quarterly results due from delta this hour. we'll get the latest on the travel nightmare atairports from the head of the flight attendant's union, it's thursday, january 13th, 2022 and "squawk box" begins right now. >> good morning, everybody welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. and yesterday the markets were up just a little bit. but we'll take it given what we've seen so far this year. the dow was up about .1% the s&p and nasdaq each up by about .25% dow futures indicated up by 25 points, s&p up by 3.5, and the nasdaq indicated up by about 12 points

yesterday treasury yields were higher if you check things out this morning, right now the ten year looks like it's yielding 1.748%. of course, we get more fed speak today and that could move both of these markets as well let's look at the squawk stack this morning, too. dollar was a little bit weaker yesterday. on pace for its worst day since may. this morning indicated down by about .1%. this morning financials closed up too looking at the dow transports because it's been weird with the dow transports trying to figure out what comes next, they're still about 12% from record highs and a mixture of things have been happening there. part of the problem may be wti which continues to climb higher right now down by about a penny but yesterday it was up. overall looking at energy stocks they've been up by about 14%

year-to-date natural gas up by 14% yesterday. up by 24% for the week so that could explain some of the problems the transports have had too. >> lots of explanations. >> buffetted by different things a strong economy good for transports but that gets oil higher, bad for transports a lot of times they have yo surcharges and they pass it on, a lot of those companies to consumers. >> you mentioned airlines and the problems they've seen. it's an industry that has had trouble finding staffing in some areas. the problems with omicron hit the airlines hard and we'll talk about that later on too. >> let's tell you what's on today's squawk planner, a busy day ahead. weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. plus airline learnings in focus, becky was talking about those. expecting delta's numbers around

6:30 eastern time this morning ceo ed bastian going to join us at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. a conversation you don't want to miss given everything going on right now. and fed governor, lael brainard set to go before the senate banking committee hearing this morning for her confirmation hearing she'll pledge to lawmakers to help the fed fight the rise in inflation while supporting the economic recovery. axios reporting some senate republicans signalled they're open to voting for her confirmation we've asked a number of republicans on our air about whether they'll support her. unclear. interesting to see what happens. now to the first big i.p.o. of 2022, tpg pricing the public offering at $29.50 that was the midpoint of the projected range. the ticker symbol is going to be tpg. yesterday hr and payroll

company justworx said it was delaying its offering that was set for today citing market conditions so interesting to see how tpg rolls out today. a different type of firm clearly than a classic tech firm which clearly was delaying given where things are right now joe? >> is that -- is that some product in your hair or did you venture forth? did someone come in? your hair looks great today. did you get a hair cut or something? >> thank you i got a hair cut nice for you to notice. >> how did that happen hazmat suits on both ends? enter the bubble how did -- where did you go? did you exit or did someone come in after -- >> n95 masks seriously. because i -- i think you know i'm crazy about this stuff n95 masks -- >> i know.

>> -- windows open, air filters on high there. and i -- and the guy who's a lovely guy who has cut my hair a bunch of times during the pandemic thinks i'm completely out of my mind but that's how i do it. >> no? no he said that that guy what's he thinking >> you didn't even notice mine, joe. i colored my own hair yesterday. >> yours looks great yesterday. >> i colored my hair because my hairdresser has covid. >> wow with hair coloring and stuff like that, i don't make any guesses or determinations -- >> any mention. >> -- because f of our -- yeah, right. our shifting lighting. i get it all the time. you didn't, you did. no, the lighting is different wherever we are. so we have lots of different -- >> i can make my lighting different for next block >> you can

i can -- i cannot. although i like my latest rendition of lighting here, it's pretty good. pretty good, i think i mean, as good as i can hope for at this point. stocks to watch. taiwan semiconductor, the fourth quarter profit rising 16%, thanks to global demand for chips. they plan to spend a third more than last year to make the advance chips. they expect to lift capital spending to between 40 and $44 billion. kb home, the fourth quarter profit beat forecast sales rose 40% the company said it had to meet strong demand for housing amid extremely challenging conditions working labor -- working through labor shortages, supply chain d disruptions. coin base struck a deal to

buy fairx. they'll reach institutional clients giving access to certain crypto futures traded on a regulated platform the trading volumes of crypto derivatives was just shy of $3 trillion in december topping that trading in the spot market. did you go lighter, becky? >> no. just same. >> just the same >> pretty much just a little touch up >> okay. >> i got help from kimmy >> what does that entail to do your own i guess it's -- is there any tinfoil involved do you start picking up broadcast networks >> no, no. >> i've seen that. >> this was a quick kind of just touch up to get me through for a few weeks. >> andrew -- >> not bad, right? >> we're going to move on.

but andrew -- >> i don't color my hair >> i know. >> but i have used -- >> my question was -- >> becky, have you used this new amazing die son hair dryer, do you know what i'm talking about? >> yes, i own one. >> it's going to take the job of every hairdresser in america, it's outrageous this thing. >> i bought one at the beginning of the pandemic when i started doing my own hair. >> i can use just an actual dryer, like a washer and dryer, throw it in, finish it there what i was actually saying, andrew, was that when you have someone come in, what is the most important thing, how qu quickly they do it or a good job? for me i say, do not pretend you're some kind of artist here, ten minutes. you don't need to use a ruler. >> super cuts over here. >> just get it done. so that's when people say i dye

my hair, i can't sit more than ten minutes for a hair cut how long does your hair cut take >> quick 20 minutes >> flowby. >> 20 minutes in there i usually read email i've known this guy for a long time, we have fantastic conversations. so it's worth the 20 minutes >> people talking about hair you can't get that anywhere else, tv people talking about hair we better go we're going to hear about this. >> we better. >> we're going to hair abilout this. >> when we come back, dr. kavita patel joins us to talk about the covid questions of the day then we'll get an update on the travel nightmare at airports talking to sara nelson from the ig adas union later this hour. you're watching "squawk box. and this is cnbc you're a one-man stitchwork master. but your staffing plan needs to go up a size.

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the cdc said yesterday its predicting that more than 62,000 people could die from covid over the next four weeks. this comes as new york reports declines in daily positivity rates and slowing hospitalizations joining us right now is dr. kavita patel, former white house health policy director

also an nbc and msnbc contributor. those are stark numbers, doctor, 64,000 americans dying in the next four weeks. we think of the omicron wave of a much milder wave because most of the people we know get it, it's a cold. but the numbers show there's people being affected. where do we stand right now in terms of this wave, how much more we can anticipate and what the real end effect is going to be >> yeah, becky, good morning to all of you we are optimistic looking at data coming out of the northeast and mid atlantic we're seeing peaks. that's reflected not just in daily cases but also waste water surveillance which is an accurate way of determining a population's portion of covid cases. so that's helpful. but to your point when we have upwards of 750,000 cases reported yesterday, which is an

undercount as we talked about. that leads to even if it's less than a percent of hospitalizations we have deaths that follow. so you're correct in pointing out the grim reality we've seen more deaths unfortunately during this surge in a compressed amount of time than we had over the previous three months so it's literally a statistic of how many people are getting covid, how many are not boosted because the majority of deaths are in the unvaccinated. and when there are breakthrough deaths they're in people not boosted. >> the good news we could get to the end of the wave in areas that went into it first? what happens around the country, are we facing a rolling wave >> yeah. the -- so if there is good news to be had about omicron, as fast as it comes up you see the rapid declines, that's seen in the peaks in south africa and the uk, which we generally trail a few weeks. keep an eye out on the midwest

in the coming weeks. minnesota still dealing with the delta surge, omicron rates picking up so we'll watch the pacific northwest, midwest we are seeing surges but they have yet to reach the peaks. keep an eye on texas and florida. huge positivity rates but not clear signs they peaked just yet. those states drawing big numbers because of their population. >> is the potential best news is, if everybody is getting this, and most people are okay after they get it. does this provide us some sort of herd immunity or is that not the right way to think of it if if you get it, get the more mild strain, maybe the good news is everybody would have some improved immunity after this had? >> most hopeful aspect of this may not be the herd immunity because i think we've now, just given how low our vaccination rates are. we kind of really topped out on

what we can expect kind of quote herd immunity but to your point about infection, we have data that it protects against delta and hopefully looking back on this, too early to tell, so complacency -- or not being complacent is key. we hopefully will have the ability to draw the bright line saying after this surge, that was the demarcation where this becomes a little bit more manageable in the hospital, hopeful signs, our hospitalizations are definitely very consistent they tend to be shorter. we are seeing, you and i talked about this, hospitalization with covid. i think covid still plays an underlying role in exacerbating disease. but shorter hospitalizations and not as many people critically ill. so you're right, there are signs this could be the end of this phase of the pandemic. >> this gets me back to a

question you and i talked about a couple of weeks ago, that old thing where parents took us to chicken pox parties to make sure we get chicken pox where everyone else gets it. maybe not the best thing because now i have the chicken pox virus in my body and need the shingles shot so this is if mild one, is that a crazy idea >> the reason we talked about why i do not want people to do this or i don't want people to take omicron lightly is because number one we're still trying to get enough therapeutics out to people we have high risk people, people who don't realize they're high risk by nature of chronic diseases or age. we do not know and can say you might get a mild case. for that reason i think that's a case in point. second is long covid we have not had enough data, enough time hasn't passed, it's not

something you want to deal with. we're watching nursing home rates of death and staff going up at an amazing steep climb so i think we can see, you know, a light at the end of the tunnel but for nursing homes, vulnerable populations, your mild infection could lead to five to ten other people getting infected, one of whom could be visiting someone in a nursing home don't be part of the chain in the link with infections when we have so much viral activity. >> those are all fair points we've been hearing how omicron is disrupting essential services, whether it be at hospitals, or emergency services like police and fire, or transportation, is there anything we can do to try to protect those services and make sure they're not disrupted >> look, if we could have -- if i can go back in my way back time machine i would say this is a great point of support of mandates, especially in the essential populations.

i can't believe we have a large number of health care workers that haven't received vaccines or boosters. but we are where we are now, so we have to go back to the basic mitigation measures. i know there's controversy over masks. when you have an unvaccinated population you don't know who's boosted or vaccinated. the conversation about what andrew does about cutting his hair, that's what we should be doing in environments where we have touch points with essential workers. firefighters can't run into a fire and making sure they have air circulation because that's what a fire needs, but firefighters can be surrounded by other people who are vaccinated and wearing masks when they're not fighting fires. shortened isolation times and allowing people who are asymptomatic and positive to come back to work, that's what we're doing in health care, i'm not an advocate for it but it's

the best we can do for a gaping wound on what we have right now across the country. >> dr. patel, thank you for your time this morning. good to see you. >> thank you i think i just got a thumbs up on how i'm doing things so i'm good. i'm good coming up, when we return another major financial firm delaying its return to office. we'll tell you about it after the break. plus quarterly results due from delta around 6:30 eastern time we'll bring you the numbers. followed by a cnbc exclusive cnbc interview with delta's ceo ed bastian we're back after this.

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welcome back to squawk black stone now reportedly telling the u.s. staff they need to get covid booster shots to work inside the company's offices, this according to bloomberg. in addition to the booster mandate, the company is planning to test workers in the office on site three times a week. blackstone recently pushed back return to the office from the middle of january to the end of the month as wall street grapples with an uptick in covid cases across new york and manhattan and frankly across the country. but it does look like we hopefully have -- i don't know if we've peaked and we've totally turned but we may have plateaued, becky >> let's hope that's the case. in the meantime news yesterday from the fda, not about covid but salad dressing they eliminated a standard of definition to define french dressing as including vegetable

oil and lemon or lime juice and could be seasoned with spices. that rule was sparked, be -- the change was sparked by a petition filed in january of 1998 the petition was filed by the association for salad dressings and sauces that's a trade group that argued the standard of identity restricts innovation products with thename french dressing will continue to be available. it's related in part to the agency's effort to modernize food standards it's amazing they have time to deal with this stuff >> that's -- what is -- what is mayo and ketchup mixed together? is that russian? >> disgusting. >> that's russian dressing is that really or is it homemade, that's how we did it i thought we were sort of not

doing it the right way, like the real way is that wrong? >> did scaesars have anything to do with greek dressing does it go back that far >> i don't know. >> i don't know -- these are the questions. >> i make a mean caesar salad. >> anchovies >> yes and also, you need one yolk. one yolk, if you're willing to -- i know some people don't like the egg -- >> take the risk >> i take the risk and it makes it worth it. you have to turn the anchovies into almost a paste, though. you don't want to use anchovy paste but you want to make it into a paste, you have to rub it into the salad bowl for the

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delta airlines reporting results. let's get to phil lebeau with those numbers. phil, good morning >> reporter: good morning, joe this is a beat on the top of the bottom line for delta. the company earning 22 cents a share. the consensus facts that first estimate was 14 cents a share revenue coming in many at 9.47 billion, better than the estimate the impact of omicron in the fourth quarter which is going to get attention, $80 million but remember, they had seen improving operations starting really in the middle of november all the way up probably until christmas week and that's the reason you have better than expected earnings for the fourth quarter. the company said operations have stabilized over the last week. and expects demand recovery starting towards the end of this

month and then into february and picking up during president's day weekend all the way through the end of march it is confident the spring and summer travel season will be strong and it is reafirming its guidance for all of '22. they said it last month during analyst day new york, reaffirming guidance on capital, cost, and expenditures lots to discuss with ceo ed bastian, you'll hear from him in half an hour we'll talk about the q-4 results and what people are focused on, what do they see as the lasting impact of omicron. they believe the first quarter things start to pick up when you get to the middle of february and then through the end of march. guys, back to you. >> all right, phil we're going to continue to talk. i was going to talk to you about this, but let's talk to sara about it worker shortages due to covid still disrupting the industry, let's welcome sara nelson,

president of the international association of flight attendants her union represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants the union having a dispute with delta who they do not represent but they're seeking to unionize there. delta shortened their isolation policy from ten days to five days after a cdc change. nelson's union has urged health officials and airline management to keep the 10-day isolation policy in place. what i was going to mention to phil or you or anyone who would listen, on a good day, 50,000 flights up and down, takeoff, gates, weather on a good day. this is a logistical challenge you throw in, you know, a couple of clouds, a couple of fronts, and then avery infectious virus, and as we now know all

hell can break loose and has, i feel for everybody involved almost. >> thank you, joe. first of all, happy new year to you and to andrew and becky. it's good to see all of you. yeah, it is really hard. the airline industry is a tough industry and we have been operating in crisis mode for two years. let's recognize there's not been an ability to forecast here. all you can do is best plan with what you know. but the entire pandemic has meant we can't look back at other years and understand what we need to do now. the airlines learned that in the fall when they realized they couldn't plan to staff flights at the same level they did pre-pandemic because people were not able to pick up as many overtime hours or not willing to pick up that voluntary time because of concerns around covid and also because of the conflict on the planes. we're in a different place here, it's crisis mode the other thing i would note we did have a lot of storms over the holidays which impacted us further. and we had the problems with

omicron. if we did not have all of those flight cancellations because of weather and because of crew shortages and other employee shortages you would have been hearing about the cancellations that were going on because the passengers were getting sick too and they had concerns as well. >> so sara, let's say that you were trying to run delta or trying to run united and you're watching the -- you know, the cancellations on a daily basis. and all the people that are inconvenienced and the media and the press that writes about it and then the cdc came out and said do five days, not ten wouldn't you immediately sort of embrace that just for the possibility of having more people available, more crews, and, you know, you -- you're trying to deal with this horrific situation do you think that the safety or the -- the -- i don't know, being more prudent overrides

getting people where they're trying to go on time i guess that's your take >> i think we can all agree that safety has to be there there has to be no question about safety or else people are not going to buy airplane tickets. we saw a demand return when we had the broad access to the vaccine. so people felt more safe and we also had done a lot of communicating around the controlled environment that we have on the airplane with the masks, with the air filtration, with the deep cleaning, the changes to the service proc procedures it's all combined. here's what our concern was, over the holidays was that at other airlines we negotiated incentive pay for workers to pick up trips and that really helped the operation for those people who were well and could pick up that additional time to lobby the cdc based on satisfying shortages alone sends a really mixed message to the public and we're really concerned about that for the employees but also for the safety that we are communicating to the public.

so our biggest concern right away is when you have a major policy change like this, especially at an airline the size of delta or united airlines, it takes a while to communicate that policy to the workers. communicate it through all of your levels of management so that everyone is doing the right thing. what delta led on was asking the cdc to reduce the days from 10 to 5 for staffing reasons. and we talked with other airlines, we were very busy after this came out to say, hey, let's talk about this. a lot of them held off and we're talking about the policies now, we're getting that in place. what they're doing is a nuanced policy here so people who are well and testing well at some of the other airlines are able to come back after the five days. we're not saying we shouldn't have that in place but we didn't want to send the message to workers that you should come to work sick and the driving force, the narrative here that was put out was that this was about staffing and it was sending the message that they wanted people to come back to work

we were very concerned about people coming back to work sick and our biggest concern when delta first announced their policy was it did not include the provision that the cdc had for asymptomatic workers coming back to work in those five days. so this is about clarity, making sure we're not undermining safety and making sure that we're not sending a message to the workers or the supervisors who are confused about this, too, that they should be forced to come back to work sick. >> sara, i believe you genuinely care and worry about worker safety but underneath this as well is a separate issue, which is a power struggle, if you will, between delta, which has not been a unionized airline, as you know, and your union and an effort to turn it into one. and i want you to speak to that, if you could, because delta has historically been look at as one of the shining examples of a

non- non-unionized airline that has succeeded, in part the argument has gone because it has not been unionized that their workers have been paid, perhaps in some cases, better than unionized workers because of the flexibility they've had to manage their business. >> so, andrew, i have to disagree with that we've done the economic analysis and we know what it's like going to the bargaining table with the other airlines the costs for delta flight attendants is far underneath what united or american pay because of the other provisions of the contract, the reassignment provisions, the health care provisions, sick leave provisions all of those other things are -- really hold up that pay and at the end of the day the delta flight attendants are paid less. that puts pressure for us to not move forward on other contracts at united or the others. we said that delta would really

benefit from having a union on the property we'd be able to talk about these issues there are ongoing questions from the workforce how this policy is applying so even where the policy may have been improved after we raised some concerns and delta did do that, they updated their policy we're still having issues and if they have the union on the property, we'd be able to work through those, delta pilots have raised concerns too and they're dealing with it directly with the airline because they have the legal collective bargaining relationship we have it at every other airline but you're not hearing about it on the news because we have the legal collective bargaining relationship. the biggest reason that delta should think about a union for their flight attendants is the $12 billion thaw got in the past two years that were the result of the unions pushing if tr that plan and working with the industry to get it what better example how this can be a benefit to the company than that

>> sara, just real quick, though do your calculations include the stock that delta has distributed over the years the. >> yes, absolutely. >> clearly they're doing what the other airlines historically have not done or not done at the same type of level. >> we've seen profit sharing in recent years and the stock has been distributed to other airline workers obviously following the bankruptcbankrupts we do put that in our assessment of the compensation package and it still cuts into the carriers and under cuts our bargaining everywhere else. >> sara, good to see you we check in with you a lot on these issues i don't know, when you said happy new year, i immediately thought of "curb your enthusiasm". i think you're late. i can't remember when larry david was stopped, i think it

was the fifth or sixth of january and no more happy new year but we have not seen each other, i'm going to let it slide and say back to you, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> we could use a decent year. you know what i mean, one of these years. fingers crossed. >> we could. i know you'll talk to ed soon. tell him hi, let him know i'd sit down and talk with him and work through these issues. >> i was going to ask you to stick around for that. but you know what, i don't think i'm going to do that thank you. see you sara. >> take care, joe. thank you. andrew >> we can do the negotiation right here on the show but before we head to a break. check out shares of boeing this morning. they're rising, following the bloomberg report saying the 737 max jet could resume flying in china as soon as this month, becky. when we come back, we have

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welcome back, everybody. college undergrad enrollment continued to shrink this fall and has declined by more than a million students since the pandemic began that's according to a new report from the national student clearinghouse research center. the college undergrad program is rank by 3.1% last year and the student debt repayment has cost the government $100 billion according to data from the department of education, about 43 million borrowers own $1.6 trillion in federal student dead and more than 5 million are in default at this point that means they've gone nearly a year without making a payment. andrew >> coming up when we return, another hot read on inflation doot we'll talk about the impact on main street.

john o'brien is going to join us next

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welcome back to "squawk box. this morning, inflation affected many aspects of the economy, but small businesses are being especially hit hard. joining us to discuss more is the operation hope chairman ceo, there is also news around the company that john is the ceo of promise homes, we will get to that in just a moment. john, we have been talking about inflation the impact of inflation. whether the fed have been behind what they need to do about it at this point is there something being missed in all this when it comes to the small business community >> yes, there is you know, in the midst of all

that's gone along, by the way, inflation has been with us for 150 years, the inflation rate has been over 6.8% over 150 years, according to government statistics and before every boom, there was inflation loadup we got to do this intelligently. the problem is here, andrew, that black businesses in the mild of this pandemic more than the inflation only got 1% of access to capital. 1% so you have on the one hand the comfort of the great resignation, but we're not recognizeing is a 38% increase in black business news over the same term during the pandemic, 38% of if you black people were created. they don't having a says to c-core, any capital, credit. tony wreser once told me new civil rights is low cost to capital, credit, access and

opportunity for all. so i think that is, inflation is a big deem it affects those on the bottom of the pyramid the most. but when i was coming up in my first business as a young man, i had an 18% credit card, i wasn't focusing on the inflation industry of the credit card, i was focused on the fact i had to do some credit to grow my business and seek opportunity. so i think we have to attach this through several landing -- and recognize we're at war we're at war of the virus and very much like after world war ii, we will need a lot of tools to combat this war and to encourage small businesses like mean and others to rise. we can contribute to this gdp. >> but, john, the question is, do you think there is not enough cap, the flipside of this and i don't -- i don't mean to question it, but it appears.

>> no, please. >> that the world is awash in liquidity in a way it hasn't been in a very, very long time. >> yes him but if you hang around nine pro people, you will be the tenth so those who have the capital have probably too much of it those who tone have the capital don't have enough of it. and you operate in concentric surges, those circles don't connect and a lot of this is relationship capital, andrew how do i know you? through relationship how do i know joe and becky? relationships. you know, how do i know tony wester and it's a relationship. that relationship accents it amongst other things exam. how do i know henry kravitz? all these things that relates that turns into deals and transactions started with relationships. that's one of the reasons i really, the low people say we can live on the internet, zoom

all day. no, if you already know somebody have a business relationship, you can zoom all day, because are you not selling anything if you need to sell something, most people in america, you actually need personal interaction. so, the magic of an in-person meeting, back to the point is for many people everything so, yes, access to capital is $7 trillion during the pandemic thrashing around it washed right over black folks. so long it almost has to to with nothing. >> what itself the policy prescription, though >> policy prescription should be, thanks for asking, financial literacy for all, it's not just about the money. you can give a million dollars to a homeless die, he'll be broke if a months. that's all he does making money and building walls is two different things. financial literacy for all, internships right out of high

school, apprenticeships for those in the work force and wants to trade for a new job when you give somebody extra capital, give them access to a battery of relationships, like we do with 1 million black initiatives, a team of lawyers, bankers. i couldn't do this last deal without lawyers and bankers. that was worst worth somebody writing a check. black people don't have any of these tools. i assume single businesses and others as well, i'm talking specifically about black businesses that's holding american gdp back we need to be serious about if are you in football, where do you get your football players? in middle school basketball players, middle school we don't farm club people in this country but the business is triefg the markets, gdp and the country we don't farm people at a young age. >> in the value and importance of relationships, you you have a

deal this morning to tell us about and i think in large part it was a function of the relationships that you were able to create and develop? >> yes so, i am told, i am not sure if i should be happy about this or sad, but i am told that a $200 million facility we were able secure from barry's to close a $120 million acquisition at my company xorth black enterprise magazine the largest access to capital for an african-american and single family real estate ever and one of the largest deals for black folks in business in the last decade as far as access to capital the $120 million deal, thank you, barrys, for doing this. it had to be good. i had to hit my number and have a business plan that worked. i also had to have access and the right relationships to get in the right doors the new movies out in the

streets writes so much but the suites, and that's what this deal is about the good deal about this, andrew, is a multi-stake holder. every client they offered hope to do it you can get free to minority businesses prioritized or contracts, plumling, landscapeing, roofing, lighting, et cetera. 65% andrew of all contract with the black and women-owned businesses i am so proud of that that's a renewable philanthropy >> part of that you are giving ba to operation hope every employee gets a thousand dollar rainy day fight people get too much money in their money, every non-profit got a thousand dollars from my for profit you can be a exaltist and not be

a jerk and do good at the same time >> john, we want to congratulate you. we are up against a hard break we hope to see new person very, very soon. tanks. >> thank you, andrew, god bless you. all right. coming up, a delta ceo ed bastian, theat lest quarter from phil, the impact of omicron and much more, "squawk box" is coming right back. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today.

[music: “you can get it if you really want” by jimmy cliff]

stocks shrugging off, wipe out data and rising bond yields for a third straight day of gains. today more fed speak and producer prices, those will be the focuses for investors today. wall street has a dilemma, get a bonus or work from home. that spurns some to rethink their return to the office plus, delta results are out. we will talk labor shortages with ceo ed bastian. the second hour of "squawk box" begins right now good morning welcome back to "squawk box" right here on cnbc

i'm andrew ross sorkin, we are two-and-a-half hours before every the market is set to open. u.s. equity futures at this hour, seem to be we will open higher the nasdaq will open down, though, 6-and-a-half points off the s&p 500. it is minorly in the red there here's what's making headlines at this hour a. day after the consumer price index comes in slightly higher than expected. the september consumer price index will come out 8:30 eastern time they think it rose and .5% when food and energy are excluded we'll talk about that. inflation will be a key topic of the morning when lysle brainard appears before the senate banking committee. he is the president's vice chair. she pledged to fight inflation while still supporting an

economic recovery then moderna expects to report trials in march that involve children age 2 to 5 if it's positive, they will proceed for approval right now only adults are eligible for adult vaccines in the united states. the company has submitted applications for another age groups, joe. >> andrew, let's get to dom chu for this morning's pre-mark movers >> good morning, joe let's start off first of all what's happening with the nasdaq we have a lot of focus on interest rates the last year or so interest rates played into the valuation discussions, index indices like the nasdaq and nasdaq 100. this particular etf at the nasdaq 100 you can see sheer just about flat in the pre-market trade right now but the reason why a lot of folks care is the pullback we've seen from recent highs is now roughly 8% from those high levels

8-to-9%. the reason it's important is it matches the biggest pullback over the last year roughly 8-to-9% as well. if you are looking for a reason why there is at least some support right here that's a big deal. one of the things that's helping provide a little tailwind for some of that nasdaq trade overall as of late has been in shares of apple. right now they're down a quarter of a percent but this is an interesting development, because folks over at bank of perk, the analyst team there have called on to it it hardware side of things, apple one of tear top picks. they think there are multiple tail winds for this particular stock in the coming months here, including services growth as well as an upcycle for hardware that includes not just the iphone but augmented reality and head sets as well, by rated b of a with a 200% price target for the crypto side of things, a lot of interest as of late, especially with people kind of looking at quotes for things

like bitcoin and ether bitcoin prices have been moving between gains and losses, a fairly stable trade. over the course of the last couple of days, we have hit a high up around 44,200 or so that's a far ceo i from the near 69,000 they were earlier this past year. however, the narrative around inflation seems to be playing a part in some of the crypto trade, especially in bitcoin we are down one-quarter of 1%. ether is down, the last trade there as well, keep an eye on the crypto currencies, joe, i'll send things back over to you. >> all right a lot of things swirling with crypto it has a lot to do with how we regulate this stuff and until there is some clarity, it's a difficult, i had people at 69, remember when people said, you can't buy it here. i won't let it come down to 40, a lot of people said around 40 that's where you buy it.

it comes down to 40. people are like, i will never touch this when you get a chance, you are not ready to do it. >> that's not even talking about the taxes from the irs either. >> thanks. to him here you go, becks. >> when we come back, delta reporting quarterly results, we will speak to the ceo ed bastian about the results, the impact of omicron, what's happening right now, much more as well before we head to the break, let's get a check on the markets the dow futures are still up by 24 points, the s&p 500 and fax down s&p down by a point. the nasdaq off by about ten points those comments from lysle brainard will be watched closely. she's nominated as the vice chair. that can tell you an awful lot about the fed being united we'll continue to see where this

heads. "squawk box" will be right back.

welcome back to "squawk box. delta air lines reporting quarterly results. phil le beau joins us with a special guest. phil >> let's bring in edbastian ce joining us from the company's headquarters in atlanta. i can't be with you there now obviously because of the

circumstances with omicron and everything that's going on but we want to talk about these results. up beat the street with better tan expected results over the top and bottom line. clearly, you did see an impact from omicron in the fourth quarter, particularly in the last week-and-a-half of the year explain the impact that you saw. >> well, good to see you, phil, down here, we look forward to you coming back for the fourth quarter report in a couple months despite the challenges of omicron, fought just our company but our entire society as we close delta here we closed out the year strong. we had a profit of $170 million in the fourth quarter, solid profit number, largely in line with the guidance as you suggest and we'll be the only airline that's profitable throughout the back half of 2021. so our people have done a tremendous job it's one of the reasons we announced this morning we will be making a special profit sharing payment to our people of roughly $100 million, which

equals 20% of the profits of the back six months of the year. we were profitable for the full year we were profitable for the back half of the year our people did a tremendous job. it's the service and excellence that makes all the difference for our commerce and for our company. >> and where do things stand right now in terms of the impact of omicron on your operation they've stabilized in the last week, correct? >> yeah, we're doing much, much better than we were through the early part of the holiday period omicron as i indicated has impacted all of us over the last four weeks, we've had about 8,000 of our staff be affected by the virus. the good news is that they were all, you know, fine. there has been no significant issues health issues that we've seen from it but it's knocked them out of the operation for a period of time at the same time that we had the busiest travel that we have seen

in two years so the confluence of those two events could not have happened at a worst time. we were openering you know during parts of the holiday into the first week of january of cancellations of 5%. some days even more than that. it was just unheard of for us within our industry. but over the course of the last week, those cancellations are way down staff levels and case counts are coming down with respect to our own staff. the doctors have told us that this is going to decline as rapidly as it rose our kids counts are coming down meaningfully at delta. we've only seen about 1% cancellations over the last seven days due to omicron and, in fact, yesterday, we only had two cancellations the entire day for the main line out of over 2500 operations due to omicron so we believe the worse is the behind us, we need to navigate to get through this as a society. >> so let's talk about the outlook for the first quarter. you guys really believe the things accelerate as we get into

february and march particularly after president's day. are you noticing that in the bookings right now, are you seeing the demand that you expected to snap back? >> we are. in the next four-to-six weeks it's going to be difficult with january and the first half of february as you know, phil, are always also the weakest parts of our travel calendar and with omicron coming out at the same time, it's going to make it that much more weaker but what we do see in the booking data is the president's day weekend forward looks really robust our numbers and the bookings continue through this period people are ready to travel they're ready to put their spring plans, they know omicron is not going to be a threat to them at that point they want to get out and reyou into it with friends, family, the world. get on with their life with what we're seeing is you know for the spring season, it's going to be a very, very busy season, into summer as well. we need to navigate this next four or five weeks to get there.

>> ed, you heard the comments from sarah nelson or maybe you didn't hear that you know what she has been saying over the last week or so, with regard to how delta has handled the omicron variant and with regard to your staffing there do you think there is any lingering impact in terms of labor relations at the company i know you guys have the profit sharing check you announced this morning. but is there any lingering impact there >> i did not hear her comments, so i have no idea what she said. no, none whatsoever. this has been a really hard time for all of us and particularly within the airline industry and our people are our heroes. the work they have done throughout the past two years, what they've done over this past year, the work they've done over the last few weeks i think this holiday period we just went through was arguably the most difficult period of time we've experienced throughout the pandemic with

demand as high as it was and the virus peaking in the most infect efficiency at the time we thank our people. we support them. we always follow the signs at delta. as you know, phil, we've surrounded ourselves with the very best medical minds. the mayo clinic. emory university, emory healthcare here in atlanta we've hired the industry's first real chief officer dr. henry king, who provides us our guidance we follow the cdc orders very, very carefully and closely. because protection and safety of our people job one at all times. that's without xechlths i don't know w-- without exception that's not our number one focus, it's simply misleading. >> hey, ed, over the last couple of weeks, sarah has been on a couple of times. the things she has said is first of all delta was pushing the cdc for these guidelines to bring people back more quickly second of all, i realize the

flight attendants would like to unionize at delta, i take it with a grain of salt she said just in terms of the other airlines that they were doing things that they've negotiated with flight ag attendants to pay people who were well more money to come back and pick up more flights rather than delta. delta was not doing that what is your response to that? >> again, can i not respond to what i didn't hear, so i don't want to say anything unfact chum as you know, we did issue a cease and desist letter. it's because we think at times like this where health information and wellness of our people is so critical that leaders and organizations need to make sure they people carefully, truthfully and facttually that's why we issued that cease and desist letter. our people are doing a great job. no we did not compensate and provide an incentive for people to come to work while omicron is flowing through the system

we want the opposite we want our people to be tested. we found more case have come down with it because we've encouraged them to be tested and put their safety at the forefront. our people are the best compensators as a result, we work them the very best as well. >> ed, we talked a few times about when the world gets back to normal. then you get to start worrying about things that you have been worried about in your entire career in the airline industry oil, there are some people that think there is a super spike on the horizon, just inflation and you know it's probably part monetary and there is a lot of reasons, the pandemic, a lot of different things if you get hit with really solid demand as you forecast and oil prices do rise quite a bit, what do you plan? what are you factoring in? what's the high for oil in 2022? does delta try to figure that

out? >> you know, we're not smart enough to figure that out, joe but we're prepared, pending what might happen are we prepared for oil prices north of $100? of course we are we've seen it in the past, many times in the past. we figured out what we have to do to be able to recover that ultimately, it comes down to pricing. we need to put a product and servicing customers are willing to pay for it. it includes all the pricing and costs of delivery. we're looking at demandp demand looks really healthy we know we have a consumer that's anxious to travel, the consumer got considerable wealth built up we know businesses are anxious to get on the road following the omicron last phase of the pandemic let's hope. oil prices will be a part of that equation into the overall pricing and yield management of the airline. >> it's phil again, you mentioned business travel. when we talked to new york last month, you indicated that

corporate travel was picking up in the fourth quarter, early in the fourth quarter, obviously things have changed given the variant and the spread what do you expect in terms of corporate travel has this been a 30/60-day pause in increased travel and we see an increase from there what is your expectation >> well, talking to our big corporate accounts as well as others in the field, we look at this about a 60-day pause, 60-to-90-day let's call it business travel probably takes a little longer to recover than international might be a touch longer than that, not too far out. i think the strain for international is quite well across the trans-atlantic. these are tied to businesses reopening when i mentioned to you when we spoke last month right now as we survey our corporates, roughly about 60% of them are opened for business in the december quarter many of them have plans to

reopen in jaumpbl obviously, those have been pushed out to the spring once those businesses reopen, we think travel is going to continue to grow in the business sector for the fourth quarter, we closed the year out about 60% of overall business travel in terms of recovery relative to '19. the big corporate is a little less than that, small business a little higher than that. once we get through this and we're looking at president's day as the line of demarre indication where things should pick up as the virus recedes, we look for a very strong spring travel season for corporate, international as well as for consume were march, april may, i think will be really healthy months for us. >> andrew here i want to ask you a couple questions to follow up here, in part, because delta is ranked 38 in the top 100's the top transportation company on that list and, in part, you get there

because of the satisfaction by commerce and also employees. i wanted if a round about way to come back to some of the stuff sarah nelson was suggesting. here we have a company akseling on one side. but there is a union movep across this country and labor movement accelerating. and how do you think about that? >> well, you don't get there as being rated number one in customer satisfaction as our commerce rate us jd power won the award business travel years 11th year in the row as the number one airline by large measure for business travelers if you don't have happy employees, if you don't have employees that want to serve, feel respected, feel trusted, feel backed up. that's proof in the pudding. the better job our people do, the better job our customers will reward us with service and how we can then turn around and grow and invest in and take good cure of them it starts with people.

you know me well for years, it's all about people, my job is to serve people to be the very best we have been at target for union activism by outside unions for decade this is nothing new. but our people know that their number one job is to take care of our customers and each other and the business, the company will take care of them >> by the way, do you think that the labor movement in america that's happening right now is a good thing, is a bad ting? is it a power grab by the unions, i ask because i'm trying to understand it myself and sort of try to make sense of what's happening, especially given the labor shortages, which is giving labor more power than ever before >> i don't know. we have a large union on our property, so we deal with living union or the rest of our employees who are largely fawn union. you know, whatever the motivations or the environment is, i don't think that

necessarily influence how we operate and the job we have my job is to take care of our people whether i have a union or not. i'm going to do the very best that i can >> ed, thank you very much nor joining us next time, i'm there in atlanta in the again, buns we get past this surge in the coronavirus around the country ed bastian, ceo of delta air lines joining us on a day when the company beat on the top and bottom line. you heard what they said they believe this is basically a 30 to 60-day pause in demand and things ac sell rate as you get into the back half of february then into march. andrew >> phil, thank you thank you for bringing us that interview with ed bastian. we should mention if you want to check out the full just 100 list, you can scan the code on your screen or visit cnbc.com/just 100. joe. >> thanks, andrew. coming up, the work from the home environment and the impact on bonuses from wall street all over main street, some workers

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welcome back rohas impact on cases. we'll talk about that next plus, car prices are skyrocketing >

. the federal reserve chair j. powell says they can ban officials from selling stock they have looked into the rundown here so i have "inside information"

about what you are going to weigh in on here him let me get that out there >> yes, the lawmakers should be banned the refs shouldn't bet on the game which is why it's a problem democrats and republicans in the senate can't steam to agree on a plan for this. house speaker nancy pelosi flatout opposes a ban on stock trading. a poll last week found three and four law make verse an under fire advantage in trading a. campaign eadership poll in november found 67% of voters want to ban all lawmakers trading stocks let's not suppose this is an imaginary problem. insiders found at least 54 members of congress, 31 republicans, 22 democrats violated disclosure rules and their stock trading in 2021 alone. that matters as foreman congressman brian baird said a decade ago, one line in congress can be worth millions of dollars. the right thing is restrict them and their spouses from trading

stock. that will give americans confidence they are working for our interests, not their own profits. >> sit possible to structure it that, you get that level of confident, but we don't preclude anyone with private sector experience and then we're going to have a bunch of politicians we know how effective that can be. >> well, joe, on the other hand, no, speaking of corporate congressman baird, he pushed for the stock after a deck killed a ago. it was going to be a great law from preventing information and making it all transparent. you know what, it passed then congress took it out at the niece, watered it down nancy pelosi is right, we are a free market economy. trades should be monitored, there should be harsh evenly applied punishments when they break the rules. there should be easily accessible database, not the clunky system we have today. it's not that bans are always

bad, more important here senior accountability and disclosure. if congress tightens up the system that's already in place, we might not have to go to the extreme step of encouraging spouses from participating in the political process. if you do that, you will end up with lobbyists more dependent on lobbyist dollars because they don't have their own money, joe. >> just so many things, we were talking about all week, i'm glad you did this today for lawmakers, it's a big line in legislation or wow i was just at a security meeting and russia is right on the border of ukraine. they just, i'm getting the hell out or wow this new variant where i was just at a meeting that no one else knows about, another security meeting and there are so many different things, i don't know how you do it without a blanket sort of a ban on everything. >> it's tough because it's not just stocks, what about crypto currencies we are likely to get laws and

regulation down the pike on those. real estate holdings, those can be affected by so many things that congress does so anotherpy job here, joe, i always feel like is to start off with one argument that i think is unquestionable stronger and i try to convince myself the other side or another side very often i succeed >> john, that's the bet, not only have you the monetary spigots, but they know regulatory issues that they may be considering, too. >> it was a easier they shouldn't be trading. >> exactly you would think. if we're not, you can believe we could? >> all the affluence that we have >> yeah. right. do not try this at home. anyway, thanks, john when we come back, remote work or bonus? that debate is next. and then new and used car

prices are soaring, but auto stocks at the dealers are well off their highs. we will go under the hood, the ceo of a car dealership change and get the inside scoop and cnbc is now affecting nominations for the tenth annual disruptors, to nominate your company, scan the qr code on your screen or go to cnbc.com/disruptors for more information. reminder, you can always watch us live on the go or on the cnbc app. we'll be right back. zplmplts (naj) at fisher investments, our clients know we have their backs. (other money manager) how do your clients know that? (naj) because as a fiduciary, it's our responsibility to always put clients first. (other money manager) so you do it because you have to?

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welcome back to "squawk box" this morning will working remotely have an effect on bonuses, joining us the network and founder of the new york post-wall street reporter good morning to both of you. this is the big question, lots of folks asking it wondering when they go in to get their bonus how this is all going to play out at work leah, you have been doing some reporting on this, what are you hearing? >> yes, bonuses are enherently subjective if are you the managing director or partner, you are working on a

very important deem, work new york the 2003 hours of the morning, have you an associate with you every step of the way and then have you another associate who is working just as hard but even he's on zoom who do you think will get the bigger bonus because bonuses are so subjective, it's a function of your relationship with senior management and how do you build relationships? you build that by spending time with them. by working alongside them. that's just something that cannot be replicated over e-mail or over zoom we have been hearing from some bankers with connections to us that they may penalize people that may not come into the office they look when somebody badges in, badge out. they're checking how many hours people are spending in the office i think for most bankers and people looking at doling out these befusses, it will be more subconscious than that, why they feel more respected and one analyst builds the relationship with that person i think what's so important to

the note here, as you look at during covid, one of the most important nna deals over the last year discovery and time warner even during the pandemic, the most important thing in that deal was the relationship and it was all in person. discovery ceo of course has a relationship with at&t john stankey. they connected and then they cobbled together that entire deal in person with their bankers, in a room even during covid with safety precautions, look, if are you a banker and ambitious, you will see that and think i will show up >> so tom, i want to take back the other side of that for a second, which is not to say that if you are a client nation person, if your job is to be in front of clients, being in front of clients and physically oftentimes is clearly the way to do it. the question i would ask, actually, is for the and i don't mean to diminish the value of this person, but for the analyst or somebody who is not

quote/unquote client facing but is doing the work on the xl spread sheet if you will, if they're not in the office to begin with, whether tulum is in your background or your studio apartment, do you think that changes the dynamic of veteran think a think of veteran think of you? >> knob two and more appropriately, andrew, is were you good at your job if you archbishop part of the team that did the deal and it was successful, you are going to get company e compensated. what people aring foring and lydia is exactly right, it's about relationships. the most motivated people. the people that want to be successful and move up the ladder they're going to go where their bosses are they're going to go where the action is and where the deal is. the problem, is eastern with an

analyst, a two-year person out of grad school, they want to climb the corporate ladder that's what's going to separate people we paid people like road woria if you traveled more, you will earn more, if you are to be more mentor junior people and junior people to learn from senior people, you got to be in the office >> hold on what does everybody here make of the argument that this is like neanderthal thinking you go online, brian armstrong runs coinbase just online on twitter two days ago, he is looking at the percentage of employees that they were hiring in the san francisco bay area a year ago or two years ago before the pandemic versus now. so before i think it was, you know, virtually all of the people were in that area today it's like 80% of the people are outside of that area. so, you see the big tech companies saying, you know, we don't all need to be in the same room to not only do the work but

to value you and yet i think a lot of the traditional quote/unquote wall street firms have a very different view of all this >> andrew, it's not about the value of people u. it's about the long-term plays collaboration mentorship and relationship building. and the difference in ness vers business is people work ends, am or lydia is or you are, i have been on set with you. there is small talk in the studio that you don't have when are you not in the studio. this is the type of thing that happens in the boardroom. >> i'm not dismissing the value of that. i'm just saying you have one side of the world on the west coast for the most part who thinks that you can do all of this remotely. by the way, whether you are build ac product, you would think you want the team in the same room based on what you just said or if are you a services business where you have to go see clients, they're saying to hell with the old system, we're working in a whole new world

come where i am. >> andrew. >> no, no, no, no, get yourself back in the office we think these people on the west coast don't understand what they're talking about. and that's the battle that's happening across america when it comes to business and labor. no >> wrong it is not a battle it is a play for employees today. when unemployment is low, companies step out of the box and they come up with creative ideas to try to lure tam ent unemployment kicks up to 6, 7, 8%, guess what, all bets are off. if the tech companies on the west coast were so smart about this why are there sales foers to youers in every city hiring people and linked in has offices all around the country why didn't they let people do this before? they didn't do it because of technology it's because unemployment is less than 4%, they're battling for people it's a marketing play like unlimited invitation. >> lydia, let me go back to the

marking play you remember, i don't know if you recall, many, many years ago, this was in the late '90s we saw wall street all of a sudden on fridays you can we're khakis, you didn't have to wear a suit there were all and there were always sort of shifts on wall street trying to bring in people and attract them, especially because, here's the question i was going to ask you, they're competing now with tech companies, goldman sachs wants to be a tech company >> of course i want to point out as well if are you saying it's tech is fundamentally different sort of job in a different world than wall street. so i think that's an apples to oranges comparison if you are a coder or something at a tech company, you don't need to have the relationships you do if are you a banker on wall street to pitch people on deals and cobble through an mna deal i think it's a totally apples to oranges comparison i understand your argument for vying for talent, but this is fundamentally a business that is about interaction and

relationships. >> were we are going to leave the debate there, though, the debate will continue as you both know i'm sure we will talk a lot more hopefully, we can do it all in person our business does a little better that way as well. we will see you around the table soon. >> andrew, if are you the best of the best, you will always be able to dictate where you work when it's lou unemployment, when things pick up the average person will be back in the office. >> we will see thanks, guys, appreciate it. joe. all right. thanks, coming up, yesterday's cpi data showing another jump in both new and used car prices, car dealerships are well off their highs. we will speak to the ceo next. check out the futures as we head to break we got a little green this morning.

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. welcome back as to "squawk box," everybody. the futures are back in the green. dow futures up by 51 points. s&p up 3-and-a-half. the nasdaq up by 14. we did see modest gains yesterday, part of that j. paul was talking before the senate, explaining why inflation is the bad thing, maybe not talking as tough as some people had anticipated. we'll hear today from the vice

chair who has been nominated, in her prepared remarks, it sounds she is talking tough, too. the ten year is yielding 1.73% the two area at 0.923% oil prices as gas, oil is giving back a little bit this morning still above $82 a barrel yesterday they closed at their highest settlements since may. we have been watching natural gas up 14% it's giving back a little today a. week-to-date before this decline of 4.5%, they were up 20% probably because of the large part of the cold weather huge parts of the country have been experiencing. the auto market continues to be on fire, too yesterday's cpi data is showing use car prices increased by nearly 4% in december going up 2.5% in each of the two months before that, for the full year, used car prices are up an unbelievable 37% plus the average new car is now

selling for more than $47,000. well, it's been a good few years for auto retail stocks, they are well off their highs as a groups, joining us is the ceo and president at group one automotive earl, when we talk about the higher prices it's because of two factors, supply and demand maybe demand is the most important factor right now what do you see in the showrooms in concerns how consumers are desperate to get their hands hon an automobile? >> well, there is still a strong demand we have a forward order bank the price increase is basically a function of cars aren't discounted anymore, they primarily sell at the manufactured suggested retail price. the manufacturers have reduced their incentives by an average of $3,000 a unit so it is supply and demand it has not really dampened consumer enthusiasm for buying

autos. >> it's the lack of discounts that are there, but there has also been something just in terms of market adjustment costs, dealers will put on thousands of dollars, i mean i know that your earnings have been very strong they were up by better than 36% for the third quarter. and that was despite you didn't have many new vehicles coming in you were able to raise revenue, revenue was down 0.3%. despite a drop in the units that were sold. there is the ability to ask consumers to pay more. is is this because they're getting higher premium cars, is this just because you are able raise prices it's the discounts, all of these things adding up >> well, manufacturers are manufacturing the vehicles that turn the fastest and that tends to be trucks and suvs and bicker vehicles and they're also optimizing their mix. right. to maximize their profit so that tends to be more expensive vehicles and more popular vehicles and the more

popular vehicles mean they just turn when we receive them. they go right out the door so, the distribution network is operating as a lean distribution network for the first time in a long, long time. >> yeah, when is the last time you've seen things when it comes to distribution network? >> i have been in this business 47 years i would say this is the first time i never thought i'd see this it's for all brands, all markets. i'm glad i lived this long, actually >> how long do you think things like this will last? when do you think you get back to the point with -- >> it's not going to last. it's not going to last forever but we don't see it changing in the first half of the year i think john murphy of bank of america had a note out this morning kind of said the same thing. programs used car prices won't go up any hire, they're not likely to come down in the first half of the year, bear in mind the value of these used cars really helps vehicle sales transactions new and used

because these trade-ins are worth so much money and also when you look at leasing on new cars, residual values have gone way up that's a part of what determines a monthly payment. so, the conditions for selling new and used cars have never been better. >> yeah, it's just weird if you are somebody whose lease is coming up. can you look at that residual, i can turn this in and make money even f. problem is, you will not be able to get back in another car anywhere near the prices that you signed up for last time around there is this kind of inflation that plays out i wonder how you think it ends >> yeah, inflation is here it's not transitory. and we have difficulty hiring some people, call centers and ancillary people i think that's our biggest problem. the fact is automobiles are sewn on a monthly payment interest rates are low, used car values are high, residual values are high, so there is nothing

stopping demand for new and used cars right now, even these big price increases. >> what is the biggest problem you ran into you mentioned trying to higher people for ancillary positions, is that the biggest problem? is it used vehicles? >> clearly, it's frustrating because it's hard to have the exact vehicle that people want in a short period of time, which is what american consumers have become accustomed to, that's frustrating. customers have learned to wait a little bit yeah, it's hiring people it's hiring technicians, it's hiring support people. that's our biggest challenge at the moment. >> what about service levels my guess is more people are trying to bring their cars in to get service so they will not have to trade them in. >> indeed, service demand is through the roof that a part of what makes the current conditions on automotive retail nirvana if we can get more work through our shops, the work is there

and so, yes, service demand is very robust. >> earl, i want to thank you for your time today. it's good to see you >> my pleasure >> coming up, congressman josh gotthaimer will tuque about covid-19 treatment as well, we're expecting more inflation data, in fact in the next hour, we will bring you the data and reaction futures right now are in the green marginally "squawk box" is coming right back on the face of the earth. keep dreaming. [music: “you can get it if you really want” by jimmy cliff]

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good morning we are looking at positive futures as we make our way towards the early bell on wall street this morning after a tough start to the year. the nasdaq now riding a three-day winning strook this hour, we got if you inflation data december consumer prices due out in 30 minutes. investors will be watching that closely as well as hlysle brainard's confirmation hearing this morning we will bring you all the details as the final hour of "squawk box" begins right now.

[ music playing >> good morning, well some gak to "squawk box" here on cnbc u.s. equity futures up again this morning it's been the default missouri we're not far from new highs in further in the tech-related indices, the ten year digesting it fairly well in the equity markets. oil and nodities are moving higher as well things are taken in stride at least at this point, i have to say, andrew. >> thanks, joe

you are correct. right now we will take a look at the top stories of the morning delta airlines beating analyst comm estimates for the fourth quarter. he said the airlines saw about 8,000 employees contract covid-19 just over the past few weeks at times had to cancel 5% or more of the daily flights he says he sees improvement just ahead. >> what we see in the booking data is is president's day weekend forward looks really robust our numbers and the bookings continue through this period people are ready to travel they're ready to put their spring plans, they know omicron is not going to be a threat to them at that point they want to get out and they want to reunite with friends, family, the world, get on with their life >> and once again you can take a look at shares of delta up about 1 and three-quarters percent this morning meantime sticking with the skies, check out shares of

boeing, the plane maker could see the 737 max jet resume in china. china has kept the plane grounded since two crashes late 2018 and early '19 back to the markets, investors will be paying a lot of attention to hlael brainard's confirmation hearing she will tell lawmakers tamping the down inflation while sustaining the recovery is the fed's most important task. beck >> a little under 90 minutes until the opening bell on wall street dom chu is here. he has to a look at the top pre-market movers. what is taking off >> you mentioned dell that i want to highlight the fact with delta, not just the earnings but more positivity coming out with regard to travel in general. delta making some comments they do expect that strong robust spring and summer travel season as you guys heard and earlier this morning on world wide

exchange, we had jefferies an lith analyst, she says they are her biggest pick once business picks up again that delta trade very interesting overall in general as well. also watch what's happening with a couple online dating names match, bull market him, getting a bit in pre-market trade. match is up, 4.5% for bull marketable they get upgraded to a buy rite rating from a buy neutral. a couple of these names in particular, could benefit from some longer-term secular or tail winds rather for the overall business including more singles coming to market, also this idea that they could see a little bit more in terms of a buildout in innovation for their product, so watch those particular fames on the online dating scene and as we often do here, a check on the most popular tickers people look up on cnbc.com from yesterday's

full session, tesla is always up there, becky, you always know that it's out there one-quarter of 1%, apple, eli lilly and microsoft the most searched tickers at the domino. i'll send things back over to you, beck why i. >> thanks, dom coming up, break producer price inflation data, the ppi, ready to get the number. then the view from congress from new jersey rep gosh gottheimer we will ask him the administration to take to fight the oem chrone variant stay tuned are you watching "squawk box" on cnbc

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not alone in the energy complex in terms of some firm prices and across the board in a lot of different commodities, which you may see reflected when that number crosses andrew at 8:30. >> joe, we've got an issue here that's not a market issue, but a health issue the red cross now declaring its first ever national blood crisis it's making a desperate plea for donations, saying the nation's blood supply is dangerously low. some blood donors reported less than one-day supply for blood types. they need them for trance plants, cancer treatments. red cross say doctors are forced to make tough decisions who should make blood, who needs it, who needs to wait until there is more supply. in partnership with the nfl, people donated in january will be drawn into tickets for the

upcoming super bowl that at least is scheduled to take place in los angeles hopefully, folks will go out and donate some blood and something that i intend to do. meantime, blackstone reportedly telling its u.s. staff they need to get covid boosters shops. the company planning to test workers in office in the sights three times a week blackstone recently pushed back the return to have office from the middle of january to the end of this month as wall street and the rest of new york grapple with covid cases when we come back, congressman josh gottheimer will join us and judd y shelton will join us. we have a story what it means for your taxes next. also, a programing note. you don't want to miss a special

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and #1 for eczema symptom relief. gold bond. champion your skin. with hundreds of thousands of new u.s. coronavirus infections every day, congressman josh gottheimer is calling on the biden administration to use fema strike teams to staff healthcare

facilities in hard-hit areas congressman josh gottheimer joins us, he is the co-chair of the problem solvers caucus, congressman, thank you for being here today. >> it's good to be here. >> it's good to see you. in this area, i am in your district in this area it seems like some will be too little too late. it feels like the worst has probably moved through this area. >> well, the numbers continue to be high as you know really well. it's having an impact on hospitals in terms of staffing and nursing homes, where we're seeing a huge summit i am hoping we are through the roughest of it if this is one sussex in andover where literally half the residents are infected, only 11% of the staff is boosted so we're working with them we've got fema and national guard and national guard is on the ground now working with fema to get strike teams and support to our hospitals and to our long-term care facilities,

because this continues to be a huge challenge we have hospitalizations going up, especially with our seniors and those who aren't vaccinated. >> how do we run into such problems with not being able to get rapid tests or pcr tests when we're almost two years into this i don't understand why this caught us so off guard >> incredibly frustrating. i am with you on that. it is one of the things i wrote to the president about we have to work closer with private companies to get more tests, more and get them out faster you are right that we've got to get more online now. we've got companies are doing a phenomenal job they got new tests, they're surging production we have more coming out. i am talking to several companies to get more facilities, more tests coming. we will need them. if we got to keep our schools opened, which we must, we need masks, tests, we can't be as

reliant on farm production i have worked on legislation to keep strong and increase it and it's not just chips, which sees legislation out of the senate, we can get through the house, but it's also on things like ventilators and masks which are so important it comes to manufacturing. we can't rely just on other countries to do our work here. >> congressman, let's shift gears and talk about a subject we have been speaking about this morning on the show. there has been so much focus on the fed and fed officials actively trading moving to make huge steps into the markets in the economy back in 2020 that's kind of shifted now to looking at congress and trades that congress people are making while they are so actively involved in making decisions you know, even a few lines in any bill can be millions of dollars in trades one direction or another what do you think about whether people in congress should be allowed to actively trade while

they are also overseeing all of this legislation and probably learning about things from security councils and other briefings that they get all the time >> well, i don't think members of congress should be directly involved in trading. i think you should have to turn it over as i had in congress to a third party and not give any direction on the buying and selling. i am opened to blind trusts. we are got to get those actually executed in a way that is doable the way congress is proposing it's not workable for many members the bottom lines, is you should have to turn it over to a third party, you should not be directly involved in buying or selling. that's what i think. >> you know i was looking through ut, who does run a third party brand? are you listed as one of the post-frequent traders in congress one of the sites showed you had 134 trades in the first quarter of 2021. who is making those decisions? >> i saw that new report that's news to me.

because i have an investment firm that does it. it's handed over i literally have no idea what they do. so, that's up to them, what they buy and sell i heard about that, too. i had no idea. i think that's the way it should b. hands off, third party, no decision-makeing from a member of congress. >> is that legislation that you think will be passed because nancy pelosi has not been if favor of something like that >> there is legislation being worked on now, i know of different people working on different legislation. i'd certainly be supportive of something that does that, that codifys it should not be, the members should not if directly involved in their trading and decision-making. you should have to turn over power of attorney to someone else, let the manage your finances while are you in congress that's what i did, frankly, as i said when i was elected. that's what i did. >> congressman, so senator jon ossoff as you may know last night actually made that

proposal and has put in now and dropped that bill, not dropped it, dropped it in like here is the bill that would actually do this it would include spouses and dependents and require a blind trust for everybody involved is that something that you would sup support? >> i haven't seen the senator's bill but if principles, the idea of allowing blind trusts to be set up and helping in that process the way these things appear costs tens of thousands of dollars and are not in the way they're currently required here in the house, it's easy for members, which is why it hasn't happened but i am very opened to what mr. ossoff is talking about. i have to see the specifics about it i will see his bill today. it should interest a third party, hands off, members shouldn't be involved directly in their trading. >> have you had conversations

with nancy pelosi about this and how would you do you el with spouses, in part, because pelosi's husband as you may know does do a lot of investing >> i haven't spoken to the speaker about this but the bottom line, i got to think through how you do that to make sure that spouses, of course, can have still do what they do and earn a living and work and do as they need to but with making sure there is no conflicts. i think we need to set it up to present that a bunch of us have been talking about it i had a conversation with a few members of congress about this topic. i think there must be a way that does exactly what i'm saying hands off, not involved in trading. >> one last piece of this we had asked gary gensler about this issue earlier in the week, i wrote a column about a year ago suggesting the sec should oversee a program like this, given that their roam is the

credibility of the markets, themselves, and that they could do this effectively on their own, if they so chose, i the talked to jay clayton the former sec chair. he also thought it was a great idea clearly one of the reasons the sec doesn't do this, you, congress, controls the budget for the folks at the sec no one wants to quote bite the hand that feeds them so have you this circular problem, which is you almost have an issue where nobody wants to regulate themselves >> well, i mean, getting back to i didn't see that exchange i'll tell you this, i think we should move towards setting up a system that codifies what we are talking about here today so a bunch of us are working on it i think we should keep working on it until we get this done members of congress should not be involved in their trading and they should be handed off to a third party. they shouldn't know what's going on i think that's, frankly, the way it should be and the way i set it up for when i got elected to

congress and so we should be focusing on key issues like today. we got to deal with obviously making sure we get people working. we got to make sure we deem with the covid crisis and get through it we got to make life more affordable for folks and deal with those issues, that's what we as members of congress should be focused on every day every hour. >> josh, with the build back better looking dead on arrival at least for now what does that mean for the state and local taxes that you and other leaders have been so focused on especially from some of the blue states on the coast? >> and we passed it down to the congress on reinstating as i said, we'd be focused on it and we did we got it done in the house. now we got to get legislation done in the senate as you are pointing out i don't think everything is dead here i think the bottom line is we got to get back to the table i have been talking to senator manchin and others, i'm optimistic that in the end we'll get somewhere and get something

done it may look different than the last version, but at the end of the day, what we need to do there are key investments long term we need to make and we got to reinstate and restore tax cuts in my district. we got to keep working on. this i think we can get there. >> last week it sound manchin was saying there wasn't a bill he had on the table for 1 and three-quarters offer is not something he would be interested in at this point what has he said to you since then >> well, i'll keep those conversations between us i don't want to speak for senator manchin, i'll say this if we sit down, we can get to a lot of investments, like pre-k and child care and getting people back to work, investments in climate and, of course, dealing with reinstating salt and getting stackss down, making life more affordable to get more

money into people's pockets, which i'm very focused on. we had a big bipartisan win on infrastructure last year it took a lot of work in a lot of months. i just think we got to keep working at this and get it done. that's our job to take care and keep working i am hope. >> you think it still will be one package? >> i am out of the prediction business but i'll say this, i think that something will get done that will make a huge difference for people and whether that's done in pieces or as a package, you know, i still think we'll get a package done it may look different. at the end of the day the goal should be the same to make life better and more affordable for folks and make some key investments that we must make. these are things that you can't ignore that we've got to deal with and i think we got to just stay at it i am committed to that and working with folks in the senate and i believe we can get there

>> congressman got htheimer, go to see you >> it's great to see you thanks meantime, thanks to the pandemic, there is a good chance that you are watching "squawk box" from your home office this morning. but in terms of taxes, the irs might not see things the same way. robert frank joins with us that story. robert, what's going on? >> good morning, andrew, while millions of americans have been using their home with a home office those that collect a w-2 paycheck cannot deduct any of the home office or home office expenses, because the 2017 tax law suspended that deduction until at least 2025 for employees. now, self-employed workers, business owners or partnerships, they are a lot more fortunate. they can deduct their home office and benefits can be substantial. so there are two rules for the deduction. first of all, the taxpayer needs to use that portion of the home

exclusively for business and the home must be the taxpayer's principle place of business and it's all done on a ratio if your office is 1/10thably square footage, you pay $20,000 a year for mortgage or rent, you can write off $2,000 and one-tenth of the maintenance costs, repairs, insurance, everything to keep the home up and running. you request can follow a simplified irs form lar $5 per square foot for a maximum of 1,500. we talk about what congress is doing right now. it's interesting to me that no one in congress has been able to pass or propose anything to make it easier for employees to write off at least some of their home office deduction, given that remote work is here to stay at least in some form for a while >> is there a real conversation you think happening in washington on this issue, though >> there isn't it was shocking to me to learn

this it was interesting that this law all changed in effect in 2018 right before the pandemic. there is a law proposed, a bill proposed by joe morelli of fork, a congressman. but it didn't go anywhere. right now, no, no one is talking about this in d.c. >> robert, but i was always told that people play too fast and loose with these types of deduction and that they were considered a red flag for auditors >> they, are you absolutely right. i talked to accountants, again the relates to the self-employed business owners pass-through owners who they use everything from writing off to people who cut their lawn and their mansion, writing off part of that as their home office expense. it's not so you are absolutely right, there is abuse especially at the high end where business owners there may be an effort to cramp down on that nothing to address employees like most of us who get a w-2 income who can't take any deduction.

>> robert frank, always telling us how it is, appreciate it. fascinating. 2025, we'll see what happens thanks joe. >> coming up, breaking inflation data, we have been waiting for, december producer prices that's next when "squawk box" comes right back >> this is the planning effect.

. welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc we are a few second away if new producer inflation data. plus we got initial jobless claims futures are higher, dow futures up 61 points, s&p 3.5. nasdaq up by 8 rick santelli is standing by at the cme. rick. >> yes, becky. we are awaiting the second batch inflation numbers for the year let's start out, though, with initial jobless claims 230,000. much higher than the estimate. we all know it takes a while statement for the post-gps of holidays this most likely is more of an omicron event. last month, of course, 207,000 so we jumped 23,000. revisions i am sure may be forthcoming. here is the big news, finally continuing claims get to

pre-pandemic levels. okay we were looking at numbers in the low 1.7 million area those were march 2020. we're now 1 million, 559,000 let's put it this way. we haven't been under 1.7 million since what january so these are really numbers on continuing claims. now let's go to the inflation numbers, shall we? for the december readout producer price index headline number half of expectations up .2. the high watermark here was january of last year at 1.2. if we look at x food and energy as expected up half a 1% the high watermark their was april of '21 at 1.1, finally, if we look at x food energy and trade, it is up .4 calm it a tenth light. the high watermark there was 1.0. that was in january of last year now, these are the biggies the year over year numbers if we look at year over year headline, it's 9.7%.

which is another record. do keep in mind, we're only going back to 2010 here. because they've changed the challenge calculation of producer price index we have been making records year over year every month since march of last year now if we look at x food and official year over year 8.3, same thing web doing record after record since april of last year this is the highest read at 8.3. finally, x food energy and trade year over year 6.9% as expected, equaling our last look at 6.9. all this is still unrevised. that equals the highest ever at 6.9. so just like consumer price index, the producer price index numbers year over year are hot, hot, hot but they're exactly as expected except for the core number, which was 8.3 versus the expectations of 8 and the 7.7.

last look was also the all time high how is the market digesting this we're still a whisker under 1.7% in ten-year note yields on a closing basis, we're a couple basis points under the highest close of the year, indeed of a couple years many scratch their head. but once again, inflation and how the market processes it, how the fed deals with it is an ongoing process in the midst of qe with almost a $9 trillion ambulance sheet. if you think you know where that red dot is, you he here, you are smarter than most, joe. >> all right rick thank you. i just wonder, is there any silver lining in that the current numbers, not the year over year were a little less hot? is that, is there anyway that we're seeing beginning of transitory perhaps coming true in a small way >> yes oh, absolutely

listen, transitory isn't a bad term it's just a question of time frame. what do you consider transitory, to three months, one or two years in a decade? so these are good things and much of the supply/demand disruption, that curve that has pushed prices higher is going to get back in line the problem is that some of the biggest areas that contribute to inflation president going to be much stickier. you don't cert used prices on cars will come down. home equivalent represent, a proxy for housing prices and a weak proxy by comparison, some of those won't change much you don't see huge drops in rents or huge drops in labor costs. labor costs have gone up at a pace of maybe 70% of inflationary pace. so, yes, to answer your question, but does that mean in the big picture that we're going to go back to the price structure we had pre-covid in my opinion, no way.

>> rick, did you see we had a guest on the other day, i want to get to judy shelton, that we've seen that the president, biden, talk about he's added more jobs than any president in history. neil richardson said the adp chief economist said going back to pre-pandemic levels, we haven't added a single job, we're finally getting back to the numbers we were in 2019. which is right the most in history by a u.s. president or not a single job added since pre-pandemic. >> in the political world, of course, you look at the numbers, how many jobs have been created under his watch? it's probably correct. there's way i look at it imagine the biggest exception court that plugs in the u.s. economy. we unplugged it in march of 2020 it shut down, the lights went out. everything went down we plucked it back if, got

you'll fired up. it doesn't matter who is in the white house, we're going to create those jobs back there is very little influence, in my opinion, on policy in the jobs arena right now it's that the world's biggest economy is a locomotive. we unplugged it. replugged it in. it's recharging. now how much benefit is going forward is more with inflation regarding policy and that nobody is raising their hand to take responsibility for >> right okay, rick, thanks we'll see you. joining us to talk more about the new inflation data and everything else, judy shelton, a senior fellow also a federal reserve board nominee under president trump. she's the author of money meltdown, judy, let's start talking, welcome, good to see you. i guess i'll say happy new year, i haven't sign, i'm with larry david, it's too late to say this may this year be better than the last couple. judy, you point out that

republican senators have been somewhat gentle on j. powell maybe a little tougher on lael brainard you point out he talks about the ability of the feds to maybe harness inflation, but that's a little strange he talked about the mandate when he really hasn't done much up to this point to try to contain it. why do we believe he has the tools from here on out >> well, i think that people on at the leadership level of the federal reserve have learned to be politically adept and the message was welcomed when they were pushing for stimulus and encourageing the federal government to offer papers, including to people who weren't working and we know that that costs are increasing demand in the wake of decreasing supply due to covid

but now the tune has changed now the rhetoric is clearly aimed at pleasing members of congress who want to hear the federal reserve is prioritizing inflation. so i just think that we have to be aware that the comments we hear in nomination hearings are calculated to maximize support from both sides and deliberately vague in terms of what that tradeoff will turn out to be or how harsh will monetary policy turn out to be and to have all the comments about everything from being inclusive economy, which i am for, but i don't think that's the way you do it is by having the fed control allocation capital of course, we are hearing more and more about climate change as far as the fed's mandate >> yeah, we'll talk about that in a second. we'll get to lael brainard but i don't know how deep we want to get in the weeds here,

judy but you worry the fed's tool, the one that powell talks about in terms of trying to handle inflation might not work and the more effective way would be to shreferring the balance sheet. can you explain that in layman's term, why it can be futile to raise the rates on deposits? >> yes, it's important that people do understand the fed's primary tool now for raising the interest rate is to pay a higher rate of return to banks, not discussions who are required to keep accounts reserve accounts at the federal reserve so the way that the fed plans to do those 25 basis point hikes and they're now talking maybe three, maybe four, is through fees to fought make loans with this

so i don't see how that is going to help increase supply, which is our inflation problem and they will alleges in tandem with that raise the rate that they pay non-banks, they pay hedge funds and money markets, lik likewise, just put cash at the federal reserve overnight, night after night worth about 1.8 trillion in that market in the new york segment my point is, you are effectively inducing the banks to not get involved in providing the loans that would potentially create businesses that would link to increasing supply. and the goal instead and chair powell acknowledged, the fed can only attempt to decrease demand and i think it would be much better infrastructure inflation is the fed's only tool to start

reduce that gargantuan balance sheet. they added more than 4.4 trillion since covid started in march of 2020. what they should be doing is selling off that balance sheet, to reduce the foot print, the fed is too prominent in financial markets. it's too powerful in creating the money by purchasing government debt from banks and it's too political so i think it would be much healthier to get some sense of price discovery to let open market sea, let the demand and supply dynamics for treasury securities help to determine the interest rate instead of doing it the other way that i talked about interest on reserves, which is really by -- a small group of officials says this is what the interest rate should be skwoeng that's a healthy way to

allocate that. >> look, quickly with we have lael brainard, you have interesting comments you mentioned the climate initiatives with respect to j. powell also with lael brain offered, can you think at some point you could see the fed pressuring banks against lending to fossil fuel companies is that something the fed should be involved with is that even legal is that an abuse of the fed's mandates >> i think it's an abuse of the fed's supervisory authority. it's regulatory powers as an agency of government yes, i think very clearly that saying that climate change is now going to be a part of the fed's financial risk stress test approach is a back door to telling banks, we're

uncomfortable if you make loans to energy producers of fossil fuels, of oil and gas, to forms of energy production matter politically disfavor and i saw it when i was representing the united states' interests at the european bank for reconstruction and development. the bank ended up teetering to any project that was part of europe's pre-agenda, even when it violated the bake principles of a bank that would set up for an entirely different season i just think the green agenda comes away for a central bank to become more involved in the lending decision, presumably, of private discussions, the private banking sector and that to me is a mistake. i do not think the banking industry should be made to be an attendant of a centralized and

overly influenced by government approach to allocating capital. >> judy, do you think when lael brainard gets asked a question i know you seen this late last year, are you a capitalist or a socialist? i know that it's republicans asking that question and some would say setting up a strawman to try to trap her but she's been asked 20 times and what has never, others have been asking, they say, yes, i'm a capitalist she will not say, capitalist or socialist. she gives an answer i want well regulated in markets is that because she doesn't want to get pigeon holed by some right-winger or do you think there is really something, she's not sure capitalist versus socialist? >> i don't see how that could ever be some kind of a trap. i think democratic capitalism is a basis of the american idea i mean, access to capital is

extremely important. but capital,t, is a way for individuals who are not born to wealth, have a way with a good idea with a good plan with their willingness to put everything they have behind and entrepreneurial idea it gives them a chance if you look at fed policy today. this is why when i talk about the fed's definition of being inclusive, this policy definitely grants financial rewards to people who have already made it. people who already have financial assets they're getting double digit returns. whereas, people who work for a living, who have been responsible, who have done the right thing and tried to put away a little bit every week in savings, tried to be responsible, they get zip. and they get no return on their savings, because we've had this

zero interest rate policy for so long and quantitative easing so it's not working for them i think the fed needs to admit that these policys have exacerbated wealth and income equality in our country. i think that's very damaging to people's facing capitalism >> thank you, as always, good to see you this morning happy new year merry christmas. happy valentines we will go through all of this, anyway good to see you. thank you. >> happy -- >> when we return, everything you need to know about private equity firms you can use ipo it's happening this morning. it's the first big ipo of the year, heading to break, a reminder, cnbc is accepting dominations for the disruptor list you can scan the qr code or go to cnbc.com/disruptors for more

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shares of private equity firm tpg set to go publicly today. good morning, leslie >> hey, good morning, becky. tpg finally set to make its debut of toying with the idea of going public for years it's in the middle of the range

generating a billion of 45 insurance. they value it at more than $9 billion. this deal will be one to watch for a few reasons. it's the first big deal of the year, the first large alternative asset manage tore go public in eight years and it will be a test for the iso markets ofsh the alternative asset manager is priced in the middle of the range, and for china life insurance it's valued at more than $9 billion. this deal will be one for watch. it's the first big deal for the year, the first alternative management company to go through a traditional ipo in eight years and a test for the ipo markets in general just works, an hr software company, was supposed to go to

market today but tpg is the kind of deal that experts say can get done in a current, more value-oriented environment. the bulk is in traditional control buy joss with a sizable growth, as well. tpg will be listed on the nasdaq and will trade under the ticker symbol, what else, tpg becky. >> interesting that this will be on the nasdaq, too the nasdaq definitely won last year for the rewards for the most ipos. what happens if some of the technology ipos don't materialize this time around because of the issues with technology and technology funding. >> yeah. that's a great question, becky i. perhaps they're trying to orient themselves as more of a technology company it does have a pretty sizable

growth arm so it would make sense to be listed, potential future ipos that are out there, but also, of course, in the pandemic, the new york stock exchange floor has been less attractive as it is debut celebratory environment. >> leslie, thanks a lot. good to see you. coming up, what to watch lltrd of the opening bell on wa seet as investors getting ready for testimony from another key fed nominee. we're teaking about lael brainard don't go anywhere. "squawk box" will be right back.

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like cholesterol and blood-pressure checkups. because even though they grow up, they'll always be your baby. covered california. this way to health insurance. enrollment ends january 31st. go to coveredca.com. we are just about half an hour away from the opening bell on wall street joining us is carrie hall from bank of america global research also -- and money and investing team as well as a cnbc contributor. all we've talked about for the past 24 hours, if not the last month, is the issue of inflation, i'm curies, jill, how you're thinking about that in the context of what you cover. >> thanks for having me.

there's no question that inflation will be with us for the next several quarters before we see easing of pressure. we have seen companies in prior earnings season, which is something we'll be watching closely, and in the coming weeks, but we've seen -- skyrocket on earnings calls. the good news is companies have had pricing power so far, and surprisingly seen more mentions of pricing power, you know, that historically we found that the small caps have held up better in many of the inflationary environments so, you know, whether companies can continue to have pricing power is something we'll watch through the commentary i think the good news is small-cap valuations have been more adequately -- on higher values of inflation tend to be better -- once you get above the 4%, 5% levels, they've been pricing alternate about 4% on

so -- the risks there. >> and when you look at this market, you seem to be whipsawed in so many different ways. just works delayed their ipo last night it's sort of the tale of two cities here. >> definitely. i think tale of two cities is just the right way to put it i think we ended 2021 and kicked off 2022 on a very different note from what we saw much of the last year. investors i've been talking to saying some of these mini-bubbles have kind of popped a bunch of cryptocurrencies have plunged, so things are looking very, very different this year than last year they violent rotations between

growth and value stocks -- >> what do you make of both, i don't know if you want to call it plunge, but receding on the side of crypto, and yet even in the last 24 hours we've seen a bit of a move higher >> that's right. i think it shows you how people have gotten moor cautious about more speculative corners of the market, whether it's bitcoin or the ark fund, or ipos. people are looking more closely at the winners or losers especially if interest rates are poised to rise. >> jill, are you a believer in the first week of january theory >> well, i think january can be a seasonally strong time i think what's important is what

earnings season is mentioned in the corporate -- since we have seen some deterioration in earnings revisions starting to come down, you know, guidance by corporate overall sentiment, starting to come down from highs. i think overall what investors should be focused on is tilting up the quality spectrum. you talked about the ipo back drop and how some of those have suffered i think there's been a focus from investors to the higher quality investments. that's something we have seen within both the small and large-cap parts of the market. that's an environment where higher quality stocks tend to outperform so, you know, we think given the value versus growth rotation in the market that's very cheap and under-owned, but focusing on higher value stock is something in our view.

>> we are going to thank you both we're going to see you very soon we'll have a fine check of the markets before we hand it over to "squawk on the street. nasdaq is moving high, s&p 500 up about ten points. make sure you join us tomorrow, guys "squawk on the street" begins right now. good thursday morning, welcome to "squawk on the street." i'm carl quintanilla t jim cramer has the morning off the premark has hardened a bit by the smallest -- those core was in line. ten-year 1.73, oil backs off lael brainard's confirmation hearing is coming up in the next hour the fed vie chair calling it the fed's most important task. plus were continues to track. president biden set