as people may remember, aetna itself was once an acquirer of cigna. horizontal deals got turned down by the department of justice. we did speak with cigna ceo david cordani earlier on the show he went into some specifics about the expected synergies, particularly in light of the fact that right now at least they don't seem to be getting much credit from the stock market >> acessicretion numbers we tal about are based upon see, feel, touch, know, expense and administrative synergies all the medical cost and pharmacy synergies flow to employers and clients. people don't make position statements like that, we do. growth synergies are not in our numbers. let's be really clear. the growth synergies that are potential for this business are not in the accretion numbers we've talked about what we promised to our shareholders are based upon the baseline operations of the companies, the expense synergies we know we'll secure responsibly over a four-year period of time and generate the accretion secondly, the rapid deleveraging massively reduces debt service cos

cigna had a great pharmacy benefit manager. why do you need another? >> we built our own and been -- >> fantastic >> so when you look at this, this is not the acquisition of a pharmacy benefit management company but broadening of capabilities more lives to touch. 80 million the ability to further accelerate the affordability equation so lowering health care costs, cigna delivered the lowest medical cost trend every year for the last five express scripps delivered the lowest pharmacy trend and lastly expanding distribution you know how important it is, selling to more client, more health plans, so capabilities, reach, quality, affordability. that's what this is about. >> all right, so let's take express scripps. a lot who felt, wait a second. these guys, they lost a big customerment maybe they're in a secular declining business >> we don't see it that way. take pharmaceuticals as just an example. the number one cause in the gap in health care in america so quality issues typically tie back to a pharmaceutical wrong drug and dose or duration so it's a hi

the company will be named cigna. cigna's headquarters in broomfield, connecticut will be the combined company headquarters >> the real question is do these -- to the extent there are savings that get passed on to the consumer, or are we just increasing the margin for these guys what do regulators think of this they let the cvs/aetna deal go do they let this go? >> i think on what grounds do you not. it's interesting the pharmacy benefit manager business model has been under fire in terms of drug pricing, the list price, the whole rebate system, the entire food chain for pharmaceuticals got under scrutiny now you're folded in with the insurer -- >> maybe there's some cover? >> you no longer have to say here's our business story, this is where our models come from. that stopped being a selling point for a while. >> with jpmorgan, berkshire hathaway and amazon teaming up, they say they can find margins everybody you talk to says look at the pharmacy benefits managers first >> at closing the combined company will make an

cigna's ceo says he's been in touch with members of that group and thinks the cigna/express scripts deal with help deliver consumers what they want. bertha coombs, "nightly business report," new york. >>> kroger says profits for the full year will com in below wall street estimates. the company has poured a money into its online operations to compete with walmart and amazon but that investment is cutting into profits. today ieestors w not in a shopping mood. trouble in aisle 6. kroger shares fellag >>> american outfitters offered customers discounts for a prolonged period of time. it hurt gross margins. the concern among analysts is that the retailer may need to rely on those discounts to keep shoppers coming back, they're oked on them. that offsetmerican eagles' sales. shares fell to $18.63. >>> burliopton storesd quarterly profits and issued an upbeat outlook. the ceo says its online operations continue to grow and that trends are improving at its brick a mortar locations. investors seem to like the news, up ing burlington shares nearly 6% to $122.86. >>> investorsad their first chance

cigna was a target. anthem was trying to buy cigna, backup locked, which gave them extra cash.ny regulatory concerns at all? reporter: this is a vertical integration deal. in the old days, the way the antitrust laws were written, that was not problematic, in isa regulators, they looked for overlap. u.s. regulators have taken a tougher stance. the time warner deal got blocked and that is being challenged. that could translate into tougher scrutiny of this deal. you're still talking about vertical integration being a major consumer facing sector. mark: the health care industry is coming in from all sides. from companies, consumers. does that pressure continue? reporter: absolutely. morgan,, amazon, jp looking to get into the health care space. rethink what it means to be a provider and look at costs in a way that drives them down. that is a wake-up call for the incumbents in the industry to take a close look. can we be doing this better? otherwise someone else will, and they need to be proactive. you're seeing these deals like cbs earlier this year. cvs.ke express scripts, were n

cigna close to buying express scripts. are not out yet, the "wall street journal" says a deal could be announced as soon as today cigna's flat in the premarket. express scripts 14% higher this is not only deal in the health insurance industry at the moment last year cvs health announced to buy aetna for $70 billion. in 2015, aetna agreed to buy humana, but that deal was blocked. we also heard about a potential tie up moving forward between the likes of jpmorgan, berkshire hathaway and amazon. so lots of consolidation going on at the moment express scripts itup 14% in the premarket. >>> u.s. futures are around the flat line which is where they ended yesterday, which is a vast improvement from the market moves we saw 24 hours ago before the open on this show when we were down over 1%. we ended flat for the s&p, slightly higher for the nasdaq, slightly lower for the dow this morning we have the dow slightly lower as is the s&p the nasdaq slightly higher markets enjoyed that decent day on the market front and talk of a carve o

cigna is buying express scripts. and it did ignite the whole health care sector cigna's own stock, it just got obliterated. >> house of pain >> and not just the way you would normally expect when the arbitrage guys start betting against anacquirer that is paying cash and stock. no, it finished the day down more than 11%, shocking, actually, as the sellers start the company that paid too much or express scripts won't make them enough money. well this is something cigna vociferously disagreed with when they came on "squawk on the street" this morning i think it is positive i think cigna stock as of today -- >> buy, buy, buy. >> you got it. the deal is good for the entire stock market the analyst who covered this business had a low opinion of express scripts. it had just lost a key client, anthem, which represented 30% of its sales. cigna is one of the best smartest players the entire industry and they still decided it was still worth a great deal more money than it was trading for. in other words, wall street may think

but thanks to cigna, we can do more than just look heroic. we can help save lives by getting you to a real doctor for a check-up. nurse, this thing's defective. please don't touch that. we are the tv doctors of america. together with cigna reminding you... to go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses! cigna. together, all the way. at the marine mammal center, the environment is everything. we want to do our very best for each and every animal, and we want to operate a sustainable facility. and pg&e has been a partner helping us to achieve that. we've helped the marine mammal center go solar, install electric vehicle charging stations, and become more energy efficient. pg&e has allowed us to be the most sustainable organization we can be. any time you help a customer, it's a really good feeling. it's especially so when it's a customer that's doing such good and important work for the environment. together, we're building a better california. ♪ ♪ ♪ if you ever felt like nobody was there, have you ever felt forgotten in the middle

but thanks to cigna, we can do more than just look heroic.n help save lives by getting you to a real doctor for a check-up. nurse, this thing's defective. please don't touch that. we are the tv doctors of america. together with cigna reminding you... to go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses! cigna. together, all the way. >>> and good morning to you to all of you. i'm alex witt at the half hour. growing concerns on capitol hill following new details of spending by epa administrator scott pruitt. this coming days after v.a. secretary david shulkin was fired over his own ethics violations. here's democratic congressman of virginia. >> if scott pruitt doesn't resign, president trump should fire him. this is not good f

. >>> the other big story is m & a in health care, cigna buying a management company express scripts. health care alliance putting more pressure on the industry's biggest players. joining us this morning is the ceo of doctor on demand, hill ferguson he joins us to talk about the deal thank you for joining us. >> good morning. >> we talked to david cordani of cigna earlier. he said he didn't talk with two of the three, bezos, buffet, dimond how much is in an attempt to head off that? >> you know, you mentioned jp morgan and amazon and berkshire hathaway and also aetna and cvs late last year these are major moves in the industry that are signalling change which is exciting so i think there's definitely a lot of people and a lot of board rooms trying to figure out how to evolve because the current system is definitely not sustainable. >> he also said that there is enormous pressure. but i'm not sure if he was talking about from employees or for end consumers for the status quo not to hold. for there to be change we talk about technology and the impact on how customers, patients can take

it did cigna extra cash.the ones making this move. ♪ >> qualcomm delaying a key shareholder vote after the committee investigates the takeover. there has been a flurry of news on this huge deal of course, a $117 billion deal. is it moving ahead are unclear? >> if you were betting that it would happen, you've got some good news and some bad news. the bad news is that it looks like the u.s. government will take a look at this and they don't like the idea of broadcom taking over qualcomm. on the positive side, the return we were able to obtain indicates that broadcom will win shareholder approval for its takeover. ♪ michael: the french insurance seeks to leap ahead of rivals in the united states. >> since the new ceo, he seems to be bringing us to a time back in the 1990's when they were doing big takeover deals. since then, they have not done much. the last big deal was in 2007. the financing of it was interesting. they are saying they will raise this money, 6 billion through an ipo that they have not done yet.

cigna falling more than 10% right now. why are they so unhappy about this?med it up best, when he said the health care marketplace is it sustainable, so he feels they needed to do a deal. of pretty fully price and i think that is what investors are trying to process whether it is a good deal or not. shery: they are also taking a huge chunk of express. >> they are taking about $15 billion of debt. it is a big deal and they to digest area vonnie: is there a little bit too much of a premium? >> you cannot really put too much of a premium on this. this is an industry under massive pressure. drug prices are rising and it has become a massive average. they have to find a way to and bill topower try and cut costs. whether they have paid too much will only become clear down the track, that you have people like amazon and jpmorgan jumping into the industry, as well, looking to up and it. end its.g to up they have been looking for a deal ever since. i was appalled by what i have to do to go to medical expenses. it took me a while to understand deductibles. we could se

reporting overnight cigna is in talks for about $50 billion. the latest shakeup for the health care industry. cheryl: overseas markets calm in details of the tariff plan. the february jobs report right now with futures pointing to a mixed open. a satire by loving. lauren: investors in europe to travel tariff plan plan, plus news from the european central bank as well. cheryl: stocks in asia rebounded a bit. same for the shanghai composite in china. lauren: bitcoin sinking below $10,000 after the securities and exchange commission announced were scrutiny further changes. "fbn:am" starts right now. ♪ cheryl: file onea many are good thursday, march 8th. i'm cheryl casone. lauren: i'm lauren simonetti. welcome back. cheryl: it's nice to say good morning to you and for viewers that have not had a voice for several days, so nice to be back. lauren: would have to rest her voice throughout the show. breaking news overnight. close to find the pharmacy benefits express scripts at "the wall street journal" says the deal could be announced as soon as today

cigna is buying express scripts as health care integration picks up speed. welcome to bloomberg daybreak. i am david westin. welcome lisa. alix steel is out today. lisa: we hope you are all hanging in there on the east coast. let's get you caught up with the market action ahead of the u.s. open. you can see a little bit of a mixed teacher, the dax down about a quarter of a percent. as to be futures picking up into the green. the euro weakening against the dollar head of the ecb announcement in about 45 minutes. two-year yields up just a touch. david. 7:45, we are going to the ecb rate decision. at 8:30 a.m., we'll hear mario draghi's news conference here. at 8:30 a.m., will get the jobless claims. president trump will be meeting with members of congress and videogame executives and what are they going to talk about? guns. lisa: it is time for the bloomberg first take. three stories we're watching, the ecb, all about trade and sickness big deal -- and cigna's big deal. , i want toael mckee put of a chart of inflation. where it is, where it has been. where the

express sense for scripts and cigna.e lower prices as a result of this acquisition and others? >> that is the idea. ,harmacy benefit managers consumers end up paying ever higher costs. if you can bring this in with an insurer you cut costs elsewhere in find the synergies you can start passing on. goal with that was a medicines like cancer drugs or other complex medicines that tend to be expenses -- expensive. julia: they say we give these guys the rebates they simply don't pass it on. scarlet: now they cannot make the excuse. what about regulators? >> it is going to be interesting. they are not yet approved. typically u.s. regulators tend to only focus on specific areas of overlap. they have increasingly started to look at vertical integration. theseas a signal that ideas you thought were going to be ok are not necessarily going to be. it is confident and regulatory approval. >> $67 billion deal when you include debt. thank you. nafta.up, a lifeline for candida and mexico are exempt from the presidents tariffs. we go liv

. >> cigna has agreed to acquire express scripts for $67 billion. the latest in a string of health-care deals. we were expecting something might happen with express scripts. who were the other potential contenders? >> i think it could have been other health insurers. what insurers are looking for is to mimic the model of the united health, which got in this game earlier, they got a pharmacy back in 2015. that diversification strategy has really paid off of the company not just as far as the revenue growth but as far as cost advantages, information advantages, convenience advantages that have bolstered the insurance business. it could've been a number of insurers, but if you remember cigna was the target. cigna had a little bit of extra cash to play with, which is why they are making this move. >> qualcomm delaying a key shareholder vote after the committee on foreign investment in the u.s. began investigating broadcom's proposed takeover. broadcom says it is on course to win all six seats it is seeking a broadcom's board. there has been a flurry of

wells fargo lower its price target on cigna to $175 a share. the firm cites concerns around cigna's long term growth outlook. the analyst also says there are risks around the of were of express scripts which of course we told you about yesterday. the stock was up to $173.36. >> still ead, jail time for the man who became known as pharma bro. first a look at the week's strong performance for stos. >>> intel is reportedlyco idering a bid for broadcom. according to the "wall street journa" the company is considering a range of options in reaction to broadcom's hostile o pursu qualcomm, including a bid for broadcom itself. >> wynn resorts has agreed to ha ipo pay more $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by a japanese slot machine company ending a six-year dispute. the settlemen could clear a path for steve wynn, the company's biggest shareholder and formerrm ch to sell part of his stake in the.can. the new ceo says the deal allows him to focus on the future. >> it was taking the air out of room. d so when i looked at it, i thought, buying back

and -- >> the market cap is below that of express scripts which it is in a deal to buy >> cigna sells11 times earnings i just don't think it was as stupid as the market is saying i was never a fan of express scripts but this is ridiculous i'd buy more cigna david, i'd describe myself as early. >> early okay is it going to stay early? is it a zhanga early like too early to buy >> you bringing up -- i think you'll bring it up every chance you can get. >> you know i will >> we haven't even talked about newell can we share from cigna to newell you know newell. >> i do and you do and, jim, we're going to spend a lot of time on this interesting situation as they move towards an annual meeting. a date they haven't set yet. we got the first fight letter back from newell against jeff smith at starboard and martin franklin who is trying to take over the entire board of directors. i'm glad you mentioned it. i want to caution here there's going to be a lot more reporting to be done and a lot more back and forth but it's worth taking a look at this, jim. newell says today in a letter that through

cigna.ether, all the way. ♪ with expedia you could book a flight, hotel, car and activity all in one place. ♪ >> tucker: obama administration and clinton campaign communications director jennifer palmieri came on the show last night to talk about her book "dear madam president"i as well as the profound changes that have taken place in the democratic party she has served 25 years. we ran out of time last night but our conversationon continued after the show some on camera and some not. she didn't seem to enjoy it very much. i did. anyway, today she tweeted this "tucker carlson tonight" is supposed to air a segment about my book. don't hold out high hopes for it.a it was like we were speaking differential languages. expect to see blank stares from him. see those every night. from me as i struggle to explain the obstacles women face. i don't think it was that bad, but can you judge. here is a portion of it. >> tucker: so what's the book about? >> so, the book is about i wrote it, i wanted to be

. >>> jobless claims are higher wheel cigna makes a big deal.w is kcbs radio's financial reporter jason brooks. >> reporter: good morning. the healthcare industry in the spotlight this morning on the blockbuster merger between cigna and express scripps totaling $67 billion. the biggest pharmacy benefits manager in the u.s., cigna one of the biggest health ensurers. this follows other consolidation in the industry including the $69 billion merger between cvs and aetna. and also the recent move by amazon, berkshire hathaway and jpmorgan forming a separate nonprofit company focused on lowering employee healthcare costs. these merge he is are being looked at by the healthcare -- these mergers are being looked at by the healthcare industry as a weigh to lower drug costs which rose on a large-scale over the years. we had a big gain from last week up to 231,000 unemployed claims but last week was a 48- year low and the overall number is still low enough to suggest a very strong job market. federal reserve reporting that a lot of employers across the co

it could've been a number of insurers, but if you remember cigna was the target. a limited extra cash -- little bit of x or cash to play with, which is why they are making this move. >> qualcomm delaying a key shareholder vote after the committee on foreign investment in the u.s. began investigating broadcom's proposed takeover. broadcom says it is on course to win all six seats it is seeking a broadcom's board. there has been a flurry of news on this huge deal, of course, a 100 $17 billion deal. is it moving a head -- a $117 billion deal. is it moving ahead or is it at a standstill? >> if you are betting it would happen, you have some really good news and some really bad news. the bad news was that it looks like the u.s. government is going to take a look at this, that they don't like the idea of broadcom taking over qualcomm. on the positive side, the initial returns that we were able to retain indicates that broadcom were going to win shareholder approval for the takeover of qualcomm's board. this french insurer seeks to leap ahead of rivals in the united state

but thanks to cigna, we can do more than just look heroic.ve lives by getting you to a real doctor for a check-up. nurse, this thing's defective. please don't touch that. we are the tv doctors of america. together with cigna reminding you... to go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses! cigna. together, all the way. ethat's the height ofs mount everest. because each day she chooses to take the stairs. at work, at home... even on the escalator. that can be hard on her lower body, so now she does it with dr. scholl's orthotics. clinically proven to relieve and prevent foot, knee or lower back pain, by reducing the shock and stress that travel up her body with every step she takes. so keep on climbing, sarah. you're killing it. dr. scholl's. born to move. >> i am glad to be here to talk about the nuclear station. what ports should americans sail into. >> president trumps it national security advisor john bolton suggesting weeks before his appointment how the president should handle his upcoming summit with kim jong-un.we are back w

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cigna buying express scripts for 67 billion. creating one-stop shopping conglomerates for health care. look at humana i should say, that competes with cigna and it is way down on the news, four bucks lower. costco's profit, sales not up to what everybody was expecting t has stiff competition from amazon, walmart. it is down three bucks. kroger they the reported higher sales. they gave a weak forecast. when you give a weak forecast for the future, looking down the road, not so rosie, the stock goes down 11% in the case of kroger. >>> before we get to tariffs and the other news from washington i want to go back to my editorial, if that is what you want to call it a rant you might call it. the editorial in the "washington post," it is time for us to give socialism a try. i disagree with that senator john kennedy from louisiana, the master of one-liner. what do you say, senator. >> i don't know miss bruenig, "the washington post" columnist, sounds like she was playing frisbee in the quad during history class. stuart: that was a good

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cigna stocks are actually down about 13 points. that's nearly 7%.express scripts. they're doing very well this morning. up 11 points. that's about 15%. they trade on the nasdaq. this is a second deal to combine the health insurer and a pharmacy following that recent aetna cvs deal. cigna certainly hoping to compete with that model in the future. >>> jessica, thank you. >>> new questions about president trump's involvement in the special counsel investigation. >>> in our daily, robots are taking over the world segment, amazon says it knows why alexa has been terrifying users with a creepy laugh. >> now to distract you. here's a cute video of penguins. how one researcher captured this viral hit. >>> you're looking live at the big board. big board. not too >> announcer: today's storm is level 1. that means light rain. so keep an umbrella handy and drive safely. track today's storm any time on the abc 7 news app. download it now. >>> you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. here we go. take a look at the showers that are

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but thanks to cigna, we can do more than just look heroic.p save lives by getting you to a real doctor for a check-up. nurse, this thing's defective. please don't touch that. we are the tv doctors of america. together with cigna reminding you... to go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses! cigna. together, all the way. ah, my poor mouth breather. allergies? stuffy nose? can't sleep? enough. take that. a breathe right nasal strip of course. imagine just put one on and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than allergy medicine alone. so you can breathe, and sleep. better than a catnap. shut your mouth and say goodnight, mouthbreathers. breathe right. >>> health news this morning for a big name. the former governor of california, arnold schwarzenegger, is reportedly in stable condition this morning after he had emergency heart surgery. >> he went in for a preplanned less invasive procedure but due to complications, it turned into that emergency open heart surgery. abc's marci gonzalez is in l.a. with more, and, marci,

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cigna is a very fine company and a good partner of ours and certain aspects of our business. >> there is no reason to think that you can't it is not either or? >> not either or at all. do you envision today where health care wouldn't be a huge part of the gdp? >> i can envision a day when that could happen. if you look forward to the future, call it seven, eight, nine years out you can see the strong implications of technology to help cure health care costs. the health systems going to broadly based mechanisms will drive greater efficiency we are up against a series of macro demographic trends with an aging population health care costs are driven by chronic disease and that is not going to shift any time soon. >> do you think you can manage drug prices and i say that because this coupon initiative is one that i am a customer, i want to know more about it because the one thing i know is there are drugs that i want and the prices are too high and i see in canada and other places they have coupons. are you in favor of them >> drug prices are too high. and we work every day to bring great

cigna.ether, all the way. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> the president steered his team hard right firing the national security advisor mcmaster replacing him with john bolton. the shift not popular with the left and the mainstream media. they bent over backwards to belittle bolton's credentials. >> i find him to be dangerous and it put me in a state of anxiety. >> i had a grim feeling in my belly this morning. i think the shooting war with iran and north korea are greater than they were this morning. >> he's dangerous. >> he is a warmonger. he has no problem thinking about starting a war. >> a warmonger. aside from his extensive foreign policy appearance. bolton was u.s. ambassador to the united nations in bush 43. cnn dismissed him as another fox news talking head. that did not sit well with the white house. >> the irony is not lost some that you have tv stars calling john bolton tv personalities. that's kind of weird. they have substantial accomplishments. i have known both for decades. that's what happens

it could've been a number of insurers but if your member, cigna was the target. had a limited extra cash to play with, that is why they're making this. >> qualcomm delaying a key shareholder vote after the committee on foreign investor that -- they said that it is on course to win all succeeds and is seeking at the board. there has been a flurry of news on this huge deal of course. $117 billion. is moving ahead were very here? >> if you are betting it would happen, you have some really good news and some really bad news. the bad news was that it looks like the u.s. government is going to take a look at this, that they don't like the idea of them taking over qualcomm. on the positive side, the initial return that we were able to retain indicates that they on the positive side, the were going to win shareholder approval for the takeover of this. >> the prejudice or looks to we've had of rivals in the united states. >> it has been two years since he took over as ceo and he seems to be bringing us back to a time back in the 1990's when they were doing these really bi

more details between cigna and its price cribs. $67 billion. that includes $50 million of express scripts after anthem said it will launch a benefits manager last year. it is a partner, maybe was the partner of a poem. consolidation for a couple years now. substantially higher up almost 16% right now. rattling the currency market. bitcoin taking 17% yesterday. coming after the fcc -- sec warned of online trading firms with regulatory oversight. investors are worried they will not only go after crypto currency to regulate them, but also a lot of americans that have gotten on 10,000 right now. is maria: would we come back, there's bipartisan support for the rollback of some obama era rules. actor russell crowe that a go of his wife. you can reap the benefits of his divorce apparently. he's hosting an option and calling it the art of divorce. some of this pricey personal items. back in a moment. ♪ great, another dead end. sarge, i just got a tip that'll crack this case wide open! turns out the prints at the crime scene- awwwww...did mcgruffy wuffy

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cigna. together, all the way. >>> we just heard stormy daniels' friend. said she wants to sue michael cohen too. good evening. i'm not sure if you heard alana evans hoeb homes ago. she wants to sue michael koe hen for defamation, does she have a case? >> in this case you va public statement that it's false, that there's no privilege attached to it. what she has to establish is what she said about her was false. it's not clear to me completely what she said rises to that level. you know, she could file the lawsuit but it's not clear to me yet that she has reached the threshold. others can disagree for sure. that's a subjective determination for what is injury. >> i want to move onto russia and other things. what do you think? does she have a case? >> yeah. what i would say is she could certainly file a case and then it would give her some leverage. i don't know how strong stormy daniels' case is. it will give her leverage against the president. it will create problems. >> the daily beast reporting that two more attorneys for turning down to turn down his l

cigna shares down 11% right now. but express scripts up almost 10%.e it is, the amazon connection. thank you, lauren. >>> president trump has a meeting in about an hour with videogame executives after the florida school shooting. we bring deirdre bolton here in on this. unfortunately debated for years after something terrible happens. does violence in video games equate to violence? >> it mixed. i looked through studies with the american psychological association, there are studies that show yes, actually the more you play violent video games, the longer you play, more years you play, the less empathy you have for fellow human beings, less compassion. essentially the more aggressive it makes you. here is what is tricky? there is a media arm part of the american psychological association, so same group of people essentially who says there's no link. not surprisingly at all the ceo's of sony, microsoft, nintendo, activision, they have their own, let's call it representation group, lobbying group. connell: they're fighting against this for years. >> comp

health care business, cigna agreed to buy express scripts for the $4 billion in cash and stocks.iate prices as drug makers, for insurers and employers, political pressure over rising costs. come back at kroger, just hitting a speed bump. the largest grocery store chain in the u.s., issued a weak earnings forecast for the year, raising concerns about whether kroger can compete with amazon and walmart. they are posted three straight quarters of sale growth. u.k., department store chain john lewis, high costs will squeeze pockets this year. cut employeeso annual bonuses from 6% of salary to 5%. that is your latest "bloomberg business flash". buche: still ahead, jane internationaln women's day and the hedge fund industry. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ live from london, i'm mark barton with the european close roughly 10 minutes away. vonnie: live from new york, i'm vonnie quinn. the disparity between men and women in hedge funds is one of the highest and finances. controlling less than 1% of the $3 trillion in the industry. they control about half the size of assets, as male counterparts. th

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cigna is buying express scripts as health care integration picks up speed.avid westin. welcome lisa. alix steel is out today. lisa: we hope you are all hanging in there on the east coast. let's get you caught up with the market action ahead of the u.s. open. you can see a little bit of a mixed teacher, the dax down about a quarter of a percent. as to be futures picking up into the green. the euro weakening against the dollar head of the ecb announcement in about 45 minutes. two-year yields up just a touch. david.

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heat insurance cigna is buying express scripts in a deal. that represents 31% premium to express scripts wednesday closing price. health care companies are consolidating in light of a changing landscape. pharmacy managers run prescription drug programs for heat insurance companies and government agencies. >>> speaking of amazon it's expanding its offer for discounted prime membership for people on medicaid. this comes nine months after amazon began offering lower membership to those in poverty. back to you. >>> good deal. >> thanks. 4:48. southwest offering more flights to san jose international airport. starting today the airline adding an extra flight to phoenix. now there's six daily trips and starting saturday southwest will launch its first international flight to cabo san lucas. over the next few months the airline will add 70 flights to houston, orlando, spokane and other cities. i think i do want to get away. >> for those heading to the airport let's get a check of what's going on with the roads because it's raining and slick out the

cigna. together, all the way. . >>> mr.s, the senate and all elected leaders of america, you have failed us and we have had enough of your nra agenda. i'm calling out those who have taken money from the nra. you better bring that check to the bank and put it in your retirement fund because we're going to vote you out! >>> much of the talk today was not just about politicians in general but nra specifically and a rally against those who work with or take money from the nra. marco rubio is under fire for his answer to will he continue to take the nra money? he tweeted protest is a good way to make a point today but making a change will require both side to find common ground. >> i'm going to start off by putting this price tag right here as reminder for you guys, to know how much marco rubio took for every student's life in florida. >> i'm joined by rick tyler, msnbc analyst and let's get to it. why shouldn't there be a federal ban on these assault-style weapons that most experts say are primarily offensive weapons mean they'

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so we're partnering with cigna to remind you to go see a real doctor. know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. doctor poses! dad! cigna. together, all the way. dad! if his denture can cope with... a steak. luckily for him, he uses super poligrip. it helps give him 65% more chewing power. leaving brad to dig in and enjoy. super poligrip. >>> welcome back to "hardball." va secretary david shulkin isn't the only person president trump has fired without telling them to their face. former fbi director james comey learned of his ouster while at an event in los angeles according to "the new york times." television screens in the background began flashing the news in response to the reports, mr. comey laughed saying he thought it was a fairly funny prank. nbc news also reports trump was angry copy used a government plane to return home to washington. trump announced the departure of reince priebus via a tweet from air force one. former secretary of state rex tillerson also reportedly learned he was fired following a tweet from the preside

. >>> time for the blitz, cigna first.ou think of this deal. >> it's an expensive one and as josh pointed out on the conference call they immediately talked about how challenged the sector of the industry is but nonetheless for cigna to make the move it's a bold move. i think ups called this one the first of march, upgraded express scripts then they blew out earnings at the end of february. this one looks pretty good >> josh. >> yeah. >> costco, same store sales. >> yeah. >> i might have more. >> the stock is falling but maybe it shouldn't because almost 30% growth of e-commerce which is an area costco has been neglecting for a long time the good news is they're going to go for it but the bad news is its going to cost a lot of money but not a bad start. >> kroger is getting hammered today. >> mid june last year, the announcement comes out amazon dives from 30 down to 20. listen to this conference call saying all the wrong things. talking about higher labor costs, higher pension costs, lowering prices to drive growth and no

cigna is down 11%. then we talk about kroger. kroger according to all the analysts who look at this is having a hard time conceiving against the giant amazon and walmart as well. it's the number one and the s&p 500 as we speak today came out with their numbers and they disappointed investors. their full year forecast is the key, that's a meant as well and that's why we see the figure at the steepest drop since june. liz: nicole thank you very much. we are now 20 minutes away from the presidents reveal live on "fox business" the tariff proclamations revealing a surprise witness in a business verses government battle. we need to get to that as well. the closing bell, we are 50 minutes away from that with the dow up 72 at&t headed back to port over the phone plan to buy time warner by charlie gasparino says one major cable company could place a spoiler as a surprise witness. we told you that lake berman was getting to -- working to get his hands on on the terraplane. folksy guy. he is rushing to our cameras now. blake will break the