i know it is to directv. but what is your commitment to kerry programming that is important and directed at rural america? >> rural america is important to us. we had opportunities in the past to sell off our rural assets. we have chosen not to. now when you have a profitable tv product it changes the economics for rural broadband develop. ... about the comment about anything that was during the questioning period so far with our two distinguished witnesses. >> yes. thank you. i think when it comes time to the investment at&t is making i would urge them to put that in context. it's important to distinguish upgrades from new buildout and i think a lot of the numbers consist of upgrades and adding a sixth wireless product to an existing coverage area. that might be an out of investment but it's less than a buildout and it's important to put it in context in a way and the existing plan at&t has a fairly ambitious buildout plan talks about a lot of the buildout and at&t plans. at&t has an initiative to the gigabi

it would not just be directv. i know there was some arbitration that expired -- and directv had to submit to arbitration. i think comcast still does. i think you said in your feelment that you did not like that with sufficient. do you want to comment further on that or on discriminatory pricing? >> yeah, let me start with i think the issue that is most readily tied to the at&t-directv deal, which is directv's incentive to charge its rivals higher prices for its programming, which will get greater as a result of this deal. currently, there is not enough protections to avoid a problem. mr. white has explained that the program access rules are subject them currently, however, those rules themselves are not enough. even directv has suggested in programergers where access rules already exist that there should be heightened protections and that is argued for arbitration conditions. fcc has asked for that same condition. direct tv is part of a 2008 merger had arbitration , baseball-style arbitration space on coming up wi

i am ceo of directv. tonk you for inviting me testify on the proposed acquisition of directv. for any business to succeed in the long term, it must satisfy its customers needs better than the competition, day in and day out. this transaction will help directv and at&t do exactly that. by combining complementary assets, products will be able to offer new services to customers at a better value. we will help consumers watch the video they want, when they wanted, where they want it, and on the devices of their choice and we will be well-positioned to compete well into the future. i would like to briefly describe the perspective on the transaction. tv is aally, direct remarkable american success story. we have competed aggressively by delivering more high-definition , clearer picture, and better customer service than cable. has also had a lot to do with our success. making sure we could a prior -- acquire the programming our subscribers demanded. in recent years, broadband is changing everything. to continue to compete effectively in the internet driven economy, we too must adapt.

i'm ceo of directv. thank you for inviting me to testify on at&t's proposed acquisition of directv. for any business to succeed in the long term it must satisfy his customers needs better than the competition day in and day out. this transaction will help directv and at&t to do exactly that. by combining complementary assets and products, we'll be able to offer new services to customers at a better value. we will help consumers watch the video when they want and on the devices of their choice and we'll be well positioned to compete well into the future. i would like to briefly describe directv's perspective on the transaction. historically directv is a remarkable american success story. we've competed aggressively by delivering more high-definition channels, clearer picture, more advanced equipment and better customer service than cable. congress has had a lot to do with our success, making sure in the early years that we could acquire the program our subscribers demanded. in recent years, however, broadband is changing everything. if we want to continue to compete effectively in to

>> at directv we have outsourced partners. in terms of directv, it's de minim minimis. some of our installers in the northeast are union. >> have there been efforts to unionize the work force in the past? >> i think we've had a vote in one geography in california, yes. >> and what was the outcome of that result? >> that result was in favor of unionizing. we've had some questions from our standpoint they're going through the commission by challenging that but, i mean, we're waiting for the ruling from the nlrb, i believe. >> thank you. mr. stephenson, in terms of legacy directv employees, i believe you said they will have an opportunity to join cua, is that correct. >> we have a process of open cart neutrality. >> the potential will be through neutrality in terms of car check. >> yeah. we have a long track record in this regard. when we bought at&t wireless, for example, we opened up the work force to car check. the union came in and held a vote and across many of the locations they voted to join or to become part of the collective bargaining process. some places not. we

of directv affiliated programmers to charge higher prices to at&t/directv rivals. i think the same thing would apply to comcast, nbc, and, you know, obviously others. it wouldn't be just directv. but would you -- and i know there was some arbitration that expired and directv had to submit to arbitration. i think comcast still does. i think you said in your statement that you didn't feel like that was sufficient. do you want to comment further on that? or on discriminatory pricing? >> yeah. let me start with the issue that's most directly tied to the at&t/directv deal which is their -- which is directv's incentive to charge its rivals higher prices for its programmi programming, which will get greater as a result of this deal. current there isn't enough protections to avoid that problem. i think mr. white has explained that program access rules were subject to them currently. hour, those rules themselves are not enough. even directv has suggested in cases, mergers where program access rules already exist that there should be heightened protections. fcc has asked for

i get it because of cbs's paying directv are getting paid by directv, they may not see those revenues excellent point. technically, this more than just a broadcasters against aereo. sports guys are concerned about this. is victorious, what does that mean for the broadcasters? ceo says we will move from being a broadcast network to being a cable channel. the power ofave espn where a lot of the world cup action is taking place. asuppose you could be moving lot of the sports content that is currently on the broadcast networks to the cable channels. that's one of the many moving parts we will have to keep an eye on as this unfolds. >> the broadcasters have certainly cried wolf enough time so you wonder what they're math is like and how much pain they will feel. absolutely, i think aereo does not have a plan b and broadcasters don't have a plan b because they all have different interests. >> can't wait to see you tomorrow so thank you very much. you can get the latest headlines all the time on your phone and tablet and bloomberg.com and on bloomberg radio. we will see you on "bloomberg wes

white is that directv is offering synthetic bundles.vided by a separate provider and a lot of the complaints that it -- they have been hearing are a lot of -- about dealing with two different providers with the synthetic bundle. , actuallyeir case sort of undermining some of their business credibility with the synthetic bundles, which is pretty interesting. >> do hearings like this just give lawmakers a chance to channel -- >> ha ha ha. ' concerns?s >> let's be clear. the chances of this going through are quite high. these two companies do not really compete with each other. from an anti-competitive benefit, you have to stretch to make a very good benefit -- case. they are going to be all over the map with questions. one senator said my constituents in virginia cannot get the local affiliate station through directv. that doesn't have anything to do with this merger. >> the issue is those people in congress to not understand what is happening. that is a big concern. >> it might be grandstanding or they don't understand. i'm not sure what

directv will not get the nfl rights.t not see those revenues. >> technically this is more than just a broadcasters against aereo. let's go through that hypothetical if aereo is victorious. in the case of cbs, we will move from being a broadcast network to being a cable channel. you already have the power of espn where a lot of the world cup action is taking place. i suppose you could be moving a lot of the sports content that is currently on the broadcast networks to the cable channels. just one of the many moving parts will have to keep an eye on. >> broadcasters have tried wolf enough times that you wonder what their math is like. >> absolutely. and aereo has no plan b. broadcasters do not have a plan b. we will see what happens. >> can't wait to see you tomorrow. you can get the latest headlines all the time on your phone, tablet, bloomberg.com, and radio. we will see you tomorrow. ♪ >> be following is a paid program. >> of these statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration.

directv is very strong in page tv. these are really complementary services. >> what about any other components? rex there are opponents. consumer groups, competing smaller cable providers that say the issue is at&t is a paid tv service as well. they do offer limited video service in 21 markets. is a nationwide service and you have at&t in the 21 markets. so they say it will be an upward pressure on pricing. very contrary from what we heard from stephenson today. >> thank you. coming up, senior analyst paul sweeney has been watching the at&t to wreck tv proposed merger very closely. he will join us new york time to get best when -- details on the hearings being held today. that is coming up. new signs of a rebound in the housing market. is it enough to get my next guest to turn bullish on housing? michael for rowley chief economist at jpmorgan joins me when we continue in just a moment. ♪ >> taking a closer look at the health of the u.s. housing markets. sales soared in may to the highest hubbell a 2008 jumping 18.6%. c

the da william dollar takeover of directv is under scrutiny on the hill today. randall stephenson willis they -- will say the deal will mean more savings for people like us. megan has more. wantdo members of congress to know? what is their warning sign? of the big questions, you just hit on it. we will hear those sorts of questions over again. we will hear from the at&t's eeo . they will testify in the house and then really lay out their cases. this is a good thing for consumers. we have early testimony. by integrating directv's capability with our strength in broadband delivery, we will create a new competitor with unprecedented capabilities. content costs by subscribers will be -- 26 lien dollars in savings three years after closing and it will enable at&t to offer highest the broadband 250 million more customer locations, which a lot of members of congress have been pushing work. neutrality is also a sweetener to the administration. we will hear a lot of talk about synergy and how it will put bundled pressure on packages for consumers. ultimately, he says, dr

if directv fails to renew its agreement with the directv's nfl deal expires at the end of the season.in negotiations with the nfl, and he says based on those discussions he's confident they'll reach an agreement by the end of this year. liz: you know last year i had the opportunity to ask mike white about whether company, directv, would push to renew its contract with the nfl. i'm not jumping ahead to 2014, but let me jump aheld to 2014. do you foresee no heart what it costs having to pay up for that? >> we already pay up for it. we were kind of leveraged up the last time. liz: they're really going to hammer it. >> we've got a terrific relationship with the nfl. nfl sunday ticket is a big deal for us, and we are investing in that product, by the way. just to show you, you know, we believe this that product. liz: okay, so you plan to renew. >> yeah, i'm optimistic. liz: he was very confident because i kept pushing, and he kept saying don't worry about it. rich edson, thank you very much, the details from d.c. it's still interesting to see how their argument of having fewer competitors

can he convince lawmakers on his company's merger with directv?hood seeing the world in reverse, and i loved every minute of it. but then you grow up and there's no going back. but it's okay, it's just a new kind of adventure. and really, who wants to look backwards when you can look forward? over 1.2 billion eyeballs are on us during the two weeks at wimbledon. true tennis fans want to know what's happening. they don't want to just see what's happening, they want to know and understand why it's happening. anybody can just put data up, but we want to get a reaction, make it far more interactive. we rely on the cloud to provide that immersive digital capability. give fans more then just the game with the ibm cloud. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow. that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business intern

to 13 million locations and would not be possible without directv technology. wanted to buy directv for $49 billion and the deal is still pending approval. let the games begin. videogames, that is. sony, microsoft, nintendo, and all the big names are in l.a. for the annual e3 gathering. let me bring in jon erlichman he was in l.a. right now and will be covering this event for us. jon, what are the highlights? >> the business story is that software helps sell hardware. last year, the big players were really unveiling their consoles. the xbox one and playstation 4 and nintendo's latest chess piece the wii u. after we have seen these devices on the market, now comes the second wave of how to get people excited about buying some of these new consoles. part of what you do is show them really cool games. the hard-core gamers are already owners of these various devices and games but if there is excitement or hype, maybe it carries to the more casual gamer. we certainly saw that transition from the last generation to this new generation, a lot of people just a satisfie

cambia que ya ha directv. >> nadie te da mÁs fÚtbol que directv >> tendremos una ediciÓn especial departido de colombia uruguay, luego mÉxico se prepara. >> gracias alejandro. el mundial nos ha dejado varios hÉroes. al director tÉcnica de la selecciÓn mexicana ya tiene su lugar entre los hÉroes. del piojo herrera roba la atenciÓn en brasil. >> la selecciÓn mexicana casi mete un gol... >> y gol!! >> falta... y muchas mÁs han sido las caras de miguel el viejo herrera que equiparan las redes sociales que ha sido catalogado como el tÉcnico mÁs intenso. con o sin estas caras, el director tÉcnico estÁ haciendo historia. se ha convertido en un gran acierto este personaje que brinca o mayora, e insulta, contagia todas sus energÍas creando un espÍritu. >> en los octavos, mÉxico se verÁ con holanda, y si mÉxico gana miguel herrera dejara su huella en los rÉcords. >> ese viejo si que brinca! >> sÍ tiene historias que quiere que investiguemos, noticias que reportar, llame a nuestra redacciÓn, o mÁndenos un e-mail a... >> siguen aumentando los casos, en las Últimas dos semanas se registraron 1100

that's right, at&t defends the plan for a $40 billion takeover of directv. at&t says the acquisition is the only way the companies can compete with the comcast-time warner service. the filing says directv is hampered by the inability to offer high speed internet. at&t can only give their u verse. at&t says if the fcc and justice department sign off on the deal, they promise to offer service at a reasonable price. tracy? >> a lot of people will watch for that decision. thanks. >>> cool start this morning. we are dealing with clouds and fog, too. some areas of thick fog. it's getting thicker. in this view from the venture aquarium looking toward the ben franklin bridge. 62 degrees. how is traffic looking? >> we are seeing thick fog. this is a live look at trooper road. this is a spot we typically see delays later in the morning. no big delays on 422, yet. >>> we continue to follow the breaking news out of delaware county. >> firefighter have been working after a popular tavern erupts in flames. jesse gary is live on scene in norwood. jesse? >> reporter: the fi

considering directv's long term growth potential. amazon may soon carry a new tune... buzzfeed reports amazon is adding a music streaming service for its "prime" customers. it will compete with spotify and pandora -- however amazon will reportedly only stream older tunes, and less newer music. its the latest additon to the prime package that includes video streaming and ebook lending. the first smartphone factory in the u.s. will close its doors by the end of the year. the factory in fort worth, texas opened to great fanfare about a year ago. the majority of phones are assembled in asia. however, the google motorola mobility smartphones coming out of the fort worth plant were allowed to be stamped with "made in the usa" because it was final step in the manufacturing process. the factory employs 700 people. permanet hang up still to come will a stock split have average investors rushing to buy apple! plus.... is the bickering over when it comes to health care reform? and....our next guest says the beauty industry... has an ugly secret... stay with us! real issues they'r

. >>> at&t plans to defend its takeover of directv in a filing with the sec.t&t says the only way the companies can compete with the proposed comcast/time warner merger. the filing says directv is currently unable to offer high-speed internet while they only provide u-verse service in a few markets. >>> and starbucks wants to help you literally recharge your batteries. the coffee change is teaming up with duracell to roll out phone charging nationwide and starbucks tested in boston and san jose and must have an external battery or phone case with a supplemental battery. laura? >> charge up your battery, charge up your phone. sound good. >>> let's see how the weather will charge things up. let's check in with christina. >> we've got a good-looking day shaping up. yesterday was really nice and told we welcome you to the coolest day of the week. it's hard to remember the triple digits after a day like yesterday. how fantastic was that? we are at 56 degrees to start the day. good morning to you, my friends, in san francisco. 59 in the south bay and the weather sto

at&t indicated they would sell for its directv purchase.

agreed to buy&t directv but the dealer still pending. -- videoames begin games, that is. the big names from the gaming world are in l.a. for the gathering. let's bring in jon erlichman who's in l.a. and will be covering this event. what are the highlights? >> i think the business story this year is that software helps sell hardware. like the big felt players were unveiling their gaming consoles, the next generation devices. now comes the after we have seen these devices on the market, now comes the second wave of getting people excited about buying some of these gaming consoles and part of the way you do that is show them really cool games. are alreadye gamers owners of these various devices and games but if there is some excitement tied to specific danes, maybe that carries into the more casual gamer. transitiony saw the from the last generation of consoles to this new generation. a lot of people were just as satisfied to play games but less fancy on their phones and tablets. >> what about the continued focus on franchise games like " halo." what is the game plan their?

it all makes sense for directv. for at&t, i agree. they will make a case where if they're not going to push costs onto consumers they need to make a strong case that people want the bundle. >> what if they actually made the case that says things are going to get more expensive to my we are going to have more control over how that hype gets into your house, but we need to do it because you did not let us do the deal with t-mobile, deutsche telekom so please let us do the direct tv deal. >> regulators may look at this as megan said not on a standalone basis but in the world of other deals that are happening. >> like the potential t-mobile sprint deal. >> those are the three telecom deals. of the three this is the easiest regulatory cell. >> you have got satellite and wireless. >> exactly. if you were to look at it and say is this going to lead to more consolidation, are all these deals going to lead to more consolidation in the industry, will the content companies start to come together, so will we see mergers. you have fewer companies

right now directv and the nfl are negotiating contracts.billion-dollar direct tv deal if directv be does not negotiate. it's all about sports. stuart: all about football. calls for investigation that the bribed its way for being the r the 2000 all caps read the first time it has been hosted by a muslim country. the itreeggeshey se?isers for g deal and this could wreck their own corporate brand names the world association for soccer needs to stand up to read it's coke, sony, eddy is all saying you need to probe this corruption charge. it will start to possibly hurt us. stuart: this work-- this year's world cup which starts thursday re: facing problems. that's a video from the subway strike in its fifth day right before the big games begin. >> this is really serious and already the strikers have been fire. you have to wonder if the officials in brazil will do what ronald reagan did with the air traffic controllers because there is major traffic congestion and problems leading up to the world cup. >> and the stadiums are not even ready. stuart

liz: do you play the arbitrage deal with directv? one of ways that warren buffett has made money over the years is risk arbitrage. liz: explain to people what that is. >> so you buy directv today for $83, and. >> 9-12 months you'll get $95. clash 28.50 -- liz: that seems simple to me. >> well, it is risk arbitrage because there's risk. namely, what's at&t's stock price going to do over that time? you're hedged a little bit, will the deal close? will the regulators block it? my belief is, yes, they will, and i think the 14% implicit return there compensates you for that risk. liz: and, scott, does it play into whatever liberty or directv or any other stock might do in general that the economic data are starting to look better and, therefore, what pieces of data do you hook at that indicate to you whether people should be all in on stocks? >> well, i don't think you need to be all in, but you don't need to be all out. and as far as the wealth managers like the gentleman is on there, they're probably in a sweet spot because you have ind

. >>> the ceos of directv and at&t head to capitol hill to testify about the merits of their proposed $49 billion memorier. they also say the combined company will sxan high speed broadband service to at least 15 million customers mostly in rural areas. critics say the merger would stifle consumer choices. in the session today, at&t slightly higher by around $4%. directv losing by around 0.3%. >>> last week we told you about the new app yo the start-up which apparently began life as a joke, it allows users to do nothing but say yo to one another. but it's seen a huge amount of. layerty topping the charts, even securing over $1 million in venture capital money. over the weekend, hackers exposed a security flaw in the app. later on in the show, we'll be joined by the app's co-founder live from san francisco. >> instead of yo, it should be yikes. >> i don't. what am i saying to you? yo. >> you're very hip. >>> anyway, what's the weirdest app you've seen lately? get in touch with us here on "worldwide exchange." worldwide@cnbc.com, @cnbcwex or directly to julia or me. you can yo us if you

at&t and directv, time warner cable and comcast. the ceo sent a strong signal.media must invest and consolidate devices and services from ipad to netflix. we are joined this morning by the cofounder of the cable giant charter communications. ceo ofrent chairman and the tv and phone ceo, serving millions of americans. given the deals you have seen, do you see any pressure to consolidate? >> we would like to find the sometimes,-- fit. these make you feel like you're in a land of goliath. they are pretty megamergers. customers. million you see charter communications. ofalready take on a lot competitors. we compete against at&t, verizon, dish, directv, centurylink. we compete very well. over the past several years, we have averaged over six percent growth in revenues. we're the only cable operator to grow our customer relationships four years in a row. that means the number of homes we served in services. the last reported quarter, we actually had a record. i think we are doing pretty well. qwest how have you been able to do that? when everybody says you are facing

i want to bring in creighton. >> at&t has another big deal, buying directv.flict of interest because directv has a bunch of operations in latin america and they compete against each other for customers. at&t and them investors and for that long? >> carlos was the guy who invatized the phone company 1990. partners. have been they forged an alliance in the beginning. this was years and years ago because the mexican government was going to sell the phone company. at the time, he had no company.e in the phone he came along to help guide him in the industry. slim want to see at&t to vets -- divest its stake? >> i do not think he would, but they had to find a way. it was an 8.3% stake in that company. takingngs that helps is shares and getting diluted. >> all right. thank you so much. bloomberg news editor. we are just a few moments away from the opening bell their the top 10 trades you do not want to miss right after the break. tay right here. ♪ >> welcome back. it is 26 minutes past the hour. bloomberg television is on the markets. the latest rate before the open

. >>> the ceos of both companies are expected to testify, that is at&t and directv.t must be approved by antitrust regulators and the fcc. congress has no sway in the decision process. at&t and frankfurt up just modestly by 0.5%. directv almost flat in frankfurt trading. >>> still to come on the show, another day, another bidder. coming up, we find out which company has reportedly joined the race to take over smith & nephew. >>> we'll leave you with a view of the heat map to see how the european markets are trading right now. pretty much unchanged going into that all-important ecb meeting. we'll see you in two. then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ >>> welcome back to the show. let's give you a look at u.s. futures

. >> they've cloned directv trucks, fedex trucks, even police cars.u believe a school bus? >> what was really interesting is they took dummies so that if they passed by, you would see it passing and you would see it was occupied. >> police is k not say how many cloned vehicles are on the road, but correct spelling is essential for those who don't want to be caught. this truck was labeled border patron. >> that's a common vehicle in our area except for wait says, "border patron." so someone's got a sense of humor on the other side too. >> anna werner, cbs news, dallas. >>> well, coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more on the insurgent push in iraq. holly williams is in erbil with the latest. >>> plus why health experts are saying it's okay to eat butter again. and we sid down with writer and producer chuck lowery, producer of two hit shows. that's it for "cbs morning news." i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> we're starting with breaking news right now a popular restaurant destroyed by f

at&t has proposed to buy satellite tv provider, directv, for $49 billion. that faces a steep approval process and analysts have questioned the move. for nightly business report, i'm morgan brennan. >>> still ahead, what office landlords are doing to manage not only where you work but also where you live and play. that's coming up. >>> the city of chicago is taking on big far ma. it is suing five of the world's largest painkillermakers, accusing them of hiding the health risks of potent drugs, like oxycontin. of violating local laws against false advertising, conspiracy, insurance fraud and consumer fraud by marketing the painkillers as "rarely addictive" and the city says that listed benefits lack any scientific support. the companies named in the lawsuit are activist, endo health solutions, janssen pharmaceuticals, a unit of johnson & johnson, perdue farm la andself lon, a division of tefa. >>> meanwhile, cries the country in seattle washington, an historic vote raising the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour. it will be phased in over three to seven years

. >>> at&t defends its plan to $48 billion takeover of directv in a filing with the s.e.c. at&t says the acquisition is the only way the companies can compete with a proposed comcast time warner cable merger in bundle video and broadband internet service. richard? >> all right, sima, thank you so much. >>> just ahead, some live pictures of the corinthian stadium in sao paolo, brazil. the globe about to be mesmerized as the world cup gets under way. >>> and sports headlines. want a fiber that's clearly healthy? benefiber is clear, taste free, and dissolves completely. and unlike other fibers, you'll only know you're taking fiber by the way good digestive health makes you look& and feel. and benefiber is so easy, you can feel free to add it to everything you love. and that's clearly fabulous. benefiber. clearly healthy. see benefiber work and save on facebook. revlon colorburst™ matte and lacquer balms two moisture rich finishes velvety matte and high shine lacquer each infused with moisturizing shea, coconut and mango butters... find your finish. revlon ♪ padvil pm gives you

. >> let me just say i think it would be appropriate if we have a hearing on the directv-at&t merger. to the witnesses, my delay was provoked by the fact that this is a year anniversary of the shelby case, the united states case that, in my opinion, dismantled the voting rights in the united states. there is a hearing, and i would almost say that many of the --ist that you represent were affected by that. i apologize for my delay. that is one of the reasons that i dashed in here. i have made it clear -- i think we have an issue that should all, andinterest of the recognition of the talent of the artists, but also to understand -- i have tried to take some time to understand the theings of radio and expense they incur. so, i am prepared to be in this fight for the way forward. i will post my questions in that context. mr. warfield and the representative from pandora deal foundl, the xm in its construct the pay structure for the pre-1972 artists. i would just say listening to be radio before coming here, i heard diana ross. i think she has some music pre-1972. i was going to use it in o

your top holdings are as you described them at&t as of a recent reporting period, microsoft, directv,ides of that game. a couple of your choices include emc, again moving afar field from technology and morgan stanley. why those? >> emc is a very new holding in the portfolio. the stock is up and it has it's trading at about 7 times the value. and 8 times earnings including the 20% holding in vmwar ae. the cash rich balance sheet of $14 billion versus $5 billion of debt. we think there is a lot of opportunity in terms of the holding. let me turn back to you bernard. you said 35% are in us stocks. including these two that you can buy in the united states. why forest labs? >> well forest labs is a company that i used to own in the early 80s and then we pick it up again about a year and a half ago when the stock was down after the obvious lexapro patent concern was going to dry up their cash flow when the product went generic. forest has had a record of developing new drugs to fill that pipeline as they lose cash flow on the more mature drugs. it has done very, very well for us. we have to

other proposed high-profile communications mergers like at&t's bid for directv and comcast time warnerable deal are already driving a sweeping reshaping of the industry. sfri sprint and t-mobile don't want to get left behind. >> the telecommunication industry has always been a scaled game. and so the larger the scale, the better the potential value proposition of that company is to the general public. and largely that's because the business itself is a very high fixed-cost business, and if you have broader scale, what you can inevitably do is drive down prices profitably and also develop a larger cash flow in order to invest in innovation. >> reporter: sprint chairman saun believes a merger will allow sprint to raise data fees and lower prices for consumers. in other words, increase competition. but will regulators agree? the fcc has expressed a preference for four carriers in the argument, an argument cited when they shot down for at&t's bid in 2011. a merger would leave consumers with less choices, something already taking place as the alreegional ng place as the providers dwindles a

over the long-term something will need to be done for the andets where at&t uverse directv both exist. at&t would own two forms of atv. not said howas they will address this. will either to best the sub scrubbers or stop offering .aid tv through uverse that pay tv doubt costs are going to be drawn back here. even though this company is gaining scale. in the end the sports programmers out there, the regional sports networks, they will still have all the leverage. this is not a game changer in the sense you could expect your cable bill to go down if he barks. you still need espn and you will still need to pay for espn. the ideapoint out that for this combination on the part of at&t is it will make them a better, stronger, more profitable company. do you get to be a stronger, bigger, more comfortable -- profitable company by charging less? how does that square with what they do in the board room? rex this is a harder sell for at&t to its shareholders. for her at tb this makes -- direct tv it make sense. it is a huge problem so you come together with at&t and you can lower the subscriber

we have seen interesting moves there by people like directv and dish. we have somewhat direct competition. we are getting more competition. we have to look more broadly at the entire internet ecosystem because it is not just our petition directly between the carriers. it is also market discipline that is provided by the content providers. countries like facebook and netflix can say, we have the relationship with the customer. it is our content that they are interested in and that gives us leverage and how you might price your products or how you build your networks or how you work with us. we have seen lots of examples of that. the content providers, the operating system makers, the smart makers have leverage, too. there is more of them all the time. in some sense, regardless of where you're getting your internet connection from, the people that run the network have a lot of competitive pressure both from actual competitors and these more indirect ecosystem competitors. >> one of the examples in the book is an old-school comparable -- company, corning,

like at&t and directv probably spurs further consideration of what happens with --. have the of products to compete, you can get to a place where a lot of the distribution landscape is in the hands of five or six companies in america. >> which would be a concern. wouldn't that be a problem? concern -- the concern over consolidation is pretty strong. tend to disagree with almost anything senator al franken ever says? >> really, why? >> but i think the idea of a terrestrial cable company having 60% of market share of search scriber's -- of subscribers in share ish the largest a problem. >> we are probably the last generation to have cable. >> you keep saying that, that i don't think that's true. >> you don't even have netflix, but normal people do. -- but people living in atlanta. >> television is what sells cars. people watching on their pc or their ipad, someone is making it. the cornerstone. >> content makers still have a role, especially big content makers, because they have the ability to make fun, big are projects. but the fact is that the people i know under 30

did want to talk about at&t and directv. reported what looked like better revenue guidance a lot was because of accounting changes and the stock did not react positively and down again. after the close yesterday, at&t came out, there was a form 425 showing up in directv's filings. basically providing additional details and updated information, clarifications around key facts related to the proposed acquisition by at&t. number of analysts focusing on one key part which is the scale of the transaction provides at&t that at&t's u-verse content cost after the completion will be reduced by approximately 20% or more as compared with our forecasted stand-alone content costs. again, u-verse which has about 5.6 million video subscribers i believe it is, they're saying they see their content costs coming down by 20% or more as a result of the deal. this adding in to what they're talking about of at least 40% of total synergies being realized by year two after closing. the total synergies being likely to exceed $1.6 billion annually by

if we cannot compete you will not be able to impede if you allow us to buy directv.ators will have multiple things going on. should we block all three or should we let two of them go and block one of them. it will be a complicated picture either this year and early next year. >> i was in seattle last week and a to spend some quality time with john leger. it was a lot of fun. i was really struck by and i met a lot of people that had worked with leger for many years going all the way back to global crossing. one of the big takeaways is this was a plan and they had a plan on how to shake up the telecom industry and drug customers to t-mobile. nedonder if they had a plan response. >> you have to imagine they do. this back-and-forth might make things more difficult. if the merger is going forward -- and by alls accounts it is, you put us together, i am sure they do have some sort of thinking here. thee is no question that two of them are pulling the strings and we hear that john leger is going to be the ceo of this company. no doubt he is involved in the discussion. you c

at&t indicated they would sell for its directv purchase. an online peer lending company is aiming for an ipo. that is according to people with knowledge of the matter. lending club turned a profit of $7.3 million last year. online luxury retailers are fancy, seeking a new valuation of $1.2 billion. bids are due for the bitcoin auction and the results will tell us how much demand there is for the virtual currency. 30,000 are on the block. 20% of bitcoins seized when the government shut down the silk road. potential bidders need to be screened to make sure they have no connections to the silk road or its founder. they are required to deposit $200,000 in cash grid the winners will be announced on monday. matt, this is a fascinating story. >> i love it. think about all the things they seized from silk road. probably heroin, they could have seized fake passports, any contraband you could've bought there. they certainly wouldn't be auctioning it off. but they will be auctioning this off, which says a lot about the legitimacy of this currency. the

at&t and directv. better chance regulatory lead to have all these deals considered at once. if you think about the politics of this, it will be very hard or doj to the fcc approve all three deals, it look like they were asleep at the switch. or reject all three, they will look obstructionist. they will have to pick and choose. it looks likely the odd man out will be sprint-t-mobile. craig moffett, explain why my cable tv bill or phone bill will not go up. sprint ands of t-mobile, they are trying to make a relatively novel argument . which is that they will be a "super maverick." hyper aggressive with price cutting. sell toa very difficult the department of justice. >> thank you. andvery bit of history microeconomic theory will tell you that more concentration leads to higher prices, not lower prices. >> explained the difference. airways-american airlines was going to the doj and said we need to combine in order to compete with united and delta. what is the difference between that, going from 423. -- fr

it's part of a deal to acquire directv.v subscriber skras the producer of the band three doors down is offering his rights to 11 songs starting at $5,400 a shafrmt it's all done on a website. he plans to use the prosides to build his label and pay for a new studio. >>> "the new york times" says the oldest manl died in new york city. he was 111 years old. he says he lives so long because he and his wife who died back in 1986 never had children. ouch. >> they say it was his deep sense of curiosity. it kept his mind sharp. >> even without kids. >> yes. >>> the dow looks at george strait's record-setting farewell concert. ♪ dreams you left behind it's like a lighted candle ♪ >> the country music finished his last tour at at&t stadium in arlington, texas. nearly 105,000 fans were there. it's a record for the largest indoor concert in north america. >>> "anchorman's" ron burgundy things he knows what a woman wants in a man. >> i wasn't expected company. just doing my workout. tuesday's arms and back. >> you asked me to come by, s

holdings toing its meet requirements for a deal with directv which is now a competitor to slim.t's figure out what is going on. billionaires' managing editor joins us now. matt miller, good morning. basically these guys are going to become competitors. >> it is going to be billions of dollars and more fortune for carlos slim because his stock is going to go up. it is going to be lots of headaches. carlos slim helu dealt with regulatory issues. mexican regulators have told him they don't intend to make it a more competitive market. he owns a company that is going to have to get more competitive. it is going to be a lot of headaches but expect it to go up a lot. >> so kind of a bit of a win for him. >> if you think about at&t, they were partners for a long time and now they have to compete with them. that is not necessarily a great thing. he has also got to compete with the mexican regulators. >> there is also concern about how much influence he has. this is really going to heighten that. >> it is something that people weren't talking about when at&t was selling the stake because

we've seen a lot of interesting moves there by people like directv and dish.so we have somewhat competition. we're getting more competition. but i think more importantly, we have to look more broadly at the entire internet ecosystem. pause it's not just competition directly between the carriers, there's also market discipline that's provided by the content providers. increasingly, companies like google, facebook, even netflix can say, you know, we have the relationship with the customer. it's our content that they're interested in, and that gives us leverage in how you might price your products or build out your networks or how you work with us. we've seen lots of examples of that where the content providers, the operating system makers, the smartphone makers in the mobile world, they have leverage too. they're part of the competitive environment. and, in fact, there's more of them all the time. so in some sense, regardless of where you're actually getting your internet connection from, the people that run the network have a lot of competitive pressure both th