the eu and nato. how different is this nato meeting going to be? you covered so many of these, hans. >> i think we'll go one or two ways today. trump will not sort of endorse this idea of article 5 and common defense, in which we will all be writing our obituaries for nate to or you wio. or you will get a clear signal from allies that they'll spend more than 2% of their gdp on defense. president trump wants that to happen. secretary rex tillerson told reporters that on the plane.

president trump wants firm deadlines, firm numbers. this is not a wishy-washy summit where you get a dispensation for not hitting 3% of your budget target, the u.s. wants a firm 2% and they hope to get it. what that means in terms of numbers and procurement, we're not talking that much money. germany is about 39 billion. that's their goal for 2020 in defense. that's about 1.25, 1.26%. if you want to spend more, you're in another 20 billion range for the german side. if you want to see whether or not this is real, fight it out, duke it out amongst yourselves on who gets to go to the paris air show. the f 35, they'll do a demonstration there. you make your case, sit with the german delegation. they requested some information about the f35, if they're doing a lot of oohs and aahs, they'll spend more money. here's how you fight your london colleagues on this.

in london they don't understand american procurement, so you should be able to get to new york from paris. >> you're giving away the secrets. >> don't say this on air. >> it's pretty obvious. >> sadly i think phil lebeau had that one in the bag. so clearly a bit of tension with certain european leaders and president trump. one leader who so far within europe has had a better relationship was uk prime minister theresa may but a bilateral meeting between the two and some tensions because of some information leakages off the back of the manchester attacks. >> the "new york times" reported they have this photo, and the officials in the uk are pretty upset this got out there. the uk is part of the five eyes, the intelligence sharing arrangement. the deal with five eyes, it's supposed to be so secure, so consiste consistent, but you're hearing out of the uk that five eyes is not really that secure, and european agencies need to be

more trustworthy. here's the problem for donald trump. this is the third revelation from the u.s. the first two from him in the oval office, he told lavrov, the foreign minister that they're getting great intelligence about an isis attack. may have outed out that israel was the source of that. he had a call with the president of the philippines. this is the third one, but he may have to clean this up, and that could be a challenge and could lead to awkward headlines. >> hans, as we speak, german chancellor angela merkel is actually meeting with former president barack obama in berlin. i don't know fizznoknow if it's coincidence or not, but talking about democracy and faith at the brandenburg gate. later today, right? she'll meet with president trump. i don't think it's a secret which one she has a better relationship with. this is the key one to watch. she is the power player of europe. what do you expect?

>> their first meeting didn't go great. when angela merkel came to washington, and president trump almost ribbed her about being overheard by intelligence services. if you grew up in east germany and the staz i was listening in on you, that's not a laughing manner. we will see if angela merkel can manage donald trump. she's been in her job for a long time. she's dealt with putin, she dealt with president george w. bush. where he gave her that awkward back rub. she knows -- she's pretty good, and history will be fair with her on how she deals with male counterparts. trump may be the biggest challenge. you can't help but sympathize for the whipsaw she'll have going from obama to trump in a short period. i don't believe she has a one-on-one with trump. i just believe it will be at nato dinner. and there is a rule, every one

gets three minutes. in washington news, the nonpartisan congressional budget office is out with its scoring of the gop healthcare bill. the headline, the bill would insure 23 million fewer people over the next ten years while reducing the federal deficit by 1$119 million. the bill needs senate approval. this does set it up for a little bit of a political fight. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell saying we don't have the votes. we intend to get there. the top trending story. if you're a fan of "love actually" great news. it's back in a sort of way. today is red nose day. to celebrate the charity event the original cast from the blockbuster movie reuniting in a 50-minute short film that airs tonight on nbc as part of the net work's red nose day telethon. it is put on by a charity called

comic relief. red nose day raised over $1 billion globally since it started in 1998. in the u.s. it's raised 60 million in the first two years. i sat down with the co-founder of comic relief who also happens to be the screen writer behind the remake and the original film, love actually, his name richard curtis. i asked him how this highly anticipated sequel came to be. >> we were here in new york, my girlfriend said there is a lovely christmas late night "love actually" screening near us. we should go. it will be full of fans. i saw it for the first time in ten years it was my family, two people sleeping in the back row, two people kissing in front. i had time to watch it and i had time to think what could happen to these people 15 years on. >> is this a teaser?

is there a full sequel in due course? >> no. >> some of their careers in real life have been transformational. who are the stars you are most impressed by? >> it was meant to be 50% people you didn't know, and 50% people you did. the fact that martin frame has gone on to play dr. watson and the hobbit has been very disappointing. i hoped liam would be retired by now instead of the world's greatest action hero. and andrew lincoln, i love the fact he kills zombies and is one of the most famous men in america. >> is "love actually" your favorite? >> no, i don't really have a favorite. it's always children. i always lie when they say who is your favorite? you. because of its christmas connect shun, it is lasting, with the most -- in the most muscular manner. i do think there's a link between its spirit of optimism

and red nose day. and at the end of this little special, hugh grant is asked in another interview, are you still as optimistic as you were 14 years ago? i have him replying, he said with a much more handsome face, that it is still amazing how every time people are -- whenever there's tragedy, there's bravery. >> in terms of the other films that you've done, notting hill is quite surprisingly the one that grossed the most. >> that's why we paid julia roberts so much money. >> what is your view in terms of the way the industry is changing? as a creator of content, does it not matter to you the shift from traditional broadcasters, traditional mediums to the onlines, net flicks, flix and ? >> it's amazing how much tv is

becoming. there's some brilliant new comedy. things will change in the way that they do. one thing that we have to think about with red nose day is raising more and more money online. this year we have a special deal with facebook, who put up a donate now button. i'm excited by the changes. if people are watching this, people at work, how can they get involved themselves more than just watching the show and clicking the link? >> i'm keen on fund-raising. one thing that's caught on in the uk is everyone in the office buys a red nose, has a selfie of everyone in the office, then the boss just doubles the money. >> that sounds like a great idea. >> ceo super selfie. >> it's been a pleasure. >> really good to see you. thank you. >> get involved with the fund-raising. sara and i doing it now. rather uncomfortable. >> all my bronzer will come off. >> let's get ourselves in. maybe the dos will double it. here's our donation. everyone get involved. it's not just us that is getting

involved, but also the bill and melinda gates foundation have committed to giving up $1 million. an extra inst.tive centivincent. red nose day airs tonight on nbc. >> is thereie better than "love actually?" >> i don't think so. >> i don't think so either. no comparison. the music, acting. >> so you haven't seen the new version? >> i haven't seen the new version. it's already played in the uk. brilliant they haven't let it leak out here. do i keep this on for the rest of the show? >> i don't know. when i came it on, it's very nasal. >> i will keep it on for the rest of this block. >> when we come back, a titanic foreign policy shift. that's what one poll signals is calling president trump's trip

abroad. today's must reads straight ahead. first, check out oil prices at this hour. they're being -- >> they're red on red nose day. >> they're being whip sawed around by the comments in see yen in they're down a percent. so some material weakness, down to 50.92 on wti.

welcome back to "worldwide exchange," i'm sara eisen along with wilfred frost. it's time for our must-read

stories. my pick in the "washington post," the president just made a titanic foreign policy shift. the media missed it. and it's penned by newt gingrich, former speaker of the house. i picked it because i have not seen this perspective before. he's analyzing the trump trip and specifically the speech that president trump gave in saudi arabia. geng ri never before has an american president tried so clearly to unite the civilized world including the nations of the middle east and africa against the forces of terrorism. never before has an american president issued so direct a challenge to those nations to do more in the fight and never before has an american president so plainly put the ultimate responsibility for eradicating terrorism on the nations of the region. just thought it was an interesting take. because you don't read a lot about that speech as a titanic shift as newt gingrich is calling it.

he did compare it to other presidential turning points in history. i guess history will judge whether this has the same effect. >> well worth the read. we'll have to see whether his european leg in brussels is seen as a success. approaching the top of the hour. the team is getting ready for "squawk box." joe kernen la a look has a lookt is coming up. >> we're trying to do all we can to make you feel at home. hope you're enjoying this weather. we're importing london? it's almost june. we had very little spring. >> just so much rain. >> all we have is this. >> it's very, very reminiscent of home. >> you haven't even noticed, right? yeah, this is may. >> why do you think that is? do you think it's climate change? >> yeah. considering everything is. isn't it? what isn't? >> surely it is. >> how do you disprove it when everything is caused by, oh, my god, sorkin is back.

sorkin is back. >> you guys can have this debate by yourselves. >> yeah. right. any way, we do -- we have -- andrew, i'm sure you're excited about brafman, to talk media on set. we'll talk media, some of bronfman's new things. it's rare to see him on set. we'll touch on this market. it's the dollar again today, isn't it? the euro almost 1.12, 1.13. another upday for the market. just seems to go higher. whether it's the strongest earnings growth in six years or something else. far be it for me to say it has anything to do with pro growth programs. >> five straight days of gains in a row. we'll see if we have a sixth one. thanks. still to come, opec earnings, health care, the

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even if it's chasing squirrels, synchrony financial can help you get there. welcome back. oil prices are the biggest mover this morning. they've been yo-yoing off the back of the opec press conference. we don't have the official announcement yet. we are down 0.8%. that was largely priced in. oil prices were up 2% for the week. with us now is paul sheard from standard & poor's. i wasn't to start with the fed minutes yesterday. clearly very well telegraphed the june rate hike. what about this tapering towards the end of the year. was that expected? have they surprised the market? >> i wouldn't call it a surprise. it was incremental information about how they intend to go about this, this idea of putting a cap on the sort of monthly maximum amount of run off. but gradually lifting that cap

over time, every three months until they reach a maximum and leave it there and let the balance sheet shrink. a little more technical in detail about the operations. the fed has been talking about this run off strategy for years. i can count at least seven years back to april 2001. they want this to be surprise-free. >> it wasn't a big surprise out of the minutes that they might be patient when it comes to hiking rates for the rest of the year, and they're still not seeing signs of inflation meeting their target. >> that main meeting had to digest that weak q1 gdp report. the fed is not in a rush here. they would like to get fed policy on a normalization path. they've done that. they don't want to make a policy error in the other direction. we've seen japan do this, the ecb do that as well. they're taking the view that was a transitory effect, but they want some confirming evidence. if they get that evidence, june

is all systems go. >> we saw china downgraded. hong kong downgraded off the back of that is that a concern for you or a more reactive move by the rating agency? >> that's another rating agency, not s&p gloating ratings. >> but the fact that -- >> if you read the statement there, it's concerns around the debt levels, and the trajectory of the economy. i think those concerns are pretty well widely shared. there's also recognition around the world that china is managing this sort of soft landing to a lower growth trajectory fairly well and has some leverage and some internal capacity to do that. >> there's a lot of optimism in the stock market now coming off of five days, another record close, going in with a strong start for futures. are you getting the signals from the economic data that justify that? this rebound we're expecting from a weak first quarter? >> certainly the stock markets

are kind of primed to interpret the positive news positively and see through some more negative news. it's interesting to ponder why that's the case. >> not the bond market. >> perhaps not. but i think the bond market is factoring in that policymakers, particularly the fed, will be there to support the economy. bad news is interpreted that we may get adjustment from the fed and policy authorities, that's good news. good news is just good old-fashioned good news. >> paul, 20, 30 seconds left. oil prices, soft this morning. all in all opec has done a good job you think? >> the big story in oil markets, we're in a new era where technology transformed the whole global industry. opec doesn't have that pricing power it used to have. it can fiddle around at the margins, but the margins are driven by shale, oil and technology. >> paul, thanks for joining us. >> what you are watching today? >> oil prices. because we still don't have the official announcement of that nine-month extension. interesting to see that

softness. >> also retail earnings this morning including best buy after an ugly day for some of them yesterday. that does it for us. [ male announcer ] tora bora fallujah argonne khe sanh midway dak to normandy medina ridge the chosin reservoir these are places history will never forget but more important are the faces we will always remember. ♪

wild swings in the oil market as the saudi oil minister tells cnbc that a nine-month production cut could be prolonged if needed a live report straight ahead. the latest analysis of the gop's healthcare bill says 23 million fewer people would have health coverage by 2026. it wouldn't be that they would lose it, many wouldn't get it because they're not required to get it anymore. details and the political backlash. and get ready to unpack your

carry-on. the tsa is testing new procedures. we'll tell you what it means for security lines. it's thursday, may 25, 2017. "squawk box" begins right now. live from new york where business never sleeps, this is "squawk box." >> good morning. this is "squawk box," we are live from the nasdaq market site from times square. i'm becky quick, along with joe kernen, and andrew ross sorkin. the united kingdom is holding a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in the manchester bombing. [ bells toll ]