"squawk box" begins right now. live from new york where business never sleeps, this is "squawk box. good morning, everybody. welcome to "squawk box" here 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. the u.s. equity futures are high dow futures look like they would open up by about 135 points if we were to open now. s&p futures up by over 13 and nasdaq by over 50. this continues the strength that we saw at the end of last week we'll see what happens right now green arrows across the board. nikkei and the snap a niece market closed for a japanese

holiday. trading taking place there are green arrows across the board. modest advances. nothing like the shanghai composite. the ftse is the biggest gainer of the averages there. then if you take a look at treasury yields, this was the big story. the ten year pushed above 3% we closed below that with the yield sitting at 2.966%. big corporate news big merger after years of court ship we finally have a deal that's going to create the third biggest wireless t-mobile is buying sprint, an all stock deal that would value sprint at about $26 billion. they're calling it a merger. the new team will be led by john legere it will take t-mobile name the combined company will be 42% owned by t-mobile parents

deutsch telecom. softbank will own 27% and the public will own 32%. they will have more than 127 million customers. it lms the number two company. the statement says a deal will create a fierce competitor that will deliver more for customers in the form of lower prices and innovations. it speaks about the need to roll out 5g in the united states and says they could be a leader. we'll have the two ceo s on "squawk on the street. the odds of this deal going through are no better than 5050. >> because of regulators >> this is a classic textbook case where you go from a four to three and given the -- >> four to three or four to two. >> you have at&t -- >> you have at&t and verizon

four players in the market to three. >> i thought you meant number four. >> however, sprint and t-mobile have acted in what regulatory world they call mavericks. they've played low cost operator they've held prices steady and forced at&t and verizon to keep the prices competitive if you let i deal like this happen the real threat is what happens the pricing. this is like how the thing to watch today, this is the real indicator, shares of very rye zoon would continue to go up. >> because they get better pricing. >> that's not an indicator that somehow this will become a new great competitive threat in the marketplace. they think everyone can raise their prices. >> if they don't get together,

is there a risk that one or both would go out of business >> that's actually a great question if you're print, behind closed doors the argument that you may want to make, probably don't want to make it publicly, is, hey, we -- over the next three or four years, we're in trouble. >> they're saying it to themselves with the pricing. >> the anti-trust laws are not there to protect companies in that way, they're there to protect consumers. >> from the long jump. typically the reason you do that and the reason it was scuttled and regulators think that was one of the best decisions they made and it was because t-mobile has thrived, it was a great decision, if you left these two out there, what happens? the great likelihood, frankly, is that one of the cable operators, whether it's our parent company or it's charter

or somebody else, all of whom think that ultimately they need to be in the wireless business, buys one or both of them the question was do they do that faster >> we'll see i think this is going to be a tough argument the press release, conference call over the weekend was telling everybody this was wonderful for jobs, america, and innovation and frankly was telling you very little about how this will be great if you were an investor, if you're a customer >> sure. >> because they have to get the regulatory approval. >> in europe they might -- they might like it better because they think of keeping companies in business. over here we have anti-trust for consumers, not to try to exsend

the rights. >> they're like this is the analogy of out in the middle of the ocean hanging on to -- i'm going to hang on to you, you hang ton me, right we often give ourselves the map. in a strange way it's more competitive. the margins are much lower. >> they tried three times in four years they tried a lot i had trouble sleeping because of the big deal. >> the 9:00 interview. you were you were on the phone. >> i was -- you know, yeah >> so this has happened. i've heard h heard of sprint/t-mobile. >> they have tried before.

in fact, not only has it been tried before, when they privately went to the government and said, hey, can we do this, the regulators said, no, you can can't, this out would be a note on this. says they are downgrading both tmpt mobile and sprint mostly because of our kirn that stocks will be rain bound if t-mobile does get this done it will be extremely strong and in an extremely strong view. >> did you call faber and -- >> well -- >> and talk for hours and hours? >> you know, we -- no. no >> you're competitors? >> i figured you could talk. >> we can. >> you are so publicly excited

about this talking over each other. >> i'm fascinated by an interesting deal. >> i know. i see that. >> this is even more interesting. we have other deal news for you as well. marathon petroleum buying endeavor for $23 billion the deal will be valued at $152,000 cash is at 24% premium to friday's closing price endeavor was formerly known as tesereau it will be able to process 3.1 billion barrels. walmart selling to sainsbury its company called asda. they will get a 42% stake in the company. part of the broader shift.

controlling stake in india's foot cart to get into the e commerce. >> and prologis has struck a deal. prologis is the largest distribution center of logistics. it will have a foothold in california, new jersey, atlanta, chicago. we all should have invested.

>> they have those outside the city where there's land. >> a lot of land >> but if you look at them, they're massive. they're huge and they have all of these doors and trucks backed up this is how things work. you see the other thing? >> in these days of ecommerce. >> another interesting story just as an aside refrigerated ships, refrigerated trucks unbelievable demand as the entire world starts having refrigerated -- >> right. >> here to for you had sort of the local growers.

a lot of redactions. the president made it over the weekend suggesting that it exon ner rated him. chuck todd asked comey what his take was and whether that report did in fact exonerate the president. here's what comey said. >> it's not my understanding of what the facts were before i left the fbi i think the most important piece of work is the one the special counsel is doing now this strikes me as a political

document. >> comey dismissing the report he was asked about whether or not the president was likely to testi testify. how much to tell whether or not you got the truth. >> i have serious doubts about his credibility. >> the president of the united states >> yes. >> whether he were under oath or not? >> correct sometimes people have serious credibility problems can tell the truth when they realize that the consequences of not telling the truth would be dire but you'd have to go in with a healthy sense that he might lie to you. >> it is still not clear whether or not the president will actually sit down with robert mueller's team negotiations have been ongoing they seem to have broken down in the wake of the raid on the president's attorney after that it seemed as if the president was much less likely to sit down with robert mueller's team but we'll wait and see whether rudy giuliani

who has been brought on to help handle this, see if they can resolve it and get the two men to sit down in a room together and move forward, guys >> eamon, thank you very much. by the way, we should mention commerce secretary wilbur ross out with an op ed on cnbc.com. he says president trump's tax plan is working for america. secretary ross outlines the benefits of a new plan for individuals and businesses you can read about it right now on cnbc.com. let's get back to the markets. joining us is michael thompson ryan dietrich, senior market strategist at lpl financial. michael, it's april 30th we've got retail, mcdonald's, some laggards in terms of reporting earnings but most of the numbers are in how was it did it hit your number for year over year growth >> yeah.

i think we were on too long ago. we'll get clear of 18. over 21% now i mean, we're just surpassing expectations there's not one sector that's not just delivering the goods. i mean, let's just run through the big ones even consumer discretionary has been a laggard 11% growth financials are up to 30% growth. technology, 23% growth industrials, 25% growth. everything is just kicking one of the best earnings quarterswe've seen at s&p global in maybe years. >> we saw a couple of those days where caterpillar reported a great quarter and then outlook was disappointing. is this as good as it's going to get? actually, it wasn't today. there are signs that global growth, that whole story about the synchronous growth

problems on the horizon. >> i don't know. i think the truth is somewhere in the middle. ithink companies are a little bit uneasy with the fact that expectations are building up, joe. i think they're trying to reduce expectations what i do know after the comments and analysts have gotten down pen to paper, the numbers for the next quarter look just as good. looking at 18.21 and 18% respectively for the nex three-quarters that looks pretty garn r darn good for me. >> ryan, are you bullish you are talking about yield curves and what's that tell you? >> first off, good morning, joe. i'm glad to be back. we do think building what michael said, things look good all 11 sectors in the s&p 500 showed positive earnings that showed you how broad this breadth is last week we had the third test of the s&p 500 the third test is a big one.

under the surface we said earnings are good. look at the credit market. no stress in the credit market historically you'll see worry in the bond market ahead of stock selloffs and equity selloffs we're not seeing that. we think of the lows very well and things look good led by long-term earnings and things look positive. >> we were talking a little bit with ian shepard son on. do you think we do 3% gdp even though the first quarter was 2.3? i don't remember the first quarter being 2.3. >> you're right, joe that is the strongest first quarter i've seen since 2015 you go back in history, the first quarter by far is the weakest. then we have that surge the second quarter, good the second half let's talk about the yield everyone's talking about how flat the yield curve is. it is. this is the first time we've had a flattening yield curve with

higher rates rates are going higher mid 90s was not the worst time we think that's what we are. economic cycle led by earnings. >> do you think the dollar represents it? >> it's going the other way now and that's always a head wind. that's been a tail wind because it's been weaker. >> i don't think the dollar's going to be a real problem i think the natural gyrations of the foreign exchange markets are dynamic enough across all the currencies there's not enough conviction there. one thing i'm concerned about is the pce deflator a couple little caveats. one, you know, this is the second quarter we've had strong earnings and yet the market itself actually is actually contracting in multiple, okay? actually the market's going down so we've had years where the market's actually been going up. we've had two good quarters and particularly this one where

price action is going the other way. today's kind of interesting day, right? because we have the fed coming out and so that's the only thing i would say. i think you're going to see more volatility but generally speaking i think the undermined -- i'm sorry, the underlying story is still really robust for stocks. i agree with our other guests. >> small caps over large caps and value over growth. i don't understand, why value over growth? it seems like the fang stocks are the ones that bleed things higher. >> joe, they clearly have for a while but if you look at history every other year is flipped on value and growth growth did great last year we think that values turn, so to speak and let's not forget we spoke about 3% gdp growth that's what we see wishy watchy

what's the temperature >> are you in south carolina, ryan >> i am from cincinnati, joe your neck of the woods. >> it's in the 60s >> it's 42 degrees again this morning. >> 87 on friday down here. >> what is this? >> oh, great finally mid 50s. >> last day of april >> into the mid 50s. we have no spring and then it will be 100 degrees. >> we had a nice day on saturday. >> cold still. chilly chill in the air. >> 60s. >> we opened our pool. >> too cold for swimming >> jacuzzi. >> wishful thinking. >> michael, don't you wish it was warmer >> oh, yeah. >> thank you all right. when we come back, sprint and t-mobile agreeing to a merger in an effort to compete with verizon and at&t we will dig through the details with analyst craig moffitt he'll join us after the break. programming note for you

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xfinity. the future of awesome. welcome back, everybody. sprint and t-mobile have struck a deal $26 billion merger that will consolidate the two wireless carrier rivals not the first time they've tried this it's been going on for years joining us is craig moffett. founding partner thanks for joining us this morning. >> my pleasure, becky. great to be here. >> craig, wall street's reaction is one of disappointment sprint shares down by more than 8% what does wall street see in this >> remember, they were up about 8% on friday so this was pretty well telegraphed i think what wall street is trying to figure out now is what are the odds that this deal can get approved and where do these stocks fall to in the event that it doesn't

get approved by the department of justice and so you're trying to figure out what the expected value is of a sprint share today and what a t mobile share is today. >> what doesyour math tell you >> well, it's funny. you know, sprint has very different accounting than t-mobile and it would seem to us that if this deal doesn't get approved that you're likely to see sprint shares fall to something like $4 or so. that would say that sprint shares are discounting a very high probability of regulatory success. something like 70% t-mobile you can make a case is reasonably cheap even on a stand alone basis and so our math says t-mobile's only discounting about a 10% chance of success, obviously not possible that both of those things can be right the market will struggle to figure it out. for what it's worth, it's probably a 50-50 chance of approval. >> craig, becky had a smart

question earlier which is if t mobile and sprint were to have to go it alone, i think everyone thinks t mobile is in a smart place. what happens to sprint long term >> yeah, i think that's exactly the right question, andrew i think that's right t mobile has a pretty good path forward on a stand alone basis and sprint doesn't sprint hasn't generated positive free cash flow in years and years. they were burning cash even before they started spending any money on their network they under spent for years and years. in fact, here's an extraordinary statistic. over the last decade sprint has been out spent by at&t alone by $90 billion in ten years so they have massively under spent on their network now they're going to ramp up spending or before the merger they were going to ramp up spending before ibida was falling. >> from a -- >> they're over leaf veried.

you wondered could they make it? >> does a regulator say, they're in trouble and we'll allow it. if they don't are they headed towards bankruptcy or as a cable operators, does a network operator, somebody who wants to be in the wireless game decide to pick them up on the future that's the easy one. >> it's the right question, but in the telecom industry it historically has worked in a funny way. you never see chapter 7 bankruptcies in telecom. you see chapter 11 they restructure, clean their balance sheets and come out of bankruptcy and arguably come out stronger because they have washed away their debt i'm not sure the d.o.j. or f.c.c. will be with, that's the

creditor's problem it will be there to serve consumers even though this merger doesn't happen. what t-mobile and sprint will argue is that the only way that -- it may be that you could bring a company out of bankruptcy and let it survive, but survival isn't sufficient. you've got to be able to spend enough money to build a 5g network to give consumers the choice that's the argument they're going to be hitting hard when they go to washington to sell the deal. >> t-mobile is the stock you'd buy her, not sprint? >> i think so. i think t-mobile is a reasonably attractive stock sprint looks to be over valued. >> thanks for your time. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. facebook and amazon posting big gains. we'll tell you what's working in tech after the break lear's a look at friday's s&p.

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♪ ♪ welcome back you're watching "squawk box," live from the nasdaq market site in times square.

>> oh, good morning, everybody welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc we've been watching the u.s. equity futures at this hour and you can ease your way right into this week if you're a bull at least with some green arrows dow futures up by 117. s&p up by 12 and nasdaq up by 45 points this comes after three days in a row of gains for the dow at the end of last week we'll see if they can continue to hold this through the morning and through the rest of the trading day. today pending home sales tomorrow you can look for the ism index and the start of a two-day fed meeting. we'll be getting adp employment reports. thursday it's the first quarter productivity. >> what, jobs report >> and factory report and topped off on friday with april jobs report. >> this is impossible. >> the older you get the faster

it goes. >> remember austin goldsby. >> i can't even mock you because, yes, i agree with you here we are again. >> this friday >> that is this friday. >> mark your calendar. >> here we go. >> i'm in shock. okay more than 130 companies in the s&p 500 and five dow components report earnings this week as well today we're going to be hearing from mcdonald's before the opening bell after the bell we get apple reporting numbers, too that will be tomorrow after the bell it was a crappy report last time >> tom's >> no, the wage report well below. >> yeah, but it was coming after a big huge -- >> this will be an interesting one then i guess i'm excited about friday we could say that almost every week, it's a big week. we have them every month it gives us something to do. >> we'll figure out if the feds

are going to be dated. >> who said -- someone said enough with the super hero james cameron. >> i liked the thor ragnarock. >> i didn't see him. >> avengers infinity war hosted blockbuster numbers on its debut weekend and brought in $250 million. the biggest domestic opening weekend. global take $630 million making it the biggest international reveal in history. no other films opened in wide release against the a ven gers you didn't see that, sorkin? >> no. >> you're an artsy kind -- >> no, i like a good. >> got -- >> can i tell you what i did on

was it friday? i was out -- >> sinuses i went to the doctor everyone knows i wasn't feeling well i was sick on the show i watched marathon of designated survivor. >> really? >> do you know the show? >> keiffer sutherland. >> i watched it on the plane and then i binged the rest of it on hulu. >> totally morbid. everybody dies in the first -- >> in the first episode and he becomes president. amazon's blowout first quarter has been the bright spot in the tech earnings. joining us for a look at what's working in tech, dan morgan. good morning. >> how are you. >> help us out and tell us what's working it's been a rocky little roller

coaster here especially looking at the fangs i assume you're looking elsewhere. >> they've been flattish even though earnings last week out of microsoft and amazon the best stock that's working is netflix in terms of percentage change year to date. the three stocks, applied materials, microsoft and amazon have done relatively okay. it has been kind of a difficult start so far this year for technology kind of a mixed bag compared to where we were last year. >> the amazon case i think most people know. make the case for microsoft at this point. >> i think microsoft is interesting because they're an old legacy good number. commercial cloud up 58%. azure which competes against aws

has done extremely well. office 365 commercial, office dynamic, that's the cloud unit what's interesting about the company is they're starting to move their margins back up they had margins in 2010 of 80%. now they're 65%. starting to move that back up under this new subscription as a cloud model. ibm is a proud model. >> and when you look though at the battle between microsoft and its neighbor there in seattle, amazon, the amazon call is as much about retail as it is about the cloud, right >> yeah. i mean, amazon to me is more interesting for aws than what it is doing for whole foods and what they're doing on the point, click, and purchase. you're looking at 25 dld coming out of their building which is a service. that did very well last week

they're about a 24, $25 billion run rate you can see the difference between the two in terms of how aws has had a stand alone to probably 500 start just based on the cloud. >> could you ever see them spin that business off? >> it's possible i mean, i don't know how long you've been doing this i've been at this since the early 90s. i with remember 3 com spinning off their unit there's always a possibility that they could spin off the aws. to me, that's the most interesting part of amazon is that aws. >> you fliek applied materials are really benefitting from a display screen apple has a couple of new phones coming out using this. you have this and you talk about this all the time, the movement towards driverless cars, machine

rerng, so forth. so we're actually experiencing a renaissance in the semiconductor space we haven't seen since the mid 90s. companies like intel had a great quarter. a&b had a great quarter last week >> dan, on the oled screens, i don't know how much you've been following it, when it comes to the iphone x there's been a lot of speculation that, a, the current phone is not selling as well as they had expected and, b, they might actually do a different type of phone that's cheaper coming out. >> right that's true. you've still got tv screens, other uses for oled. it's not just going to be the apple play that's part of it. there's been talk. everything has semiconductor

chips in it. also you have a big resurgence in d ram use we are going through a cycle like we saw in the mid 90s where you had everyone expanding their overall wafer sizes, smaller line widths. back in the mid '90s i don't know if you were covering it back then, but i was. it's very similar. even in the wake of oled, you have things going on where chip manufacturers have to do this. >> nice to see you. >> nice to see you. when we return, we'll talk about the sprint t-mobile deal and what it covers we'll get quarterly results. if you'd have told me three years ago... that we'd be downloading in seconds, what used to take... minutes.

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pinch of visas, crabbing ylan mui, you bring us a lot of things that i know nothing about. what's going on with the crabbing industry? >> reporter: well, joe, i'm here at the d.c. fish market. this is where locals come to get their fill of maryland's very famous live blue crabs the market's going to be opening up here soon but everyone from the sellers to the crabbers alike tell us that they're worried that this season is going to be a bust because of tighter restrictions coopers have worked the dots for ages to get the famous jumbo meat d.w. hall relies on two dozen women from mexico to pick it by hand they're here on temporary h2 visas. the owner said he was lucky to get the paperwork approved

there were so many applications he had to enter a federal lottery. >> we got our visas without them we'd be out of business without them we'd have to shut the doors. >> that's what happened down the streets wherein stead of cracking claws, all you can hear is the ticking of the clock. >> you see we have an empty packing room nobody there >> harry phillips runs the plant but he's not sure for how much longer. >> this is the killer. we are starting a new building knowing we were going to get our workers. we've always gotten them in the past and right now i could almo almostup jump over board. >> reporter: they say they plan to increase the visas next month. they tell us they're worried it's too little too late back over to you. >> love the -- i do -- i

would -- i'm worried about this now, ylan. you have the nice chunky crab salad. >> crab cakes. >> crab cakes people love. >> your crab cakes could be in danger. >> crab legs. >> the price will definitely go up. >> you're like the guy from forrest gump. >> crab ice cream. no, but the thing with crabs, ylan, i think, you know, you need butter, drawn butter with crab legs. no one would sit there eating crab legs i don't think. you need some type of a mustard sauce. >> remilad sauce. >> yes it's weird you can't sit there eating crab but if you do have one of those things, then it's amazing. >> you know if you eat crab, picking it is painful. that's why it's so difficult to find workers to do that for a

living >> i've seen them in georgia the blue color is one of the most beautiful blues on an actual blue crab that you can see. anyway, we've covered everything, ylan in that whole area thank you for the report interesting. thanks >> thanks, joe. when we come back, we're going to talk geopolitical risk and what it means for your portfolio. the impact of the thaw in north korea and the prospects for the iranian deal all of that straight ahead as we head to the break, green arrows ftse up by almost .6 of a percent. close to it. stick around, "squawk box" will be right back. at&t provides edge-to-edge intelligence, covering virtually every part of your retail business. so that if your customer needs shoes, & he's got wide feet.

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♪ welcome back, everybody. north korea is shifting its time zone 30 minutes earlier to align with south korea that will take place on saturday it's a first practical step for national reconciliation and unity. very visible form of that very issue. also, treasury secretary steven mnuchin is scheduled to

travel to china this week just days after the historic summit between north and south korea. joining us now for a look at what investors should be watching for on the geopolitical front is president of alpha capital partners thank you for being here >> thank you >> what we've seen in korea is a fast thawing how are you wrapping your head around this? >> it's truly remarkable i think a lot of people are -- i think some are suspect because the koreans have promised denuclearization in the past in 1998 and never followed through. kim has not seemed so much as sincere here as buying time. and people think president trump could give away the store for a

nobel prize. so we'll see >> the guess i've heard from a lot of people is that the administration would not be willing to lift the embargo unless they actually see real movement and real progress towards removing nuclear weapons fromthat country >> right as john bolton said over the weekend talk shows, we're talking about a regime verification regime similar to the one we saw in libya about 15, 16 years ago which was really pretty severe so we shall see. but in the near term, you know, this certainly is better than the two leaders comparing the size of their buttons. it should boost president trump which could help a great deal along with the growth joe was talking about earlier. >> you said the market will love it, but is this something where also the market is taking a wait and see approach we haven't seen big gains on friday or even this morning. not that things have been down by a sense of this, but the idea

of ending a 65-year war, you 3450i might have expected to see a bigger premium >> right it will take time to decide what denuclearization of the peninsula really means to both sides. but there are other issues as well we have to get through this trade situation. >> is there something better than a nobel prize, chuck? i mean, is there -- can he get two of them maybe? great inflation. i just don't think it's a big deal to -- i mean, what was that obama nobel peace prize for? >> amazing yeah he got -- >> didn't al gore get one too? jimmy carter isn't there something better than nobel is there a super nobel prize can you get two of them or something? take one back and give that one to this is a big deal it's a lot bigger than -- right?

>> i agree maybe, joe, we should coin an award are you not entertained. the president has -- i mean, this is the most unlikely set of events where we're now in may and, you know, classic art of the deal the president with his bluster scared the heck out of everybody through early spring now in a position to deal. >> that's the left's take. i saw someone -- i think it was adam schiff finally had to concede that something good might be happening in north korea. he goes, well, the president's unpredictability and bellicosity are paying off there's a way of damning with faint praise >> he's on a role. i totally agree with you, joe. >> okay. i think -- i don't know. a pulitzer andrew, isn't there something better than a nobel? >> i think we need something better >> it's worth nothing anymore given the recent -- >> squawk book club award. >> that's a good idea. >> didn't you say obama won it

either ten days before or after inauguration >> it was those pillars in germany. they were plastic, but they looked very official >> and that arab spring. >> exactly >> we'll have you back soon. thanks for your time >> never a dull moment they've sealed the blockbuster agreement. we'll talk about the hurdles competing with verizon and at&t straight ahead when "squawk" returns in a moment nobody's putting their money into equities. they're not investing in commodities or fixed income. what people areally putting their money into is what they hope to get out of life. but helping them get there requires a real refusal to settle for average.

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a $26 billion wireless deal. t-moblie buying sprint it will create the third largest carrier in the world if approved details straight ahead oil prices gushing rising rig counts and the prospects of more sanctions on iran keeping prices close to three-year highs we will find out where prices are headed with the ceo of the largest private oil provider and games are ready for season four. the game that has developers on edge and people spending big bucks set to launch season four. get on the battle bus as the second hour of "squawk box" begins right now ♪ live from the beating heart of business, new york, this is "squawk box.

>> good morning, everybody welcome back to "squawk box" here 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. and the u.s. equity futures this morning are indicated higher dow futures up by 123 points right now. s&p futures up by 12 the nasdaq up by 45. here's what's in our head lines on this monday morning the t-moblie deal would create one of the largest u.s. carriers we'll have more in a moment. should note t-moblie ceo john legere and marcelo claure will come up today. buying refiner and pipeline owner andeavor

it was a company formerly known as tosoro until a name change last year. and we're looking forward to earnings from mcdonald's expected earn $1.67 a share revenue little under $5 billion. that is more than 12% lower. in the meantime, let's turn back to what is a monster merger announced over the weekend joining us right now is walt isaac. he's a technology and telecom analyst at beig. let's walk through the regulatory piece of this that is the big question whether the deal even happens. where are you on that? >> i mean, the last administration, the fcc played a very big role where four was no good the current commissioner or chairman of the fcc said numbers

don't matter to me the focus is now on the department of justice. the approach by the companies last night was about job creation you know, we need to be ahead in 5g to compete with china does that matter to the doj? the doj is looking at this in terms to competition >> so therefore you put the odds at >> probably less than 40% of the deal gets done i think you're going to see that reflected in the stock prices today. when you're talking about print being down in the market depending where t-moblie trades, they'll say look, if there's a less than 40% chance this deal gets done. that's what's going to get priced in. >> more and more pressure. on the screen, sprint is down by 12%. t-moblie down by 1%. >> it's going to take more than a year to get the deal done. again, t-moblie can live without sprint can sprint live without

t-moblie >> that was my question. what happens to sprint if they don't get this deal? >> they finally made the right decision to invest in their network. that's what they need to do. they're already cheaper. >> but they're hemorrhaging cash >> they're hemorrhaging cash do they continue to invest and maybe give up some of those synergies? if they don't, where are they going to be in a year, year and a half from now if the deal falls apart? >> the question is would somebody else not in a horizontal way whether it's a cable player or somebody else try to buy them? >> that's always been the hope but 5g is all about densification. the cable companies have all of this fiber now the opportunity for a cable company to build a network as opposed to spending $40 billion, $50 billion to build a new company, that's an option. you can hope cable comes to buy you. >> let me turn it around and pretend i'm running t-moblie for

a second they would make the argument that from a competitive perspective, that together they can be much more competitive to verizon and at&t they can force the hand of verizon and at&t to move faster on 5g. and because they're in a weak spot, they can't be as competitive they want to be. that's the argument they're going to make. clearly if you're saying 40% doesn't hold water with you, but explain why. >> i think that's true in terms of, you know, the current market but the broader picture here is who are the real competitors when you look at at&t and verizon, it's not against sprint and t-moblie >> that's their argument that's the t-moblie argument. >> they should have made that argument yesterday. >> they said this is not a market of going from 4% to 3%. it's going from 8% to 7% the question is whether people are going to buy that argument >> they're 100% correct in that

argument the question is going to be when the doj looks at this in their traditional ways of hhi and what is my competition in wireless. you try to make arguments -- >> five years would -- regulators were very happy ultimately looking back that they blocked the at&t/t-moblie deal t-moblie thrived it worked out and created more competition. five years from now, will regulators look back and say, if they were to block it, would they think it's the right or wrong decision which they have to look in the crystal ball >> in my view, it's going to be the wrong decision to block it 5g changes everything. >>you think it should happen >> what a lot of the tech companies are generating right now and how they're going to have to work with t@or verizon, sure, i think it needs to happen but i have to be cognizant of the fact that i know regulators

are going to look at this in four to three and look at their wireless bills going higher. it doesn't look like a competitive market right now that's what they may focus on. >> let me ask you, we had an analyst on in the last hour that said he thinks t-moblie at least, its stock is pricing this as if there's only a 10% chance that the regulatory gets done. that's why he thinks there was a buying opportunity in t-moblie this morning >> if you buy t-moblie today, even if this deal doesn't happen, you still have a company generating free cash flow that's well positioned. they can get spectrum from other companies like dish or others that hit the market. sprint's not the only option for them so for t-moblie, it's a free option you're buying a company with free cash flow if it goes through, that's great. you've got these $40 billion of synergies to benefit from. >> stock on at&t and verizon

though >> they're positioning themselves for the future. so they're probably going to go up because their perception is going to be four to three. less competition in the wireless industry. >> by the way, do you believe that sprint and t-moblie would force the hand is that a fair argument or no? >> i think with more spectrum, t-moblie and sprint can do more things they talk about having a lot of capacity, but they needed more spectrum in terms of 4g. i think it's going to push at&t and verizon to do things faster. >> walter, the second story on the ten point, they just -- >> very old school of you. >> yeah. justice department cased against at&t planned acquisition of time warner showing signs of strain they're tired. doj is tired and strained. what does that even mean how do they know who wrote that piece what does it mean?

do they not -- >> does it mean the lawyers look frustrated >> they were trying to argue a case that was flawed from the beginning and they're finally like, we don't want to do this >> i think that's part of the -- >> what are the signs of strain? have you noticed signs of strain >> i have not. i think they've been vigorous in their procedure. >> no, they're not vigorous. they're strained >> even if they were strained, i'm sure they will be reinvigorated in whatever move they have next >> walt, thank you appreciate it. the futures this morning as we mentioned pointing to a higher open as investors await another batch of earnings. dom chu joins us now >> good morning. well, the markets aren't showing that much sign of strain i show signs of strain this morning. all mornings all the time here maybe we should talk about the markets. there are positive signs out there. earnings is one of the highlights

133 companies on the s&p 500 will report. mcdonald's the big one today and then of course apple, the highlight, after the bell tomorrow that's going to be a big deal. according to reuters, as things stand right now, s&p 500 earnings growth could come in at 24.5% if all other reports come in as expected earnings going by about 8% certainly not strained for the markets. take a look at the treasury picture as well. we do have a two-day fed meeting coming up with a rate decision expected to be unchanged on wednesday. then of course big jobs numbers on wednesday, thursday, and friday currently 10-year note yields around 2.96% you're talking about just that 47, 48 basis point difference. and we'll end on this. the non-farm payrolls number the granddaddy of them all

the most important economic piece of data out there. the estimates right now 197,000. unemployment finally maybe could see a 4% rate. we've been stuck at the 4.1% since last fall. as we talk about the grand scheme, a large week of potential catalysts and a market that's struggling to still try to find those record highs, joe. back to you. >> wow you're still here, dom okay a lot of clubs are closed on monday, i know >> i'm going to be here all day. i'll be here all day i'll be here all week. >> dom's having trouble getting his 200 rounds in with the weather this year. >> i was going to say because i've alerted his wife. >> she knows too >> by the way, bucky, my wife gives me grief about this all the time because you're in her corner now >> i am in her corner. >> dom has a problem joining us now andrew slemins and mark chakin.

both of you gentlemen, i think, have similar views that we had a great move since the election and it's only natural that there's some aversion to the mean or some churning ofr increased volatility i don't want to speak for both of you, but i think you both would say if you had to pick bullish or bearish, you'd say bullish. >> yeah. the sell on the news mentality has made people really nervous once we get through earnings season, people are going to start looking at the second quarter -- second quarter projections are up >> you predict more volatility which is what we've seen and bull markets are -- there's consolidations in an ongoing bull market that at least throws some doubt into the people that are on board, right? you've got to do that or you can't move higher. >> that's right. bull markets don't ploufmove upa linear fashion now we're going to have a decent

year the bigger story is with a lot of volatility, will people time the market in a wrong way. that's my biggest fear you know, a subpar year plus more volatility makes for a dangerous combination. >> so would you say, mark, that the highs for the year either are exceeded or at least we get close or do we go 10%, 12% above the highs for the year >> could go 10% to 12% above because people are sow down right now, remember we had euphoria in january. $65 billion poured into mutual funds and etfs a lot of that has gotten drained out. so the mood is gone from euphoric to almost despair that's great the real pattern we've got to break a this pattern of weak closes we start seeing strong closes after earning season, we break out.

we get to 3,000 on the s&p i'm confident on that. based on earnings and the economy. everything is strong no signs of a recession. it's an ideal situation here. >> will the leadership change? will it be the winners from the last 18 months or new ones? >> we're already starting to see group rotation into energy and industrials. i'm glad they got rid of andeavor i couldn't pronounce it. >> i guess there were some negative connotations to their old name it was a well known name and didn't even know how to spell it >> rotation into energy and industrials is very strong tech is iffy to me because the semiconductors look like they're breaking down apple's report tomorrow is going to be meaningful in terms of verifying what we heard from the

softness in the pipeline for iphones. but i think in general as you transition into industrials, energy, and materials, and financials after that initial selloff in the first week of earnings season have come back nicely it's a really good mix here. it's not just being carried by technicals the technology stocks which is really what carried the uptrend in 2017. so it's broadening ut. >> where do you think it goes in terms of leadership? >> i agree but i don't view it as value versus growth. i think the big story is that you're getting the breakdown in the traditional bond proxy dividend yield stocks. and that kind of happens at the end of the tail end of a bull market people jettison those stocks for more economically sensitive stocks that's historical a pattern where we're starting to see that kind of the stars are lining up. the one thing i would say short-term why the market rallied off the lows of february

is once earnings season had been done, they were buying back stock. i think that's going to be another pattern here where we start to get a recovery as the buybacks, you know, reassert themselves >> what do your friends call you? and are you on ann dr andrew or andy >> i'm andrew. remember we had this conversation last time on. >> you have a lot of choices >> you can go andy, andrew, drew i tried to do an andy at camp once, it never stuck >> i got only about a hundred text messages after you called me andy. >> i think andrew is very, like, sort of high -- >> classic >> yeah, yeah, yeah. almost an anglo sort of -- >> you think >> yeah. sort of -- like andrew could have been a name for the prince. >> guitar players get called andy. >> then there's drew that throws

a whole wrench in. >> i think of the guyfrom friends. remember him >> no. which one? was it drew? >> was there a drew in friends am i crazy >> yeah. there was a joey, a chandler, ross >> a ross. >> it's scary, andrew, that i asked you last time and i ask you again. okay i will not remember next time either so it's new for me, it's new for everybody every time which is one of the great things about getting old. it's always new. thank you. andrew coming up when we return, temporary tariff sanctions set to expire tomorrow we'll get a look at the next move and later, the ceo of the largest privately owned oil field services company in is the u.s. is going to join us to discuss the factors contributing

to rising oil prices the wti crude $67.28 stay tuned you're watching "squawk" on cnbc mr. elliot, what's your wifi password?

wifi? wifi's ordinary. basic. do i look basic? nope! which is why i have xfinity xfi. it's super fast and you can control every device in the house. [ child offscreen ] hey! let's basement. and thanks to these xfi pods, the signal reaches down here, too. so sophie, i have an xfi password, and it's "daditude". simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. tariff exemptions for u.s.

allies are set to expire tonight at midnight. kayla tausche joins us now she has an update on what might happen next. >> good morning, becky companies and countries alike have been working to make those exemptions permanent after they were granted in march when the tariffs went into effect so far argentina, brazil, canada, mexico, and the european union are among the countries seeking that exemption macron and merkel searched for a permanent one last week and more than 1500 companies have asked for one. people briefed by the white house tell me the deadline is likely to be extended at least for some countries based on conversations with commerce and ustr canada and mexico are likely to be granted an extension because of progress on nafta talks which aren't set to resume until later this week. talks with brazil, i'm told, have made progress but it's unclear where europe and the others stand

europe has threatened to retaliate if those tariffs go into effect. on saturday president trump suggested settling long-term trade disputes may mean some pain in the short-term >> short-term, you may have to take some problems long-term, you're going to be so happy. you're going to be so happy. we're going to get it opened up. or we're not doing business with these other countries, right >> these sources say quotas are an active part of the conversation in a trade deal making its tariff exemptions permanent. we'll see which countries agree to those quotas and see what happens because the clock is ticking. tonight at midnight is when those tariffs would otherwise go into effect. >> we've been trying to get some sort of idea every foreign minister who comes through here we talk to about it. they're all kind of waiting on pins and needles to find this out. any hints on any of this have any of these recent visits that we've seen with heads of

state made any difference for their nations? >> certainly they hope that it has. she believes that the european union should continue to be exempted but that ultimately it comes down to what the president wants. and that's what's so hard about reporting about this issue even as i spoke to multiple people who said they had been briefed by the administration, ultimately it's up to the president and he would have to make this extension or the exemption through a presidential memorandum which can only be signed by the president. >> we've heard the steel companies pushing pretty hard saying they need these tariffs to be extended and to be inclusive. >> well, you know, certainly every industry has been making their case known i mentioned the commerce department has been processing

companying who want to be exempt after feeling the supply has gone down or for other reasons they feel they won't be able to source that steel. we'll see what the administration decides before tonight's deadline and what they decide ultimately going forward. >> kayla, thank you for that we'll see you soon meantime, when we return, the space race heating up over the weekend. and quick programming note, next monday on "squawk," a billionaire summit three hours with warren buffett. he's going to be joined by charlie munger and bill gates. that's on monday starting at 6:00 a.m. easterti quk"etns in a moment

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coming up, an outlook for the oil patch. plus what will antitrust litigators have to say about the bid by t-moblitoe buy sprint? we'll run through the details. your company is constantly evolving. and the decisions you make have far reaching implications. the right relationship with a corporate bank who understands your industry and your world can help you make well informed choices and stay ahead of opportunities. pnc brings you the resources of one of the

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mr. elliot, what's your wiwifi?ssword? wifi's ordinary. basic. do i look basic?

nope! which is why i have xfinity xfi. it's super fast and you can control every device in the house. [ child offscreen ] hey! let's basement. and thanks to these xfi pods, the signal reaches down here, too. so sophie, i have an xfi password, and it's "daditude". simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. good morning and welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc we're live in times square among the stories front and center at this hour, in about an hour we'll get personal income

and consumer spending. both skppted to rise by 0.4% later this morning, we'll get the chicago purchasing measures index and pending home sales another takeover deal announced in the past couple of moments involving marriott vacations worldwide buying ilg marriott vacations says the deal would immediately add to its earnings spotify shares, they're higher in the premarket this morning. the music streaming service got upgrades at two firms this morning. spotify is the leading player with significant growth potential in a rapidly expanding market spotify planning, by the way, to offer even more free music as a way to bring even more people on board and upsell them in a premium model. jeff bezos' personal space race continued over the weekend. bezos' blue origin company had a successful test launch and landing of its new shepherd 2.0

rocket it carried a dummy named mannequin skywalker. all right. america's oil exports are booming. part of the reason that oil prices are soaring that doesn't -- we need that explained. jackie de angeles is here to explain. >> what is difference a year makes, guys. oil prices up 40% since this time last year lifting the ban on exports has helped support prices. the u.s. has worked through excess supply. that rebalance we were all looking for, it seems to be happening. as we're shipping more product overseas with china, europe, latin america as destinations for u.s. crude, the eia said overall crude stocks are down 19% over the past year. with wti trading at a $6 discount to brent, demand

forecasters are strong for the year saying here in america it's cheaper and more marketable. u.s. exports are going to continue to grow current data shows that exports last week were 3.2 billion barrels a day. the gap between the two is shrinking and shrinking fast there will be a time in the near future where exports outpace imports. that would be historic but for that to happen, the pipelines, shipping terminals, they all need to be updated. that is a trend that the trump administration has embraced as part of its infrastructure and energy platforms exports are only one part of the puzzle right now to bring it back to pricing, they're one of the reasons industry experts see no reason for prices to drop substantially again. >> all right stay right here. let's bring in right now for a look at all of these issues, dan everhart he is the ceo of -- you must

have a really good idea of what's been spent over the last three or four years. and what's happening now what do you see? >> i think not a enough money has been spent i think $800 million of projects were taken off the market in the oil bust i think that's going to lead to a chronic undersupply in the median term. >> that's taken off just in the united states? >> worldwide >> so what have we seen just, let's say, in the last two or three months chevron and exxonmobil both talked about putting additional money to work. >> sure. i think they're putting additional money to work but the majors are only looking to spend 8% more this year i think that's not enough given the sin karatic growth, synchronized global growth, and the geopolitical uncertainty

>> all of these companies pulled the reins in because we thought we were looking at the new paradigm because of how technology has changed, how america has gotten so much better at finding this with the shale oil is there any reason to think that paradigm doesn't exist? that we were wrong in thinking this time was different? >> well, i think the paradigm does exist i think u.s. shale has changed the global markets but i think the markets are focused too much on the surging u.s. oil production and the rig count. i think that's more or less going to be a tradeoff for the production growth -- for the demand growth that's going to happen this year which is about 1.5 million barrels a day. not looking enough at the falling production in venezuela, angola, you know, long-term implications of the sanctions on russia i think mean that russia's production is going to fall and then if the trump administration pulls out of the iran deal, that could be 500,000 barrels a day taken off the

market i think it's going to affect prices much more >> when will demand start to taper long-term? i mean, in a secular way >> sure. so if you're talking -- >> 50 years from now when >> i think it'll be before 50 years from now in the 5 to 15 year basket, as the u.s. and western europe go more to electric cars and need less oil, i think you're still going to see the emerging market need they want the $800,000 car, the $10,000 car. and that's got to be an internal combustion engine. >> people are saying no more pipelines, no more this, no more that we've got to go to renewables. we've got to go to electric. they want it now >> it's going to take time look, i think the electric car is coming, but i think it's got to be a balanced approach. >> how do you power up the grid? what do you power the grid with?

>> natural gas is a big solution there. >> dan, $70 oil is better than $40 oil, but it's not over $100. how do you see companies adjusting? some of the earnings forecast, they were better, but they weren't as good as they could be >> sure. i think what's happening is the majors are a little bit slow and lethargic. they're hanging onto this capital discipline motif what you're seeing right now is you're seeing a tradeoff drilling permits by the majors were about 50% last year of the total drilling permits. so far this year they're running about 42%. u.s. production is looking -- two years ago the majors were about 64% of u.s. production and now that's running about 60%. so you're really seeing a tradeoff where there's kind of less -- the medium cap companies and then you kind of piggyback start-up companies less focused

on capital discipline. more focused on growing their reserves and earnings. and so they're taking a bigger and bigger market share. i think the majors are being left behind. they're a little slow out of the gate in the cycle. >> are you the canary in the coal mine? are you the one that figures out things early is that where the name comes from >> that's not. but i think we -- >> the canary dies >> i don't want to die >> okay. maybe you can just get woozy from finding things really early. that's not where you got it. why'd you name it canary >> so we actually purchased the company. >> why'd they name it canary did it come from the coal mine >> no. >> canary islands? you've got to park your money over there >> you're thinking too much. it came from the color of the iron yellow so you could find the iron in the field. that's where it came from. >> i like the idea that you're really early and you can sniff

things out before anyone else. >> me too. i hope i'm right. >> you should have said, yeah, that's what it's from except you don't want to die. >> thank you for being here. when we come back, we're going to talk digital advertising and preview the new fronts which showcase the latest in online digital content. ben lerer is our guest right now. also parents, get ready. season four of fortnite gets released today that means new ingame items that will put a dent in your wallet we have the details straight ahead. there's nothing small about your business. with dell small business technology advisors you get the one-on-one partnership you need to grow your business. the dell vostro 15 laptop. contact a dell advisor today.

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let's do some card twirling twirling cards e*trade. the original place to invest online. welcome back to "squawk box," everybody. we've been watching the futures this morning and they have been in positive territory all morning long dow futures up by 118 points above fair value it looks like the s&p would open up by 11 points here the nasdaq up by about 38. okay today is is the first day of the new front. a week long event based on digital media advertising. joining us now ben leher and amy emrick is here so this is the big week where

everybody tries to sell their wares. it's like the upfronts for the digital world. however, we have sort of the overhang of the facebook privacy issue which is sort of part of the conversation and also how challenging the digital advertising world has been and so many content companies now moving towards subscriptions. so i'm curious how you think those two conversations are going to enter into the dialogue over this next week. because you're new, you get to start first. >> great it's an interesting time to see everybody try to compete and one up each other. i think it's healthy competition. that's what drives innovation. you're going to see people either avoid the conversation of facebook altogether, focus on other places they distribute or how do you own the customer direct to customer, direct to consumer i think that's going to be a big topic this week. >> by the way, are there going to be new advertising either platforms or formats or things that are so radical and

different that wooers going to go, oh, my, the world's changing >> i mean -- >> i don't think you'll say the whole world is changing. everyone will come out with some new ad product, some new incite product. but people will take different strategies we're going to continue to lean in heavily to facebook we're not walking away from them because of the privacy stuff it doesn't affect our relationship with how we operate there. and we still believe that go to where people are en masse. >> you in the same boat on that? >> we're still working with facebook are you going to discuss on stage the privacy issues i think that's what's going to be interesting >> you are >> well, we'll have to wait until wednesday to find out. >> help us, though, through this which is you look at mashable. refinery had to lay off some people too it's been a tough little -- this past year feels like it's been tough in digital content companies that rely on

advertising. am i wrong >> i was going to say who's having a great time? is there a television business that is? >> nobody. well, no people have been -- no, it's been a tough time. but how do you think about the shift and you see a lot of people trying to -- vanity fair just announced it last week trying to add subscriptions as the business model >> i think people want to own their own destiny. if you can own -- we already have that relationship with the consumer so if you can add in this other level by offering a lot of other potential opportunities for them, i think that that's really a good opportunity >> you like ad only though >> no. i like the advertising business and i think that there's an opportunity for a smaller number of larger players to do really well in it but i think finding as many ways to make as many as possible is the path forward i'm a big believer in building drekts to consumer effects it's not one of the leading things we talk about in the new

fronts but we're huge believers in the importance of solidifying that relationship and monetizing the direct relationship. >> is it small businesses you see as the next big sort of step in terms of advertising or is it the big guys of the world? >> i was thinking, even experience for us direct to consumer, there's still a lot of room and opportunity for our brand partners in that even if we're establishing it. it might be on a facebook platform or our own, but i think what we try to do is really offer opportunity to our brand partners to still speak to this audience so i think it's just about trying to find the innovative way to do that i think there's an opportunity >> if you look at the tv business tv has been driven by 200 advertisers. and as we know, those companies are under fire right now they're being sort of dismant d dismantled what you're seeing a facebook. 6 million advertisers.

google 10 million advertisers. what's ad product we can build that lets us get beyond the top 200 or 300 advertisers and start working with a broader net. >> how much of bhoet of your businesses is now in paid content and trying to create content. almost a mini advertising company inside your company. which people have realized is a white glove, high touch, and low margin business. >> yeah. it's a big part of the business creating content with brands i think the margin gets better if you're not only creating white label content but you're doing the creation and distribution so that's where you get much more margin. you're not just an agency. because you rely on the power of your brand and the distribution of your brand. >> i completely agree with ben >> what about snap, twitter, all the other platforms? what are you using now >> what are we not using >> what's not working? how about that >> we really focus on women 18

to 34. but with snapchat discover we get a great opportunity to talk to 12 to 20. i think what we're doing on youtube, you have to shift your creative content digital media is more work you're creating to a much more complex, diverse for us woman of all kinds across multiple channels but you've got to be where she is which is right now a little bit of everywhere. >> meaning you're not doing that old trying to cast a very wide net. you're casting small nets in a lot of different places. >> yes >> you have partnerships with everybody, but who right now is the friendliest to the content creator? >> us as the content creator or the audience >> no, no. i'm thinking is facebook a good -- people have been debating for a long time whether facebook is a friend or a foe. whether snapchat is a friend o f -- or a foe

in this world of frienemys, content companies have come out brazenly against facebook. so it's not -- it wouldn't be new for you to say facebook is a terrible partner if you wanted to say that. you have a different view because you're a fan of facebook >> i think all the platforms have strengths and weaknesses with how they work with partners i think there are places that are more focused on monetization but have less reach. i think places that have more reach are sometimes more difficult to work out really scaleable monetization it's a balance i genuinely believe all the platforms are moving rapidly in the direction of understanding the value of premium brands and content and trying to figure out ways to be more productive partners >> if you could only have one -- because you didn't tell me anything >> thank you >> if you could only have one

partner of the big guys, which do you pick? >> that's impossible >> you would say facebook because they always own instagram. >> right so you're getting two platforms for one. which is still a cheat answer, by the way just saying. >> ben and amy, it's great to have you it really is >> thanks. appreciate it. >> good luck this week >> thank you >> what about google and youtube? >> youtube is the platform we would talk about >> they are not the same they each serve a different purpose. >> thanks, guys. >> thanks so much. coming up on stocks to watch, that's what we'll be focusing on. plus fortnite has taken the video game world by storm. and today comets will fall as season four is released. details of what to expect when you land at tilted flowers and what it will mean for your wallet "squawk box" will be right back. your company is constantly evolving.

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amid an investigation into personal conduct a u.s. judge has temporarily blocked xerox's deal to sell most of the company to fuji film the ruling which came out friday late found the transaction was negotiated by what they are calling a massively conflicted xerox ceo who was looking out for his own interest over shareholders and "avengers: infinity war" brought in $250 million domestically the biggest domestic opening weekend of all time possibly its global take was $630 million making it the biggest international debut in history no other films opened in wide release against "the avengers. and gamers and parents are bracing for impact tonight fortnite gets a fresh update today in season four which means a new battle pass, skins,

dances, and more it's suspected that a comet is going to destroy parts of the map in its battle royale game play two areas people are betting on. tilted towers and dusty depot. the phenomenon expanded from the pc and console to mobile devices last month and has nearly 4 million people playing right now. and the battle pass will cost about $10.65 which means big money for privately held epic games. not to mention extra money for other items. so parents, just check your iphone those little things you're hearing are going to be charges. check your bank account. the game is also the most popular game on twitch amazon's gaming platform which has seen record growth tomorrow twitch cofounder kevin lin will join us to discuss the business model and the discuss of amazon's web services all right. last night "the simpsons" broke

a television record which has stood since 1974 with its 336th episode aired yesterday, they passed the western "gun smoke" for the most episodes ever of a primetime scripted show ever it's got two more seasons on order. that would be 30 years somebody pointed out that goes through "the cosby show" and the cosby verdict. >> so "gun smoke." james arnaz. he was the brother of the other guy from "mission impossible." peter -- >> i'm never going to remember that >> but they're brothers. >> we'll take a commercial break and come back with the answer. when we come back, earnings from the golden arches mcdonald's serves up quarterly results. coming up next and s.e.c. commissioner

robert jackson will talk to the ipos, the spat of unconventional listings like spifoty, and tech regulations. "squawk box" will be right back.

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breaking deal news -- >> t-moblie and sprint have reached an agreement to come together and form a new stronger company. >> t-moblie buying sprint for $26 billion. but will regulators give the tie-up the green light earnings alert mcdonald's dishing out quarterly results. the numbers and the instant market reaction are straight ahead. new this morning, a hollywood marvel "the avengers" smashing records in an historic weekend >> this does put a smile on my face >> the final hour of "squawk box" begins right now. ♪ live from the most powerful city in the world, new york, this is "squawk box. good morning and welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc live from the nasdaq market site in times square i'm joe kernen along with becky quick and andrew ross sorkin the futures now have upticked a

little since last we looked. up 149 on the dow. just shy on the nasdaq >> mccdonald's with strong earnings >> let's look at that. 12 cents above estimates estimates also beating forecasts up 5.5%. >> the estimate for global same store sales was up 4.5%. that 5.5% is better than expected for the u.s. they came in with comps of 2. %. that was in line with expectations it's interesting to look through this earnings beat part of it is because of what happened with the tax act. 7 cents was because of the tax act. but even if you strip that out, they would have come in with 1.$1.72 a share and that was stl better than the street expected. this is another strong performance from mcdonald's. they also say foreign currency translation did boost earnings per share by 8 cents

>> that's definitely accounting for the recent move in the dow >> yeah. but check this out a gain of 3.8% in this early reaction to these numbers. just looking through some of the comments from the ceo steve easterbrook says more customers are recognizing we're becoming a better mcdonald's. appreciating our fast and friendly service and better food and value. comparable guest counts up that must mean the traffic barometer. i believe that's storewide it's either there or global number they're talking about >> preaching to the choir here >> from someone who never st stopped going. >> you don't need to sell me >> all right among the other top stories we're watching this morning, t-moblie is buying sprint for $26 billion in an all-stock deal that transaction would unite the third and fourth largest u.s. wireless careers the ceos of t-moblie and sprint

will be on "squawk on the street" today. that's coming up at 9:00 a.m. eastern time and marathon petroleum is buying refiner and owner andeavor they were formerly known as tosoro until a name change last year marathon petroleum down by about 4.9% then there's walmart selling its british grocery arm asda to sainsbury. it's part of what they've been doing looking for partnerships around the world wells fargo now upgraded to outperform from underperform at macquarie. also baidu getting a stake in its financial services business. the buyer there a private equity

consortium then the vacation time share company ilg become bought by marriott vacations worldwide the price tag there $4.7 billion. get out your party hats, everybody, the economic expansion is turning 106 today 106 months, that is. it was counted up by none other than steve leisman who is still treating this as a toddler counting by months >> let's hope, becky let's hope it has a long way to go yes, if we grow today in everyone expectation, we end the month of april with growth this will become tied for the second longest expansion in history i thought what we'd do is walk the expansion. take a look at some of the highlights first i want to start here first we pass the shortest expansion and that was back in 1988 just 12 months let's walk a couple of other steps. five years, that's the average

expansion. a few more to the 106-month, that's today we'll get to tying the second longest. then here to the longest expansion, we have another 14 months to go if we can make it to tie with the longest expansion in u.s. history. the '91 to 2001. let's look at what happened to stocks we started off in is the expansion down then came up and up. went a little bit sideways then with the election of president trump another surge up if you zoom in on the end, that's the volatility we've had recently but a very, very solid gain compared to other expansions here, take a look at the chart do we have the numbers here? we do. not much in that first long expansion. 17 points. call it 18%. 244% in 2001 then hererer 183%. beginning of the expansion to now. now let's look at the economic numbers and how this expansion

was different. here you see inflation running about half the level of the average expansion. unemployment running higher. that's now come down to 4% and now you zoom in right here there's the political upheaval of the last several years. gdp in this expansion running about half of the average expansion. just 2.2%. average expansion, 4%. and there's the fed funds rate which has been running i don't know how many times less than it was for the average expansion. but quite a bit lower. take a look now at whether or not this thing can continue. call this the expansion balance sheet. rates are low. but rates are rising you have the tax cuts which could propel this expansion further. but you also have rising deficits and finally maybe you have high bank capital that may be avoiding the systemic risk to the economy. but you also have relatively

high valuation hopefully we make it another 14 months and we'll be the longest expansion in u.s. history. meanwhile, happy birthday expansion. >> all right steve, stay right there. we've got someone you may want to ask a couple of questions to. joining us on set is ian shepherdson. he is the founder at pantheon macroeconomics i put you on the spot. odds this expansion makes it another 14 months? >> i'd give it an 80%. i'd be amazed if it doesn't last another 14 months. 24 would be a struggle but the 14 i think we'll get i think there's a fair bit of momentum still here. >> and when we start thinking about what traditionally takes out one of these expansions, it's higher fed fund rates >> it's simple and bore, but that's the truth they don't just die of old age they die because the fed kills them one thing steve didn't have on that chart is we did so little

capital spending for so long, there's a huge backlog that still needs to be billed out so what we're getting, i hope, is wherec capex can grow twice s fast and the fed can allow it to keep going for longer >> do you think that low capital expenditure explains why we've seen gdp numbs well below what you expect >> this has been the problem first back in '09, '10, '11, businesses recognize they haven't done enough. the capital stock has shrunk there's a lot of things still there. but money's still pretty cheap we're in a position where we ought to see this happening. the kind of wrinkle is i don't quite see that aggressive we're going to do this attitude i was hoping to see. maybe we had some in the stock market but hopefully with the market on

a bit more of an even keel now, it will come back. >> ian, just really quick, you know, one of the thungs that seems to kill these expansions is comply sen s-- complacency do you see those seeds being planted? what worries you that might derail the expansion >> in the short-term, not much you know, it's private sector imbalances that have to be kicked over by the fire department we haven't got them at the moment we've got a huge deficit rising as well. but in the private sector, we've got nothing that's remotely comparable we don't have much like 2001 or 1990 either. so provided that remains that way and we get the capex pickup that goes with it, then the fed can carry on telling this story about a gradual normalization and everything is fine and manageable stock market doesn't fall over you know, if you push me i might

say it could run until 2021 maybe. >> the way you just laid it out, that's a pretty optimistic view. if you still have capital expenditures, if companies do start spending what makes you think we're over in two years >> well, we're running out of people that's the big thing >> to hire >> the ultimate constraint for the fed is unemployment at 3.5%, we haven't been there since 1969 so there's an argument about the shape of the curve and how sensitive the economy is to this tightening labor market. i don't think anyone really thinks we can push that down, no end in sight, and not worry about future inflation risk. >> ian, just -- the other complaint or criticism out there right now is this late cycle fiscal stimulus coming through it sounds like you're bullish on this the key to the administration's case on this is that the tax cuts lead to the capital

investment which lead to productivity and if we get a productivity boom which is obviously important to replace the workers that you say we're not going to be able to find, then we can continue for quite a while if it's driven by productivity rather than, say, top line or fiscal stimulus. >> that's kind of the super cases. how it's going with the tax cuts i'm not sure the upswing began in late '16, early '17. i'm sure the tax cut will give it a kick. the spending increase as well. both defense and non-defense that's adding straight on as well ultimately how you get the expansi expansion. >> you had a note out in the morning that said whatever we see for first quarter gdp, you would add 0.9% because that's over the last several years that it has been counted short just

because of the seasonal factors. >> seasonal adjusting is an art not a science. runs back 30 years i don't understand why they haven't fixed it, but it's 0.9%. when they put 2.3%, that's a good number. soit looks to me like we've stepped up from a trind of 2%-something to almost 3%. some of it is autonomous capex but it does keep those labor demand numbers down. that's where the fed is eventually going to hit the wall where they're headed, i'd be surprised if they hit it this year they might not hit it next year either >> thank you so much great to see you and steve, thank you our resident counter who will continue to count this long expansion as it continues. coming up, shares of mcdonald's jumping after the

fast food giant posted better than expected numbers. stay tuned you're watching "squawk box" on cnbc - i love my grandma. - anncr: as you grow older, your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. - learning from him is great... when i can keep up! - anncr: thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. - dad's got all the answers. - anncr: prevagen is now the number-one-selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide. - she outsmarts me every single time. - checkmate! you wanna play again? - anncr: prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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mcdonald's out with first quarter earnings moments ago the fast food giant reporting numbers that beat estimates on the top and bottom lines comp store sales better than expected joining us now r.j. hotavy is it in terms of outperformance or upside surprise where was it in this country? a specific geographical region was there something the company did much better than you were expecting? >> i think it was actually in multiple areas one is the u.s. comp numbers there was worry the dollar menu wasn't connecting as well as they hoped

i think that u.s. number shows that those worries may have been a bit overblown app lot of the other things they're doing like the delivery and mobile order and other product innovations are connecting the other takeaway is the international markets, you're seeing a lot of traction there i think the takeaway is that a lot of the experience of the future initiatives they're going to roll in the u.s. is already seeing success in the international markets. in addition to other things like the introduction of fresh beef, it sets the stage far nice comp tail wind for the rest of the year i think that's your read through that this company is on the top line that's where the out-performance is >> i think when easterbrook came on, that's what he said. do it cleaner faster fresh enand it'll work has there been anything in addition to that a helped? yogurt or fruit? >> i think if you look, there's been a change in the corporate

micorporate mind-set they're rolling out products quicker. >> that i make the happy meal fries which are only like seven fries in there so the parents can't share anymore. >> if you look at all-daybreak fast, that's something they rolled out about a month took multiple years in the past. i think this company being able to bring products to the market quicker, new platforms again, all-daybreak fast, some of the signature lines, the one two three menu and fresh beef. those are all positives they can market behind. and then on top of that, just the experience they have sets it up to be aligned >> i don't know how you keep doing it year after year what did they do with the

franchises the refranchising initiative what was that? >> what it was is the company sold a number of their company allocatio allocations. it brought the 93% franchise we've seen that play from a lot of the other players burger king did it we've seen it at yum brands. we've seen it across the board typically what happened here is the companies would then lever up, take an additional debt, return that to shareholders. brought in a new base of value then the multiples started to come in because you run out of a lot of locations to refranchise. i think this is worth a look this is still something that i think, again, on the top line it's setting itself up for this year pays a nice dividend it's not bad for the rest of the industry here. so again, it's still very attractive long-term growth. i think some of the pullback, some of the concern we've seen like a jim chanos on the

refranchising may be a little bit overblown. i think he's got the right idea, but i think top of the line franchisees are very much worth a look >> what does a company do if you've got a location that isn't cutting it >> i think you get rid of it at that point you find a lot of times, you get the bottom 10% that really just weigh down on overall results. i think the company's done a good job of that that was the other benefit of the refranchising program too. you put it in the hands of the operates who know a given market, that set this stage for turnaround on these businesses either close location or relocate it to a more successful location >> amazing story watching it over the years, mcdonald's because it goes up against a lot of head winds. public opinions head winds, et cetera pc head winds. anyway, thanks, r.j.

>> thank you coming up in the next half hour, we're going to get to our news maker of the morning. we're going to talk regulations in the latest effort to take on ipo fees that and a lot more coming up. there are people in the investment industry who hold themselves to a higher standard. they are called "cfa charterholders." demand the best. demand a cfa charterholder. cfa institute.

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a big weekend for disney's marvel setting another record. julia boorstin joins us now with that story good morning >> good morning to you "ai vengers: infinity war" kicked off with records. first $250 million the u.s. box office biggest domestic opening weekend on record. and second, $630 million worldwide. that's another record made all the more impressive considering the film hasn't yet opened in china. which is the world's second largest moviegoing market. of course this is good news for disney giving the media giant nine of the ten biggest domestic opening weekends of all time once again showing the company's $4 billion acquisition of marvel in 2009 paying off in droves it also bodes well for the second culmination of the avengers scheduled for next may. it also is an opportunity for disney to cash in on the characters that fox owns when

that goes. this weekend imax theaters brought in $40 million from ticket sales this is helping push up nearly 3.5% disney is likely to dominate with big titles in the pipeline including solo a star wars story. and then ant man and the wasp. that opens in july back to you. >> thank you very much when we come back, we've got some breaking economic news. personal income and spending a live report from the cme trading after this break plus, why s.e.c. commissioner robert jackson is calling for more disclosures when it comes to the cost of going public he will join us on set next. your muscles look good, but we should be seeing more range of motion. i'm fine. okay, well let's see you get up from the couch. i'm sorry, what? grandpa come.

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good morning welcome back to "squawk box" right here on cnbc we're live at the nasdaq market site in times square among the stories front and center at this hour, iconic shares falling in the premarket right now. did beat on the latest earnings. however, it gave a full-year outlook that falls below analyst forecasts. it attributes that to rising aluminum prices. closing arguments set today for the justice department's challenge to at&t's proposed buyout of time warner. ruling not expected for several weeks in what is going to be one of the biggest antitrust cases in decades a lot of people watching that. we were talking about the t-moblie/sprint deal would the outcome of that have any impact on this unclear. my sense is no but there's some people who think perhaps if the doj were to lose the at&t deal there, they might be less likely to go after a sprint/t-moblie deal we'll see. walmart striking a deal that

may get some scrutiny from uk regulators it's selling british supermarket regulation asda to sainsbury in a deal worth $10 billion walmart would hold a 42% stake in the company we are a few seconds away from personal income data. we've been in the green all morning long let's get down to rick santelli. he's got the numbers >> all right our march read on personal income up 0.3% spending up 0.4% both very close to the 0.4% expectations we were looking for. now let's look at important numbers. the spending side was also up 0.4%. that's real spending personal consumption expenditure, zero. that sfis as expected year over year we move to a two handle versus 1.7% month over month personal expenditure up 0.2%. as expected, up 0.3% higher.

then finally month over month, core 0.2%. the pricing numbers are all a little hot, but not real hot many expect inflation to kick up to a degree we haven't seen. it's hard to dismiss the notion it's very buoyant if that's the word interest rates, we're now hovering at what had been the high yield prior to last week. that was 2.95. the new high yield close 3.03% matching the 2013 high yield close. we're hitting all the key levels we're in between a tight range of important areas to pay close attention to joe, back to you >> all right, rick thank you. president trump's tweeting now about his planned meeting with north korea. here's what he said. numerous countries are being considered for the meeting, but would peace house/freedom house on the border of north and south korea be a more representative,

important, and lasting site than a third party country? just asking. so they would meet right where the other gentlemen met recently, i guess. and today's top corporate story, t-moblie agreeing to buy sprint in a $26 billion deal. david faber will interview the ceos of both companies in the next hour. believe it or not, we have him here now from los angeles. >> early morning >> it is early. >> 5:30 in the morning >> david, this has been -- is the clear wire deal -- remember that one is that one gone now did we finally figure out that clear wire thing do you remember that you used to come on and do -- >> of course i remember it yes. that was long done sprint figured it out. >> thank god now this one you're just relieved that this might finally -- not only for sprint because they may not survive if they don't do it.

>> it's fair to say this go around which depending how you're counting is the third or fourth time they tried i didn't pay that close attention as i had in the past because as you say, everybody was sort of exhausted by it. but they got it done this time and, you know, maybe they were better for the lack of attention being paid by some people and the lack of leaks and everything else that occurred while they were negotiating they didn't have to do much. they'd already gone down the road so many times all the due diligence had been done. they were able to get it done fairly quick the idea was softbank backed off in what had been through the years the desire by masason who controls it to have a lot more power at the combined t-moblie and sprint in this case, they own 20% of the equity they get a few boards seats. but this is clearly telecom's

game they wanted to consolidate the earnings on their own balance sheet. this has become the best asset for deutsch telecom. you can remember when they tried to sell t-moblie to at&t which takes you to the big question here, i don't know how you feel about it going from 4% to 3%, will it be allowed by the u.s. government despite where all these arguments are making in the early days here about the importance of 5g, how they're going to be a champion, the national security concerns, the jobs they're going to add. and you raise an interesting point there when you just said maybe sprint wouldn't be able to compete at all because it's a wash in debt and capex requirements of this business being so large there's still a lot of doubters. >> well, if -- you know, if reck laters saw some harm to consumers with a merger, how could they not see harm to consumers with this? if they challenge at&t/time warner -- >> this is a textbook case to

try to block >> i love that's the first thing the company said it's going to mean lower prices for consumers. in what universe would it be lower prices for consumers >> a right we know the government is pointing to it by the refusal of qualcomm they maid a big deal of 5g, qualcomm's importance there. these guys are playing right into that. but you're right >> verizon and at&t are going to pursue 5g irrespective of whether sprint or t-moblie do or not. would it somehow put pressure on them to do it faster and how meaningful that is going to be to the competition and competitiveness not only within the marketplace but the argument they're making versus everybody else which is not necessarily something the doj takes into

consideration. >> i think you're right, andrew. that's the argument they're going to make. the fcc 345i have a role >> does anybody think the fcc matters in this? >> yeah it does. >> i thought he came out and said i don't care about the numbers. i thought they'd say this is fine and leave it to the doj >> we can see. ajit is a lot more favorable towards the potential deal than was wheeler. but i don't think you can say -- unless you know something i don't -- that it's an automatic on that front. i don't know that. and when it comes to 5g and those arguments, that's where it may have more resonance with them >> worth mentioning, by the way, most of the staffers who blocked the t-moblie/at&t deal who are

still, you know, celebrating that decision are still there at the doj. so when you think about at least the staff decision, the staff will recommend something of course what their recommendation is not necessarily the final word you have the same group of people with the mind-set >> you do. >> what's your handicap david? we had a few people come on. craig moffett came on said 50/50. where are you? >> i'll go 55. >> 55? >> yeah. a little bit more likely than not. just because the world is changing i mean, they do have an argument to be made there comcast, charter, they added more than at&t lost last quarter. charter and comcast is another story. i know you guys are watching our stock price. that's not pretty. >> no. >> but on wireless, they are

starting to build some sort of competitive product there. 5g, we'll see. it's not really about, frankly, getting into the home and competing with broadband as much as it's about the internet of things but you can make the argument that it will be a true competitor to broadband, the traditional way for your cable provider you know, i think there are new arguments they can make that they certainly could not have made even a few years ago that will be helpful to them. >> when did you go out there did you fly out yesterday? >> yes i flew out yesterday. >> where are we putting you up i'm looking at hostels out there. banana bungalow. it's $60 a night don't tell us where you're staying because the place will get mobbed how's your digs? not bad? >> it's fine i wouldn't say it's -- >> you are in a hostel

you are in a -- is it the banana bungalow >> let me -- joe, true story my corporate card didn't work. i got here to check in and they were like that doesn't work. >> of course not >> i'm not even kidding. >> not after charter's video loss >> becky, i swear i am up to date on my expenses i think. i must have missed something >> i use that. they're about to shut mine off too. >> it's the worst. i'm like, you've got to be kidding me >> all right, faber. >> i hope you have a better trip from here. thanks, david. say hello to michael for us at the conference there. coming up, rules of the road we have a message to companies looking to go public stay tuned we'll have the interview in just a moment when "squawk box" returns.

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welcome back to "squawk box. the futures right now got a nice boost from mcdonald's, but they've -- well, they're still up from where they were. they were up about 110, 120 earlier. mcdonald's issued and then the stock jumps. now we're up about 10 on the dow. the nasdaq up 28 and change.

>> okay. making headlines this morning, jeff bezos is on a space race his blue origin private space company had a test launch and landing of its new shepherd 2.0 rocket yesterday hitting its highest-ever altitude the capsule carried a dummy named mannequin skywalker. a flight could happen by the end of this year the first quarter of 2018 was the best for the u.s. ipo market in years. but starting to look at poliliss that don't require as many the beginning of a trend to avoid ipos joining us now is s.e.c. commissioner robert jackson. good morning >> good morning. >> you are going after the ipo fee. >> at the end of the day, when you are trying to figure out why and whether companies go public

in the middle market, doesn't make sense to me to ask that question without figuring how much they pay to do an ipo that middle market companies have been paying to go public for 30 years that doesn't sound like a competitive price to me. >> what do you think is going on are you making the argument that the big banks are colluding? >> no. and to the degree that there's any question along those lines, i think that's something for the antitrust authorities. i work at the s.e.c. our job is to help capital formation in this country. i don't think we can get serious about that if we don't ask how much companies pay to do an ipo. >> if you're not going to take on the collusion issue -- right? this is something people have been talking about for years if everybody's paying 7% and there is a true marketplace, why is it that nobody's decided they want to be the walmart of ipos >> well, let's talk about that first of all, the idea there's a true marketplace is something that people who've done ipos and i've done by share would push

back against the idea is it's far from the most efficient method most people can think of. we have new methods for people coming public that might put pressure on this but the idea that wall street has been competing over that fee, anybody on wall street will tell you that the same price for 30 years doesn't sound like competition >> so when the s.e.c. and you come on television saying i want a go after that fee, should the banks be worried should investors be worried? >> i think banks that are still charging the same price for a service that they've been doing for 30 years in general should be thinking about ways they could do that in a more competitive way? >> just listening to it, i haven't looked at it this closely, but 8% mutual funds went be i the wayside. that's a big number. >> but it could also be that companies aren't often db they're often feeling they're notplaying with their own money. >> here's another point that's

important to emphasize this is a middle market problem. you look at big companies, facebook paid 1.1% companies that are outside that small space do better on this deal ask anybody on wall street, nobody thinks -- even guys that run books don't think 7% is -- >> what's in the answer? what do you think needs to happen >> a few things. if we're going to talk about why companies don't go public in this country, i feel like we need to stop talking about things like cutting red tape and making the registration statement shorter. i'm a markets guy. i want to talk about the price that people pay to go public >> although, look. we've a lot of people come in, venture capitalists and companies that stayed private for awhile part of what they say is i don't want to deal with quarterly earnings calls and the issues you have to deal with as a public company as long as the money is here in the middle market, i'll take it. somebody like an uber says i can continue to raise money without the hassle >> that's a great point. the ongoing cost of companies

being public, that's a conversation i'm willing to have it's not greater than the 7% they have to pay to take themselves public, but that's a conversation that's worth having i don't know about you, but i haven't been in a lot of board rooms where people say we'd love to go public but that registration statement is too long >> how often do people come to you and say the price is too much that's the problem like, the fundamental problem. we have not heard that >> let me say something about that in today's private markets -- think you're in a room -- that do well on valuations versus public markets that tax might have been competitive 10 or 15 years ago, but it's not competitive today what people are telling me is we're not going public because why pay 7% >> when the private markets are frothy, does that also suggest that the s.e.c. wants to do

something or at least wants to warn investors about what's happening in the private markets? >> here's what i'll say about that, putting private raising to one side, i speak only for myself and none of my colleagues, but i will say this. the chairman has been very clear about some of the things he sees in the private markets especially icos that he thinks deserve attention. >> where are you on bitcoin? talking about icos little bit different but in the same lane. >> well, look. if i were to give investing advice on bitcoin, it's not something i can do in my current role and it would be worth what you pay for it what i'll say in general, that space as i hinted earlier has been full of troubling developments that we've seen at the s.e.c. and especially the ico space. that makes me worry we're having a hard time or i should say investors are having a hard time between investments and fraud. >> what can the s.e.c. do to make it clearer? >> we've been doing a lot in the ico spate. clayton has been out there very

clearly and this is what he said he said he hasn't seen an ico yet that's not a security. we get all kinds of different manifestations and proposals and i'm with him i haven't seen one yet that's not a security one of the things about icos that's interesting is if you want to know what it would look like if the s.e.c. didn't do its job, the answer is the ic orko market >> does that suggest you're about to ban this market >> it doesn't suggest either of those things it suggests we are right now focused on protecting investors who are getting hurt in this market down the road i think we will be thinking about and should be thinking about ways to make that work. >> when you're saying you're trying to protect those investors, how are you doing that >> we've been focused on investment in that i've been at the s.e.c. for three months but those folks are doing extraordinary work protecting from the fraud you see in that space. >> commissioner, thanks for

coming in. always good to get an s.e.c. commissioner on the set. >> s.e.c. is always the best every year whether it's clemson or -- >> the other s.e.c >> thank you, sir. >> every year. it's almost not fair >> unstoppable >> yeah. incredible all right. this i sorry my prompt ter cuts off the top line jim cramer will join us live from the new york stocks exchange we'll find out what he's watching ahead of the opening of the wall street. dow futures are up 14 three-points now extra strength after mcdonalds earnings came bteinetr than expected we'll talk to jim in a moment. se options chains? ones that make it fast and easy to analyze and take action? how about some of the lowest options fees? are you raising your hand? good then it's time for power e*trade

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down to the new york stock exchan exchange jim cramer joins house you were a guy on mcdonalds. ass as a side, is it too late for the 76ers? when did they start beating everybody by 20 points a game. tonight is boston. are you on that bandwagon, too >> i am. i trust the process. i think that ultimately you

decide you go for it all, you're going to take awhile they rebuilt it and i think the boston is the weak link. it's going to be a great series. but i think that the sixers will come out. >> you're there. i didn't know you were a 76, you know, we have michael reuben in, and he told me he a bye on them, obviously, as a owner. >> a big hedge fund team i think they decided to take the long-term view that you're never going to make the playoffs unless you tank for multiple years. they're a young team they're an exciting team i think they're a great team, by the way. >> i can't believe i've been watching i've been watching lebron score 80 points every game unbelievable. >> one-man band. >> that probably can't continue. pretty goodwin on saturday after getting blown out. >> yeah. that was fun. >> so mcdonalds.

when you're trying to just make what you do better with ordering and freshness and how fast you do it, when you've rung out those efficiencies, where does the growth come from >> it's funny. he keeps talking about mojo. literally the franchisees say i'm going to spend a little more money. i'm going to do what is right in the community. next thing you know, you have this kind of actual fly wheel. a lot of companies that claim fly wheel but mcdonalds has it i've seen it with dominos now mcdonalds is a big company they reported before the big crash. so now it's coming back to where it should be the company, i believe, is buying back a lot of stock or was. it's just a good, clean quarter. and the last one was, too. the stock was too high when they reported. >> all right, jim. we'll see you in a couple of

minutes. >> thank you. >> don't miss the ceos of t-mobile and sprint. my twitter feed is exploding alabama. how about auburn is auburn -- >> georgia how about georgia? >> georgia is there. quk x"n bc you're watching "sawbo ocn luck. luck. she believes in research. it can take more than 10 years to develop a single medication. and only 1 in 10,000 ever make it to market. but what if ai could find connections faster. to help this researcher discover new treatments. that's why she's working with watson. it's a smart way to find new hope, which really can't wait. ♪ ♪

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welcome back the commerce secretary wilbur ross is out with an op-ed on cnbc.com he said president trump's tax plan is working for america. he outlines the benefits for individuals and businesses read it on cnbc.com. check it out, it seems the tree gifted to president trump by french president macron last week disappeared just days after they planted it. the white house has not given an official response on the plant whereabouts. the tree, which is a variety of oak, not native to the u.s., may have been quarantined for inspection. >> i read somewhere when they planted it, it had plastic wrapped around the roots so it

didn't potentially infect anything my guess it will be back a final check on the markets this morning the futures have been higher all morning long you're going to see they're up from where we started this morning. so dow futures up now by 140 points mcdonalds a big reason they'll talk about that on "squawk on the street" in a moment thank you for joining us today we'll be back. >> make sure you join us "squawk on the street" begins right now. everything i do leading is for my customers and employees it's just small noise from an amateur twitter guy that should stay in the shallow end of the pool he shouldn't play with the big boys i take nothing personally. bring it on. >> when you are fighting somebody like him, you need to go down to his level that's the only way he'll understand an