.. it's 5:00 a.m., a d.c. triple play is topping your top five the treasury secretary calling america's biggest bankers over the weekend. the question is why. reports growing that president trump is looking into possibly firing fed chairman jay powell parts of the u.s. government remain closed at this hour the third government shutdown of the year entering its third day. wall street shrugging off the d.c. noise futures are higher. and retail, a big focus this morning. the final dash begins before christmas. we'll have more on these big stories coming up on this

monday, christmas eve. "worldwide exchange" begins right now. ♪ good morning good afternoon good evening welcome from wherever in the world you may be watching. i'm brian sullivan thank you for being with us. here's how the money your markets and everything else is setting up we are seeing dow futures up a bit. it's an early close for the stock market today normally christmas eve or the last trading day before christmas, you won't get a lot of action. it's been anything but a normal year anything but a normal couple of months dow futures are fractionally higher now anything can change. keep in mind we are in the middle of the worsts did f s ddr the stock market going all the way back to the 1930s. barring a miracle, we are likely

to end the year lower. the question is by how much. bonds, they may not end the year lower. the ten-year yield at 2.79%. 2.78 really. buyers coming into that market as well. as always we'll have much more on the markets and your money coming up. let's begin in the capitol, washington, d.c. a rather head-scratching letter by treasury secretary steven mnuchin saying he spoke over the weekend with the ceos of america's six biggest banks. everything is fine the odd part is nobody in particular was asking if everything wasn't fine ylan mui has more on this. >> it has been a wild weekend here in washington there is the shutdown going on there's a shakeup happening in the cabinet. like you said, i want to start

with this cryptic phone call that secretary mnuchin placed to the six largest bank ceos. he put out a statement saying that the banks confirmed they have ample liquidity available for lending and that they have not experienced any clearance or margin issues, and that markets continue to function properly. so the big question is here why did he put out this statement? is this a routine phone call that the secretary has with ceos or could this be related to the news over the weekend that president trump looked into firing fed chairman jay powell mnuchin pushed back against that saying the president never suggested firing jay powell. mick mulvaney made the rounds over the weekend saying the president understands he doesn't have the legal authority to do so but no one saying that the president didn't inquire into firing jerome powell we know there is one cabinet shakeup coming

that's defense secretary jim mattis he's leaving on january 1st. that is two months earlier than he previously planned to depart. that comes after a scathing resignation letter that he sent to the president in which he questioned trump's america-first agenda i've been trying to get answers on all of these fronts, but it's kind of been crick cet because we're in shutdown. 25% of the government is now in shutdown that includes the treasury department as well as the irs, the small business administration, the agriculture department there was some move towards negotiations and towards discussions over the weekend vice president mike pence met with chuck schumer after that meeting, schumer put out a statement saying the two sides are still very far apart president trump met with conservative lawmakers

he had a lunch with them and one of the lawmakers who attended is representative mark meadows. after that lunch was over, he tweeted this democrats have demonstrated a stronger desire to oppose and punish the president rather than protect our communities. so, it doesn't sound like either side is quite ready for compromise you can imagine why many people in washington are calling the past few days the nightmare before christmas >> there's so much here to unpack you kind of went there i was talking to the team before the show, i said is there possible that there's some weird conspiracy theory that the call was actually made to inquire about possible reaction to the firing of powell, but you need cover? somebody will leak that there was a phone call made, and you'll have to have an actual story behind that. it sounds like you may have heard the same thing because you

said it unprompted >> there is a lot of speculation now, not a whole lot of answers. it does not look like the president has the power to fire jerome powell without cause. just because he doesn't like his policy the law is pretty explicit that the chairman serves as an independent institution, and that the only way that president trump can remove jay powell is if there is a specific reason that he would need do so, not because of disagreement over policy of course washington is going to ask all of these questions and it is sort of a jarring optic that nbc news reported that right now mnuchin is in cabo vacations on the beach. on one hand you have this concern that there could be something fundamentally wrong and disturbing in the marketplace, on the other hand

the secretary is on the beach before christmas day >> you have to be careful. it's like if you were sitting around the house last night and i announced, don't worry, i checked things out, the house is not going to burn down and everybody says we were not thinking about the house burning down but now we are, nobody sleeps at night. that's the reaction that many have had the question is about the power of the president here. what most people don't realize about the federal reserve is that despite the name federal in it, and it was created by the federal reserve act of 1913, it's only a quasi government institution. it was created by the banks. it is an independent entity inside the government with some coming a congressional regulation the president nominates the chairman nobody thinks trump could fire powell from the board, but could

he remove him as chairman, keep him on the board and name somebody new >> that's some of the legal questioning and knit picking that folks are going through quite frankly a lot of this is unclear. folks have always assumed that the fed would act according to its dual mandate but this is not the first time the fed came under attack. one instance in the '70s, the p president threatened to rough up the fed chairman >> a duel at dawn in weehawkin did not end well for hamilton. let joining us now on the cnbc news line is gina sanchez first off, we'll get to the

markets in a minute. what's your take on this mnuchin letter >> it feels a little bit like something that is contrived to create a distraction that's the first thing i thought. >> so would you fall into that semi conspiracy camp that elan and i waxed poetically on, that the call may have been more about the federal reserve chairman but you needed a reason to make that call? >> i hate to consider myself a conspiracy type person, but i think that might have been the m.o. if something threatens to take the news cycle, then the intent is to create something else that will take, you know, take attention away from it quite frankly the idea of a president even inquiring about whether or not he can remove a

fed chairman, that is really contrary to the whole independence of the fed and the mandate it has that easily and quite frankly it's still part of the headline. this just simply takes away distraction. during the holidays, when most people are trying not to think about the markets, things like this will force you back to sort of keep checking your phone and say is everything okay >> that's the problem. market participants know that when you bring up a problem that nobody else is talking about, you can -- not always but sometimes -- create that problem. >> precisely qui quite frankly at a time when market volumes during this time are low. people are on vacation you might get some junior trader who doesn't know or have

coverage that is quite light so everybody is trying not to be focused on the markets now stories like this create -- this has already been a bad month this has been a bad quarter. so, you know, the idea of the president going after something that is krucrucial and fundamen, the banking system stability is important. it needs to be free of political interference the idea that you have the potential of political interference with a president who has a habit of interfering politically, at least by tweet, that doesn't set up for a great christmas. it's exactly the kind of thing that makes the markets think, well, perhaps we're no longer doing business as usual. if that's the case, we have to rethink what kind of risk premium we put on everything not just equities, but we're

talking fundamentally rethinking risk nobody wants to do that at christmas. >> right now dow futures are up 50 but it's very early, thinly traded futures that could move. you referenced people being off. you and i are not two of those people merry christmas. >> merry christmas >> thank you >> brian, i wouldn't miss it for the world. >> aren't you so nice. stop stop thank you. on deck, deck the halls with brand-new stocks the three hot ipos that need to be on your radar as we gear up for the new year. first panic buying no, not in the stock market, in stocking stuffers. leslie picker live inside the dan bury fair mall body armor at the ready. you have a security team no doubt with you to handle the risch. >> i pulled out all the stops. procrastinators beware today is the last day to get that christmas shopping done but if you plan to attend a mall

like this one you're not going to be alone. we'll tell you how many people wait until the last minute to eit those items checked off thr shopping lists that's coming up when "worldwide exchange" returns. in't easy. 12 hours? 20 dogs? where's your belly rubs? after a day of chasing dogs you shouldn't have to chase down payments. (vo) send invoices and accept payments to get paid twice as fast. (danny) it's time to get yours! (vo) quickbooks. backing you.

♪ there's no place likargh!e ♪ i'm trying... ♪ yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪ it is raining again. we haven't had enough rain in the new york area. seems like it has rained every

day. welcome to seattle it's down to your final few hours to panic shop for gifts. with recent concern about the economy going forward, could we see recent signs of slowing at the mall my first question is what type does said mall open? is this one of those super early black friday type opening things >> not yet no one is here quite yet, but it is christmas crunch time we'll see the danbury fair mall open in two to three hours we expect a lot of foot traffic here as people check off those last-minute items from their shopping lists about 7% of americans said that they plan to shop on christmas eve for those last-minute presents, that's according to a national retail federation survey that comes on the heels of what's known as a very busy

weekend for christmas shopping super saturday as it is called saw a ton of volume, about half of u.s. adults said they planned to go to a mall or shopping center on super saturday of those, about two-thirds said they planned to shop the remainder did things like dined or went to a movie or spent time with family, just walking around the mall. and as for those who want to really avoid the crowds on christmas eve, if they did leave that last-minute list for today, there's still amazon if you have prime, if you have one of the items that is in their list of things you can have delivered same day, you can still do same-day delivery for amazon, even on christmas eve, especially if you live in a participating city we'll talk with shoppers all day today to get their thoughts on the economy, the stock market, how that is impacting the shopping decisions >> certainly

listen, it is early. it is 5:30 in the morning. i'm sure some of the workers are starting to come in and get things ready i don't think you had a chance to talk to anybody yet as you have been out has it been a positive vibe? the malls have been packed the mall by my house, 10:00 a.m. yesterday, not a parking spot anywhere >> they've been packed for weeks. it's snowing here, so that may cause some foot traffic to be slower in the morning. people are shopping. there are sales to be had. people have gifts to give. if they did leave things to the last minute, they pretty much have no other choice but to come to the mall or just kind of hope and pray the thing is on amazon prime, it can be ordered samedy. same day. >> it's knowisnowing there? >> it's snowing.

>> is there a panda express at said mall? >> there is. >> you're fine it's going to be a merry christmas. >> all good. panda express will keep me warm. >> i went to panda express once and i was disappointed in the meat offering. >> you got meat there. >> the name was misleading, put it that way. joking thank you. peta, do not call me i'm joking let's bring in stacey widlitz. your safely away from a spilled water mug. luckily you're in london >> i'm far enough away from you this time. >> never too far the market is down big this december worst december since 1930. people are starting to come out. all the bears in hibernation is there any indication that the economic stuff we've been talking about, the market stuff we've been talking about is going to make this a sour christmas and not the big one

that people had hoped? reta >> retail is not having a wonderful christmas, but shoppers are out there they have been spending. foot fall is still down mid single digits year over year that's not encouraging especially since the online business comes at a lower margin there's winners and losers out there. that will continue losers i still think jcpenney, bed bath, victoria secret, then you have the names that are all about innovation and partnerships like nike, like foot locker on the positive side >> we talked in years past about how apple -- they tend to roll out products in the fall if you buy an $800 phone, iphone sales may be weaker than expected most people are now buying their phone on a monthly plan, not dropping the 800 bucks i guess in some ways maybe the

apple effected on retail may b reversed >> that is a help. gas prices are down. that's a huge help consumer confidence until everything going on in the market has been incredibly strong if you look at the numbers for the strong players out there through november, they were strong they were up mid single digits you have ulta and lululemon comping 18%. there's spending out there, but the winners will win more and the divide will just get bigger and bigger into 2019 >> is there any relationship between the equity markets and retail sales i don't want to put you on the spot, but if the stock market is down, is somebody sitting at home saying i was going to add another gift or two, but i better not because the dow is down 10% does that happen >> i think it does have an effect on luxury

and i think also it's not just the stock market think about what's happening in the world. paris is a massive destination for chinese tourism. with the riots going on, the stores have been closed. they're boarded up that is not helpful. brexit news, who knows when we'll get clarity there. globally the tourism piece of the puzzle is a problem right now. >> stacey widlitz, sw retail advisers, happy holidays >> happy holidays. >> we'll see you in 2019. up next, good news at the gas pump if you're one of the millions of people driving this christmas. we'll tell you how much it costs to fill up and there's an interesting stat around this. and later, why this could be a bullish sign for the u.s. economy. it is an empty box icis is not a magic trick. er chemi is up next with the

box indicator and why it's good news

there's an estimated 100 million of you in the united states expected to hit the road this holiday, either christmas or new year's. that's a lot here's the good news, gasoline prices are coming down in a big way. according to aaa, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.32 nationwide, down 12 cents from last year

get this, some parts of america are even seeing prices below $2 a gallon there are reports now there are nine different states where it is very easy to find a gallon of gasoline below $2. then there's california and hawaii 2019 is setting up to be a red hot year for the ipo market what are some names that need to be on your radar here's the ipo playbook fr >> many of the world's biggest unicorns spent the last year ready to go public uber and lyft filed with the fcc, slack chose a leadund lead underwriter softbank made some of the biggest unicorns even bigger ahead of their anticipated listings here are three predictions for the 2019 ipo market. first, we may see a unicorn

stampede silicon valley startups rush to go public ahead of a weakening stock market and forecasts of a recession that could lead to a record breaking year for ipo wz a combined valuation topping 200 billion. we'll finally be able to see how the public markets value ridesharing. consumers love ridesharing but will shareholders. uber's ipo raised eyebrows and lyft's market valuation is $15 billion. will investors agree and be willing to pay up for the hottest ipos of 2019 or will they get a reality check and, three, not all unicorns will go the traditional route. some startups may decide on a direct listing reducing their reliance on investment banks part of our playbook series, you'll have more of that all day on cnbc.

still ahead here, a call for concern. the treasury secretary phoning america's top banking ceos orwhl have more on this big sty en we come back. value of c? what's critical thinking like? a basketball costs $14. what's team spirit worth? (cheers) what's it worth to talk to your mom? what's the value of a walk in the woods? the value of capital is to create, not just wealth, but things that matter. morgan stanley

calling the bankers. steven mnuchin holding a phone call with the ceos of america's six biggest banks. the question is why. futures pointing to a slightly higher open on what is

expected to be a busy half day of trading. and how a big government shutdown can't stop saint nick we'll explain as this christmas eve edition of "worldwide exchange" rolls on welcome back in. it's 5:30 on the east coast. thanks for being with us on cnbc i'm brian sullivan let's kick off the second half of the show with all the news you need to know on a monday we call it the executive recap frank holland has that >> treasury secretary steven mnuchin says he held a series of calls with the ceos of the biggest u.s. banks yesterday in a statement the treasury department said the executives confirmed they have ample liquidity and the markets continue to function normally. mnuchin will meet by phone with the president's working group on financial markets today, a group

that includes the fed and the s.e.c. the trump administration is warning the partial shutdown of u.s. government could stretch into january weekend talks failed to yield a spending deal. the senate is adjourned until thursday mick mulvaney says it is possible the shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new congress. the "wall street journal" reports that president trump's advisers have discussed arranging a meeting between him and jay powell trump has privately discussed firing powell who he criticized for raising interest rates mnuchin said trump told him he never suggested firing powell. brian, back over to you. >> the question is whether or not that would be legal. we'll find out frank holland, thank you very much let's check the other top headlines outside of the world of money and business. phillip mena has more. good morning the death toll continues to rise

from a disastrous tsunami in indonesia. at least 281 people are dead and more than 1,000 injured as rescuers search for the missing. the island was decembimated aftr undersea landslides triggered historic waves during the peak of a local holiday waves went crashing into popular tourist resorts. gad witwick airport officia are offering a reward for anyone behind last week's drone scare the airport was shut down completely leaving thousands strand stranded over the weekend a couple was arrested but later released, found to have no connection to the incident the airport is back on full ask

schedule. and bader ginsberg is up and working after having two growths removed from her left lung on friday back to you. wishing you a merry christmas. >> to you and yours as well. stock futures, the good news is they're in the green. the bad news is they have come off their highs. we're up 5on t7 on the dow futus it's a shortened trading day a half day of trading for the u.s. equity markets. listen, we could have a lot of volatility, especially if volume goes down, got this mnuchin letter, talk around powell generally the day before christmas is slower. these days anything can happen the asian markets and japan is closed for the holiday hong kong trading, they can't kick 2018 out fast enough. it has been a terrible year for the chinese equity market.

down about 30% here's what's happening. germany also really holiday shortened. they're closed today the spain ibex down 0.1% outside of stocks, a global look at commodities and currencies. oil is a big story oil having one of the worst months in decades. the worst month for oil going back to september of 2011. down to $45.50 the oil and gas stocks on average down about 15% just in 15 trading days this month some of the more highly levered ones, down 30% and 40% all in a matter of weeks it's been absolutely brutal for oil and gas stocks overall, the overall market on pace for its worst december since the great depression so the big question for you and your money is where are we headed from here now, i put out a -- if you know

me at all, i like to do things differently. i put out a twitter poll, where are stocks headed? up, down, sideways, grover cleveland? the grover cleveland thing was my attempt to be funny as in i have no idea where the market is going. 10% of you grover cleveland, only president to seventy-twrve nonconsecutive determines. you're welcome trying to throw social back in social media 34% say up 34% say down roughly some say sideways. what does james liu say? >> over the last two years we had almost this mini market cycle. high expectations last year. economic growth chugging on all cylinders. a lot of returns were basically front loaded to the market what we're seeing now is those expectations coming down to

earth. so what's going to happen going forward is that it's going to be somewhere in the middle. we think that s&p 500 returns, u.s. market returns and economic growth, it's not going to be as bad as people fear it is now right now expectations are basically down in the gutter like they were in the beginning of 2016. >> they were so great 30 days ago. two januarys ago, we had the worst start to a year ever the bears came out and said the bull run is done all we did is recover and make money from that. those same bears are back out saying the same thing. so either this month was a drop or stocks are a good value or truly the end of the game. >> two years ago it's amazing how economic expectations and forecasts can turn on a dime you had people saying we would have a recession or bear market imminently the challenge is all the economic indicators point to the

fact we're later in the business cycle. that's generally a process people talk about an inverted yield curve. the yield curve itself has not inverted even when it does invert, we're talking 18 to 24 months before you see the onset of either a bear market or recession >> how about this, even if we get a major slowdown in the economy, let's say we go from 3% to 1.5% on gdp, 50% retracement in growth, is this an overreaction in the equity market >> we still think it is. we still think we're growing so that's not a recession. even then, if you look at things like earnings growth, earnings growth was spectacular in 2018 up over 20%. we should not expect that going forward. earnings growth of 5% to 7% over the next two, three years, that's still a type of earnings growth that will generate positive returns >> your take on the mnuchin letter does it worry you? >> i have no special insight

into that. we don't have special information on that. if the goal was to calm down the markets, it certainly probably backfired. i think we have to wait for more information on it. >> if we get more information. thank you very much. have a great holiday happy new year >> you, as well. >> thanks for being a great guest for us we know it's 38 and raining. let's find out what else you will be talking about today. time for the top trending stories. frank holland has those. what's trending today? >> maybe grover cleveland after that tweet >> he gets no love >> we will start off with hollywood news a flood of new releases at the movies this weekend. one film made a bigger splas than all the others. we're talking about aquaman. >> i see what you did there. >> it was a moment aquaman topping the competition debuting with 67.4 million the warner brothers flick easily swam past mary poppins returns

>> dropping them >> and the transformers sequel bumble bee aquaman arrived in the u.s. theaters after becoming a juggernaut overseas where it grossed more than 400 million in three weeks. this is a business story super heroes going nowhere, big in the box office. a slate of them next year, avengers, miss marvel, could be big for the movies and the streaming services >> my daughter said the movie was not great but extremely long >> i'm not a dc person >> you're marvel >> dc is batman, superman and aquaman. the u.s. government may be in partial shutdown mode but that won't stop the military helping kids keep track of santa claus. the norad santa tracker is not effected but it's run bypriva--

because it's run by volunteers and christmas tree sales are up this year that's according to square the national christmas tree association says millennials are helping to keep the industry alive, that's because that generation is more likely to buy a real tree instead of an artificial one as they tend to be more environmentally conscious. >> environmentally conscious, so you cut down a real tree in favor of a plastic tree you could have for 30 years? i don't know also there's just a lot of millennials. so everything will be helped by millennials, because they're 86 million to 88 million of them. the biggest generation by 10

million. >> and they have a longer spending life than the baby boomers. we have to focus on them >> nobody cares about us, our generation even though we have done everything we invented the internet >> yeah. >> cell phones >> space >> home devices. >> keto diet think about all we have done >> veganism. >> socks >> socks >> frank holland, thank you. we're breaking out our crystal ball for the airline industry ahead. first mr. eric chemi is here with what could be a bullish sign for the american economy. >> that's right. we're going to take a look at an interesting economic indicator and the hint is it's hiding under your christmas tree right now. that's when "worldwide exchange" continues. and serve with confidence that it's safe. this is a diamond you can follow from mine to finger,

and trust it never fell into the wrong hands. ♪ ♪ this is a shipment transferred two hundred times, transparently tracked from port to port. this is the ibm blockchain, built for smarter business. built to run on the ibm cloud. this is the ibm blockchain, built for smarter business. and everyone i've ever opioloved away from me.thing everything. i blew my ankle out and i got prescribed pain pills by my doctor. if making my detox public is gonna help somebody i'm all for it. i just wish i would've had a warning.

from capital one.nd i switched to the spark cash card i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. and last year, i earned $36,000 in cash back. which i used to offer health insurance to my employees. what's in your wallet? ♪ the song is called living in a box by the band living in a box and the album was called living in a box. you're welcome if you think the recession is coming, you might be living in a box. eric chemi is here to explain why cardboard boxes may be this year's big thing >> investors have gotten skittish the last few weeks about the sfretrength of the economy. one unusual data point suggests things are fine, that is how many boxes are being made and shipped across the country

in the past a downturn in those numbers has been indicative of the economy. the idea is that an increase in box shipments is correlated to consumer demand and industrial production more boxes should mean more commerce the most recent data from the fiber box association shows the trend in box shipments increasing across the country but this indicator may not be as predictive this time around. despite the rise of online shopping, box shipments are much lower now than 20 years ago. mark sutton, the ceo of international paper said box demand no longer has a direct correlation to u.s. gdp, but fiber box association says box shipments are still a valid indicator and is correlated with industrial production. that's why traders are looking at boxes to get any edge they

can. >> i'm sure you order stuff on amazon how many boxes do they use >> they do a box inside of a box. >> it's like if you order boxes, do the boxes come in a box >> sometimes the way they measure it, corrugated is -- >> what does that mean >> the smooth layer, the smooth layer with the ridgy thing in between. that thicker box >> i assume that was meant as a buffer >> regular cardboard is a postcard, a cereal box they're not counting that. so they're measuring it on billions of square footage of the box flattened out. so a lot of smaller boxes, they're not the same as a giant box. if you flatten it out you don't have that much material there. that's the data they're tracking so far it's been going up and up and up >> i like it it's a new indicator and now we know why it's called

a corrugated box it's a win just winning >> a lot of this stuff that i thought was cardboard is not corrugated that has the ridgy thing >> the corrugation is what we can call it. >> here is phil lebeau with the 2019 airline playbook. 2019 will be a busy year for airlines and that should be good news for investors. first expect record passenger levels in fact, 2019 could be the first year more than a billion people board flights in the u.s., that's due to a strong economy, so more people are looking to fly. the bad news for travelers, airlines will push higher passenger fees it will cost more to check a bag, pick a seat or change a flight

travelers may not like paying more for various options but it's not prompting them to stop flying finally look for new airline technology facial recognition for ticketing and border will become more common at airports and customers are upgrading apps to make changing travel plans quicker and easier if jet fuel prices stay in check airline profits should grow. making 2019 a year where airline stocks could be primed to fly higher >> that was phil lebeau with next year's airline outlook playbook. on deck, some big concerns for the all-american trade we have a staggering stat about the sector of the market that was crushing it earlier this year, small caps things have gotten tough and apparently jiff kilberg has a suit on you have to see to believe. i have not seen it the reveal of the fancy duds after the break.

live look at the christmas tree in the great city of chicago. futures pointing to a slight higher open. joining us now bright and early or maybe just early from chicago is jeff kilberg of kkm financial. he's a good man. he's a man in a giant red jacket jeff, are you wearing red for christmas or as a coded message about which way you think the markets will go from here? >> very interesting. no, merry christmas from chic o chicago. always great to be on "worldwide exchange" with you especially on christmas eve. >> which way are we going in the markets? >> i think it was interesting. a lot of people initially, when you saw the s&p futures open up, the mnuchin put we're already calling it in chicago, that was not taken in the best way. i think at the end of the day

they are trying to tell you they will be supportive of this market we've seen carnage in the s&p 500. we're back down to a level where stocks are fairly attractive right here, right now on christmas eve i think you bring out the buyers list. we have not seen that santa claus rally, but mnuchin is playing the role of rudolph. mnuchin will light up the sky a bit here and help some buyers come into the markets. >> you believe that? there's been talk, was this a call about firingpowell but yo needed cover you had to figure out something else to officially put out as a statement. you think the plunge protection team is being put back together and this was a message that we have your back in the u.s. government absolutely janet yellen said we do have your back.

and powell is trying to calm markets and trying to let you know they're putting together this team. they will be supportive. i if i if you've been hiding under your desk -- now there is reason to be afraid, but come out from under that desk, buy some of these stocks that will fit in your portfolio moving forward. when is the last time when you saw a secretary of treasury come out and say the things he did over the weekend >> ten years ago and it wasn't good the reason people put those statements out a decade ago is there was concern. you're sitting around the table, all your family is there the christmas goose, you say don't worry, the house won't catch fire tonight everybody is saying the house will catch fire tonight, but now they're thinking the house will

catch fire >> we are in a different spot. earnings, we're concerned about forward guidance with the trade conversation, but earnings are strong rates are low. unemployment at a low point. i get the fear yes, it's healthy cocome bato ck amazon under $1,400, microsoft under $100, stocks are on sale you need a longer term perspective, but at the end of the day you don't see sales like this too often >> jeff kilburg, a couple of things good luck to notre dame >> i'll be there >> merry christmas to you and your family. and i would buy a house from you. i love your realtor jacket >> you're the best >> take care thank you very much. it's time for your christmas eve rbi.

today i want to think small. small was big, but now it's getting smaller. once the best performing group of stocks in america, this route in december has routed the little guys the hardest. only 3% of small cap stocks are higher this month. that's it. the average return on a small cap stock this month, the average has been a drop of 16% that's a percent worse than the mid caps and 4% worse than the dow, which is, by the way, on pace for its worst december since the great depression two companies, women's clothing retailer francesca's and united national foods lost half their value in just 15 trading days. we're not saying this to try to make you feel worse as we head towards christmas, but rather maybe on a day off for the market tomorrow to think about this market's recent move and wonder if things are 16%, 30%, 50% worse than they were just

three weeks ago. think about it have a merry christmas from us and grover cleveland "squawk box" is next ♪ there's no place like home ♪

argh! i'm trying... ♪ yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪

it's the day before christmas and with markets unsteady, "squawk box" is here to make sure you're ready. stocks have been tanking, the yield curve is flatter, we'll talk to some experts to see what is the matter. is it the trade war or central bank tightening or is it because high valuations are frightening? from wall street to main street and silicon valley, investors are seeking a santa claus rally. but how do we get there? just what will spark it? what will it take to escape the

bear market? joe kernen is off, but kelly is our pick to sit in with andrew and becky quick. markets close early, so get your trades done, "squawk box" starts now, merry christmas everyone. ♪ 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. merry christmas eve. i'm becky quick along with andrew ross sorkin and kelly evans. joe is out today we've been watching the u.s. equity futures i bet you have, too. believe it or not this