above expectations. also raising its forecast. it's friday, november 22nd now, 2024 and "squawk box" begins right now. ♪ good morning, everybody. welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. we are live from the nasdaq market site in times square. i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. it's fri-yay. here we go. it's snowing outside. >> i hope you're happy. >> we need it for the fires and the drought. it was snow at my house. >> 37 degrees and raining. >> it does make me happy. >> it is friday.

>> i'm if favor of it. let's see what is happening with the equity futures. dow futures down triple digits. just went below 100 points below fair value. you are looking at the s&p down 20 points. nasdaq off 95. this comes after the dow gained 461 points in yesterday's session. that is a gain of 1%. s&p 500 was up 1%. the nasdaq flat. treasury yields this morning are looking back where we started the week. ten-year at 4.39. the two-year at 4.32. then you've got bitcoin which has been so close to 100 on,000. $98,426 this morning. meantime, directv is walking away from the laet test attempt merge with dish. this is after it was rejected by bond holders which were required to take $1.5 billion haircut on

the holdings in exchange for more secured debt in the combined company. private equity firm tpg is set to buy the remainder of directv it doesn't already own from at&t. echo star was going to focus on a wireless network operator. this is a concern of bankruptcy. this is part of the situation. the question is, of course, what happens next. >> yeah. i think they were going to be 18 million subscribers if they put that together. the biggest pay tv provider. here we go. >> we don't know what will happinessly with all of the players involved. president-elect donald trump making his pick for attorney general after matt gaetz drops out. megan will have more from

florida. >> reporter: pam bondi is the next pickle straighting her ele top pick. she was on his defense team in 2020. later, part of the team that pushed to overturn the election results. we will see if any of that comes up in the irmation process. her pick coming hours, as you said, after matt gaetz withdrew from consideration. it was also clear that gaetz would have trouble in the senate getting confirmed after he had been under investigation over the past couple of years for allegations by the house ethics committee. as we spoke about yesterday, he spent wednesday meeting with senators and on thursday, became clear his nomination and confirmation was a distraction to the transition and there was no need for what he called a needlessly protected washington scuffle over this.

gaetz out. bondi in. just to state the obvious, of course, we are continuing to wait for a treasury secretary nominee. we continue to think that the short list is as we have been talking about. the four men we have been talking about all week. we know that trump wrapped up interviews with each of them on wednesday, which is why we thought the pick was imminent yesterday. the longer we wait, the more time goes by, the more speculation we are hearing that trump may not be satisfied with any of the candidates and starting to look else's elsewhe. guys. >> i don't know we need clarity on the original idea that gaetz would make a good attorney general. pam bondi is down there. she is an attorney general. i'm not necessarily saying trump wants to pick a woman. it was such an obvious first pick. i don't know what the whole -- what was it all about? was there really a method to the

madness that maybe it is easier now. wow, pam bondi looks amazing to gaetz. she is a total loyalist. it seems like a much more logical. a lot less political capital spent from the very beginning if she was the first pick. >> reporter: i agree with you. that was my first reaction. why wasn't bondi in the first round? the reporting was trump started interviews and wasn't satisfied. we don't know am bondi was on that list. then he had the plane ride with gaetz and convinced gaetz would be the right pick. announced on a whim and clearly not something that had been vetted at least with capitol hill. it came as a surprise to everybody there. we don't know what went behind that. we heard a lot of questions why would trump spend so much political capital on that quickly. when you say method to the madness. i know there was speculation to

go with gaetz first so others would look better by comparison. we don't have reason to know that, but it's out there. >> i said that last night. hit your head against the wall. it feels good when you stop. it's not matt gaetz. do we know, megan, i'm confused -- he resigned from the 118th house, congress. he was elected to the 119th. he has said, i resigned his seat. i don't think he can show up. there has to be a special election. i think he stated he's finished with congress. i can't imagine ron desantis makes gaetz senator. for marco rubio who will be treasury secretary. what are you hearing about any of those things? >> reporter: marco rubio to secretary of state. i agree with you. there is a lot of speculation out there on this. eagle eyed analysts and comments i have seen so far that gaetz

did say that he was not planning to return to the 119th congress next year. i think if he didn't say that, he could have gone back in january despite withdrawing from the current congress. the expectation now is that he also won't go back in january, which, as you say, will mean a special election and a small gap with an open seat in florida although i don't think there is a question that a republican will fill that seat. i think it might be empty for a while. the senate seat will be empty. desantis gets to pick. so much speculation. i know lara trump, the president's daughter-in-law has been at the center of discussions. we just don't know yet. >> the wall street journal report today about the treasury secretary. the idea it could potentially be kevin warsh. that he would do it until the federal opens up from jake powell in 2026. then scott bessent and then he

would move to treasury. >> if he would leak something for a wish. that's like the perfect thing for him. powell. that's the job he wants. >> probably soothe markets. >> we'll see. >> i think that's one of the things to consider. >> what's that, megan? >> i think that's one of the things to consider is all of the different machinations. he had his eye on the fed chair. would he want to do treasury and would trump want that? same with bessent. would he want any seat before moving over or is that the reason trump is taking a little while to have people stay in the positions longer. >> who do you think most looks like treasury secretary? it's not a joke. >> reporter: from what i'm hearing, it seems kevin warsh is

most liked by wall street. he also seems to have most anti-protectionist denouncement of economic protection and isolationism and hawkish. that's right. >> when you need to be about inflation. it would be the reverse yellen move. she went fed chair to treasury secretary. he would be going -- >> she is the only person whoever did that. >> right. >> reporter: i think warsh has that and rowan said things about fed cuts and thinking there might not be a need. bessent considered to not fully embrace the tariffs. for all those reasons, i started to give a second look to bill haggerty who doesn't have something in his background that conflicts with trump. i will say hagerty will take another republican out of the senate briefly. i don't know if that is a holdup with his nomination. he has been the dark horse

candidate. trump seemed to have a good day with him on wednesday. >> he knows how to get the trump tax cuts through. he almost looks to be a whip for any of this stuff. he has relationships with all of those people in the senate. >> megan, take that full shot. we now have been talking to you long enough we are watching the sun come up behind you. it's pretty. >> reporter: keep it going. it gets better. i promise. >> let's hope it comes up each day. many were wondering if it would -- there it is. there's proof that it does continue to come up. thank god. megan, thanks. >> reporter: a good friday sunrise for you guys. thanks. s.e.c. chair gary gensler plans to step down on january 20th. gensler was appointed by president biden in 2021. he has taken an ambitious and controversial approach to several regulatory issues,

including cryptocurrency. this move ves the way for donald trump to no, minate a replacement. he would have served through june of 2026 if he carried out his full term. in the meantime, howard lutnick planning to step down from his three businesses and divest interests in the two public companies if he's confirmed to the post. statements from bgc group and newmark saying lutnick will divest, but not plan to zealot open market. we will step down leadership at the companies as cantor fitzgerald and this has always been an interesting economic play for those folks who have very low basis stock because what ultimately you are able to do, potentially, diversify your way out of something where you

are locked in. you get to put it in treasuries and then if you have enormous amount of money, most people will take loans effectively against those treasuries often times for the rest of their lives so when you pass those treasuries off. >> he says he's getting out. my question is he supposedly has a billion dollars in bitcoin. he invested early and has a fortune in bitcoin which we will talk about coming up. what's he doing with that? he could influence bitcoin theoretically, i guess. >> he's not the only one. >> no. supposedly -- he's loaded up an enormous amount of money on bitcoin and didn't disclose what he will do about that. >> interestingly, by the way, if you want to sell the treasuries later, after your office, you then have to pay a stepped up

basis. you have to pay taxes. it's not -- it's not forever. it's a way for people to effectively versify holdings. >> we have seen this before with hank paulson. >> do we know? >> do we know whether he sold some of the treasuries? >> i know he bought a beautiful island in georgia. >> he's owned that for a long time. >> it's nicely known. someone should put a golf course there. coming up, the price of bitcoin trading below $100,000. here's the 18th. right here. here's the 18th hole. >> they're environmentalists. they are keeping it pristine. >> she was mortified. a couple of bunkers. >> you get that reaction. >> we dig into that next as we head to break. check out the euro/dollar after two years that showed eurozone

business activity fell sharply in november. we're coming right back.

drop everything and get some magic of your own during the xfinity black friday sale. xfinity internet customers, our best deals of the year are back! switch to xfinity mobile and get your choice of a free 5g phone, plus your next unlimited line free for a year. get amazing savings and connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go with xfinity mobile. fly don't walk to get our best deals of the year. connect to the world of wicked this holiday, in theaters now. (ominous music)

(bubbles rising) (diver exhaling) (music intensifies) (diver yells) (shark roars) - whoa. (driver gasps) (car tires screech) (pedestrian gasps) (both panting) (gentle breeze) - [announcer] eyes forward. don't drive distracted. welcome back, everybody. shares of micro strategy fell by 16% yesterday after andrew research said it is shorting the stock. the stock has been rallying this week as the price of bitcoin rose to nearly $100,000. for week to date, you see the decline is up with the stock up 19%. micro strategy has been a proxy

for bitcoin as company spent billions to buy cryptocurrency. it remains bullish on bitcoin, but now investors have options to invest in crypto and no longer needs to use cro strategy stock as a proxy. this is a position that citron research used as andrew left left the firm in july. we'll talk more about this story with micro strategy ceo michael saylor. trump media filing a trademark application for truthfi. a platform for crypto payments and financial custody. the application was light on details, but an effort to try to diversify beyond social media to crypto. earlier, shares of crypto platform bakkt jumped after

trump was in talks to buy it. that was a possibility. by the way, remember, it hasn't happened, elon musk had said for a long time that he would turn x into a financial platform. in fact, i believe he said that they had hoped to do that by the end of 2024. so, we'll see whether that happens. continue crypto conversation. price of bitcoin this morning got very close to 100,000. joining us now is andrew holmes. today, new market is announcing battery finance. a bitcoin focused platform that combines cryptocurrency and other assets, i won't say real assets. that sounds funny. that sounds something like other than bitcoin. tangible.

let'stangible. the first time you are combining bitcoin to maybe maybe loans which -- why don't you explain it because it takes some of the problem that you normally have with lending which is inflation, i guess, and it could actually lessen the risk and volatility for fiduciaries running pension plans. bitcoin could be a solution to pension fund management. >> that's what we're thinking. good morning, joe, becky and andrew. i'm pleased to be here. i'm really excited to announce today on squawk box" this loan we just completed. we combined a multiseasoned family asset in philadelphia about 50 meters away from the first bank of the united states. the one that alexander hamilton started. we combine that asset with around 20 bitcoin and provided a loan to refinance the existing mortgage on the property to provide the asset sponsor some

funding for capital improvements. with the remainder to buy the 20 bitcoin. >> we have to go backwards. slow the whole thing down so everybody understands what happened. okay, there's a property. physical property. multifamily. >> 63 units. >> the sponsor, the owner of the property. >> yuch.p. >> needs a loan. >> yup. >> they come to you. >> that's right. >> you say we'll provide you the loan in the form of? >> a loan. >> a classic loan. >> that's right. >> okay. you give them cash. >> that's right. term financing. >> how long is the loan? >> ten years. >> ten-year loan. >> that's right. >> above market rate or below? >> market rate interest rate. >> okay. now let's introduce the bitcoin piece into it. >> that's right. >> no, no. explain the bitcoin. the loan is provided. >> the use of proceeds is to pay off the existing financing. >> the proceeds -- >> of the loan to retire the

existing mortgage. >> old mortgage. they pay the old mortgage off. >> paid off. now they have a little bit of extra money to make improvements on the property. >> little bit of extra cash. the amount of money you lent pays off the old loan. you have a little bit of extra to fix stuff up. >> with the remainder, which is -- >> a little extra. >> and that, instead of cash out, bitcoin in. we use it to purchase some bitcoin and add it to the collateral package of the loan. so, now our loan is supported by the traditional asset, the 63-unit apartment building and bitcoin. >> the loan was $2 million more. that's how you get the bitcoin out? >> that's right. >> on the assumption the bitcoin will rise? >> over the life of the loan, it provides more protection.

a traditional lender, they have on to recover that particular building with idiosyncratic risk or maintenance. >> it also requires conviction on your end that bitcoin is not a volatile asset over time. >> over time. >> and that is either going to go up or least stay with it is. >> by fusing the bitcoin with credit and fusing it with traditionally finance able assets, it gives us that medium term view. it is volatile in the short run. minute by minute, it would cross 100,000. the minimum hold period for bitcoin is four years. what we say to the borrower is, look, you can repay the loan at anytime for any reason with no penalty which is a valuable feature compared to a traditional loan. >> like a home mortgage. >> that's unusual for commercial

financing. to the extent the loan is repaid, we release the property. the minimum length of time the bitcoin has to stay in escrow is four years. >> andrew, google this. i'm fascinated. there is a problem for state and ies in terms of the asset liability mix. somehow you think using bitcoin you can lower that risk and increase returns and narrow the gap. how would that work for pensions? >> if you think about it, joe, the average exposure to fixed income at u.s. pensions is 25% to 30%. many of them have an asset mismatch of 25% as well. big shortfall. that is a big burden on taxpayers. >> we talked about how to solve it. >> what they have been doing in credit is reach for risk. super high yields and leverage

and niche strategies. it is time to pivot away from those where the return of unit per risk is attractive, but the returns are not as high. how do you come pensate for tha and you use bitcoin. you express with the medium to long-term duration. if you have bitcoin for one week, it is volatile. the four-year return is 30%. the 50th percentile, 91%. if you take the bitcoin and dd it to credit and novel structure credit pairings, what you can accomplish from asset allocation and overall portfolio strategy is incredible. it can actually be a cornerstone to close the asset liability gap with pensions. >> unless it is rat poison and goes to zero. >> that is like saying we t

this building to be in direct line with a collision with jup per. if you look at the history, it has shown the fastest adoption. the use cases are bitcoin are amazing. people are using it in energy to balance the grid in texas or gridless in africa to provide electricity to small villages. payments and remit tance companies. when you see these use cases, when you see bitcoin and its characteristics, you understand why people are ing it. it is not just a random decision. it's based on the characteristics. >> can you say america has its first bitcoin president and sin

cynthia lummis? gensler is going to be gone. we know that. you think a lot of stars are aligning? >> one of the biggest use cases for bitcoin is to -- look, the first time in my life, let me say, that i heard a credible strategy to diffuse the national debt in the united states. otherwise, you have either crippling service reductions or huge tax increases, but now with senator lummis' proposal and president-elect trump's leadership on the bitcoin strategic reserve, if the united states begins to add this asset to its national balance sheet, you can actually see a path over the course of the next 10, 15, 20 years, the degree to which that asset appreciates not just for the government, but everyone who choose to invest and save in and grows more rapidly. >> what happens four years from

now if you have a administration less friendly to any of this? we have seen a big uptick with the regulatory is structure being more friendly. what happens if it is a four-year lending term and the next administration is less friendly? >> you know, i think the bigger picture here is that the deficit is still very significant and the funded federal debt is going to go in four years probably today at $37 trillion to 50, 60, 70. who knows exactly? that is not talking about social security and medicare. bitcoin, finite and scarce and incredible savings technology serves as an excellent counterbalance to that and as the government begins to benefit as well. not only the federal government, ut you are seeing state of pennsylvania introduced legislation for a state level. >> once they're in, they will not be able to get out? too harmful? >> i think he is saying as we have seen so far, whatever

anyone says anything about bitcoin, it is what it is and it proves most of the skeptics wrong given time. when does the last person claiming it's a beanie baby be converted? it will get close, but never -- it will never get there. >> we are definitely at the s-curve. there is a phrase in bitcoin. you can't ban bitcoin, but the benefits of bitcoin. my experience is the sooner people open up their mind to the possibilities of this asset, the more they begin to think what can they do with it and there are so many possibilities of what can be done with it. >> andrew, thank you. >> thank you very much. >> i appreciate you coming in. we have more coming up over the next three hours on "squawk box." that jaguar campaign sparking backlash online. have you seen it?

if you haven't, we'll show you more online. the screams and hollars and what it means for jaguar. and showing you the retail sales of gap. a jump of 15%. i have to make my way to banana republic. haven't been there it in a long time. "squawk box" is coming right back. (♪♪) everyone has goals and dreams. and everyone deserves a way to get there. wherever you're going, getting there starts here. state street invest in your future with dia, the only etf that tracks the dow. (♪♪) t-mobile's 5g network connects a hundred thousand delta employees so they can make every customer feel like they've arrived before they've left the ground. this is how business goes further with t-mobile for business.

(intercom) flight deck we are go for launch! this is how (ethan) is that the one? (janet) so much space! that open kitchen! (tanya) ...is that a walk in closet? (ethan) i want those tiles! (intercom) boosters engaged. (ethan) wait! we've got a problem! (janet) problem?! (ethan) how can you sell your house when we're stuck on a space station for months???!!! (tanya) no, no! bad timing, janet!!! (janet) but that was the one!!!! (brian) no, no, no... opendoor!! (tanya) don't open the door. (brian) opendoor gives you the flexibility to sell and buy on your timeline. (all) really? (brian) yea!!! (intercom) we have liftoff. (janet) nice! (janet) houston we have a playroom!

your clients look to you. you look to t. rowe price. ♪♪ because we stay agile... actively managing investments to uncover opportunities... and build etfs designed to outperform the index.

that's the power of curiosity. ♪♪ better questions can lead to better solutions. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. welcome back to "squawk box." we mentioned this before the break. british carmaker jaguar facing backlash for an ad that doesn't feature the cars. it features models dressed in bright colors. it's weird, the whole ad. makeup emerging from the the

straight elevator. the company executive said new jaguar is a brand built around modernism. i'm not sure i know what's going on. >> the stock went down. >> elon musk, we should mention, competing with these taking a jab at this saying do you sell cars? the response to the controversy saying the story's unfolding and think of this as a declaration of intent. >> is this makenzian? it is all gobblydegook. >> it doesn't make me want to buy one. >> aston martin, i guess.

maybe you need another car. >> in the old days, they may say that. i don't know that's true today. >> the old cars have been advancing in technology. maybe some of them have finally caught up. i don't think they're leading the pack by any stretch. >> jaguars are not just made in the uk. made in brazil, china, india. >> we'll see. when we come back, retailer gap quarterly results impressing the street. that stock is up sharply right now up 22% month to date. 15% today. we have the details on the story next. and as we head to a break, let's look at yesterday's s&p 500 winners and losers. >> announcer: executive edge is sponsored by at&t business.

next level moments need the next level network. it all started with a small business idea. it's a pillow with a speaker in it! that's right craig. pulling in the perfect team to get the job done. i'm just here for the internets. at&t, it's super-fast! you locked us out?! and when thrown a curveball... arrggghh! ahhhh! [crashing sounds] we had everything we needed. is the internet out? don't worry, we have at&t internet back-up. the next level network for small business. ♪♪ i sold a pillow! (grandpa) i'm the richest guy in the world. (man 1) i have time to give. (man 2) i have people i can count on. (grandma) and a million stories to share. (vo) the key to being rich is knowing what counts.

i can't believe you corporate types are still calling each other rock stars. you're a rock star. we're all rock stars. oooo look look at my data driven insights, i'm a rock star. we're all rock stars. great job putting finance and hr on one platform with workday. thank you! guys, can you keep it down. i'm working. you people are (guitar noises). hand over the air guitar. i've got another one.

good morning. welcome back to "squawk box"

right here on cnbc. we are at the nasdaq market site in times square on a rainy friday morning. dow off 105 points. nasdaq looking to open down 85 points. the s&p 500 looking to open off 18 or 19 points right about now. shares of the retailer gap are sharply higher. the company came in with earnings of 72 cents a share. that beat the expectation of 78 cents. the company raising the annual sales guidance for the third time this year and gross margins will grow more than previously expected. the ceo richard dixon told cnbc the holiday shopping season is off to a strong start so far. this is a stock that has done well, particularly if you are looking over the last month or so. up 22%. year to date up 21%. you can see it's been a volatile stock as well. up and down as they have done these things along the way.

new ffererings at banana republic and old navy. $25.47 is the last tick. when we come back, we will talk about president-elect trump's treasury pick and tariffs roposals. "squawk box" will be right back.

the all new godaddy airo helps you get your business online in minutes with the power of ai... ...with a perfect name, a great logo, and a beautiful website. just start with a domain, a few clicks, and you're in business. make now the future at godaddy.com/airo what's at stake when administrations change? ey understands the geopolitical, economic and regulatory impacts companies face. new president in the white house, new heads of agencies, new members of congress, all with their own policy priorities. the 2024 election will shape the future of business in unforeseen ways. now is the time for us to do modeling, assess legislation, and understand the impact on organizations. from election day to the first 100 days and beyond, ey brings you insights on the issues that matter: regulation of ai, the fate of billions in tax credits, global trade impacts on your supply chain and workforce stability and security. the congressional outcomes will matter a lot

for what can happen when it comes to health policy. no matter the policy shifts, ey helps business and government leaders remain resilient and mitigate risk while seizing dynamic growth opportunities. ey. navigate the geopolitical and economic landscape with confidence.

the trump transition team has not made a decision on who will be the treasury secretary. joining us to talk about the policy impact as the cabinet takes shape is dan clifton. dan, let's talk through what we know and what we don't know and what you're advising clients in the meantime. we don't know a lot. i guess we know enough for you to be telling people something. >> good morning. the trump transition is a little

bit like "games of thrones" meets "the apprentice." this pick is important for investors. getting that right matters. this deliberation, i don't view as a bad thing. i think trump wants to get it right and one of the most important picks he'll make for the cabinet. the wall street journal story of kevin warsh as secretary and scott bessent. those would be temporary slots and lead to warsh be fed chairman when powell leaves office. i think investors would view that warmly and then, there is also talk about a dark horse emerging. whether that is marc rowan or senator hagerty. the markets thought of a more protectionist type of secretary last week. you know the treasury cabinet members are on your show all the

time. kevin warsh has a great knowledge of markets. scott bessent has a great relationship with leaders around the world. i think all three of these choices would be warmly received by the markets. they have their positives and negatives. those are not perfect picks. i think that it is shaping up to be one that's going to be market friendly. >> dan, what we have seen to this point with the nominees put forward is these are going to be loyal not only to president-elect trump, but to the ideas he was pitching on the campaign trail. he made the point himself on election night when he was running away with things, these were promises made, promises kept. you can look at the candidates, the three you just mentioned, and on one way it makes the market feel good about things and staying status quo to a

certain extent, but each of these candidates have said things in the past that are counter who what president-elect trump was talking about on the campaign trail. whether that is the idea of tariffs or interest rates lower. these candidates are not the ones to carry out the promises. which one wins out in the end? >> that's a great point, becky. 75 million people voted for president-elect trump. these candidates got zero votes. he's the president. he sets the direction of policy. the question is are we going to have a policy that immediately moves to 60% tariffs on china and the 20% tariff on the rest of the world? i think what you'll see is a more balanced debate within the cabinet itself. what will president-elect trump's going to be and can we achieve these goals without putting the u.s. economy in a recession? that is the balance for the policymakers. you want the broad change of opinions sitting at the table. you will have more forceful

advocates with robert lighthizer and others selected as well. this is how do you achieve those objectives. on the icit, promises made, promises kept. you have to have tax relief on tips given the political debate. traditionally, how do you finance a tax cut? those are very difficult to do with the high budget deficit nd rising net interest costs. the goal is to put experts in to help the president achieve his goals and do it in a way that does not hurt the u.s. economy or put the u.s. debt situation into a more fragile position. >> do you think that's possible? >> i don't think that's easy. i do think it's possible. we have to figure out ways to do that. if you look at both warsh and bessent, warsh was in the economic council and served at the fed. he knows the plumbing and monetary policy. he will give the president great advice. you look at scott bessent,

incredible investor over time. knows the relationship. the key is how to you finance term in the government? we need more foreigners to buy the debt. he has the relationships and the confidence of the foreign buyers if they are buying that debt. i think it helps. it doesn't solve the problem immediately, but they will work to solve the problems and it will serve the country well and the president well. that's a key point here, becky, none of the candidates need to take this job. they are taking this job because they want to serve the country. that makes me feel better. >> the president in his last term, 45, he was very focused on what the market was doing daily. read that as a scorecard for his presidency. do you think he is more likely to want to continue to see that or do you think that he is more likely when tted to the tariff

ideas? if is harder to weave these together, which one does he choose? >> absolutely, i think he is clear he wants to raise tariffs on china. there is more consensus to do that when he first came in office. my sense is tariffs will go up on china. the question is how big are those tariffs going to be? are you going to go to 60 immediately or on go 10% and another 10% after that? that is the most likely issue to go in increments and steps. the bigger issue is what do you do around the globe? do you need a universal tariff in place? i don't think the president has legal authority to do that. there will be lawsuits and it would be negative for the economy. the question is what is the president trying to achieve? i think the president has been clear he wants better access to products overseas. he doesn't like the fact that europe is keeping those or u.s. automobiles out of europe. he's going to say, listen, i want you to get better access.

if you don't, i have to start looking at tariffs. that's going to be more of a negotiation. we have been telling our clients, becky, separate the two. global versus china. china likely. negotiation on the rest of the world. if i think about it, countries with free trade agreements with the u.s. are probably going to do better because they will be less prone to the global tariff. >> dan, what you see in the interviews that trump is getting stuff up in front with some of the guys. with warsh, trump says these are the things i want to do. will you be all right with this and some of the guys would say i'm not a protectionist, but targeted tariffs are something i have talked about. there's a way they could -- that their own personal viewpoints could be in line with trump. they could do it though. i can't see someone coming in

and say i'm resigning because i told the president -- >> interest rates is a trickier question. it depends on the moment. >> well, that's share more -- >> joe, i think you're absolutely right. joe, what these -- what these candidates know is donald trump is the president or will be the president on january 20th. and they are there to implement his policies. he won. that's what they're trying to do. very different than 2016 where i think a lot of republicans came in and said well, we'll show him once we get in there and you can't do this. i don't think that's going to be the strategy this time. on interest rates, that's different. that's the federal reserve. the treasury department has a lot of new powers coming out of covid particularly once we hit the debt ceiling on january 1st. we will hit the debt ceiling on january 1st. i want somebody has an investor, i want somebody to understand how the treasury works and reverse repoe system works and

all of the candidates on the table today all understand that situation. where i would get worried is if a new person emerges and lacks those expertise on this. that just seems less likely at this point. we know what the range of outcomes would e. it will be specifics once we see the pick. i think the president has been thoughtful and deliberate. to your question, joe, specifically, he has been very clear with the candidates. this is what i want to do. these are the tax cuts i want implemented. these are the -- these are the tariffs that i want implemented. those candidates will have to know when they're accepting, they have to figure out how to put that rubik's cube together. >> dan, thanks. good to see you. >> thank you. >> nice flag. coming up, it's been -- >> why thank you. there's one behind you, too. >> i do love that. yeah. i still like the flag. a volatile week for shares of intuit. maker of turbo tax. we'll dig into that story next.

the market's closed. futures don't sleep in the after hours, bro. dad, is mommy a “finance bro?” she switched careers to make money for your weddings. ooh! penny stocks are blowing up. sweetie, grab your piggy bank, we're going all in. let me ask you. for your wedding, do you want a gazebo and a river? uh, i don't... what's a gazebo? something that your mother always wanted and never got. or...you could give these different investment options a shot. the right money moves aren't as aggressive as you think. i'm keeping the vest. with dexcom g7, managing your diabetes just got easier. so, what's your glucose number right now? good thing you don't need to fingerstick. how's all that food affect your glucose? oh, the answers on your phone. what if you're heading low at night? [phone beeps] wow, it can alert you?! and you can even track your goals. manage your diabetes with confidence with dexcom g7. the most accurate cgm. ♪♪ learn more at dexcom.com (♪♪)

from celebration moments... ...to joyride moments. your moments are worth protecting against rsv. rsv is a highly contagious virus if you're 60 or older with certain chronic conditions, you're at higher risk of being hospitalized from rsv. and there are no prescription rsv treatments. you know how to protect against covid and flu. so ask your pharmacist or doctor about scheduling pfizer's rsv vaccine, too. because moments like these matter.

shares of intuit are falling. the turbo tax maker reported earnings that beat estimates, but the revenue forecast came in below expectations. the stock fell earlier this week on reports that the trump administration is considering a free tax filing app. andrew. coming up, the latest on the dining trends inn fat fatuation. that story next.

♪ (alarm sound) ♪ amelia, turn off alarm. amelia, weather. 70 degrees and sunny today. amelia, unlock the door. i'm afraid i can't do that, jen. ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ why not? did you forget something? ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ my protein shake. the future isn't scary. not investing in it is. you're so dramatic amelia. bye jen. nasdaq-100 innovators. one etf. before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco.com.

at t. rowe price, we help advisors move forward by building agile etfs designed to outperform the index. that's the power of curiosity. better questions can lead to better solutions. t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

welcome back to "squawk box." it is just 7:00 a.m. actually 6:59 with seconds you're watching "squawk box" on cnbc. president-elect trump has now chosen pam bondi to be attorney general after former congressman matt gaetz withdrawing from consideration. bondi was the 37th attorney general of florida. also part of the president-elect's defense team during his first impeachment trial. and s.e.c. chair, gary gensler planning to step down on january 20th when president-elect trump is inaugurated. gensler was appointed by president biden in 2021 and those folks in crypto are applauding that. and directv, walking away from its attempt to merge with rival dish network.

this comes after bondholders rejected key concessions in the deal for dish, and now big questions about what happens to that business next. let's get a check on the futures this morning. right now, it looks like things are in the red, not by a lot. dow futures off by 33 points. s&p down by 7. let's get to dom chiu. we have moved up in the futures over the last hour. >> in the 5:00 hour, the dow is implied lower by 5 points. things are improved, to your point. we're going to start off away from the stock market and cryptocurrencies instead. bitcoin is at 98,992, nearing that $100,000 mark. largely off continued momentum from donald trump's election victory here. s.e.c. chair gary gensler, announcing that he would resign on the inauguration day. one of trump's campaign promises was to fire gensler, and a

strategic reserve with the cryptocurrency alongside other campaign commitments. bitcoin up on that. it cost 99,000 just for your information, the high water mark right now is 99,525. so that's currently the intraday high and record levels. we'll keep an eye on that 99,100,000 for bitcoin. it also raised full year guidance for revenue growth, operating margins and income as well. ceo richard dixon saying the holiday season is off to a strong start. retailers up 21% year to date. we'll round out things with shares of reddit down 7% after a major shareholder, advance magazine publishers looks to borrow against its stake, selling 8 million shares to raise a billion dollars. those shares would be between $145 apiece.

hence the kind of mathematical move on reddit shares. we're also seeing it up about 330% on a year-to-date basis. reddit, a big move higher. >> we'll see you in a little bit. i'm excited about this next segment, not only because i can smell what's going on over here. the infatuation is out with its list of best restaurants of the year. do you guys remember zgat, the little guys, people used to give them out around christmas time. owned now by infatuation. the infatuation owned by jpmorgan chase. paul needham is here, the ceo of infatuation. they have a new guide out, best restaurants of the year. you know more about what restaurants people are expensing things about. where the quietest restaurants are. sometimes if you want to have a business meeting, all that kind of stuff. >> and what andrew's eating at business lunches. >> what i'm eating at business lunches and which are the best places to go.

for those folks having all of those lunches, where are we all supposed to go now that 2024 has ended? >> thank you for having me. the best new restaurants list for us is the culmination of a year of work. we visited over 5,000 restaurants this year around the country. >> this is just in the u.s., though. >> we have london also and coverage for travel destinations worldwide. we have full-time folks in the u.s. dining out all day every day, and one -- >> sounds like an awesome job. >> fun gig. >> one of the things that's fun for us is to see trends kind of start in one city and make their way around the country. so we brought bagels from pop ups this morning. >> this is the hottest thing. called pop-up bagels. these are warm, right? >> warm bagels, first batch. >> we got to do it. i was trying to avoid the carbs, but here we go. and you're supposed to dip! this is a grip, rip and dip. and that's become a big trend that we're seeing all over the

country. mount bagel in seattle, laundromat in san francisco. >> this does not account for the expensed lunch that i want to go on, right? >> i think this is beneath the comcast threshold. so we've seen this grip, rip and dip trend kind of take off around the country as the evolution of the bagel, more elaborate bagel sandwiches and whole kinds of trends around bagels have been emerging and taking the bagel beyond new york. >> i asked before you came on because you're eating all the time. you go to meals like crazy, and i always just gain weight constantly when i'm going for these business meals. you're out to restaurants every single night. >> i don't think anyone believes you're gaining weight. >> what do you do? i'm trying not to eat the whole bagels. >> we had lunch, four egg whites and a side of avocado.

our team generally feels you can have fun, go out to places get a real sense of the be. you don't need to finish every part of a dish you order, when you're dining out at the scale our team is. we dine anonymously. we pay for our own meals. we don't take r favors from restaurants. >> now people know what you look like. >> he doesn't really look like this. i wanted you to bring some of halterman's rolls from staten island. >> this year we wrote a guide to the best restaurants on staten island. and i'll send it your way. >> you can't get in there now at this point. >> what is the hottest restaurant for like a business lunch, a business dinner in new york and l.a. and san francisco? >> yeah, so one thing we have seen this year which is really interesting which is midtown east in new york, our most popular searched neighborhood. open table put data out this week. i don't know if you say, calling wednesday the new friday, and danny meijer has been pretty

outspoken that 6:00 p.m. is now the kind of most sought after time. >> we see all of those trends kind of pointing to folks are back in the office. they're looking to get dinner after. we've obviously seen just last week lacana verde. >> what about the private club situation, is that a good thing or a bad thing? you're paying to go to the restaurant. >> i think it certainly speaks to people's frustrations with reservation availability and the idea that there's a club that you belong to, where you're always welcome, i think, is a really nice feeling for people to ave in an environment where -- >> i was going to say, a country club. >> shore hill club has been around. >> it's happening now. >> it's in the city. >> taylor swift has had a big girl's night out. >> a big new one, in the packing

district. we see trends coming and going. we see obviously los angeles, we have had bungalows, which is now going to open in new york. we see that as a trend coming from l.a. to new york. >> business lunches, though, they're back in force? >> the business lunch has changed. i don't think it's as long as it once was. i don't think the martini is out there in the same way. one of the trends is the mini martini, which speaks to shrinkflation in a way. >> people watching calories. >> people are watching their calories, alcohol intake, they also want to take a picture of something cute and interesting. but no question, you look at the restaurants opening in business sectors like rockefeller center, hudson yards, et cetera, there's a really strong business. >> breakfast? most need to stay home to watch us in the morning so it's a hate breakfast they're having something. >> look, jean george has 425

park open this year, and he's doing a really good breakfast business there. i think there's definitely shifts in the way people are using their day. >> what do you think people are spending? >> dining out has definitely gotten really expensive and one thing we're excited to be making available this month and next for chase card members is a $25 statement credit off purchases of $100 or more at 60 infatuation approved restaurants in the country for eligible card members. >> i'm a cheapskate. i'm going to do that. >> i'll send you the list. >> check it out, everybody, infatuation. we're going to talk interest rates in the market, plus a look at commercial real estate under the incoming trump administration, real estate instntveme manager, scott reckler is going to join us to discuss, we'll be right back.

♪ (animatronic santa) ho, ho, ho! (vo) time to move? make it easy with opendoor. sell your home in any season, for any reason. (animatronic santa) look at me! i am festive! (vo) start your move at opendoor.com

when we started feeding bogie the farmer's dog, he lost so much weight. pre-portioned packs makes it really easy to keep him lean and healthy. in the morning, he flies up the stairs and hops up on my bed. in the past, he would not have been able to do any of those things. ♪ ♪ ♪ something has he w changed within me ♪ble

♪ it's time to try defying gravity ♪ ♪ ♪

. our next guest says he wouldn't be surprised if the fed leaves rates unchanged at his policy meeting next month. cue good to see you, joe. >> almost as if chairman powell may have been watching or listening because you were wondering what happened in the first place, and he got, i think, less dovish recently, why? >> there was -- for me there is no surprise in the activities. the one surprise was the 50 basis point cut that took place. >> you haven't figured that out, yet, have you? why did he do it? >> i have figured it out. keep in mind before the elections it was supposed to be 50/50 as to which way the election would go, and we know

about the relationship between powell on the one hand and trump on the other, he would do anything to help the democratic side on that. >> you believe that? >> i have been saying this on your program, the fed is a political entity. the reason they keep repeating that they are independent is because they are not independent. >> now he doesn't want a cut -- >> he doesn't want to cut because trump's in. >> don't you think he thinks about his own legacy, too, and that's going to be much broader than being tied to a party? i think he truly cares about the economy. >> you think about your own legacy, but you also have a few more years to live, and you're going to see what you are going to do once you are no long fed chairman. he came from the private equity side. at every meeting after the fomc meeting, he talks about how much he cares for the poor and the fight against inflation, but in reality, the support is coming from the higher income groups, from big business, and he's not

going to end up afterwards joining the people who are fighting inflation. he's going to be on the other side. so legacy is one --. >> that's two opposite things. one would be he would be keeping rates higher to hurt donald trump, the other is he would be keeping rates lower to make wealthy people happy and people involved in that. i don't understand how you put those two together. >> until now, the domination was the election, becky, but now that the elections are over, i think the opposition to trump is coming forward, and that is not going to deny him a position in the business later on once his term ends. so i think it is a matter of what you play, how you play the game at every point in time. i don't see a contradiction because i tell you what, even if he cuts in december, and we go into 2025, and my expectation is inflation is oing to perk up,

especially if you have tariffs imposed, and there is, again, big scale repatriation of undocumented workers. that's going to cause inflation to rise. >> if he follows what you have been saying all along, which is keep rates higher, then how do you think that that's a political statement? by the way, i agree with a lot of what you have said along the way before we start talking the politics of jay powell, i understand there were many of us who who questioned why they cut 50 basis points. if he comes around to listening that and if we haven't seen the economic weakness, maybe the fed panicked. a guest yesterday said he thought the fed panicked, cut 50 basis points, and now we haven't seen the economic data to back that up, so they're not going to. >> the fed did not panic for the first time on september 18th. it has been saying that for a while. remember, going back to last december, he already indicated rates were going to come down and come down sharply.

nothing happened because inflation picked up again. so he goes through this phase, i call it the power pivot. it goes to at one point be dovish, and you find that once you go dovish, you put more cash in the pockets of consumers. retail sales remain very strong. initial jobless claims are now at a several month low. he says he needs to help employment, but initial jobless claims are low, and at the same time, retail sales are strong, so there is a big divergence between your statement and reality. and so i'm not here to justify the inconsistencies of the powell policy. i'm only trying to say which way the market will go. 2025 is going to be an interesting year. you're going to see tariffs. you're going to see inflation rising, and i'm looking for the ten-year yield to go to 5% or

higher unless you have a new treasury secretary pick who's able to threaten foreign powers but not actually impose many of the tariffs that are threatened. >> in 2025, what do you think? will we get the -- or what are we looking for? another 50 basis points? what is the market indicating? how much more in cuts, those are the off the trouble now that trump won? >> again, becky talked about appealing to the forced fed chairman situation. >> so you think rates will come down? >> will come down. >> you have seen the swing from one policy to another. i can see the interest rates coming down 50 basis points. inflation picks up even more, retail sales come down. and here after i'm not going to cut after the 50 basis points, and that is not going to please

the president-elect, and that is going to cause, again, a problem with the two relationships just as we saw in the past. >> all right. sri, controversial, but always interesting. appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. good to be with you all. >> thanks. still to come, the push to get people back to the office and what it could mean for commercial real estate. we were just talking about expensing lunches and that whole game. we're going to talk about that after the break. time now for today's aflac trivia question. banker and investor, george draper dayton incorporated what retail store as goodfellow dry goods in 1902? the answer when "squawk box" returns. uh huh! gives you a chance to reflect on the important things. aflac! like how aflac pays people money for the expenses health insurance doesn't cover. aflac! health insurance does leave a gap. but aflac gives people money to help close that gap. aflac! oh! coach prime got one on the line too baby! uh huh! see that's how you hold up a trophy.

trust me. get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover. find an agent. get a quote at aflac.com. i hope you're hungry. i'm glad i brought my own dinner. uh huh.

for the better part of a century, harry & david has been making gourmet gifts that bring people together. to share traditions and make new memories. to bring us all closer, even when we're apart. no matter when and no matter where, life is a gift best shared. harry & david. life is a gift. share more. what tractor supply customers experience is personalized service. made possible by t-mobile for business. with t-mobile's reliable 5g business internet. employees get the information they need instantly. this is how business goes further with t-mobile for business.

. and now the answer to today's aflac trivia question. banker and investor, george draper dayton incorporated what retail store as goodfellow dry goods in 1902? the answer, target. welcome back to "squawk," the push to get workers back to the office could soon be a big commercial boon to not just commercial, but commercial real estate is where i should be going with this. the sector hit hardest by the

remote trend. joining with us more on the real estate market after president-elect trump's victory, scott rechler is here, the chairman and ceo of rxr. we were talking about food and lunches, i don't know if you were watching that. it does seem like people are now having business lunches again, which means, i think, that they're back at the office. >> in new york, everyone is back at the office, now back to five days a week. after labor day, there was an acceleration, when the amazon announcement came out said they were bringing people back five days a week. what's interesting with that, and amazon announces they don't have the space, right, because they hadn't planned for it. we have had a year, this year, we'll be back to leasing levels we haven't seen since 2016, over 35 million square feet of leasing, and that was no technology tenants driving that. and usually tech is the big users in the marketplace. >> you can see people badging in and badging out, do you have that data? >> sure. >> what are you seeing on mondays and fridays? >> mondays we're back,

fridays probably 70% in our building. and media tech creative is less than that. because of the investment banks here, a lot of regulatory reasons they've got to be here. hopefully, now, with the trump administration, they will mandate in washington. >> for government work. >> that has been ridiculous that people have not been back in the office there. >> you're seeing, are you getting lots of calls to say we need more space? >> we'll do 2 1/2 million square feet of leasing this year. 2 million last year in our portfolio. again, prepandemic levels. and again, there's just -- to be clear, certain buildings are more competitive than others. >> that's where i was going to go with this. >> during the pandemic, after the pandemic, everyone said the a buildings are worth everything. anything else is worth nothing. they're not going back to the office. is that not the case anymore? >> 70% of the valentine's day -- vacancy is in 30% of the

buildings. $4.7 billion, 2,800 hours, 4% cap rate, and so there's demand for high quality billions and the next level of class a buildings, demand for those, and there's a shortage of high quality blocks of space in the buildings. in addition, you're having about, you know, 10 million square feet of conversions happening from office to residential in manhattan, and that's going to suck up, you know, part of that 50 million square feet, the more obsolete, noncompetitive space. >> what about the rest that can't be converted. there's a fascinating piece, two years ago, i think, on 60 minutes, talking about the conversions. and there were these buildings that are sort of unconvertible. unconvertible and unattractive. what happens to them? >> eventually, they will be torn down. they will be torn down, and they will be re-purposed for new buildings. we're looking to build a 2.8 square foot building. we've had 18 million square feet. building in manhattan.

you're not going to have it until 2032. 2033. there's all of these big companies that want to have buildings like jpmorgan's buildings for themselves that need to find a home. >> what do you think -- there was a whole sort of view of the world that new york city was moving west. right? it was all going to go towards hudson yards, that whole sort of cargo, and yet, it seems with the new jpmorgan building and some of the other things around vanderbilt and whatnot, maybe ultimately park avenue and east and everything else becomes hot again? where are we? >> this shows you, by the way, efficiency, and government policy. this was good policies put forward. they had a thing called east midtown zoning. the whole point was to tear down old buildings, incentivize the private sector to build new buildings. they give you more land, development rights along the way, and tax incentive asks put transit improvements in. that sparked that. we're building our building. so it is going to reinvigorate,

has reinvigorated the whole grand central, park avenue, rock center, sixth avenue, midtown, and tenants are there because also it's access to transportation. grand central is an incredible transportation hub. >> dare i ask what you think of the mayor's current standing in the city and how that relates to safety and security and all of those other issues that people have been very very concerned about? >> listen, anyone who cares about new york city wants to have leadership, that doesn't have issues around it right now. we want this resolved. this is obviously critical to your point. people come to new york for quality of life, for public safety, and if we have distractions taking place right now, that's obviously not helping. >> i think that trump is going to figure out a way to get him off. >> i'm not going to o pine. he's innocent until he's proven guilty. i have no reason to believe. if he's innocent, and, you know, he should then be able to run for mayor, and have an election,

and we'll see who else puts their hat in the ring. >> scott, good to see you this morning. >> thank you. when we come back, open ai is jumping into the search market. we have the details after the break. >> and senator mike round will be our guest. as we head to the break, here's a look at the premarket winners and losers in the s&p 500. "squawk box" will be right back. honey... but the gains are pumping! the market's closed. futures don't sleep in the after hours, bro. dad, is mommy a “finance bro?” she switched careers to make money for your weddings. ooh! penny stocks are blowing up. sweetie, grab your piggy bank, we're going all in. let me ask you. for your wedding, do you want a gazebo and a river? uh, i don't... what's a gazebo? something that your mother always wanted and never got. or...you could give these different investment options a shot. the right money moves aren't as aggressive as you think. i'm keeping the vest. (vo) what does it mean to be rich? maybe rich is less about reaching a magic number...

and more about discovering magic.

♪ opening ai has considered developing a web browser that would be combined with chatgpt. the information reports that the move could pit open ai directly against google, which has of course the lion's share of the browser and search market. google launched an answer to chatgpt last year with its gemini ai chat bottom, and open ai already has a partnership

with apple to power the iphone makers new apple intelligence features. >> meantime, new this hour, the uk's competition in markets authority, recommending an investigation into apple and google's due opoly and it's now calling for a probe using the digital markets act. it provisionally found the mobile markets were not working well for uk businesses and millions of phone users. apple says potential interventions would hinder to make the technology that sets it apart. we will see what the u.s. does under president-elect trump, and now you may see a real divide between europe and the u.s. as it relates to antitrust, you had seen over the last four years of them coming together. some arguing that they were working too much together. >> yeah. all right, when we come back, senator mike rounds on president-elect trump's cabinet picks and his legislation to

eliminate the u.s. department of education. the u.s. cv oversight of apple pay, venmo and pay pal. we will speak to hit chopra about what it means for consumers. "squawk box" will be right back.

(holiday music) a puppy! everyone loves to find surprising presents under the tree. i love him! and weathertech gifts are always special too. vehicles are protected with laser measured floorliners for the front and middle... plus a cargo liner for the rear... and seat protector for furry messes. and with the pet feeding system he'll eat safely his entire life. add a cupfone to make sure the phone is secure while driving. find these american made gifts or get a gift card instantly at wt.com.

welcome back, everybody. a tweet from south dakota senator mike rounds drew some attention this week. the tweet saying congratulations to linda mcmahon as being tapped as president trump's secretary of education. i look forward to working with her to end the department of education. stay tuned. senator rounds has now introduced a bill calling for an end to the education department. he joins us this morning to discuss. senator rounds, explain why you think this is a good idea. well, good morning, and thanks for the opportunity. what we want to do is to take the programs, a number of which were there in 1979 when the department was formed, put them back into the original departments where they were at to begin with, eliminate a lot of the regulatory nesting that has occurred within the particular department of education. we think we can save administrative dollars, but at the same time, get rid of a lot of the overreach, which has

occurred within education in the united states. states, for the most part, prefer to make their decisions on how they educate the children on their own. they really don't need a bureaucrat in washington, d.c. sending out a one-size-fits-all policy in order to receive federal funding in a particular program. our goal is to take those critical ones, special ed, so forth, native american education funds, put those back where they were in the first place and eliminate the rest of the department apartment. we will save administrative dollars and get rid of the regulatory overreach that so many people in the united states have been fed up with when it comes to the department of education. so not taking away the good programs, the direct funding, the opportunity to do block grants back to the states. that's our goal. but to eliminate a lot of the one-size-fits-all, which a lot of people are frustrated with.

>> senator rounds, i hear you when it comes to bureaucracy, and ineffectiveness through bureaucracy, however, as the mother of a special needs child, i have serious concerns about what that will mean. if you are giving special needs education money back to the states to decide what to do with that, i mean, the department of education has been responsible for making sure that there is an appropriate, a free and appropriate public education to all eligible individuals with special needs for years and years. will that still go on the same way? will there still be ties to federal funding for that, or will the states get to decide, we'll go along with this or we won't? >> the funding will be there, and the direction by congress is still there, and i really appreciate your insight because that's exactly what we're trying to make sure stays in place, which is those areas where we've directed how the funding should be done will still go back to the states and with the same directions and still the same

direction from congress. those programs we have transferred entirely out of the department of education and put back where they would have been originally. some will go to interior. some will go to health and human services, some to treasury with regard to student loans. our goal is not to take the funding away in any way, shape or form, but rather to direct it back and take a lot of the regulatory oversight and one size fits all as so many people have been frustrated with. excuse me, special ed is probably the best example of the reason why we want to make sure that we don't lose those particular types of programming that a lot of people rely on today. >> i mean, i guess my question is, department of education was responsible for oversight, making sure that the states actually were continuing to use that money to provide the education to an appropriate public education. will there be oversight for that is or is this going to be, you get the federal funding no

matter what? . >> in some cases, it will go back without strings, so you would have block granting and allow the states that responsibility and the authority for how they think is best for the kids within their state. look, just because you're a bureaucrat in washington, d.c. doesn't mean that you know better than having somebody at the local or state level. but there are some in which congress has decided that they want specific programs in place, special ed is a very good example. another example would be with native american education funding which has been put under the department of education as well, which we find them to be inadequately taken care of and the tribes struggle with the department of education in that particular regard. we think it's closer if we can get it back to the tribes. a lot of the tribes actually have say in how they are training or providing education for their kids, allow them to make more s at the local level and have consultation with

the tribes. there's frustration with the department of education tries to do their job, doing more or less a one size fits all, in urban or rural. taking department f education out of it. we've got a better chance of actually delivering more dollars, effectively at the state and local level. >> the idea of more dollars being effective is great. is there a way to guarantee that we don't get railroaded by a local or state planning process. i mean, i hear you and i want to believe it. i want to think it's great news. i will tell you there are parents in this community who are freaked out at this point, who are worried their kids are no longer going to get the services they are getting at this point. they will be lumped back in in areas of shortages, is there a way to make sure there are protections or do you think it will be up to the courts then to decide? >> i think -- excuse me, with special ed as the example, nobody wants to take away funding for special ed, but what you do find is that the federal government has always under funded special education and so

the folks at the local level end up picking up a significant amount of the costs involved right now, and yet, rather than becoming more efficient or direct with their funding and taking care of it, we suddenly think that somebody at the federal level is going to make a better decision than how to help that young person than at the local and state level. we have to go back to allowing the state and local entities a little bit more authority and recognize that they want the best for these kids as well. and a one size does not fit all for all kids, and yet the bureaucracy is still here, and they seem to think that they can make a better choice. moms and dads, principals, and teachers and so forth who do want the best for their kids. you've still got the basic guidelines as congress has laid out in place. they still have to be effective. they still have to -- everybody still will have to comply with what congress has said. i think we can bring a little bit closer to home to where those decisions are made. >> under your plan, how long would it take to wind down the

education department? >> yeah, look, this has not been done, get rid of the department and be done with it. what we have said, take these, transition out back to where they had been before, get rid of the regulatory oversight, which has nested itself within the department. we have not said that it has to be done by a particular date. i think that's something that has to be done in consultation with an administration. so this is not a case of trying to simply say, let's just dump it. what we are saying is let's transition this thing away from a department of education. we don't like what's happened with the decisions being made by bureaucracies in washington, d.c. but we're not trying to do this overnight with just a knee jerk reaction. >> what do you think of congressman gaetz stepping down and the trump administration, incoming administration looking for new placements? where do things stand right now with the appointees and the treatment you think they'll get in the senate? >> yeah, look, i think the right

decision was made with his withdrawal. i think there are perhaps things that have come out since the president had made his nomination in the first place, and i think the president probably had a lot to do with deciding that there were better alternatives out there. so i think that decision was the right decision. i think pam bondi is moving in the right direction. i've heard really good things about her capabilities. i don't know her personally, but the individual attorneys, attorney generals that i have spoken to have told me that they have worked well with her. she's got experience being the foreign florida attorney general. so that works in the right direction. she is a prosecutor. i like that idea. but once again, she'll have to be vetted like everybody else. we saturday out with the president receiving the benefit of the doubt on all of his nominees, but each individual has got to be vetted themselves. that's the way the founding fathers wanted it, and that's the way the vast majority of us

in the senate, we don't take any of them for granted and we don't assume it. we simply say, look, we're going to allow the president the benefit of the doubt. we're going to do our due diligence on a case-by-case basis. >> you don't foresee any, south dakota senator, and senator thune hasn't said exactly what he thought of recess appointments. do you think there will be any this time around? will they be necessary? >> look, it is always a negotiating item with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. i think if there was a slowdown to the vast majority. and we've got to go through hundreds of recommendations in order to spill those spots across all of the bureaucracy, the top bureaucracy in government. if there's an intentional slow down just to top them or make life miserable in terms of forming a government, that comes to the table. that's an item that might be considered.

that would be a last resort. i think the goal here is to work with our colleagues to get through as many of these as possible, do our due diligence. we've got a ton of nominees we've got to get through in a short period of time. the cabinet nominees and so forth, i don't see any cabinet nominees being put in that particular position. i think everybody wants to go through and give each one of them an opportunity to be voted on separately, give them their time in front of the spotlight and move forward as quickly as possible. the president deserves an opportunity to form a government and the president deserves an opportunity to choose his cabinet, but we still have responsibility for advice and consent, and in my opinion, that means advice or consent. >> south dakota, quite a pool of talent out there. was chell from there too? >> tom is from south dakota as well, and once again, we've got another leader here in the senate, we're very excited about having john thune our leader in the senate. >> i saw your chest swell up, i

saw how proud you were of your colleague. >> very proud, and very optimistic. >> excellent. i think we are too. some people are. we are. thank you. let's check on bitcoin. coming up, you can see it's 98-6. later in the show, micro strategies mike the saylor talking about the move. the dow is single digits. could turn positive. nasdaq off a little. s&p down. we'll be right back.

♪ (animatronic santa) ho, ho, ho! (vo) time to move? make it easy with opendoor. sell your home in any season, for any reason.

(animatronic santa) look at me! i am festive! craig here pays too much for verizon wireless. so he sublet half his real estate office... [ bird squawks loudly ] to a pet shop. meg's moving company uses t-mobile. so she scaled down her fleet to save money. and don's paying so much for at&t, he's been waiting to update his equipment! there's a smarter way to save. comcast business mobile. you could save up to an incredible 70% on your wireless bill. so you don't have to compromise. powering smarter savings.

powering possibilities. ♪ coming up, the cfpv, expanding oversight of digital payment services, including

apple pay, venmo, and pay pal. we'll spk eato rohit chopra about what it means for consumers. "squawk box" coming right back.

honey... but the gains are pumping! the market's closed. futures don't sleep in the after hours, bro. dad, is mommy a “finance bro?” she switched careers to make money for your weddings. ooh! penny stocks are blowing up. sweetie, grab your piggy bank, we're going all in. let me ask you. for your wedding, do you want a gazebo and a river? uh, i don't... what's a gazebo? something that your mother always wanted and never got. or...you could give these different investment options a shot.

the right money moves aren't as aggressive as you think. i'm keeping the vest. welcome back to "squawk."

the consumer financial protection bureau will have oversight of digital payment services including apple, pay pal, venmo and others. the new rule will impact payment services that handle $50 million in transactions annually. for the latest one, rohit chopra. thank you for joining us. before we get into any of this, you say you'll have oversight of all of these things, the question is under a new trump administration, what kind of oversight do you think this unit is going to have over anything? >> well, big tech companies have been lurching more and more into financial services, offering really products and services to more and more of the country, and there's pretty strong consensus from across the board that those companies also need to hold up their end of the bargain, making sure that they're following privacy laws and antifraud laws and so much

more. we're seeing a lot happening both at the state and federal level on this. and i think this is something that is totally common sense given the realities of the market today. >> no, no, i understand that. i'm just curious as we talk about doge and efforts to undo all sorts of divisions and units inside the government, what do you think happens to yours? >> well, i highly doubt that the cfpb is going to somehow fade away. i think everyone is seeing how much the issues that the cfpb is tackling are runs that directly relate to the costs that people face every day. we are looking hard at all sorts of proposals including the president-elect's to cap credit card interest rates. there's lots of people looking to reduce their costs on their monthly mortgage. so i don't know, andrew, i think it feels like bread and butter of what any responsible

government should be doing. >> sir, how do you feel about capping credit cards, since you brought it up? >> you know, we have actually put into place some stronger safe forwards to end a lot of the credit card companies abuses, including addressing late fee churning and so much more. i do think that we have seen credit card interest rates go up so high, much higher than we saw the fed raising rates over the past few years, and people are now paying, i think, $120 billion in interest and fees. we have state level caps on so many types of loans. it still allows credit to flow. and i think that's going to be a place where you're going to see a lot more discussion about how both sides can really fix some of these credit card issues that are -- people are struggling with. >> when you think about regulating the tech companies, how is this going to change for them? so pay pal, apple, what does it

actually mean on a day-to-day basis in terms of what that regulation looks like? >> well, right now, they're already subject to law enforcement actions, but what we want to do is make sure that people actually are going to have access to their funds. when someone's account is frozen or suddenly closed or they're debanked, it's really harmful to them. we want to make sure that we can see how they are following the law so those problems don't occur. and look, right now, we are also seeing those tech companies ingest huge amounts of data about all of our transactions, but they got to follow our privacy laws. we also see huge amounts of fraud being trafficked through some of these payment apps. we want to take important steps to cut down on it. i don't think if they're following the law, they should be fraid at all. >> how do you think about crypto in the context of all of this,

as we have been watching bitcoin hover near $100,000 now, and some of the issues you're just describing. >> it wasn't that long ago. it was, i think, five years ago, that facebook announced that it wanted to create its own currency. you know, when i think about consumer payments, right now, we don't really see crypto being used for consumer payments, but a lot of us have our eyes on the future of stable coins, stable coins could, if they take off, be part of big tech payment apps, and that's something we want to make sure that people actually are, you know, able to have their money safely, and that it doesn't turn into something that fraud or hack makes them lose all their money. so we are not seeing that yet in the market. we see some of these firms looking at it, but i think that's where you're most likely to see it come into consumer

use. >> final question for you, and it really has to do with security, and what i mean by that is digital security. when you look at the digital security programs, not just at the banks, obviously, but now of these type of institutions whether it's an apple or a pay pal or some of the other fin tech companies, how do you rank them in terms of thinking about the risk that something demonstrably problematic happens? >> yeah, so i do think it's fair to say that bigger companies have more resources to invest in security. the challenge is often resilience. i think i was on with you a few months ago when crowd strike, that debacle happened. we've got lots of issues in terms of how the economy is so dependent on a couple of these big tech companies when it comes to the cloud, and increasingly even in financial services, and one outage can create a real catastrophe. we really dodged a bullet with crowd strike, but i think we've got to be on the lookout when it

comes to so much concentration and one glitch can take the economy down sometimes. >> rohit, we appreciate you joining us this morning. >> thank you so much, andrew. >> good to see you. it is 8:00 a.m. on the east coast, and you're watching "squawk box" right here on cnbc. i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. among our top stories this morning, bitcoin's hovering close to $100,000. right now, it's at 98,722. it got within about $500 of that mark yesterday, and it's been at above $99,000 earlier this morning as well. president-elect trump's embrace of the crypto industry pushing prices up over the last two weeks. we're going to talk with bitcoin bull michael saylor, the executive chairman of micro strategy. speaking of president-elect trump and crypto, trump's social media company appears to be branching into digital payments. trump media and technology group

filing a trademark application earlier this week for what it's calling truth fi, which it describes as being involved in crypto payment processing, credit card processing and other activities. one stock mover to finish things off. let's check out shares of gap this morning, skyrocketing 15% after beating third quarter earnings and revenue estimates. it raised its annual guidance for the third time this year. >> cake a take a look at the fu down triple digits. the dow is up 31 points, nasdaq continues to trade a little bit lower, down 25 points. big session yesterday for the dow. the s&p, you can see down. treasuries this morning, 439 on the ten-year, let's get to mike santoli at the new york stock exchange. it's friday, mike. >> it is. this week has been a positive one for the average stock. we have been in this prolonged stutter step. if you look at the s&p 500, the

broad large cap indexes made that high around 6,000, a few days after the election. didn't have much of a pull back. definitely have kind of reset and cooled off a little bit, and you see right here, kind of on the verge. yesterday was a stronger day than was reflected in the s&p 500. 3-1, up versus down. small caps leading. banks very strong. value over growth, and the mega cap tech stocks restrained the s&p. this is a relationship i have tracked for a while. nvidia, relative to bitcoin, and they were really in lock step. in the middle of last year, through about the spring of this year, you can see how they were moving. lift off from nvidia, the sales and earnings estimates were taking flight for nvidia in the ai buildout, and you see at least by this framing, look like a bit of a catch up move for bitcoin. you can't necessarily draw specific rational but they draw from a similar pool of capital that's looking for who's building the future, and they

seem to have some kind of rhythms that match up. now, also away from the main indexes, we have seen this real comeback in some o. more aggressive speculative parts of the market. some of the unprofitable tech, the younger companies. this is a four-year chart. fintech, the ipo etf, old ipos at this point, and cloud software, a lot of that is younger and emerging. and long, long, long base after that. huge crashing following early '21 boom and now they're trying to maybe get back on the up side here. so you see this very similar pattern, this corner of the market, heavily shorted stocks, less profitable ones, that's where you're seeing a lot of the risk appetite flow, guys. >> all right. mike, very good. thank you. for more on the market, marta norton, chief investment strategist at empower investments, good morning, and to lead into this, marta, you

make interesting points that the trump trade and the soft landing trade, there was a great deal of overlap, so it's not surprising that post elon we've seen a continuation of what the market was doing prior to the election. >> that's right, joe. i mean, i think you can think of it as a little bit of gasoline on a burning fire. what we saw really starting in i guess i would call it mid september, that's when we started to see the ten-year yield start to move higher. i think that relates to the stronger economic growth we saw pull in at that time, really giving folks the sense of confidence in the soft landing, and of course then we add the trump trades into the mix, and of course those encourage the ten-year yield as well, and also encourage the idea of stronger earnings growth through tax policy and the like. we have a lot of forces pushing the market higher. as we look forward, the question of course comes down to valuation. >> that's what we have talked

about quite a bit. what do you call it, 22, some people, i guess, maybe current yield 23, but whatever it is, it's at the high end of historical ranges. you talk about the most recent earnings season we went through. it was good but not a blow out. if there's no real multiple expansion possibilities, you don't want to use it to time your trades valuation, that never works, but it certainly should least have you at least raising an eyebrow that we might be expensive. >> yeah, exactly right. i think there's kind of a push-pull here. there's less of a possibility, multiple expansion. getting to your point where things stand today. as we look at the economy, there's a lot of reasons to think the economy is in decent shape. there's reasons to think there's some earnings momentum when we look at tax policies, especially those that favor domestic

producers, and that includes some of the small caps and helps explain the rally, and includes consumer-oriented stocks. so it really supports this kind of broadening out narrative from an earnings growth perspective, and that's what you see actually, an analysts earnings expectations for q4 and in to 2025. there's going to be this push/pull, i guess, from what we can expect from an earnings growth perspective and what we can expect from valuations, and with that push pull, i would argue that it's important for investors to moderate expectations, given that we have had 20% plus years in the past two years of returns. >> so next year sound like one of those 7 to 8% years including dividends? >> i think there's an argument for that. i mean, it's certainly hard to imagine a third year of the returns that we've seen. it's within the range of possibilities but maybe not the most probable outcome. another point that i would make it feels like 2025 is really a

year for balance over conviction. because when you look across sectors, not only is the broad market expensive and there are areas that are especially expensive, technology and financials, but it's hard to find screaming opportunities anywhere. you can make a relative valuation argument for small caps and other areas. but it's not as though there are these fat pitches coming out that people can take swings at. i would caution for balance from here. >> i don't know what you do to balance it then. does that mean increasing the fixed income? i mean, would you increase duration? i don't want to go there either. so what do you do if you're not totally in love with the stock market? >> right. so first within the stock market, i think there's a little nuance that you can introduce, just when you think about a market cap weighted index, and 30 cents of every dollar going to the mag 7.

not a major allocation, but balance that out a little bit, and when you think cross asset and looking at fixed income, we're calling this a year for coupon clippings, not necessarily seeing a lot of appreciation from maybe falling yields, but there are attractive yields within fixed incomes. it's not necessarily moving out of the curve but having some exposure there. >> like triple b, like corporates or something? if the economy stays strong, maybe the credit quality stays okay so you can maybe go into the high yield area? >> that's right. spreads are tight. there's not a ton of extra compensation for taking on credit risk but i do think that you can pick your spots. while spreads are tight, fundamentals are quite strong. there's room to kind of navigate toward areas of the bond market that are potentially a little bit more attractive. >> the other 50% of your portfolio right into bitcoin? we've got michael saylor coming up. that was for him.

ast r u.foyo i won't ask you that. thank you. he's coming up. we'll be right back. (♪♪) what took you so long? i'm sorry, there was a long line at the thai place. you get the sauce i like? of course! you're the man! i wish. the future isn't scary. not investing in it is. nasdaq-100 innovators. one etf. before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco.com your clients look to you. you look to t. rowe price. ♪♪ because we stay agile... actively managing investments to uncover opportunities... and build etfs designed to outperform the index. that's the power of curiosity. ♪♪ better questions can lead to better solutions. t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

♪ welcome back to "squawk." we're watching bitcoin year 100,000 at a high, 99,500 yesterday. bitcoin was down 16%. that fall coming after citron revealed a short position. it praised micro strategies executive chairman, michael saylor but the company's volume has completely detached from bitcoin's fundamentals. michael saylor is here with us this morning. it's great to see you. bitcoin has been on a wild run, and boy have you been right. i would love for you to respond to this report. >> yeah, well, i think a lot of people don't understand our core business. we're a bitcoin treasury company. we're powered by bitcoin reactor. we've got $35 billion of bitcoin and it's spending at a hundred

ball. so the way we make money is we're selling the volatility and recycling it back into bitcoin, and we're also stripping the volatility and the risk and the performance off of fixed income security, and we're transferring that to the common stock. so our common stock is delivering 2x bitc so if you want to understand the economics of this, we generate a spread. the btc spread we generate, it's a function of the equity premium, the convert remium and the bitcoin premium. the bitcoin premium is the ar bitcoin versus the u.s. dollar. two weeks ago we did 4.6 billion of an atm, ran at a 70% spread. we made a $3 billion btc gain in about five days. that would be about 12 1/2 dollars a share. over ten years, that's $36 billion or about $150 a share just on that one week. this week we did a convertible

bond. $3 billion at 80% btc spread. that's a $2.4 billion gain. that's about $10 a share. but over ten years, that's $125 a share to the shareholders. i think the thesis of the shorts is if the premium and the equity disappears, we can't make money. what they miss is that when we actually borrow money at 6% and we invest it in bitcoin, and bitcoin goes up 30%, and by the way, bitcoin's going up 60%. we're getting a 90% btc spread, but it would be 80% btc spread, which means $3 billion fixed income raise and prefers or bonds generates the same $125 a share and 30 billion over ten years. once you understand that, you have a different view of the company. >> so what do you say, though, to those who say there's a risk here? because this is effectively a levered bitcoin position, and if in fact, bitcoin goes down, this

becomes a very -- a much more complicated situation. >> yeah, well, the number one risk you take is the existential risk that bitcoin has an extension level event and goes to zero immediately tomorrow. but every long investor in micro strategy are bitcoin maximalists and believers, they have accepted that risk. once you accept that risk, what do we expect? we expect it's going to go up 29% a year for the next 20 years. it's been going up 60% a year. people buying the equity want 2x bony, and vol, once you accept that idea, you can see, you know, over the last two weeks, andrew, we generated $5.4 billion in btc gains. we're making 500 million a day. i'm staring at my screen, and we're selling dollar bills for $3, sometimes a million times a minute. and so it's not unpossible.

i mean, we may very well be the most profitable ompany in the united states growing the fastest right now. there's not many companies making $500 million a day doing what they're doing. if you don't like bitcoin, you don't want any piece of it. but if you like bitcoin, this is a monster for you. >> oh, look, i don't think anybody is debating the success that you're having, no question, i think the question, and we have michael novogratz on the broadcast yesterday is just the question of leverage, you know, and when people talk about leverage, and all sorts of bells go off in people's minds about what can happen if there is a downturn or there is a retreat. not necessarily to 0, but we've seen this be a very volatile asset, and while it's 100% gone up over the long-term, and i'm not questioning that, i'm questioning whether you think if, in fact, there was a retracement from 98,000 to, i don't know, 70,000, what

happens? >> i'll make two points. one point, participants in the market are buying bitcoin 20x faster than the supply is coming from the miners. there's a major demand supply imbalance. that's going to continue for the foreseeable future. i don't really expect that. but let's say it did happen. micro strategies business is so good we're generating one times the capital we raise. when we raise 10 billion in capital, if bitcoin traded down $20,000, like you described, we would still make $10 billion off the arbitrage by selling the volatility. if it trades up, like i expect it will, we make 10x that. so we're either making $3 billion on that convertible bond this week and the worst case, when it trades down, or we're making $30 billion on that convertible bond if it trades like the bitcoiners believe it will. >> and, michael, how should investors think about buying micro strategies, versus now

buying an etf that might be levered, for example? >> well, what makes us special is we've got $35 billion of permanent capital. so we can lever that, we can sell a five-year bond or we can pledge that as collateral and raise fixed income instruments. if i sell 6% bonds or 6% preferreds, i'm getting that 80% or more spread out of it. blackrock is a great company, and ibit is great, but it's overnight deposits, and the etfs have overnight deposits. they can't create duration. day can't exploit the difference between borrowing money at 0% and investing at 60%. but that's exactly what we have been doing for the past four years. >> so right now, i know you have been buying your own stock. right now, if somebody was interested in bitcoin, you think the better bet is micro valley versus buying it directly, for

example, forgetting about the leverage piece of it? >> i think the best bet is buy our convertible bonds because our convertible bonds are out performing bitcoin, with downside protection, that's why we sold 3 billion of them. i got an order to buy one in a 20-minute meeting. if i was bitcoin curious, and i wanted downside protection and i wanted the up side of bitcoin, i would buy the convert. ultimately, ou've got three choices, andrew. you can buy bitcoin fixed income instruments like a microstrategy convert, which is some of the up side but downside protection. you can buy the straight bitcoin in a wrapped etf like ibit, which is fine, or you can buy high voltage bitcoin, 2x bitcoin, which is what micro strategy is, and i think it depends on the investor. >> michael, what's the conversion premium, and what's the coupon? >> we just sold that bond at 55%

premium, 0 coupon, five years. it's the biggest crypto convert in history. >> it's a zero, that's interest . >> sooer >>. we are dominating the convert market and the equity bond market in securities. >> i know you're bullish on bitcoin. we had a guest here in the 6:00 hour. i don't know if you had an opportunity to see him. he said he believed that it is plausible that bitcoin gets to a million dollars a coin literally in the next year, given what he thinks may happen in washington as it relates to this new trump administration. ? >> well, my long-term forecast is 21 years, right now, we're 60% arr, it will decelerate toward 20% arr over the next 21 years, and the volatility will decelerate from 60 vol to 20 or

25. so that's my outlook. i think that the red wave was incredibly bullish. basically the red wave converted head winds into tail winds, instead of a 20% head wind, it becomes a 20% tail wind. i would be more bullish based upon the red wave, but ultimately i think the right way to think of it is it's always going to be the stronger capital asset, versus a conventional s&p index. >> what's that get us to, what did you say, 29% arr in 21 years? >> my forecast is 13 million a coin by the year 2045, and what i tell everybody is every bitcoin you don't buy today is going to cost you $13 million in the future. >> michael saylor, giving us a lot to think about this morning. we appreciate you joining us on this friday morning. thank you. >> thank you very having me.

when we come back, we'll talk about what we've learned from a week of retail earnings as the stores get ready for black friday sales. plus, every core founder, roger altmanil wl join us on the race for treasury secretary. "squawk box" will be right back.

♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) whether your phone's broken or old, we've got you. with verizon, anyone can trade in any phone, any condition. and get iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence, on us. and, ipad and apple watch series 10, all three on us. that's up to $2,000 in value. only on verizon. (intercom) t minus 10... (janet) so much space! that open kitchen!

(tanya) ...definitely the one! (ethan) but how can you sell your house when we're stuck on a space station for months???!!! (brian) opendoor gives you the flexibility to sell and buy on your timeline. (janet) nice! (intercom) flightdeck, see you at the house warming. (woman) did i read this? did i get eggs? where are my keys? (vo) don't wait while memory and thinking issues pile up. these issues may seem like normal aging but could be due to a buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain. amyloid can build up over time. the sooner you talk to your doctor, the more options you may have. visit amyloid.com for additional information.

week before the all important black friday sales. courtney reagan is here. she's got a look at what she's watching. there's a lot to digest this week. >> that's what i was thinking. retail executives are saying the consumer is hanging in there. she's willing to buy when the price and the merchandise is right. so most retailers turned in stronger than expected quarters. target the biggest outlier, struggling in part due to costly inventory planning.

walmart and vjs put up strong sales and referred to consumers choiceful and thoughtful when it comes to purchasing patterns. and gap ceo says while there hasn't been a significant change in consumer behavior, he feels a sentiment shift. >> i've seen a calmness, at this point, with the election behind us, there's increased clarity for the consumer, for all of us. and now we're really looking at the potential policy changes that can come with the transition to the new new administration in 2025. we are, of course, just like everybody else, monitoring all the various topics and ensuring that we have plans in place to address any potential changes. dickson said the retailer is, quote, off to a strong start. there's more work to do. and strategic priorities in the advanced early innings, and the gap is in the game. >> the apparel industry declined a point and a half and we grew share in all of our brands.

this is the fourth consecutive quarter of sales growth. it's the seventh consecutive quarter of shared gains. so you're really seeing the sequential progress in our reinvigoration strategy driving top line. >> investors are impressed with gap's better than expected quarter, and increased guidance. you can see shares up 20%, 21% this morning. that's a big deal for all of those brands to have made advancements, especially in a declining market. >> absolutely. >> we are looking at a rough time for the retailers, just in terms of how the calendar falls. they have fewer days between thanksgiving and christmas than they ever do. this is a tight calendar, and the reality is people shop around those borders. you get more sales when you have more days in that period. >> you absolutely do. five fewer days does make a difference. we did hear a lot of the retailers say the october early sales that they have been starting to have annually at this point, kicked off by

amazon, did turn in good results. target said they had a record cyber week or whatever it was, the target circle week. consumers waiting for the moments. i think that makes next week really important, especially if consumers are still really careful about pricing and what they pay and what they buy. it's going to be a race to the finish and potentially more competitive than before. >> good news for those of us looking for bargains. coming up, "wicked"-ator. may not have the game, warn me about these things. may not have the same ring as barbenheimer. a movie executive, still hoping for a double opening as "wicked" and "gladiator 2" spark a box office rush. i think that's all we'll talk about. i don't want to talk about -- we'll talk about the company

spinoff, matt belany, you're watching "squawk box" on cnbc. business. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. it's the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. trust. hang out. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. powering more businesses than anyone.

powering possibilities.

welcome back to "squawk box" right here on cnbc.

the futures are mixed at this point this morning. dow futures have picked up steadily, when we started the show, 2 1/2 hours ago, we were down by 100 points below fair value. now we're up by 30. s&p futures down by 2, and the nasdaq by 18. bitcoin has been something we have been watching closely this morning, as it's closer to 100,000, this morning right at 98,000, 183. >> meantime, it is looking like a block buster weekend at the box office, whether you called it wicked-ator or glicked. julia boorstin is here to talk about it sfl . >> together they're expected to bring in $200 million at the domestic box office this weekend. that would help a box office down 11% from last year, and down 27% from 2019, and very much in need of a barbenheimer

like boost. with movie audiences only going to theaters two to three times a year now, "wicked's" massive marketing blitz has made the brand ubiquitous, in an attempt to create the cultural touch stone event that audiences can't miss, with partnerships from starbucks to legos, star appearances from snl to the macy's thanksgiving day parade. "wicked" even lit up the pink and green. uniform reported the $100 million plus marketing budget represents a bet not just on this film but also on the second installment of "wicked" that is coming next november. meanwhile, gladiators reported $100 million marketing budget includes six red carpets, the building of a foe coliseum in in hollywood and airing on

networks, digital platforms and radio stations to reach as many as 300 million customers. this weekend, even rival studios want paramount and universal to succeed because audiences returning to theaters will see trailers for next year's slew of big budget sequels that have been delayed due to the strikes, including paramount's "mission impossible: the final reckoning", and disney's "captain america" and "avatar" sequels. audiences will pay for things like taylor swift's eras tour, they are making going to the movies movies just as much a cultural touch stone as that was. >> it's a wicked situation. by the way, we have bellamy, have you seen "wicked"? >> good. definitely the target audience will love it. i am not the target audience, but the target audience will love it. >> julia, are you a "wicked" person? >> i haven't seen it yet. >> what kind of question is

that. >> she's not wicked herself. >> wicked can be really good, you are wicked good. you're wicked. you're from boston sfl . >> i'll take that as a compliment, joe. the reviews on rotten tomatoes is very strong. if you have the devoted fan audience that's going to go out and not just buy the starbucks green frappuccino and walk around with it and market it to their friends with the merchandise and spread positive word about the film. that's the hope that the positive reviews, that really devoted fan audience, may not be matt bellamy, but there is one out there that turned the "wicked" musical on broadway into a multibillion dollar sensation, can they be a marketing engine for this as well. >> julia boorstin, "wicked" good, thank you. matt is here joining us now to talk more about the big box office weekend. and the news from cast,

spinning off a portfolio of cable channels, including cnbc. matt bellamy, why do i have just the impression that it's been kind of a lean year for like amc? >> because it is. the strike, and we're just now picking up the slack on the movie releases, especially the big budget ones. >> and this could be really good this weekend, and much needed? . >> absolutely. box office is down about 30% this year. i think this weekend is going to be gigantic, and it's nice, the barbenheimer effect, there's something for everyone this weekend. "wicked" could end up doubling what "gladiator 2" does on the opening weekend, but gladiator will be a slow burn. the "wicked" fans have reserved their seats. gladiator, older, male audience, they will come through thanksgiving and the holidays.

>> the buzz for "wicked" has been positive. >> very good. they executed exactly what the fans want. this is exactly the movie that fans of the musical like. they're going to drag people with them, it's going to be much bigger than initially anticipated. the marketing campaign has been brilliant. they have done so much. 400 brand partners. this movie is everywhere. they have succeeded in making it an event. >> they even had little dolls take you to a porn site. there's something for everybody. >> that was a mattel accident. >> i'm surprised you guys aren't wearing green makeup. they didn't get to you. >> the spinoff. >> i want to see gladiator. >> we don't care anymore. >> for gladiator 2, it still is going to be a good movie, even though i haven't seen a -- he said this might be close to the

twilight. >> i don't believe half-im at a. he's going to be 70. he's going to stay active. the movie is doing great overseas. i think the u.s. box office will be really strong. it will take longer to get there. >> okay. so we'll get to -- let's get to the news from comcast. there are a lot of media companies that have cable assets that probably aren't in a strong enough position to do what brian roberts is able to do. he doesn't -- he can continue to run comcast exactly like he wants ithout the cash flow, which the other companies may not be able to do. >> no, although, there's an allure of this spinco, as they're calling it. someone like david zazlof could take the debt and float it away with the cable networks and do that transaction, which could

free up the studio assets to be more of a peer play. >> why is that? >> they don't have other businesses around content business, theme parks or frankly disney does as well, and it's really challenging. the math is hard to do that on a company that is so based on cable. >> then what was comcast's rationale, i think, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. why? >> these are not growth businesses. the cable networks are not growth. comcast is probably frustrated that they have been dragging down the stock. the stock has not been matching the market as you guys know, and they can put this into another company. they can well capitalize it, send it on its way, and potentially let it do what it can do to either grow or stay the same and manage the client and then it will free up the growth businesses at comcast where they believe it will help the stock. >> disney thought about this and opted not to. do you think they come around to the idea and rethink the strategy now that comcast has done so?

>> it's possible but i don't think so. disney has other logistical issues, the streaming services are tied to the content on the cable networks, fx, they have espn service launching next year tied to the broadcast network at abc and the cable network at espn, so it's a more much more logistically difficult decision. doesn't mean it won't happen. it could. it would take a lot more machinations to happen. >> what do you think of the deals in effect currently for these networks and the power or lack of power you get by combining them with other cable channels down the line? which is to say if you're going to bulk up, the whole conceit here, does that either protect, increase, shift, change, you think this bundle question? >> when you're talking about carriage negotiations, scale is always better. if you have more networks, particularly more of the net works in demand and content people like. you're going to have more

negotiating power. >> who do you think is in demand? >> well, to be honest, the news networks are pretty good. they talk about msnbc and cnbc as potentially being the locomotive of this rail, this train. >> choo. >> exactly. >> where are you on amc or stars or all of the net works that seem somewhat orphans that i think within the sort of speculative world if you are going to do this, or you say to yourself, what's available, those are the assets that would be available. do those improve your life or not? >> i think the entertainment networks are hard, mostly because the content for those networks is largely available on streaming. you got to look at stuff that isn't available, like news, like financial news, things that have -- networks that have sports. you look at usa, they have premier league and wwe, those

are going to be more valuable in a carriage negotiation than something like a and e where the content pops up over the dial. >> in two or three years when we rook back at this, will spinco have been a buyer or a seller? >> i think right now i think the plan is for them to be a buyer. >> is that how it will turn out? if that's -- if things don't look attractive to add to your cable position, couldn't private equity buy the choocho and cut costs and sell to somebody else? i see consolidation happening, it's consolidated or becomes consolidated with somebody else. >> the plan is for it to be a con sol con con sol day tor. the idea is to go out and pick off other networks that could be

additive. things they don't have, like lifestyle, like food, like potentially b.e.t. from paramount. things that add to the package of channels that could be sold to distributors. >> right. and so all vertical or all horizontal, it could be some of each each. >> some of each, yeah. i honestly don't think we know. >> they've got all of these bells and whistles making money doing different things. could msnbc do that, could cnbc? >> totally. there could be a cnbc stand alone streaming service that is launched off of the table. it could be an msnbc streaming service. it could be niche serves, as a tile on the streaming service branded to the network. >> what you're seeing is the talent and the people on the stations are the most important components of all of this? >> i mean, you joke, but the news networks have loyal audiences. >> i have to challenge you on that. i'm not trying to pull that out

of you. are you absolutely sure they're the most important part of this whole -- >> the viewers will follow particularly the morning talent on news networks wherever you go. >> on the business news networks. >> absolutely. >> that's really specific, matt. >> the check is in the mail, my friend. >> as long as you're wearing green makeup. >> green teeth. gl good to see you. evercore founder and former deputy treasury secretary roger altman will join us on president-elect trump's cabinet picks so far, and how he sees the race for treasury secretary shaping up. what the markets might like to see out of this as well. "squawk box" will be right back.

when i was a kid, my mom would always put harry & david pears in our stockings. and if you got that gold one, it was like you had won christmas. my grandmother started it and now it's a tradition that i get to pass on to my kids. and that means a lot. (luke) that's why we do it, marci. (marci) it really makes all the effort worth it. gathering the most in-depth info, making a clean, new homes-dot-com that improves home-shopping, creating a better way for people to... (luke) ...people to find the perfect home to build their lives. (marci) are you okay? (luke) no, it's... it's the dust-based allergy. oh, there's another one! (marci) that's why we do it. isn't it... got a lot of dust in your...

(luke) it's so dusty. (marci) yeah. (vo) homes-dot-com. we've done your home work. all aboard! come with me to meet the wizard. why couldn't possibly. this is your moment. i'm coming. if you think that's something to see, wait til you see this. ♪ ♪ you're good. -very good. president-elect trump spending time this week meeting with potential treasury secretary picks. our next guest says it's the most important personnel decision that trump will make. he should know. joining us right now is former deputy treasury secretary roger altman, the founder and senior

chairman of evercore, and roger, you're the perfect person to talk to this morning about this. this is an important job, obviously. president-elect trump sees it as a very important job. that's why he's taking more time with it than any of his other nomination picks at this point. what does the market want to see? >> well, let's step back for a second. i think it's the most important job, perhaps other than the chief of staff, for two basic reasons. >> okay. >> the first is, if you look at the election results we just saw and the exit polls, the economy was the number one voting issue. >> right. >> and trump benefitted a lot from that in terms of the cost of living and concerns that voters have. he's going to want to hold the house and the senate in '26. and again in '28 and the white house. and probably the economy is, again, going to be the number one voting issue. now, the most senior member of his team, when it comes to economic policy is typically the treasury secretary. and so first of all, from trump's own point of view and

his own self-interest, it's a critical pick. secondly, we have seen more and more frequent financial crises over the last 40 to 50 years. think about it. savings and loan. long-term capital management, mexican peso, latin american debt crisis. european debt crisis. great financial crisis and so forth. which is natural because of velocity of capital coursing around the world is accelerating. and trump saw one of these in his first term, the covid related financial crisis. so you need a treasury chief who knows what to do when that happens. and it's very hard for someone who's never been in government and a lot of people don't quite appreciate this, to just walk in and know what they're doing in the first few months. it's just very hard. >> steven mnuchin did okay? i think the idea floated in the "wall street journal," i have no idea if trump will do it --

>> by the way, the idea is that you would have kevin war issue who would come in as treasury secretary and the fed chairman in 2026. >> that's an interesting and sensible idea, kevin has been in the government, both in the white house and at the fed. he can walk in on day one and know what he's doing. and if you put percent at the nac, by the time powell's term expires and war issue would sh the fed, he would be ready to serve in the treasury. >> that's a very interesting way of laying this out. we have had the conversation several times about the idea that donald trump promised a lot of things on the campaign trail that would be hard to deliver and not have problems either with treasury buyers who would stand up and say, no way. or with the idea that inflation might take off again. both of those things would threaten his economic prosperity, and be an issue potentially in 2026.

trump is very actively looking at this role, and i wonder, are people around him saying the things that you are saying right now? >> i'm not sure of the answer to that, becky, but i think the next treasury chief has a really tough job for four reasons. trump's agenda, tariffs, taxes, deportation, and the impact of that agenda on interest rates is going to make that treasury person's job tough. i don't know what decision trump will finally make on how widely he applies the tariffs, and i know this is an objective, tremendous debate, but at least in my opinion, widespread application of tariffs is negative for household disposable income, and ultimately negative for growth. and then deportation, and of course that's a huge political issue, and i'm not a political expert, but we have something like 11 million undocumented people in this country. most people say that the great majority of them, 80%, are working. we have a 4.1% unemployment rate.

if you literally toss those people out of the country, all of them, it would be dreadful for the labor supply and ultimately for inflation. and then taxes, trump wants, of course, to extend fully the 2017 tax cuts and add some more, maybe a lower corporate rate, taxes on tips and so forth, at the margin, that's obviously deficit increasing and probably inflationary. and you add all of that up and say to yourself, what's the likely course of interest rates if those three are applied and while the fed may be cutting short-term rates, i think the implication for medium and long-term rates is that they will be higher, so the next treasury chief is going to have a tough job, and that's one of the reasons it's such an important choice. >> i mentioned to you the other day, you probably heard me, right, i was talking about mehmet oz because we called him tv doctor a couple of times. >> we didn't. >> huh? >> it was in the teleprompter.

>> no, but we didn't. >> because i read the teleprompter, you would have read it, right? >> i would not have. i also know that he was at columbia. he's an actual doctor. >> not just an actual doctor, but you had your choice of who to do the surgery on your heart transplant, and you thought he was the best at a heart transplant. >> i tried very hard to get him. >> he didn't ask me. do you think he's a good pick for cms in. >> he is a very talented, creative person. and he could be a good choice. and i'm kind of intrigued by that choice. i mean, he is a tremendous talent. and very inventive person, so hopefully, yes. >> good. >> i just thought, maybe you weren't watching -- >> listen, i'm hugely in his debt, always will be. and at the time i had a heart transplant, he was more than a rock star in terms of heart surgery. i mean, he was like a god.

>> i don't think everyone knows that. >> well, he was. >> and i tried very very hard to get them to do my operation, which finally he agreed to do, and by the way, the reason that was hard is because typically it's like the military, you have three teams of surgeons and assistants on duty in any 24 hour period and whoever does your surgery is typically whoever is there when you're ready to go. so it was hard to actually change any of that, but he was a brilliant heart surgeon. >> let's get back to treasury secretary very quickly just because, do you think, look, the nominees we have seen so far are people who agree with trump's philosophy on these things or are going to implement what he wants done -- >> by the way, the good news, the three names that are discussed, these are top flight, super talented people. i mean, i do know kevin well, moderately well, i should say.

i've met marc rowan, i don't really know him, and i do not know scott, but these are people of great accomplishment. >> so you're happy as a market participant with how this search seems to be going at this point? >> i would say yes. i would say yes. i think the idea of kevin to start is the best one for trump because he'll walk in knowing exactly what to do. and people think they will, if they've ever served in government and it turns out to be harder -- >> do you think that these three or four would act in any way independently of trump? i mean, i think that's probably the critical question. by the way, for trump in many ways, and it's also oddly the critical question for the markets, which is to say if trump were to say i want to do tariffs in a certain way and kevin warsh or marc rowan wants to push back and say actually i wouldn't do it that way, what happens? >> it's very hard to answer that. the example i used of financial crises, i have seen this firsthand issue when a real financial crisis strikes, the president doesn't know what to

do, and he relies on his team. look at the bernanke, giker, paulson team and how well they did, andng against president bush, but anybody in president bush's team is not going to know what to do, and you're going to listen and follow what they do. there will be some independence, depending on the circumstanc. roger, thank you. >> always a pleasure. >> thank you for having me. >> "squawk box" will be right back.

.

like that. >> thanks. >> i'm dominic chu starting with your morning moving. intuit shares are down despite a report across the board last night. profits and revenue came in, outlook a little bit below consensus. coach and cate spade's parent tapestry announcing a plan for a $2 billion accelerated share buyback program. the shares up 3% right now. we'll round things out with a check on ross stores, offprice retail soaring after a mixed quarter. profits beats, revenue narrowly beat estimates. citing inflationary pressures and effects from hurricane milton as drags on those results. ross did raise its full-year profit forecast which are being helped along by lower costs by

shipping and supply chains. andrew, ross stores off 7%. back to you, becky and joe. >> thank you. have a great weekend. let's take a final check on the markets on this friday morning. a little bit of a mixed picture as dom indicated dow up 17 points, the s&p off about 4 points. bitcoin closing in on $100,000. we'll see what happens teen now and monday. have a great weekend. "squawk on the street" begins right now. good friday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." i'm carl quintanilla with jim cramer, david faber, at post nine of the new york stock exchange. futures fairly steady despite surprisingly weak macro coming out of europe. the private sector there falling into contraction. euro at a two-year low. inflows to u.s. stocks up seven straight weeks. our road map with the winning week for the street. megacap names, nvidia, mta,