the tax reform bill. attention turns to the senate where it got out of conference last night a battle brewing among republicans. we'll get a live report from washington it's friday, november 17, 2017 "squawk box" begins right now. ♪ live from new york where business never sleeps, this is "squawk box. >> good morning. welcome to "squawk box" on cnbc. we are live from the nasdaq market site in times square. i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. right now it's time for the global markets report. let's look at u.s. equity futures. yesterday a strong day forlt te markets, dow ended up about 187 points, thanks to walmart and cisco and the passage of the x

version of the tax bill. nasdaq this morning is holding on to positive gains we'll see how this shapes up as we get closer to the opening bell overnight in asia, you can see the nikkei ended up 0.2% stocks were higher for the hang seng as well up about 0.6%. in shanghai come pposite down by a half percent. the dax is barely holding on, the others are negative. looking at crude oil prices, crude has been pulling back after the highs it hit, this morning up by 1.5% almost back to $56 a barrel. we have some corporate news. comcast, the parent of this network, has approached 21st century fox expressed in buying a substantial piece of the media company. it would be an all stock offer

it would focus on fox's xabl ca networks, movie studios, stake in hulu. we should say no deal is near just yet we should also note if you think about it, 70% of those assets, the same assets on the table in this disney conversation, that remains on a burner. 70% of those assets are international assets a fox one of the real drivers of a transaction like that would be all of those pieces in europe, india, asia and elsewhere. separately verizon also kicking the ties on 21st century fox could be a three-way bidding war. the deal would give the wireless carrier ownership of movies and tv shows to stream on its services

the "wall street journal" also reporting that sony's entertainment unit has made an informal approach for fox. all of this follows news that cnbc broke last week that dizzy held talks with 21st century fox. one of the biggest names in all of the deal talk last night at the net conference, here's what les moonves told julia boorstin. >> i think we were all shocked by the initial announcement which was on cnbc, about murdoch potentially selling some of his content assets that surprised me because we envisioned rupert as someone always expanding the idea that he was breaking up some of these assets, having discussions with disney. there are different versions of who thought of it, whether disney approached him, he approached them. the reports from cnbc that day say the talks had stopped. no surprise, brian roberts stepped in there

i think what it says is content assets are unbelievably valuable >> shares of fox soaring on all of these reports look at that stock it's up close to 10% 9% there morning in early trade. >> the question becomes what regulators would do with this situation. >> we'll all be watching to see what happens over the next week or two with time warner and at&t >> with verizon, it shows you why at&t wanted to do it and it gives credence to that business model for distribution and content. it's like, you know, randall was early, at least compared to veer rise verizon. it's sort of like a me too >> barry diller in the best position because of content and distribution >> the head of the antitrust division said some stuff did you see that >> yep >> we still haven't seen the suit, right?

>> there's no suit >> or whether there will be one. >> we don't know if there will be one >> what did he say was it ominous what he said? >> yes, it was very ominous. >> it may work out with negotiations >> they will make it ominous for what will happen also to what happens to fox. >> that's the question >> if they sue, the question then is -- >> who could come in and buy these assets >> i have a question, quick question so, some of this is about selling the studio and assets. it's to focus fox news channel and fox business and the sports to be a more focused company wouldn't it be much smaller? are they dressing it up for sale >> or take it private. >> is that what they would want to do? >> there's major regulatory issues >> with what part? >> sports and news would like lie create problems, especially if you were to sell it, because

other people need tv networks, other people have sports pieces. >> they might take it private. >> they may take it privately or ultimately maybe merge it into news corp. or take news corp. private and it private, put that together. there's a lot of different variations >> it never became "wall street journal" tv, why not >> that was in large part -- well, some of that is because they split >> you also want the fox brand >> and they split. i would make one omment, maybe i'll get in trouble for staying it you were saying about randall, this idea of putting the network together i would tell you most analyst investors would say to the extent this transaction, meaning when come past bought nbc, to the extent it worked, it worked much more as an extension of the fact that you were able to bring

better management to the company, you were able to buy it at a low price >> you're just kissing ass now >> it's true >> and the parks worked out in ways that nobody expected. the synergistic value is helpful. >> we will talk about immelt in a second that helped, too buying it for 50 cents on the dollar, right? >> but i do think there's still questions, not about the comcast nbc transaction but questions -- there were questions about the at&t time warner deal about whether the content needs to be tied to the distribution putting it out there joining us on the squawk news line to talk about this, marci ryvicker good morning >> good morning. >> i saw that coming a lot of letters

a lot of con stletters. do you think regulators would allow a transaction as described? >> i don't just going back to the comcast/nbc deal and what you were talking about, the key for comcast at the time was to experiment with content. they bought nbc universal, phenomenal deal as we look back on that. you have seen what comcast has been able to do with its core cable products by experimenting with nbc-uco bshgs krshgnbc ucot now you're looking at a company trying to go again po entertainme potentially to look at assets.

if it's on the international side, which is what we think is most likely, that may get through. i don't flow of any other assets, even the studio, if that could pass regulation. >> you think in the comcast formulation, you take the international assets, but when it comes to hulu, the studios, to everything else, that's where the problem lies >> yeah. i think the problem lies there you go back to steve burke's comments i don't know he's a 100% believer in hulu i don't think they'll risk being under regulatory muster for another year, 8 month18 months,o years for something like hulu. >> you look at verizon, does that make more sense to you? do you think that would pass muster >> what's going on with at&t time warner, i don't know that anybody can think that would pass muster. what is confusing to me, verizon has been clear it has no intention going down the same

path as at&t when i think of all of this, number one, either fox is absolutely up for sale, or you have a lot of investment bankers planting these stories and laughing at it. >> that's an excellent point it might also be, look, when you hear assets like this are up for sale, it's almost your due diligence to go check it out, not that you would make a bid, but why not kick the tires >> verizon has to look at it their shareholders would want them to look at it i don't know that is core to their plan >> marci, just to put it to rest as an issue, having reported this out, i can assure you this is floating transaction, there's been talks on all sides of this again, i think becky is right to the extent you read a headline, see something happening, you decide you want to jump into the fray >> see something, say something. >> you want to see what's

possible my question to you, do you want to own 21st century fox now? >> we have been very positive on the stock for a while. and i think that at this point, yes, you do. because you'll have m&a in the stock. it will help it for a while. maybe it takes us to sky we'll see what happens with sky. >> is your guess that nothing gets done if this is all just people carrying out fiduciary responsibility, looking at these things the stock is up on this m&a, you're not convinced that anybody ever buys anything >> i don't know if the incumbents buy it. but you have a lot of other companies out there that are outside of the ecosystem that may sniff around as well >> talking about amazon or netflix or something >> possibly, yes >> finally, what do you think would happen with the other assets do you think the whole pane gets taken out in one fell swoop or

do you see this sort of split up scenario where one piece gets taken private or something else happens? >> i don't think the whole thing can get taken out. i think it has to be in pieces you have to think about what fox is left with fox is left with sports, with broadcast. they have not been huge proponents of broadcast as of late i do think there would have to be a go private transaction if they're left with whatever assets are discussed >> thank you very much the house of representatives voting to approve the republican tax reform bill. now attention turns to the senate where a different version of the bill advanced from a tax writing panel late last night. president trump tweeting this morning if democrats were not such obstructionists and understood the power of lower taxes, we could get many of their ideas into the bill. ylan mui joins us with more. >> republicans are really

railroading this through they did not want to go home without some points on the board. now they have two big wins the senate passing its tax plan out of committee late last night. we were not expecting that vote to happen until today. after almost 11 hours of debate, orrin hatch said the work was done >> we've taken a big step today, of course there are many more steps aled and though not every member agrees with the course wove taken as a committee today, i'm glad to serve among so many accomplished members of the senate >> that vote happened after house republicans had scored a major victory when they passed their own version of the tax bill on the floor. the final vote there was 227-205. that was a very comfortable margin the only real holdouts were republicans from new york, new jersey, california, those high-tax states where lawmakers are still unhappy with the limits on the state and local tax deduction.

even they said they hoped to get to yes down the road house speaker paul ryan said failure is not an option on tax reform he did thank president trump and republicans said he has been engaged in the process they also know they have another deadline to meet now, getting a tax bill to the president's desk by christmas it will be a busy holiday season back over to you guys. >> they're pushing it through quickly. but railroading -- here's how that is defined. to force something through a legislative body without due consideration. >> democrats would argue that -- >> so that's what a democrat would use. i think even if you look at how long -- >> it's been seven years of -- >> when you look at how long it took to debate the '86 tax reform two years for that to go through. this has been happening in two weeks. >> it's going quickly. but that's a loaded term >> it is going very fast and

happening at warp speed. without due consideration. >> that's what republican ron johnson said yesterday it's going very fast >> he is going in the process. i don't know if we can decide that >> how about fast track, do you like that one? >> fast track. i like that one much better. former ge ceo jeff immelt telling the executive editor of axios that he is very confident in ge's future he also addressed reports of traveling with a second empty private jet while he was ceo here's what he said. >> it's a practice that in re o retrospect i wish we had not done it was never seg isomethin somei approved in every way, i think i was just about the work i really was it was a terrible practice as soon as i found out about it, i stopped it >> you didn't notice the extra plane? >> i never thought about it.

looked for it. knew what it was i was totally focused on the job. >> what jeff said there, there are some former associates that, i don't know, tell me they're in position to know that raise an eyebrow after hearing that they're not certain that was the case i don't know >> they're not sure which was the case >> that there was absolutely no knowledge from the ceo that this was happening. they're not absolutely sure. if i was jeff immelt, i would love this. this is all i would want to talk about. if you're notgoing to talk about the worst performance of any dow component over 20 years, if he had a fleet of 10 jet 00 following him, and the stock had gone up like honeywell, utx,

nobody would care. he would put 30 jets behind him, nobody would care. we just talked about nbc, where that was sold. i wouldn't want to focus on this because it takes away any discussion -- it might be a symptom of what happened with ge coming up, your list of today's biggest movers including a surge for gap. that stock to watch is next. and our newsmaker of the morning is treasury secretary steve mnuchin, he will join us at 7:30 a.m. eastern not rebalancing your portfolio. focused on what you love, not how your money will last through retirement. we make it easier to plan for retirement

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when is the last time you heard positive news in the retail land williams-sonoma posting better than expected third quarter profit, but the retailer is narrowing its earnings outlook for the year the company is also buying augmented reality start up outward for 1$112 million >> why buy that? >> if you want to put stuff in your kitchen, furnish your house -- >> you can't get somebody to help you >> this is the question of whether you want to own this stuff -- >> there's a lot of these augmented reality companies that will do that for you the idea that as a retailer, you can run an augmented reality company -- the stock is down 11%. >> some people equated this to when kevin plank went hard into the digital space buying up myfitness, i think it's cool,

but it's not -- >> just because you're good in area does not translate being good in another, particularly one so cutting edge and front line applied materials thir quarter results beat forecasts the chip equipment maker gave upbeat guidance for the furt quarter on continued strong demand on the chip and december play business. solid company earnings and the house vote helping to lead the markets in a positive direction. u.s. equity futures up with a nice rebound got back more yesterday than we lost we thought it might be the he beginning of something joining us now is eric knudson

at new burgberger newman. >> always good to remember who has the "k." >> who is the other one? >> kniffen >> and semian also joins us. did either of you get fooled not yesterday but the day before did you think that was the beginning of a pullback or were you full speed ahead >> the earnings are just so solid. it's always important to look at the top line growth. that's a better long run estimate of earnings growth. that's been running 4%, 5%, 6% for several quarters one thing i noticed is operating leverage is starting to shrink if you go back to last quarter, 5% top line, 10% earnings growth this quarter, 5% top line and 7% earnings growth. that tells me two things

a shrinking of this excess capacity in the market, and then sector to sector you have more nuanced stories. walmart had 4% top line, but 2% earnings growth. that's a secular thing in retail these stories are good, but not great. as the companies are moving sales online, they're getting shrinking margins. the street really applauded those results. >> because it's better than the alternative. it's better than a death spiral. >> what about you? >> look, we acknowledge there's lots of reasons for generalized anxiety. what we have not seen is a -- >> that's life, isn't it that's my view when i get up in the morning. >> what we're missing -- what we're missing is a proximal catalyst for the 10% draw downs. this year every time there's a 1%, 2% draw down, there's buying, people come back in. we are definitely in late stages of the economy the economy -- the economic

cycle is extending this san opportunity to be more nuanced in exposures we do like equities relative to fixed income, we want to take some bets away from market consensus, look at what is priced and what's not. in the global allocation fund, we're underweights u.s. equities by shorting the s&p 500 index, so we can buy a portfolio towards smaller company stocks, value stocks, cyclical stocks to take advantage of better growth than what's being priced in to the u.s. economy, the potential for positive outcomes associated with tax reform. >> still a weird strategy. why not just do the latter without performing why short the s&p -- everything seems to be going up that is taking away from the gains. >> no. >> the s&p has been going up if you did thisthree months ago, you have a big loss on that

side >> you saw a rebound from september. we are shorting a bias to small caps and overweight europe and eemergen emerging stocks >> you can buy a stock and sell it at same time and you're hedged >> absolutely. >> you will get 1%. >> we're happy to bet against the passive index now and take advantage of other opportunities out there in the u.s. equity market >> what do you think >> well, i will go back to the resilience of the debt market as an -- >> did you look at the ten-year? >> corporate >> last week, we had this fire drill that we're going in the 2, but it held relatively firm. that tells you there's more legs left in the equity market, but also that -- >> just a little bit more legs lef left >> could be a year

>> some people say five. >> i don't know about five, but certainly room left. on the debt side, those spreads held firm. if you're willing to hedge out the interest rate risk, there's still opportunity to clip some good coupons on the corporate side >> all right we'll see today. it's starting off with giving back about 30 points of yesterday's big gain it's early it's friday. friday is the best part of the week now >> because it's the furthest from monday? >> we have not gotten to the point where we're using i up our friday >> coasting. gentlemen, thanks for coming in. >> what do you do after this today? >> i have work to do >> not a true friday until what time for you >> today >> you don't know? i wake up dreading anything i have to do >> i got stuff -- i got real stuff going on until about 7:00 tonight. >> long night. miles to go.

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♪ welcome back you're watching "squawk box," live from the nasdaq market site in times square. good morning welcome back to "squawk box" on cnbc look at the u.s. equity futures at this hour, see how things are setting themselves up for this morning. dow opening off about 30 points.

nasdaq higher, 2 points higher s&p 500 looking to open off 3 points for now we have a couple of stocks to watch. the big one, barns & noble rejecteding an offer by an activist to take that company private. the "wall street journal" reported sandel asset management proposed the deal which valued the book seller at more than $9 a share or $650 million. barnes & noble says it is not bonafied as the largest shareholder would not participate. ross stores reporting better than expected third quarter results on positive same-store sales, but the clothing retailer is approaching the current quarter with caution, saying this could be another highly promotional holiday season. that stock up about 8% maybe all is not lost in retail land shares of splunk are surging. the data software provider beat third quarter earnings targets the company says it landed more than 450 new enterprise customers.

splunk is also raising its full-year revenue outlook. that stock up close to 15% this morning. look at the price of bitcoin. the cryptocurrency pushed past 8,000 for the first time overnight. the ceo of the chicago merc said it would introduce now some pressures to curb volatility once bitcoin futures are up and running. >> it will have those same sort of guardrails that stocks have, exchanges have, so that you don't see that massive volatility >> someone mentioned that the other day. it was down so much. >> that's crazy. if you're saying, yes, i will take payment for your rent, for your meal, for any of these issues, i can't know that in ten minutes it might be worth 20% less or 20% more there was a surprise announcement during elon musk's electric truck presentation last night. a new roadster model that can travel 620 miles on a single charge phil la lebeau has more on that

story. >> good morning. the roadster stole the show when it was introduced at the end of the tesla event. the headline going into last night were these two trucks. a couple of cabs driven in these are the new tesla semis coming in 2019 what's interesting about this truck, in the cab, the steering wheel is in the middle not on the left or in the right. it has an interesting range of 500 miles. and according to elone musk, even if it's fully loaded with 80,000 pounds, it will go 0 to 60 in 20 seconds >> we designed the tesla truck to be like a bullet. where a normal diesel truck is designed like a barn wall, this is a bullet. >> reporter: that's zero to 60 in 20 seconds fully loaded check this out this is the new tesla roadster, 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds it will be the fastest

production car built with a range of 620 miles >> you will be able to travel from l.a. to san francisco and back at highway speed without recharging but the point of doing this is to give a hard score macdo dcort gasoline cars. >> elon musk fans and tesla fans loved it shares of tesla, what drives this stock now, the issue of the model 3 production the tesla that tesla is having ramping up production. there was no mention of the model 3 yesterday. no briefing with reporters ahead of the unveil. so we couldn't ask about where things stand when it comes to the model 3. this was all about the tease with the roadster at the end, as well as the truck, which by the way, guys, tesla says it will

have costs, when fully operated, 20% lower than comparable diesel models they didn't give us a price on the tesla semi we'll see if the trucking industry is impressed by what it saw last night >> they say mercedes has a good -- there's some competitio there. that roadster got your attention. he has great designers >> yeah. >> but it's a four-seater, which is, you know, my family -- >> come on, you know you what th how that works. those four seaters are for insurance. >> i can get three in my car at least i can get three, if you put the passenger seat up a bit. the teenagers, one in front, one in back. 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds, the first ones are 250,000, then it

drops by 100,000 do you believe this will be viable by 2020, do you think >> has he ever hit his production targets in the past >> no. >> when he said we will have this model on this date. 2020 is a ways off so they could theoretically make that production target but i have to be honest, as much as it is amazing eye candy, the people loved it last night you're always going to get that with a tesla unveil. the fans, the customers, they have been in there elon musk could come out and say the sky is blue, they would go whoo-hoo but it was a nice treat at the end. >> i get nervous about that kind of torque. it goes 250 miles an hour, too when you good go 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds, you can spin that out that's almost like a dragster.

we know what happens with dragsters if you don't have control over steering. >> people are up in arms that dodge is marketing the new challenger demon as a street legal dragster people say that's ridiculous that's not as fast as the new roadster will be >> i got to tell you i saw that i was jonesing i said maybe that's -- that's really cool. >> see >> that's a lot of money to get one. >> it is >> my biggest thing has been what if i forget to charge it and i'm stuck somewhere. >> self-driving cars here. >> he's the master showman >> one divergence of self driving where you sit there in one of those pods. the other one is you got a car going 0 to 60 in -- which will win? i like the 0 to 60 >> but you want your kids in there. >> we're diverging more than

before one you're totally not doing anything you fall asleep. the other one, you're like white knuckled >> joe, it depends on -- older people like us will say i love the experience of driving. put me on the california highway, i'm going down the coast. i would love it. if you talk to kids, my kids in college, both of them are like, yeah, i'm interested in self-driving cars. it's a generational shift happening. >> you can snap while sitting in the self-driving car >> phil, real quick, the technology in this roadster that allows it to go this long and this far, in terms of being put into other cars in the future, which is typically what he's trying to do, always trying to push the envelope at the highest end and bring it down. >> absolutely. >> when do you think we would see that >> incrementally you will see that over time incrementally. in terms of that 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds, i'm not sure you will see that -- >> not that piece.

i'm talking about the range piece. >> when can we get an -- >> when will there be an affordable version of 620 miles? >> i can't put a target on it. you're already seeing the range increase at a rapid pace if somebody came out with a range of 300 miles, people say that's reasonable. i wouldn't be surprised if over the next couple of years, as the different battery lives, generations of batteries come around, that you will see that range increase to the 450, 500 mark >> okay. great. thank you, sir always great to see you. coming up, modern medicine we'll tell you about progress on a new type of nonaddictive pain medication that could help fight opioid addiction. and our newsmaker of the morning, steve mnuchin will join us at 7:30 eastern time in a first on cnbc interview. at 8:00, u.p.s. ceo david abney

will join us

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the united states, according to the cdc, centers for disease control and prevention drug companies are searching for new non-addictive ways to treat pain meg tirrell has the modern medicine today >> increasingly drug companies are looking to genetics for clues about drug development here's the story of a man whose ra rare genes may hold the key to a new class of pain medications. some may think steve has a hidden superpower. >> he broke his foot it was kind of swelling up he was -- it was uncomfortable he was not walking like a normal person should. y he just duct taped it and went to work. >> reporter: pete is 36 years old, because of a rare genetic mutation he never felt pain what may seem like a genetic gift is incredibly dangerous pete has lost count of how many bones he's broken. >> probably high 70s, low 80s. >> reporter: and often doesn't

realize he severely injured himself until months later his condition is called congenital insensitivity to pain it's been identified in a few people but has spurred a hunt for nonaddictive medicines to treat pain >> we were searching for rare experiments in nature. >> reporter: dr. waxman studied pete's condition as well as people with opposite genes, people with extreme pain both have been linked to musicians in the same gene >> it's like a volum pain signaling you turn it up, they are shooting when they should be whispering turn it down, they don't make a noise. >> reporter: now drugs are targeting that gene. the goal, effective new pain therapies without the side effects of opioids coming up later today, meet a family with those opposite genes. they have a condition so painful

it's known as man on fire syndrome they're also contributing into research for new medicines into pain >> people have been in extreme situations like this for a long time, recently medicine is getting involved in trying to find the silver lining in these issues >> they had a hunt for these families, and only in the last decade, decade and a half have they been found. it is providing help for new drugs. >> we were talking about peripheral answers to pain this is anywhere on his body, he doesn't feel -- it's central nervous system mediated. >> yeah. but the target, this nav.1 sodium tannal achannel is in t periphery. >> so he doesn't get it. >> yeah. it's the pain sensors. >> so it's everywhere he could be having pain, can't be mediated >> right one interesting other thing that

happens with these folks, they don't have a sense of smell. these nerves are also associated with a sense of smell. that's a potential concern with a side effect of drugs >> i would think he can't taste. >> he can taste but he can't smell. he said that caused him issues as well. he can't smell if food has gone bad. >> he can't smell if something is on fire. >> exactly >> so you would have to selectively put the right enzyme into -- would have to block it where the pain was you wouldn't want to replicate this guy's situation >> you want to be careful about how strong it is >> thank you very much. when we come back, the biggest retail movers this week. we'll tell you what's working in the sector ahead of black friday "squawk box" will be right back.

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we make it easier to plan for retirement with day one target date funds from prudential. look forward to your 401k plan. the market.redict but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. what if we could keep more amof what we earn?d. trillions of dollars going back to taxpayers. who could possibly be against that? well, the national debt is $20 trillion. as we keep adding to it, guess who pays the bill? him. and her. and her. congress, we should grow the economy. not the debt. ♪

♪ working for a living working for a living ♪ working for a living, living and a t aworking ♪ >> the retail sector is in focus with wal-mart, target, and best bay all reporting third quarter earnings let's find out what's been working. joining us is jan niffen jan, you said something really

interesting when you sat down. we asked you for three stocks you liked right now, and amazingly there were more choices that you could come up with right now in retail even given all the death and destruction that we continue to talk about in the space. >> right i think that's the fascinating buzz right now i say if you are on-line, off price, or if you are local, you can win if you are anybody else, you're working pretty hard at trying to win, but that doesn't mean that wal-mart is not winning, that home depot is not winning, costco they're aylwining still. they all look pretty good. even best buy that didn't have a great report their last man standing in their space, they're a pretty good company doing good work. when i was going through and picking and i was looking at wal-mart and burlington stores and children's place because i wanted one out of discounting, one out of specialty, and one out of off price, i thought those were the best picks, but i think there's quite a few in the space right now that you can play despite the death and destruction that amazon brings to brick and mortar retailing every day. >> that's not what a lot of

people are anticipating. when you look across these areas, what do you have to have going well for you you mentioned on-line. you mentioned local. you mentioned discounting. it's not everybody in those sectors. what are people in those sectors each doing right >> one thing that's really working is if you are across the street from the mall, right? if you are across the street from the mall, you are tjx, ross, burlington, ulta, children's place you are all over the -- rack you are all of those things. >> ulta suffered recently. >> they didn't look so good in this last time around, but they're diagnose a really good job in the space >> it's easier to get in and out than into the middle of the mall so all those stores that aren't even the anchor stores, the interior of the mall, those are

the ones that are getting decimated? >>ist going to lose more traffic than it's ever lost in history, just like it did last year the enclosed mall is going to see a big problem with traffic in the fourth quarter despite the fact that everybody is working, wages are rising. there is very little unemployment asset values are rising. interest rates are low energy costs are good. all of those things are perfect. >> i saw victoria secret, their comps were down 4.5%, or maybe that's their traffic >> five years ago if you went to the mall, you visited five stores if you went last year, you visited two and a half stores. you don't have to know much more than that to know there's a problem. on top of that, there's less people coming to the mall. it's been falling for four years now, the number of people that actually show up >> having said that, children's place is often inside the mall why do you like that stock

>> children's place has been moving out of the mall as fast as they can. what they've basically done is the ones where they've stayed in the mall, it's because they're getting a really good deal in the mall the mall doesn't want them to leave. in general since jaen has been running children's place, she's been moving them across the street into the strip center >> in terms of what that means for real estate investment trusts that own mall properties, it how should we see that? >> you've seen what's been going on for a bid for ggp it's been difficult. they've all taken a real hit as far as their stock values, right? i still think, you know, simon and ggp are great companies, and they'll win the space. >> that's -- it's a great value. >> i think those three companies are still investable i think when you look at the rest of the real estate reach, you have to be pretty cautious because they've got the best properties, and they've done nice jobs of pairing those properties you know, they've gotten out of the bad malls over the past

three or four years. >> jan, thank you. it's good to see you >> you too >> all right coming up, media land grab occurring perhaps. comcast and verizon both expressing interest in acquiring some of fox's assets disney and fox, as you know, already had some talks we'll talk to a media analyst next and our newsmaker of the morning, treasury secretary steven mnuchin will join us at 7:30 a.m. eastern. maybe he brought us all dollar bills with his name on it. if you'd have told me three years ago... that we'd be downloading in seconds, what used to take... minutes. that guests would compliment our wifi. that we could video conference... and do it like that. (snaps) if you'd have told me that i could afford... a gig-speed. a gig-speed network. it's like 20 times faster than what most people have. i'd of said... i'd of said you're dreaming. dreaming! definitely dreaming. then again, dreaming is how i got this far. now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig.

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twenty-first century fox about buying major assets. details about what this could mean for the changing media landscape. that is straight ahead the republican tax plan passes the house, but its fate in the senate is uncertain, although it got out of committee late yesterday treasury secretary steven hmnuchin will join us. a new exhibit oemg this weekend. it will give those in the big apple the taste of the emmy award winning show we've got producer garrett neem and actor alan leech who played tom branson on the show will be here live as the second hour of "squawk box" begins right now. he went from chauffeur to part of the family. ♪ friday i'm in love ♪ monday you could fall apart >> live from the beating heart of business, new york city, this is "squawk box."

good morning welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc, we're live at the nasdaq market site i'm andrew ross sorkin along with becky quick and joe kernan. the futures at this hour take a look at what's going on. we have a mixed picture. the dow looks like it would open off 21 points. the s&p 500. the nasdaq looking to open higher about four points higher. here's what's making headlines sources telling us right now that comcast, the parent company of this network, has approached twenty-first century fox and expressed an interest in buying a substantial piece of the media company. the stock would focus on fox's cable networks, movie studio, and its partial stake in hulu and its international assets the talks are ongoing. we should say no deal is near just yet, and a huge impotes in a transaction like this are those international assets as it looks are a a broad. separately, we should note the dow jones reporting and verizon also kicking the tires on twenty-first century fox

i can confirm that as well a deal could give the number one u.s. wireless phone carrier ownership of movies and tv shows to stream to its mobile subscribers. we have a lot more on this developing story in just a minute tesla unveiled its new semi-truck last night, but that's not what everyone is buzzing about. ceo elan musk unveiled a new car. it's a roadster he claims will be the fastest production car ever musk says it can go from zero to 60 in just 1.9 seconds and the stock is higher in the early morning trading after last night's big announcement you're looking at that stock up about 2.5% also, apple pay offering customers a free subscription for posts made unlimited that normally costs $99 a month from any delivery from any store in your city you must sign up by november 23rd >> house republicans passing their tax plan yesterday, and the senate may not be far behind elan joins us right now.

she has more on what happens next elan, good morning >> becky, tax reform clearing two big hurdles late last night. the senate passed its tax plan out of committee, and there were some tense moments during the debate, including a very heated exchange between finance committee chairman orrin hatch and democrat sharon brown over who really benefits from the republican tax cuts. >> i'm going to just say to you that i come from the poor people, and i have been here working my whole stinking career for people who don't have a chance, and i really resent anybody saying that i'm just doing this for the rich. give me a break. >> the committee approved the plan on a party line vote. the republicans are now putting this on the fast track senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said he would bring the tax plan to the floor after lawmakers come back from thanksgiving break, and he called it must pass legislation. the pressure is on the senate now that the house has done its

job, it passed its own tax bill yesterday. 227-205 was the final tally. a very comfortable margin of victory for republicans. afterward house speaker paul ryan thanked president trump for his leadership republicans say the president has been very engaged in this process, but they know that they've got another deadline now looming getting a tax bill to the president's desk by christmas. back over to you >> elan, that's interesting that they're going to be going back home and hearing from constituents beforehand. i mean, i guess a lot of them probably already know what their constituents may think one way or the other on this >> the polling is somewhat mixed on the republican tax plan, but this will be a test of exactly how popular it is. remember, during the health care dough bait this is part of what failed the repeal and replace of obama care lawmakers went back to their home state and talked to voters. they saw that voters were really unhappy about it, and then the effort ended up failing. >> this may be a little different situation, though. >> exactly health care will be --

>> right okay elan, thank you very much. >> health care failed because of john mccain. a big corporate story -- had nothing to do with all the -- this morning comcast could be making a play for twenty-first century fox. on one of the biggest names in media weighing in on all of the deal talk last night at cnbc's net-net event. it was pretty interesting. here's what cbs ceo les moonvez told our julia borestein >> i think we were all shocked by the initial announcement, which was on cnbc, about murdoch potentially selling some of his content assets, and that sort of surprised me because we all envisioned rupert as somebody who is always expanding. the idea that he was sort of breaking up some of the assets and having discussions with disney, and there are different versions of who thought of whether disney approached him or whether he approached them, and the reports from cnbc that day

said, well, the talks stopped. no surprise, you know, brian roberts stepped in there i think what it says is content assets are unbelievably valuable >> like the ones less owns joining us now raymond james, telecom analyst. frank, do you know what fox -- what got into fox? do you know what -- what's new about rupert and that whole situation that is bringing this about? i guess, the second question is who do you think finally ends up with these assets? who is going to be able to get it through washington? >> well, that's a really good question i think the issue is, as we've looked at the space, we've been more favorable on the carriers in particular because we think over the long-term over broadband ags et cetera they end up winning, and large media conglom rats have a challenged business model i think the media folks are looking for some scale at the same time when you look

at a company like comcast where expanding u.s. distribution would be challenging, getting international distribution is a great opportunity, and then folding in some of the creative content with what they already have seems like a great way for them to also diversify and expand their business. i think the biggest focus and the challenge of getting this through is going to be how the justice department will define the market in particular, i think they'll put a heavy look at streaming services that they have. we've looked at this, and i think that's a sticking point in the att-time warner merger they're looking at combine of hulu, a popular streaming service, and it will make it even more challenging. i think this is a tough one, but it does seem like they've sliced it up in a way that it would be less conflicting clearly, they've kept the broadcast assets out of it that would be harder that's going to be the challenge. >> you think that eventually it happens. it's going to happen with someone for sure who has the best chance? >> it's hard to say. verizon, we would heavily

discount i'm sure they'll take a book and look at it, but management has been very clear they're going after very different kinds of media assets they're not sbds in more traditional senses skbro i can understand the attraction again, we think the carriers and distributors are on the better end of this, and this is probably indicative of the challenge business model that large media conglom rats have. >> we talked about there would be like a stub, right? stuff they don't buy why is that something that, you know, might be motivating? what do they want to do with that take it private?

the fox news channel, fbn, fox sports what would they do with that >> i don't follow fox. it would be hard for me to comment specifically, but i think conceptually it's just difficult for those assets to combine. when you have a company like comcast that has a major broadcast networks, you have even with what the sec walked back on media ownership, there would still be some challenges there. i think you are at the broadcast assets and some of the others in a merger would be much more difficult. pluts, those are very, very valuable all of our research suggests that even with shifting changes in viewership and tv and video watching, says consumers very much value those broadcast assets and some of the highest value content that there is out there.

>> see where the justice department sticking points are, and how could they craft the deal if you start a deal, a trial that might happen for at&t and time warner would be over by the middle of next year. >> april 22nd is this walk-away date even if -- even if a lawsuit is brought now and it's done on an expedited basis, how quickly

could all of it happen, and is there a possibility that the government could try to run out the clock in some way we haven't thought through? >> it's usually a four to six month process from what we understand >> i think at&t is very motivated. i think they have a better side of the facts and legal question on their side and they'll push this pretty heavily in court >> my expectation is both sides are very intent, and that would be a small part to play. >> this is to you as much as it is to frank. cnn always thought it would be great -- i mean?

it would be like anti-matter matter the universe might end >> i still don't understand why randall is so intent on owning cnn. i would very happily offload cnn to less moonvez and -- because i never thought that cnn was -- >> now, that's -- >> it's a popular news channel it's already an established brand. having that sort of -- >> that's -- >> it's very important >> anderson cooper on 60

minutes. >> perfect perfect. >> thank you >> when we come back, markets surging in yesterday's trading session. we'll talk investment ideas right after this break and then reaction to yesterday's house vote on a major tax cut. treasury secretary steven mnuchin joins us at 7:30 eastern time futures have been bouncing back. nasdaq up by almost five points. dow futures still down by 17 the s&p is down by less than one point. stick around you are watching "squawk box" right here on cnbc ♪

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comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. . >> joipgs now to talk about the markets is russ costrich, portfolio manager for blackrock's global allocation team also, peter chakini, chief market strategist at cantor fitzgerald welcome to both of you russ,ing we usually look at trying to value stocks versus bonds, and we look at interest rates and try to match that up against market valuations. you say that that's not nearly as effective in terms of what we've been watching over the last many years. why is that? >> we've had a role for many years where you could make the same statement every year. stocks are cheap relative to bonds. we all agree stocks are cheaper relative to bonds. the question is what's that mean for the long-term? if you look at the long-term, the absolute valuation has historically been much more important than the relative valuation. that tells you absolutely nothing about what to do the next week, the next quarter, the next year. what it does suggest is if you

are looking five to ten years out, if these valuation levels u.s. stocks, you look expensive. >> you're still talking about that same issue where interest rates are going to be the gravity that pulls down. >> as long as you have that huge valuation gap, things like the equity risk premium, suggest stocks can levitate where they are, it's enabled multiples to stay at a level that will be much more difficult to achieve if interest rates were 4% on the ten-year >> how should we be measuring them if they're not looking at that same valuation? >> i think you do look at the same valuation at the end of the day it's not irrelevant that s&p 500 is trading at 21 times trailing earnings if you look at history, it's not a short-term indicator, it does tell you on a five-year horizon, things will be lower for u.s. equities >> you say that when we looked at the high yield bond market

last week and saw some signs of cracks, that was a key moment. >> the other thing that happened, obviously, was oil prices started to fall, which affected the energy names in high yield. >> at the tend of the day it's a broken record when i come on here, it really is about the easy conditions globally around central banks. you know, when mahero draghi came out with the most dofish of possible tapers, says it provided a floor for risk. the reason why this relative valuation no longer really

matters the way it used to is because sovereign rates are manipulated globally right now when that happens how do you do the valuation comparisons? it's difficult >> this is going to continue at least until the fall of next year and potentially beyond that, which tells you what >> it tells me that monetary policy conditions are going to remain easy globally because the ecb is the marginal provider of liquidity. >> that means you like stocks here in the united states -- >> begrudgingly so i got cautious around summertime because i thought the ecb might actually come out and be a little bit more rationale about its accommodative policy you know, they came out and they said, listen, we're going to continue to do whatever it takes. it's hard not to like risk despite what russ said, which is high valuations. i think the trailing valuation is more like 24 times on the s&p.

risk-reward is not great for equities, and it's very hard to be bearish >> we're still in equities, but it depends where you want to be in equities. we've been overweight non-u.s. equities for the entire year we're overweight japanese stocks japan has had a huge run because it's more driven by earnings we haven't seen the same level multiple expansion in japan as you have in the united states. the other place i would be looking is emerging markets in asia i think right now there are parts of the world where the valuations are not as challenged earnings growth is just as strong if not stronger and you have central banks in the case of the b.o.j. that will keep supporting asset prices throughout 2018. >> how do you feel about u.s. stocks in general? >> you know, look, i think u.s. stocks are stretched we could have made the same comment a year ago, two years ago. it depends what part of the market you look at we are underweight the u.s we do find value in energy we do find value in parts of the technology space i think it depends where you look

it's easier to build it from a bottom up rather than say we like or don't like the u.s. market there are names in the fangs that we find very attractive there are names that are underweight. i think there are parts of this market with a business model being so differentiated and the r.o.e. is so high it's worth paying a premium >> which ones do you like -- i guess five >> you will get me in trouble with my compliance department if i start naming names >> why would you do that okay >> peter, how about you? what are your favorite areas >> i actually agree with russ. i think there is some undervaluation in energy especially when you think of that relative to oil sector dispersion has picked up. that's the good news i think it is the kind of market you can differentiate by sector where you can look at sectors that have more value than other sectors. the broader market may be rich, but, again, energy is our favorite spot right now. >> all right gentlemen, thank you for being here today >> thank you

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aflac trivia question. what was the dow's record-setting precrash peak in 1929 the answer 3812.17 >> the "wall street journal" reported sandel asset manager proposed the deal which managed them at $5 a share or $650 howl. barnes & noble says the offer isn't bonefied, and its founder and largest shareholder lynn rigeo wouldn't participate ross stores reported better than expected third quarter results on positive same-store sales the clothing retailer is approaching the current quarter with caution the data software provider beating earnings targets the company says that it landed more than 450 new enterprise customers. squawk is also raising its full year revenue outlook and the

stock is up by almost 15 >> i actually think of o brother where art thousand >> we have treasury secretary steven mnuchin to discuss where the tax plan goes from here, and as we head to a break, take a look at u.s.quy tus en eitfurewh we come back the treasury secretary

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i am the proud father of aeness very strong little girl named adelaide who was diagnosed with infantile spasms an incurable and debilitating form of epilepsy. it's been a devastating journey that has robbed my baby girl of normal development. that's why i have launched the my shot at epilepsy campaign and i'm asking you to join me.

take your shot at the hamilton pose, donate to help us find a cure, and lastly, share it on social media. this is our shot to take. learn more at: myshotatepilepsy.org good morning welcome back to "squawk box" here we're live at the nasdaq market site in times square among the stories front and center, stitch fix pricing its ipo of eight million shares at $15. it's below expectations. the on-line personal shopping company expected to start trading on the nasdaq today under the ticker sfix. the ceo will join squawk alley live you can see that at 1 1:00 eastern time this morning. also, casino operator ceasar's

entertainment buying privately owned casino and horseracing company satora holdings. the deal will help ceasar's expand in indiana. part of the keystone pipeline was shut down yesterday. warning after thousands of gallons of oil leaked in south dakota south dakota department of environment and natural resources telling nbc news that officials for trans-canada reported the leak in a sparsely populated area of marshall county near amherst. officials say the leak is estimated at 5,000 barrels or about 210,000 gallons. it appears to be contained to an agricultural area. it hasn't reached any bodies of water. the cause of the leak remains under investigation, and it's unknown when the pipeline might reopen the spill comes, though -- this is important -- just four days before regulators in neighboring nebraska will have to decide whether to approve the long delayed keystone xl pipeline this may change that dynamic the house passed its $1.5

trillion tax cut yesterday joining us right now to talk taxes, treasury secretary steven mnuchin. good morning to you, mr. secretary. >> good morning. great to be here with you. >> thank you for being with us we have so many questions about where this all goes from here, but i want to start with this because there seems to be a big conversation about it this morning, which is that when you look at this particular plan, there are still concerns that over time and you look at -- you look at the senate plan in particular, but over time both plans ultimately on the individual rate that people will pay more, not less what does the administration think about that, and how should we >> i think that is just not the case the focus of the plan really is middle income tax cuts and delivering those right away. i think you know as a result of the reconciliation process and scoring and the bird rule, there are certain parts of this that

expire, but we have every expectation that down the road that congress will extend them, and this is just around the issues >> what do you see as the timeline now i know we talked about christmas. >> that's great move forward we're going to have the senate as soon as they get back from thanksgiving vote on the bill, and our expectation would go to conference right away, and we have every reason to think we'll get it to the president's desk before christmas for him to sign

>> he is a republican. he said i elected republicans. i vote because of either tax reform or -- he said i don't even care if my taxes go down. i just want to -- i thought they would at least stay where they are. he says his accountsant informs him it's going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars more. >> i have let really spoken to hundreds of business people in both those states. first of all, as we've said, the objective of the plan is to simplify stacks taxes and level the playing field. we're getting the federal government out of subsidyizing states that obviously does impact the high tax states. having said that for someone who

makes $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 in high tax states they will get tax cuts. for people who make $1 million or more, their taxes are going to go up on the personal side. it will be very good for small and medium size businesses and entrepreneurs. >> it's the -- that's the greater good, mr. secretary. you have to convince these people that they're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more and that, you know, you can't tell them, well, you know, businesses are going to do much better because they're paying much less. you should be happy about that that's like the greater good it's just -- i know there's -- you got to work within these constraints, but, you know, the republican idea of tax reform i don't think everyone knew that these people were going to have huge tax increases i mean, are they -- is it punitive because they make too much money

>> i think there are going to be lots of companies in new york, when their tax rates go from 35% to 20% can increase wages. you are talking about, you know, the elimination of state and local taxes. probably close to about 4% in new york in the senate version there's a 1% reduction you are talking about potentially a 3% tax increase for people who make $1 million or more. a lot of people understand that that is funding lots of middle income tax cuts and understand that >> mr. secretary, on the pass-through issue because it continues to be an issue, the administration has talked a lot about trying to help small and midsize companies and businesses according to the treasury department, these are estimates in 2015, nearly 70% of income from partnerships, which include limited liability companies and 66.9% of s-corporations, the income goes to the top income

perce percentile when people look at that, how do you think about that issue >> yeah. i don't have the updated statistics in front of me, but i was looking at them yesterday, and i do know that 98% of the number of pass-throughs have $500,000 or less of income the large number of pass-through returns are all $500,000 or less those people will get substantial reductions, small and medium size businesses the 2% others obviously earn more than 2% of the income again, these are about businesses that are going to reinvest in the business that will be good for the economy, good for growth, and we're going to have the lowest pass-through rates we've had since the 1930s. >> mr. secretary, while we have you on, i'm going to ask you two quick questions. nick mulvaney will be the director of the consumer protection bureau. he once said that the cfpb was a sick, sad joke how should americans think about that >> well, first of all, we look

forward to the president's announcement as to who will be the interim head, and then we'll be working with him and with the senate on confirming someone i think from our standpoint, we've said there are reforms that should go on at the cfpb, and i have confidence in whoever the president picks for that will do a good job >> and the last time i saw you in person, we were both in riyadh since then, there has been a lot of news out of saudi arabia, including these arrests and now news potentially that some of those that were arrested their incomes are going to be -- and wealth is going to be confiscated. lots of american investors were in riyadh with us thinking about investing in that region >> what is your take on the last two kweeks, and did you have any sense of it? did they tell you what was going to happen when you were there? >> well, it was a great event,

and it was great to see there. you know, the focus for us was the terrorists financing targeting center there are an enormous number of investors there, and i think that the crowned prince is doing a great job in transforming the country. i mean, the statistic he mentioned is really incredible 70% of the country will be 30 years or younger as it relates to the corruption charges, we did not discuss that while we were there, and we were obviously monitoring the situation. >> and then, finally, your boss, our president, president trump, has made a couple of comments on twitter about al franken, senator al franken want to get your take. >> i'm going to leave that to the president. he is doing a good job on twitter. >> okay. secretary mnuchin, we appreciate your time this morning thank you. >> thank you >> you bet >> when we come back, downton abby, an award winning british drama series is hitting new york city it's paying homage to the show, the fashion, and the era we have two very special guests with us afterwards who are going

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>> hello a little trouble even -- this is big. even getting these words out almost a year after its final episode downton abbey is captivating fans this time with an exhibit opening this weekend right here in midtown, manhattan. joining us now is garrett. i ignore you completely, garrett. that's really bad because tom -- not tom. in the series she died and you blew up. >> i started to ease >> don't tell everybody what happened there are some people who have not -- if you haven't watched it now -- >> anyway, garrett neem is managing director of carnival films and executive producer of the internationally acclaimed downton abbey, and one of the casts, one of the main guys, alan leech, the actor who played

tom branson who went from a chauffeur -- >> to estate manager >> because you married sign ill. >> the american dream. >> julia, i'm looking farther to all that, but is there no hope that you guys do more of this somehow? more downton abbey no hope? >> the tv show is finished >> it's finished where. >> you said the tv show. that implies that there could be something -- >> well who knows? spin-offs and -- >> they made a movie about sex and the city if they did it about that disaster can't you do something about downton abbey. >> watch the space we hope.

>>. >> we've got a fantastic exhibition the idea is it will go on a national tour going to multiple cities, but it's right -- it starts here in midtown manhattan, as you say, and, you know, we've been -- the show has been in every country in the planet, but there's a real sense that the nation that most embraced the show is the u.s it feels right for the exhibition to open here and open here in new york what a great time of year for it to open in this part of town in the holiday season >> michelle has done big things. >> she's here today for the opening. >> she is? what happened to her first husband, the guy who died in a car crash. >> he has done all right >> he is why did he leave what -- he was too -- oh, he was a -- >> i don't know why -- >> the show called legion.

>> it's worked very well for him. junior and i felt it was a bit of a shock when he wanted to leave the show >> the end of the next season. >> yeah. >> drama >> it is >> what's up with you? >> i'm currently filming the movie about freddy mercury and queen. >> who do you play >> i play a guy that's every that was the personal manager to freddy a men eflent force within the band >> that sounds good too. if it works here, you're going all over the country, or it's already playing? >> the idea if it works well that it would go to multiple cities, but right now for the coming weeks it's here in new york, and it's a great exhibit

it's got over 50 costumes, original costumes from the show. it's got -- you with walk around the set. you must go and see it if you're such a fan you can walk around the servant's quarters >> it's my family. my wife literally will sit down and try to watch something and, you know, we've tried everything wrash people got very invested in the whole story right? how many of maggie smith hats? >> well, there are a number of her hats >> 26 hats >> 26 hats >> two of which are mine >> two are yours yours were kind of working class? >> yeah. >> i can't believe how much weight you've lost >> why do you think the united states embraces more than even britain did? >> you know, i think you start with this recognizable very english quintessential kind of environment. the english country house it's

connected with the interest in the british royals and that whole story, and then once you come into that world, you meet this family and you get -- there are archetypes of characters there's a character for everyone there. it's the mixture of romance and drama and comedy >> i have been waiting for julian will you work with him on the next tv stuff that he does >> yeah. >> and what -- when is it going to be, and there was something about the -- the aristocracy in the united states, i think, in the roaring 1920s that was coming out, wasn't there >> yeah. >> is it still coming? >> it's in it the pipeline >> i don't think he does television anymore >> you are one of the stars they can't get for the movie?

>> no, no. >> that wasn't you >> wasn't me no i think the will is there, definitely, amongst the cast to gets back together >> to have the success that came are out of nothing nobody expected that i don't think garrett or julian expected that. we got to enjoy that success together it is like getting back together as a family. >> have you got carson on board? >> i think there's a general hope from all of the cast that we're all going to get back together that's the idea. >> and maggie smith? >> i hope so i can't -- this is not me announcing the movie i can't confirm it's happening we hope it will. >> do i have to put on all that weight again >> what would happen >> he must be able to -- >> why did they want you to gain weight >> they didn't i just did >> like us >> in a series stakes i came

back from boston, and i looked like i had eaten boston. >> because you were eating downstairs, and then you were eating upstairs. >> a more factor i should have said that. >> we sit down, and it's -- >> ozarks is a good show >> i'm looking forward to that some are not so good we miss downton abbey. good luck with this venture. i look forward to -- >> we look forward to welcoming your family there. >> it's got the original -- >> i got a bunch of pictures with tom i'm a fan boy. >> that's a bad thing to be. what's the name of the next project? does it have a name? >> the one you're referring to is called the gilded age

>> when is it coming >> it's in if the pipeline it's in development. >> still it's -- >> too big a star. >> i don't think it would work with branson coming back to america. >> you don't know how many times we've seen -- i've seen robert deniro in so many different things he can do anything >> it was a pleasure >> thanks. >> okay. coming up when we return, the ceo of ups on the tax reform and upcoming holiday shopping rush as we head to a break, takes a look at european markets at this hour you are looking at green arrows across the board "squawk box" returns in just a moment growth stocks, global bonds and high-dividend strategies. sure, these are investments. but they're not what people really invest in. what people really invest in, is what they hope to get out of life. but helping them get there takes a pure focus. because when you invest their money without distraction, hidden agenda

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quarter profit however, the home furnishings retailer is narrowing its earnings outlook for the year. the company is also buying augmented reality start-up outward for about $112 million in cash. pringles looking to become part of your upcome holiday. the brand rolling out eight new chip flavors based on traditional thanksgiving day foods. i don't know what i think about this the flavors include turkey, mashed potatoes. this one is strange to me. stuffing and then cranberry sauce. you can get a cranberry sauce chip creamed corn i get that one green bean and casserole then mac and cheese. you can't go wrong with that pumpkin. >> that sounds awful pumpkin pie? >> pumpkin pie now we should note that pringles is only doing a pilot taste test, and the dinner sets have limited availability if you are a pringles fan -- >> i'm a pringles fan, but i'm not a pringles thanksgiving fan.

a little different >> when we come back this morning, ups ceo david abney on tax reform the state of the economy and how the company is feeling about the upcoming holiday shipping rush that interview is right after the break. in the meantime, take a look at the futures things have turned around for the s&p this morning it's now in positive territory just barely. nasdaq is up by about 6.5 points above fair value the dow futures still down at this point only by 14 points. stick around we'll be right back. ♪ some moments can change everything. you can't always predict them, but you can game plan for them. for 150 years, generations of families have chosen pacific life for retirement and life insurance solutions to help them reach their goals. being ready for wherever life leads. that's the power of pacific.

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fidelity. open an account today. >> the fox hunt. new suitors approach twebt-first century fox. comcast and verizon expressing interest in some of the media assets cnbc exclusive reporting is coming up. it's electric. tesla's first ever big rig unveiled >> you're guaranteeing that the truck will not break down for a million miles. >> glad we cleared that up

>> actor and comedian paul reiser out with a series that takes you back to the 1970s. he joins us on the set as the final hour of "squawk box" begins right now ♪ hello friday >> live from the most powerful city in the world, new york. this is "squawk box." >> good morning. welcome back to "squawk box. here on cnbc live from the nasdaq market site in times square let's get a check on the markets this hour. the futures right now, the dow at this point i think is still down a little bit. the s&p is now turned positive, though like many mornings, the way when we come in and where it is doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be where it is at 8:00 or 9:30. >> today's top stories, wee we got a lot to tell you about, where the big one. several media companies now jumping into the bidding for twenty-first century fox

sources telling us that cnbc's parent company comcast has approached the company expressing interest in buying a substantial piece of the fox media empire all stock offers from comcast would focus on companies cable networks, movie studio, its partial stake in hulu and its international assets the international assets of being a huge driver of why comcast would want fox the talks are ongoing, but we should note the deal is not near in the last hour we spoke to an analyst about comcast striking a deal with twenty-first century fox. >> it's a great opportunity, and then the folding in some of the creative content with what they already have seems like a great way for them to also diversify and expand their business. i think the biggest focus and the challenge of getting this through is going to be how the justice department will define the market in particular, i think they're going to put a heavy look at the streaming services that they have >> separately, we can also confirm that verizon has taken a

look at fox as well. reports that sony approached fox too. cbs ceo less moonvez speaking out on the deal talks. here's what he told cnbc's julia borestein yesterday. >> i think we were all shocked by the initial announcement, which was on cnbc, about murdoch potentially selling some of his content assets that's sort of surprising to me. we all envision rupert as somebody who is always expanding. the reports from cnbc that day said, well, the talks stopped, and no surprise, you know, brian roberts stepped in there it says content assets are unbelievably valuable. >> we're talking about twenty-first century fox's deal. retailer footlocker reported earnings and revenue that beat expectations comp store sales fell by 3.7%.

that was better than the decline of 4.6% that analysts had expected the shares are up sharply up almost 22% >> a different version of the bill advancing from a senate panel last night late last night. steven mnuchin confirming the tax reform timeline. here's what he said in the last half hour. yesterday was obviously a huge day. that's a great move forward. we're going to have the senate as soon as they get back from thanksgiving vote on the bill, and our expectation would go to conference right away, and you have every reason to think we'll get into the president's desk before christmas for him to sign >> let's get the ceo perspective on tax reform. joining us now at ups chairman and ceo david abney.

there are still two plans. still, they're similar in many ways zbloor does the overall blueprint, do you want to comment on how that would help ups or hurt? >> well, glad to be here, joe. we are very excited that yesterday was a big step, and would like to see it being passed in the house. then, of course, we know that in the senate over the next week and then, of course, it has to go into conference there would be business and pieces in either one of the legislations that we would prefer, but overall, our emphasis is that we want that lower tax rate 20% rate on territorial system, and also the tax system that we can all depend on. we are optimistic about what we're seeing so far.

>> is it -- go ahead >> the senate decided to wrap in, and really the reason that was wrapped in was do make the 20% rate a permanent rate because they figure by doing that, they were able to get the pay fors of $300 billion from that it also makes it tougher to pass if it turns out that that's a sticking point, would you be willing to say, okay, let's move on and just get this even if it's a temporary cut figuring you can fix it down the line >> well, we would prefer permanent cut, of course, because you're making long-term investments, and so we're still hopeful that between the senate, the house, and administration that they will find a compromise that would take care of that if it had to be changes made or if we had to go with a ten-year view, then that is much better than what we have today.

we certainly would prefer them finding a way to make this a permanent change >> the republicans are saying we'll make it permanent. we know that that didn't happen last time or at least for certain taxpayers. some of it went away >> does it matter to you for ups? >> you know, it's really hard for us to choose when we don't know the exact language of what they would be proposing. the message we keep repeating is that a lower tax rate is going to make american businesses more competitive. it's going to create jobs. it's going to stimulate the

economy, and we're just optimistic and confident that they'll be able to find a way to make it work >> i think christmas is -- it gets earlier every year even though it's the 25th it seems like it's getting earlier every year where is ups positioned right now for that the whole world is in warp speed in terms of changing the way everybody shops and gets packages, et cetera. you ready? >> we absolutely are ready b to c has certainly increased this year we expect to deliver 750 million packages >> no way. >> between thanksgiving and -- >> that's impossible >> santa does that >> yeah. that's right santa helps us >> it's not impossible we're adding 95,000 seasonal workers. we're confident that we will have a good season this year >> david, i just want to go back to taxes for one second, which

is i was curious, and i was talking to a ceo based head quartered in new york city as it happens yesterday. we're talking about the impact that these tax plans might have on his employees, and he was making a fascinating argument. he said, look, it's going to be great for the company wr in many ways >> when you think about consumer spending, yes, you can see it broadly, but this ceo was saying, look, this is going to happen in new york it's going to happen in california it's going to happen in a lot of the states where actually much of the spending has been taking place. >> you know, when it comes to our employees, i do think that it would depend a lot on what states that you are talking about. we knew coming in that to get a lower tax rate and not only for

companies, but for individuals that there would be certain deductions, certain credits that we wou would be reduced some people would get the benefit more than others, but overall, everything that i have seen, the majority of our employees would be in better shape. we certainly know that it's going to help us to invest, it's going to help us to create additional jobs. we think there's a multiplier effect we think this is a positive move not only for companies, but also for employees. >> david, let's talk about your shares and also fedex's shares came under pressure on news that amazon's experimenting with a new delivery system.

>> there are areas where it would make sense for them to play a role in their supply chain, and they do, and there could be other areas that -- as long as it's mutually beneficial, i have confidence that we will continue to have a go ahead relationship. >> what areas would it not be as beneficial to serve them as a customer >> well, there's just certain packages that may not be as profitable for us to handle. there may be places that we add more value to amazon and get paid for that value. we're built sitting up late at night worrying about amazon. we believe that we do have this beneficial relationship between the two companies, and we think that we can continue >> all right thank you. we appreciate hearing your comments on business and on the plan, and we'll see you soon have a great holiday season.

may hay when the sun shines at ups. i don't know how you can get busier i see your guys every day. a couple of times. it seems like. they're nice they're nice that's helpful >> yeah. >> a lot still ahead on "squawk box" up next elan musk goes trucking. the tesla ceo unveiling a company's first big rig. plus, another big surprise all the details coming up. plus, actor and comedian paul reiser once shared the stalk with johnny carson on the tonight show and with significant owner sigourney weaver and he was an underhanded guy and brought on a lot of heartache for a lot of people. >> aliens. >> in aliens now he is bringing late night drama to the small screen. he will join us on set at pgim, we see alpa in the trends, driving specific sectors of out performance. where a rising middle class

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abercrombie will close up to 60 stores in the u.s. by year-end that includes 14 stores that have already closed this year. again, in a sea of what had been a tough environment in retail, we have now a couple of examples in retail. >> any retailer that has good news gets rewarded just as equally as those with bad news get punished very volatile stocks as we head into the very important holiday shopping sustain for all >> elan musk taking to the stage right now unveiling tesla's first ever electric truck, and one more thing phil lebeau joins us with the details. phil, they're getting to be like apple with one more thing. right? >> yeah. and it was a full menu last night for tesla fans let's start with the new tesla electric semi. elan musk walking out of the electric semi. tesla is making --

>> it sounds like we are taking some hits from phil's -- from phil's conversation with his just a little bit of technical issues that we've been having. we'll try and get things straightened out and come back to him to talk a little bit more about that surprise that elan musk had for everyone who was watching last night. when we come back, though, guess what paul reiser is here. the actor and comedian's new show takes us back to a much funnier time he is going to join us on the set with the details right after isth break stick around "squawk box" will be back.

zblierjs let's try this one more time back to phil lebeau. he has details from last night's tesla event. phil, take it away >> becky, this was a full dinner for tesla fans last night. let's start first off with the meat and potatoes. the new tesla electric semi. it's coming in 2019. the message from tesla last night, lower cost. 20% lower costs than a comparable diesel model with a range of 500 miles the steering wheel, this is pretty interesting, in the cab, the steering wheel is not on the left or the right. it's in the middle of the cab. elan musk says they're guaranteeing that this truck will hold up for truckers. >> we are guaranteeing that the truck will not break down for a million miles.

>> we are guaranteeing it won't break down because it has four independent motors you can lose two of those four motors, and the truck will still keep going >> all right let's show you the dessert from last night this was the surprise. the new tesla roadster zero to 60 in 1.9 seconds with a top speed of 250 miles per hour. it's expected to go on sale in 2020 an initial price expectation of about a quarter million dollars. though that could come down closer to the 200,000 range. as you take a look at shares of tesla, keep two things in mind first of all, they're popping this morning because the trucking giant j.b. hunt has said it will be putting in reservations for at least some electric semis from tesla. also, as the day goes on, the focus will be on what does this mean for model 3 production? that's what's driving this stock right now.

although, again, it's getting a pop this morning >> phil, thank you very much phil lebeau. a coming of age story set about the tonight show in the 1970s just debuted on hulu the creator and producer of "there's johnny" joins us right now on our own set actor and comedian paul reiser thank you for being here >> what a thrill it is to be here on broadway i'm finally on broadway. >> finally made it >> the let's are behind you. >> isn't it kind of off. are we on broadway or often -- >> you are on broadway wrrn. >> i have people walking up and waving in the bedroom, and it keeps me on my toes. >> i bet you feel like you're right at home. >> i do indeed >> you have spent a lot of years behind the camera. afternoon being in front for so long

i have to tell i binged "stra e "stranger things 2." i know there's an interesting story behind that. yes, there is. >> well, "stranger things" came out last year and became this huge hit i heard about it very early because my very hip son who is 16 at the time he said, dad, have you heard of this new show? when did it come out yesterday. he had watched eight hours and literally that day i got a call that the creators, the duffer brothers, wanted to meet me for the second season. they had this role they said we kind of -- we were thinking about you for this role, and we call the character dr. paul reiser. i said, well, then i should probably do it somebody else does it, they'll be confused. >> would you have done it if your son didn't say he just watched it and loved it? >> i i'm sure -- i would have watched it i said this is great

>> he tells me what's happening. he was actually -- as much as he loved "stranger things" he said, dad, they want you like -- even as cool as it was now he will be impressed i'm less impressed with "stranger things" that they would want you >> they would have you as a member >> do they not know that you bring them down and make them less cool? no, they don't >> are you going to be in "stranger things 3?" >> i literally don't know. i could, i suppose, if they, you know -- maybe i come back as just a horrible person >> you were great. i actually thought you were going to be a bad guy in this one. i was shocked that you weren't >> you see you keep them guessing next year i could come back. >> now that you are in front and lind the camera, do you then want -- do you think on a stranger things you would want to get -- >> no, i have no real desire to be behind the scenes, but there's johnny, which is -- i'm not in at all, but i wrote it and created it and so you get to be involved. you write they

said correctly i went this is great it's great to do that, and then go act in something like stranger things, and it's all fun.

>> the package people? now they make televisions. >> we just had the ceo on. >> i just -- i think it's a big plus, frankly, because all of these shows i think each of these shows certainly there's johnny would not have been on where. >> were you a huge fan, paul, of carson >> oh, sure. >> what a talent i have never seen an awkward moment >> well, he was great. i was on -- >> he would diffuse it >> fwhefr knew, you know -- >> not with him, right >> you just knew him, but he was so consistent and so good and for 30 years he was in -- right? >> i will do that for you.

>> it just woke me up. he was in our living rooms, and we watched him in a way that we don't watch tv anymore we stay up >> are you worried there's too much content >> am i worried there's too much content? to this interview? no this is mostly fluff >> you know what i mean. right now there's so much out there. great for createors. great for the acting >> it's good for everybody >> is it -- how -- it's a breakthrough >> it is hard to break through in anything. everybody wants your attention look at all the billboards it's not -- there's no rush anymore. i'm catching up with shows that have been on for a year or two i just haven't gotten to them. it's only trouble if you go i to be current by tomorrow morning and see everything that everybody is talking about you don't. something like "there's johnny" i don't think it's going to make this big splash. it's word of mouth, and everybody is really loving it. >> kie after they watch this. then the -- >> before you hit tomorrow morning you need to watch. you can't binge. >> it's there.

things are there permanently so you can get to it at your own pace zoo we have to go, but will and grace is back on nbc is there a mad about you come back >> i haven't heard i will tell you the minute i -- >> you used to say no. >> i used to say no. now i say, ah, maybe maybe i'll gjust get on will and grace. >> we'll take that as a maybe. >> maybe who knows? nice to see you, and i hope you enjoy "there's johnny. >> squawk returns in just a moment we have some ge news when we return you always pay your insurance on time. tap one little bumper, and up go your rates. what good is having insurance if

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welcome back breaking news. our october read and housing starts and permits on the start side up close to 14%. 1.29 million seasonally adjusted annualized units this follows a very slightly upwardly revised 1.135 million seasonally adjusted units. if we look at permits, what lies down the road? also a very good number. up close to 6% shy of 1.3 million annualized units. this sequentially follows a slight upward revision to last month as well.

dollar index still down about 1/6 of a crept we're three basis points down on the week for 237 they settled at 240. there are several basis points down on boons as well. the dollar index, like interest rates, just doesn't seem to have the up side horsepower it did just several weeks ago joe, back to you >> okay, rick. thank you. some breaking news take a look at the shares of ge, an s.e.c. feeling just revealing that ceo john flannery purchased 60,000 shares of the company's common stock on november 15th at $18.20 a share >> the stock is up a little bit since then two days ago purchase

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welcome back spoke to treasury secretary steve mnuchin in the last hour here's what he said about tax reform >> the focus of the plan really is middle income tax cuts and delivering those right away and making our business tax system

competitive. i think you know as a result of the reconciliation process and scoring and the bird rule, there are certain parts of this that expire, but we have every expectation that down the road that congress will extend them >> of course, house republicans passed their tax plan and are moving one step closer to a tax overhaul by year's end want to bring you george mitchell, former senate majority leader he also served as middle east peace envoy in the obama administration he is now chairman at dla piper law. good morning >> good morning. >> okay. so let's talk taxes first and then we can talk some of the international stuff. >> okay. >> you think this is going to pass this year >> i think it's likely >> you think it's likely not certain. it still remains to be seen what happens in the senate and whether in conference they'll have to be trade-offs made that don't lose support on either side i think the odds are likely that it will pass >> and your take on the plan itself >> i like the corporate tax reform >> right >> the reduction of the rate i

would prefer to 25%. i think going to a territorial system creating incentives for people not to transfer assets and people in profits abroad, all of that i think is a step forward. >> why do you like 25% >> why not 15% >> why not 0 >> exactly why not 0? >> because of the loss of revenue. snoo the budget resolution awant -- adopted by the republicans has a deficit of $1.5 trillion >> you are okay with that? >> no, i don't when obama proposed anything the response by the republicans is you can't do it because it will increase the deficit now that's gone by the boards. it's a temporary amnesia it will come back after this has passed

i think that added on to the trillions in the -- >> i know where, we're talking about 1.5. there was 10 for eight years you don't want to forget that. >> no, i don't want to forget that nor should you >> we all have amnesia >> keep in mind that $1 .5 trillion is a hunl amount. the entire u.s. economy is $19 trillion the estate tax 99.9% of estates each year in america are not subject to the estate tax. 99.9%. this bill is taking care of the .1 of 1% >> not the senate bill the senate bill only doubles the -- >> that's right.

>> one of the difficulties in the discussion, of course, you have too many bills. >> exactly exactly. >> two other questions i wanted to get to. want to talk about president trump's trip to asia, but before we do that, one of the questions we talked to steve mnuchin about is what's going on in saudi arabia you spent a lot of time in the middle east. there are lots of questions now. american investors were just there covering it about whether they were going to invest in -- would you invest in saudi arabia today? >> well -- >> and does anything that's taken place with these arrests change that dynamic to the better or worse? >> i don't have enough to invest anywhere, and if i had anything to invest, i would do it in the united states. >> if you had -- >> if it came to you and said would you -- i'm thinking about doing this, should i you would tell them what

people want to invest in the united states. many saudis would like to invest in the united states my understanding is we are now beginning a process of informal resolution that is to settle these so-called corruption claims people giving up a portion of what they own. >> the settlement is to take -- to potentially confiscate 70% of the wealth in certain -- >> some portions like all plea bargain. i used to be a u.s. attorney, so what i plea bargain with you may not be the same as what i plea bargain with becky joe would get a tough deal >> the larger question -- the larger question is whether the moves that they're making are going to make the region more or less stable. >> in the short-term clearly it has raised concerns among foreign investors. there's no doubt about that. people are now worried

it smacks of lacking the rule of law, and stability and consistency. that's what makes the united states so attractive to people the respect for private property, the recognition of the validity of contracts, and the rule of law with an independent judiciary. this action undermines that concept. now, it depends on what happens from here on out it may in the long-term produce an increase in this investment, but in the short-term, i think it's raised concerns >> and briefly, your take on the trump trip to asia specifically to china. he made some very positive comments when he was there, and then he left and made some less positive comments let's call them >> well, i think, first, on the plus side, i think he has come around to the proper view on north korea. now, we ought to get them in negotiations 180 degrees from when he ridiculed secretary tillerson for trying to negotiate with them, and now the president says

we should negotiate with them, and i think that makes sense under the very difficult circumstances that exists. with respect to china, being they treated him royally, as they should have, because when president trump withdrew from the transpacific partnership, he handed china a gift beyond anything they could have expected 11 pacific facing nations wanted a trade agreement excludeing china so they could solidify their economic relationship with the united states. we spurned them, and they are engaged in negotiations with china on a regional accord that will increase china's dominance, so there's no -- there's absolutely no surprise that they should have given him a lavish welcoming. >> okay. thank you, it's great to see you, sir that was helpful trying to understand all of this >> there's a media frenzy over the assets of twenty-first century fox. david faber joins us now

what have you found out? you are always on that phone is that growing out of your ear? >> i know. i know especially annoying at night to be on the phone, which has been the case more often than not lately, joe. listen, you know, what is going on here is. >> the rooej aj sports networks also continued in talks that it's having as well. and a and & e and fx it is talking to our parent company and is in conversations with disney that are described to me as being low intensity, but continue, and they are all both for all stock deals in other words, these assets

were they to be sold would be the recipient would be fox and a significant stake in either comcast and/or disney. so you get back to value obviously the value of the stock in kbe, which is more and then sort of their view of the currency itself. which one has a better future in their opinion because they would be potentially long-term holders of this asset and the belief that the scale that would be gained by putting these assets together with comcast and/or disney would be sufficient to compete in the marketplace and, therefore, would benefit overall? fox shareholders as well we'll see if any of it happens, guys i would say they're going to make a decision in the next three to four weeks in terms of whether they can get something done on either one of these fronts the stuff with verizon that was reported, a phone call that sony made to them i wouldn't pay too much attention to that at this point.

>> i'm want sure how you get the answer to it that's the key here. it hasn't stopped comcast from being willing to engage, and it seemingly has not stopped fox from being able -- also being willing to engage on the prospect of it regulatory has to be a key here.

at least from what i'm hearing from the murdochs in taking that stock without a lot of voting power. >> all right faber, we will see you at the top of the hour on squawk on the street did you watch mike alan yesterday that immelt yesterday? what did you think of that >> with immelt >> yeah. what did you think. >> i didn't watch it >> oh, you didn't. >> what did you think? >> i don't know. the plane thing was weird. i don't know it was weird >> i heard about it. i got -- somebody told me about it that he didn't know at all that -- >> i mean, i heard it went on for a while. it wasn't, like, one year, two years, three years, four years i don't know if that's a right approach i said you could have had 100 planes following you if the stock was now at 150, and no one would care, but, you know, it's a side show. i would want to talk about the plane. i wouldn't want to talk about the other stuff. you know >> yeah. , it is a side show.

the other stuff is the more important stuff. >> right >> i don't know, man >> i don't know. >> it's tough. it's going to be a tough road. >> tough -- a tough road or a tough road to hoe. it's not a tough road to hoe it's a tough row to hoe. you know that, right >> a tough road to travel. >> a tough road to travel. a tough row to hoe >> let's do a tough row to trav travel i like mixing metaphors. fabar looks that too >> it's a difficult path ahead when we come back, we're going to get right back down to the new york stock exchange and check in with jim cramer we'll get his take on today's biggest movers in the meantime, take a look at the futures this morning right now dow futures up they're back down by 44 points again. s&p futures have turned negative too. they're down by 1.5. the nasdaq still up, but barely. squawk will be right back. where can investors seek predictable income in an uncertain world? pgim sees alpha in real assets. like agriculture to feed the world. and energy to fuel its growth. real estate such as e-commerce warehouses.

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>> ran the company for 16 years. you know, that's kind of 65 financial quarters i worked at 100 hours a week we had a pretty good knowledge of the company oil and gas sector is tough. power sector is tough. again, this is a really great company. i'm very confident in the future for ge >> that was former ge ceo jeff immelt speaking at an axios event. we have breaking news on ge this

morning in the terms of an s.e.c. filing. it revealed that the current ceo, john flannery from ge purchased 60,000 shares of the company's common stock on november 15th at $18.27 a share. let's get down to the new york stock exchange jim cramer isexchange. jim cramer is standing by. your conversation with flannery was a very deep conversation got into a lot of these issues what do you think about the news today or what you heard from immelt yesterday >> well, 16,000 shares, not that much of a commitment not a lot of money when you're a ceo of a major american company, you more but it is better than nothing. it is not a paint to tape, it is an actual. jeff yesterday, i don't want to look back anymore. there is an answer to everything that happened. it is, like, let's forget it and -- i'm agreeing with john flannery at this point let's look forward nobody is going to look back this is just going to be one of those where it is just going to happen, no one will look back.

there is no journalism jail. i can't be crazy and say this has to happen and they throw me into jail for saying it. there is nothing you can do. they're not going to ever tell you what happened. you're never going to know what happened between 30 and 18, you will never know what happened >> you made a valiant effort at pressing this when you were talking with flannery the other day. >> i don't have subpoena power i don't have -- i'm not a u.s. attorney you're not going to find out they don't want to tell you. or maybe they don't know maybe the board doesn't know it will be a black box mystery we got to move on. jeff immelt, maybe there seven planes, i work 120 hours, but you never go find out, let's move forward, accept it, see what he has to say. >> if we move forward what do you think about the stock now? >> they can interview jeff, uber, nonuber, doesn't matter. it is a free pass. somebody get a free pass, it is terrific i hope one day to get a free pass it is a free pass. it is okay >> this is like where we say we

won't talk about it, but we're making our point on it. >> you got subpoena power. i don't got no subpoena power. let's give it up and say john keep buying the stock, i hope the best jeff, he can interview all he wants, god love him, god love him. >> what do you think about the stock here, especially after the conversation with flannery the other day. >> i would like to see the earnings i don't think the stock -- two quarters before we see what happens. he should get rid of the board he said he's not he said mr. brannon states the same that's good. everything is the same i like john. i think he can pull it off but, doesn't matter. >> can i get your take on u.p.s. while you're here too? we had the ceo on earlier and there have been questions about what happens if amazon comes up with its own delivery system said in some ways they're still valuable customers, in other ways it doesn't make much sense. what do you think about u.p.s. and fedex? >> there is so much e-commerce business, he'll be fine.

amazon -- a lot of the retailers are bouncing today because amazon can't destroy everybody there was a note about the seven companies that amazon is going to buy in retail i think u.p.s. is a good buy i thought it was crazy that fedex traded down. i would buy in fedex with both hands right here. >> if -- just getting to this tax deal, if it cuts taxes for corporates, do you think you can say that's the same thing as cutting taxes for -- or benefiting the rich, cutting taxes for the rich you can make -- you can connect -- >> we have a double tax system in our country which makes no -- >> that's not it >> shouldn't tax at the corporate level. >> 396 stays at 396. a lot of people like you, a lot of people in new york and new jersey, taxes will go up i consider you comfortable so it is not a tax cut for you >> it is tax increase. >> huh-uh? >> it is a tax increase. >> it is a tax increase of 2% to 3%. >> a tax cut for the wealthy talking about the pass throughs that everybody will go to a pass

through? is that an accurate statement that it is a tax cut for the wealthy? >> it is not a tax cut depends on certain states. i did my taxes orbit day i go up -- i go up to 54%. i go to 54%. i work until september for the government that's the way it is going to be. >> not even arguing whether, you know, not even saying that that's a bad thing for republicans to do. all we're really doing is just trying to just say that's the actual fact of what is happening. we're trying to push off the -- it is a tax cut for the rich we're not even saying it is bad that it is going up for a large group of people. we're just even trying to prove that point it is crazy the way the narrative -- >> we got chuck robins the estate tax is difficult because rich people -- >> they already have ways of not paying it. >> why are we -- >> it is the principle >> it is the principle but has nothing to do -- let's be honest --

>> they don't pay estate taxes anyway the rich. >> to the extent they don't, right. >> no, they don't. >> to the extent they don't, the question is why are we doing this >> i guess for the handful of farmers that want to be able to keep -- >> that's not -- okay. >> that doesn't allow you to say that it is -- >> can i just say something, don't forget the car companies and carried interest don't forget those dealers stay focused. >> we need a good -- >> stay focused. jeff immelt, fabulous. >> had no idea >> it is, like, i feel like i'm being -- what is that thing back there? >> you'll never find out, so move on. >> it just -- it just keeps bringing it back up, you say i had no idea. people go, seriously you can't -- >> it is okay, you know, that nice person from the congress didn't have any idea about the -- people have no ideas. i don't know if the cowboys will beat theeagles i have no idea. >> coming up, don't miss the ceo

of stitch fix at 11:00 a.m. eastern time the company will start trading on the nasdaq today. we're headed to the chairs "squawk" will be right back. sometimes they just drop in. cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities. we enable you to reach global markets and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances. your kids go to college and you start trading. >>yeah, 5 years already. 5 years, hmm. you ever call your broker for help? >>once, when volatility spiked... and? >>by the time they got me an answer, it was too late. td ameritrade's elite service team can handle your toughest questions right away- with volatility, it's all about your risk distribution. good to know. >>thanks, mike. we got your back kate.

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amazon has quietly launched an app designed to help truck delivery drivers to get in and out of warehouses faster it rolled out last month drivers can enter cargo information into the app there are special fast lanes at some facilities. this move is seen as an entry point for amazon to get into the trucking and logistics businesses, a challenge to trucking efforts that come from uber startups like convoy who we spoke with the ceo not too long ago. >> and maybe tesla. >> if i say download an application, do i sound like a complete old -- >> you sound like a 1970s programmer. >> you can develop an app. >> what about downloading -- can you say -- i get a lot of grief from at home because i said application a few times. they're, like, what? it is not even called that app is short for application, is it not >> that is correct >> i rest my case. >> thank you, joe. >> okay. i'll do app. i'll do app.

and then say sap and, you know, rhymes with app, doesn't it? >> it does. >> a big week. >> a big week. >> new set. >> new digs. >> new dye job, my hair, yeah. >> looks good. >> i have to dye my hair so it doesn't look dyed. >> is that what happened there >> that's what i have to do. make sure you join -- maybe they'll fix it -- join us monday "squawk on the street" is next ♪ ♪ good friday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." futures a little less decisive than they have been on this choppy week. we're watching retail earnings, the tax bill now on the senate side a lot of m&a chatter in media. europe is mixed. housing starts at the best pace in a year. benchmark jeeyield around 236 the unveil of the