chance to win a major soccer tournament yesterday. hats off to italy. they played well. they came back into the game. they deserved it. do i have to say that again any fell off the couch at that point. stuart: we've been running it throughout the show. it has to be because that was the moment, okay? ashley: it was. stuart: ash, all yours, lad. good luck to you the next couple hours. we'll see soon. ashley: thanks very much, stu, thanks for again playing that replay. welcome to cavuto "coast to coast." i'm ashley webster in for neil cavuto. we have news coming in from around the globe. lots going on. starting off the week with the s&p 500 and nasdaq hitting all time intraday highs. right now the markets are all higher, very modestly so. the experts will weigh in, what the economic news will mean long term. we'll talk about inflation.

plus billionaire, richard branson, sir richard branson my mistake, hitting us out of this world, with the historic flight to the edge of space. can fellow billionaire jeff bezos top that? we'll see. we'll bring you a live report. back in this hemisphere, a rare uprising in cuba with food and medicine shortages. we'll bring the latest. what are the democrat socialists saying about all of this? or what are they not saying? all right, cavuto "coast to coast" gets underway right now. let's begin with the stocks starting off the week in the green. investors are optimistic as big banks expected to kick off the earnings this week with some impressive profits. in fact s&p 500 earnings could see as much as a 65% boost from a year ago. of course when you comparing to last year, and the pandemic lows. it may be a little distorted but

perhaps what we really want to know is, the guidance. let's get into it. joining me annandale capital founder george say, macro advisors founding partner, mitch roschelle. thanks for both being here on this monday. george, let me begin with you. we are expecting some nice earnings reports with the big banks kicking it off. of course the comps are a little skewed you about isn't it guidance investors will really focus on? >> yeah. good morning, ashley, i think everybody will looking at it at this point. we basically, i don't think people can get a historical precedence for how far we have come in just a short period of time. go back a little over a year. we doubled on the s&p 500. we halved an incredible amount of gains since just last spring. i think investors will look, saying how much can you give me going forward? that is going to tell, tell the tale in terms of how far we're

going to go from here. ashley: mitch, you know what, if we get the nice earnings momentum, could that refuel investor confidence how the economic recovery is doing? >> yeah. and i agree with george. i do think that everything is going to be in the guidance. i think the biggest challenge from a year ago was the fact that companies weren't providing any guidance. the fact that a company, a ceo, cfo were throwing hands up in the air saying we can't comment on the future because we don't know what it looks like. that is it what really drove down stocks price as year ago but beyond the guidance, i think the investors are going to be looking for specificity. we are entering potentially an inflationary cycle. we are entering a period of tight labor. and i think investors are going to want to hear in that guide dance how companies are dealing with the labor shortages, how companies are dealing with the supply chain disruptions.

how companies dealing with the cost of materials going up. that is probably going to be an important thing on those earnings calls. ashley: well you know, let me follow up with you, mitch. then you mentioned higher prices, inflation. we have some inflation reads, cpi on tuesday. we have fed chair jerome powell testifying to congress. i believe that is tuesday and wednesday. but they are going to be lots for investors to mull over. what is your take on inflation? will it be sticking around longer than the fed seems to indicate? >> i fear somebody in the control room will pull a tape of me saying something different than i am now. i was not buying the transitory argument and, i'm starting to see signs that inflation is ebbing, but the reason why inflation is ebbing is because i think the consumers, whether they be businesses who are consuming or individuals who are

consuming, are seeing higher prices and they're pushing back. i do think that the labor market disruption is the biggest issue. the fact that rising labor costs are baked into and driving inflation. i leave it here with you, ash, i think higher labor costs may be the root cause of inflation. ashley: so what do you say, george? basically wage inflation. these businesses having to pay more and more and offer all sorts of perks to get people to actually work, is that a big factor behind the economy right now? >> there are all sorts of crosscurrents going on right now, ashley. i would say we don't know where inflation will go at this point. it is too early to tell. the 10-year treasury is completely unafraid of inflation right now. under 1.5% which is anemic which is great for stocks. there is no competition for stocks. you can't have competition for stocks with fixed income investments earning less than

2%. the stocks are the only game in town. they're very expensive. if, the only place to play making returns, that is why the market done so well this year with glowing economy that keeps going up. ashley: called tina, isn't it? there is no alternative. very quickly, mitch. >> that's right. ashley: one sector you particularly like in this investment, in this environment? >> you know, the reporting this week. so i'm going to go with what is close. i will say the banking sector. the investment banks. retail banks. i think they will do low in the stable rate environment. ashley: all right. we have listened. gentlemen, thank you very much. let's go on to another big story right now. thousands of people on the streets in cuba, demanding an end to the communist dictatorship and protesting food and medicine shortages. phil keating is live in little havana right now with the latest on the streets there. phil? >> ashley.

here at cafe versailles on ocho in little havana. big crowds demonstrated yesterday on the streets. there is a small group gathered here right now. all of them showing solidarity for the cuban people. in cuba sunday, thousands protested in the streets in about a dozen cities on the caribbean island in the largest defiant public demonstrations there in decade n cuba this behavior can get you landed in jail. this kind of a scene, typically just does not happen. many chanted freedom or live, flip-flopping the communist revolutionary phrase, freedom or death. these people have had enough of long-time food shortages and a horrible economic situation. they called for government change, blaming it also for a dismal coronavirus response. thousand new cases reported on sunday alone. the white house released this statement this morning quote, the cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and

universal rights. the united states calls on the cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs in this vital moment rather than enriching themselves. on sunday the ocho filled up with hundreds if not thousands of supporters calling for change as they have for 50 long years without any success. florida's cuban-american senator marco rubio posted this on twitter. >> of course covid has a role to play this began well before covid. these people are frustrated. they want to live in normal country. they don't want their kids getting on rafts and leaving the country in order to lead normal lives. reporter: cuban's president blamed the united states and trade embargo and called loyal communists take to the streets as well. calls for looting in some places. that is almost unheard of in the very tightly controlled communist nation.

the last time miami cubans showed up here onp caya ocho banging pots and pans in 2016 after the death of fidel castro. we have a producer in havana, he reports, this monday it is very quiet on the streets in cuba. ashley? ashley: very interesting, phil keating in little havana in south florida. phil, thank you very much. meantime a biden administration official is being criticized for tying covid to the protests. acting assistant secretary for the state department julie chung peaceful protested are going in cuba as they exercise their right to express concern about rising covid cases, deaths and medicine shortages. hmmm. maybe not covering everything there. joining us vanessa neumann former ambassador to the uk for

venezuela leader juan guaido. vanessa good morning to you. it is too early to tell but how significant are the protests? i don't want to talk about a tipping point. is it the start of the end for what is happening in cuba. >> thank you very much for having me on. i think it really could be. for many years we talked about in venezuela the cubanization of venezuela, means the death of dissent. the people no longer step up. and cuba is the head of the snake that strangles so much of latin america. venezuela which is now become the biggest -- in the world surpassing syria and now also nicaragua and also has exerted influence in other countries. in the end it is resource rich like bolivia, et cetera. the fact that the head of the snake, i say that, because their intelligence forces repress not only cubans but all these other countries. they're also scrambling for freedom. it us huge. it could be a tipping point.

let me say this though. the problem it all depends on the political will of the international community to support people's call for freedom. we saw this in venezuela in 2017. and nothing has happened since. and it really needs, people need to support the cuban people in the quest for freedom now. that would help liberate millions of people across the region. ashley: it would. it is interesting, because the response from the dictatorship in cuba has been very typical, typical one, you know they take away the internet. though blame journalists. they blame the united states. they blame social media. hosni mubarak did that at the height of the arab up spring, he eventually was removed, but to your point, is it going to take action? is the united states really have to be the driving force here to make change in cuba? >> well i think, they should seize upon this opportunity and

say, look, the cuban people want, want change. the cubans keep saying, they keep saying they want to engage with the united states and want the embargo to end but the money never reaches the people. it is up to the united states with more effective policies and international community. i lived in europe as the ambassador to the uk and they still have a very romantic view of cuba except in venezuela where i come from, when you're being tortured the sounds of accents of people giving the orders are cubans. they stand really for repression in the region. it could very well be a tipping point but it depends on savvy political leadership and understanding it. the issue about covid is it has brought to the fore the fact that you are enslaved and that at least your slave keeper is supposed to at least provide food and medicine and the cry has been for homeland and life, which is a spin on what they the

cuban regime demands, homeland or death. meaning if you're disloyal you die. the cuban people and everyone else in the region wants freedom, economic opportunity. medicine and food as well. ashley: oh, yeah. often, vanessa in these cases we talked about this during the what was going on in venezuela, if you can capture the military, if the military starts to begin to sympathize with the protesters, that is the critical tipping point. do you think that's possible in cuba? >> i don't know. if you look at it, the cuban military unfortunately unlike in venezuela has a lot of economic control which is one of the reasons, why for instance, supporting tourism is very hard. what covid has done is it has brought you know, an end to tourism in cuba which was the source of the money, of the foreign exchange of the u.s. dollars and euros and that funded the military.

it means the military is also under financial pressure. if you can get them to see that they can have change and they have greater economic opportunity fortunately in cuba like other countries, you have to buy them off and they're not yet shooting at protesters. i think they realize that military, firing on peaceful protesters would really be a tipping point. so if they start shooting protesters, you have a bigger uprising or they see the economic benefit of flipping because, because tourism has come to a halt. ashley: all right. we'll see what happens next. we'll stay in touch with you, for sure. vanessa neumann, thanks for joining us this afternoon. we do appreciate it very much. coming up the white house attorneying its attention to crime amid a continued push for police reform. why some leaders are overlooking the real issue which is bail reform. why are criminals back on the

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♪. ashley: president biden will be meeting with commune leaders and law enforcement officials today addressing the recent rise in crime across the country. a new "abc/washington post" poll shows only 38% of americans approve of the president's response to the recent spike in crime. hillary vaughn is in washington with the latest on this. good afternoon, hillary. reporter: good afternoon, ashley. president biden is putting pressure on congress to take action on gun control measures that he thinks might help address the rise in gun violence, doing things like pushing for an assault weapons ban and ending immunity for gun manufacturers. he will also meet with the attorney general, local law enforcement and local government officials at the white house to talk about this. that meeting will include eric adams, the democratic nominee for new york city mayor.

over the weekend adams blasted his fellow democrats for what he says turning a blind eye to crime in inner cities and misplaced priorities when it comes to the gun control reforms. >> it should not have to ban handguns but let's look at those particular gun dealers where there is a real correlation and connection of with the guns used in our streets. those who are, those states with lax gun laws, when you can walk into a gun shop with a license and walk out with a gun. reporter: major u.s. cities, violent crime is way up in new york. shootings are up 38%. in los angeles shots fired are up 48% and biden is encouraging states to use government relief they received in the american rescue plan to beef up their police departments by putting more police officers on the beat. they think that will help crack down on crime but meanwhile gun sales are spiking on track to beat last year's numbers but a

new you had study out last week, from columbia irving center that the rise in gun violence is not caused by guns in hands but trigger more people to buy guns. quote, we found no relationship between excess purchasing and non-domestic firearm violence. the study said they found a lot of californians are new gun owners are purchasing new guns because they have concern about the rise in violence, lawlessness in their cities. senior administration official, ashley, today, did tell me they have their eye on the spike in legal gun purchases because the administration thinks some of those guns, even though bought legally with someone passing a background check, those guns ultimately could end up in the hands of criminals. ashley. ashley: interesting. hillary vaughn in washington for us, d.c. thank you. bring in former nypd commissioner howard safir. howard, can we trust this meeting that will, to get to the

very root of the issues that is prompting this spike in crime across the country? >> i don't think so. i think it is a good step because after the president declared that all police were systematically racist across the country, i think he is having second thoughts that he is looking at possibly losing the house in the next election but the reality is this, 300 million guns on the streets. mostly handguns. that is what is used in crime. it is not about controlling gun dealers. it is about giving police resources and it is not just resources, it is what you do with them. one of the things that encouraged me eric adams who always been against stop-and-frisk around recently came out and said we need to go back to stop and frisk. and he is right because stop-and-frisk is a tactic that takes guns and drugs off the street. ashley: do you think, howard, that there is, these criminals are being emboldened, or are

emboldened by the attack on police? in the sense the police themselves don't have the resources to respond and the criminals know it? >> well the democrats have sent a very clear signal for the last year ever since the george floyd case that they believe police are racist. they have taken lots of measures to get rid of qualified immunity to protect police whichlimited numbers. it causes indecrease in police morale. retirements are way up. fewer people are applying to be police officers. when you send a message we'll not trust you, not back you up when you do your job, police will hang back and not going to reduce crime like we did six, seven years ago. the fact we've gone from being the safest large city in this country to being the most dangerous in the world. it is all because of this leftist black lives matter, antifa, democratic liberal view

that police are racist and -- which could not be further from the truth. ashley: you know, howard, new york city, trying to recover from the pandemic. it has been devastated. this will hurt tourism, no doubt. how dangerous do you think it is in new york city right now? >> well it is very dangerous. i would not encourage anybody to go to new york city right now because innocent people like that marine in times square, a 13-year-old in brooklyn are being collateral damage to criminals who are not afraid to shoot in broad daylight. until we get that under control, new york is not going to attract tourists and economy is going to hurt. you know, when we left new york city in the giuliani administration and the bloomberg administration, it was the safest large city in america. that ship has sailed. we're back to the bad ol' days, and it needs to be fixed and needs to be fixed now. ashley: it is very frustrating it is very sad.

howard safir, former nypd commissioner, thank you for talking with us today. we do appreciate it it. >> good to be with you, ashley. ashley: thank you. billionaire richard branson, making history success fully reaching the very edge of space but the race isn't over yet. what is next for him and fellow billionaire jeff bezos after the break. ♪ well, geico's 85 years isn't just about time, you know. it means experience. i mean, put it this way. if i told you i'd been jarring raspberry preserves for 85 years, what would you think? (humming) well, at first you'd be like, "that has gotta be some scrumptious jam!" (humming) and then you'd think, "he looks fantastic!

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♪. >> the mission statement that i wrote inside of my spacesuit was to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren who are here, for your grandchildren. we're here to make space more

accessible to all and we want to turn the next generation of dreamers into the astronauts of today and tomorrow. ashley: sounds great. going to have to reduce the price of the ticket, right? the nextera of space tourism is officially here. virgin galactic founder there richard branson making history, successfully reaching the very edge of space, returning safely, beating jeff bezos to space by nine days. don't think he doesn't like that. fox news correspondent jeff paul has the very latest. jeff. reporter: yeah, ashley, branson might have been the first but bezos company blue origin is already pointing out their flight will be even higher and in eight days bezos will get to test out the technology he has invested in when they take off for space from west texas. there are some different, sort of operations when it comes to the two different companies. bezos new shepherd will take off vertically like a traditional

rocket and land vertically as well. it is fully automated, meaning no pilots. it will reach a higher altitude the moment in space will be a little shorter. when branson took off the virgin galactic space plane was carried by a twin fuselage aircraft and. the unity was released blasting up 50 miles in altitude at speeds three times the speed of sound. then they got the view they wanted. they got the wait the weightlessness, landing safely touching down like a traditional space shuttle landing. when asked about the battle for space tourism, branson says it really never has been a competition. >> it really wasn't a race. you know. we're just delighted everything went so fantastically well. we wish jeff the absolute best and his, the people going up

with him during his flight. reporter: so, if you too want to experience what sir richard branson did there yesterday out here in the new mexico desert, get ready to pay up. it is $250,000 a ticket. and so far 600 people have already forked over the cash. ashley? ashley: time to get the company credit ard out, we really appreciate it. interesting stuff. we talked about the how the space race raises questions about inequality of all things. listen to cnn. >> citizens who have enormous power, enormous wealth, able to use it in really fascinating ways. the same forces that create winners of capitalism also create a lot of inequality. ashley: well, there you go. that is an issue i guess that is being debated. let's bring back our panel.

george seay, mitch roschelle. george, what do you think, is this the right time to talk about inequality as these billionaires try to establish space tourism? >> you know, ashley, i think there is always negative people out there that will say negative things about anything and this is something to be celebrated where people can actually go into space. used to think as space efforts as the government's role, nasa, mercury, apollo astronauts and here we are with the private sector that is something to celebrate and enjoy and i think the cost of this will go down like all things of capitalism in time and shows how great our country is, and all the successes we're having, the negativity is silly and divisive, i'm sorry to hear it. i'm not surprised either. there are a lot of negative people out there and you have to ignore them. this is revolutionary time in terms of transportation,

technology and everything else. ashley: really is. mitch what do you say? >> it will be interesting to see who starts forking over that $250,000 and what the demographics of those folks are but, you know, leave it to cnn and msnbc to turn everything into a you know divisive argument. the other thing i would mention real quickly here, is, you know with all the conversation on this network about tax policy and the plans to you know, raise capital-gains taxes and take away machine from money from the rich. it is that money that creates innovation f we want to applaud innovation, it is capital that hasn't been taken away by the government that creates these opportunities. ashley: it should also be pointed out, mitch, these billionaires, yes, they're spending the money the way they want to, they believe this is the next frontier. they also donate a lot of money

to chartable organizations and efforts around the world? >> 100% and that's, as a matter of fact every study has shown when you raise tax on quote, unquote rich, the first thing they start cutting back on is charitable contributions. ashley: yeah. that is a good point. you know, george, these billionaires, you have got richard branson and bezos, elon musk, say what you will about them, they are truly remarkable entrepreneurs, aren't they? they are, i believe, people that we should look up to. they have made their mark in the world. bezos starting in a garage with amazon. i mean these sorries are truly remarkable. it is what america is all about. branson in the uk, bezos and musk is from south africa. these people are remarkable in what they're able to achieve. >> well, there has been a lot of negativity lately as well as bill gates' divorce from his wife.

i would turn away from that and turn to the positive. the gates foundation is giving away hundreds of billions of dollars the next 20, 30 years. already given away $100 billion. bill gates and warren buffett are giving away 99% of their fortunes to do good around the world and in america. that is being positive, instead of negative, this is something to celebrate. i would much rather those gentlemen and melinda gates giving money instead of being taxed into absurdly high rates and government running off on the money on terrible spending programs. ashley: yeah. >> we should be celebrating what the private sector creates in this country. it is great. ashley: i couldn't agree more. all right, gentlemen, thank you very much. let's go to the break now. the taliban, by the way, gaining ground in afghanistan, fueling fear and uncertainty. greg palkot has been on the ground, talking to afghan soldiers and civilians. he will join us with a live report after this.

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to get a plan that's built right for your business. >> we're certainly watching with deep concern, chris, the deteriorating security situation and violence which of course way too high, advances, momentum that the taliban seems to have right now. ashley: pentagon press secretary john kirby expressing concern about the taliban in afghanistan as the top u.s. general in afghanistan relinquishes command today. symbolically ending america's longest war. we have greg palkot live in kabul with the very latest. greetings to you, greg. reporter: greetings, ashley.

yeah, we witnessed a little bit of history today with troubled times in this country. technically it is called a change of command ceremony. the outgoing command general, scott miller, handing off to general frank mckenzie who will be running things overall but it was much more than that, take a look. >> this spot a few moment asking a symbolic end to america's war in afghanistan was declared but for the afghan politicians and others behind us, there are a lot of questions about what is ahead. >> what i tell the taliban is they're responsible too. the violence that is going on is against the will of the afghan people and it needs to stop. reporter: the taliban now has taken over 1/3 of the country. another third is being contested. afghan military shown not up to the task, fleeing, surrendering, what is called hasty exit of

u.s. troops in part triggering this strike. general mckenzie said the u.s. would support afghanistan even from afar. afghan officials we spoke to today, also said their guys could be up to the task. after 20 long years here of american sacrifice, both of brave servicemembers and money, we all have to hope so. back to you. ashley: all right. greg, great to see you. stay safe. thank you very much. bring in former navy seal, team 6 commander dave sears who served in afghanistan in 2003 and maybe 2004. either way you know the situation there very well on the ground. okay, as the united states pulls out it is down to the trained afghan forces to be able to carry on the man tell. are they up to the job? >> no, i don't think they're up to the job and at most they will be able to hold the cities for a

little while, main cities, kabul, jalalabad, islamabad, places like that, they will not be, no forces ever controlled the outskirts of the afghanistan and that will be the taliban and warlords, that will remain that way. it's a very tribal society. ashley: it is interesting that the taliban claims to have 85% of the territory now. they're known to exaggerate but they say they do want a part in the ruling of the country going forward and they want to do it peacefully. can we trust them? >> can you trust the taliban? absolutely not. the problem you have as well though, can you trust the afghani national government that sis in place? it's a very corrupt and weak central government system. so our withdrawal is a good thing. let the afghanis determine where their country is going to go, and let them fight for what they want to become.

ashley: that is interesting. i was going to ask you whether you supported this withdrawal. you have been a part of the action there. in 20 years has the u.s. accomplished what it wanted to? >> i think there was so much mission creep that we accomplished the initial conditions we set out to do which was to get osama bin laden and to degrade the taliban militarily in order to affect al qaeda's ability to launch operations or plan operations from there. i believe we did that. now the taliban is coming back. the question, will al qaeda, isis, and these groups remain degraded to launch operations from there? i think they will. it is 20 years later. the conditions have changed here and abroad. i would say we've accomplishes our goals. ashley: yeah, the taliban too, is a very difficult opponent as we know, as the russians know. their tactics are very hard, it is hard you know, track them

down, nail them down so to speak. are you concerned that it could go back to the condition it was prior to 20 years ago? that i know it's a tribal society but it was also a breeding ground for terrorists. >> it was a breeding ground for terrorists but there was lots of places breeding grounds for terrorists as well. you had libya, egypt, go back to the old 70 and '80s, germany, ira training in africa and middle east. there are a lot of these areas. i'm not concerned even if it goes back to what it was, it will affect our security or vital interest to spend more blood and more treasure there. ashley: i'm sure you came across of the local afghan people had no interest in picking up a gun. they wanted to lead their lives

peace fully and safely. now do they fare in all of this? it has been a country in turmoil for so long. i'm sure you got to know local residents there. what are your thoughts? >> one of the things that the local residents want is security f the taliban is willing to do that, they will accept some rules under the taliban. they want to live outside of the fighting. that is why you seen a lot of these guys turn to the taliban. there was a lot of corruption from the afghan army side. they want to go on with their lives and their lives in general are very hard, sit way down on the hierarchy of just survival. so they will go with who will provide them security for the most part. ashley: you know, finally i wanted to mention this, you know, look, there are american lives lost. many american lives lost trying to bring that region under control and to keep the terrorists out. those lives were not lost in vain to your point.

the mission over the last 20 years may have been completed prior to the 20 years, nevertheless don't let people say those lives were lost for nothing? >> no. to play on that sentiment is really is grossly disgusting because they were not lost in vain. those families should, we owe those families and those soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, eternal debts of gratitude for the sacrifice that they have made. ashley: yes. absolutely. dave sears, i just wanted to get that in. thanks so much for joining us today. we really appreciate it. on a day where of the commander is deploying out of afghanistan. dave, thank you very much. coming up, the labor shortage continuing to hit the restaurant and hospitality industry. they can't find someone to work. how a start-up is trying to help restaurants in this time of need. we'll explain after the break. ♪

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♪. ashley: got this news. united airlines preparing for a busy winter travel season and adding 150 new flights to warm weather cities. the airline we're told is increasing flights from november through march 2022 to florida, california, arizona, georgia and nevada, the warm states. also adding service to destinations in mexico, central america and the caribbean. so there you go, a chance to escape the cold if you're from the north. close to 350,000 jobs in the restaurant and hospitality industry were added in june but there is a whole lot more way to go in one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic. time to enter gate piss -- gate profounder, ben. how do you do that, ben, bridge the gap?

>> we've created a on demand platform for hospitality staffing and we created a plan for businesses looking for instant help. ashley: so why is there such, why do we have such a problem with a lack of workers. do you blame the extra federal benefits where people are essentially being paid to stay home. is that the big problem? >> i mean the hospitality staffing crisis is nothing new to the industry. this is something that has been going for over a decade and, i don't think i can comment on other industries but i do think i can comment on the hospitality industry. i spent the last 25 years working in it and the last two years researching it heavily and the data that we've seen one out of seven people accept benefits

over accepting a job. one out of three people that remain in the industry are looking to get out. so unfortunately i this the situation will get a lot worse before it gets better. ashley: but all the restaurant owners i have spoken to, ben, say it is particularly bad right now. they have had to offer higher wages. they had to offer perks. they advertised everywhere, sometimes not one person shows up. that is unusual, is it not? >> sure. you know, everyone here in charleston, you know, unemployment benefits ended at the end of june and we have actually seen an uptick in gigs that are being posted on a platform. myself, i was in the industry for like i said a quarter of a century and i spent thousands of dollars and hours on useless software like craigslist or indeed that usually ended up

providing me with a lot of resume's, a lot more work and not a lot of results. right now the workforce is demanding a higher rate of pay and more focus on flexibility and quality of life and, the businesses are looking for a fast, effective way to connect with a willing labor pool and that's kind of where we come in. ashley: ben, we've run out of time. we wish you the very best of luck with gig pro. we thank you. we're coming to what they call a hard break. thanks so much, ben. good luck to you. president biden about to sit down with local leaders to tackle growing crime coast to coast. we'll have the very latest what the white house plans to do to curb that violence when we return. ♪ i'm not always on my game. but lately, my uncle is, especially with his type 2 diabetes. with once-weekly trulicity

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so you only pay for what you need. oh um, doug can we talk about something other than work, it's the weekend. yeah, yeah. [ squawk ] hot dog or... chicken? [ squawk ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪♪ing. ♪ ♪ ashley: welcome back to "coast to coast." our top story, president biden about to meet with law enforcement and local officials at the white house to address concerns over the rise in crime. edward lawrence is at the white house with more on this story. edward. >> reporter: hey, ashley. yeah, the president bringing in only a select group of elected

leaders as well as police chiefs, a few from around the country. now, he wants to push gun control as a way to end some of the violence that has happened in cities. the white house trying to deflect the message that, you know, defunding the police has caused the violence in these cities, mainly democratic-controlled cities. instead, white house officials tell us it's violence interrupters like social workers who could not go to work that is the problem and the reason that crime is spiking in cities around the country. so the administration is sending a federal strike team to help local police chiefs in places like chicago, also helping send for convicts who have served their sentence to reenter the community. today senator dick durbin, illinois senator, saying, quote: every monday morning i dread seeing the news of weekend violence and death in chicago. it breaks my heart every time. we can and must do better, and that includes congress. you may remember though the

democrats as well as then-candidate biden last year refusing to call the violence in cities around the country actual riots, not acknowledging it. then they made a pivot after several months, pushing once the defund police movement sort of gained ground and some of the votes actually happened in many cities across the u.s. this morning former president donald trump saying this will be a campaign issue for 2022. he points to cities like new york city, like chicago the rise in violence there saying democrats mainly control those cities and have let this violence go on by not supporting the police. again, the former president believing this will be a campaign issue in 2022. this meeting with the current president is set to start in about ten minutes or so. we'll have to see what comes out of it. again, the white house pushing gun control saying that it could possibly end the violence that we're seeing, ashley, coming down the road. ashley: all right. i think others would disagree.

all right, edward, thank you very much. and while president biden has made it clear he's eager to address growing crime, critics are now calling for a greater focus on criminals returning to the streets after being released from jail. maybe there's something in that. let's get reaction now from former detroit police chief james craig. chief, so what i'm hearing from edward's report is that defunding the police has nothing to do with it, but it has all to do with social workers unable to get to work. i say that with tongue in cheek. what's your reaction? >> it's absurdity, more absurdity. you know, just several months ago in june when the anti-crime strategy report was released by the president, i said then it fell short. talked all about gun control, talked about focusing on regulations, but i find it comical that we never talk about the criminals with guns, those who are driving violence.

you mentioned it, let's talk about the broken criminal justice system. i'm talking about the courts. bail reform, compassionate releases. these individuals are still in our communities, but we want to sit around a table and talk about, what? what's going to have to happen if you really want to see change, the president is going to have to step up, push back on the progressive left wing of his party because they're still pushing the whole dismantle, defunding the police, and he's got to shove it down. and if he doesn't shut it down, he supports it. i don't care how you looked at it. so you have a few law enforcement experts and mayors in the room. is anyone going to really talk about the elephant in the room in and, yes, it does mean a lot to support the men and women who do this job and support them in denouncing violence directed at our police officers.

that's what -- ashley: but the morale -- it is. but, chief, you know, the morale in many police departments certainly in these big cities where we've seen just a spike in crime, chicago, los angeles, new york, morale is absolutely awful. record number of police officers getting out, retiring, don't want to deal with it anymore. they don't feel supported at the top levels of government, and, you know, then there's this campaign of defund the police, the police are our enemy. i mean, it's ono surprise that criminals -- no surprise that criminals feel emboldened. >> they are emboldened, they are empowered. this is an example of progressive governance in some of these cities that's failing. i've got a short story to tell you out of chicago. i just got a call from a local journalist friend, and out in chicago people are talking about moving out of the city, into the suburbs because they don't feel safe any longer. they're not blaming the police officers, but what they notice,

police officers are not around. their -- they're not coming to aid those people in those communities. and you know why? one word. no support. so you can thank the progressive governments of the mayor in chicago. it is not working. ashley: well, and it's also so obvious, right, that many of these democrat-run cities are the places where we're seeing some of the biggest spikes in violence. i mean, i don't understand how that's not more obvious to more people. >> because there's another agenda. and, frankly, nobody wants to talk about the elephant in the room. let's talk about portland, oregon. seattle. they're failing miserably. how do you call a police department to retreat from a police station, then you take over a city block and you do nothing, crime occurs, and the

police officers can't go in there and conduct a proper investigation? is that what we want in our country? it didn't happen in detroit. and detroit's a democratic-run city. when i was chief, it did not happen. it's called leadership. ashley: what did you do differently -- yeah, i was going to say, was it all about leadership? >> well, it goes further than that. one of the things i've talked a lot about is the fact that when i got appointed as chief eight years ago, i began to work very hard to bring in trust-based relationships between the community and the police. that goes a long way. you can't wait for the bad thing to happen to start forging relationships. let's face it, the detroit community then had lost confidence in the police department. but as we began to reinstill and reinvigorate the relationships, and then when 20209 hit -- 2020 hit, it was of not by surprise that we would call on our local activists, our community members

who denounced these outsiders coming into our city trying to promote violence and take over our city. it didn't happen, it would not happen. but also a police chief that stood up with the men and women behind them that believed in the support, and detroit did not burn, there was no looting. and, by and large, several days of attacks on our police officers, we didn't burn. leadership. and common sense. ashley: and common -- [laughter] there's not often a lot of common sense to go around. but we thank you, sir, for coming and joining us today. former police chief of detroit, craig smith, thank you so much. very good input. thank you. by the way, a recent washington post and abc news poll reveals that only 38% of americans approve of president biden's handling of crime. could that have an impact, the question comes, on the midterms and the race for the white house

in 2024? it could. let's bring in "wall street journal" editorial board member bill mcgurn. great to see you, bill. good afternoon. >> hi, ash. ashley: this could be a big issue in the midterms, couldn't it? it doesn't feel like the administration right now is doing a whole lot to fix it. >> right. well, and don't take my word for it. there was an earlier call, telephone call, among democrats in some of the moderates, abigail spam berger in virginia, this is their worry. they were democrats, said it was killing them, the anti-police rhetoric coming out of the progressive wing with. so it's a big issue now. look, is it a surprise z? the american people don't like crime, don't like illegality, and they don't like mayors who seem to be impotent. not only are they impotent in stopping it, they don't seem

like they a want to stop it. you know, we had one mayor call her city the summer of love, you know, when it was exploding. [laughter] and they're all democrats. i mean, it's an embarrassing fact, but that's who runs our big cities, and they've been running them for decades. ashley: i think it was the mayor of seattle. anyway, let's move on to the next one if we can, bill, because this is a big story today. thousands out on the streets in cuba. you don't see that very often, demanding an end to the communist dictatorship as well as protesting lack of food and medicine. i mean, this, i should mention, as "the new york times" is now being slammed for calling freedom and anti-government slogan, which is absolutely stunning. what do you make of all of this? >> yeah. it's refreshing. look, a very heartening thing to see the i cuban people standing up and claiming their freedom. it sort of gives the lie to the idea that these people are

basically satisfied, what, they have good health care and literacy and so forth. they've been treated really badly, and it's -- the other part that's amazing to me is, you know, bernie sanders and aoc want socialism, think it's a good deal. let's go down in cuba and ask these people, has it worked out for you pretty well? ashley: yeah. and why haven't we heard from those individuals as these people risk their lives to get out on the streets and protest the dick today sor thip? -- dictatorship? we don't hear any encouragement from bernie sanders and crew, do we? >> no, we don't. the problem is cuba's always been a darling of the left, you know, fidel and his t-shirts and so forth. and the truth is he was a terrible man who inflicted a terrible system on his people. look, the cubans, look what they've done in the united states. they're a talented, hard working people. they should be one of the gems of the western hemisphere, right? and instead, you know, it looks frozen in time.

it's incredible how a government can treat people like that and how little interest there is in the united states. ashley: it's interesting, isn't it? do you think this is the beginning of the end for the regime, or is that just based on one protest and there's a long way to go yet? what do you think? >> i don't know. i hope so. i don't believe, as other people do, you know, a tendency with these communist regimes that they're going to last forever. i think, you know, i was in europe when the berlin wall fell, right before the berlin wall fell. you know, it looked like it might be there for another 50 years. i mean, that's the false stability they have. just because they suppress opposition, you don't know what's fermenting. and every once in a while people come out in cuba, people raise as goddess of liberty in tiananmen square. all sorts of things can happen. and all those regimes, they know it. they know their rule is brittle. they're afraid of their people. and every time the people get a chance to express their opinion,

they say we want better, we want to be free. ashley: yeah. all right. we'll have to leave it there. great stuff, as us a, bill. bill mcgurn. thank you so much for being on "cavuto coast to coast." all right, after the break why some economists are now saying higher prices may be here to stay for quite some time. i'm sure you're thrilled. stay tuned. ♪ and if i think it over maybe you'll be coming over again -- ♪ and i'll have to get over you all over again. ♪ just because it's over doesn't mean it's really over -- ♪ and if i think it over maybe you'll be coming over again -- ♪ and i'll have to get over you all over again ♪♪ jason, did you know geico could save you hundreds on car insurance and a whole lot more? cool. so what are you waiting for? mckayla maroney to get your frisbee off the roof? i'll get it. ♪ (upbeat music) ♪

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♪ ashley: lawmakers now authorizing $110 billion to fund research into semiconductor chips as the growing chip shortage shows absolutely no sign of slowing down. fox business' grady trimble is live at the university of michigan at a chip lab. grady. >> reporter: hey, ashley. and it's fitting that some of the solutions to this chip shortage might come from the state of michigan which leads in r&d and testing for computer chips. and this is the lab behind us. we are not inside because there's all this gear that you have to wear when you work with

these computer chips. but they're doing research, particularly working with electronics industry as well as the auto industry to work on solutions to the to problems they're a facing. one of the ways they're working on developing chips is to try to consolidate chips so that they work for specific uses that, for example, the auto industry needs for its vehicles so that they need less of those chips in those vehicles. another thing that they're working on is i trying to produce more trips in a shorter amount of time. they put these chips when they produce them on what they call waffles or in batches, and they chop those waffles up kind of like a pizza. so they're hoping to produce larger batches, essentially producing these chips more efficiently. and this highlights the work that's needed to be done to so the existing chip shortage. let me hoe you the numbers because -- show you the numbers because there's been a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing of these chips back to the united states. back in 1990, of course, a lot

fewer chips were being used then, but the u.s. produced more than a third of the world's computer chips. now we produce only about 12%, and there has been a run on electronics products and vehicles, and because of that there is this chip shortage all across the globe. so that's the research that they're work on here. a long-term solution to a problem to reprevent it from happening again -- to prevent it from happening again in the future. by the way, ashley, consumer prices on products that have chips in them up 1-3% according to goldman sachs because of this shortage. 1-3% might not sound like a lot, but when you're talking about an automobile, it is quite a bit of money. ashley: it is. it's a computer on wheels. all right, grady trimble, interesting stuff. i would have liked to have seen you in the white outfit, but maybe next time. despite what the fed says, let's get back to the economy, inflation is sticking around. and that is according to economists surveyed by "the wall street journal" who say americans should brace themselves for several years of

higher prices not seen in decades. reaction now from good market watcher friends, frances newton stacy and jonathan hoenig. okay, frances, let's talk about our favorite subject. we all hear people complaining about high prices these days. what's your take on inflation? how much is it a threat? i mean, what's going on, where does this thing go? does it diminish as the fed believes? >> well, you have to differentiate whether or not you're talking about markets or you're talking about prices. now, in markets the cpi data tomorrow is looking like we're going to have a deceleration in inflation which means we're still getting higher readings, but they're higher at a deferent rate than they were which means we've seen peak inflation. so you're going to see the market start to price that in. however, consumers are going to see higher prices for a long time because markets are very

anticipate -- anticipatory. you've got corporate taxes potentially going up and also some of the input costs, you know, talking about the chips going up. so, yes, we will see higher prices for a while, but markets are going to start pricing in some of the deflationary pressures that are coming into the system in the back half of the year. and, by the way, my former husband was english, and i just loved that he called me frances, so thank you, ashley. [laughter] ashley: my pleasure. jonathan hoenig calls me mr. belvedere, which i kind of take as a compliment, because he spoke very clearly and very well. [laughter] that said, jonathan, yes, i understand the higher prices are not directly linked to the markets, but if consumers have less money in their pockets, there's got to be a roll-on

effect, right? >> yes, that's exactly right. frances is a trained economist, that's an excellent fundamental perspective. but from a boots on the ground perspective, it just simply means $100 ain't what it used to be, even $1,000. and we've seen those massive moves, i mean, corn, soybeans, wheat, even lumber. while it's come down, it's still adding on to the price of a new home. extrapolate that out into everything in our economy. we haven't seen inflation in 20, 30, 40 years, and at one point president ford called it public enemy number one. i think it's here to stay. ashley: it is here the stay. so you do not believe, jonathan, that it's transitory. and from a market point of view, how should an investor play that? what implications does that have? >> well, i mean, look, what causes inflation, ashley, greedy business people. but it's government. it's government printing money, artificially inflating the money

supply. and look what joe biden and the administration is doing, they're borrowing, they're printing money, this whole mmt. they're spending it, that is exactly what's causing inflation and will continue to cause it it in the months and weeks ahead. ashley: all right, frances, should the fed begin getting their act together? i guess that's a little prejudicial, but what i'm trying to say is it time to try and begin to let this economy stand on its own two feet? i know we're still recovering from the pandemic, but we're well on the way, and i think after a labor day when people come back to work because benefits ran out, maybe it'll be even more of a rocket ship when it comes to the economy. the fed seems the keep these far-out dates for when it considers raising rates. what is your thought on that? >> well, there are five things that have driven the economy up, and one of it's fiscal stimulus, obviously. so the fiscal stimulus even though these new packages are

coming in at these gigantic numbers, again, economists, you look at the rate. the rate is diminishing, so there's actually tightening coming in on the fiscal side. i know that's crazy to think about, but these trillion dollar packages are coming in over a number of years rather than a direct injection. so that's going to keep the fed conservative if the fiscal side is slowing because remember, these things supposedly work in tandem. so i think the fed is actually being wise. i know it's not popular, what they're doing. but a number of things. you've got peak growth, peak inflation potentially, you've got as far as the markets are concerned the rate of acceleration and the rate of change -- not your pocketbook, jonathan's totally correct about that. ashley: yeah. >> so when you look at tease anticipatory pressures, i think the fed is doing the right thing. ashley: very quickly, jonathan, what would you say about the fed? >> i watch the markets, not the fed. they're wrong time and time again -- ashley: [inaudible] >> tremendous impact.

unfortunately, all we can do as an investor, i think, is be a little more cautious because government in general throws a real unknown into markets writ large. now's a good time to pay off your credit card debt, get that six months of living expenses in the bank and hold on because whatever the fed does, it's going to be wrong. [laughter] ashley: sound advice, jonathan hoenig. and frances, thank you too for joining us. i'm just sorry that was a former husband that used to call you frances. [laughter] anyway, thank you both for joining us. after the break, how the sale of a rare diamond is breaking new records for cryptocurrency transactions. it was a lot of money, as you can tell right there, 12 million. the detail when we come back. ♪ -- just go ahead now muck and if you'd like to mel me -- tell me maybe -- ♪ just go ahead now. ♪ and if you want to buy me flowers, just go ahead now. ♪ and if you'd like to talk for hours, just go ahead now.

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ashley: the crypto craze hitting the auction block. sotheby's selling a rare diamond for $12.3 million in crypto over the weekend in what marks probably the most expensive digital currency transaction to date. all right, good time to bring in chamber of digital commerce founder and president mary ann boring. is this a significant milestone for cryptocurrency in the world of commerce? >> hey, ashley. this was the large -- according to sotheby's, it was the large purchase using cryptocurrency of a physical object. and really what this shows is the ideal use of cryptoto currencies and its -- cryptocurrencies and its underlying technology of blockchain for payment. blockchain technologies are more efficient and more secure than

traditional a payment systems, and there's many merchants including auction houses of luxury items that are starting to accept cryptocurrencies. some other providers that are starting to accept the coin include infrastructure providers like at&t, even sports teams like the that's mavericks -- dallas mavericks. microsoft is accepting cryptocurrency. even political candidates and entire political parties. just a few weeks ago, the nrcc, the national republican congressional committee, announced that they're accepting crypto as well. and really the best way to look at this is the modernization of payment systems, again, because they're more efficient and more secure. ashley: absolutely fascinating. some of the companies that we had up there, perianne, home depot. i had no idea. have we gone past the point of, you know, believing in this? i mean, now it seems to be

coming more and more mainstream, to your point. but what is the usage level? are normal people joining up every day? you know, what is research telling us? >> yeah. so according to a survey by a subsidiary of swiss re, over 33% of u.s. small and medium-sized businesses are accepting cryptocurrencies today. and according to a by "forbes," 25% of american households own some form of cryptocurrency today. so, yes, this is here, it is to stay, it is happening. it is not going away. and, again, it's being used to help modernize our payment systems but also bitcoin has really merged as a -- emerged as a store of value. and as you talked about in the previous segment with concerns of inflation, many investors including corporate, retail and institutional investors are looking at this as a hedge against inflation. ashley: well, you've convinced

me. perianne, thank you so much. clearly, it's gaining more and more traction in many different areas of the economy. appreciate that. very interesting, indeed. all right. now on to this story, the story that apparently never ends. fox business learning that viacomcbsing chairman shari redstone reportedly met with several media ceos in sun valley to talk about a potential merger, and guess what? our charlie gasparino is among the media moguls, and he joins us now with all the details. charlie. >> we should be really careful with wording here, ashley, just because -- ashley: yeah. >> -- these were not merger meetings per se, okay? i'll give you the little landscape here. there were two major takeaways out of sun valley for me, and we broke -- my producer and i broke a bunch of stories. but in terms of the major takeaways, one was that these guys are kind of hypocrites. they talk about climate control

and have bill gates give them a he canture on climate control while they come in on their carbon-emitting private jets. [laughter] number two, the security were bigger jerks than they are in the past. we can get into that later. but the third takeaway -- [laughter] out of here is that viacomcbs, about two years they made shari redstone the controlling redstone family which are the controlling shareholders and merged them together, she, according to people that watched her interact at the conference, that she is clearly signaling that she wants to shop the stock. that doesn't mean that she's actively shopping it, okay? but clearly, what came out of this from the rival media executives based on her multiple conversations with people is that, you know, this is a company that's probably for sale at the right price and could be sold, could be emergencied.

because scale -- merged. because scale is a big thing. now, i know what's going to happen in five minutes, i'm going the to get a call from cbs viacom even though i called yesterday, the stock is moving. oh, we're not shopping, that's not happening, we're not officially talking. i know all that. i know all that. but i am telling you, i spoke with several major media ceos at that conference and said based on the sort of -- and that's how these guys do it, by the way. they dance at the conference. hey, how are you, let's talk, let's have lunch. introductions. it's not quite merger talk, it leads to the merger talks later on, and that's essentially what went on. by her body language, by the fact that she was speaking to everybody, the takeaway from her, from media executives is that she's, she's open for a sale or some sort of deal. now, a lot of people are talking about comcast buying it. that would be a really heavy regulatory lift. the people, from what i

understand that they did speak, brian roberts and sherry, at this conference. it wasn't an official merger discussion, but they did speak. you know, could lay the groundwork for future talks in the future. again, not official merger talks. but that's how the dance goes. it's like, you know, ashley, it's like a square dance. you dance with this one, you dance with that one, and then maybe you might go home with that person, you see what i'm saying? and that's kind of what we're talking about here. it's very interesting, what went down. again, not saying official talks, ashley. but they're dancing. [laughter] back to you. ashley: your call. but they're all jerks, bottom line. [laughter] >> well, i wouldn't go that far. there's some nice people. the security acted like -- i've just never seen it. a bunch of nerdy reporters. you have to really protect your ceo from nerds inside from nerds. ashley: i know.

you're not a nerdy one, charlie. you could -- >> yeah, but i'm an outlier. okay, i know -- ashley: that's true. >> look, if i don't shave the night before, if i don't shave, i look a little nasty. but i get that. that's not me. a. ashley: all right. charlie will shave before you get a -- [inaudible conversations] >> -- scare you, ashley. ashley: they don't. let's be honest, they don't. we'll leave it right there, charlie. whoo. already, thank you so much. we've got to look into this story now. political leaders in haiti struggling for control in the wake of the president's assassination there. how the white house is planning to help. we'll have that story after this. ♪ ♪ nly pay for what you need. how much money can liberty mutual save you? one! two! three! four! five! 72,807! 72,808... dollars.

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developments. mark. >> reporter: ashley, good afternoon. president biden was briefed on the situation in haiti earlier today, this after haiti asked both the u.s. and the international community for help trying to stabilize the company after last week's assassination. and while the white house says it's not ruling sending troops down there, ruling that out, at this point there's no indication that they plan to do that. however, over the weekend the u.s. did send a delegation from the state department, the justice department, homeland security down to haiti to get a sense of what's going on on the ground. we're told the u.s. was a table to reaffirm its support -- was able to reaffirm its sport for the -- support for the haitian people. the u.s. says it hopes to see haiti become safer. we got a statement from the white house, say they the delegation would view the security of critical infrastructure with haitian government officials and met with the national police or who are leading the investigation into the assassination. but for president biden, this

all has serious political consequences. the white house has made it clear it has no interest in nation-building, and we're still waiting to see what the may decide to do with this. but pentagon officials tell fox the situation deserves constant attention. >> we are watching the situation very closely, chris. i don't know that we're at a point now where we can see definitively that our national security is being put at risk by what's happening there, but clearly we value our haitian partners, we value stability and security in that country. >> reporter: stability and security, top of mind for the pentagon. but an capitol hill, we're already hearing from lawmakers calling on a thorough investigation, hearing from florida senator marco rubio who says it has all signs of being carried out by foreign mercenaries, a contract hearing. a lot of people very curious to see a what happens next in haiti. ashley: mark meredith at the white house, thank you very much. now this as we head to the break, black widow bringing in

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♪ >> the really good news is that 86% now, almost 87% of all adults have got the protection of one dose, and 65% are now protected with two doses. the target is we get to 66% double-jabbed by the 19th of july. we will meet that target. ashley: well, as you can tell, u.k. officials growing more optimisticking over the rate of vaccinations in great britain. this as prime minister boris johnson is set to announce that all restrictions in the u.k. will be lifted in a week's time. some are calling it freedom day. we'll see. fox news correspondent benjamin hall in london with the very latest. hey, benjamin. >> reporter: hi, ashley. and that announcement came just about an hour ago. it was interesting, because prime minister boris johnson acknowledged that cases here were on the rise, that the delta

variant was a major concern, that it would be a problem for the coming months or years. but he also said that now was the time to open up, now during the summer months instead of waiting for the winter months when other illnesses would come along and swamp the national health services. effectively now or never. today prime minister johnson announced all those restrictions would be lifted on july the 19. that means no more mask mandate indoors toes or outs -- indoors or out, no more work from home recommendations. it was now or never, he said, to get back to normal. >> if we were now to delay this fourth step, for instance, to september or later, then we would be reopening as the weather gets colder and as the virus a acquires a greater natural advantage and when schools are back. >> reporter: he also said that, in fact, two-thirds of adults in the u.k. have already received two doses of the vaccine. every adult has been offered a first dose and at least 10%,

perhaps significantly more, have had covid. some scientists say that as a result, the u.k. has already hit herd immunity. this final move to reopen was on full display yesterday as 60,000 people were allowed to pack wembley stadium to watch the final of the european football, soccer, championship. the u.k., sadly, lost that match. but there are other victories of significance. can't think of many, but perhaps the reopening of the economy will go some way to denting the sorrow that is felt as cross this country today. ashley? ashley: yeah. i don't think so, jonathanful i'm still in mourning. but thank you so much for that update on freedom day just around the corner. benjamin hall in london. thank you so much. all right, now this story. disney's "black widow" breaking pandemic box office records, bringing in $80 million during its opening weekend as well as $60 million from viewers on disney plus. that's a lot of dough, as they say. let's bring back frances newton

stacy and jonathan hoenig. all right, guys. frances, is the box office back? are people prepared -- obviously, they can watch it home streaming, but do people feel comfortable to get back into the cinema in. >> this is a very, very good sign. it just means that people are not worried about the delta variant, and they're willing to go out, and streaming's not going to a completely take over theater experience. i think this is very promising. also the international revenue was, i think, $78 million which means that's not just here in the u.s., internationally as well. despite all of the political -- and the pandemic, people want to get out, get together, and they want to see movies, and i think personally that's' very promising -- [inaudible conversations] ash jonathan, go ahead. >> yeah, the nature of the movie-going process is going to change, and that was in place even before the pandemic. but, you know, going to the theater is back, as frances said.

but even bigger picture, life is back with. so many of the activities that were literally or forbidden even a year ago, and now we have scientists to thank, the vaccines to thank fueled by the financiers. it'll be a process. those more at risk might be less likely to go to the theaters, for example, but, look, we are headed in the right direction, and those vaccines and scientists are to thank. ashley: but, jonathan, to follow up, there's an interesting trend. i wouldn't imagine that theater chains are really thrilled with the, with these films being released in streaming services at the same time. they're losing a chunk of money to that. >> yeah. i mean, of course, and that's kind of what we alluded to. the nature of the movie-going process is going to change. if you're in chicago, for example, some of the theaters are now are kind of nice. you come and have a nice dinner, bar, movie environment and then see the movie. they're going to have to innovate because streaming is going the eat their lunch. innovate or die even when it comes to the movie theater

experience. ashley: even if that big, you know, drink, france, is, like $15? [laughter] we know famously how much it is to go to a movie theater and get charged an arm and a leg just to have some snacks. but to jonathan's point, do we need to see theater chains prevent themselves to make it more of an experience? >> i think so. and it's funny because, yes, the ticket price is cheaper, but those drinks do make up for it than the $30 streaming premium. no, i think people are ready to get out of their houses and pajamas. [laughter] for me, i was looking in my closet9 the other day, and i was like, oh, my new york attire. it's so different are from my covid attire. i just think people like to get out and about. the weather's warm, and i just think the best sign is that we're not, people are not terrified of the delta variant and they're not, you know, even if we're not officially locked down, they're not hovering and staying at home, and i think

that's very promising for the economy, and i'm pleased to see that. ashley: all right, jonathan. fess up, do you like going to the movie theater, or do you like to just kind of, you know, stay at home, perhaps enjoy some cheaper drinks and snacks and got the big screen and have that experience at home as to opposed to going out? what do you prefer? >> i think it's all of that. what's amazing is the abundance of choices we have as consumers. at home, theaters, channels online, offline. i remember when it was just four or five channels and whatever was in the theaters at that moment. the expansion of choice, availability, access, that's what these technology companies are providing. i'd rather sit on my couch. frances wants to go to the theater. we both get to win in today's economy. ashley: that's interesting, jonathan. i'm with you because i get so annoyed with the public who have, apparently, no regard for anyone else around them. they have the bright screens on on their phone, they're talking

to someone. and i get so mad that i get put off, how about you? >> yeah -- >> well, i mean -- >> go ahead, frances. ash sorry, that was for frances. >> no, no, no, no problem. ono, it's true. i do think awareness of other people, also we got a little out of fashion with that as our closets changed. but i think's going to come back as well. i have noticed that, you know, you go around and people are generally not aware, but i think's all going to come back. yes, it's as always annoying. waiting in lines is the quickest way to make me very grumpy, but i still think it's nice to get out of the house and participate with the world at large on occasion. [laughter] ashley: i agree. i have little tolerance. i'm just getting older and more crotchety, i think. frances, jonathan, thanks for joining us today on "cavuto." appreciate it. quick market check as we head to the break, if we can. the market's been treading water for the most part, but the dow's

up about 100 points, s&p up marginally, a quarter percent. as you can see, the nasdaq essentially flat. i'll have more "cavuto coast to coast" right after this. ♪ ♪

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♪. ashley: all right. let's take a quick market check for you before we go. all the major averages now on pace for the second straight day of records. goldman sachs, disney, united health to thank for all of the dow's gains today and of course any gain for the major indices at the close will be a new record. my time is up. time for charles payne to work his magic. hey, charles. charles: hey, thank you very much, ashley. i appreciate it. and congratulations on the euro cup win. ashley: thank you very much. >> this is "making money." not the win, you know but you came close. wobbly day on wall street. you came in for a wave of earnings. how willing market react? that is the question. of course what stocks do you want to own before they report? everyone is wondering how long the inflation will last? this is the biggest question on