the nasdaq hovering, and the index eyes its eighth straight day worth of gains a catastrophic strike to stocks. the big warning today from china over any new u.s. tariffs, and you've got the fed taking center stage on wall street as investors await minutes from last month's big fed meeting oil touching fresh highs for the year we'll find out what's driving that rally and tesla ceo elan musk walking back some comments

he made on twitter overnight about production, the full details ahead. it is wednesday, february 20th, and worldwide exchange begins right now. ♪ got to have high, high, high hopes for the living ♪ ♪ shooting for the stars and couldn't make a killing ♪ ♪ didn't have time, but i alway had a vision ♪ ♪ always had high hopes >> welcome to world wooitd exchange i'm dominic chu. brian sullivan is off today. futures right now pointing to an ever so slight lower open. the dow jones off by just about 52 points. the s&p off by five. the max down by nine to ten points let's go worldwide in european trading. we are seeing just fractionally higher markets for the major forces there you can see the german dax up by one-quarter of 1%. the cac and france just about flat, and the ftse 100 and the u.k. just about flat there slightly higher as well. in the overnight session in asia, we saw a little bit of a mixed picture there. slightly higher for some of the major markets out there. the nikkei in japan up by

two-thirds of 1% hang seng up by 1% the shanghai composite up by .2%. and the chinese yuan rising higher ahead of the -- part of its ongoing trailed negotiations the chinese yuan versus the u.s. dollar 6.7171. princhts president trump says a march 1st trade deal deadline with china could move. here's what he told reporters yesterday at the white house >> i think the talks are going very well. our group just came back and now they'rele coming here. i can't tell you exactly about timing, but the date is not a magical date a lot of things can happen the real question will we raise the tariffs because they automatically kick into 25% as of $200 billion worth of goods

that they send, so i know that china would like not for that to happen i think they're trying to move fast so that doesn't happen. >> well, meantime, china is out with a big warning today to the united states. an editorial published in the estate-run global times. says any new tariffs on china would result in a "catastrophic strike to global stock markets." the paper also warns that china will respond with "fiercer counter measures if more tariffs were imposed." these new comments come as the u.s. and china hold another round of trade talks this week in washington d.c. turning back stateside wall street will be laser focused on the fed today we get minutes from last month's big fed meeting. remember, this is the meeting where the fed made a sharp turnaround in its rate policy stance they said now patience -- that was the keyword there. they talked about gradual increases before we'll have full coverage of today's big fed minutes release

at 2:00 p.m. eastern time on "power lunch." let's bring in ken, president at mercedian asset management let's start with the fed because we just talked about this idea that there has been a big about-face in some of the rhetoric coming from the fed is it now a situation where investors don't have to fear the fed any more >> i don't know about anymore. i think the fed is kind of off the table certainly through the summer you would think that they're not going to change the stance that they just changed. i don't expect the fed minutes to say anything earth-shattering today because these would be the minutes of the meeting where they kind of got the message that the marker wasn't hang. we can all debate whether the fed is following the idea of keeping the market happy, but that's the situation we're in. >> when we talk about terms like balance sheet runoff, is that in your mind the most important thing that we have to talk about with regard to the fed in this current market environment >> i don't know if it's the most important, but it's the one that's out there to talk about because they've taken interest rates off the table. i think the balance sheet runoff

will continue, but it's certainly not going to grab the headlines because it's not like an event that is a number and there it is. i mean, they're managing getting out of ten years of emergency numbers, and we're really not an emergency anymore. it's always been anticipated it will be somewhat painful getting out of it. i give them credit for doing as well as good a job as they've done up to this point, but at some point they are going to have to continue to normalize as they say >> in your mind has the softening and tone from the federal reserve and chair jay po powell, has it been one of the primary driving forces behind the sharp rise that we've seen in stocks ever since those december 24th lows >> it's hard to argue that wouldn't be the case it was literally a knee jerk reaction while he was on tv saying it. the market was up by 200 points within 90 seconds. i think that the bigger issue, though, is that, you know, higher interest rates spook the market right now investors are hostage still to equities because you're

not going to get any real rate of return after inflation in fixed income even though the fed has been raising the bond market and hasn't been cooperating. it keeps it as an equity story for a while. >> ken, we've seen a massive run for stocks ever since those christmas eve lows many will argue that it was an over shoot to the down side. people got way too pessimistic, and that now this is a way too optimistic view of the up side right now. in your mind, do we have a constructive market for people to still put money in at current levels, or are we due for a pause or retest of those lows? >> i'm of the mind that it's always a good idea to be investing, especially if you get to dollar cost averaging you have to keep in mind that december was the worst december since 1931 and january was the best january since 1987. markets have a way of, you know, over swinging. pendulums do that. if you are going to look at -- as the current market as being too high, maybe it's that december got really too low.

we're getting back to that middle zone. i think the economy still remains strong the consumer, although there's been some question whether the consumers are strong and wal-mart's numbers yesterday kind of hinted there's more strength that maybe is not being reflected in some other numbers, i think the consumer is still optimistic strong the economy is strong. we're getting earnings growth. maybe it's not as much as we thought going into the year, but if we still get five to eight to maybe even 9% earnings growth, that's great last year at 20 some odd percent. >> thank you very much >> thank you >> all right well, new this morning tesla revealing big plans for its model 3 while elan musk is hitting the brakes on a tweet he sent out overnight frank holland joins us now with that story frank, it was a little bit of nuance there >> that e-mail reportly said

that employees would be offered the option to lease in the next two weeks, but did not say when consumers could lease the sedan. a tesla representative responded to that report saying no decision on when leasing would be offered has been made elan musk is also back tweeting again guess he never really stopped. jed he sent a tweet saying that tesla made zero cars in 2011, but would make about half a million in 2019. then, a few hours later he tweeted a clarification saying, "meant to say annualized production rate at the end of 2019 probably around 500,000, ie 10,000 cars a week deliveries for year, still estimated to be about 400,000. now, 500,000 is considerably more optimistic than the estimate of 360,000 or 400,000 deliveries that tesla gave during its earnings call in january. yesterday's tweets will also likely raise a few questions about tesla's corporate governance after a questionable tweet from musk about taking tesla private at 4.20 a share led to a

settlement with the s.e.c., the company was required to have someonemonitor his tweets. not clear if that happened here, though >> all right nuance, the keyword of the day for tesla. frank holland, thank you very much >> thank you let's check some of the other top headlines and movers this morning we've got glencore, the adjusted profit there jumping by 8% last year on higher prices and at production level however, that was still below analyst estimates. the mining and trading giant also announced a $3 billion stock buy-back those shares in european trading up by one-third of 1%. devin energy's fourth quarter production topping forecasts on the strength in its u.s. shale business the company also plans to sell or spin off some of its assets in canada and the barnett shale patch in the united states the devon into a pure play oil producer it's up 7% premarket diamondback energy is down after the company's earnings miss forecasts by 41 cents a

share. that was despite a nearly 60% rise in revenues, which was also shy of estimates diamondback is trimming the high end of its capital spending outlook this year as well. those shares off by about 4% premarket. well, happening now russian president vladimir putin is delivering his annual state of the nation address he is speaking before parliament right now. you're seeing live shots there in moscow. we are going to monitor this for you and bring you all the headlines as we get them here on worldwide exchange well, we are just getting started. coming up next, back to brussels british prime minister theresa may is headed back to belgium as the clock ticks towards next month's brexit deadline. we have a live report from london that's straight ahead. and later on, riding the rally. oil prices hitting new highs of the year the big impact on you and your meba aerhie orldwide exchang cos ckft ts.at airpo my toothp.

and you should be mad at people who take unnecessary risks. how dare you, he's my emotional support snake. but you're not mad, because you have e*trade, whose tech helps you understand the risk and reward potential on an options trade it's a paste. it's not liquid or a gel. and even explore what-if scenarios. where's gate 87? don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. servicenow put our this changes everything. you're right sir... everything. well not everything, i mean you're still blatantly sucking up to me gary. ahhh... stop it. servicenow. works for you.

all of you. how you live,

what you love. that's what inspired us to create america's most advanced internet. internet that puts you in charge. that protects what's important. it handles everything, and reaches everywhere. this is beyond wifi, this is xfi. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity, the future of awesome. welcome back let's get a check on the markets. we have the dow indicated to open slightly lower by just about 35 points. the s&p off by about four points, and the nasdaq futures indicating a four-point drop for that index well, the clock is ticking towards the march deadline for brexit theresa may, the prime minister there, heads to brussels today to meet with e.u. lawmakers in hopes of hammering out some kind

of a deal. willem marks is in our london newt u newsroom with the latest there. willem >> thanks, dom theresa may will be meeting with the president of the european commission that's essentially the executive branch of the e.u. he has made it very clear ahead of the meeting he doesn't expect to see a huge amount of progress >> there's little enough movement for me to be able to assume that it will be a productive discussion. the domestic british one as well as the european. >> so a few weeks ago, dom, back when theresa may was once again haggling with her own conservative mp's here in london, she made a promise that she would go back to the europeans and say what we want is for the withdrawal agreement. that's the deal that we signed back in december to be reopened and changed. they've said repeatedly since then that's not going to happen. one of the alternative options was to try and use technology to overcome this very thorny issue of the irish border, something

that had been explored 18 months ago early on in these negotiations, but something she promised she would now look at we found on the monday night that the secretary went to brussels, and that idea is now dead in the water. we understand today she's going to be going to brussels, meeting with juncker trying to get some of the legal language changed to keep her own mp's happy so next week when she's back here in westminster facing a vote, she might have a chance of getting this through >> willem, really quickly, we keep mentioning the irish backstop it's worth explaining, the issue here is the main one about whether or not that border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland is open or closed pending these negotiations take us through why that is so controversial. >> if you go back more than two decades, dom, to the signing of the good friday agreement that ended the period of the troubles on the island of ireland, it both governments at the time, members of the european union,

promised to keep that border open to have no security infrastructure along the dividing line between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. it's very difficult to police a customs union border if you have no physical infrastructure so far the europeans have not been happy with any of the proposed technological solutions to that conundrum, and that's where we have this difficulty. the irish backstop is essentially an insurance policy, a guarantee from the british side that they will not erect a hard border even if they're not able to find common agreement on a future trade relationship between themselves and the e.u the europeans, the irish have insisted on this for months now. it's not somethingthey're prepared to give up. this is where we're really struggling because a lot of british lawmakers not at all happy with that proposal >> all right willem, thank you for details on the brexit negotiations. let's bring in peter spiegel, news editor at the financial times. peesht, it just goes to show how tense these negotiations are and how a few sticking points could

possibly derail everything here. what exactly is the feeling there about whether a deal can get done given all of these concerns about not just the irish backstop, but everything else in play >> well, i mean, i think it's different moods in london and brussels in london, frankly, it's been incredibly obsessed with british politics and the interplay of the various factions within parliament you know, to brussels and our reporters in brussels keep saying they think britain has lost its plot here there is no chance that what theresa may wants is going to be accepted to brussels they have negotiated this already for 18 months, skps they've said already this is unacceptable anything that britain wants to change in the agreement, if they want to reopen the agreement, they are not willing to do this. this is a strange kabuki dance going on for two, three weeks where may has said i will do this, and brussels has said no, you won't. we're not expecting anything to happen today frankly, i have been surprise the the markets have not been more reactive to this.

we see sterling has not moved at all. the every day -- remember, it's only five weeks away from brexit day. every day that gets closer with no movement on anything is a day closer to a no deal brexit, which is going to be chaotic for the u.k. economy i think, frankly, that there is little of any hope of a deal along the lines that may wants, and and that is acceptable to parliament there's talk of a legally binding signed agreement, but the tories in parliament said they're not going to accept that frankly, i don't know where we go from here >> all right so peter, you mentioned a lot of things in kind of like that landscape that we're seeing. we're not asking you to predict the future, but based upon everything that we're seeing right now, what is the likely outcome and what are the step by step implications that folks are forecasting given what the outcomes could be? >> well, i'm going to go out on a limb and say there is no deal. there is no deal by the end of march, when is brexit day, which leaves two options

one is bust out horribleness, crashing out of the e.u. i think the chabs of that are actually -- although rising still relatively low 25% or something like that i think the biggest thing is going to the extension essentially, britain is going to -- may is going to come back. whatever the e.u. is willing to give her, which is going to be marginal at best, is not going to be accepted by the u.k. parliament, and she will have to go to brussels and say, guys, i need another three months. the reaction for brussels will be interesting they will extend how long they will extend is an open matter. there's also just growing frustration. if we extend, what are you going to do? is it another three months of nothingness? they are frustrating because they really want may to say i'm going to need three months, and here's what i'm going to do in three months is that another general election that's been rising as we've seen defections from the labour party that have left there's a lot of rumors in westminster that members of the tory party are going to resign do we see a general election do we see a second referendum? is there a democratic moment that needs to happen the most likely outcome is a request from may sometime next

month for a delay which the e.u. will grant, which is going to be extending the pain for another three months >> peter, speaking of deadlines, we've just got a few moments bag. what is the likelihood that the u.s. and china could get some kind of a good framework of a deal by the time these trade talks in washington conclude later on this week >> i think we need some sort of guidance from trump himself about whether he wants a deal or not. the outlines of a possible deal and where the differences are on this have existed now for several weeks. trump needs to side domestically whether he can -- whether he wants to declear victory and have a deal basically on terms that now exist, or whether he likes the fight, which he said, you know, he likes to do i think right now reading whether there's a deal or not is like reading donald trump's mind, which we all know is a very dangerous thing i think we're going to have to watch for signs in the white house in the next few days about

whether trump is willing to deal i think everything else that's happening with lou showing up for the talks and xi participating in beijing it's noise right now we just got to find out what the president of the united states wants to do and once we get signals out of the white house, i think that's when we make a determination. >> thanks, peter for that update appreciate that. coming up next on the show, a countdown to the fed investors are waiting minutes from last month's big federal reserve meeting. we'll break down the key things you need to watch. that's coming up straight ahead. first, we are on washington watch as well. d.c. drama still dominating headlines from capitol hill to wall street. we'll take you live to the nation's capital when worldwide exchange returns after this break.

♪ wake up sweetie. ♪ doctor dave. ♪ here's your order. applebee's to go. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. his family.

his steinway, which met a burst pipe. so grant met his insurance: you are caller number 12. which didn't quite cover the steinway. but what if he'd met pure insurance? owned by members. he'd have met: lisa, your member advocate. who'd introduce him to gustav: leave it to me. a temporary address, temporary ivory, and help him get tickets to the mozart festival. excuse me, grant likes beethoven! uh, the beethoven festival. pure. love your insurance.

are you looking at a live shot of washington d.c there's a lot of drama now things happening within the trump administration and trade talks. president trump firing back at a new report about a secret phone call he allegedly had with his hand-picked acting attorney general. nbc's tracie potts live in washington now with those details. tracie >> good morning. the president is denying it. denying that this phone call, this request ever happened, but sources have told the "new york times" it did, and they are sticking by their story.

>> reporter: according to the new york sometimes, president trump called up then acting attorney general matt whitaker and asked for a change the paper reports mr. trump wanted to put an ally in charge of the case against his long-time attorney michael cohen. the fbi was investigating hush money payments cohen made to women for mr. trump. >> do you ask acting attorney general matthew whitaker to change the leadership of the investigation aof your former personal -- >> there's a lot of fake news out there. no, i didn't >> earlier this month whitaker told congress the president never pressured him to influence any case >> at no time has the white house asked for, nor have i provided any promises or commitments. >> reporter: the man the president reportedly wanted in charge, u.s. attorney jeffrey burman the time reports whitaker said no, he had already been recused from the case. legal experts say if the president made that call, it could be considered obstruction of justice >> was it asked in the form of a

question hey, can we get the u.s. attorney to handle this? no, sir, he is recused okay or was it more of a direct order that was ignored that -- those facts make a difference >> reporter: meantime, the former acting fbi director who ordered two investigations of mr. trump, tells nbc he briefed congress >> no one objected not on legal grounds not on constitutional grounds, and not based on the facts >> reporter: more drama swirling around investigations involving the president. >> some people were familiar with "the times" story and are wondering would burman have been an ally to the president in terms of that investigation anyway he is, after all, dom, the person who is investigating the trump inaugural committee. >> all right, tracie potts a complicated story, for sure. we'll keep tabs on it. a huge story coming out of washington d.c coming up next, betting on trade. that's what one market pro is doing amid all the uncertainty he will make his case ahead. skblierkts and a winter weather alert. a major storm is expected to

dump rain, ice, and, yes, notice snow across the united states. the latest on this developing orwh wldood chge returns after this you know, we could sell these. nah. ♪ we don't bake. ♪ opportunity. what we deliver by delivering. (voice) (danny)know what impressing the heck out of me. also, giving a shih tzu an updo. pet care ain'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) you deserve a treat. and by treat i mean cash. bacon-wrapped cash. josie...it's time to get yours! (vo) quickbooks. backing you.

[when we set out to ♪ hecreate america's most advanced internet, we started with you. we started by realizing that grandma should always be within arm's reach. from any room in the house. [ laughing ] that dinnertime is for catching up... dad: alright, time to eat. with each other. that homework should be anything but textbook. oh my god it works! [ cheering ] that the basement can be where everyone wants to be. [ cheers and groans ] that feeling safe at home should be a given.

and that the best nights out, can be nights in. that's how we reimagined wifi and created xfinity xfi, internet that brings your home together. this is beyond wifi. this is xfi. [ joyful laughter ] simple. easy. awesome. xfinity the future of awesome. countdown to the fed futures holding steady as investors await minutes from last month's fed meeting we'll break down the key things to watch that's straight ahead. a catastrophic blow to stocks that's the big warning from china over a potentially new u.s. tariffs, and hitting the brakes elan musk walking back some fresh tweets overnight the full details ahead it is wednesday, february 20th you are watching worldwide exchange right here on cnbc.

♪ good morning welcome to worldwide exchange. brian sullivan is off today. let's kick off the second half of the show with your executive recap. frank holland is back with those. frank. >> dom, here's what's leading cnbc.com right now klein is out with a big warning today to the u.s an editorial published in the state-run global times says any new tariffs on china would result in "a catastrophic strike to global stock markets. the paper also warns that china will respond with "fiercer counter measures if more tariffs are imposed. now to a pair of tesla headlines. the carmaker is reportedly preparing a new leasing program for the model three. this comes as tesla tries to boost demand for that sedan. they say employees will be able to lease a model 3 within the next three weeks no word on when consumers can lease. elan musk is walking back a prediction for just how many cars tesla will make this year

musk tweeting tesla made zero cars in 2011, but will make around 500,000 in 2019 musk, then backtracking that tweet with a new tweet saying, "meant to say annualized production rate at the end of 20 19 probably around 500,000, ie, 10,000 cars a week deliveries for the year still estimated to be about 400,000. meant to say, dom. back over to you >> frank holland, thank you for those. let's get a check on the morning's other headlines outside of business. nbc's phillip menna live in the new york newsroom with the latest >> dom, good morning the trump administration wants to pull funding for california's bullet train dot officials announce plans to cancel nearly $is billi1 billio aside for the rail project it wants the state to pay back the money already spent. california hasn't provided its own promised funding and can't complete work by the 2022 deadline governor gavin newsom says the state will fight for those

funds. his picture sparked a nation wooitd debate, and now a fierce legal battle nicolas sandman is the kofington catholic high school student who made headlines last month after his encounter with the naish american activist during a protest in d.c well, now the family of the kentucky teen is suing the washington post for defamation they're seeking $250 million in damages. the suit claims the post targeted and bullied the teen in an attempt to embarrass president trump. he was wearing a make america great again hat. the paper says it plans to mount a vigorous defense we're following a massive winter storm moving across the country. the system dumping snow and ice could impact as many as 200 million people in 39 states. the snowfall ramped up tuesday afternoon in kansas. and a woman in georgia shared this video of a hail storm last night the winter blast is expected t reach from the south all the way up to southern new england today. dom, back to you >> all right, fill iphillip, wee

everyone stays safe. russian president vladimir putin is still delivering his annual state of the nation address. he is speaking before parliament right now in moscow. as you can see there, a few headlines crossing from this particular address putin says america's decision to withdraw from a nuclear arms treaty is based on groundless accusations against russia putin adding russia is not a direct threat to the united states, and it seeks friendly relations. we will continue to monitor this particular address and bring you more details as we get them. well, let's get a check on the markets this morning stock futures right now pointing to a slightly lower open you can see the dow slated to open down by about 39 points the s&p off by just about four points the nasdaq off by about three to four points as well. let's take a look at the treasury side of things. bond yields a focus given today's big fed minutes released the ten-year note yield currently 2.63%. slightly lower on the day. the two-year note deal just a

hair below 2.49% as for the oil prices, we have seen a steady move higher trending as of late. you can see wti crude, though, off by one-third of 1% today $55.88 the last trade there. on the euro side of things, just about flat on the day. $1.1340. comex gold up to 1,348 an ounce. the bitcoin up by 1.5% 3,946 there. as we mentioned, wall street will be laser-focused on the fed later on today we get minutes from the last fed meeting last month remember, this is the meeting where the fed made a pretty sharp turnaround in its interest rate policy to "patients" from "gradual increases." we will have full coverage of today's big fed minutes, 2:00 p.m. eastern time. keep it here on cnbc for "power lunch. new york fed president john williams says he is "comfortable" with where rates

are right now. here is what he said in an interview with reuters >> we're seeing some effects of slowing growth, which was not a surprise 2018had well above trend growth i think i and most people expected growth to be slower in 2019 we definitely are giving a lot of different signals about that. the data have been really strong some less so again, that's pretty much a strong argument for taking some time, reassessing the data and getting a clearer picture of where the economy is and where it's going >> williams adding while fed policy isn't set for all time, it will take a surprising shift higher in growth or inflation to warrant a hike well, let's bring in mark tipper, ceo of strategic wealth partners mark, you heard those comments, and john williams is pretty important. he is the only permanent voting member of the fomc presidents of regional banks do you think what he said is true do we have a situation where we have to wait a lot longer to see

data before the fed does anything else? >> i agree with him. i think the fed is on pause right now. they continue to reiterate that word "patient. they've removed the language that says they expect further gradual increases. yeah, i think they're on pause right now. you know, heading into this year, the fed and trade were the two biggest obstacles that were raeld holding the supreme court back if you remove them both, the market is going to rally i do think the fed is on pause right now, and really the biggest thing that we're watching right now is whether or not there's going to be a trade resolution that's positive >> all right you can argue that the sharp up turn we've seen in markets has been because of a softer tone from the fed and because of more optimism from trade. have we gone maybe a little too far too fast at this stage the market has really had a staggering move higher ever since christmas eve. >> i don't think so. we're still roughly 5% from hitting those all-time highs, and if you look back to what happened in the fourth quarter of last year, i mean, it was

just -- it was awful it was a bloodbath i mean, poul essentially botched his speech in october, botched it in december, and that's what caused the huge sell-off i think now that powell and the fed have really reversed their course a little bit and they definitely have gone much more dovish in january, you know, i think things look good for the market, and i don't think we've come too fast far too fast i think the multiple on the market looks really attractive right now, and i personally think we're still at least a year and a half away from a recession, and typically, in the 13 to 24 months prior to a recession, the s&p generates annualized returns of 14%. you know, i think we're well within the realm of normalcy right now. >> all right you are constructive that's fair to say are there places, though, within the market that you feel more strongly about, whether it be places that you think that are worth investing in a current level or places that you would stay away from >> yeah. so, you know, successful investing, it's not about winning 100% of the time it's really about tilting the

odds in your favor that's what gives you an edge. one of the first steps towards gaining that edge is to identify those big mega trends or secular investment themes that are really going to drive growth over the next five to ten years. if you can get those mega trends right, if you can identify the companies that are going to be the leaders, you are going to be happy with your performance. you know, one of the big mega trends as we see it is we've got this aging population. that's really concerned about having a good quality of life. people are living longer they want to have a good quality of life. health and wellness are important, and the two biggest roadblocks to that right now are the cancer and diabetes epidemics that we're facing as a nation if you can identify the companies that are really the leaders in treating and managing those, you are going to be tilting the odds in your favor a lot of the pharmaceutical companies, some of the medical device companies that are really helping in the war against cancer and diabetes are a good place to be looking at this point. >> all right before we let you go, mark, as we kind of point ahead towards

those big fed minutes, is there anything that you could see coming out of those minutes that might change your thinking, whether it be more towards the bullish or bearish side? >> i'm expecting the fed to stay patient and really not to change their tone at all. however, one thing that could really drive the market up is if they begin to talk about potentially cutting. i mean, we heard janet yellen talk about it not too long ago where she did mention that the fed's next move could actually be a cut if we hear anything along those lines, you are going to see the market rally >> all right, mark tipper, thank you for those thoughts on the market this morning. weappreciate it. time for this morning's top trending stories frank holland is back with those. frank, what do we have >> well, woulder going to start off with an interesting story for anybody that travels the u.k. is expanding its no fly zone for drones around airports. the new law will widen the zone to over three miles from half a mile it goes into effect on march 15th it comes after more than 100,000 people were stranded or delayed in december due to drone

sightings near london's gatwick airport. something similar happened in newark >> yes >> i can't imagine a bigger pain than being stuck on the tarmac or not being able to get on your flight because there's a drone we all know how uncomfortable air travel is these days >> it's crazy, too, because, remember, there was that whole push if you were to buy a drone, you have to register with the faa or some other regulatory body to be able to fly those things, so you wonder how people are still doing these type of things in an unregulated fashion. >> i think it's an emerging technology, and some people always will think rules are meant to be broken you know well, it is girl scout cookie season. the competition to be the top seller is very sfeers. one scout in colorado had a brilliant marketing idea changing samoas to momoas. that's areal box she created she printed out new labels for inventory for purple samoa cookies featuring jason momoa after branding the cookies momoas she said she could barely keep up with demand she's hoping for a repeat as her

troop's top cookie seller. >> that's amazing. talk about entrepreneurship and that spirit, right >> absolutely. >> it's also kind of curious because at that age level, i'm not sure how many people would identify with jason momoa. he is a great actor. game of thrones, aqua man. >> fantastic i don't think it was about identification i think a lot of people were fans of his. one person defeated that box is delicious in all kinds of ways >> i'm sure many of the females out there who are on the mother side of things are probably looking at it that same way. >> good-looking guy. how about this one would you rather see a super bowl or a late february men's college basketball game? well, if you are a duke or unc fan, it could cost you just about the same ticket prices for tonight's showdown are sky-high with the cheaper ticket available on the secondary market, hitting $2,500 >> you know, i don't doubt it. >> it's hard to believe. that's just about $100 cheaper than the least expensive ticket to super bowl 53 crazy. >> i mean, it is, but it's also north carolina-duke, and you are going to watch zion williamson,

who is the presufrptive -- i don't pretend to know the future the presumptive number one pick. whoever gets that pick in the draft -- >> it would be an all-time shock if he wasn't >> you are going to watch history in the making. this is the most -- probably one of the most storied rivalries within college basketball. >> absolutely. >> can you see the top pick in the nba draft possibly maybe paying upwards of $2,500 is a chance to get -- >> this makes me think on the business angle is if i'm the nba, there's for way i would let kids go from high school to the pros because look at the branding this game is doing for their presumptive overall pick people are willing to pay $2,500 to watch him pay in a college game amazing. >> it talks about the money involved at this level with college sports these days. >> and amateur athletics >> yes frank holland, thank you very much for those trending stories. well, coming up on the show, pumping profits. crude pulling back a bit this morning after hitting new highs for the year we are drilling down on those big moves ahead. later, sit back and just relax and watch your money grow.

the one stock getting a nice pop today, all thanks to the comfort trade. that name and more when orwi ehae"etns"wlddexcng rur imagine traveling hassle-free with your golf clubs. now you can, with shipsticks.com! no more lugging your clubs through the airport or risk having your clubs lost or damaged by the airlines. sending your own clubs ahead with shipsticks.com makes it fast & easy to get to your golf destination. with just a few clicks or a phone call, we'll pick up and deliver your clubs on-time, guaranteed, for as low as $39.99. shipsticks.com saves you time and money. make it simple. make it ship sticks.

tremfya® is for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. with tremfya®, you can get clearer. and stay clearer. in fact, most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® works better than humira® at providing clearer skin... ...and more patients were symptom free with tremfya®. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine.

ask your doctor about tremfya®. tremfya®. because you deserve to stay clearer. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options. tremfya®. because you deserve to stay clearer. guys go through a lot to deal with shave irritation. so, we built the new gillette skinguard with a specialized guard designed to reduce it. because we believe all men deserve a razor just for them. the best a man can get. gillette. 4:45 a.m. central time

oil prices now pulling back this morning after touching fresh 2019 highs lots of pieces moving in the energy market right now with the ongoing crisis in venezuela. upcoming elections in nigeria. continuing supply cuts from opec you get the picture. joining many he now to break it all down, helena croft, global head at rbc capital markets. she's a cnbc contributor always great to have you here. way too many moving pardons parts for me to keep track of. what is the most important moving part in the oil markets right now? >> i think the big story for the last week has been the saudi resolve to basically get prices higher when they basically cam out and announced they were going to take production below ten million barrels we'll do this on our own backs if necessary, where they've had important assists. venezuela is the crisis that keeps getting worse by the day.

they're having election on saturday that's a very important oil producer to watch because elections have been accompanied by disruption in the past. >> can we just focus on venezuela for a bit? we know just how big of a producer thsh. we know a lot of that production is now locked in because the u.s. is not buying any of it >> right >> so as we talk about the pressures mounting there -- take us through why the oil market is holding up relatively well given the crisis in caracas. >> i think people are focused on the fact that the real disruption has been from venezuela in the united states you have seen barrels going into places like india, for example will the u.s. sanctions make it harder for venezuela to extract it from the groind or whether the u.s. decides to employ

secondary sanctions and essentially says to india and china if you take those venezuelan barrels we're going to shakz you just like we sanction you if you take too many iranian barrels that could be taking barrels off the market, which obviously pushes prices higher >> do we have a situation developing there where we could see the military get involved in the oil market directly, ie going to fields, maybe getting people to produce things >> really what we've seen, why venezuelan production is really cratered over the last year has been the fact that the military has taken over the oil sector. you have an oil minister now who is actually opec president who has no experience in the energy sector they basically used pervesa to feed themselves, feed the military beast

>> you mentioned nigeria i can't let you leave without talking a little bit about that. the biggest oil producer in africa, sub-saharan. what are the implications for this upcoming election >> reason why we focus on nigeria is nigerian elections tend to be accompanied by a lot of violence in the oil region. we have had three elections since military rule ended in 1999 we've had the rise of armed militant groups who have taken off between 800,000 and one million barrels of nigerian production we watch it very closely nigeria is a country like libya where production tends to swing wildly based on security events. if we have a volatile election this time, if nigeria reverts back to past practice and we start to lose barrels, given everything going on in the market right now, that's a catalyst for moving much higher. >> many catalysts to keep track of thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> well, coming up on the show, pepsi is bulking up its portfolio. the beverage company acquiring a new name that could have investors flexing all the way to the bank we'll explain. plus, brace for a dollar drop.

why one currency pro is predicting red arrows for the green back she'll make her case when worldwide exchange returns after this as you are listening to the back street boys. ♪ i live my life for your heart... your joints... or your digestion... so why wouldn't you take something for the most important part of you... your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory.

prevagen. healthier brain. better life. ♪ wake up sweetie. ♪ doctor dave. ♪ here's your order. applebee's to go. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

let's get a check on some of the names on the move this morning. concho resources down after the fourth quarter earnings and revenues missed forecasts. the shale giant is also cutting its capital expenditures plans by 17% this year those shares off 4.5%. lays la-z-boy says revenue was boosted by sales of its higher priced upholstery products shares are now up more than 20% this year. that's after falling 11% in 2018 4.5% gains this morning. pepsco is bulking up the company is buying the maker of muscle milk from hormel for an undisclosed amount. hormel bought the business for

$420 million in 2014, but has struggled with competition from rival sports drinks that have invaded muscle milk's turf in supermarkets and in convenience stores as well those shares now unchanged let's get a quick check on the futures market we are pointing to a very slightly lower open. just kind of what we saw yesterday as well. the dow jones slated to open down by 26 points. the s&p 500 by three points. the nasdaq down by just about one or two points as well. and the dollar, let's keep a focus on that. it is earnings season. companies in the united states always watching the dollar weakness and strength for their profits. the euro right now 1.1342 let's bring in the managing director of fx strategy at bk asset management also a cnbc contributor. as we talk about the dollar, we did see a nice little pullback lower yesterday that boosted things like copper and gold. what do we think about the medium term and longer term

prospects for that dollar? >> i think the dollar is past its prime. we had a very nice rally at the end of last year primarily due to risk aversion u.s. stocks pretty much at their highest levels this year a lot of those concerns and that pressure is abating, and, you know, take a look at the bigger picture. everything from brexit to the trade talks to the government shutdown, all seem to be moving in the positive direction. now, on brexit we have not necessarily heard the resolution yet, but i think at the end of the day they're going to ask for an extension or they're going to reach an agreement they cannot accept a no deal scenario i think investors are turning optimistic, and that's definitely putting pressure on the greenback. at the same time we see green shoots the euro zone, yes, it's been beaten down a lot, but yesterday we had the fourth monthly improvement in investor confidence, which means that investors who have been downbeat on the euro zone for the past year finally are seeing some signs of improvement, and the

u.s. itself were beginning to see a lot of the data show the concerns of the fed having the last week we had inflation, and retail sales come in weaker than expected i think that we're going to see continued softness in u.s. data. especially as the numbers show the impact of the government shutdown i do think that the dollar has passed its prime, and we could see further weakness >> one of the beneficiaries has been the emerging markets. not just their currencies, but also their stock markets as well one of the main etf's that tracks the shares emerging markets, the ticker eem is up year-to-date does that market strength continue >> yes i think basically we see strength across the markets. chinese markets and emerging markets. all of that is clearly due to the improvement of risk appear tut, and the increasing -- that the dedsline for the china u.s. trade talks or trade deal will be pushed out. i think that's benefitting all emerging markets currencies commodities, equities, and i think that should continue because it seems like the most

likely scenario. >> all right cat cathy, we have rhetoric between the u.s. and china with regard to the chinese yuan, and its value. what do you think about the current valuation here does the u.s. have any kind of sway here? >> i can't imagine they won't. china came out and said they won't use their currency on trade. we heard the same sort of language with japan. i think they are truly motivated to get a deal done they're not going to allow the currency to move all that much and to weaken much further i think, you know, in some way direct or indirect, the u.s. definitely has an impact on the currency >> all right thank you very much for those thoughts on the currency markets and the global macropicture. that is it for worldwide exchange let's get a quick look at futures. a slightly lower open poise there. "squawk box" is coming up next keep it right here on cnbc they pick up coverage coming up next

♪ ♪ let's go from plans... to full blown production. with financing solutions from american express. chat with us today and let's make it happen. american express. don't do business without it. want more from your entejust say teach me more. into your xfinice remote to discover all sorts of tips and tricks in x1.

can i find my wifi password? just ask. [ ding ] show me my wifi password. hey now! [ ding ] you can even troubleshoot, learn new voice commands and much more. clean my daughter's room. [ ding ] oh, it won't do that. welp, someone should. just say "teach me more" into your voice remote and see how you can have an even better x1 experience. simple. easy. awesome.

>> china warning of catastrophic consequences on the market if the says u.s. imposes new tariffs. details straight ahead tesla reportedly going to roll out a new plan that could give its model 3 a new lease on life with a lease program. we'll learn more about the federal reserve's patience signal from january when we get the minutes, the fed minutes, later this afternoon it's wednesday, february 20th, 2019 "squawk box" begins right now. good morning 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 kernan and andrew ross sorkin. let's take a look at u.s. equity futures this hour. you look at the dow and s&p are a little under pressure. dow futures down by 18 points. s&p futures down by 2. the nasdaq up by less than a point. this is all happening after you have seen a pretty decent winning streak for all the major averages the s&p has been up for six of the last seven sessions. we are getting the fomc minutes later this morning that will give us more insight into what the fed may be thinking about the balance sheet. in the meantime, take a look at what happened overnight in asia. you'll see that the stocks were up across the board. hang seng up by just over 1% the nikkei up by about .6% thenhe