david einhorn writing about frustration with performance.ay be unintended consequences on what the tax overhaul has done with overseas assets. and winning the jackpot, outperforming in 2017, mr. eagleson coming on strong. theing us is jason kelly, executive editor for global television, and still with us isbeth brooke-marciniak, global vice chair of public policy at ey. we have to mention goldman. >> we have to talk about earnings. david: i said that it took out the tax effects, they had a beat, i apologize because i read it wrong. >> we will see, it looks like the market has not made up its mind yet. one thing that jumped out, i think it was mentioned before break, investment banking seems like the clear winner, i wonder if iit is a precursor to more ipos. it seems like a healthy part of the business. i am not sure if companies will get more active now that there is clarity on the tax side. >> certainty always matters and we see the biggest balanced growth. beth: this is balanced growth, all the g20 countries have seen growth for the first

biggest names in the hedge fund business makes some new big name buys in stock market see where david einhorn is putting his money. before the break, our data partners on how far the markets soared after the big jump in the first two weeks of january we've seen gains like this just five times since 1980. and each time, the nasdaq, s&p and dow have big years 100% of the time for more, go to cnbc.com/kensho. halftime report is back in two minutes. o wants customizable options chains? ones that make it fast and easy to analyze and take action? how about some of the lowest options fees? are you raising your hand? good then it's time for power e*trade the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. alright one quick game of rock, paper, scissors. 1, 2, 3, go. e*trade. the original place to invest online. you myour joints...thing for your heart... or your digestion... so why wouldn't you take something for the most important part of you... your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain health supplement in drug stores nat

and green light's david einhorn. >> a lot to work with today, scott.ian manis joins us from structure capital. >> good morning. >> you make the point which we teased before the break that the phenomenon of icos is altering the way founders think of creating companies >> yeah. >> what do you mean? >> it is but it is dangerous. it is very dangerous on one hand we want to be supportive of this because this gives opportunities to definitely to fuel new companies. on the other hand, there is a lot of irresponsibility that goes with this there is a lot of thought that is being created because icos, if they're based on a white paper and just raised on that, then that's a problem. and that's a scam. but on the other hand, if they have sec filing, if they have packages, due diligence packages, if there is some product that we can invest in, then i think that's an interesting opportunity. but i see this as a tool rather than a currency. i see cryptocurrencies as an ability for companies such as kodak, you have the kodak coin and that was fascinating jeff clark c

think some of these hedge fund managers, even those prone to big splashy public presentations, david einhorn, less and less but in the past, dan loeb, they'll dial it back too. they still see the value of sort of crowd -- i don't want to call it crowdsourcing because it's not that, but sharing with the crowd an idea. but ackman really flew so close to the sun, he had his icarian moment and it freaked people out. >> we miss you kate kelly joining us. >>> up next, portfolios with purpose. 2017 master class winner is with us he breaks downis wni hinng strategy "halftime report" back right after this what's critical thinking like? a basketball costs $14. what's team spirit worth? (cheers) what's it worth to talk to your mom? what's the value of a walk in the woods? the value of capital is to create, not just wealth, but things that matter. morgan stanley and made it liberating. we took safe and made it daring. we took intelligent, and made it utterly irresistible. we took the most advanced e-class ever and made the most exciting e-class ever. the 2018 e-class coupe and sedan. lease the e300 seda

light capitals david einhorn calls last quarter's return frustrating for both sides.ording to a quarterly investor letter funds declined 1.6% in the fourth quarter. the letter also said the firm took a small stake in twitter and a long position in bright house financials. mark cuban says the dallas mavericks will accept cryptocurrencies next season. to aeeted his response user asking when fans would be able to buy tickets with bitcoin. he invested in the cryptocurrency later in the year. and that is your business flash update. that coin is trading lower today. it fell as much as 20% at one point. when you look at major equity markets or the major indexes inadequate markets the dow had been clinging to a gain. it has turned negative. the three major indexes are at their lows of the session. it is rare in 2018 to see a decline in the s&p 500. two declines this year out of 10 trading days. julia: we had the surge this morning. investors obviously digesting earnings. we had oil under pressure as well. the dollar down some .7%. scarlet: metals were under pressure as well.

and their smaller activism peers names like nelson peltz whose management fund was up 3.7% and david einhorn'scapital was up 6%. barry rosenstein was up about 5.6% last year and then, of course, there's bill ackman, who after three years of losses recently fired ten people from within his firm. that's according to a person familiar with the matter since 2015, pershing's assets have been cut in half. i'm told they had redemptions at the end of the year but that wasn't necessarily the catalyst for the restructuring. it's all part of a longer soul-searching within the firm to turn around performance but not all major activists underperformed in 2017 third point by dan loeb, as he tells it in his fourth quarter letter, the key to the firm's success last year was hiring sector specialists who picked good stocks. it's all about the stock pickers. also worth noting that unlike the others, third point did not wage any proxy fights last year. >> that's an interesting point still working on nestle right now, i thought i saw. >> working on nestle but hasn't risen to that level of proxy fight, trying to s