reality, it seems that won't be enough. for the latest show updates, be sure to follow me on twitter, facebook and instagram, and i'll be back next week for more in-depth interviews right here on "the wall street journal at large." thank you very much for joining us. ♪ ♪ jack: welcome to "barron's roundtable" where we get behind the headlines and prepare you for the week ahead. i'm jack otter. congress is one step closer to passing president biden's $1.9 trillion covid relief plan. jared bernstein on the economic impact of the stimulus, the jobs report and more. and later, new cdc data shows a rise in covid-19 deaths among alzheimer's patients. the outlook for medical treatments and which companies are on the cutting edge. but we begin with what we think are the three most important things investors ought to be

thinking about right now. stocks shot higher and so did oil prices as investors reacting reacting -- reacted to solid economic progress. jeff bezos passing the reins to andy jassy as the head of amazon's cloud business. why cloud computing is the biggest story in the tech industry. and the fever broke this week for gamestop and the other mem e-trade stocks. we've got the winners and losers from the short-selling frenzy. my colleagues, ben levisohn, carlton english and jack howe. ben, i've got to give you credit. about two weeks ago you warned that the market was in the mood to take a breather, but, boy, was that a fast breather. >> it really was. last week the market dropped about 3%, a little more than that, and it felt like there was going to be more now. but we had the hedge funds, they really derisked last week. the short selling really caught them off guard, they pulled back, and i think they came into this week, and they were like, wait, what just happened? we don't own anything anymore. we started getting decent

economic data. we had good news on covid, the cases are falling, we're getting an emergency use authorization for a johnson & johnson vaccine, novavax had some good news, and it was like everything was back to normal. people were reloading on risk. we saw oil shoot up, we saw bond yields rise, and it was just an incredible rigging-on -- risk-on week, almost as though last week never really happened. jack: oil and bond yields going up is indicative of good news. how do you see it? >> for right now i think things are fine, but i the higher rates go, the more the market's going to worry about inflation, about overheating and whether the fed needs to step in and do something. and also higher rates make that argument of there is no alternative, makes that go away. at some point there is an alternative. but we're where neither that -- nowhere near that yet. jack: i really want to pivot to jeff bezos, carlton. amazon is such a part of our

everyday life. you've got to step back for a second and think what this guy did. he completely transformed retail, he changed logistics from something boring to something half exciting but also we expect, you know, to order a ginger ale now and get it in an hour. we created the cloud computing revolution. talk to me about what's going on with amazon in the future and the rest of that industry. >> well, i have something else he did. he is the only ceo who has launched a company and who is still ceo when it did a $1 is trillion valuation. definitely hats off to him on that. what's really interesting is with him stepping down as ceo and naming andy jassy -- and andy jassy was leading amazon's cloud service. as much as we like talking about e plaintiff commerce and getting that -- e-commerce, that amazon web service business is the driver of profits for amazon. and cloud computing really, i think, is going to be the next tech story in the next few years. we did talk about amazon hitting that $1 trillion valuation a

little while ago. if you look at aws, it's supposed to get about $50 billion in sales next year. if that -- if you took that and looked at it as trading at 20 times sales like a lot of traditional cloud businesses do, already you have a $3 trillion business -- 1 trillion business. so really with amazon, microsoft and alphabet which is admittedly a bit of a distant third right now in the cloud business, we are still seeing a lot of strain. jack: yeah. jassy was the head of that cloud business, and that $1 trillion valuation would make just that part of amazon about the fifth largest company in the s&p 500. so, jack, let's talk the gamestop revolution, the meme trade. that was the only thing on wall street last week with, but this week we looked at the little guys trying to stick it to the man. i think the man won. [laughter] >> it was mem if -- meme stock murder this past week. gamestop killed, amc

entertainment killed even quality merchandise like blockbuster liquidating got hit, jack. [laughter] we learned it wasn't all about the little guys on reddit sticking it to the wall street establishment. there's a hedge fund that's a $3.1 billion fund, they made almost 10% in january on a position in amc and some trading in gamestop. we saw that the treasury secretary, janet yellen, met on thursday with securities regulators. they had a statement saying, you know, regulators are, you know, looking into some of this trading, but it's consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets. we herald maxine waters -- heard maxine waters, she's seeking answers from robinhood and reddit and hedge funds. something tells me we will see future flare-ups of viral trading and chat room garbage. i just want to tell you there was one player in this that is not apparently seeing a lower

profile right now, and that's elon musk. on tuesday he tweeted to his 45 million followers, he said off twitter for a while. by thursday he was tweeting obsessively about the cryptocurrency doge coin. he said it's the people's currency. no highs, no lows, only doge. you're welcome. and then he said i am become meme, destroyer of shorts. elon, if you're out there, you are become weird, destroyer of yourself if you keep poking financial regulators with doge coin trash posts. jack: i think that's a reference to robert oppenheimer and the nuclear bomb test. i don't eat want to go there. we're going to take a break and move on. the house is expected to pass the senate budget resolution including a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package. white house economic adviser jared bernstein on how the jared bernstein on how the stimulus

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♪ jack: as lawmakers wrestle over president biden's $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package, let's look at what's in it and how the administration hopes it'll affect businesses and the economic recovery. joining me now, a member of president biden's council of economic advisers, jared bernstein. i know you have got a bit of a to-do list, so i really appreciate you coming on the show. let us jump right in. [laughter] friday morning we learned that only 6,000 private sector jobs were added in january. how does this affect your thinking on economic policy? >> it's a great question. in terms of job creation, the labor market is in a stall, and here's how this informs our thinking. this stalker you know, we had a big negative last month -- i mean, in december and january, as you point out, 6,000 in the private sector. if you look over the past three

months, overall payrolls have added only 29,000 jobs a month. that's way too close to zero for anyone's comfort, and it's a huge down shift from a few months before that. that down shift occurred because we allowed there to develop an economic air pocket in the economy, and that's because there was too much of a wait and see attitude about the latest installment of relief. what the president is doing with the american rescue plan is looking a around the corner and thinking about how we can actually finally get control of this virus, produce, distribute the vaccine which means helping states and localities do so, reopen the schools, help moms and other folks taking care of kids get back to work and, finally, launch a robust and racially-equitable recovery x. that's how this plan is calibrated. jack: it's tough to argue with any of those priorities. as you well know, there have been some criticisms recently

that the $1.9 trillion is forward above the actual economic output gap. there's also the issue of the deficit, not a word we've heard much in the past four years, but at some point that's going to come up again. and there's other priorities, right in universal broadband access, how do you pay for all of this, and could we risk overheating into inflation in. >> the danger is doing too little, it's not doing too much. and, again, i think the wait and see air pocket problem, the risks of inaction, the costs of inaction are so steep. one that comes to mind, for every year that a kid misses a year of education, their lifetime earnings over the course of many decades to come are reduced by 5-10%. we learned this morning that over the past year 2.5 million women are out of the labor market. they're not even counted in the unemployment rate. now, in terms of the magnitude of the package, it's time to go big, to go strong, to finally

deal this virus and its partner in crime, the economic damage that the pandemic has caused, a knockout blow. so so the risk is doing too little, not doing too much. on the overheating point, look, i mean, inflation has been significantly below the federal reserve's 2% target for numerous years now, something like a decade. we know unemployment is about three percentage points above where it was before the crisis. if you look at african-american or hispanic unemployment, it's 9%. that means there's a great deal of capacity in what looks to me like much more of a deflationary economy, not one that's at risk of overheating. now, heat, sure. overheating? i think the risk of that is low. jack: that said, obviously, there is a political fight coming. another word we haven't heard much recently is compromise. is there room for dealing here?

i know you're not going to show us all your cards, but could there be some dealing? >> i think there is some dealing. there's been ongoing discussions and compromise. one area is in discussion around the checks, direct impact payments. you have many members of congress saying they didn't want those checks to go too high up the scale. some thought it would be better to have a lower number. president biden has been very solid, he wants people to have $2 the ,000, and i've looked at the numbers, and they need it. not just low income families, but middle income families as well. however, when they start to get up to 250, 300,000, i think there's a cogent argument there for compromise, and that is the ongoing discussion as we speak. jack: we could keep on talking about this, but i really want to ask you about the so-called reddit can revolution and the idea about could we -- do we need government regulation to clamp down on some of this stuff we saw last week in the market? one idea is a minuscule transaction tax that would

affect speculators but really wouldn't have much of an impact on investors. jack vogel was a big proponent of that when he was alive. what are your thoughts? >> i've written about that, but it's certainly not anything the administration is currently talking about. if you listen to president biden's tax agenda that he talked about during the campaign, that wasn't part of it. as far as gamestop and the volatility and the speculation therein, you know, you mentioned government regulation. well, of course we have a regulator for that, and that's the securities and exchange commission, the sec, and they have been monitoring this, continue to do so, have been putting out information on it. and from where i sit, have been doing a good job therein. i think one thing to keep in mind is that we get -- we've been talking about the rescue package, the american rescue plan. when we didn't get to the recovery plan, that is a plan, that is a plan that the president has said for permanent measures he believes there

should be pay-fors. so some of his very progressive taxation ideas,they will be part of the recovery plan, not part of the rescue plan. jack: we're going to have to have you back. real quickly, can you make a comment on the $15 minimum wage? there's one argument that productivity has so outgrown the cost of living, to you need a federal minimum wage in. >> well, not only do we need a federal minimum wage, but we've had one since, i believe, the 1930s. jack: a higher one. >> yes. when you ignore the minimum wage, it loses ground to inflation because it's not indexed. so $7.25, which is the minimum wage in the some of the states you were mentioning, is just woefully low, and in the view of the president, completely unfair wage floor for essential workers, people who are helping to keep this economy going, fulfillment workers in

warehouses, sanitation workers, retail trade workers. so that's why he's proposing that low-wage workers earn a living wage, and he's pinned that at $15 an hour. jack: jared bernstein, thank you so much. i do want to get you back in here in a few months. we'll see how things go. >> thank you. jack: coming up, the rising number of baby boomers have some saying alzheimer's is to nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette

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♪ jack: new cdc data shows a dramatic increase in the number of covid-19 deaths among alzheimer's patients. barron's associate you would editor joins the round table to discuss this week's cover story. reshma, you write that alzheimer's is on track to become the next pandemic in the

u.s. give us a sense of the scope here. >> yeah. i mean, the numbers are quite large. we have almost 6 million people today in the u.s. living with alzheimer's, millions more cheering for them x that's expected to more than double by 2015. this past year's been devastating for these families. about half of the residents in nursing homes have alzheimer's or dementia, and nursing homes accounted for a third of covid deaths, and we're still dealing with the covid crisis, but we could have this other economic and health crisis ahead. 80% of those with the disease are 75 or older, and the age group that the older boomers are now entering is just that. jack: economic implications, tell us more about that. >> so the cost of this disease is about to surge. one estimate puts the total cost at about a trillion dollars by 2050. that's a drain, of course, on medicare and medicaid budgets but also a bigger drag on the economy. much of that cost is due to care giving, much of that is borne by women who have to cut back hours

or take time out of the work force to care for folks. that, of course, hurts their own retirement security, their family's finances, but it has broad or ramifications on the economy curtailing consumption and also lower female labor participation rates can really dampen economic growth. >> hey, it's jack howe. for people out there with loved ones with this disease, do you have any good news for them? >> you know, i do. there's bipartisan recognition that alzheimer's a problem, and the biden agenda, for example, included calls for additional support for home and community-based care that could keep people in their homes, which is what they want, also reduces cost. we could see tax credits for family are caregivers and tax benefits for long-term care insurance or use your hsa, for example, to pay for home-based care. really most of the optimism comes from the science, and we're finally seeing progress in things like biomarkers or even blood tests, early dedetection.

and also a diversityification in the types of treatments that are in the earliest stages of development. and, of course, the biggest buzz is around biogen and its treatment which could be the first drug in 18 years that the fda approves for alzheimer's. >> hi, reshma, it's ben. haven't there been some issues with the approval of that drug, and what does that mean for biogen? >> sure. it has been a bumpy ride. last month the fda said they needed more data, and they delayed their decision from march to june. there was an fda panel of outside experts that wanted evidence for the treatments, but the investors are still holding out hope in part a because of the unusual way that the company and regulators collaborated and also the fact that, you know, treatment has been elusive, so everyone wants to find something that could work. analysts think an approval could help push biogen's stock up as much as 70%. the drug could bring in the $10 billion in sales a year.

of course, the risk is to the downside as well. if there is no approval, especially because biogen's other drugs are facing competition from some rifles. jack: erik shah, very important story. thank you for doing that, and i'm glass at -- glad the tasha, did you know geico could save you hundreds on car insurance and a whole lot more? hmm. so what are you waiting for? hip hop group tag team to help you plan dessert? ♪ french vanilla! rocky road! ♪ ♪ chocolate, peanut butter, cookie dough! ♪ ♪ scoop! there it is! ♪ ♪ scoop! there it is! ♪ ♪ scoop! there it is! ♪ ♪ scoop! there it is! scoop! ♪ ♪ shaka-laka! shaka-laka! ♪ ♪ shaka-laka! shaka! scoop!. ♪ ♪ choco-laka! choco-laka!...♪ geico. switch today and see all the ways you could save. ♪ sprinkles! ♪ i knew about the tremors. but when i started seeing things, i didn't know what was happening. so i kept it in. he started believing things that weren't true.

i knew something was wrong, but i didn't say a word. during the course of their disease around 50% of people with parkinson's may experience hallucinations or delusions. but now, doctors are prescribing nuplazid. the only fda approved medicine proven to significantly reduce hallucinations and delusions related to parkinson's. don't take nuplazid if you are allergic to its ingredients. nuplazid can increase the risk of death in elderly people with dementia related psychosis. and is not for treating symptoms unrelated to parkinson's disease. nuplazid can cause changes in heart rhythm and should not be taken if you have certain abnormal heart rhythms or take other drugs that are known to cause changes in heart rhythm. tell your doctor about any changes in medicines you're taking. the most common side effects are swelling of the arms and legs and confusion. we spoke up and it made all the difference. ask your healthcare provider about nuplazid.

♪ ♪ jack: jack, peloton created a whole new category, and this week you write that others are rushing into that space. >> yeah. of i'm an old school fitness guy, i use the 7-pound aerobic dumbbells that my wife lets me borrow. there is a big connected fitness boom, peloton said thursday its number of paying scrub scribers more than -- subscribers morn

doubled. the stock actually slipped about 6%. there was an issue with higher calls for expedited shipping, but one of the issues is the revenue surprises, those surprises are getting smaller and smaller. and the stock's pricey, right in they point out that the company recently had a market value of 22% of the value of netflix. they're only 3% of the paying -- 1% of the paying subscribers of netflix. i spoke recently with the ceo and cofounder of a company called icon health and fitness, and he said they're up to a million paying subscribers on their i-fit connected platforms. they are rumored to be, you know, going public at some point in the future. he didn't want to comment on that, but you have to consider if and when that happens, it becomes competition for peloton for the affection of growth stock investors. you can hear that conversation on my podcast. jack: i always get a little nervous when a sector looks so

exciting everybody wants to rush in and take their companies public. by the way, jack, i have heard you actually flip tractor trials, so don't give us the 7-pound stuff. real quick, actionable ideas, i'll start with you, carlton. >> you guys are talking about fitness, and i'm talking about the fifth largest pizza chain in the country, and that would actually be a convenience store, casey's general store. basically, it works as a reopening play. they're in about 16 states in the country and popular for picking up food and things like that. as people start going out again, as they return to work, definitely expect them to see sales increase by almost 20%. jack: thanks. ben, what's your idea? >> mine is called aes. it's a stock that's really gone nowhere for probably more than a decade. but it has a lot of solar, and with biden focusing on climate, it finally broke out of a range, and it looks like it could be heading higher. it's a very interesting idea right now.

jack: and the marginal cost of sun to power those devices is nothing. thanks very much, carlton. thanks, jack and ben. to read more, check out this week's edition at barron's.com. don't forget to follow us on twitter@barron's online. ♪ >> from the fox studios in new york city, this is maria bartiromo's "wall street." maria: happy weekend, everyone. welcome to the program that analyzes the week that was and helps position you for the week ahead. i'm maria bartiromo. thanks for being here. keeping china in check, i sat town with former secretary of state mike pompeo as president biden makes his first speech on foreign policy this week. pompeo's message to the biden administration coming up. and then later, it is super bowl weekend. a record number of americans are expected to place online bets for the big game. i'll be speaking with the cofounder and ceo of draftkings coming up, jason robbins