>> i'm like john, i like housing right now. give me some toll brothers give me more of it. >> quick, jim? >> cvs is nobody's charm. >> doc >> wpx energy, bang. >> good stuff. nice to see everybody. congrats again, court. that does it for us. "the exchange" is next. investors are torn between two narratives a vaccine seen for the long term and shutdowns. with cdc against thanksgiving travel, what should you focus on event wear, we break down the three phase recovery playbook. 60% rally for square, a cashless super bowl, raid ydio

shack. all coming up. dom chu? the dow industrials fractional to the down side, ofl 0.5% the s&p, 3559 and outperformance returning to the nasdaq stocks they're up 0.3%. one thing we're watching about is the outperformance recently, as of late for small cap stocks versus the large cap ones. over the course, if you see this month-to-date period, the white line we have up here is up 15% that's the small cap stocks. 9% gains for the s&p 500 that gap has gotten wider. we'll see if that continues. it could be a good indicator that things might be more optimistic down the line pending covid infection rates. this level, 2% to the upside, we're talking about a

year-to-date gain of nearly 500% it is now worth roughly $470 billion, which means at this point hypothetically, kelly, if it were in the s&p 500, which we know it will be, it will be the seventh biggest stock in the s&p, just below berkshire hathaway and just above visa that's how big tesla is. we're going to put tesla up there. gold star for them back to you. >> elon musk, the third richest person in the world. i can't get enough of the superlatives it just feels a little off, doesn't it >> remember back in march at the pandemic lows, this $500 stock was worth $70 back on march 18th just to give you some perspective for how big that run is. >> consumer reports not even recommending the model s anymore. they have adam jonas upgrade

yesterday. >> tread cautiously. >> exactly let's turn to this tug of war. we got nor good news vaccine by astrazeneca showing robust immune against older adults the cdc is recommendation no travel for thanksgiving. meg tirrell is here with the latest >> well, that recommendation coming as we've never been in a worst point in the pandemic in the united states. the number of new daily cases reported now on a seven-day average of about 157,000 in terms of the number of people in the hospital, up to almost 80,000 at this point surpassing the prior two peaks we saw in the spring and the summer the numbers of deaths also rising yesterday more than 1,800. that's the highest level we've seen since may when we were in the beginning of this. let's look state by state. the percent change in covid-19 cases over the last 14 days and

none of these states are under 20% growth except north dakota and hawaii but if you drill down and actually look at how north dakota, in particular, is doing, just because it's not increasing more than 20%, doesn't mean it's in a good spot north dakota is among the highest in the country kansas seeing 2 million per population states in the midwest are being hit particularly hard. this is really a bad situation essentially everywhere in this country. let's take a look to europe and there's remarkable data. if you look at the line of cases in france, that's the blue line here that country, of course, started a lockdown on october 30th it goes to november 1st. cases have come down significantly. so much so that the country there, some folks are urging government to consider the lockdown early but it doesn't seem like they're going to do that more news out of europe overnight from astrazeneca and oxford this is a phase 2 study.

this is not the same efficacy results we've seen for pfizer and moderna. they looked at the results and they saw the level of antibodies and t-cells is similar from younger people to older people, which is a good sign at potentially protecting people from the disease and the side effects, injection site, pain, feeling feverish, muscle aches, were actually less and that generally appeared safe. that was important this was the vaccine put on a clinical hold as they investigated safety issues it appears safe but we have to wait for the phase three results that tell us how well this vaccine actually works. >> meg, as you said, they haven't really done these regular press briefings. they did one today this appears to be the main reason, don't you think and how do you expect that to affect the decision all of us -- even those of us

having a people over, and this gives you a big excuse not to do things. >> it definitely does. it was poignant hearing one of the cdc leaders on the call saying he hasn't seen his elderly parents since january and they're asking him to visit, they want to see their grandkids and he's not traveling they are encouraging people to wear masks inside. they're trying to get people to protect themselves it is notable they had this briefing they haven't had an official one since august maybe we're seeing a change in the cdc. >> i hope he kl figure something out with his parents that seems cruel i understand taking precautions but -- you know be what it's like >> i do. my parents are in california it's tough to see them they've gone to heroic efforts with my mom isolated, drove

herself across the country, didn't see anyone and we all stay isolated. that's what you have to do to avoid the risks. it's scary. >> exactly meg, thanks much we appreciate it let's turn back to the market where stocks are pricing in the long-term benefits of the vaccines against the short-term risk of rising cases of shutdowns. neil hennessey is chief investment officer of hennessey funds. neil, kick us off here what's your latest thinking on the market >> i think the market is in great shape. there's still a lot of value that's cheap, you can buy, you can own. you just have to put things in perspective. you look at the nasdaq it's up 33% this year. but because of six companies,

six, have overrun the nasdaq by 60%. you have apple, facebook, tesla, microsoft, google, those six companies ran it all instead of being up 33%, it would only be up 14% but there's plenty of value still to move, plenty of head room, but the market will continue to march higher, although it might be a little volatile in the short term because of the stimulus plan, because of the vaccines that might or might not be there. >> the existing home sales report was blockbuster it was so strong does that tell you this housing market is going to have a tailwind well into next year >> well, we have spoken about this in the past people were moving out of the cities, moving out of confines they're around a lot of people they're moving to larger homes, kelly, so maybe they have a spare bedroom or office they can work from home i don't see that changing in the short term

then all the outdoor, ammunition to bike helmets, to range finders on golf courses because people want to get out of their homes. they want to do things that's why you're seeing housing, home sales -- excuse me, rvs and boats, they're all having record years. vista outdoor but they have 35 different products for people to use on the outside >> at least for now that's a powful demand up for several months, maybe well into next ye year james, you think we're trading down as much as 10% to 12% correction on the s&p 500, is that right >> at a minimum. we have to look at things in context. the stock market's valuation

reflects a ratio of profits to stock market prices. that's twice as large as it was at the peak of the dot-com bubble which means the spread of the virus, its impact, slowdown of profits relative to the rise in the stock market from the stimulus and from the fed intervention, we've got a valuation there -- here that is simply impossible to sustain we anticipate a 10% to 12% pullback we're use futures to hedge that. obviously there are reasons there's risk in that market pipts not just a valuation story. this market is going to contract there are stimulus tensions in congress there's china regional trade partnership challenges we anticipate the fourth largest year-end pension selling as stocks outperform bonds, weekless jobless claims showed stagnati stagnating, weak october retail sales. we'll have more lockdowns. the consumer holiday spending is expected to decline 19% year

over year. obviously we don't know when this is going to end we were discussing our parents and how we're going to reconnect as a community my mom came and visited me for the first time this year in 2020 and it was challenging this isn't just a human issue, it's a revenue issue we're not going to see the same amount of business we anticipated in march we anticipate a recovery here. california, new york, massachusetts, connecticut, they're all closing schools. we're going back into at least a partial lockdown there's just no way market prices can stay where they are here >> so your symptom picks are ne nextera and intuitive. neil >> i'm not going to disagree with james but the bottom line is everybody can anticipate earnings will be down because the lockdown the last six, eight months, we know that we know unemployment figures are going to be up

claims are going to be up. that's old news. if this lockdown doesn't occur clear across the country after two or three months, and things start to open up, then you're going to see the stock prices catch up, which you're talking about the dow jones or s&p is 18 times next year earnings it's not overly, overly valued i stay opt missic, stay long for sure. >> i think you guys aptly summed up the tension in the market we were talking about short term and long term. you can see the two forces pulling each way neil and james, thank you both we appreciate it today talking markets on the exchange. new york city's public school system is back to online learning amid a spike in covid cases. it's the largest school district in the country to have this effect steve liesman is here with more.

>> the reclosing of new york city schools, a potent sign of what's happening across the country and an ominous symbol of what may be to come for the broader economy. it is national index showing 40% of the 1200 school districts they track are now teaching virtually. that's up four points in just the past week. two points on new york city alone. traditional and hybrid teaching have both declined schools in 33 states have ena enacted full or partial closing, including ohio, texas, indiana and michigan where the governor shut down the state's high schools. the national county map shows schools in florida, texas, wyoming and florida, those are the deep purple ones they're among other places in the country that are 100% traditional and it remains to be seen how they react to the latest spread of the virus school closures come along with

other business closures and government lockdowns one of the biggest impacts will be to push caregivers out of the workforce. as we've talked about a lot, hits women especially hard it could help explain today's unexpected rise in filings for jobless claims. >> i didn't realize it was that widespread, steve. >> yeah, i didn't either i looked at new york city. we have this data we've been following over time and it turns out it's already been happening. new york city is its own thing because it closed down with a very small percentage of community spread at just 3%. some other places have closed down with double digit community spread new york city is its own thing going on there but definitely part of what's happening around the country as well. >> steve liesman, thank you. tallying up the ripple effects with all the school closures are shutdowns threatening

the holiday shopping season? the new administration could give esg sustainable investing a big boost. we'll talk about who that benefits. the super bowl goes cashless fee details ahead. before we talk about tax-smart investing, what's new? -well, audrey's expecting... -twins! grandparents! we want to put money aside for them, so...change in plans. alright, let's see what we can adjust. ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. okay. mom, are you painting again? you could sell these.

lemme guess, change in plans? at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan.

welcome back it looks dire for retailback in march but the sector has prooun surprisingly nimble in the pandemic year to date the retail doubled and they are department stores like nordstrom, kohl's and macy's with us now is jpmorgan's matthew boss good to have you today have we started phase one yet? >> no, phase one has not started. i think right now you're in the anticipation phase, meaning the covid cases are rising, retailers have banted down the hatches and you're seeing a real dichotomy between es seller retail, discount retail, fashion and apparel refail meaning the winners are more focused on the basics, they are focused on value and convenience and what's losing right now, i

think, is what we'll see post-vaccine, which is the future, which is more occasion wear, event wear, return to work right now i think you're pre the wave starting. we map it out phase one is first half of next year. i think that's where you see the anticipation, preparation buying for occasions, going out denim, outer wear and some occasion buying. wave two i think will be the back half of next year and into 2022 that's where i think it's return to work and more of the events that would be your charity events, weddings and the last piece of this on the back end is travel and tourism. >> right and it's interesting to even talk about event wear because it's -- it feels like a dead category things at some point are going to look different. what do you do with a name like macy's you talk about retail waves but

we know there are secular challenges for some of these businesses the fact that macy's in-store comps were down 30%. the stock isn't doing that badly today. where are you on the department stores versus some of the other names implied in these spending waves? >> i think today is the perfect example. we cover lb, that stock versus macy's both reported today. lb reported 55% comps at bath and body works and 25% total comps for the consolidated organizations. macy's reports 21 comps and with brick and mortar down 20%. there's really a tale of two worlds out there i think the unknown, and i think where you need to be careful, we would rather on the recovery side own the global brands that are sold within the department stores we recently upgraded tapestry. we have a buy on nike and lululemon. i would rather own the brands. i think they're in control of their own destinies.

it means greater cost for the retailers. on the department stores, we remain cautious. i think this was a tough print for macy's they're doing a nice job holding the expenses but two years out we're modeling the revenue base 20% below pre-pandemic >> so i guess my final question is, if there are investors trying to be tactical, you say, i want exposure to event wear, do you think it's priced in, do you get another pullback on the stimulus front >> we're thinking about it as a bifurcated approach. lululemon, an lb and five below. on the back end of it as i think about the recovery, that's where, again, i would like to own the global brands, tapestry being one in terms of playing the global handbag opportunity, in terms of the return to

occasion, as well as travel and tourism. >> matt, good to have you. thanks for your thoughts. >> thanks for having me. >> matt boss on retail. coming up, investors are under pricing. the stock could soar 60% from here says one analyst. we'll discuss that call. plus, help wanted. as covid-19 cases rise across the country, the need for lab technicians is urgent and growing. we'll look at the challenges industry is facing and what's needed to fix the problem. you can watch us live on the go or listen using the cnbc app ♪ wild thing, ♪ ♪ you make my heart sing ♪ ♪ wild thing i... think i... you know what i think? i think you owe us $48.50... wild thing. if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle.

fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. it's different because i have to talk to a computer.ycle. i get like 6 emails a day... olivia please turn your screen on. okay, lift the... there you go. mondays remote, tuesdays at school... it's the other way around. we might not be able to solve everything. but we can help make sure students and teachers can stay connected to learning. it's why at&t has connected more than 200 million students to brighter futures. ♪ ♪ (people greeting one another) it's coming in to catch up with the owner. the curated collection you can't find anywhere else. and how she sets aside those pieces she knows are so "you." the small details are a big reason to come back and shop your favorite small businesses. we know them. we love them.

so let's go shop small. with american express. ♪ ♪ we're committed to making college more accessibley, by making it more affordable, that's why we're keeping our tuition the same through the year 2021. - i knew snhu was the place for me when i saw how affordable it was. i ran to my husband with my computer and i said, "look, we can do this." - [narrator] take advantage of some of the lowest online tuition rates in the nation. find your degree at snhu.edu. this was the theater i came to quite often. the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today.

♪ welcome back to "the exchange." we were briefly positive we're down 91. a third of a percent decline the s&p is down four the nasdaq is up 45. that's a feel for the whole market take a look at the sectors it's the tech-heavy sectors that are mostly the leadership. technology, communication services, discretionary. energy also hanging on to a half percent gain utility and health care. lots of individual movers, including shares of sonos which is surging sales jumped sa% last quarter. the maker of smart speakers are continuing to spike.

cimemark holding window shrinking faster than anticipated after warner brothers announce it would release wonder women in theaters coty is still undervalued despite a rally of 90% in the past month they're saying new leadership is one of the catalyst and coty is up 18%, around $6.28 a share let's get to sue herera for our cnbc news update. hello. here's what's happening at this hour the trump campaign is dropping its lawsuit to block the certification of ballots in the county that includes detroit, saying it got the relief it sought two republican members of the can vesters want to rescind their certification but state official it is say there's no legal mechanism to do that. at a video hearing the judge ruled there is enough evidence to charge a 19-year-old man with illegally buying a rifle for

17-year-old kyle rittenhouse, who allegedly used it to kill two people during unrest in kenosha, wisconsin rittenhouse tells "the washington post," he got the money for the gun from a government stimulus program. the white house stopped the justice department from making a deal last october to pay for mental health service for migrant families separated at the u.s. border. that's a report today from nbc news, which cites four current and former senior administration officials. you are up to date that's the news update i'll see you again in an hour. back to you. >> sue, thank you very much. take a look at intel it's down 17% in the past month as news that the company goes from bad to worse. warned of delays in its next generation chips you can see the drop it took nvidia posted stellar results. now comes apple which just

released new macs and reviewers are raving about them, especially how they boost battery life and how cool and quiet they run intel is down 34% from its 52-week high we're sitting near the 52-week low around $44 intel is expected to give a company update in january. still ahead, the future of sustainable investing or esg could the new administration give the industry a boost and if so, who would that benefit the most plus, more enthusiasm for square the super bowl goes cashless and is radio shack making a comeback it's all ahead in rapid fire i have an idea for a trade. oh yeah, you going to place it? not until i'm sure. why don't you call td ameritrade for a strategy gut check? what's that? you run it by an expert, you talk about the risk and potential profit and loss. could've used that before i hired my interior decorator. voila! maybe a couple throw pillows would help.

get a strategy gut check from our trade desk. ♪

welcome back let's get you up on a few stories that should be on your radar today. it's time for rapid fire here to break down the headlines, bob pisani, kate yoon and dom chu. first up, square reiterated as a top buy saying square's cash app is aging like a fine wine, more like a champagne, adding new

customers much faster. square shares up 2% but it's been an absolute monster up 200% on the year, kate. they're a little late. this reminds me of the adam jonas call on tesla yesterday. but, hey, i guess everybody's realizing that the world is square's oyster at this point, right? >> yeah, 60% upside for this price target one of the interesting trends here, i think, is that google search data they said they are taking market share from venmo and square originally. they did similar data and it was big in mississippi, in the south. if they're able to take that market share in the big. er cities, coastal cities like san francisco and new york, and it's a lot more profitable than venmo. it used to be a side project and now every analyst seems to be more focused on the cash app than that seller business.

>> we talked about monster performance stocks like mastercard and visa for the past decade and i wonder if square, if we're passing the baton and these are the payment stocks of the future >> look at the performance square is up close to 300% paypal is half that. paypal has flattened out for months square keeps on going. i find that cash app that kate was talking about very interesting because it looks like there's diversifying away from the instant deposits which is where all the money used to come from. they're now talking about bitcoin in this. they're really disruptive. they're moving really fast to get into the kind of business and areas people want to get into as of now, it looks like square is much hipper than visa or mastercard to me >> i agree dom, this is one where i don't really have any direct experience i use venmo, i use zell, using

chase app to pay people at other banks all the time i feel like i'm -- i guess by the time i adopt it, the run's going to be over. >> it's more the concept, right? you and everybody else out there are using these types of fintech products even more and more. for me, when i look at a company like square, it seems to me like i'm surprised that nobody has talked about acquiring it yet maybe that's kind of the reason it's baked into the stock price the way it is. the notion that square is operating as a platform for this kind of transaction seems to me like a banking institution or much larger payments company or fintech company will look to buy them i mean, for square, i tend to use a lot more of these things during the pandemic. et cetera one of those habits i think sticks after this is over. >> it was always the also-ran, for jack dorsey it was twitter first and it's changing. let's stick with payments. for the first time everything from concessions to retail is

going cashless at this year's super bowl it's part of the nfl's partnership with visa. fans who attend the game can use credit cards or apps there are reverse atms that will convert cash into gift cards they said going cashless was already in the works but covid sped up that timeline. my first thought is the super bowl will have fans actually there. it's in tampa and it can be 15% capacity. >> i thought to myself, how many people are really going to be there but then you broaden it out these mattickly speaking, one of the big stats that sticks out, over this whole presentation, is how much more people spend when they do it on a card versus shelling out cash. it's like 25% more at concessions when they use some kind of contactsless or swipe type payment people just tend to spend more when it's not shelling out their own cash and counting bills out. it's also one of those reasons

why personal finance experts say if you want to control your budget, use cash, don't use your cards because you can track it better for me the whole notion of getting more cashless actually is a good thing because if you can get more of these types of technologies for reverse atms you can serve the underbanked population, not just here in the u.s. but around the world as well it means everybody can get a card at some point so they don't have to have that cash around. >> it seems like it was only a matter of time - >> it's free money go ahead, bop bob. basically in china they're practically cashless you go into beijing and try to hand somebody cash, they look at you like you're crazy. what does visa get out of this they get more revenues, number one. number two, they get valuable insight into consumer behavior which i bet they'll be sharing with the nfl the thing that makes me very

nervous about this whole thing, just the trend towards exactly them knowing everything about us art cashin for years, i've been going out with art for 20 years, he pays cash at every place we've ever been because he doesn't like people knowing exactly what they're doing that's essentially what he's doing. that's essentially what we're giving up at this point. but nobody seems to be fighting it too much at least >> so wise rooney, quick last word on this. >> this is great for visa. they've been a crusader in getting rid of cash. if you can get people to physically take cash and put it back into a prepaid debit card, they'll make more money on these swipes than bob said, the spending data could be huge for the nfl. they want to see what people are doing when they're in the stadium and financial data is a big part of that. >> now i'm going to be thinking about art cashin as we follow that info. moving on -- i should say, take a look at this >> the best in america is radio

shack. >> the radio shack ad from -- i don't know 1980s something? but the company could be making a comeback, according to "the wall street journal. they're saying retail e-commerce ventures known as rev has acquired the rights to the radio shack brand. they filed for bankruptcy twice in the last five years after getting crushed by competitors but they operate online and with a network of 400 independently owned stores worldwide rev has acquired other beaten down retailers like peer one, model and dress barn >> is this gambit going to work? >> i guess the question is, first off, i love watching that. that was the early '80s, i could tell by the hairstyles i spent a lot of time in radio shack. all my batteries, i bought computers there. they were big on personal computers for a long time. a lot of nostalgia for baby boomers. i guess the question is, what is the strategy they are not electronic guys that are suddenly going to find

out how to sell electronics online they are hoovers they suck up well-known big brand names, dress barn, m on. model's, peer one imports, and they are gig to try to market them online. i guess the question is, will they find strategies that work for each of them if not, they will drop the brands they bought them relatively cheap. i just find a company buying up brand names without an overall strategy that's the concern i have. >> that's what i was going to ask. you have to invest a lot in each one of these in order to make them viable. that's a tall order, i think, for this firm. >> it is the whole thing there, this may be a great strategy to counter bob's point. the point is, how much did they pay for these brands we don't know how much they did but there's a price tag where the deep value play comes in if you buy hypothetically for a few thousand dollars, $10,000,

$20,000, it may be a perfect way to get brand recognition for an e-commerce portal down the line. the real question, buy up as many bankruptcy brands as you want if you're not paying that much for them, it's a cheap bet on trying to get people from your brand recognition into your e-commerce portal. >> i'm with bob on this one. finally, marissa mayer says she's going to fix your contacts, your address book, that is. the former yahoo! ceo has rebranded her startup called sunshine contacts, an app meant to help you organize and share your contacts in an easier way i love this concept. i just -- i went through all of my own contacts with the help of my diligent husband who explained, these are -- there's like three different servers

they're all on there were thousands and thousands in there, and it really is -- and i tried to plug it into the car and then it says there are too many as we're integrating all of these things in our lives, there is a need for something like sunshine contacts. how successful do you think it can be >> that's so true. >> i did the same thing. i looked on my phone for some repeats. i had something like 15 taxi and cab companies and i haven't looked at, in probably eight years. i agree. i think it could be useful but how are they going to make money? who is going to pay for that it's not something top of mind until you read a story like that and you're like, that could be useful in some way but i don't know what the revenue model is can you advertise on that? and will people pay a subscription it's not that much of a daily issue, right >> you want artificial intelligence rummage around in my phone trying to figure out how to improve it? what could go wrong with that? i don't know

i can't imagine. i'll pass. >> i think we need more of bob's real world reality check on rapid fire every day >> here's what i would say yes, i was skeptical remember, cataloging data, making sense of which is how oracle made sense of it. yes, you're letting sensitive information into the hands of others but in some way if they can make it more efficient, this could be something that works out in the long rupp >> google has all of mine anyway maybe it would be better if little old sunshine had it. >> that's the incrementalalism they know everything my social security number is known by everybody might as well write it on my front door no it's really -- there's a point where it gets a little creepy. every time you have an app, they, ask you, can i access your camera, your microphone, your mother's home address. how about, no, no, you cannot.

>> i agree with you. you're like, it's chip oeotle, do you need all that we have to go. still ahead, president-elect biden's victory has put renewed pressure on esg and whether companies in esg funds are socially responsible and the increase in u.s. covid cases has triggered more testing around the country we're talk to the supervisor of 37 labs in georgia about what she's seeing and the challenges they're facing hi, my name is sam davis and i'm going to tell you about exciting plans available to anyone with medicare. many plans provide broad coverage and still may save you money on monthly premiums and prescription drugs. with original medicare you're covered for hospital stays and doctor office visits, but you have to meet a deductible for each and then, you're still responsible for 20 percent of the cost. next, let's look at a

medicare supplement plan. as you can see they cover the same things as original medicare, and they also cover your medicare deductibles and co-insurance, but they often have higher monthly premiums and no prescription drug coverage. now, let's take a look a humana's medicare advantage plans. with a humana medicare plan, hospital stays, doctor office visits, and medicare deductibles are covered. and, of course, most humana medicare advantage plans include prescription drug coverage. in fact, in 2019, humana medicare advantage prescription drug plan members saved and estimated 7,800 dollars on average on their prescription costs. most humana medicare advantage plans include a silver sneakers fitness program at no extra cost. dental and vision coverage is now included with most humana medicare advantage plans, and you get telehealth coverage with a zero dollar co-pay. you get all this for as low as a zero dollar monthly plan premium in

many areas, and your doctor and hospital may already be a part of humana's large network. if you want the facts, call right now for the free decision guide from humana. there is no obligation, so call the number on your screen right now to see if your doctor is in our network, to find out if you can save on your prescriptions, and to get our free decision guide. humana - a more human way to healthcare. welcome back to "the exchange." assets in u.s. sustainable funds are nearly $200 billion as of the end of the third quarter they have more than doubled in less than three years. with the biden administration expected to put a spotlight on esg investing, the trend looks set to accelerate even more.

i'm joined by henry fernandez. it's great to have you here. what do you expect under a biden administration >> it will put a spotlight on sustainable investments much more than the current administration to begin with, i believe the biden administration will join the paris agreement and, therefore, from the federal perspective, there will be a lot of leadership in terms of combating climate change that's going to percolate throughout every part of society, including corporations and other issuers. that's one big change. the biden administration will focus a great deal on the pandemic and the impact on the health and well-being of people and the country, especially the employees of companies and, therefore, companies are going to have to be very focused -- continue to be focused on that that will be another spotlight

a third one, is social issues like racial injustice and the likes. the biden administration is going to be all over this and that's going to have an impact on the response of companies >> one of the concerns people have is esg funds can attract a big following without people knowing exactly what they're signing up for and companies themselves are adapting to try to be esg friendly no matter what industry they're in, including some surprising candidates here's what burton told our bob pisani about that a few weeks ago. >> my concern is, i don't know what's a good company and what's a bad company, and neither does anybody else is the utility that burns coal a bad company because it burns coal or is it a good company because it's doing an enormous amount of investing and wind power. i don't know any esg broad-based fund is really one that makes me

feel confident that i'm investing in really good companies. >> henry, what would you say he's one of the great investing minds alive today. >> you know, he is i have a great deal of respect for him. i took him as a student of economics at princeton, but i would beg to disagree. a lot of -- what we do, for example, is try to understand, what are the material factors in esg considerations that will affect the performance of a company. for example, if you have a company that has a very hostile work environment, discriminating against women and other minorities and the like, that is not a company that is going to attract a lot of customers, a lot of employees and they won't be able to hide because that information is now much more relevant around the world. will that be incorporated immediately into stock price of the company? maybe. maybe it will take time. over time for sure it's going to

effect its business. similarly, you know, if you're polluting the environment, similarly if you have bad governance and the like, so i think a lot of the issues, particularly the material ones that affect the performance of a company, need to be taken into account in any investment portfolio. >> well, to your point, you guys do these rankings, you're seeing on the credit side so perhaps you can incorporate some of that information. i have to leave it there i appreciate you joining us. if you come back, we greatly appreciate it. >> thank you for having me >> henry fernandez it's been a problem for two decades, but the pandemic has alleviated the shortage of lab technicians. we get a look at one lab still ocsi 100es aay

♪ ♪ ♪ before we talk about tax-s-audrey's expecting... new? -twins! ♪ ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan.

welcome back to "the exchange." a decades-long labor shortage in medical labs is being exposed by the pandemic

a million new hampshire covid tested are being processed every day. the augusta university medical center labs in georgia have been open 24 hours a day since the spring 25 lab texts are handling about a thousand tests each day. they have 50 job openings. brandi, it's good to have you. welcome. >> hi, thank you >> my first question before we get into what's happening at your labs specifically is could the u.s. do testing much more quickly for everybody if we had a lot more capacity? are you constrained by how much you can physically process every day? >> yes we have several constraints, the two biggest ones are supply chain and staffing staffing has become a really big issue, especially here recently. the supply chain has been there since the beginning and we've had issues with that, but it's

really the staffing has become the biggest hurdle for us to overcome >> and so we mentioned this. you guys have about 50 positions open let's put this in context. that's about 30% of your positions are open and you think 20% of your workforce is going to retire in the next two years? >> correct we have staff that have retired and come back and have rejoined our workforce during covid to help with the situation that we're dealing with right now we even have one manager that has been here for 45 years that has retired and come back because we're under such a severe shortage. >> i know that you yourself got into this not necessarily as your first career. what needs to be done to get more people in the obvious thing is to raise pay, raise wages are you having to do that? do you expect to pull people into this industry, that's going to be one consequence? >> there's two big things.

one, raising pay would help attract more people to it but a lot of people don't even know that we exist. laboratory testing is more in the basement and when most people go to their doctor, they see nurses, they see doctors, they see their pharmacist but they don't really see the laboratory professionals in the background so there's a will the of people that do not know you can't just get a biology degree and go work in a medical laboratory in a hospital, it's actually a specialized degree either medical laboratory science or clinical laboratory science depending on the school. since people don't know we really exist, people aren't going into the field we've had a lot of people not going into the field and as a consequence a lot of the schools have closed and are having issues with funding as well. >> wow what happens with people in terms of the medical checks they need to pass in order to work in these labs in general. what happens if they have

preexisting medical conditions what are sort of the standards there generally speaking >> so as far as preexisting, you we try to not put someone who has a preexisting lung condition right there doing covid testing. but as far as the rest of the testing, it's perfectly fine unfortunately we also have such a severe shortage that it's -- we have to put people where we can. we're very heavily reliant on traveler technologists right now and medical laboratory scientists and even with that it is still having staff that are pulling double shifts just to get the testing necessary for our patients >> well, it's definitely put a spotlight on this part of the medical field and how much it could help all of us if you guys had more band width right now. brandy, thanks for joining us and for everything you've bon

doid -- been doing >> thank you >> take a look at the shares in united there's been an uptick in cancellations as covid spikes and the cdc just recommended against americans traveling for thanksgiving this year they said compared to last year's fourth quarter united expects capacity to be down 55%, revenue down 67% and the shares are trading lower on that today. stick and for "power lunch." the hotel industry is bracing for more pain ahead. we'll look at the staggering numbers they're talking about. i'll joind dom chu after this break. we're excited to do business with you

but before we sign i gotta ask... sure, anything. we searched you online and maybe you can explain this? i can't believe that garbage is still coming in. that is so false! frustrated with your online search results? call reputation defender today to join tens of thousands who've improved their online reputation. get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender.com or call 1-877-866-8555.

welcome to "power lunch," everybody. i'm kelly evans. worries about economic impact are seeping into the market. tom lee will join us in just a moment plus jobless claims rising to over 740,000 last week, another troubling sign for the recovery and labor market we'll dive into the impact for the struggling hotel and restaurant history