"squawk box" begins right now. good morning. welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. on this monday morning. we are live from the nasdaq market site in times square. i'm randrew ross sorkin along with joe kernen. becky is out this holiday week. with futures at this hour, the grinch hasn't arrived yet, but maybe the grinch arrived two weeks early. the dow off two points. nasdaq off 67 points. this coming after friday's rally in which the dow gained 500 points and the nasdaq and s&p gained 1% for the month. this is where the grinch came in. the nasdaq is up by 1.8%. that santa claus rally idea might have gone out the window

except, joe, the santa claus rally technically doesn't begin until after christmas. >> after he has already been here. >> supposedly. children watching. >> friday, it was up 700. >> i saw a little bit of the tick. >> i think it got there and then closed just under plus 500. after the day before, it was 1,200 down. it got back about not quite half of that. it hasn't been great. we had ten straight down days. remember? the longest streak. >> it has. let's look at the ten-year note and two-year note at 4.25. the ten-year at 4.321. the topic we always look at like a risk-on or risk-off. i don't know what this is. $96,269 for the bitcoiners. >> was it really 4321?

that's kind of cool. >> show us the ten-year note. >> it probably changed by now. i thought you said 4321. >> 4.321. look at it. the bottom line. >> whoa. that's something you don't see every day. did he really say that? you were correct. lawmakers avoided a government shutdown over the weekend. this sets the stage for the agenda for the next congress. emily wilkins joins us now with more. emily, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, joe. the fight over the shutdown funding means that more messy battles are likely to come in the next few years in congress. that, of course, includes raising the debt limit. now looming debt limit has become a big concern for donald trump, who pushed unsuccessfully to extend it for another two years into 2017. lawmakers will likely have until the end of summer to either raise the debt limit or suspend

it again. they did come to a handshake agreement during the shutdown battle with trump. they have a plan and they would raise the debt limit $1.5 trillion through a process that would not require any democratic support. meantime, they would find $2.5 trillion in spending cuts. now, it's not clear exactly where the $2.5 trillion would come from. lawmakers would have to find cuts in programs like medicare and medicaid and nutritional assistance. i spoke with gary palmer who offered up a couple of ideas on friday. >> i think we need to look at covid spending. there is no need to continue the covid spending and the improper payments. >> reporter: the debt limit is just one of several items lawmakers will have to address in the new year. that includes, expiring taxes at

the end of 2025 and the speaker. >> interesting. david comes on a lot. he said trump and the fake debt limit should get writ rid of it. there are interesting points here if you haven't seen it yet. it's fake, the debt limit. it is after you spent the money. you raise it at this point. there are three reasons why it's not great. first, it promotes the fiction there is a debt limit protecting the public. there isn't. second, financial markets are harmed by the repeated risk. oh, no, we didn't rate the debt limit. we miss it. credit markets. then, third, many at times when you finally get congress to increase the debt ceiling, it only comes after you promise a bunch of pork. >> reporter: exactly, joe. that's why you have seen trump

come out and say we should eliminate it. there would be support in congress to do that. for people to say you want us to raise it, we need to cut spending. there are pros and cons. you have fewer headaches. >> democrats want to do that. that doesn't necessarily mean it's a horrible idea. now that maybe it's something to actually consider. >> it's one of those things where on one hand, fewer headaches and fewer battles with raising the debt limit. that was a con concept around ie last century. then, you on the other hand have this point where lawmakers are saying, okay, if we go ahead and raise it, now is a good time to take a look at spending and take a look at cuts and debt and deficit. for a lot of fiscal hawks for a lot of you who remember the 38 republicans who sunk the plan b deal to keep the government open. that was while a lot of them are

concerned they did not want to see a two-year increase in suspending the debt limit without the discussion over spending. >> she does know on the other hand phrase is now a trademark like jon fortt. you did that so well, emily. you can do the segment. >> you might have been reading his newsletter this morning. it's a thing otoh. >> always. always read jon fortt. always. >> it's a thing. in the meantime, the trump transition team announcing key staffing positions. the president-elect chosen steven miran to be the chairman of the economic advisor. he had been involved in trump's first administration. you will see his name a lot. meantime, trump has chosen tilman fertitta as ambassador to

italy. operates more than 600 restaurants and hotels and casinos. he is the former star of "billion dollar buyer." trump has chosen mark burnet.t. he was the producer of "shark tank" and "the voice" and former chair of mgm television studio. another group of names, scott and michelle who worked at uber years ago. i'm thinking of sri who was announced in the past 24 hours, also a jason horowitz guy. the valley is going crazy.

happily. they are going on twitter and cheering what is happening here. interestingly, across political aisles. >> that is interesting. i saw kind of a spat on twitter. i guess people disparaging about mark burnett. he joined the armed services when he was 17 years old. he has a before before becoming one of the most successful, i guess, tv producers. business people in the u.s. close associate of, obviously, from "the apprentice" and everything else to the president-elect. who, by the way, spoke yesterday at the conservative conference in phoenix. i think he did dance and the golf swing as well. he praised elon musk and chuckled he was called president musk online and said it wasn't going to happen because he wasn't born in this country. he also said that he would ban dei programs at public

institutions and private companies. we'll talk more about that in the 8:00 hour with activist robby starbuck who led campaigns against dei initiatives at multiple companies as you know. in the meantime, federal reserve may be on elon musk's doge to-do list. in an expo, musk said it was overstaffed. i should tell you i asked jay powell specifically about this possibility which was how doge could impact the federal reserve. effectively made the argument because they are considered an independent agency that is self funded, interestingly, it is a self funded operation, that it was unclear whether there would be -- there's oversight from

congress, but built by congress to be self funded and live in the separate universe. >> think about it. if there is any entity that could be self funded. >> it is the federal reserve. >> i would think. think if you could set your salary. you know, $500 million a year sound good? crank it up, baby. crank up the printing press. it just sounded funny. self funded. >> it is self funded. >> i know. if anything could be self funded. >> not self funded like that. >> oh, okay. in the meantime -- i guess everything is -- the whole world is self funded likes that, but not really. >> if you are bitcoin. all we do is issue debt and we print money to pay for it. everything we buy and spend and do is by issuing debt and we cover it by printing the money to back up the debt. nothing is backing it up. >> that might be. the dollar and our money is

still sovereign thing. >> sovereign, but all you can do is trade it for more dollars. >> this is all true. we should talk about this. this is a larger conversation coming about a huge push for bitcoin. i think there will be a separate group of people who will say it's anti-american. watch what comes. that's the next piece of it. i think it may come back. i'm curious. >> i think the dollar needs help, honestly. when we come back, honda and nissan announcing plans to merge in '26. that's 2026. more details later this hour. later, dr. scott i eb will join us to talk about the weight loss drugs. don't go anywhere. finance and h.r. on one platform.

tim, you are a rock star. using responsible ai doesn't make you a rock star. it kinda does. you are not rock stars. (clears throat) okay. most of you are not rock stars. oooh. data driven insights, and large language models. oh, that's so rock roll. it is, right. he gets it. yeah. prime, it's me. i mean, you. wake up, come on man! you gotta tell employers to take another look at all the benefits they're offering. everybody wants to build the best team and offering aflac can help attract and retain that top talent. you know we like that top talent. and listen, i mean you gotta listen. aflac gives employees cash to help with unexpected medical bills. it's prime time to add aflac. request a call today at aflac.com/prime (♪♪) (♪♪)

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

z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, investment objectives, arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help.

with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. welcome back to "squawk box." honda and nissan will plan to merge in 2026. the plan has won the backing of the japanese government and maybe that's why you can say this is a deal that's happening even though they haven't really consummated the deal. the company said last wednesday

they were studying a possible merger and here they are five days later, joe, saying they're going ahead with the merger. it's going to happen in '26. they have to have talks about it through 2025. i think when you have the japanese government basically saying this is what is going to happen happen. this is what is going to happen. >> it's all about china. >> that it is. ahead of the holiday shortened trading week. a bit of mixed picture. we discussed it earlier. you are looking at the dow off 40 points. the s&p 500 higher, hardly though, 2.5 points higher. nasdaq up 46 points. we talk market and stocks to watch with stephanie link, strategist at hightower advisors and cnbc contributor. she has her christmas expert spd

wearing it. the grinch came. is there any chance of a santa claus rally come wednesday? >> we are up 24%, andrew, year to date. >> i'm very short-term right now. it's early. >> it sounds like it. it soubds nds like it. we were up 26% last year. up 24%. i think we can rally toward the end of the year. i think the win ners will continue to win until the end of the year. they will just try to catch up. i think the losers probably continue to lose, too, on tax loss harvesting. that theme has been playing itself out in the month of december. mag receive seven have been the. i think will see into 2025 a bit broadening out. i know last week was wild with powell commentary hawkishness and the close call of the cut

they just did. all of that was not great and it led to uncertainty. that is one of the reasons the market pulled back. one thing we did learn, they focused on labor market which is fine, but they are focused on inflation and the pce, core pce number on friday was okay. it's still high at 2.8. it could have been a lot worse. that's why we're all breathing a sigh of relief and if you look at other data on friday, personal income and internal data and wages up north of 5%. that's good news for the consumer which is 75% of the gdp. if you add this up, you will see the santa claus rally. if we don't, you can't complain about 24%. >> tell me what you think really is 25 portends. if we're having this conversation a year from now? >> you will not see 3% gdp growth or 2% or 2.5%.

that is still pretty supportive of something 8% to 10% earnings growth. i think inflation will come down eventually as growth slows. i have been in the camp that the inflation is high or elevated is above average growth. we are running at 3.2% gdp on top of 3.4% last year. i don't think you will see that mentum continue at that pace because we don't have that fiscal spend, but i do think you will see above trend growth given trump's pro-growth policies and deregulation and tax cuts. that is supportive of the broadening out in the market, not just a mag seven, but i still like mag seven, too. >> outside of mag seven, give us names you like. >> i would include mag seven and mag eight if you put in

broadcom. it pales in comparison to nvidia which is up 172%. this company just told you their custom chips, they are increasing their customer base. they are 3 to 5. the a.i. service addressable market is something like 60 to 90 billion by 2027. that is three to four times as large as today. they have earnings power $11 or $12 a share. if you believe that, the stock is 21 times. i believe it will continue. outside of the mag seven and in technology, i like accenture. accenture is actually up 4% year to date. it, too, is an a.i. and cyber security play. they just beat. they raised. it has an increase in operating margin. they're genai bookings rose year over year. their cyber revenue grew double

digits. i like momentum and i like meme reversion in 2025. we can talk about a bunch of other names if you like. >> i'll take them. stocking stuffers. >> stocking stuffers. i love it. rockwell automation. that stock is down for the year. we talked about electrification and the energy transition that we're going to see over the next two decades. we're going to spend $4 trillion on electrification and this energy transition and automation between now and 2050. rockwell automation is on the automation side. they are bottoming. it is not participating with the eaton and ge vernova of the world. i like banks. i like bank of america.

i thought brian moynihan's comments on your show a week and a half ago was encouraging in terms of ter growth. they expect better loan growth and deregulation will help m&a will help. it will be the 2025 story and these guys have 0% of revenue ust that. we get basel iii end game. the rules will be less restrictive and brian moynihan is on record saying we will buy stock once we figure out the rules are. finally, i like the gap because i do think it's a special situation turn around story with richard dixon gaining new management and market share to nike in my opinion. they have had four quarters in a row of better revenue growth. generates $500 million of free

cash flow. stock strayed up.trade up. >> i like how you said basel iii. it sounds like a movie. >> i don't know. i don't think it will be that exciting. >> folks who watch, they might like that game. nice to see you. happy holidays. >> merry christmas. >> with art. coming up, a disappointing debut for disney's "lion king" pre- prequal? had we will have the weekend numbers next. plus, a shakeout in the retail sector. bankruptcy update for three well known chain stores. "squawk box" will be right back.

is a bitcoin etf the same as owning bitcoin directly? while bitcoin etfs might offer a familiar face, they lack the true ownership and flexibility of directly investing in bitcoin. with itrustcapital you can buy and sell real bitcoin 24/ 7 with the tax advantages of an ira. real bitcoin means no middleman, no restricted stock market hours. choose the path of direct bitcoin investment with itrustcapital because access equals opportunity. invest in bitcoin at itrustcapital.com today.

growing your business is easy once you know the moves. with godaddy websites plus marketing, you can quickly create a website, and ai will customize it for you. get your business out there and get more customers in here. no sweat... for you anyway. create a beautiful website in minutes with godaddy.

disney's "lion king" prequel called "mufasa" brought in $35 million. estimate was $50 million. it fell short. the movie ex-estimated to cost $200 million to produce and $100 million to promote. i don't know anything about it. is it like woke? they didn't ruin it? there were seven magical creatures. you can, disney, if there's any woke you go broke -- of a true example, it is disney. >> i don't know.

>> i could make a prequel of "the lion king" and not screw it up. it's a great franchise. is scar in it? >> this is a live action thing. >> i know. i've seen the images. i have. i'm ready to embrace a "lion king" prequel. you have -- i think you have to screw it up to screw it up. paramount's "sonic 3" took the top spot. >> not in the demo. >> we're all in the demo. bringing in $62 million. it beat expectations. this baby cost $122 million to make. meanwhile, party city shutting down operations. you ever go to party city? looking for bankruptcy

protection. >> my son said we'll never see a party city. are they closing it down? >> began liquidating sales on friday. told workers it was the last day of employment. the day after big lots announced it failed to complete the sale of as is sets and begin shuttin down the stores. the specialty store the container store filled for bankruptcy protection. it will have a reorganization plan in 35 days. it will continue normally and reached a deal with most of the lenders to provide financing. the stock with a market cap above $200. it is said to be delisted from the stock exchange. i love the boxes and containers. you don't know you need them. boxes and containers and toothbrush holders. >> i remember it was nichey.

party city is too niche. brick and mortar. you better be good. they are all too niche. >> the issue with party city, you can get on amazon. i assume margins are nothing. the other is ali express. the other is big lots. this is a margin problem. >> brick and mortar is tough enough as you just said online. coming up, wall street journal. >> i thought the container store has a chance. >> i can't imagine telling someone i'm going to container store to buy containers. you've been there and bought containers? >> yes. >> for? >> to contain things. i'm going to buy a container to contain you. >> there are times i need it.

i've almost said a couple of things today. what's the upside? what's the upside? >> a good way to think about it. >> i know. a wall street journal report says more people are seeking treatment for gambling addictions. i had a rough weekend. i lost almost $20, i think. risky bets. this time it's in the stock market. that story's next. later, congress member french hill will join us. he's chair of the powerful financial services committee. remember, we had him on when he was vying for that position taking on andy. we had both gentlemen on. we will have him on again. he has new prominence. "squawk box" will be right back. >> 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!

♪ ♪ fuel your inner adventurer. the first ever nissan rogue rock creek. ♪

good morning. welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. we are live from the nasdaq market site on times square ahead of the holiday week. take a look at futures right now. we have christmas colors is maybe the nicer way to put it.

the dow is off 81 points. s&p is off 2 points. helping us is the nasdaq with 27 points, joe. i was trying to do a christmas tie. >> i thought about it. >> tomorrow, i'm going to go hard on a true christmas tie. maybe even a sweater. >> you can do green. is purple? purple can be in a way. >> could be. >> but red, obviously. >> yeah. >> you might look, you don't want to look too maga to anyone. >> i was thinking about wearing a red button-down shirt tomorrow for the holidays. a true step i've -out. >> do you have a red shirt? >> is it tartan. t-a-r-t-a-n. with the squares. very christmassy.

>> okay. >> shirt with a blue tie. >> let's talk about it. >> we're talking about it now on tv. the viewers find it interesting. >> i want to participate. >> i'll call you. we'll talk to our stylist and have them work it out. >> all right. i'll have my assistant talk to my stylist. my next guest says a new addict showing up to gamblers anonymous. i have the assistant and my boss. all the same person. >> all the same person. i'm with you. >> anonymous meetings across the country. you have a daughter. >> i have a daughter. >> who will soon collaborate with the other person who will have no say on anything whatsoever. gunjan is here. with more men are addicted to the crack cocaine of the stock

market. >> this is terrible. >> gunjan banerji. a writer for the wall street journal and cnbc contributor. is it the options or the mag seven? where are you seeing this phenomenon? i used to be a stockbroker. there was a time with options where i definitely know what you're saying. >> more and more men are getting addicted to trading and financial markets and what dozens of individuals told me, counselors and doctors around the country told me a lot of this is concentrated in options and short dated options and cryptocurrencies. this is what has got on even tef individuals in trouble. one client walked into the office who was suicidal because he lost $14,000 trading options

on robinhood. these options are getting a lot of investors into so much trouble. one investor told me they were his downfall. >> those are relatively recent. my problem, gunjan, wasn't really a problem, but option expiration days when you are going to settle, if you are right around the strike price, you just out of the money or just in the money and you can buy or sell the options. a lot of times by the end of the day, it settles outside of the money. things going for a 16 can close at 3, something like that. you can't believe the amount of money. a lot of times, the pros are gaming that system a little bit and they'll close you out of the money. now it's with the short-dated options. how long? i've seen that and we talked about them. how long have those been popular? >> this is wall street's hot new

trade. these really took off the past two years. relatively new product that has reached new heights this year. when you look at the data, it's really quite shocking how much of the activity is taking place in the short-dated options. for example, nvidia and tesla options, half of all activity is taking place in trades that expire within just five days. those are the trades that people are calling the crack cocaine of the stock market. they are really quite addictive because the gains and losses are just so quick and what traders told me it always seems like the next jackpot is just one trade away. >> and they're high beta stocks, things like nvidia, and the like. is it like las vegas? all the nice buildings and resorts they come from somewhere, don't they? it's not like all the people that go there, necessarily, have

multimillion dollar houses, but the companies end up there. do most people lose at this? gunjan, is anyone getting rich? >> i think wall street is getting rich off the products and most investors said they were on the losing side of the trades. i heard harrowing tales of six-figure losses trading cryptocurrencies. they lost it all. there were dire and mental and emotional consequences. some men told me their marriages were on the verge of or actually ended in divorce because of their trading. one man i quote in the article, his wife gave him an ultimatum, you stop trading or we are done. this is going to severe health consequences for a lot of the individual investors that i interviewed for this piece. >> it sounds like all the

same -- all the same symptoms of sports betting or, you know, you're down and you try to make it back and you make bigger bets. i can see it all happening. you probably need the same type of intervention that's decades old for normal gambling. you probably need some type of program. it's hard to quit. >> exactly. i interviewed treatment centers around the country which had seen an uptick in patients seeking help for trading and financial markets. this is new for doctors and counselors who are not familiar with options. similar to sports, betting on how many points scored this the first quarter of the nba game. you can do that in the stock market. you can bet on where stocks are a few hours from now. it is not that different from sports betting.

>> right. there are commercials now of an individual betting on whether the kicker makes the field goal that's coming up in a minute. they're at commercial break and you can bet on whether he makes it. that is near-term. gunjan, thank you. i don't know. it's, it's troubling. it is good you are bringing it to everyone's attention. maybe we can prevent people from starting it. all right. happy holidays. we will see you soon. >> thank you. coming up, the fda approaching eli lilly's weight loss drug to treat sleep apnea. we will talk about that and some moves in the trump administration in the healthcare world with dr. scott gottlieb. you can get the best of squawk pod on your favorite podcast app and listen anytime. we're coming right back.

welcome back to "squawk box." president-elect donald trump's an transition team pushing for withdrawal on the world health organization. the u.s. the u.s. is the w.h.o. biggest funder. that process was never completed and president biden later restarted relationships and relations, i should say, with the agency. joining us to talk about that and so much more of the trump administration plans and news on weight loss drugs and all advertising thing which i don't know if you follow this, joe. rfk saying no television advertising for drugs. i agree. >> i agree. >> i agree, too. i'm interested you do agree because the big push on that was the first amendment argument for a long time. >> i know.

i don't like them. i don't know if you just say you are not allowed to do them. >> the question is how? >> if you need something, prescribe it. i don't need to be sold something i don't have. i don't know what the purple pill does. i think gottlieb does. >> if you remember, we will bring on our guest. if you remember during the last trump administration when dr. scott gottlieb was there, former fda commissioner and now pfizer and illumina board member and cnbc or. scott, you remember you had to do pricing in the actual ad itself, right? >> well, this was something that the secretary had put forward. he tried to do it on the back of fda authorities. we weren't able to do that from the legal standpoint. we couldn't compel companies to disclose price in the list in

what secretary azar wanted from the public health. he wanted to do it for the centers for medicare and medicaid. they got that in place and sued and lost. they were ultimately forced to rescind that policy which shows you how difficult it is to make policy in the space where are you compelling speech or certainly restricting it. i wouldn't expect much of what kennedy is talking about in this regard. i think it will be hard for the ftc to reach this through the authorities. i think the courts recognize it as constitutionally protected speech and can restrict it. you have to have fair balance. that's why you see the recitation of the side effects at the end of advertisements. >> can i ask on a very personal businesses, given your back ground, you have the relationship with pfizer and illumina. joe and i have the relationship

with the television world and nbc, which collects advertising. here we are saying actually maybe this is not a good idea. what do you actually think? put the laws and everything else's aside. what do you personally think? >> we looked at this with data over 20 years at fda. this is obviously a controversial issue. we have commissioned or we did when i was there, commissioned multiple studies of advertising. by and large, advertising seen on tv drove people who had symptoms into the doctor's office prompt them to seek help and got more people diagnosed. the net public health impact was a positive one. i know it is difficult for a lot of physicians. patients come in asking for a particular prescription and it takes time for the doctor to

counsel them and doctors are very busy. they don't have the time to have the conversations. i know there are frustrations among providers. from purely a public health standpoint of prompting patients to go in and see physicians with symptoms that may be consistent with a given condition provides a net public health gain. the advertising is tightly regulated in terms of what companies can say. those messages have to be crafted toward trying to promote the help seeking behavior. >> let's talk about eli lilly. let's talk about the trump transition team. a number of things have been said in the last 2,000. 2 hours. i'm curious what the industry is thinking. >> with respect to which topic? >> we can go anywhere. let's go where we started which is the w.h.o.

>> yeah, look. i talked to the president. president trump about his decision to pull out of the w.h.o. during the first term ahead of that decision. that was during the pandemic which i thought at that point would be a difficult decision for the u.s. to do that and given some of the assistance. i several understand his frustration with the organization. it is high bound and very political. it has been co-opted with china. i think there are things we can do to push that organization to reform. certainly one strategy which looks ike the one they may follow based on the reporting is to pull out of the organization and force the w.h.o. to come back to the u.s. and make concessions. i think the better strategy is if tedroes got down to mar-a-lago or got on the phone to negotiate prices to be a lot

higher once we pull back out. if i was the w.h.o., i would advise them right now. i know the conversations are happening with public health officials with the w.h.o. right now. i would urge them to make concession was the u.s. and legitimate concerns the president-elect has had over a long period of time. >> let's talk about weight loss drugs. last week, novo nordisk announced results for the latest product, but disappointed. at the same time, the fda is weighing or rather than not weighing, but approved the eli lilly weight loss drug zepbound for sleep apnea. speak to both of these things and i assume zepbound is just making people weigh less and that's helping people sleep better and breathe better. is that what's going on? >> that's exactly right. that trial that got the indication on the label showed substantial reduction of signs and symptoms of sleep apnea.

it was a 42% reduction for patients with signs of sleep apnea disappeared or if they had mild ymptoms. you combine this with data from novo nordisk which was disappointed for the follow-on product to wegovy. the picture is zepbound is best in class products right now. they are the market leaders. if novo was able to follow some time in the second half of 2025, which i think that's somewhat in question right now whether they push ahead to try to get more data on the label to strengthen that label, it still looks like zepbound say better product and best in class product. by the time this drug comes to the market, they have a broad label and reimbursement and physician and patient uptake. you combine that with the fact

that eli lilly has another generation product which is a so-called triple g and that showed come per built to a product in zepbound. we need stay the phase three studies. it looks like the best products and that's what the market is reacting to. >> dr. scott gottlieb, happy holidays and merry christmas. >> thanks a lot. happy holiday. >> if we were on the drugs, we could go to the holiday parties and feel okay. (♪♪) 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. (♪♪)

is a bitcoin etf the same as owning bitcoin directly? the only etf that tracks the dow. while bitcoin etfs might offer a familiar face, they lack the true ownership and flexibility of directly investing in bitcoin. with itrustcapital you can buy and sell real bitcoin 24/ 7 with the tax advantages of an ira. real bitcoin means no middleman, no restricted stock market hours. choose the path of direct bitcoin investment with itrustcapital because access equals opportunity. invest in bitcoin at itrustcapital.com today.

coming up, triple a predicts more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles

between saturday and new year's day with the vast majority driving. we're going to talk gas prices straight ahead. there's some good news there. and then later in the show activist robby starbuck is going to join us. he's been waging anti-dei campaigns across a large range of companies and having some success. "squawk box" will be right back. you make it through security so fast, ♪♪ the agents applaud. your travel itineraries are so well written, they're on the best seller list. and you have access to lounges that don't officially exist. that's why you rent with national, where you can skip the counter and choose any vehicle on the emerald aisle. because travel isn't a competition. except that it is. and you're winning. (♪♪) car, this isn't the way home. that's right james, it isn't. car, where are we going?

we're here. (♪♪) surprise!!! the future isn't scary. not investing in it is. car, were you in on this? nothing gets by you james. nasdaq-100 innovators. one etf. before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco.com

deadline in five! finished and sent. [sending swoosh] we have tight turnarounds. at&t business helps us deliver. okay! client wants his head bigger. wow, fast response.

sent! okay, oop! even bigger. sent. [sending swoosh, notification alert] still bigger. okay, yeah i'm not doing that— [typing noises, sending swoosh] i think it still looks good! [notification alert] oh — even bigger. whoa. 7:00 a.m. just past actually on the east coast. you're watching "squawk box" on cnbc. i'm joe kernen along with andrew ross sorkin, just talking about how ambitiously we both try to live. >> living ambitiously. >> don't we try to live

ambitiously every single day. among today's top stories nissan and honda announcing they are officially in merger talks a deal that would include mitt sue bishly have and create the world's number three. starbucks union workers expanding their strike to four more cities this weekend in new york, new jersey, philadelphia, and st. louis. talks between starbucks and the union have stalled with unresolved issues over the usual, wages, staffing and scheduling. president-elect trump wants the panama canal to be returned to u.s. canal. in a post on truth social he wrote in part, the fees being charged by panama are ridiculous especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to panama by the u.s. this complete ripoff of our country will immediately stop. panama's president is fighting back, arguing that shipping

tolls are not inflated and insisting that sovereignty over the canal isn't negotiable. according to him. >> meantime, turning to washington, congress striking an 11th hour deal to keep the lights on for the federal government but the political win may be short lived for republicans facing big challenges for their 2025 agenda. emily wilkins is in washington and joins us with the latest. >> hey, andrew. well, yeah, speaker mike johnson has his work cut out for him during this next two weeks to shore up enough support for gop lawmakers to avoid a messy speaker battle. even though johnson did manage to keep the government's lights on and forge an agreement between members of his own party and donald trump, johnson can really only afford to lose about two to three republicans during the speaker vote on january 3rd. and several lawmakers have already voiced concerns about johnson and we know at least one lawmaker, congress man thomas massie, said he will not back him for speaker. massie said while johnson has

maintained the support of trump for now, he expects that to change. >> i think there's going to be a reckoning eventually. you saw it -- a little bit of it on the surface here in this process but there's going to be a reckoning when trump figures out that mike johnson has constraints on him that were imposed before president trump won the election, and those two things conflict. >> now it's not clear who, besides johnson, could vie for the speakership. most republicans, they are hoping to avoid any more speaker drama, anymore drama in general. a majority of the conference is backing a plan to make it a little bit harder this time to oust the speaker for the next two years, but guys, of course, this is one of only a number of battles that lawmakers will have and they have to figure out tax, they have to figure out the debt limit and they have to figure out government spending come march 14th and that could lead to a number of really bumpy moments for a

republican-controlled government. guys. >> emily, bumpy, but, you know, in the end, you know, between trump and elon musk, they killed the original bill, they got them back to the table, and they got a -- they got something done that was in a much better place, at least from their vantage point. it may not have been exactly what they wanted. so i'm just sort of clear, when i read these headlines, everyone says it's going to be, you know, impossible and all of these factions are forming and they're all against trump. i'm not so convinced. >> i mean, andrew, you do make a good point. i mean the thing that got done needed to get done. i think i would also kind of point out, though, that, you know, when elon musk came and said okay, this bill has a lot of pork in it, we need to cut, the two biggest contributors to additional funding, that $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion for farmers, those actually did wind up making it into the final bill, so i think there's kind of a counter question of exactly how much

savings actually appeared in this legislation that was actually passed, versus the initial legislation that was put forward. certainly some. and then i think there are just questions of what direction folks want to take this. it seems like you have a group of republicans who are very firm, we don't want to increase spending, but then you saw trump say, hey, we should increase the debt limit for two years without doing any spending cuts. i think that is kind of the tension at the crux of what you will see over these debate, how much needs to be cut from government spend, how much the debt and deficit can actually be addressed and how much can you do that without touching programs that are really important to a number of americans like medicare, medicaid, and nutritional assistance. i think those are going to be some of the big dynamics that we saw playing out with the government shutdown, and we are likely to see play out again in the next two years. >> it's all very strange as an outsider, emily, as tight as the margin is in the house and you

saw the news over the weekend, there's a congresswoman, very sad case, but she hasn't voted since july and they didn't celine know where she was. i mean, how does -- how do you not have one of your caucus not show up and vote? it all makes it seem like it's, i don't know, i guess that's making sausage. it's not pretty to see the details. >> and these are the things about the margins, joe. you have had a number of lawmakers either have medical issues where they could not physically be in d.c. you've had folks had cancer treatments. folks who have had babies while they've been in congress. it all goes to figuring out exactly how many people you have on any given day and what exactly those margins and numbers are. it's something that we saw over the weekend. the democratic leader in the house hakeem jeffries, saying that the goal for democrats is

going to be to try to show up every day and be present there so if there is an opening for them to have some leverage or to be able to pass parts of their agenda or stall the republican agenda, they want to do it. this is really going to be something on a day-to-day basis. you could see things change in terms of what the count is, in terms of what the margins are, and in terms of how easy it's going to be for republicans to get done the things that they want to get done. >> right. okay. emily, thank you. holiday travel lowest prices in four years at the pump supposedly. some long-awaited relief. the average price of a gallon of gas, cheapest since 2020 for christmas, $2.95 a gallon. joining us now patrick duehan from gasbuddy. head of petroleum analysis. i like the contrast. if you're in california you still get to pay $4.31 a gallon, but man, it's really good gas

out there. >> yeah, joe, that's right. you're paying for the extra. it's an amazing spread to your point. it's not necessarily better, although i will point out in the midst of canadian tariffs that generally california gasoline is produced from lighter oils and california has very heavy and potentially ultra heavy oil that maybe isn't the best for the environment while you're talking about it. but 32 states to your point where average gas prices are below the $3 a gallon mark today. i want to bring up something interesting because while prices are not psychologically low, right, they're not at their covid low, keep in mind, though, that if you adjust for affordability, essentially what you're paying at the pump today is at its best level, that is americans are spending the least amount of their income on gasoline since about 2015. as you see there, a lot of states and some metro areas, including oklahoma city, you're waking up to gas prices this morning that are averaging just $2.30.

>> if we want as policymakers -- i'm not saying it's the right thing to try to force behavior -- but this wouldn't induce anyone to try to go electric as quickly. the more these prices [ inaudible ] the mid 2s if they do with drill baby drill, number one, it seems like, you know, that that -- you're pushing back the migration over to evs and you're also making it much more difficult for the producers to maintain margins and to keep [ inaudible ] to find more oil and gas. >> yeah. without a doubt. when, you know, policy shift in a way that we're expecting them to, you know, it's going to bring up a volatile next few years, especially for a sector like refining. that's typically been very much a boom or bust sector, and if you see the ev transition slow down, that could ultimately change some refiner plans, even

the refiner in houston that they targeted for potential shutdown this year, now as we see a new administration, the trump administration take over, will they have second thoughts? will refiners in california that have recently targeted potential shutdowns continue to do that? although california is a little bit more of a difficult place to be in business, especially with all the regulations that are being brought on by governor newsom. so certainly a lot of uncertainty, but at least for now, americans enjoying some of the lowest holiday gas prices that we have since the height of the pandemic back in the christmas of 2020 over 80% of americans told us that they will be traveling on the holidays or driving for the holidays so it's going to be really busy out there. you're certainly not going to be the only one. the interesting thing also to consider this holiday season while the price on the sign is what many americans pay, keep in mind with personalized pricing, the is a rising trend, gas

stations are often discounting that gallon of gasoline depending on what programs, what apps people are using, to find those lower prices. so personalized pricing generally can reduce the price by some instances 20 to 30 cents a gallon. >> we got to go. i was going to ask you if we do see something happen with ukraine and putin and everything else, i wonder whether that -- their oil is already on the market, isn't it? did the sanctions work? would more come back to the market and prices go down more if that gets somehow settled in a trumpadministration?

or -- >> i don't know. >> yeah. >> well, there's a lot of shadow vessels still out there in the trump administration could harden the stance. coming up what to watch in the holiday shortened week of trading. then a toast with toast. the maker of an alcohol-free sparkling refresher that's getting a lot of buzz. the company's ceo will join us to talk about the growing nonalcoholic beverage business and so much more. we'll be right back.

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. ♪ [music] i could unlock my front door ♪ ♪ while i dine in baltimore ♪ ♪ no lock box to explain ♪ ♪ ♪ at 9:00 the doors would lock up ♪ ♪ save me from forgetful slip-ups ♪ ♪ if my home just had a brain ♪ ♪ ♪ i could make a custom pin ♪ ♪ watch the dog walker get in ♪ ♪ so ziggy won't complain ♪ ♪ ♪ when my in-law comes a-knockin' ♪ ♪ i can open, maybe lock it ♪ ♪ if my home just had a brain ♪

(♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪) 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. (♪♪)

jen b asks, "how can i get fast download nissan,the only etf that tracks the dow. speeds while out and about?" jen, we've engineered xfinity mobile with wifi speeds up to a gig, so you can download and do much more all at once. it's an idea that's quite attractive. or... another word... -fashionable? i was gonna say- "popular! you're gonna be pop-uuuu-larrr!" can you do defying gravity?! yeah, get my harness. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile. and see “wicked,” in theaters now.

♪ the futures mixed this morning. the dow is down, the nasdaq is up a little. joining us, ser rat seth this, dcla managing partner and portfolio manager and a cnbc contributor. december is usually a great month. didn't start out so great. >> it did not. you had a few things going on. last week a little tantrum going on in the markets, but you had a bifurcation of the markets. if you look beneath the surface, the equal weighted indexes are

all down. you're still being driven, the fab seven, fab ten, the generals are leading and the rest are being left behind. it was a similar thing we had earlier in the year and last year. >> the ten straight days down for the dow. not the same for the nasdaq. i think the nasdaq was actually at that point was up, but then it lost on thursday. >> on thursday. and that's part of what i was saying. the dow was -- unitedhealth was part of the dow and that was down 20% and that was a big weight on the dow. nasdaq being driven by the google and the it's la -- tesla of the world. the momentum investing is still back. however the other side of it, if you're kind of a longer term investor, i would look at stocks that are completely out of favor being sold, a, because they're not momentum and, b, because of tax selling. freeport, it's down 3% in three months, flat for the year. copper demand is through the roof.

whether you think evs are going up and data centers and new homes and new buildings. copper is everywhere. we haven't built a copper plant in the world in ten years. >> it's an ev play? you've had -- you've liked freeport for a while. >> it was up to 52 and now it's back to 38. so, you know, you did make money mid-year but i have liked it for a while. it's a great cash flow machine. not a lot of competition in there. if you look at data centers and inputs of where copper goes it's an expanding, global play. >> when is last time we had a 10% pullback? >> first week of august when you had a real -- it was literally for a week, joe, so quick, so fast, most people don't remember. >> i don't. so two or three years we've had very few connections. >> yeah. historically every 18 months you get a 10% correction. are we primed for one? absolutely. >> that's what i thought was starting when we had ten straight down days of the first time that's happened since 1974.

but that -- riday it looked like it wanted to dispel those notions that there was anything serious. >> friday started to come back after we had the 3, 3.5% down day. i don't think we're out of the woods in terms of where we are with volatility especially as we get into the inauguration, and you get into next quarter and people start talking about where earnings are going to be and where the real growth is going to be in earnings and then, you know, interest rates came back into the picture. the view was hey, we'll have a couple cuts next year. right now people aren't too sure. that has a big, big play on valuation. >> do you think the labor market and the overall economy is showing signs of weakness? >> i think you're definitely seeing signs of slowing down, but i don't think it's to the point where we're going to call it recession. it's just going to be, hey, things aren't going to be as great as they were before, but labor market is still strong, demand is still strong and the consumer is still strong you're seeing travel, you're seeing people spend money going out. if you look at the data points

as we follow airlines, they're still full. they're fully booked. oil prices have come down which is a good input. demand for labor is there. the question will be what happens the next couple quarters. >> are you more worried about the economy showing signs of moderation or inflation still being, you know, we haven't put -- we haven't put a stake in it yet? >> more worried about inflation. >> but you're worried about both. >> >> i'm not as worried about -- >> we shouldn't be cutting? >> unless inflation is not going to come back to 2%. >> it's not going to. >> right. so i don't think -- i think the fed is kind of holding back to see -- >> could it come back. >> what would cause it to come back? >> i think what would cause it back to 2% might be a slowing economy where demand goes off the roof. historically, interest rates have not been this low for the last 15 years. that's the question. what is the normal rate of interest and what happens if and when china starts growing again.

>> what does that do to the underlying plays of whether it's the copper plays or energy plays or all the things that are coming down that are bringing inflation down. but i do think labor, it's not that bad. it's not that bad a thing if labor prices are rising. 70% of our economy which is what we like to be invested here in the u.s. is the consumer and if the consumer has money in their pocket, they will spend it. you'll get the multiplier. >> if inflation stays near 3%, what's the fed going to do? >> i don't think the fed will cut anymore or if they do it will be very small. that's not a bad thing. if we know the uncertainty -- >> you're okay at 3% inflation. >> 2.5%, 3% the economy can handle it. the 10-year between 4.5 and 5. if that's where you have to look to see what is capital cost for corporations, is it going to be something that they can expect? if you take the uncertainty out and say hey, we know what interest rates are going to be in, consumers, corporations them know how to then look for the

future. >> it helps with our debt, obviously, and the repayment, but it doesn't help because of people that are living, you know, at 3% is a lot worse than two if you do it over time. five, six years compound that. the dollar is worth much less than your purchasing power. >> absolutely. but then also you have to put money to work in capital and you also then have -- >> not everybody can do that. >> i don't disagree. at least interest rates is not zero. you can get 4, 5, 6% bonds which longer term are not the best thing, but at least you're getting better than 0 to 2%, which when it was was destructive. >> did you pick that tie out special. >> >> i did for you guys. >> what are those little things? >> these are little dancing bears. >> oh. it's not about the market. >> it's not a holiday thing. >> no. it's red. with the spirit. going with the spirit. >> is that a grateful dead thing. what do you mean? >> dancing bears is a grateful

dead. >> that was not my intention. >> very red and christmas. thanks. >> thank you, guys. >> coming up next, the ceo of toast is going to join us to talk about the alcohol-free beverage business and the trends in the industry. we have cocktails to drink. former senator heidi heitkamp xt ijetblue hen sarling what is nen washington as a shutdown has been averted. all that and more as "squawk box" rolls on. tripping. where are you going!? he was actually saying goodbye to his old phone. i'm switching to the amazing new iphone 16 pro at t-mobile! it's the first iphone built for apple intelligence. that's like peanut butter on jelly...on gold. get four iphone 16 pro on us, plus four lines for $25 bucks. and save on every plan versus the other big guys. what a deal. that's a lot if you ask me. ya'll giving away too fast t-mobile, slow down.

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 [sofi mnemonic] can a personal loan unlock your ambitions? oh yeah. consolidate bad debt and save money for your next goal. take a swing at your kitchen reno... meant that literally. or design your actual dream wedding. all your ambitions. all in one app. sofi personal loans. low fixed rates. borrow up to 100 k. no fees required. go to sofi.com to view your rate. sofi. get your money right. - [narrator] this is my coffee shop. go to sofi.com to view your rate. we just moved into a bigger space, brought on another employee, and ordered new branded gear for the team.

it was so easy. i just chose my products, added our logo, and placed my order. bring your own team together with custom gear. get started today at customink.com.

box." alcohol-free alternatives are bubbling up. joining us is brooks atkinson. the ceo of toast. last year constellation brands acquired a minority stake in the company. i've got it here. toast as in the idea i assume is toast it like you're getting toasted? is that the idea >> some people use toast it as a verb in a certain kind of way. >> to toast. >> toast somebody. somebody would say you got toasted on the other end of the toast or you could get toasted by drinking a lot of it perhaps. >> but not this. >> no, no alcohol.

100% 0.0. first of all, first-time caller, long time listener, appreciate you having us on the call. toast is a leader in the sparkling nonalcoholic beverage space. been around since 2017. as you mentioned, constellation invested in us a couple years ago. and, you know, really out there to provide a beverage that has the attributes of an alcoholic beverage but no alcohol. for those looking to moderate or abstain from alcohol at any given occasion. >> what is the price point? we've got a couple things here. we've got the cans and then we've got bottles here. >> so -- >> what does this stuff retail for? >> the large bottle is under $10 across the country, higher on the west coast than east coast. you will find it locally in new york as $7.99 or $6.99 on deal. cans $3.49 or $13.99 per four pack. we wanted to come out with a product that was accessible to everybody, that was still elevated, but, you know, not out

of range in terms of being able to celebrate at a reasonable price point. >> and just what's the growth look like at this point? i mean this whole -- we keep hearing about, you know, just a real move away from alcohol, and i wonder what you think that looks like five, ten years from now? >> that's a great question. to be honest when we launched in 2017 we had no idea this would be such a trend and now a category. we've seen over the course of the last three years a proliferation in nonalcoholic products coming to market. while the market remains small in the grandeur sense of alcohol the expectation it will be 4% comparable to 4% of alcohol sales by 2027. it is becoming a considerable size of the category. you know, beer, wine, spirits are all down this year and people are moderating, so we expect this growth to continue to happen, you know, moving forward next year and onwards. >> and when you think about expanding into other categories

or other flavors, just looking at -- a lot of people don't drink because of the dietary issues. this has 45 calories. not bad. carbs 10 grams. are people looking for some of this stuff from like just a strict diet perspective do you think in. >> well, i think it's a healthier option. a third of what you will find in a soda or a glass of wine or a cocktail. it is a healthier option, but, you know, there is no free lunch. if you want to have a full bodied product there will be some calories in there. you often like to think that people that are drinking sparkling water all day may go home at night and want something that's elevated an meaningful. they don't just want the same thing they've had all day. we wanted to create something that had a little bit more there. on the healthier side drinking less is a healthier option. we're seeing more and more of that come out and, you know, reports around the world from different regulators, but, yeah, people are choosing this for healthier option versus alcohol.

again, you know, a little bit of carbs in there, but better than your average alcohol content. >> do you have any expectation long-term, people are doing cbd drinks and all sorts of other things going on in their drinks? how do you think about the stuff? >> i think there's a place for everything. the younger generation is, you know, migrating towards the drinks where they can have some type of effect. cbd, thc. thc continues to be complicated with the regulatory environment. having to launch a beverage in each state would be too much for us at this point. we expect -- people want everything, right. there are going to be people engaging in thc or cbd and others that want a beverage clean of any type of reaction to the body. i don't expect that category to get any -- to shrink. i think it will continue to grow. there's a lot of space for everybody. >> who is the biggest competitor of yours? if you were to sit on a monday

morning with a white board we have to worry about these guys, who are you worrying about? >> that's a great question. when we think about where we sit it's everybody. it's everything from a sparkling white, what are you drinking when not drinking? at times it's a beer, it could be a mocktail. certainly the celebratory sparkling juices during this time of year is a direct competitor. but we really look at the entire market. sparkling water which is massive as you know, we're looking for when are people looking for an option that's different and how can we fit into that moment and elevate it for the customer. >> right. joe, what was the drink that we had, sparkling water with hops in it. do you remember that? >> no. >> a couple years ago. >> i remember the other beer we had. it was good. we just had that on. it was pretty good beer. >> oh, i know, brooks, do you know about athletic brew, which sells nonalcoholic beer, sells sparkling water with hops in it. that's what it was. >> they just launched that. i haven't tried it yet. they're doing amazing work over there. bill has built a great company.

it's a fantastic product. hop flavored water has had a huge run this year. we'll -- we expect that to continue. the entire space is expected to grow over 30% in the next year and, you know, quadruple over several years. you're going to continue to see this creativity. i think you're going to have brands drop out. new ideas, new product is going to come forward. >> last question, i have little kids at home should i serve this to them or is this a gateway to want to drink wine and champagne and stuff like that do you think? >> we used to joke that it was enjoyed by 7-year-old girls and 87-year-old grandparents. everyone can have it together and enjoy it as a toast and for a special occasion. and not worry too much about that. so no, we don't think it's a gateway. just a really elevated beverage you can enjoy when you don't necessarily want any alcohol. >> want to wish you a happy holidays. merry christmas. >> thank you so much. take care.

. >> got a lot of cotton mouth from the cannabis. that might be a gateway. >> thc. >> thc infused. it's crazy. you've read some of the stuff how strong this cannabis is. >> yes. >> people are going to emergency rooms with psychotic episodes. i'm not sure it was such a great idea. >> legalizing of marijuana. >> yeah. >> you know, we don't always agree on everything. that one we agree on. >> really? >> yeah. >> let me think about it. coming up, a look at this morning's premarket movers. "squawk box" coming right back.

>> university of maryland global campus allowed me to write my own story. they want you to succeed, and for me, it was a school of opportunity. i feel like i had a support system behind me within the school. they provided me the opportunity to get my degree, as well as to take the full-time job. umgc put me on a path to be successful by giving me credit for my certifications and transferring my prior course credits. umgc supported me and allowed me to achieve my goals. [ music ]

♪ let's get straight over to frank holland who has a look at the premarket movers. what do you got, frank? >> good morning. let's start off with netflix. higher in the premarket. you can see up over a third of a percent, not over, on news that company will broadcast the women's world cup in 2027 and 2031 after they struck a deal with fifa. this is the most significant deal that fifa has signed for a major tournament. the news ahead of netflix airing nfl games on christmas day.

there will be a performance by beyonce as part of the streamer's push into live events in sports. shares of netflix up 0.3%. huge year-to-date performance up over 85%. moving on we'll look at xerox moving on acquisition news, moving 3% higher on news it will acquire one of its companies that they say is a supplier. lexmark. a deal valued at $1.5 billion. according to the release from xerox, lexmark is a key supplier and the acquisition will strengthen its core business and growing its business in the a-4 color printing business. xerox says it will be free cash flow. shares up 3%. year-to-date falling more than 50%. honda and nissan announcing they have agreed to start merger talks, confirming the reports from last week. you can see shares of honda motor company up 15% right now. this is the international listing of nissan. it closed up over 1.5%. the two parties say they will sign a definitive agreement in june and plan to list a joint

holding company by the summer of 2026. the merger, which would include nissan's alliance partner mitsubishi would create an auto giant worth more than $50 billion. shares of both companies up right now. andrew and joe, back to you. >> rank thank you. i was going to say merry christmas, but i have a day and a half to say that multiple times to you, frank. >> absolutely. >> you like to guess what the market cap of xerox is right now? >> no. >> it's downright sad. $1 billion. coming up, congress -- the old halloid -- i remember that's what it's called -- what a fall from grace. >> the first mouse made by xerox, at xerox park. absolutely. >> congress striking an 11th hour deal to keep the lights on

for the federal government. we'll talk about that and president-elect trump and the plan for the economy next. if you're looking for some last-minute tech gifts, we'll get you some ideas from "the wall street journal's" tech reporter, joanna stern. "squawk box" will be right back.

is a bitcoin etf the same as owning bitcoin directly? while bitcoin etfs might offer a familiar face, they lack the true ownership and flexibility of directly investing in bitcoin. with itrustcapital you can buy and sell real bitcoin 24/ 7 with the tax advantages of an ira. real bitcoin means no middleman, no restricted stock market hours. choose the path of direct bitcoin investment with itrustcapital because access equals opportunity. invest in bitcoin at itrustcapital.com today.

it came down to the wire, but elon musk got his way after a standoff over the government funding bill. joining us now to talk over musk's influence over congress, former senator heidi heitkamp, director of the university of chicago's institute of politics and a cnbc contributor and former congressman jeb hensarling, served as chairman of the house financial services committee, chaired the republican conference. senator heitkamp, i don't know, i tried to talk to you about this. you're from north dakota, kind of got the accept that accept -- accent that we talk about but you're down to earth. joe manchin on "face the nation" said that the democrat party brand is toxic at this point, and he accused it of trying to

mainstream the extreme in social issues. you didn't listen to me. you didn't listen to either joe. you didn't listen to either -- is there some truth to that? the last election was something. it was -- you know who made up refeudation, that was sarah palin, partly repudiation and partly refuting and it's a dam good word. it was a pretty big refeudation, was it not? >> well, let me tell you, you know, i know in the lead in you said elon musk won. i'm not sure that's so true, joe. i mean, he pulled the plug on a deal that a lot of bipartisan support for. he could have maybe just weaseled around and got that debt limit increased without blowing it up and threatening primaries on people. i think there's some relationship mending that needs to happen. did they pull some of that back? the big part of the spending actually stayed in the bill, which was the disaster relief

and the extension of the farm bill along with disaster relief for farmers. so on the toxic part, i don't think there's any doubt about it. i think that we have seen this erosion really since the tea party. people want to blame trump. i don't think that -- i think that is shortsighted and you have to look as a democrat at why your message when you think you're the party of working people, why working people don't want to support you. i think that's a big critical discussion that democrats need to have. i don't think it's going to be led by joe manchin, however, so let's wait and see. i think on the trump thing and on the issue with elon musk, they've got some relationship building. they have 35 people who said no to them before they eventually got a shorter deal. >> i know. i just wanted to -- i don't know. it goes way back between the -- i just wanted to tweak you a little bit on that and see if i could get a rise out of you. >> you remember trying to

convince me trying to become a republican for four years. >> the light -- i have -- you're from north dakota. the lights have been left on for you. and they're going to stay on. no questions asked when you come home. no questions asked. i'm kidding again. jeb, congressman, i think this elon musk and president-elect trump relationship, i mean, people are definitely infatuated and focused and it's a new -- it's sort of a new talking point for democrats in a negative way. i'm not sure it is a negative. but do you think it's a good cop-bad cop type thing? that's the way i see it. trump sits back and musk says all the stuff. i think if trump ever told musk, hey, i think you need to rein it in a little, i think that would happen. i think he might know what elon is going to say and already gives it his blessing. >> well, i think there's a lot

to what you say, joe, although i don't think president trump ever shies away from playing bad cop himself, but elon musk would probably not -- would not have credibility with the republican base vote if it wasn't for donald trump to begin with. so i must admit it's a fascinating dynamic when you put the wealthiest man in the world with the most powerful man in the world, but, you know, let's face it, there are billionaires that are helping the democrat party, there are billionaires that are happening the republican party. it just so happens elon musk has a rather large platform and a rather large megaphone to get that message out. but i think going forward, you know, this was not a good look, but, you know, neither is finger pointing and hand wringing after an incredible election loss among the democrats. so republicans have an opportunity to have better lines of communication to say the least between the speaker,

between the president and the co-chairman of d.o.g.e. >> think about it, heidi. you can find some democrats, even like bernie, that look at the defense spending and, you know, hasn't had an audit or -- in so long. isn't it really kind of bipartisan to say we should try to do something in terms of money that is not being well spent? >> i think it's absolutely fascinating, and i -- you know, i've been asked to criticize d.o.g.e. and i don't. it's like okay, let's find out what they come up with and let's see what their -- what their ideas are. i will tell you this, joe, it's a lot harder, as you saw in this last go-around with the c.r., it's a lot harder than what probably elon musk thinks to actually cut these budgets, especially when the leader of the -- of your party has said i'm not going to touch entitlements like social security and medicare and medicaid.

and so it's going to be really interesting and i think democrats should approach it with an open mind. ironically, in my sted, one of the first people to support a trump idea was elizabeth warren who says he wants to cap interest rates on credit card, let's go. i think looking for those things that you -- that are populous on both sides you can both agree on could be a good look for the american public but also a really good look for the democratic party. >> jeb, in the house, what's going to happen in the next year, do you think? it's going to be as crazy as it was for the last couple years? >> well, governing is difficult and governing with historic thin majorities is even more difficult. so i think even president trump is realizing this when you had 30 plus republicans essentially vote against a bill that he had endorsed. there are going to be some schisms between let's say

what -- the fiscal hawks, if you will. i would say they're probably an extinct species in the democratic party, perhaps present company accepted, but they're somewhat of an endangered species in the house but they had their voices heard loud and clear. so the entire congress and republicans are the ones who are governing in the house and senate are facing this so-called fiscal cliff with the expiration of the provisions of the tax cut in jobs act, the debt ceiling, you have an expiring provision dealing with discretionary caps. there is a lot going on, and there's basically $5 trillion worth of fiscal issues that will have to be dealt with. so it's going to be quite a challenge for speaker johnson and once in my house career i thought about running for speaker and looking at what he's doing, it was a good decision not to do it.

>> you want to say anything? i was going to -- are we done, heidi? >> no. i mean i think that's absolutely true and i don't -- i thought it was smart of trump to try and get an extension of the debt limit into this package. >> right. >> it was mishandled. and so democrats have wanted to eliminate the debt limit crisis for a lot of years. he might have to cross over and make some friends on the ther side and we'll wait to see if that happens. >> so, heidi, were you in a place with rushmore or are you walz? were you nomad land? black hills? >> all of the above. it is christmas. you should be nice to me on christmas. >> i'm trying! >> i wore a red sweater to be like festive. >> you did. >> i did. i did. >> you're in the -- >> merry christmas to everyone there. >> where was nomad land. did you see nomad land. >> nomad land was in montana.

>> no. was it? >> yes, it was. >> walz drug is in north dakota. >> as they were traveling. she didn't start there. >> jeb, do you know what i'm talking about? >> yeah. i've been to wall drug. it's in south dakota. >> walldrug is in south dakota. >> one of the few states i've never aveled to. maybe heidi will invite me. >> you have to come. you're invite road? thank you. >> black hills. >> black hills. >> we have to go. >> okay. >> this isn't substantive. maybe we'll come together. do you have room at your house? do you have one of those nomad trailers? you don't have one of those, do you? >> just for you, joe, i'll get one. >> okay. oh, my goodness gracious. i love that movie. what a movie. >> except that one scene, the bucket scene. was not great. >> good memory. better memory. i don't remember things like that until you remind me.

>> you have to find a place to go to the bathroom. >> i know. >> and bad things can happen. >> heidi, and jeb, want toha you once again. wish you happy holidays. >> great actress.

coming up, we're going to talk some last-minute tech gifts and then conservative activist robby starbuck will join us to talk about the dei policy rollback at some major corporations including nissan which he says rolled back policies after he contacted that company. "squawk box" is coming right back.

it's 8:00 a.m. on the east coast. you are watching guantanamo bay on cnbc. it's a monday morning. ahead of a holiday weekend. i'm andrew ross sorkin with joe kernen. becky is off. i am with joe kernen. becky is off. starbucks union workers are expanding their strike to four more cities this weekend, new york, new jersey, philadelphia, and st. louis. talks between starbucks and the union have now stalled with issues over wages, staffing, and scheduling.

there was a lackluster opening weekend at the box office for mufasa. it fell short of the expectations of about $50 million. the movie reportedly cost more than $200 million to produce and $100 million to promote. doing better internationally, but not enough eyes on that film. eli lilly's weight loss drug has been approved now for treating patients with common sleep related breathing disorders. it is a drug treatment for patients with obesity and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. it could pave the way for broader insurance coverage for zepbound. i'm thinking that if you have a little less weight on you, you can breathe better. i have been to occasionally snore. the snoring is totally dependent on my weight. i'm just telling you.

>> is it the snora or something? >> yes, but it turns into sleep apnea. >> are you a snorer? >> sometimes. >> what is a snora? i don't even know. if i go up by five pounds, i snore. >> you know we have had this conversation. >> which one? what conversation we haven't had over these years? >> everything that people get is because of being fat. >> yes. >> we had a conversation where we heard that these weight loss drugs also seem to work for sleep apnea. we ask, is there an actual mechanism you can point to that deals with the sleep apnea or just being fat? it is just being fat. what you add to being fat? it is telling me to move on. >> this is more --

>> diabetes. asthma. high blood pressure. >> all of it. >> you might be able to get rid of all of your -- >> all of these drugs, no matter how thin you are. >> there is no panacea except for losing weight. >> this goes to what elon musk was saying four weeks ago. we can get these drugs into the hands of folks at a reasonable price. >> or if we can just exercise and eat smaller portions. >> we have to do so much with work to overdo the food system this is what rfk wants to do if you take the drug side of it off the table. >> if you get sneeze, it gets blown right into the walls. how much do you weigh? you have no issues whatsoever with weight. none. >> that is probably overstating it. >> soaking wet, you are 165. >> 175. yeah. >> i am so envious.

and he is six feet tall. >> manage the frame well. >> he is embarrassed. you are embarrassed. >> i can't take credit. >> tell us what is going on. >> reporter: the big question coming into this week is whether friday is the relief rally in the s&p 500 punctuated this weakness that we have seen. most socks were going down for three weeks straight. some of the bigger ones came down. this is the s&p 500 year-to- date on the top as well as the equal weighted version of it. the equal weighted version went to levels last seen around labor day. that was a pretty big reset. it got the market fairly washed out. the s&p 500 market cap weighted , touched the election day levels, mid-october highs,

things like that. we did bounce. we may have cleared the decks for the seasonally strong period, which goes tomorrow through next week approximately. take a look at the volatility index. it reflects a little bit of that tension release. that was a fluky number in early august. we got up to 65 in premarket. there was genuine stress in the system and it quickly dissipated. similar here, up to the high 20s and around 18 1/2 now. 15 probably makes more sense given expected low volatility. that is a bullish thing when you see a nice big spike on the chart. he was an issue that the market has maybe been struggling with, real treasury yields, the yields on treasury protected securities. it is above 2%. we have not spent much time above 2% in the last 20 years. whether this means that the bond market is saying we have a structurally higher growth rate to expect or maybe it is something with fiscal concerns or whatever it might be, equities have sometimes have a

-- had a struggle to deal with higher real yields. this is something to keep an eye on. the higher bond yields that have been stubborn in the short- term, it is not because market placed inflation's are out of control. the real yields have something to do with it as well, guys. >> all right, mike. i appreciate it. see you later. if you are still looking for gifts for the holidays, we have you covered. the wall street journal says -- senior analyst joins us this morning with the top recommended tech gifts. i am taking notes, though i'm concerned that i will not be able to get them to everybody in the appropriate amount of time. i think it new year's gift is actually always a good thing. >> this is why i am here. you can get all of my recommended gifts i am about to talk about for anyone within the next few minutes if you wanted to. these are all digital gifts.

>> downloads. >> downloads, subscriptions. >> for the win. >> guess what? people spend over $1000 on subscriptions and virtual goods over the year. why not help them? my top gift you can give people is a subscription. don't just get them a month. look to get them a year. this adds up. this will not be a chief cheap gift. netflix for $186 without ads. you can get them spotify for around $150 those are all pretty typical things. now i want to move on, andrew, do something i think everyone needs to know about, which is getting password managers. i can understand that some people would say that sounds like the worst gift ever. i don't think, maybe you would not be thrilled to open a

password manager. when you think about the fact that 80% of confirmed breaches are because of weak passwords, it is a pretty nice gift. you are giving the gift of personal security. >> i think that is a good one. most people would not buy that for themselves oftentimes. >> exactly. i recommend a service that is about $80 a year. one password is very good. this is the gift of personal security. >> hold on. i am a user of the services. how do you feel about the apple one? >> we can get into this. i really like dashling. it doesn't matter what browser you are using or what device you are using. same with one password. with apple, i like the new solution. it is baked into ios 18. you are really confined to just apple devices. if you're going to use a different browser, being on safari, you are not going to have much luck with apple. >> how do you feel about a subscription to either chatgpt,

the new gemini, maybe claude, others? if you had to pick one? >> i think this is a great one. i am going to admit it here. i am currently paying for two of them. if someone would like to give me that gift, i would love that, andrew, if that is something you would like to get me this year. i am paying for chatgpt and claude. i would ask if you knew a loved one or friend was already using one. >> which do you think is better at the moment? >> i actually think they are the best. they are ahead of the others. the issue for me is it depends on what i'm doing. chatgpt is better at writing certain things or rewriting certain things. claude is much better at generating brand-new types of

things if you ask it to do something. i use it for creating spreadsheets for new documents. i'm hearing from a lot of people in the industry that are using both side-by-side. >> hold on. i need to know this stuff. you say claude is better for generating stuff that starts with nothing. is that what you are trying to suggest? give us more detail here. >> it depends on how you use it one thing i have found with chatgpt, the more you use it, the more it knows your style. whichever one you commit to is going to get better for you. i think chatgpt has been better for you as far as rewriting things. i use it for rewriting emails. anyone i have emailed here, i have probably had chatgpt rewrite it for me. what claude is strong at is creating a new spreadsheet if i wanted to make a new spreadsheet or importing something to a calendar or making it into a calendar file. it is easier to use in a bigger technical way. >> what about gemini?

>> yeah, i have not had as much success with gemini. i will be honest. >> we will have you back. we will talk about this in 2025 all over again. thank you. my parents watch the show sometimes, so i don't want to say, but maybe there is something in this little list of things that i may get one of them. because i think this was a good idea. >> so nice. >> plus i am late as usual. >> you know how nice they are. >> my parents? they are the nicest. >> they are the nicest. >> i was supposed to do this on friday. nana queen, my grandmother in law, turned 101 years young on friday. >> congrats. >> happy birthday. >> that is amazing. my mother is 95. >> pretty great. >> has some cocktails for thanksgiving. it is fund. big news for mahomes!

i'm switching to iphone 16 pro at t-mobile! it's built for apple intelligence. that's like peanut butter on jelly... on gold. get four iphone 16 pro on us, plus four lines for $25 bucks. what a deal. ya'll giving it away too fast t-mobile, slow down. (intercom) t minus 10... plus four lines for $25 bucks. what a deal. (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. [cheerful music] [phone ringing]

not all multimillionaires build their wealth the same way, you have... the fearless investor. the type a cpa. the boot strapper. the boot maker. hee-ha. but many do have something in common. we all trust schwab with our wealth. thanks to our award-winning service, low costs and transparent advice, every day, over a million multi-millionaires, trust schwab with more than three trillion dollars of their wealth. ♪♪

we learned last week that

some on the fed got a jump on gaining out the potential effects of policies in the incoming trump administration. steve liesman is here with what that could mean for rate cuts in 2025. good morning, steve. >> reporter: to a limited extent, fed officials are doing what investors are doing, plugging in some numbers for the effects of policies yet to be proposed from the incoming trump administration. the chicago fed president said friday that he lowered his outlook for rate cuts. because of recent higher inflation readings and as a result of the policy coming in. >> i have been feeling like there is a little more uncertainty. there is a little more noise. so i raised a bit, what do you want to call it, the shallow misses. i made the right path a little more shallow in 2025. but i have been saying that the overall thread is that

inflation is way down. >> reporter: so still cuts, but not as many. another person adjusted his outlook for some changes that look to be obvious already and some likely to come. >> we have already seen some slowing already in immigration into the u.s. and labor force. i expect that to continue. we will see about other things such as fiscal policy or trade policy. right now, i feel like we just don't know the answer. i think directionally, you might expect there to be some forms of tariffs or something. >> so the problems with the fed is that retaliatory tariffs could raise the price level, but not inflation necessarily or the rate of price growth. if limited, it could increase the level of uncertainty. it could delay rate cuts until the inflationary path becomes more clear. some federal officials have put

a down payment on the potential policy affects. if they are wrong, there is upside to the awkish outlook for fewer rate cuts last year that we got at the meeting last week. there is downside if they have to adjust the rate cut path further. guys? >> steve, is this normal to do this? i just think if the fed, and we talked about this last week, if the fed had listened to larry summers back when biden was proposing the inflation reduction act, all these various acts, if they had listened back then and thought about fiscal spending, maybe they would not have stayed at zero and let inflation get to 40 year highs. we wouldn't have called a transitory. now suddenly they are on the case with this horrible trump

tariff man. they were sound asleep at the switch at the beginning of the biden administration. >> reporter: yeah, i think, joe, that is a valid criticism. i would point out that one situation was the economy in the middle of a pandemic. i have thought, and i'm sure you have too, joe, about whether or not you would want to have the central bank in the middle of a pandemic working cross ways or sideways to fiscal policy when we are looking at things like unemployment rates that were forecast to be but did not end up being as high as the great depression. i think that is one really big difference. the other thing is, if you read any wall street forecaster today, they are putting in some numbers here or there. you are doing it, joe andrew is doing it. every guest you have on is doing it. what the fed is doing is to a

limited extent saying there is a rise in uncertainty. that causes me to necessarily slow down. you heard jerome powell talk about the idea where when you are in a dark room, you go a little slower. that is what i think austan was talking about with a shallower rate path. they can slow down if they are wrong or accelerate if they are right about it. >> i don't know if you saw it elon musk taking the federal reserve to task, claiming it was observably overstaffed, i believe that was the quote. whether d.o.g.e. can take a look at the fed it , it is an independent agency. we are describing it as self- funded. i asked powell about the prospect of elon musk in all of this. what do you think? >> reporter: i think there is plenty of room to think about

how well staffed the federal reserve's. i think that is something that the fed or anybody could come along and say, you know what? let's take a hard look at whether we need 495 phd's or 395. i don't know what the number is. there are some places at the federal reserve banks where they have vast amounts of real estate that they don't really need because of essentially the digitization. there is room for the fed to become more efficient. i am not sure of the extent to which they have taken a hard look at that. >> maybe steve can join the d.o.g.e. team for the fed. >> i would not hold my breath for that. steve, the other thing that i was saying, if you want to be a pure austrian type dude in terms of economics, you could almost describe the fed as that group, that 100 group of experts dictating the influence on the economy versus everybody as part of the economy setting

prices through supply and demand , almost a collective is central planning approach versus a free market approach. you can almost be philosophically against the idea of the fed. you almost could, right? our if that is where you want to go, that is fine, joe i don't mind criticizing experts. stephen urine did in a wall street journal column. what i do mind is you get rid of the experts and what do you replace it with, right? >> the wisdom of the crowd. >> reporter: does it mean you go with your gut? >> with the free market. >> reporter: i just don't think you can make decisions in a total vacuum. >> if we get rid of the debt limit, we might as well get rid of the fed, too. see you later, steve. i am kidding. walking back dei, we will talk to robbie starbuck for his take on cultural policies in an effort to reverse some of those

or at least stop enforcing them. take a look at the shares of novo nordisk. they are rebounding after a dramatic drop on fdariy following some disappointing results for a next-generation weight-loss drug. shares fell about 20% on friday, shedding more than $90 billion in market cap squawk box is coming right back. 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. prime, it's me. i mean, you. wake up, come on man! you gotta tell employers to take another look at all the benefits they're offering. everybody wants to build the best team and offering aflac can help attract and retain that top talent. you know we like that top talent. and listen, i mean you gotta listen.

aflac gives employees cash to help with unexpected medical bills. it's prime time to add aflac. request a call today at aflac.com/prime (♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪) 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. (♪♪)

it is kind of cool, isn't it? everything goes around on these tracks. did you see that shot? >> i did. >> pretty cool. >> pretty neat. >> last six months, companies including tractor supply, walmart, ford, molson coors,

harley-davidson have all walked back diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. they have ended participation in human rights campaign's and stopped sponsoring pride campaigns, donations to lgbtq organizations. nissan is the most recent to take action. they are formalizing a review process to approve all sponsorships on a case-by-case basis and adjusting required employee training. joining us now, robby starbuck, film director and, it says here, conservative activists. is that fair? are you conservative? we don't label nearly as many people liberal as we do conservative when we are talking about what they do. but you have been involved in trying to roll back some of these things at these companies. >> i would say calling me a

conservative activists is fair in the context that that is my personal beliefs. in terms of this activism to stop dei, it is not motivated by my personal beliefs. it was motivated by fairness. if it were motivated by fair -- personal beliefs, i would have shifted our focus after rump won and said, let's go more forceful and shift our beliefs into the corporate workspace. i did not do that, because we do believe in fairness. the workplace has gotten way too divisive. if we all agree our country is divided, let's look at what changed. what changes we politicize every institution in our country, schools, and corporations. we want people to get along again. we need to remove the stuff from corporate america. >> i would bet if you were to talk about someone who wants dei, who wants to institute this, i don't think you would call that a liberal activist, would you? i would think that is someone who is mainstream according to most people. >> robby said --

>> he said this is based on something else, separate and equal. did you really have anything to do with nissan? did you talk to the company this time, robby? >> i reached out to them. we had good conversation. we were fact checking our story and investigation. they were open to change roadway. we were able to come to an understanding in terms of what those changes would be. we reported them out. i think the company will be better off for it. i know their stock in a 24-hour period had gone up to a degree it had not gone up in the past year. that is a consistent theme with every company we have changed except for harley-davidson, who is the worst of the worst of the companies we have exposed. every company has had their stock go up after they announced that they are dropping these crazy policies. >> you have gotten involved as an activist, but the companies themselves may have been, some

of them, even looking for an excuse to backtrack on some of this. they shot themselves in the foot, whether it is bud light or target. disney. you can run down a list of companies. people will push back at me whenever i say you go woke, you go broke. maybe it is just causation is not correlation or correlation is not causation. a lot of companies have suffered that have gone what some people might think overboard on wokeness. >> after bud light, companies learned a lesson. bud light owned many different names of beers. imagine if they only owned bud light. the company would have been in serious financial trouble because of the losses they talk . companies that don't have that large product category with many different names and are only defined by one or two brands, they have to look at

themselves in the mirror and say, are we willing to gamble on this extremely small audience of far-left activists we are trying to please and potentially lose this giant group of people who have been consistent consumers for decades. many companies are coming to the realization that that is not a good idea that is why you are seeing companies work with us to get rid of these policies. there are some who are happy to have an excuse to move it. there are other ones were true believers and did not want to give up these policies, like harley-davidson. we head to the reporting every single day for three and half weeks until they changed their mind. there are different categories out there. in the end, especially after the selection, we will see a cascade of companies in 2025 dropping these policies. ultimately they do nothing good for your company. to cause division among employees and you are losing money. you are spending million dollars to do things that are fundamentally unwise for any business to do. >> robby, let me ask you a philosophical question , not a philosophical -- political question or a business question.

i think we could argue that some of the dei efforts beyond perhaps going too far, there was what you might describe as a cancel culture around these issues even internally in some of these ompanies for a long time. on the other side, there is an argument being made today that what you are doing to some degree is also part of a cancel culture, right? what you are doing is you are going to these companies and saying, if you don't make these changes, i am going to go effectively create a boycott from customers, not typically shareholders, but customers against her company. that onto itself could also be an act of this sort of unique cancel culture that we are living in, just the opposite cancel culture of what we lived in two or three years ago. what you think of that idea? >> anybody making at arc minnesota in, robby, why don't your side lay down your values and let the other side pummel

you into submission? i think it is a ludicrous argument. beyond that, we don't go to these companies and shake them down. we just go and fact check a story and i put it out to our audience of people that >> robby, you know two things for a lot of folks inside these companies do think it is a shakedown. you might not think it is a shakedown, but on their side, we might see emails and text messages going back and forth saying the shakedown is here. robby has arrived. we have to do something. the second thing, where we disagree, i am not saying a shakedown, but as part of your efforts, you say you are doing this for business reasons. the truth is that the way you are doing it, the threat if you will, the implicit threat is that customers are going to stop buying from them because you are going to, quote, expose or encourage customers to stop being customers because of these policies, correct?

>> listen, i cannot get into the psychological delusions of certain executives who may believe certain things. i can tell you this. there is a financial impact. to me, putting my voice to something, and that has been seen by the companies on the other end of this, tractor supply lost almost $3 billion in market cap. john deere lost about $10 billion. companies are wise enough to understand that a large group of people and investors are listening to what i am saying and they believe the same thing i do. i have a megaphone for normal people and the grades they have. >> but i think this goes back to the political piece. when you said he is a conservative activist, let's be clear that he is a conservative activist, because that is what this is. i am not saying your position is wrong, robby, but it is what it is. >> robby, you are a filmmaker. how are you ever going to have

another film made in hollywood? are you worried about being canceled? i don't think the canceling is equal on both sides of these things. >> no, it is not. >> it is absurd. >> my family is from cuba. communists stole everything for my family once. when i look at it in america, and thing about losing a job, it does not really faze me. we had elon musk supporting something where we had 60 million views. normal people are hungry for alternative content. they are hungry for alternative everything at this point because they feel like mainstream institutions have lied to them. >> tough to be conservative on film or twitter. let me ask you this. it must have been done wrong, because all of us agree the goals of dei are something we all want to see like inclusion. we want everyone to have an opportunity in this country that is equal to everyone else's opportunity with hard work and everything else to succeed. we kind of want to get to that place, the holy land, which is

the end result of where they are trying to take it. did they do it wrong? the way the actual mechanism? don't we all want that, inclusion and equal opportunity and everyone to have equity in things they do? it is all a noble pursuit. why did it go so horribly wrong? >> that is what the civil rights era was for, the creation of laws that instituted the reality that many of us lived through for a long time, which is that you cannot disseminate on the basis of race or sex. if you think that we are not living up to that, we have a doj. we have attorney generals on the state level who can go after the sort of thing and say, we will hold companies accountable for not adhering to those laws. then the creation of dei, it is not about equality. the middle letter in there is equity, equality of outcomes. you are saying -- i am latino. my kids should have an easier time getting a job than my

wife, who is scottish. if she had babies with another scottish person, those children should have less of a chance than my children who can check a box that's a latino. that is fundamentally racist. i think that is wrong. as a country, if you want to live up to the spirit of the civil rights heroes who enshrined those laws as a part of american history, we should start behaving the way that those laws asked us to behave, which is to treat each other fairly. the look at race or sex when you are hiring or promoting people. are they doing a fantastic job? if companies get back to that, america will be rolling again. we want to get back to an age where america is abundant.

i detest the idea that we are trying to destroy companies. we are trying to restore american greatness. you can see every company that i have chosen, these are great american brands we want to build back up. they need to restore some sort of sanity and merit and get politics out of the workplace. >> right. i listen to you in my head and it is fine. i know heads explode all over the place listening to you. i am just so out of touch. if i look at twitter, i see how out of touch i am constantly. i am so out of touch with a whole group. i cannot figure out why what you are saying causes heads to explode. thank you. we have been wanting to have you on for a while. maybe we will see you again and we can talk more. thanks. >> tnk yhaou. appreciate it. >> great to see you. happy holidays. when we come back, representative french hill will talk about what is coming up for the new year. squawk box is coming right back.

welcome back to squawk box. congress struck a last-minute deal to avert a government shutdown. what is on the plates of trump and the new congress continues to grow. coming in is french hill. good morning to you. if you would indulge me, i think on friday or late last week when the government was on the cusp of a shutdown and then everything seemed to work out in its own way, there became

all of these questions about how hard things are going to be in 2025 and how much power and authority president-elect trump is going to have. before we get into anything else, i want you to speak to that. i am curious what your take is given everything we saw wednesday, thursday, and friday of last week. >> good morning. happy holidays to oh, yeah. we have had narrow majorities in the house and the senate under pelosi, mccarthy, and now johnson. that is not going to change. it is still narrow. last week, i think you saw a sort of cool hand luke moment where what we have is a failure to communicate. i don't think we had clear expectations on what people wanted out of the cr. most republicans in the house wanted a clean cr with

obviously the appropriation for hurricane relief and for some emergency relief for farmers and that is about it that created a controversy. what i think we should have going forward is a much cleaner approach. i believe the incoming trump administration, incoming majority leader john thune, and our speaker, mike johnson, will have a plan for what is coming to the floor and how to lead republican priorities like inflation, like border security, like energy. >> in terms of how everybody is either together or not, how do you see the factions and where the fault lines are among this group, especially when it comes to tax policy and tariffs, which i think is going to come next year? >> jason smith of missouri i think has it right. i believe that using budget reconciliation early in the year to accomplish the border security objectives, all of the above energy strategy objectives where we can, and

also layout the house republican view of what tax cuts should be ti. let's cut spending. let's reverse the curse on an avalanche of spending that we have seen since the pandemic that is unsustainable. let's put our country on the right regulatory and supply side, growth approach. let's have an all of the above energy strategy. i believe smith has it right in recommending that we do one large reconciliation package this year. >> how do you think about restrictions right now on china investment? president biden has an executive order that governs outbound investment. >> the executive order is there. it remains to be seen how it will work. one of the two issues that congress has debated on a bicameral basis and certainly inside the house, how best to do it. we want to restrict american

investment in sensitive dual use technologies in china. that is clear. there is agreement about that. what is the best way to do that and get it enforced is the concern. for example, if you just say we are going to restrict investments in a.i., that is ridiculous. that is way too broad. everything is going to have artificial intelligence as a part of it. how do we narrow the definition as it relates to national security concerns to investment in china on artificial intelligence? more particularly, how do you enforce it? some have argued that an entity approach is the best way to do that. andy barr of kentucky has led that argument. i believe that s really the ideal approach. we have not had a landing space for how to get that done in the house. >> the other question i was going to ask you about giving your financial oversight role, i don't know if you saw, always

talked -- we talked to steve leeson earlier, elon musk critiquing what he thinks is the overstaffed federal reserve. i talked to jay powell about the prospect of d.o.g.e. being involved in the federal reserve. the federal reserve is technically an independent organization and is, quote, unquote, self-funded. do you have a view on this? >> when the fed makes its decisions about staffing, it has hundreds of phd's in staffing. how many do you need to develop a forecast? that is an open question for the fed board of governors to think about how they are staffed. what i like about d.o.g.e. is that they are going to ask questions. they are going to put some of those questions the congress from an oversight point of view, a legislative point of view, and they will point out things that the executive

branch can do. i think that is healthy. we should have new views on how government works. i think elon musk and vivek ramaswamy are too great guys to point out and asked questions about how they see government working or not working. >> congressman french hill, i wish you a merry christmas, happy holidays, all of it. >> happy 2025. >> thank you. coming up, wendell potter joins us to talk about his time in the industry as a former ceo of cigna and the public response following the murder of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. squawk box will be right back.

>> no application fee if you apply by february 12th at university of maryland global campus, an accredited university that's transformed adult lives for 75 years. you're not waiting to win, you're ready to succeed again at umgc.edu. get last-minute gifts now! up to 60% off select basketball hoops. save big on all solo stove fire pits. get $1000 off the sole f63 treadmill. or, let them pick with a gift card! shop in store or online. or use curbside pickup! give the gift of sport at dick's!

nordstrom announcing the company is being taken private by the nordstrom family and mexican retailer liverpool. nordstrom shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share they hold.

after it is completed, the nordstrom family will own 50.1% of the company. liverpool will own the rest. since the deal was first rumored to be in the works back in march, stocks have moved. public anger at the healthcare industry following the murder of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson continues. joining us right now is wendell potter, former vice president of cigna who is now president of the center for health and democracy, a healthcare advocacy organization.'s recent piece in the new york times was entitled, i was a health insurance executive. what i saw made me quit. good morning to you. we appreciate you for joining us. what did you see? why did you want to quit? >> what i saw was what the insurance industry has done over several years to erect barriers to make it more and more difficult for people to get the care they need.

it comes in many different forms. that is what is fueling this outrage increasingly. patients are finding that even if their policy says something is covered, that does not mean it is going to be covered because of what is called prior authorization in health insurance by big health insurance companies in particular, for-profit health insurance companies. and also by the excessive amounts of out-of-pocket costs that americans are encountering. a family can be on the hook for nearly $19,000 out of their own pockets before their coverage kicks in. premiums are continuing to go up. the average cost of the premium for a family is over $25,000 now through an employer. people are getting really fed up. that is why i wrote that piece and why i have said that the reason for this anger is because people are finally waking up and realizing they have a voice here and are figuring out how to express

their anger. >> can i just stop you? you are saying that people are waking up and having this anger i would say at least for myself, i am so disturbed. i don't want to say that i am disturbed that we are doing the segment. but i am disturbed that we are having on -- this conversation on the back of and inspired by a murder. it disturbs me because i genuinely fear that there are people who are angry and upset about all sorts of things in this world that they have every right to be upset and frustrated about, but that they are going to resort to violence as a way to try to inspire and create more conversations like the one we are having now. do you not have the same fear? >> i do. i have expressed that. i think it is outrageous that we are seeing this. on the other hand, and i said,

it is somewhat understandable. people are really frustrated. they haven't known in the past what to do. >> it is understandable that people are frustrated. i think we should be very clear that it is not nderstandable that people are resorting to any kind of violence, threats, or anything else like it. >> wendle, you say it has reinvigorated a conversation that the industry has tried to suppress. if we are worried about police brutality, maybe we can reinvigorate that the session by assassin aiding a law- enforcement officer. why doesn't it reinvigorated conversation on mental health issues? >> it should. >> or on the decline of societal norms? i think this is as bad as what elizabeth warren said, what you wrote in your op-ed piece. you almost said it is almost to be expected and now we are talking about it again because of this. it was caused by the for-profit model. do you want to get rid of all the for-profit models across the board? or just in healthcare? >> it has only been since

around the last 30 years that health insurance companies have been predominately through poor cash for-profit insurance companies. in the '90s, you saw it many nonprofit blues convert to for- profit status. let me back up. i agree with you. i think there should be a new discussion about mental health. one of the problems within for- profit health insurance companies is the difficulty that people have accessing their benefits. the mental health provider networks are inadequate. often there are doctors who are presumably a network but they are not. it is called ghost networks. there is a lot. this should rekindle a conversation. i think it is absolutely outrageous and despicable that

brian thompson was murdered. from everything i've heard about him, he was a good man and try to affect change within unitedhealthgroup. what i learned through my career is that is really impossible when you have these companies where their stock is traded on the new york stock exchange. that is a problem. these companies have not fared well on wall street this year. cygnus stock is way down. humana is way down. they are down by about 44% since the first of the year. >> is there a way we can fix -- universal healthcare or single- payer, maybe in some countries with much smaller populations, they have had some success. maybe it is just a hack need trope, but how long does it take to get a specialist in canada? what is the national health in the uk? when you increase demand where you want every single thing without any, no one really

minding the store for what you get, no one gets anything. the demand goes up so much, supply stays the same, and the entire system seems to suffer and you get worse healthcare. it costs more. taxes go up what is the answer? is it possible to fix the system we have? or do we have to go to universal healthcare and single- payer? >> i would challenge that. the commonwealth fund does an analysis of health systems around the world every couple of years. of the developed countries, the u.s. always ranks at the bottom in terms of cost. we spent twice as much on average. >> we are fat. drug abuse, lifestyle, there are reasons for that. >> that is true. the canadians are right north of us. >> you cannot get a specialist. it takes nine months for something serious.

>> it does not in canada. you might face a longer delay to get a hip replacement or a knee replacement in canada, but if you want to have health insurance and this company, you might have to wait indefinitely if you don't. it is a myth that canadians wait endlessly for healthcare. that is not true. in the u.s., increasingly, americans are waiting forever for the care that they need, even with health insurance. >> i think this is a fascinating conversation. i want he oavyou back. there is so much to it i hope we have the time to do it in 2025. i want to wish you happy holidays in the meantime. >> you bet. >> squawk box returns after this.

there are some feelings you can get with any sportsbook. ohhh! the highs! no, no, no. the no, no, noooos - oooooooo! the oh, oh, ohhhhs! now whatcha wanna do with this? but the feeling that, no matter what, you're taken care of. ohhh, i just earned a hotel suite! hee! you only get that here. at the sportsbook born in vegas, where they know how to treat you right. who you talking to jamie foxx? bonus bets. exclusive offers. real world rewards.

betmgm. download and bet today.

on. another record for people hitting the road and the skies. aaa predicts ore than 119 million people will travel between saturday and new year's day. with the vast majority driving and that would top the previous high set pre-pandemic in 2019. meanwhile tsa said it expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays.

wow. through january 2nd. 40 million. >> 40 million? i'm happy they get paid to do that. they're not furloughed. >> i hope some of them are nice. i guess it's hard job, isn't it. >> it's a hard job. i hope we're nice. >> when we're talking to the tsa people. >> yes. thank them for their service, honestly. happy holidays. we'll see you tomorrow. ""squawk on the street"" begins right now. good monday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." sara eisen here with tom wapner. futures, the holiday-shortened trading week. market closed wednesday, then open for a full day on thursday and friday. futures are