♪nd i will lend ♪ ♪ a hand to you ♪ ♪ would you lend a hand to me? ♪ ♪ everybody deserves ♪ ♪ to be free ♪♪ it is 5:00 a.m. at cnbc headquarters more black eyes for astrazeneca as the maker continues to shift on the vaccine rollout party like it's 1989 how one sector of the market is one trading day away from making history. turning the heat up. beijing continues the crackdown on alibaba founder jack ma and in alabama, the counting continues in what could be the first u.s. warehouse to vote for

un unionization tand get ready for round tw in augusta as the masters rolls on it is friday, april 9th, 2021. this is "worldwide exchange. ♪ "caddyshack" morning this morning. i'm dominic chu. futures are stable that is what we call them near record highs for the index the s&p up five points dow jones industrial average is higher by 58 the major averages are coming off a higher session with the s&p notching another record

high yesterday was all about big technology rallies in apple, netflix, microsoft helping the broader markets overall. nasdaq popping 1%. now up 2.5% this week. let's check on the global markets. a mixed picture in asia. hong kong fell 1.5%. red except for thailand and japan. europe is getting its trading day warmed up here you see the early trading and early action is mostly red across the continent german dax is flat the ftse is level. and more more ahead, we are joined by hermes portfolio manager steve. steve, another day and another

record day for the standard & poor's 500 you have to worry about valuation? >> not when bond yields are this low. in our forecast, we have a 4,500 year end target. i don't need to expand to get there. we will generate 25% earnings growth this year we'll grow into it we expect the multiple to be flat this year not get anymore expensive. when you look at how low bond yields are and the tight credit spreads. stocks are not all that stretched versus historic valuation. >> steve, bond yields are low, but higher than three or four months ago take us through the math the risk models. interest rates are rising. why aren't valuations falling? >> because spreads have co

comp compressed our work has suggested that it is not the ten-year yield or treasury bond that determines the valuation on stocks. it is the corporate bond overall, if you were to look at where the corporate bond yield, the market to trade as high as 24 or 25 times it is consistent with those levels you have to look at both spreads and yields. >> if those are justified in your opinion that these levels right now, we are entering another catalyst filled season earnings season. we have the big banks kicking off next week. what are you looking for from the fundamental standpoint about stocks and the companies what will they report? what do they need to report to maintain this upward trajectory of stocks? >> it will become apparent quickly that the earnings

recession is over. part of that is just the comps from last year more importantly, it looks like we will start growing 25%. particularly what we are looking for in the first quarter, but the second quarter and in july, the value cyclical stocks generate ridiculously year over year 200% the year over year and growth can propel the value cyclical to one more really good period of performance in the next couple mo months >> this is the definition of easy comps because last year was so bad at this point if you look at the way things are playing out, are their places of key drivers of the big move a lot of people argue that the earnings optimism has been priced into stocks especially in value cyclical

>> i think there is an understanding that these parts of the market will do well you know, the old mike tyson line everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face. this summer is going to be a modern day g.i. returning home moment in a lot of ways. when you look at the consumer comfort and going to a restaurant maybe 50%. when you look at reopening, several states, california, new york, that really haven't reopened to the same kind of extent that florida and texas may have i think you will be surprised how strong the consumer comes back this summer you will be surprised of how gdp growth is and the market may not have that priced yet. >> do you have a favorite sector out there right now? >> anything related to people leaving home and think about consumer services and

restaurants and hotels they are running a big are comie >> steve, thank you. >> thank you to some of the other top stories. p&g joined forces with a number of chinese trader groups in an effort to develop a work around for apple's software one that tends to give users more control of the privacy. p&g among the world's large effort advertisers could implement a technology called fingerprinting which would track user data in the way apple is seeking to prevent iss is joining service with glass lewis and resfrekting a $30 million pay package for the johnson & johnson ceo. it shields him from the 9billion in costs over two years

associated with lawsuits linked to the opioid crisis. according to down detecter, users reported 112,000 issues are facebook's web site and 101,000 issues with instagram. no word from facebook on the causes of the outages. to another developing story. authorities in beijing reportedly forcing a big school founded by jack ma to halt all enrollment according to the financial teams. the enrollment halt comes amid the crackdown on ma's business interests. late last year, an affiliate of alibaba suspended the ipo in shanghai following pressure from the authorities.

joining me is the bureau chief tom mitchell tom, good afternoon to you in beijing. let's talk about what is driving this how can the chinese government do this and what are they doing to jack ma's school? >> reporter: the chinese communist party can do pretty much whatever it wants the u.s. government tried something like this, the affected university might sue and might end winning if court that will not happen in china. jack ma hasan executive training program imagine mark zuckerberg running one of these things. it is actually only accepting students who are established business people with revenue of $30 million a year a new freshman class was supposed to be starting a couple of weeks ago that class will not be starting. the more senior classes ar

still ongoing. jack has not been allowed to recruit a new freshman class >> tom, what can you tell us what is the inclination from the chinese communist snparty? what does this school symbolize or what is it doing that is so threatening to them? >> reporter: he is not a significant threat to the chinese communist party. the story around jack ma has two elements one is the crackdown of the business atmosphere in ant and his commerce alibaba those companies will not be as powerful once the regulatory settlement is reached. you have to think of jack ma is one of the most influential people in china and on the international stage. the party is worried about that second spheres of influence.

here is a rich and powerful businessman who was bringing in talented business men into his own school and training up a loyal following of alumni. that organization outside the party's limits, outside of the direct control, is something it gets worried about if anyone was doing that in china, let alone jack ma, the party would not tolerate for long. >> tom, the chinese government is looking at big technology and media companies for some time handing out small fines which are significant in the overall signal they are sending. what can when expect is there a signal that other tech companies will tsay, you know, we take note what can we expect from the other tech companies in china? >> reporter: an up and come

ar firm, the ceo resigned he was on a matpath to become a jack ma. he has departed the scene. it is difficult to run a big tech company the people's bank of china leading the regulatory negotiations with ant made it clear that ant and its biggest rival tencent will be subject to anti-market rectification in the near future. it is not just ant and alibaba that are affected. all of the big players are affected by the government drive. >> thank you, tom mitchell we appreciate you. have a nice weekend. >> reporter: you, too. when we come back, from tight to saggy what the ceo of levi's is saying

about the future of his business we're talking denim coming up. more on the botched astrazeneca rollout and the pressure facing the company this morning as well. and later on round two of the masters in g augusta, georgia we check in with the golf channel. a busy mniorng ahead when "worldwide exchange" returns after this break

welcome back to "worldwide exchange." let's check on the stock movers. toshiba falling 5% in japanese trading after the chairman i issued a cautious statement after the buyout effort from cvc. you can see the shares off 5% in japanese levi's with a better than expected first quarter digital sales jumping 41%. the company raising revenue outlook for the first half the year ceo chip bird telling jim cramer are the looser fitting jeans creating a new cycle and wd 40 saw sales rise,

but the ceo says supply issues have affected the demand wd-40 has high demand over isolation renovation trends related to the pandemic. the shares sliding about 8% in the pre-market shares of fubo tv getting the rights to the south american qualifying matches for the 2022 world cup with rounds begin in june those shares up 5% in pre-market. still on deck for the show, controversy continues among the amazon union election in alabama. what amazon is doing to tilt the scales in its favor. that's coming up next. >> announcer: today's big number 458% that's the jump in robinhood users that traded cryptocurrency

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does your vitamin c last twenty-four hours? only nature's bounty does. new immune twenty-four hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c. plus, herbal and other immune superstars. only from nature's bounty. i really hope that this vaccine can get me one step closer to him. to a huge wedding. to give high fives to our patients. to hug my students. with every vaccine, cvs is working to bring you one step closer to a better tomorrow. welcome back the first round of the masters is in the books. for the players, the course at augusta national is nothing like they have seen in past years at least in november with bryson and rory all

contained. for justin rose, he shot a 7 under round for a 65 he has a four-shot lead over brian harman let's talk more about the masters with damon hack. da damon, we have done a lot of crossovers here. it is nice to see you. thanks for joining us. >> dom, great to see you sdpyou. >> how surprised were you how tough the conditions were? >> you know, we is see it coming from the practice rounds early in the week. a lot of the players were saying the course was playing firm and fast as they can remember. fred couples saying he has never seen the greens as fasts as they

were a big departure from november with the temperatures cooler and the course was more scorable and soft we knew this would be a different masters. that's what we are getting so far. tough to score >> what is the feeling like? this is a live sporting event. he see patrons out there that's what they call the fans at augusta national. what is the sense having spectators back on the facility grounds? >> i would say it is a sense of gratitude. a sense we are almost returning to normal in the era of covid. it is not as many patrons. it is one step forward to golf returning to 100%. golf was the leading sports during the pandemic because you can socially distance safely and be outside in nature i think a lot of people on the ground are thankful the feeling is gratitude there is golf to

talk about and patrons to enjoy it >> one of the big things we saw and that really struck a chord with me is watching the ceremonial open of the masters i know you spent time over the years, but this week alone, with lee elder. a man who has been at the forefront of the diversity initiative of golf for decades now. take us through the story of your relationship with him and what he meant to you and how he impacted you in golf >> sure. i first covered lee elder in 2008 i wrote a story on him a profile for "sports illustrated" magazine. we kept in touch on and off through the years. of course, yesterday, he was a ceremonial starter alongside jack nicklaus and gary player. to honor lee elder for breaking the color barrier here in 1975

his life has come full circle here in 1975, he had to rent two houses because he faced so many death threats. a similar walk of life that henry aaron faced in the 1970s as he chased down babe ruth's all-time home run record we need to see him receive some adulation on the first tee yesterday. for a road that was dliifferent from gary player or jack nic nicklaus. >> damon, augusta chairman fred ridley is focused on the political front because of the voting laws that can be seen as discriminating against certain people in terms of voting. his statement was i believe as everyone in the organization, this is fred ridley, that the right to vote is fundamental in our society.

no one should be disadvantaged in exercising that right how much has fred ridley taken augusta national in the new generation of golf and sport and how is the focus on georgia be something that augusta nation wnational change >> i covered 11 masters. chairman focus on the golf courts course and inside the ropes. for fred to say that disinn franf diseven franchise voters is an era we are living in many discussions are on top of mind i think fred's comments were an eco echo of those sentiments across

the united states. >> damon hack, thank you straight ahead on the show a red hot sector is the track running out for the transport sector one top analyst weighs in after this break for skin that never holds you back don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin lately, it's been hard to think about the future. gold bond but thinking about the future, is human nature. at edward jones, our 19,000 financial advisors create personalized investment strategies to help you get back to your future. edward jones.

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watched union vote in alabama as a large chunk of ballots come under question more hurdles for astrazeneca amid concerns of clotting issues tied to the vaccine as australia increases orders from another treatment maker. and transports firing on all cylinders as the sector looks to notch the best week since 1989. we talk to one analyst about the rally. it is friday, april 9th, 2021. you are watching "worldwide exchange" here on cnbc ♪ welcome back tgif i'm dominic chu. here is how stock futures are looking as we are halfway through the 5:00 a.m. hour dow implied lower. s&p higher by five points.

nasdaq down by ten very marginal decline. the major averaging coming off a higher session s&p notching another record all-time high. yesterday was all about big technology rallies and names like apple and netflix and microsoft and others helping the markets. nasdaq popping 1%. it is now up 2.5%. now to the morning top stories amazon appears to hold a strong lead in the historic union vote at one of the warehouses in alabama. about half of the 3,200 ballots cast have been counted so far, 1,100 votes against union with 463vo votes in suppo. amazon is under question for installing a mailbox outside the

warehouse. meanwhile, reuters is reporting that 500 ballot submitted in that vote are challenged the report says those challenged ballots could take a significant role if the pro-union vote closes the gap those votes were called into question over suspicious of tampering and eligibility and other issues as well and the ceo of wynn resorts is calling on the employees to get the vaccine. the ceo encouraged workers to get vaccinated or else take a weekly covid test to prove they are not carrying the virus speaking with our own jim cramer last night, he said getting a shot will not be required. >> i don't think it is our job to be mandating vaccines for everybody. i amm mandating being covid fre on the staff

you are vaccinated or tested every week >> speaking of the vaccinations, issues over the astrazeneca vaccine. australia is increasing the orders of the pfizer over the concern of the blood clots tied to the astrazeneca shot. we have julianna tatelbaum with more on the story. good morning, julianna >> reporter: dom, good morning in terms of the latest, australian government said it now recommends that all those people under the age of 50 should seek the pfizer jab instead of the astrazeneca shot. this comes after a number of decisions from health authorities around europe and into the uk after european and uk w uk health regulators came out to talk about it. in terms of what this means for australia, it puts more pressure on them to use the pfizer vaccine. as a result, australia has upped

its order doubling the number of doses to 40 million. the additional doses are not scheduled until later this year. it means a delay to the rollout. separately on astrazeneca, we also heard from the french health regulator this morning. one of the big questions for all these countries adjusting guidance, what happens to the people who have been given one jab of astrazeneca and not the second the french regulator came out to say recommendation if you are under the age of 55 and received the astrazeneca for the first jab, you should get an mnra for the second. >> can you tell us about the context of the reopening in europe right now are there certain places progresses quicker than others i look at social media and posts from germany some places show empty streets

and other people show things are moving around. what is the overall take for who is doing what in regard to opening? >> reporter: the big distinction is the uk and the continental european region. in the uk, monday marks a major milestone in the reopening of the uk economy we will dine outdoors and have non-essential retail reopen for the first time since december. big changes here in the uk as the vaccination rollout is ahead. in europe, it is a different picture. many are pushing for more restrictions the german health minister came out calling for more restrictions in germany and more unified response there because the case numbers in europe, by and large, are not looking great. >> julianna tatelbaum with the latest on the astrazeneca jab and the european reopening thank you, julianna. back to the markets.

one continues to outperform is transportation stocks. dow transport is higher on the week on pace for the longest weekly win streak since 1989 when it rallied for 11 straight weeks. trucking among the names at the top of the list is kansas city southern united airlines on the reopening trade. avis and fedex and american airlines can the win streak break the record joining me now to talk about this this is crazy. we were talking about nothing with regard to travel. now airlines are the best performing stocks in the market. is this justified? >> yes, i think a year ago we called the macro conditions were

set for significant expansion and valuation. that occurred significantly last year coming into this year, the call me made was that earnings growth and demand would be better than most people were thinking. that is starting to come to fruition for the portfolio outlook for 2021, it was the bullish report in the 20 years of writing research consumer economy is on fire. dom, in terms of housing prices and improving 401(k) balances and all-time highs inventory balance is low stimulus checks in the mail. the consumer is feeling better better balance sheet conditions. all the while, the industrial economy is reawakening from the year-long hibernation. you can see that in oil prices you see that in boeing resuming

production really, every major driver of the economy both on consumer and industrial side, we believe and we have written about this, is firing on all cylinders over the course of 2021 really, you haven't seen anything yet this is all starting to reflect at the moment and will accelerate over the course of 2021 >> this is crazy last year, we had this weird diffivergen divergent. you had crazy outperformance in logistics companies because we are all staying home and having all this stuff shipped to us what is the theme that drives the transportation story in 2021 >> i think the diffivergence was debt

and obviously as you pointed out correctly, the end market demand was very different nobody flying versus everybody ordering online. the key thesis is how strong dem demand is. most of the world is restricted for the last year and a half once the majority of the population gets vaccinated and restrictions ease, we think it will release a pretty massive pent-up demand like we have never seen before. the only thing i can resemble it to is 2014 and the first quarter with the polar vortex and gdp snapped back the second and third quarter bounced back we will see that on a bigger scale. don't under estimate the pent-up demand >> amit, we have time left

let's give viewers some actionable intelligence. what do you think is the performer? what are you staying away from >> last time i came on, union pacific was at 175 it is over $220. that worked out well for us, the key is trucking. i think k&x. they are well positioned for what is going on today xpo is another name well positioned and the spinach tifts around that name a lot of trucking names out there that are well positioned for a lot of demand drivers we see over the next several quarters >> thank you for that. he has calls on those names. a top pick for his world for transportation stocks. thank you. coming up, impossible foods

is jumping on the spac wagon why that trend could be stalling out. "worldwide exchange" is back in a moment row from our imaginatio, but they can't be held back. they want to be set free. to make the world more responsible, and even more incredible. ideas start the future, just like that. labradoodles, cronuts, skorts. (it's a skirt... and shorts) the world is going hybrid. so, why not your cloud? a hybrid cloud with ibm helps bring all your clouds together. that means you can access all your data, modernize without rebuilding, and help keep things both open and secure. that's why businesses from retail to banking

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billion. according to refinitive, it is worth $228 billion combined. only a quarter of the spacs listed since 2019 have completed deals. the spac boom could stall out as private funding is drying up 28 spacs went public in march. 4 have gone public within the month of april so far. for more on the spac boom, let's bring in the direct or of refinitive is the spac boom over? >> we estimate over 500 companies are looking for transactions

inn vvestors is looking at the deals done and potential targets and taking a pull back to assess the markets. >> what is driving some of that? is it the rising interest rate picture? is it the idea that maybe investor sentiment is changing or target companies are not as plenty as they were in the last 24 months? >> it is a combination of all of that you have a look at 770 public companies come on scene in last 12 months. the highest level of activity in 25 years many of them are the spac deals which were not on the radar before all searching for targets in a similar value range. the valuation story comes into play i think there is now very large amount of capital in the system looking for a certain real number of companies at this

point. i think that is really causing the market to take pause >> has there been something thin about the types of the deals done in spacs? for me, covering news, it seems as these transformation al compani companies. electric vehicles and clean tech is that the type of thing that goes through a spac? why not traditional ipo? >> so far, we are seeing very much the alternative ipo story which may struggle with the road show and have a little different story to tell. as you said, some of the electric carmakers and wework and alternative public companies. virgin galactic and trips into space. it has been an alternative scenario as far as the public company story and size i think there are a number of

companies that could potentially move out of the traditional ipo range. you have to have the right valuation and investor story and some of the other related financing to go along with it which is the issue with the slowdown this week. >> do you feel there is more scrutiny over the sponsors raising funds in the spacs do you feel investors given a year this spac boom is now more at least skeptical and maybe exercising due diligence on the types of s of money and manager putting the deals together >> you look at the prolific spac in the atmosphere and some of those which have been able to strike deals there may be thinning out of the other spacs. that is certainly an aspect. with anything, with this level of volume and level of capital

raised, it will draw scrutiny and a closer look from the investor community i think that is happening as well. >> matt toole, thank you very much >> thanks. on deck for the show dow and s&p looking to notch a three-week winning streak as investors gear up for evenarnin season. if you have not done so, subscribe to the podcast check us out on spotify and apple. and april is financial literacy month cnbc is committed to sharing messages about the importance of financial education. here is acorns ceo noah kerner. >> knowledge is power. it is not knowing. it is remembering at the right

moments to make the right decisions. we need to remember the power of sticking with it during difficult times. you need to remember that every downturn in history has ended with an upturn the eighth wonder of of the wo world is compounding the world around you may seem like an immovable, implacable place. it is not. it can be bright. quiet. and safe. it's a change that will be felt from this street.

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welcome back to "worldwide exchange." first of all, take a look at what is happening with stock market volatility. it is at the lowest level we have seen since february of last year this particular chart shows the stock market volatility which cratered since march of last year things appear to be back to pre-pandemic normal at least for one indication and we have been talking about the value cyclical

rotation people going to names that are not apple, microsoft and google. check out what is happening with apple, microsoft and google. apple is still down. microsoft is up 14% and alphabet is up 30%. again, just the year-to-date period maybe a scenario with the mega cap services stocks are starting to lead again and curry favor. and check out what is happening with the financial on the financial sector is up 39%. i say this because next week is earnings season. we know it kicks off with the big banks. let's bring in chief investment strategist at hightower.

thank you for the early call this morning let's talk about what is on the radar. how closely are you watching the banks? >> good morning. i am watching two things i'm watching the banks i'm excited about earnings it all kicks off next wednesday. i'm watching rotation as you mentioned. it has been a quiet week, dom. under the surface, you had the massive rotation back into growth and away from value i think it is more mean reverting. the first quarter was all value and banks and industrials and energy xlk is up 7% year-to-date. financials are up 18%. industrials up 13% year-to-date. tech can make a comeback there are other sectors which are very attractive. you are looking at jpmorgan

chase and goldman and morgan and bank of america next week. the bank stocks will do well in net interest margins and valuations are attractive. although they made a big move. i like the banks in year i th i think they made a nice move. now you have interesting dividend yields. >> that is loosening the reins to return capital. stephanie, many have diversified operations are there areas of the lenders that out perform what has your attention within that bank atmosphere >> i think you just hit it both with the yield curve getting steeper, you want to own a bank

of america which has the most exposure to a yield curve steepening trading and capital markets are on fire. goldman and morgan will do well. i like wells fargo it is a turn around story. wells fargo with a new ceo he has been there a year and a half a new executive committee. the asset cap can get lifted which will be a catalyst i still think that wells is an attractive idea. i think people are skeptical about it that's where i think your opportunity is the last one is american express. that is the reopening name t & e will come back i think that will reap rewards next year in terms of operating leverage >> i think, stephanie, the value trade.

finding beaten up neigames is resonating with the listeners. i look at consumer staple stocks some of the worst performers this year. are there any names you like >> that is interesting you mention that pepsi reports next week as well. they lost three multiple points relative to the group. the group has been under pressure it is also lost one multiple point on a valuation basis pepsi lost more. it is actually down 3.5% on the year i think that is interesting to see how it trades when it reports. i feel they will report a good number however, it is a stay at home stock. i prefer coke. 50% of the business is on prem as you reopen, business should

get better they are both down about the same, by the way, coke has a better dividend yield. 3.2% pepsi. it is interesting how it trades. i'm not a huge fan of staples. i think there are pockets you can pick away. i mentioned coke and estee lauder >> i guess there is a bullish under tone to the things you are telling me what has you scared in the coming six months? >> i am watching inflation i'm watching how fast do we grow we have $100 trillion in stimulus globally put in place over the last year we know, dom, it takes a long time to get stimulus into the system i wonder how fast are we going to grow? we will see more inflation i look at labor union costs and

i see zero those are the things i watch the most >> inflation is a big concern. stephanie, thank you that does it for us on "worldwide exchange. "squawk box" picks up coverage next have a nice weekend. can we. because the things we make, help make the world go round. they make it cleaner, healthier, and more connected. it's what we build that keeps things moving forward. so with every turn, we'll keep building a world that works.

good morning again, this morning, stock futures are relatively calm with an upward drift. that was following yesterday's 1% point gain for the nasdaq amazon taking a commanding lead in the union vote at one of the alabama warehouses we will bring you the totals.

and the state of florida suing the cdc. they want to restart the cruise industry that has been m mothballed for more than a year. it is friday, april 9th, 2021. "squawk box" starts right now. ♪ good morning welcome to "squawk box." i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. joe was talking about what we saw yesterday. s&p at a high again. the second day in a row we saw that it was up 17 points yesterday for the gain of .40% the big action came with the tech stocks. nasdaq up by 1%. it was opened by big games with netflix and amazon and alphabet. you see the green arrows this