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tv   Squawk on the Street  CNBC  March 6, 2018 9:00am-11:00am EST

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by 30 points 10-yr is sitting at 2.844% >> nothing at all. >> not even a half percent >> it is like a 500 points swing yesterday. all right, thanks mike >> make sure you join us tomorrow safe flight back to chicago. "squawk on the street" is next good tuesday morning, welcome to "squawk on the street," i am carl quintanilla and david faber and jim cramer with the new york stock exchange >> now, this news that north korea told the south it is interested with direct talks in the u.s. in potentially denuclearization we begin with the market moving
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on with good news out of north korea of what it could mean for the future of negotiations >> an extraordinary letter from qualcomm to broadcom i got the details and potential impact far beyond itself >> global reaction, trump's tariffs had companies on edge worried of a potential trade war. as the u.s. women hockey team makes their way to the floor today going to ring the opening bell >>i was at 30 rock yesterday, think they were on "fallon" yesterday. there they were. >> they're targeting you >> i am happy in their company again. >> there you go. >> we'll talk to them in about ten minutes. >> stocks are on track opening higher and building on monday's rally. kim jong-un says he's willing to begin negotiations with the u.s.
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there are these reports of a meeting supposedly assembled by gary cohn this thursday with executives from businesses that would get hurt by unilateral tariffs. >> tariffs are high, they are on the upper end. in the end the companies that are complaining, i wonder if they got the advantage of the corporate tax cuts or if they are just only disadvantage because the corporate tax cuts are bigger than whatever they'll get hurt by this there are 350,000 people that makes steel in this country. we can certainly wipe those jobs out if we want to but those are good jobs. >> some of the benefits of the tax cuts will be stifled by this move >> oh. yeah >> you don't care or don't feel bad? >> i don't care.
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>> right >> these are real jobs and great jobs >> i listened to the interview i did. >> no, if was at the gym. >> look, i think this is a real -- gary, i have known gary for years, i think there is another side i think it is great to air the other side i come out and favor the tariffs. the chinese targeted this industry and putting a lot of people to work we keep on talking the aluminum tari tariff we don't make much aluminum. why? because the chinese destroys the aluminum market. >> i can tell you we used to make a lot of aluminum in this country. we made in 2000s we were large
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producer of the world. china produces 55% 55%, we used to be the largest maker of aluminum in this country. all those people -- >> and when we hear numbers like the steel using industry, employees 6.5 million and the steel industry employs 350,000 >> let's double that >> do you think that when you are in the plant that i visited in louisiana, do you think that's all these people employ these are mill towns you can wipeout a mill town. look -- we used to be the largest maker of clothes i am just saying these people are not easy to retrain. >> we used to be this or that but if we are no longer apart of
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the global system and everybody else have their own national champions that they protect. >> what are we protecting national champions that are hockey >> they're taking theirs and living it up and we are taking it down. >> that's all i am saying. >> over supplied 750 million tons we are the only place where you can dump without any issues. >> is the rally the last couple of days on the hope that either he's bluffing or congress will block him or it will be refined? >> all those >> or we'll just be contained? >> yeah. all those are true i think that the people -- i don't think he's bluffing. when you lose all the constituents, you cannot go in alone. i heard people say listen, we make -- what are we worried about? the britts make steel for us for defense. the britts are going to keep on making steel you lose, there is the cost of
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europe capital is too high and the chinese people from public of china, they have no cost, why? because they work for the government >> for a lot of reasons, they lose money on the steel and electricity is free. there are a number of reasons. >> we sold out our workers to sell a lot of stuff to china >> we get it >> listen, i have heard you for a long time on this. you are persistent >> these towns, when you go to the louisiana facility, there is nothing there other new port. once you put new port there, there are big things >> we'll talk to the former ceo, let's take a listen to what he said about tariffs. >> please bear in mind that
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particularly, moso if we impose 25% tariff, all we are doing is trading them exactly as they trade us >> i think he's telling the tro truth. there is no reason he's not telling the truth. i think it is important. he basically explained it in english. >> the market itself yesterday you and i were talking about this and you told people don't get too depressed. we were soon into session so that was a good -- n trade and feel what they need to do to make progress. >> they're going to be cutting back on making steel and aluminum in part because there are some millions of people who die every year from respiratory illness, steel and aluminum and
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coal are the biggest creator of lung cancer and that's just a fact >> it is a fact. >> should we have withdrawn from the pacific trade? >> i am talking about -- you are going to play that card? why are you going shoot the moon we are playing hearts? >> we do play hearts in my house. >> my wife shot the moon weeks ago. i did not see it coming. >> that's how you do it. >> just like chinese targeting gift wraps where my father's company got wiped out. okay, we are having peanut butter and jelly but that's all right the economists have not been targeted you come home and your dad has nothing to sell and mom says don't worry about it, dad will be fine. >> he closes the door. he always find s a way. he does not want t >> do you really want to turn back the clock on some of this
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stuff? >> i sure do >> you really do >> i think the most favorite nation should be looked at >> most favorite nation? >> the chinese are not fair. look, they used to make it so that what they were doing and they would build all the bridges by hand. that was a good use of people then they decided to target an industry that use a lot of aluminum and they wipe our aluminum industry out. they wiped it out. >> do you have a problem with eu targeting bourbon and jeans and harley davis >> wow, is that all you can come up with. >> the selection of items is not a coincidence. >> then it could be tequila.
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>> again, tequila. you are arguing many with tequila. did we take it over? >> what's going to happen when tequila go up? >> when we start makiing corona in this country, i am talking about one particular industry after this i am talking about steel and i do feel that steel -- they don't play fair. >> by the way, guys, a quick tease that i will be covering this extraordinary letter from treasury referenced at the top this plays into the whole idea of national champions and i will explain why. there is a lot more of this letter of qualcomm/broadcom than itself i cannot believed it played in the nation of china. this is going to be apart of the conversation, too. >> am i emotional of this issue? >> yes i think sometimes when you are
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right, you get emotional >> when we come back, the u.s. women's ice hockey team is on the floor celebrating their win. taking a look at the market, happy ninth birthday to the bull market more "squawk on the street" from post 9 in a minute but to us, it's the pace of tomorrow. with ingenuity, technologies, and markets expertise we create the possible. and when you do that, you don't chase the pace of tomorrow. you set it. nasdaq. rewrite tomorrow. stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital,
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one of the great stories of the winter olympics is the women's hockey team winning historic gold against canada here, at the new york stock exchange, good morning guys. we are joined by megan duggan and the captain. >> gotten to this point and bringing gold to the u.s. is an honor and we are excited to share with everyone. >> today's show "ellen" and "snl" and around the country >> we are so excited to represent our country and it is
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an amazing tour for us >> ten players were in sochi where you were 54 seconds from victory and it got yanked away how much of a motivating force at this time >> it is a factor for us and it is awesome to come on top of this special group >> the last shoot out, i watched it 50 times. i think people are curious, what does it feel like when you know it is coming down to a situation that you essentially helped control >> just looking over at the bench and seeing everyone cheering one more and we have it and when i made the savings everyone jumping the board at me, it was in describable. >> at that moment when she's coming at you, was it just instinct or can you tell in advance what she may do? >> you have to play the moment and react to it. >> yeah. nhl, do you think they should come to tokyo of the concerns they have, are they deserved
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>> that's not for us to answer at this time the team that was over there was fantastic and i know our team really enjoyed spending time with them and i am hsure the nhl will work that out in the future we are just excited to represent the women's side of the game >> we are amazed for the women's team in the u.s. and bobsled and snowboarding and skiing and now hockey do you think there is something happening here >> i think there may be. the olympics of the women's on the u.s. side and the men did well also but there is a lot of power in women and we showed that and we are proud every single day to be women it was an exciting olympic for team usa women >> you are in a room where there are a lot of hockey fan. i see one right there. what's the key of being a great hockey player? >> have fun and work hard and enjoy your teammates >> was it something else mentally and communication and
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your quad strengths, i mean - >> combination of all that a secret for us this year was together all of us being abig part of the puzzle and continuing communicating and uniting and working towards a common goal. that's our secret here >> you got my vote for the most exciting moments of the olympics we are so happy for you and honored to have you on the floor. the u.s. women's hockey team reld mo "squawk on the street" after this >> thank you, guys it is really great >> thank you gglobal bonds, and high-dividend strategies. sure, these are investments. but they're not what people really invest in. what people really invest in,
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about nine minutes before we start on trading here. some hockey pucks flying there with the women's olympics. >> are you done? >> yes, remember that movie? >> yes >> i don't know, we have to defer to carl. >> all right let's talk about domino's. >> last night. patty doyle, retiring and telling great story. he told me that international did not resolve the problems with china here is the story here i feel that when i look at papa john's, those numbers are
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horrendous i know a lot of people are excited of yum pizzas. it is still shrinking pizza hut. this was an origopoly. we got papa john's really receding and we got pizza hut. they are paid up for the nfl they are closing stores. this is the one. they are also the leader in autonomous driving people don't realize it they are the leader in technology when it come to ordering >> well, they realized it because you talked about it a lot in terms of the app and the ability to order a pizza easily from your phone. >> millennials don't like to talk they don't talk to you >> true. >> i have had major texting conversations with one of my daughters at the dinner table >> really? she's right there. >> yeah. she's also instagraming. it was much easier they don't like to order
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by the way, if you order wrong -- she's out of there. you probably never ordered d domi domino's i had the domino's tomato pie and no cheese. it is low-cal and delicious. >> i am with you but i am not going to order domino's. i made this point before because we live in new york city >> you don't think domino's is good enough. i like to go to my local establishment. >> we got opening bell a few minutes away >> yeah. >> see todd knows. we are going to talk about nordstrom and qualcomm/broadcom. >> and david, cappa murphy
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the price of core is going hard and amazon, amazon is going to be hurt. >> opening bell just about 6.5 minutes away
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you are watching cnbc's "squawk on the street. live fr live, the opening bell the gold medal winners, all 23 of those making their way to the set to get their pictures taken with gjim. >> you were there, some stories are just good story. we don't have controversies about them and there is nobody saying how could he or she could have said that it is really a good story. >> the president is now tweeting about this news of north korea, possible progress being made, talks with north korea a serious effort is being made of all possible -- all parties
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concerned. the world is watching and waiting! may be false hope but the u.s. is ready to go hard in either direction. >> it could be about diplomacy >> don't you think he every played risk? >> maybe battleship. >> yeah. >> meanwhile, i sas far as the market goes, the rallies have been on lower volume >> yeah, this is a morning rally. the morning rallies have been great things to sell if you see the conviction 18.5, you are going to realize that you should have sold and not bought be careful with that and they tend to not be that gooed. that morning sell off and you get to the rally at 1042 those are good routes. >> we have not hit target yet.
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137, it is either a penny miss or in line >> that's fine i really believe that brian cornell has done some great things he gave a wide range the target is in pretty good shape and online business is great. that's really saying something i think the new stores, i don't know if you guys have been to the new stores, have you been down to the one in tribecca? it is a killer the one in brooklyn is amazing just really dramatic the targets are fun. they are exciting to go to again and that's brian he's from queens, by the way >> i did not know that >> who else?
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>> the guy, the treasury secretary. >> not far from streisand. >> they are not from your bureau >> paul simon. >> really? >> pretty good >> women's hockey team has gone to the podium. >> brian we'ill be on at 2:00. >> he'll be fantastic. >> when i saw him in minneapolis, he's so proud of this format and they are so exciting to go to. it is like the old days, david >> there is opening bell, the u.s. women's ice hockey team celebrating their victory win at pyeongchang olympics and fox sports, looking ahead
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this summer in russia. >> really? >> okay. >> estimate was 3.4. january is up 4. >> january is fantastic. it is not a consequential month. the fact that target is up from 55 not that long ago it is consolidating itself move and in a much better quarter relatively than what walmart had. i like walmart very much but that quarter is the beginning of a major sell-off >> nordstrom, yesterday after the bell especially of the board of directors of nordstrom put together of the potential bid from the family, the family said no to the 50 bucks of the share. >> that was the bid and they said not even close really those are my words, not theirs i think that's more or less similar to what they said which is unless you improve this dramatically, quickly, we are
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not interested in having another conversation >> yet the stock is down if they had a billion dollars and their bid is 56 bucks. they have to pay up and i think this is a $50 forward. if you sell to them 59 >> morons. >> wow >> what do you want me to call them, chowder heads? >> i like kochowder heads. >> i don't know what's going on today. retail is up dramatically since june this guy don't seem at least the opinions ofs the board taken that into account -- >> stock was at 40 when qualcomm bit for nxpi, the stores opened in april, the men's store opened in april at time warner, i am hearing great things you and i will go there. >> good, looking forward to that >> this is the beginning of what
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i think is an ascending period because we have baweaker dollar. >> don't jump over >> it is not a time warner, it is right at 58th street. >> they're building it, i walk by it a lot. >> it is incredible. >> it is going to drop the stock. the men's opening first and the rack is doing incredibly well. i think they're trying to steal the company. >> it is like a premium on a trade from a long ago. the most recent prices are down four >> exactly >> uneffective prices that they want to talk about for quite some time again. they had trouble raising it --san francisco. >> they're going to pay 56 and they're going to get it. >> 56 is going to be the number. >> that's some more of the 10% increase >> maybe you are right >> i think i am right. >> i don't know. >> i am just saying -- i should
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probably do that >> this is the last bad quarter, they spent a fortune and they know when they buy it, they're not done the big spend is over. >> the new york store took them forever. it was unbelievable. to build something in new york is very hard >> guys, i want to get to the important story of today i want to talk about qualcomm/broadcom. this really extraordinary letter that wasmade public today date march 5th from treasury to both, the counsels of broadcom and qualcomm it reflects what has to be heighten concerns of qualcomm's shareholders may have wanted the deal let me try to explain it at least why. in the letter itself, cfius did
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not need to do this, they did not give us anything and goes into some levels of details saying there are certain concerns there because there are classi classified none the le posing national security risks to the united states and discussing the fact that qualcomm in particular is well kno -known and trusted by the u.s. government then they go onto explain why perhaps the idea of a change in control at qualcomm is a concern to them. chinese companies including huawei, have increased their
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engagement in 5 g standard discrimination working groups as part given well known u.s. national concerns about other companies, a shift to chinese dominance in 5 g would have substantial consequences for the u.s the letter does not stop there it goes on beginning to read as though it was an investment report for treasury. br broadcom's statements indicate that is looking to take private-equity-style direction >> guys, this is extraordinary i have never seen anything quite like this. i have a number of experts weighed in so far with me.
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it is an investigation, it is not a review it is an investigation by cfius. remember they have to give them five days notice we saw that from the interim order but beyond that, it would seem in a sense to talk about cfius is being used as a tool for industrial policy and i would argue that it also seems to be setting qualcomm as a national champion of 5-g of something they deem of the national security interest of the u.s. that would have stayed there. they did not lower their r&d spending such that it would hurt that >> cfius is about not letting countries that could be against us >> it was. >> that's what cfius was >> this had nothing to do with that >> that's not true
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>> this is still a foreign company. there is a potential effect to any order from cfius and they can do whatever they want. >> then it is over >> it is over. hock tan is going to lose unless you can appeal that. >> they go onto quote, mr. tan, critici criticized qualcomm's licensing structure, saying he would reset the business model given the importance of 5-g technology and i would argue in a sensuousing cf-- sense using
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cfius. >> the rarity of cfius weighing in prior to the transaction. >> absolutely. >> there is nobody that could recollect the time of something that's not yet announced and cfius is weighing in this is the case here. today was supposed to be the meeting of qualcomm shareholders that remains some what unclear of my checks indicated that the index funds did not fully reveal their votes but certainly you can make a case that they were going to do very well, if not get all six. now, the prospect for broadcom taking over qualcomm, you would have to argue are sufficient lil ly lower >> qualcomm stock will be up
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dramatically i explained it to mr. tan several times. i wish he would come back right now because this is extraordinary. >> what's the appeal process >> there is not one on cfius >> that's it >> no is no. so it is not like the doj where you can take them to court >> no. >> done. >> it is like your parents because i said so. >> it raises a larger question, could anybody take over qualcomm >> i have a lot of companies that -- >> to be fair, it is still an investigation and it is extraordinary as we have said that cfius laid out any sense why they are doing it and doing it prior to the deal being done and wanting it out there in the public's realm is fascinating. >> they'we got to have hock tank on the show.
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hock, come on, i know you are watching the show. >> r&d is going to basically potentially go down because these acquisitions have been followed by reduction investment qualcomm is a long-term technological competitive. okay >> hock, you can come on "mad money" tonight, that's an extraordinary decision by the government entity that basically ends this. >> let's see what hock had to say. >> again, i don't want to over look how -- extraordinary it is. >> no appeal and we ought to side with qualcomm because they spent a lot of money it is unbelievable >> and the 5-g is extremely important and we don't want china to get on the lead >> the company is moving into
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america, it would be u.s. company made >> it seems cfius does not care. if there is a reduction of r&d, that would conceivably weaken a key to national zusecurity you can make an argument, by the way, is apple a hind-- >> i don't know, listen, this has got to be stopped. >> treasury clearly wants it known they take 5-g seriously. >> this is america >> yes, it is. >> meanwhile on one last point here, mcdonald's is bringing fresh beef to the quarter pounder in about 3500 domestic restaurants and plans to reach about 14,000 u.s. locations by
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may. this is what we were told last summer >> customers do appreciate it when we made the investments in things that they care about, we are in the process of rolling out fresh beef >> that's good, saying the $1 or $2 is not working that well and the big back trio. >> rbc did the same thing that week >> i went to mcdonald's a couple of weeks ago i don't know, the whole mcdonald's -- i like the way the approaching things i think it is better i like it more than anything else mcdonald's is a national treasure, that's it. >> cannot cut r&d at mcdonald's. >> cfius like the big one, two,
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three. what does cfius think of nordstr nordstrom? >> i think cfius did not get to lean in, 30% of the products, all from the last five years jim, to your earlier points of china and national champions, you seem to be indicating that the u.s. should have national champions. they seemed to be establishing one of qualcomm. >> okay. we lost our early and initial gains, dow is up 100 or so, it is opening strong and softening up let's get to bob pisani. >> yes, some of the big industrials moved yesterday are not doing that much. look at the sector here, it is a secular play
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consumer staples are down and utilities are on the downside. amazon and netflix and apple are doing well we talked yet on "fast money" of netflix and what it has been doing. it is an amazing story they have surpassed some very big names in the s & p.net fl s netflix is $138 million. it blew past mcdonald's and nike and the next one is 3 m and is abo is -- elsewhere, europe we have been paying attention to them. the two groups, the autos and the banks, they have a tough time some of the big autos are down 5% or 6% or 7%
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the banks which have been weaker have turned around in the last two days beginning mid-morning yesterday. let's just review where we are in terms of what's moving the markets right now. we got, seven or eight or nine points in the s&p 500 and futures. these are over about some of the talks. safety regimes were guaranteed, these were prom gated by south korea. we'll see about that >> that moved the market the gary cohn' wing and then we had comments from mr. kuroda from the bank of japan, he said we'll not cut stimulus before the 2% target reached. good luck on that. that helps the markets as well this is not all about tariffs. kuroda's comment reminds us that the whole chaos of the last
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month started on inflation concerns the 10-yr moved up dramatically beginning in early part of january and take a look here we hit a high of almost 3%, it was 3.95 on february 22nd, that's what caused a lot of the chaos. remember when the jobs report came out, we saw it moved up in interest rate. it is a big help to the market finally we got a lot of speakers today that may be moving the markets. secretary of commerce, wilbur ross is speaking at the national social county right now, we'll get an update on whether he'll say anything of the tariffs fight and mitch mcconnell is speaking right now at the american political affairs right now and along with benjamin netanyahu later and secretary mnuchin is giving budget test in the house appropriations
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subcommittee and pie i don't know -- paul ryan is giving a press conference any one of these people can potentially move the markets talking about tariffs right now. we started at 10 points at the s&p 500 and now a point and a half >> back to you >> busy day ahead. when we come back, we'll talk to bethelham steel. as we go to break, 10-yr yield, around 2.8, back in a minute each day our planet awakens with signs of opportunity. but with opportunity comes risk.
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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 or competing interests, something wonderful can happen. they might just get what they want out of life, and maybe even more. we're all under one roof now. congratulations. thank you. how many kids? my two. his three.
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along with two dogs and jake, our new parrot. that is quite the family. quite a lot of colleges to pay for though. a lot of colleges. you get any financial advice? yeah, but i'm pretty sure it's the same plan they sold me before. well your situation's totally changed now. right, right. how 'bout a plan that works for 5 kids, 2 dogs and jake over here? that would be great. that would be great. that okay with you, jake? get a portfolio that works for you now and as your needs change from td ameritrade investment management. on the list of things that jim's interested in this morning, semis among them. >> breakouts all over the place. micron, intel breaking out they also have flash that goes to data center you're seeing the breakout of
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western digital. these are incredibly cheap stocks hp was the one that signaled to look out these stocks are where to be i reiterate how cheap they are is insane. that's the place to go >> that's some fresh 18-year highs on mu. >> mu is on fire they're going to beat the number soundly. trash the number >> we didget an upgrade of u.p.s. >> i love that amazon needs all the capacity it can get from its service provider stop worrying about amazon the stock is down so much. i do not worry about the teamsters. they solved the problem. i think that u.p.s. is down too much i like it. xpo, by the way. >> i just want to point out netflix is at a new high $138 billion market. it's only $18 billion away from
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disney's market cap. >> bigger than ge on market cap? >> yes netflix is over $10 billion larger than ge >> now we've sold off. we had to shake off all those people who came in at the top. david, we're bigger than u.s. steel. >> that's not saying much. m ae'll get stop trading with jiin minute. dow is up 32
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you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes!
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xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party. let's get to jim and stop trading. >> what's working? i'm talking about wrk. west rock. they're the big winner in this international paper battle this is because there's consolidation going on in corrugated what corrugated is all about, whether it be ip, whether it be capital, whether it be westrock, is about amazon. because your packages come in corrugated that's the hottest market. if you get consolidation, westrock is the way to play it that's what i would do >> okay. >> cardboard >> cardboard it's like plastic in graduate. >> corrugated, son >> what's on "mad" tonight, jim?
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>> lam research -- >> that graduate thing got you >> yeah, i just like the graduate thing lam research is just incredibly on fire. take a look at it. they make the machines you need for micron and pega has been knocking they've been knocking. salesforce, let's find out what that's about >> jim, we'll see you tonight. >> is gary cohn going to stay? that's what we're thinking >> maybe find out this week. >> somebody has to ask mnuchin about this when he testifies today. somebody ask him about this letter >> we'll see you tonight >> i'm worried gary may not stay he's got to stay >> "mad money," 6:00 p.m. eastern time former ceo of bethlehem steel will join us we'll hear what he has to say about the president's plan on tariffs. market rebounding a bit, up 54 don't go away.
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♪ good tuesday morning welcome back to "squawk on the street." i'm carl quintanilla with michelle caruso cabrera. markets directly higher at least. started with a nice bounce premarket. settling back just a little bit. plenty of headlines today, including north korea, tariff, and the anniversary of the bull market our road map begins with wall street takes stock as north korea expresses a willingness to talk denuclearization. a look at where to put your money to work straight ahead >> and on the record, the ceo of saudi aramco sitting down exclusively with cnbc. plus, betting big on beef. what mcdonald's announced that's stirring up a burger battle. we've got the details. first up this morning, stocks are higher on news that north korea might be open to talks on its nuclear weapons for more, let's bring in chief global strategist at deutsch bank morning, guys. good to see you both.
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>> good morning. >> i wonder if the flurry of headlines and the uncertainty over policy in the near term is making it tough to trade right now. >> it definitely is making things tough to trade, but i would put basically the last few days in context. the s&p 500 was very, very, very long overdue for a pullback. that began in early february sort of a regular pullback morphed into a 10% pullback because of a blow up of structured product once you have a disturbance in vol, these pullbacks tend to last a little while. so the tariff news or potential trade war concerns come at a particularly vulnerable time but if you were to take seriously the possibility of an actual and full-blown, let's say, trade war that sees corporates become risk averse and even more into a recession, what i would keep in mind is a
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typical recession, a median pullback in the s&p 500 is a little over 20%. so we are still 5% below where we were. so you know, very literally as illustrated, i would say that's a 25% probability. i would argue that looks kind of high this morning, yeah. >> jeff, what do you think of all that and when you see what the market did yesterday, rallied so strongly after the big selloff last thursday because of fears of a trade war, what did yesterday suggest? did the market rally because of what paul ryan said and people worried a trade war is coming, or eamon javers tells us peter north ameri navarro is telling the president, see, the market rallied yesterday because they realized they were overworried about these things, that they're not worried actually about these tariffs that we want to do what do you think? what is the impact, if some kind of big policy change happens when it comes to steel and
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aluminum on the markets? >> well, with steel and aluminum, the impact is relatively small trump isn't the first president to put tariffs on steel. each of his predecessors in the white house did that it's a question of what it leads to we know we have this section 301 investigation of china's alleged intellectual property. that could turn into something more we have brexit negotiations. trade is front and center. clearly there's a risk of a shift towards protectionism. but we've got to remember, we're in the best environment for global trade it is growing the fastest and the most broad in more than a decade that, i think, explains yesterday. the economic trade and earnings backdrop is the best it's been in a very long time, occasionally there's threats to that through rising fears of inflation and reining in stimulus then threats when it comes to the trade environment. they're just threats right now the backdrop is still strong i think the market is behaving logically given its volatility,
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falling back on days when those threats seem front and center but coming back when it recognizes the backdrop is still the strongest it's been in ten years. >> although, the market is not going to wait for a threat to be codified before people sell. we're all betting on probabilities here >> well, we are always betting on probabilities i would tend to agree with jeff. i would say the backdrop is extremely good if you think about u.s. growth, global growth they're about the best they've been in this cycle look at u.s. earnings. and so you know, i would say the markets are relatively simple right now. growth is good earnings are good. the buyback period is going to be strong, and i fully expect we'll be back up and probably through the recent peaks by the third week of april as we get in the run up basically to earnings >> is north korea material to all of this? that's a story that will take a long time to play out. >> i would argue that it is. so today we have, you know, a
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slight reduction, as you put it, in terms of the probability. so something going bad but you know, i would keep it in context. equities are about the business cycle. they are about earnings. you know, we are definitely late cycle, but there are some very important peculiarities about this cycle, which is that in some sense, the best of growth and earnings is being saved for last for various circumstantial, but i would argue solid fundamental reasons. you look back historically, periods when unemployment was, you know, less than 4.5% and the isms were running at 58 or so, it's happened less than 3% of the time i can point to two periods in the mid-'90s and the '60s when it happened. >> unemployment below 4.5 and ism -- >> and isms above 58, at or above 58, which is what we are having generally growth is very strong as you come out of a recession then in nine years, you would expect it slows down
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we just had a variety of shocks in this cycle. they were both, you know, u.s. and global shocks. as those things have passed, we have much more sign kynchronize growth >> jeff, we've hadthis conversation before. do you think we're late cycle? if so, how long does it last >> i do, david i'd like to watch the yield curve to tell me how much longer we've got. i think we've at least got 12 months, maybe a couple years here the most important thing for investors is to stay invested through this volatility. make sure they've rebalanced their portfolio. we balancing has been ignored in recent years with stocks going up, bonds not doing a whole lot. we're in an environment where it matters more than ever maybe people's portfolios have got an little out of whack it's time to look at that, make sure you're rebalanced to better manage this volatility and recognize that the end may not be this year, but it may be coming in the next few years you want to be positioned for that >> guys, thanks.
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good discussion. we'll see you guys later on. when we come back this morning, trade and tariffs continue to take center stage. we'll talk to the former ceo of bethlehem steel. and speaker ryan set to address the issue momentarily on the heels of president's comments this morning >> paul ryan says he's worried a about trade war. are you going to back down on the tariffs? >> no, we're not backing down. >> and of course sound from monday we'll hear the speaker's response live coming up plus, what the ceo of saudi aramco told us exclusively don't go away. ♪ ♪ build and run apps anywhere you like, while keeping your competitors at bay.
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♪ welcome back to "squawk on the street." there's one company that's cheering the idea of new tariffs. kayla joins us from buyer steel in cincinnati, ohio, with more hey, kayla >> reporter: hey, michelle i want you to take a look at this glowing ember this is an old railroad axel that's been heated up to 2400 degrees. it's going to be reheated, melted down. it's incredibly malleable. from this will become 1200 feet of rebar to be used in commercial construction. the ceo of this company, buyer steel, says cheap imports have
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kept him from even being able to compete in nearby louisville, but he'd love to be a foreign player he sports the president's tariffs because he wants something to be done for his industry we asked him about the threat of retaliation or the fact that the administration is focusing on this instead of innovation and whether it's supporting a dying industry here's what he told us >> there's nothing you can do without steel. you can't get lipstick you can't get soup you can't get cars you can't get all these things you have to have steel in commodities. >> reporter: there's just about 15,000 people who are employed in the steel industry and the iron industry in ohio, but that's down 15.7% in just the last five years. byer says he's personally had to lay off close to 100 people, that his clientele has been shrinking into a microregional clientele because of competition, and that his
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margins have shrunk by about 40%. he understands that some parts of his cost in his business will go up but that overall he'll be able to sell his end product for more, and he will finally be able to turn a profit after years of not being able to compete with these foreign companies. so he says that he alone here at this mill would be hiring those people back, that he would be reinvesting in his company and supporting the downstream industry all the transportation and logistics that the steel and iron industry supports he says that alone is enough reason for the administration and the broader public to get on board. guys >> interesting what you talked about, kayla, when it comes to him rehiring there's been a lot of discussion about whether or not the decline in employment in the steel industry over the last several decades has been due to increases in productivity and just the lack of need of actual physical personnel on the floor of these plants where you are. have you talked about that at all with him, about just what the changes in technology have brought to his business?
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>> reporter: we did. and he says that while that is an issue for bigger companies that have more capital to invest in their businesses and are potentially publicly traded, that for the middle market, they're still focused on their core business, which hasn't really changed over that time. for that reason, their need for workers hasn't really changed either he's not ruling out the possibility that may change in the future, but he says the commands of their customers and the needs of this facility that we're standing in today are not threatened by automation in any way. >> got it. all right. thank you, kayla live in a steel mill we are monitoring house speaker paul ryan's weekly news conference obviously there's a discussion going on between him and the president about steel tariffs. so when he speaks, if there's any news, we'll bring it to you. take a look at shares of target. we were just showing you that. under pressure this morning. the retailer missed on earnings as it reported more than expenses from wage increases and other investments in employees revenue and same-store sales for
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the fourth quarter did, however, beat target's ceo is going to join us later today on "power ncluh. "squawk on the street" will be back right after this. we've been helping you prepare and invest for retirement since day one. why would we leave now? because i'm retired now. so? we're voya. we stay with you to and through retirement... with solutions to help provide income throughout. so you'll still be here to help me make smart choices? well, with your finances that is. we had nothing to do with that, uh, tie. or the suit. or the shirt. voya. helping you to and through retirement. today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options
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house speaker paul ryan talking tariffs. let's listen in. this is his weekly news conference >> there's clearly abuse occurring. clearly there's overcapacity by some countries, particularly china. but i think the smarter way to go is to make it more surgical and more targeted. so i think 232 is a little too broad. i think it's more prone to retaliation. so what we're encouraging the administration to do is to focus on what is clearly a legitimate problem and to be more surgical in its approach so we can go after the true abusers without creating any kind of unintended consequences or collateral damage i'm sorry, we don't do the blurt out thing. >> mr. speaker, what's your message to markets that fell on the news that trump was going to i a nouns t announce the tariffs and rallied yesterday when -- >> you negotiation honestlknow,
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watching the gyrations of the market we're trying to make sure we have good economic policy. we think the smart approach, the best approach -- and the president is right to point out there are abuses there clearly is dumping in transshipping of steel and aluminum that's happening there's a big overcapacity problem. that's why we think the proper approach is a more surgical approach so that we do not have unintended consequences. that's what we've been encouraging the administration, the person running point on us is the ways and means chairman, kevin brady. those talks are ongoing. i'm encouraging that hopefully we can get to a good place >> [ inaudible question ]. >> look, we think the economy is doing well we want to make sure every step we take helps the economy. we want to make sure abusers are held to account, especially china when it comes to dumping. we want to make sure every step we take forward does not create any unintended consequence >> is there any sense you're making headway with the
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president? >> i'm not going to go into private conversations. we've had multiple conversations about this he knows our view. every now and then, we're just going to have a different approach on how we should tackle these problems it should be acknowledged there is a problem that needs to be addressed here we just want to make sure it's done in a prudent way that's more surgical so we can limit unintended consequences. thank you. >> all right house speaker paul ryan finishing up, being very, very blunt in trying to make it clear that he thinks the issue and the problems with the steel and aluminum industry are china. >> the words that stuck out he said multiple times were surgical and targeted tariffs that th -- that echoes what kevin brady has been saying. the idea here which they're putting together in a letter which lawmakers plan to send to the president is to exempt products that are fairly traded
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from these tariffs no matter which country they come from, but still allow the president to go after those products that are unfairly targeted. the problem here for the republicans, though, is that there's not really a whole lot that they can do to block the president from taking this action they can perhaps withhold some key votes or perhaps use some negotiating tools. but the president doesn't need congress in order to move on these tariffs. so they're using the power of persuasion instead to try to get him to change his mind as we head into perhaps the final days before these tariffs take effect >> any color that we know of regarding this would-be meeting on thursday with executives from industries that would be hurt by tariffs and gary cohn? >> so far what we know is that gary cohn has been calling for automakers and other companies that have been -- that could be negatively affected by these tariffs to come to the white
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house. but on capitol hill, republicans are trying to stage this 11th hour effort to change the president's mind what we know about president trump is frequently he listens to the last piece of advice he has just received. so everyone's jockeying to be the last person in the room to make that case before that final decision is made another thing that republicans are pointing out is that whatever is finally signed into action by the president, that can still be revised by the white house later on as they continue to monitor the situation and potential impact on industry, on businesses, and on companies so they're hoping that even if the president doesn't sign some action later this week, they can still perhaps persuade him to change his mind down the road. >> we've heard from several constituents today thank you for that speaker ryan, we heard from fiat chrysler today, which is up 5% or so. goldman with an interesting noted, saying the president has likely created a two-tier metal market in their view, the irony of 232
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is it's intended to support u.s. industry but may wind up boosting a small subset of producers at the expense of the broader economy. you can imagine it's one cohn would have written >> there are also those who make the argument it's difficult to exempt certain countries or industries because you'll simply have dumping by the chinese into those countries and the steel will end up here anyway. and even though the percentage of actual chinese steel that we import is very low, that's not a real number because so much of it ends up in other countries and then comes here with perhaps some sort of value added >> we shouldn't underestimate what a long-standing issue this is within the steel and aluminum industry i have been in the room with very senior chinese economists who express frustration that their government continues to support uneconomic steel plants and that if you're going to be economically smart, you're worried about employment, just subsidize those individuals
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directly but get that capacity offline because of the distortion that it creates in the world markets and in their own economies. it's been going on for decades so it was going to come to a head at some point and when -- as ian bremer says, trade is donald trump's true north. it's likely to happen. >> someone who knows the history well is curtis hank barnett, former ceo and chairman of bethlehem steel. hank,thanks so much for your time today >> yes, good morning good to be with you. >> michelle just said this is literally decades in the works do you think this is actually coming to a head now >> i certainly hope so i personally support president trump, secretary ross, ambassador lighthizer and their efforts and i'm confident will be what is being lost in this discussion is secretary ross'
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report that finds that the levels of imports and the circumstances of imports are threatening not only our internal economy but our national security. that simply is not being discussed. the findings there are very, very clear >> does the national security element extend to canada and other closer trading partners, or is this strictly about china? >> yes, i think it's a general finding that the levels of imports and the circumstances, the dumping and the subsi i didization of imports -- as a result, some remedies are required >> so one of the arguments that the administration makes is that right now capacity utilization
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for steel and aluminum plants here in the united states is somewhere between 71% to 75% depending on the industry. they want to get that up to 80%. is that a number that is good for you in terms of securing our national security? and why is it that we can't get the extra from our allies like canada >> 80% is an absolute minimum for the industry to be operating, particularly when the steel industry is a very complex business it's necessary to repair facilities and replace facilities so the 80% is a minimum. if we could over several years consistently operate at that rate, that might be satisfactory >> why can't we just get it from canada in the event of war or some national security need? wouldn't they supply it to us, being one of our closest allies? >> i do not know the answer to
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that i would just ask you, if you are in a national emergency, do you want to be steel supplied from a domestic source right here in the united states, a reliable, proven source over time, or to rely upon importing it from a foreign country. >> hank, we've heard from obviously businesses that would be affected, even whether they source domestically. aluminum industries, the car industry the ceo of bhp called it a black day for the world. you do acknowledge there will be a cost for this, right >> yes, of course. i acknowledge that there will be differences of view as to the remedies, but it's like discussing how harsh the penalties should be for the commission of a crime. people can debate what the
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remedies should be, but there must be a remedy for this threat to our economy and to our national security. there must be remedies >> mr. barnette, do you think if this does take effect it will trigger reprisals from our al is will -- allies and perhaps the prospect of a trade war? >> it's possible, but when you consider the effect of steel on the national economy, steel in the world market, when you balance that against the need to have a competitive, vibrant, domestic steel industry, i believe that any such consequences will be short lived. we will move on. >> there could be a change in administration in the coming years that doesn't see this sector as having particular national security implications what if we see a lot of investment in this country to increase capacity utilization
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and suddenly there's a change in policy and now a lot of that investment turns out to have been wasted money? >> well, that would be a tragedy for our customers and for employees and the public and for america. i've had the privilege of working on trade matters and served as a presidential appointee of president bush and president clinton and thereafter these issues are fundamental to our economy. having a competitive u.s. steel industry is just essential >> you did serve on some trade advisory committees under both 41 and 43 and president clinton, as you said. some have tried to use the lesson of the 43 tariffs as a cautionary tale about these ones do you think the effects were as negative as some have pointed out? >> yes, i think there are adverse effects any time
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remedies are imposed, but over the years, we have simply tried to deal with this as a short-term, this year, 2018 issue. it is not. it's a long-term, strategic issue. once and for all, we must decide do we need a competitive and viable domestic united states steel industry if we do, remedies should be in place. after all, that's what the world trading system is about. we believe in rule-based trade we believe that markets should be open, but when the rules are breached, then they should be enforced that's all that's happening here >> hank, we hope you'll come back your insight is really valuable to our viewers, and we appreciate your time today thanks so much >> thank you greetings from bethlehem thank you. >> former chairman and ceo of bethlehem steel. mow for our etf spotlight, where mike santoli is looking at
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a reversal of a popular trade in the market hey, mike. >> yeah, michelle. the popular trade is going outside the u.s., right. going to those foreign markets it's been pretty much a consensus coming into this year that might be a little bit of a place that you'd want to emphasize. it actually was an outperformer last year to look at non-u.s. stocks, whether it's broadly speaking or isolated in places like europe and the emerging markets. but since the market overall peaked about five weeks ago, those foreign markets have actually underperformed the u.s. by varying degrees if you look at some of the etfs that for example represent all of developed markets outside the u.s., such as efa, it's down something like 6.5%. the s&p 500 in that time is down more like a little over 5% you can see those numbers are showing a slightly different percentage, probably from a different date it's roughly on par, showing you that efa is underperforming. similarly, vgk is a vanguard etf that tracks europe, also an underperformer the eem, which is the emerging
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markets etf, is actually kind of interesting because it has also underperformed but by a good deal less. that's a little bit of a turnabout from what you might expect when you consider that they typically are more volatile so when overall markets get a little jumpy, they tend to underperform it's not just about the dollar a lot of times when the dollar rallies, that's when foreign stocks underperform. part of it is the sector mix the u.s. has been driven by big tech tech is relatively underrepresented in many non-u.s. indexes, except emerging markets emerging r emerging markets is over 25% technology, so it's a little closer to the u.s. those are some of the dynamics that are at play right there seems like, i don't know, people are going to rethink this idea of going outside the u.s. because of this or consider it, you know, a buying opportunity >> mike, thanks. >> all right >> mike santoli this morning let's get to sue herrera and get a news update at this hour >> good morning, carl. good morning, everyone here's what's happening at this hour south korea says north korea has agreed to impose a moratorium on
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nuclear weapons tests if it holds talks with the u.s pyongyang airing video of leader kim jong-un meeting with the south korean delegation monday evening. president trump tweeting that it is possible that progress is being made in those talks. a heavy police presence in southern england, where a former russian spy and his daughter fell critically ill after exposure to an unknown substance. british media identified him as a 66-year-old who was convicted in russia in 2006 of spying for britain. he was freed in 2010 mcdonald's is now serving fresh beef rather than frozen patties at 3500 restaurants nationwide the change beginning today in eight cities, including miami and atlanta. the complete rollout is expected by may and spacex successfully launching its 50th falcon 9 rocket in florida overnight. it is carrying a communications satellite that provides television, broadband, and other services to north america,
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europe, and north africa you're up to date. that's the news update this hour back to you. >> all right sue, thanks. when we come back, trade turmoil. a look at the global market reaction to trump's tariffs plan former morgan stanley chairman stephen roach will join us plus, the ceo of saudi aramco sitting down exclusively with cnbc what he had to say about his company's relationship with russia and a lot more, when "squawk on the street" continues.
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welcome back to "squawk on the street". an hour into trading so far on this tuesday markets obviously torn in a few directions good news ostensibly out of north korea as they express interest in talks with the u.s. and potential denuclearization on the other hand, this tariff story we continue to watch developments as speaker ryan just a few moments ago said he prefers a more surgical
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approach david? >> it is day two of the energy summit in houston, where our ryan sullivan has an exclusive interview with saudi aramco ceo. a lot to talk to him about, i know, brian. >> certainly right, david. it was a long-ranging conversation that we did last night. the interview was actually about 30 minutes long. we're going to be rolling it out all day long here on cnbc with big chunks in "power lunch." there were a number of big topics they have three times the oil reserves of the next biggest player, which is exxonmobil. everyone obviously eagerly awaiting the ipo but there are other issues around the company as well in fact, there have been reports that russia may be pooling investors together into what could be a $100 billion, with a b, dollar investment into saudi aramco we asked the ceo about those reports. >> i am not -- i don't want to comment about investment of
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other kmaecompanies or countries aramco is still not listed but we have good relation with russia we are exploring opportunities, if there are opportunities for different sectors with russia in terms of services and other things we are looking at any opportunity that might exist >> what is russia's role in the oil world right mow? >> well, they are a major supplier of crude to the rest of the world. they're also a major supplier of gas. they supply the rest of the world with a lot of these products so they are a major player >> so guys, in their own way confirming yes, indeed, they are speaking with russian investors. probably speaking with investors all over the world there's actually a technology angle. coming up in the next hour, we asked him about whether or not they may do a huge tech deal with either google or amazon
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you're going to want to hear the answer to that question. that's up next on squa"squawk alley. >> brian, good stuff i'm guessing that one incentive to maybe do the deal with russia is you get an investor who's less concerned about a lot of the stuff that the public markets would want to know about, right or they can keep a lot of information between them and this particular investor >> yeah, it's a great point. right now saudi aramco is a private company. perhaps one of the most private major companies in the world you do a deal now. once you go public, the books are open you've got a filing. you have got quarterly numbers or biannual numbers or annual numbers. now that you're private, you may be able to round up investors. a lot of speculation will aramco maybe sell its, a part of itself to china? there's all kinds of speculation. we're going to hear more we asked him a lot of questions all day long, especially in "power lunch," coming up later on today here in our very
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wide-ranging interview with the ceo of saudi aramco. so a lot to discuss. we'll hit the tech angle in the next hour. >> great we'll see you then looking forward to seeing it on "power lunch" later today. thanks, brian. president trump's tariffs causing concern among gop lawmakers as rising tensions with global trade partners could lead to retaliation or an all-out trade war. joining us now is stephen roach, former morgan stanley asia chairman hi, stephen. >> hey, michelle >> what do you think is china going to retaliate? >> i think china will be measured the tit-for-tat is not something that they are i think enamored with respect to finding a more constructive end game. i think they're just setting back and watching this drama unfold they've got plenty of time to react if they need to. >> it's not just president trump who's worried about china. we just heard house speaker paul ryan say he wants to focus on
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the bad actors he believes the bad actor is china because they had so much overcapacity when it comes to steel and aluminum they subsidize, they do this so they can keep people employed. to what degree can we do anything to get them to behave differently and in a more economically sensible fashion? >> well, i think number one, michelle, we've got to re-establish this regular, ongoing dialogue between our trade officials and theirs, our government and theirs. we've had this strategic and economic dialogue that's morphed into a comprehensive economic dialogue now it's all on hold last week there was a senior chinese official in washington who was trying to restart this we'll see if we get anywhere but you know, the speaker's criticism of bad actors is --
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it's a good word you could say there's plenty of bad actors to go around, including him. when you pass this legislation that creates these major budget deficits, that pushes our already low rate even lower and will make our trade deficits with china and 101 other countries even bigger. so let's take a look in the mirror before we point fingers at bad actors overseas >> indeed. far more than these potential steel and aluminum tariffs, they're much more worried about our corporate tax rate, which would make us so much fmore competitive that they would lose >> well, i think the tax arbitrage, the labor cost arbitrage, the infrastructure arbitrage, those are all sort of parts of the competitive drama that china and us and european, other asian producers always
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participate in i think the biggest issue that concerns me as a macro economist is what our tax cuts mean to, as i said, very low domestic savings rate when you want to grow and you don't save, you have to import surplus savings from abroad, and you run these enormous balance of payments and multilateral trade deficits with lots and lots of countries. washington doesn't want to look at the role it plays in creating our big, big trade deficits every year since 1981 with maybe one exception in 1991. >> let me be clear i understand what you think here. i mean, what if we weren't spending as much money then would you support the corporate tax cuts because the argument for the corporate tax cuts has been to make us more competitive and to keep us competitive in the
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world. i understand that there are these other unintended consequences, but they don't necessarily come from cutting taxes. there's also the spending component, correct >> look, there's lots of things, michelle that, go into competitiveness. it has to do with the quality of our labor, our infrastructure, our corporate strategies, the tax rate is one piece of the fabric of competitiveness. every year, the world economic forum puts out a poll of 160 countries in terms of who's the most competitive in the world. they look at all of these factors and more that i just alluded to we're number two or number three around the world all the time. i think we're number one maybe, a small country like singapore to bemoan our competitiveness
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when our competitors in the industry area are stronger globally than in many cases they've ever been, i think really makes a false case for tax cuts you want to look at tax cuts, look at them on their own merits but don't wrap them around the flak of the poor, beleaguered competitive state of america >> but you think paul ryan is a bad actor. >> yeah, i think he's a totally bad actor because he looks at tax cuts in isolation and doesn't appreciate the macro, broader macro economic consequences of those tax cuts and how they play out on an already low national savings rate the numbers are clear. in the third quarter of 2017, our national savings rate, the corporate, household, and government sector, adjusted for depreciation, which is what you need to do, was 2.1% of our gdp.
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that's the lowest national savings rate of any leading country in the history of the world. his budget deficits, which paul ryan is one of the architects of, will push that 2.1 down to ze zero and our trade deficits will get bigger >> i get all that, but do you assign -- are you critical of china at all for subsidizing state-owned enterprises, things that are expressly prohibited, for example, in the european union? i mean, doing things that support an industry, are wasteful, by the way, of their taxpayers' money, cause distortions in their economy and the world economy. does any -- should you assign any blame -- do you assign any blame to china at all when it comes to steel and aluminum? >> sure. look, china needs to get its act together in terms of dealing with industrial policies, as you correctly put, to distort its own allocation of resources. it's been dragging its feet for
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a long time on reforming, restructuring its state-owned enterprises. but you know, the currency complaint we've been beating china up with now for ten years, china's moved its currency up a lot. that's an old and out of date complaint. there's lots of areas where china needs to move. the one that i'm personally most concerned with is china improving its access to u.s. and other western multinational companies. its walls are far to restrictive, and we need to push hard for greater access to chinese markets. that would benefit us. if you want something that would really help us in terms of our growth agenda, let's get a piece of their rapidly growing domestic markets >> reciprocity is certainly an issue that comes up a lot. stephen, so good to have you thank you. >> thank you, michelle
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>> by the way, mnuchin on the tape right now saying canada at least may get excluded to the extent there's successful renegotiating of nafta when we come back, the burger battles are heating up as mcdonald's announces it's making a big bet on fresh beef. we have details. another check on stocks as we continue to hover near the flat line stay with us so lionel, what does being able to trade 24/5 mean to you? well, it means i can trade after the market closes. it's true. so all...
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amid trade war fears and tariff talk, what should investors pay attention to we will reveal the three charts that matter for your money right now on radingnation.cnbc.com more "squawk on the street" coming up.
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your brain changes as you get older. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. the treasury secretary speaking before house appropriation this is morning. he just addressed the president's tariffs plan take a listen. >> first, let me just say i have participated in -- we meet on a weekly basis on trade, on our
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economic team. these things are discussed very carefully and we're trying to balance different issues the president is personally involved in these decisions. i think on the steel and aluminum tariffs, we're trying to balance protecting the industries which are very important with making sure that we don't do undue harm to the economy. so as the president just announced, canada is a very significant partner that buys steel and sells steel to the extent that we're successful in renegotiating nafta. those tariffs won't apply to mexico and canada. but we look forward to the president releasing the specific details and working with other people we're not looking to get into trade wars, we're looking to make sure that u.s. companies can compete fairly around the world. >> all right tariffs would not apply to canada and mexico if nafta
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negotiations are successful. we'll see if the president backs that up the next time we hear from him ois.time, dow is down 35 pnt more "squawk on the street" continues in just a moment today, smart planning is helping the new new york rise higher than ever. as the world leader in unmanned aerial systems, we're attracting the world's best talent to central new york. and turning the airport into a first-class transportation hub. all while growing urban areas into vibrant places to live and work. across new york state, we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state, visit esd.ny.gov.
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the street." i'm seema mody stocks opening higher with tech standing out as the best performing sector this morning, up about .3. today's winners, semiconductor names micron tech up 4%. trading at levels not seen since september of 2000 as well as western digital a, applied materials and lamb research, all up between 3% and 4% a strong day for chips carl, back to you. >> all right seema, thank you very much international womens day is kicking off this thursday. ahead of that, two new surveys are out looking at misperceptions about the pay and leadership gap and how to close the gaps our julia borstin joins us from l.a. with more on that >> carl, the bad news is that things are much woorse than people think there are present of solutions to help close the gap. misperceptions about the gender gap are massive according to a survey by the organizers of international women's day. now nearly half of people think
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equality between men and women will be achieved in their lifetime but at the current pace of change, the pay gap won't close for another 31 years after that. survey responders believe that nearly a fifth of the world's top 500 companies have female ceos and in reality, the actual figure is just 3%. so what will it take to change that ratio another survey is out today with recommendations on what policies companies can implement to help close the gap. they found that companies that are fully transparent are likely to achieve equality faster one surprise is improving maternity leave can hold women back in their careers. but encouraging men to also take leave actually improves women's advancement. the good news is that changes that help women such as the flexibility to work from home should benefit everyone. back to you. >> all right julia, thank you very much, julia boorstin
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