i don't thin there is a quick fix for ge or what ales it. they have go just work through their challenges, whether they in power or other issues as well. it's going to take a long time. >> some investors held it for the dividend. as you mentioned, they have slashed the dividend. do they need to eliminate the dividend completely. well, if you look at the cash flows and you referenced early whier in your piece the $15 billion of insurance. this is just one segment of ge capital that they are on the hook for. it's not clear that they do not have to continue to cut the dividend. ge is heavy hadly owned by retail investors. many of them watching the program tonld. i would tell them i don't bee dividend is safe and secure. i k based on all the issues that ge is facing including the debt obligation, future cash obligationd s forth, i do not think this dividend is secure, no. okay. very quickly because i'm really out of time. >> okay. you own the stock, do you own it or do you just sell money you have left from ge into something else? i think you mo

. >> ge is the biggest dog it's not cheap >> right >> it's really not >> says the owner of ge at higher prices. >> says the owner of ge. i also think this eps guidance has been washed out. and i think these guys have intentionally said, we're focusing on two or three core businesses and off we go i continue to maintain ge is very cheap that's what gives me the comfort to hold it >> it's gm that got kicked in its doggie days. >> i mentioned this a couple of times this week, it's controversial but that's my nature, ibm. >> did you hear the warren buffett interview? >> it sounded like he was selling to me. >> it sounds like there will be big news about ibm not good >> it sounded like part of that was for taxable reasons, that's not necessarily a bad thing. >> okay. >> secondly, he bought that

>> i own ge. >> bill has a great track record >> he does i have two questions about ge. this time last year, the company was guiding to about a buck 97 $2, okay then i don't know how this happened, but all of a sudden, within a matter of six months, it was a dollar gone, evaporated nobody pushed any buttons about that when did they know that? because i'm asking that as a shareholder, okay? how is it that they don't have a class action suit on that dollar that evaporated? bill made a point that there's been a lot of change in management i don't think so the new guy came out of the business he was part of that board. i haven't seen a lot of change on the board i'm putting up my hand saying, not so fast, kiddies, where did the dollar go? i want to know where the dollar went you're asking me to pay 17 times with basically the same crew running the show they whacked the head guy, deservedly so, i get that. but i'm back at what happened to the dollar tell me what happened to the dollar now i have to pay 17 times for basically a health care/engine business with a whole lot of c

headaches keep mounting for ge. take a $6.2 billion e.arge for clear gop leaders are fighting to avert a government shutdown as donald trump to meet with the leader of kazakhstan today. we are halfway into the trading day. julie hyman is with us. new record highs. julie: we have seen the gains moderating to some extent today. julie the dow gained 280 points. is now below 26,000. 800.back below 2 averagesugh to put the at records. look at the imap on the bloomberg, you can see the groups on the move. energy has been lagging today. right now, the group is down .9%. material stocks also selling off. the combination of those holding back the s&p 500. the biggest index point movers today, we have general electric on the downside. $6.2 billion write-down related to its long-term insurance business. it hasn't written any new policies in that business since 2006. this is a legacy holdover still creating issues. otherwise, we have merck trading higher on early results from its showing an medicine extended survival when used

if you recall, ge had a number of acquisitions back then. ge north american life and health is now what is essentially the legacy insurance businesses that remained after ge in '04 and 'o 6 created genworth and eoc they kept some of the assets, particularly their long-term care book of insurance and it has cost them a fortune. another $15 billion to come. for that business. it's going to mean that ge capital or what is left of it and a lot is this insurance assets will no longer be able to pay dividend to the parent company. but then in the conference call, to discuss what the future holds for these insurance assets, chairman and ceo john flannery said this. >> as i look at the company and continue to evolve, along this continuum, i believe there could be different structures that can achieve all of those objectives. and that we need to examine those. so i don't, you know, i would categorize it as an examination of options and it's the kind of thing that could result in many, many different permutations including separately trade d assets re

we'll clearing the books help ge turnaround? -- will clearing the books help ge turnaround? julie: why not? today, the answer appears to be corporate earnings and other individual stocks pushing things i. -- things higher. nasdaq at records today. as this momentum continues to drive trading. a great story that mike regan recently wrote in business week. he talked about the fear of missing out trade taking hold here, especially with retail investors. we have seen strategists raise their year-end forecasts. 8.55 is the updated target, the alon yellow line. quickly, wehe year, saw the s&p outpaced the median year-end target. the dow at 26,000. boeing's price target being raised at citigroup. it was upgraded to outperform. shares up 2.6%. unitedhealth group out with earnings. because of taxes, earnings will be higher in 2018. merck announcing positive results related to its lung cancer drug. those shares up. citigroup saying despite the $22 billion charge, it will stick to its payout for 2018 beyond because of tax benefits going forward. general electric down 3% after the announ

makes ge at risk. anyone agree with that not just its own problems. it says it's dragging the dow down, and therefore has a chance to be booted >> that's going to kick you out of the club because it doesn't like its performance. >> that's his performance. >> sound like inch might be off by a mile. >> bk. >> i think it is an interesting story. i own a 50 basis point position in ge in a portfolio, which to me is a toe hold on a company that i bought down around $20. it is a down more from that point but ultimately to me tsum of the parts, inthe assets are relatively cheap it's been a problem for the last month, but it's mostly other people's problems. i think they are figuring it out. it is not going to end tomorrow. but the energy assets were priced three months ago like most of energy assets were, as if they were going out of business. >> breaking news on e-bay. >> that's right. e-bay's shares going up about 5.7% after the company is in line on both the top and bottom lines. revenues are $2.61 billion

and no ge power, they have to start using gas and not ge if they actually report regular earnings, youre going to see the turbulent. i think that'll be lucky i if -- what are you going to do with that? >> i don't know. maybe there is a shortage in other places >> there maybe >> bus ticket. >> it does appear that labor is not an issue right now, if they can move, they can find another job. >> larger issue. the journal brings it up today, the market of the trade world of china. journal did do a significant piece on it today and sort of take a look at it and what it would mean when you talk about all these bubble businesses. >> and financial money grant was killed and now there is pressure with at&t to cut ties. >> these stuff is happening. >> they're closing china mobiles. >> the larger issue is will they get into it and what china's approach will be it could be as simple as those kinds of things and targeting congressional districts until it maximize pain on particular members of congress. >> trump has the ability to not go with the recommendations of commerce department on 232 which is

but ge is incredibly optimistic. don't like the $2 number jeff immelt used, that proved to be i guess that was over -- what do you think that's over -- that was exuberrant no i'm hopeful. i'm hopeful. i'm hopeful about cousins with three interceptions, we're always hopeful. >> why don't you worry about your own quarterback. >> i'm hopeful i'm hopeful. >> he didn't look that sharp. >> shut up when i want your opinion, i'll give it to you. >> you insult my guy, i'll come back at you. >> why not he dropped his value big. >> he's laughing all the way to the bank. >> he could. i don't know what bank, maybe bank of america, i like that stock. >> j.p. morgan. >> will break out to 110, pretty good. >> bob pisani, good to see you -- not there yet. >> let's talk about sirius xm, hold the sell on a copyright problem. jp. morgan, i'm not going with that raymond james downgrades capital owned gas, that makes -- one of the worst performers in the s&p and way, way too high. natural gas, i don't know what it takes for natural gas to

there are better places to be than ge. >> ge owner. >> ge owner, around 8% higher, and very comfortablewning it here, because i think what are some of the things that can happen in 2018 one includes a baker hughes either -- valuation accretion back to ge, that could be through a spinout, it could be the energy sector. they top ticked on this one, folks. to say that it's worthless is to totally miss the boat. that is the issue with ge. this is still a massive company with massive investment, with massive technology and trademark and intellectual property. they don't serve a high valuation. but i'm very comfortable only this name at this valuation. people realize the perceptions are low as they can be >> 93 cents in free cash flow. this is a $17 stock at best, it's dead money. i wouldn't be investing in this. there are so many other places to put your money in now ge isn't one of them they made terrible investments this is a stock where there are so many other places in the market to put your money >> let's go to the other side of this if you gave management, mr. flannery, an opportunity

time for a major buzz kill just when you thought the worst was over, ge took another hit.alling 3% today, 13% this week. ge started the year off right, leading the dow you about reversed is hovering around $16 hitting the lowest levels since december of 2011 does ge have a one way ticket out of the dow that's the next question. >> what would that mean in terms of index fund, would it be the next knock on the stock? to me, i don't think they can be split up i think there is enter dependence between capital having to back stop all the businesses that are positive >> it still hurts. >> ltimately, it is the case, this is how you need to invest in ge. let's face it, most this ride has been somebody else's problem. if i'm picking up ge, there is $145 billion company that people think is going out of business >> is there a possibly they eliminate the rest of the dividend that would be a major leg lower. not only would they have no dividend but they would be booted out of the funds that are dividend funds. >> staving off free cash flow problems by kicking the dividend out is i thi

. >> look at ge.n there other than the fact that the markets opened >> what's going on people are talking about a hundred million secondary, wait, not a secondary? you are saying the company would sell primary they would raise money for issuing stocks >> i do not believe that i believe there is multiple buye buyer. and floor is starting to get some mojo. there are natural r is startingm mojo there are naturar is starting t mojo there are naturaur is starting e mojo there are naturaor is starting some mojo. there are natural buyer. >> ge,it is one thing where they hit 6 during the melt down during '08 and '09 but now everything is going up >> i say the work -- >> okay. i want to understand what you mean when you say cash constraint >> meaning you have liabilities right now that cannot be paid off by cash. >> you continue that's the case after this week's announcement with the charge and the plan for the 15 billions over the next five or six years. >> we need assurance that the cash is big enough that's

what did ge fall into?> the non-gap >> it was sparkly but it was sparkly with phosphorous >> it was the hudson river >> that was with the transformers remember don't eat fish until late next century. >> that goes back away >> we are not there yet. >> that was catch and like sniffed it >> or catch and glow >> catch and glow. >> how is the sushi from the hudson there >> it is unbelieverabable hudson is doing very well. it has come a long way >> new york tapped water has been rated the best. >> you should take it and fill it with that >> go ahead. >> united is down 9% the results $1.40. they're taking deliveries to a bunch of systems and leading into many places >> almost 5% >> that was a conference call was like a bad netflix movie that got cancelled as long as they are trying to do something new and it felt flat it was kind of like hey, we are cool, you know we are not going to do the old call, hey, it is great there, get on board, it was like a travel on. >> it was a travelon i prefer earnings call >> i can

it's not just ge having problems in the business. >> it's not just ge, but you had a lot of deferredaintenance. the u.s. and middle east are the biggest markets for ge, and both markets deferred spending, and some has to do with the drop in the epa, right, that lingers for the next year or so, but eventually, you have to work on these turbines you have to turn them on and do regular maintenance whether you use them or not. >> graham, our david faber reported in the last couples weeks here, they are seriously considering breaking the company. good or bad idea >> i think it is an inevitable after what we heard today. it doesn't look like we can get our hands around this properly and manage as one business it needs to be broken in separate pieces. the hard question today is, how do you do that the easiest piece is the spinoff from those with the positive cash flow, but you need the positive cash flow in order to fix the differences that they generate after the cash flow, and if you spun off health care or the aerospace business, you know, the core company would be faced with yet another

strategist says bitcoin's blood bath could hit stocks >>> later, is this the beginning of the end for ge? the stock getting slammed as the ceo hints at break up. we will bring you the latest details. >>> first we start off with today as huge reversal testimony dow surging # 00 points breaking through a key record before taking a reversal. ayman jaggers is a of the the white house with all the information. >> reporter: they are trying to get steve bannon on camera to answer a mystery, did he answer questions of the house intelligence committee or not? we know he was there, arrived earlier this morning there are reports he was asked by the white house to not answer questions pertaining to the white house. of course, the most interesting questions that the intelligence committee will have for steve bannon relate to the white house. the question is, did he or did he not answer those questions. later on this afternoon, the white house put out a statement not exactly denying that they asked bannon not to talk and sarah huckabee sanders, the white house press secretary, was asked about why the

one black spot could be ge credit. there's a loss of faith in ge. is it possible that the recent moment is gone for ge? >> that is a great question. let's look at the technicals on ge. there was a good reset moment technically. year's big slide. here's the big third-quarter earnings period. last week, at one point, ge was up 10% on the year, above the 50 day moving average, telling us who investors were moving in and gaining confidence that maybe they would meet these numbers. back below that 50 day moving average. you could see the stock dropped to a very low level. this is a long-term monthly chart. hanging on by a thread. the buyers of near-term nature -- you could see ge go back to the low single digits. may be they break up. the ceo said they are exploring all options. cnbc said yesterday a breakup central is very likely -- potential is very likely. nelson peltz is encouraging the company to explore all options. it will be very interesting. they report their fourth quarter next wednesday. if they don't meet those numbers, the stock could really

liz: when we were there -- >> we were not at ge, we were at cnbc which is a provision of ge. i know jeff, jack. liz: shareholders don't need nice. >> they don't care how nice you are. liz: they need good. nice is really great. >> sometimes. >> closing bell ringing in 18 minutes. look at walmart. walmart is solidly in the green, up $1.74 after goldman sachs took the time to upgrade it to a buy citing higher consumer spending and growth, why? due to the tax overhaul. la quinta waking up on the bright side of a $2 billion deal with wyndham worldwide. wyndham says it will buy la quinta hotel businesses in all-cash deal. it would make it the third largest hotel chain in the world. investors are ready to check in right now. >>> back to d.c., sorry, guys, i have to do it. the house expected to take the first step to solving the government shutdown with the votes at 7:00 p.m. tonight. congressman matt goetz is a republican who says extending the spending bill to february is a complete waste of time. the congressman standing by, he's standing by. ooooooh snap!! every truck guy has the

stuart: enough about ge. moving on. let's get to politics. why not.ate minority leader chuck schumer now says "no" on the wall. roll tape. >> president trump's inability to negotiate with congress is what caused the three-day government shut down from which we've just emerged. it's causing the fact that we're not making more progress on these issues. we're going to have to start on a new basis and the wall offers off the table. . stuart: all right. the wall offer's off the table. now the response from president trump. crying chuck schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat. that if there is no wall, there is no daca. we must have safety and security together with a strong military for our great people. come on in, rnc spokesperson caylee. the president is playing hardball, isn't he? >> yes. because he can play hardball now because chuck schumer after the shut down is in the weakest negotiating position he could possibly be in, stuart. think about this. he cannot shut down the government. that was a huge loss. everyone in the me

right now, ge is hanging onto that by a thread so if ge can itain above last year's low, will contractith time any breakdown below last year, it can be pretty ugly. interesting point. this year is going to be a make or break year for them. shery: it could take some time to convince them. abigail: it could. yes. they need to make numbers. if they make numbers, they perform, execute, the stock as well. if not, it will go the other way. let's hope they get it together. shery: we have your charts, a bigger picture of the context of things. thank you for that. kevin: dallas investor, restaurant to her, and gop fundraising powerhouse ray washburn is trying to help u.s. companies invest in trouble spots around the world, and he has billions of dollars at his disposal. ray watford is the head of the overseas private corporation, the u.s. development finance institution, and he recently was return from a trip to india with a ivanka trump and has turned his attention to south america. ray: thank you for having me. kevin: where are your priorities as we enter into this new year? and what can the

he is looking at all scenarios including a major breakup of ge.stand flannery is looking at, one of the scenarios, if he does go there, this is the one thing i think analysts say is going to boost the stock, is to break up the company into various other companies. liz: he broke it. that was charlie gasparino, but in october, all the way back last year, breaking it right here on "countdown," the general electric was considering cracking up the company. new ceo john flannery confirming the breakup is on the table. but what's got to be happening under the table? charlie, palace intrigue like "game of thrones." >> this is the end of ge as we know it. and excuse me, a great guest to have on would be obviously jack welch to think about what he said about the legacy, when you talk to company insiders, they will tell you that mr. flannery, the ceo may have no other choice but to do this breakup, ending ge as we know it. what does that mean? you break it down for three separate companies, power and energy, aircraft engines, health care, other stuff you nee

i think the industrial will earn 25 cents, ge capital, two or three.eople are not expecting anything i think the comps could get worse in power i think that's people should be concerned about. i think they are going to talk about 5% down in terms of where they are going to be on their power business i think they -- i think the move in the stock over the last week, which has been related to breaking up the company, is fair except for i don't think they are going the break up the company. >> all right so even if they are not going to baek up the company is there any hope here? >> not for me anymore. i have tried a bunch of times. even like a week or so ago i thought maybe this is the bottom here and i gave it another shot and you know, i -- they must have a whole slew of kitchen sinks because they keep throwing them out eventually they are going to get it eventually they will write everything off but bk is done with ge for a while. >> the bank of america down guide that morgan cited the analyst points out in november and january they cut its guidance and

he is also the former ceo of chrysler, and ge power systems. ge is where we want to turn our focus.ging 45% last year for the worst performance in the dow. it is the biggest gainer today, getting excited about that before the quick break we took. bob talk to us about ge? are you surprised about the decline we saw last year? do you think given what you have seen, they can turn this around? >> i love ge. i spent over 30 years there. i was fortunate to work with jack welch, who i consider a dear friend, a great mentor, many of my management skills were honed while i was there. it was such a wonderful environment, culturally. it was collegiately competitive. competitive,eeply but never at the expense of one another. if i needed help, jim mcnerney would jump in, it was a wonderful environment. see aboutbreaking to $350 billion of market capital evaporate over the last 16 years. , point to john valerie has stepped in, he has a herculean in ato get the ship turned more profitable direction. you talked about the increase in the dow, that is very encouraging. 2017 is it written off. he has b

we are in the process of closing the transaction to acquire ge. we need a little bit of investment in terms of technology. >> you always get a good price. [laughter] he always gets a good price. >> today, including the ge transition, more than 60 sites nicely spread throughout all of the u.s. week, the entire executive committee team went to silicon valley because we have ai and robotics, and we intend to go further to invest in the next level of industrials. >> big difference. that is probably the biggest sleeper in the whole tax bill. thank you. great job. good luck with the ge purchase. sounds good. you will be just fine and [laughter] mr. president, thank you very much for the invitation. we are in more than 50 countries around the world. one brand is budweiser. >> we know it well. >> we have been in the beer business for more than 600 years. our biggest market is the u.s. where we employ 80,000 people in more than 50 sites. year, thenced last 2020am by 2022 -- [indiscernible] >> mr. president i would like to thank you for having me, but also

it's not ge. it's not ibm see what it is next. plus, sarat releases his performance for 2017 when you see the number, you're going to want to follow his portfolio in 2018. the halftime report with scott wap ner and the traders is back in two minutes iving specific ses of out performance. where a rising middle class powers a booming auto industry. a leap into the digital era draws youthful populations to mobile banking and e-commerce. trade and travel surge between emerging markets. everyday our 1,100 investment professionals a a ner withm, the global investment management businesses of prudential. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. hey, what are you guys doing here? we're voya. we stay with you to and through retirement. so you'll still be here to help me make smart choices? well, with your finances that is. we had nothing to do with that tie. voya. helping you to and throug

ge's ceo john flannery said ge is looking aggressively at spinning off pieces of the company.lled it an examination of options. ge is already eliminating thousands of jobs and cutting $3.5 billion in costs. >>> the swiss candy maker nestle is selling its u.s. candy business to italy's ferrero for about $3 billion. ferrero, the maker of nutella will take over 20 nestle brands including butter finger, baby ruth, and crunch bars. they also own purina cat chow and nescafe. >>> mcdonald's wants to go totally green. it wants to have its packages coming from renewable and recyclable materials available. currently half of its packages comes from sustainable sources. anne-marie. >> sounds like a good idea when you consider what good business mcdonald's does. it could really make a difference. thank you so much, hena. >>> still ahead, the high-flying action. the drastic measure a father took in order to find his missing son. easure a father took in order to find his missing son. have time for a cracked windshield. that's why at safelite, we'll show you exactly when we'll be there. with

hard to value a company when you don't know what direction it is going in. >> looking at shares of ge're down 3%. where do you stand on this >> evaluating industrial multiple, certainly below other conglomerate peers but what does it look like in a couple of years, how do they track on restructuring, hit financial targets and give investors confidence these are questions up in the air for the company now. >> a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty still it sounds like jim, thank you for joining us. >> thank you >>> when we come back this morning, softbank vision fund making a splash in the valley, leading an $865 million round in construction startup the chairman of that company is coming up. >>> dow rallied 54 points. ba ia meckn mont >>> construction tech company can katerra is announcing an 848 million funding. the chairman, flextronics ceo and one-time ceo of tesla. michael, welcome back. i believe you were last with us last april talking about your company. this is a huge round of fund in at a time when a lot of people are talking about infrastructure and all the building that n

the truly enduring strength of ge lies in our people. there will be a ge in the future, but it will look different than it does today. >> other key takeaways, industrial cash flow for the quarter and the year were better than expected. and ge did reaffirm its 2018 earnings and free cash flow guidance. welcome news for analysts who were bracing for a vision lower. the health care and aviation segments grew, and baker hughes, the oil services firm in which ge is a major stake holder posted better than expected results. once again, power proved to be a huge issue. profits plunged almost 90% last quarter and the company is now warning it may get even worse in 2018. >> when he first had his restructuring announcement in november he said they were going to sell off $20 billion in assets. it seems like maybe power is on the table. >> it's hard to value a company when you don't know what direction to go in. >> that news sent shares lower again today. for "nightly business report" i'm morgan brennan at the new york stocks. >>> elsewhere, the airl

thanks so much let's talk about ge now. on pace for its worst week since 2009 losing more than $20 billion in market cap that slide continues there is ge, got dangerously close today to going under $16 for the first time since 2011. >> why would you want to hold it you can't an wliz ialyze it that has been proven i bet you nelson wishes he weren't involved and you have a new ceo complicit in what the company has become and then they are talking about issuing equity that is not a positive so i think you just avoid it and you come back to it, maybe in six months when it is closer to 10 or 12 >> you think it is going that low? bill nigren was with us and he is a shareholder and thinks make the worst is over. >> the stocks had a bottom market multiple, they have assets that are for sale that they should be able to get good multiples of ebitda because they are not -- ge isn't necessarily the most logical other than of those assets so we like the new people and it is very hard to take a fresh look at something that has been this

never heard those dmrents a ge ceo. you know it will, bill. >> i do. >> the stock action is very strange. exactly to the point you were making some people think the some of the parts would be $11 to $15. the argument for breaking it up is when it had the worst stock performance last year. ironically this year it's okay now the street's reaction to the possibility, instead of it r rallying big, is it -- this is a weird position. >> it is the news today is not good there are concerns, are there more liabilities in the ge capital portfolio, what's left that they may have to face up to - >> ge capital suspend their dividend they may have to pay the company. >> that was expected when we got the dividend cutover all from ge cut in half. there was an anticipation, no dividend would be forthcoming from ge capital to the parent company in 2018 but that's going to be the case for a long time there's the idea, kelly, to your question, is it a desperate move he's looking for anything he can to create value, mr. flannery. >> does th

ge capital was so big.n you look at the total value created from those spli split-ups, again, sort of like let's keep them happy, keep them happy. when you look at the leash that say a jeff bezos has or tim cook, they have room to run because they have a vision, they lay it out they let the market come along with them, and ge -- >> a tough comparison. >> we don't know what tim cook -- we don't know what the next product launch is going to be we don't have a vision they have a long leash because their stock price is going in the right direction. >> right, i think it's a fair point to ask when was the moment when ge said we're not going to keepia happy right now because we want to do x, y, and z. the maintenance of the dividend, so crucial to that stock the dividend yield right now is moving up as the stock price moves down like 2.7% and getting higher each day when was the moment when they could say, guys, we're not going to feed you what you want every corner we're going to do this with the company. they ne

that's competition to ge 20% of what ge's revenues comes from aviation.so i think if there's true competiti competition, that's one more hit. the positive you can look at is the energy space energy looks like it wants to make this turn if that continues, that's going to be obviously better for ge. they literally bought the absolute to p in energy. let's all admit that in terms of that space, kelly, there are so many other names i'd rather be in than ge i think there's more upside. >> mike, here's what i wonder, if nobody can make the case for it, we've seen this time and again, sometimes the stocks, they fit all the news in and can kind of just grind and find their footing. >> right definitely on a short-term basis, this stock was washed out coming into this year. that's why you saw that bounce there was a ton of tax loss selling. you at least had this churn of the shareholder base in terms of whose hands it's in. i do think the basic premise, too, is this stock is going to turn before you know that the fundamentals are turning that's typically the way it

alix: it is still rolled up in ge. jason: it feels like ge is the uber bellwether in so many ways.idely held stock, but also the drama of the back half of 2017 with flannery coming in as ceo, and being very aggressive about saying, going through a big revisit of everything they do, these big charges. there was the drama around the two planes flying around. it captured the imagination. david: you have to feel a little bad for mr. flannery. he thought he had gotten a lot of it cleared up, and you can imagine a cfo says, there is a $5 billion charge. alix: taking a look at where the company was come you go from being a washing machine maker to a bank to an industrial company, and the shift was to become an oil services company at the end of next decade. comes into power and calls into question that deal with baker hughes. jason: software and intellectual property and moving the company from fairfield to boston. david: it was a company built under jack welch on buying things. they know how to buy things and it is not clear they know how to sell things. it is a whole different scope. al

take a look at ge. $6 billion take from its insurance portfolio and ge capital is eliminating it dividend. that is why it is down on an otherwise update. viacom stock down friday. the reports of merger talks with cbs and cbs is up a little in viacom is down. now this. president trump also releasing a treat. we must have security at a very dangerous southern border in a great while to help stop the massive inflow of drugs pouring into our country. i believe it goes on to the democrats shut down the government over amnesty and border security, et cetera. the president taking a strong wind this morning. next one, an army that suing because the scalpel was left in him for four years. >> 61-yard glen turner had surgery in 2013 at the veterans hospital in west haven, connecticut it wasn't until last year he went back to the same hospital saying i've been feeling dizzy. ordered an mri for us had. during that examination he started complaining of stomach injury or senate enemy taken extra and that's what they s

but really what now represents the first time in the long and storied history of ge as the best knowne by far of a ceo of that company saying we are considering taking it apart. take a listen to chairman and ceo john flannery on that call earlier speaking specifically about the possibility of breaking up ge >> as i look at the company and continue to evolve along this continuum, i believe there could be different structures that can achieve all of those objectives and that we need to examine those. i don't -- i would categorize it as an examination of options and it's kind of thing that could result in, you know, many, many different permtations including separately sprayed separately traded assets in any one of our units if that's what made sense >> you heard it there. any one of our units but really what i'm told by people familiar with this situation who are close to the company is this is begun the process that could culminate as soon as the spring with an announcement that ge will, in fact, pursue a split. how that will be done, what that will involve, of course, remains to be se

ge refuses to be introspective about what went wrong.a bummer and i hope the new ceo explains why the company couldn't earn the two bucks this year that it forecasted at the end of 2016. if he walks us through it and takes the big writedown we've all been expecting i think we'll be greeted positively, but tough thing for flannery will be figuring out how to maintain the already halved dividend given the losses are enormous and the cash flow may not be as high as he thinks and he's got to sell them fast as it might be a stretch of ge to see what jeff immelt was trumpeting before flannery took over immelt used to say they were indifferent to which direction the oil went it is now because of the acquisitions and disposals are very much an oil-related enterprise where sales do much better as the price of crude rises and it's rising. maybe he's lucky here. it better be lucky than good and i think flannery is prompting for the sale to raise cash to get the best value we should sell it piecemeal and get better prices, but the clock is ticking.

ge will take a big right down for pattern. just to give itself some breathing room thursday morning caterpillar reports, here is another company that put up extraordinary numbers, ala netflix dollar repatriation tax holiday and the booming global economy i am praying it sells off on an inline number so you can buy it into weakness. i think ceo will put to rest the notion that somehow his chips are so flawed that we need to fear use i like the stock very much we hear from starbucks with a stock that is once again trading above 60 i am telling you its stock will finally learn its premium stock luster reporting and i think you will get some information about the new honeywell, or two new honeywell will look after the break up i have been recommending this stock for ages i suggest buying part of your position before the quarter but leave powder dry here is one for you. it is what i call quizzical. pal mole live. the consumer product good is out of favor the numbers decent but not incredible could colgate be up for sale is kraft he

the legacy is under modern ge to get the stock up and right now ge is in the middle with the new ceo john flannery of major cost cutting, the question is whether he goes beyond what immelt did which was a slow churn of scuttling -- of shedding businesses to bring the company in a more coherent mold, whether he basically breaks the whole thing up. what he's doing now is hearing from the former ge executives who are shareholders. jack welch, presumably has a lot of stock about what to do, and some of this grousing about immelt, you might see -- i think you've seen in what flannery is doing, including very, very, very drastic steps of cutting costs. one thing i think behind the scenes immelt was criticized from from the welch people, he did not take steps necessarily to cut costs and rein in the costs. remember, jack welch was known as neutron jack for a reason. he laid off tens of thousands of people in the 1980s to get the company in a more coherent way. that's where it is. interesting story. rarely do you see these things coming public. it's never come public, that's why you got me.

a sell rating on ge. thank you."trading nation" go to tradin tradingnation.cnbc.com the dow about turned negative. it's lost a lot in the last hour we were strong, but reversal of that kind could portend interesting things for the market more about that. stick around >>> and now the latest from tradingnation.cnbc.com >>> when markets are volatile, resist the urge to use too much leverage leverage is a double-edged sword, and when markets are calm, it's easy to forget the downside when volatility picks up, losses mount quickly. if you are fcetoord close positions, it will be at the worst time and price most etfs only track a benchmark. flexshares etfs are built around the way investors think. with objectives like building capital for the future, managing portfolio risk and liquidity and generating income. that's real etf innovation. flexshares. built by investors, for investors. before investing consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. go to flexshares.com for a prospectus containing th

. >> still ahead, ge provides $15 billion shortfalls.will bring you details on the genesis of the industrial giant's woes decades in the making. this is bloomberg. ♪ shery ahn: this is bloomberg markets. vonnie: the recent trouble at ge that led to an sec investigation and push down the share price, well, it turns out it is not all that recent. this was in fact 14 years in the making and started inside the ge financial unit. us with the details is rick. negligence and maybe even criminal behavior? fcc is looking into the circumstances that led to this situation. last week, ge disclosed they would take a $6.2 billion and this -- in this insurance portfolio. it is something that has happened for a long time in the making. business ino the the late 1980's and 1990's. they actually got out of it completely more than a decade ago. by 2006, they were out of the business but had to hang on to the portfolio. the problem was not so much the policies of the whole market. in the late 1990's in early 2000's, they had issues with those portfolios. it

we'll show the industrial giant posting the fastest organic sales growth in tlhree years maybe the anti-ge and the ceo will join us. >>> and it is golfing's annual feast. we'll show you the hottest trends from clubs to gadgets and why golf is suddenly optimistic again. i'm brian sullivan "power lunch" tees off right now. >>> and welcome to "power lunch. i'm melissa lee. the major average giving up gains. dow and s&p, russell 2,000 small caps did soar to record highs but now looking at losses across the board. the dow managing to hold on to ever so small gains. commodities are crushing it and oil at' three-year high and copper and gold soar the dollar at a low. saying a weaker dollar is good for u.s. trade transports getting slammed led by united. the airline down 11% on pace for the worst day in four months on fears about a price war. got much more on this coming up. michelle. >>> thank you. i'm michelle caruso cabrero live in switzerland where the trump tax cut and the surging and global economy are front and center we'll talk taxes, trade and whether davos is ready for president trump to

more in the baker hughes >> i've been in and out of ge, i'm a scorned lover. i have not liked it for a while. i've been rethinking my thoughts on this. here is what -- i agree with you guys in that you have to believe that there's going to be a turnaround and there's going to be surprises in this, right if all the bad news is out, then presumably all there is are surprises. and those could be the catalyst for the stock. so i don't think you get hurt. i would start to nibble at it here >> if we enter into a normal reality, back to 2017 where the true leaders in tech really start to gain again, we've seen this nirvana where you have everything rallying at the same time this is definitely, to our point, a laggard if you get that back, which i think you will in the first quarter, this is going to be a sell once again. >> so it's only rallying because everything is rallying >> yes rising tide lifts all boats. >> what does that mean, i don't understand that. >> if you go back to tech outperforming, if you go back to faang, if you go back to s.t.a.b. >> gotcha. n non

so ge defies that.the problem is i'm sure they would want to separate out but for legal reasons they cannot. in contrast to what brad said, the fact that things are on the table, number one as the analyst ge i can't tell you this he are all on the table. >> why do you believe that >> people i'm speaking to seem so say we spent a lot of time liability with the insurance portfolio. you seem to be doubt that? >> that's one piece. they owned a sub prime mortgage company called wmc which they divested but if history is any track record they ample liability period they keep bringing it up in disclosures. that could be another ticking time bomb under the hood other factors that go into that as well. including the mortgaging and leasing they couldn't sell f they are on the hook for insurance which they got out in 2004, 2005, what else are they on the hook for? this is going to take a long time to work through this company. having things on the table, i say they are not all on the table. we don't know. a lot of

on tuesday, ge quantified new after tax losses at ge capital at $6 billion, leaving flannery groping adjectives, he settled for deeply disappointing. from bad to worse. >> i spent so much time on the phone with so many people talking about this company yesterday that my battery died two times. stock ended the day down 3% despite these headlines and comments from ceo flannery that, you know, the potential for a breakup is on the table, including in the core industrial businesses of aviation, healthcare and power you would expect that to be welcomed news on the street. not so much. two things at play the first thing is they have pension obligations, more than $31 billion. they have all these other liabilities including a surprise $15 billion worth of reserves that need to be built up over the next seven years that was five times greater than the street was expecting everybody is going can they actually break this company apart? can they spin these core businesses out if so, how can they do that without being strapped down with all these liabilities and all of the debt you talk to analy

can they walk away from ge although investors are walking away from ge, still down, just above $16.you about the california liberal lunacy, or poses to jail waiters who offer plastic straws to customers, coming up yet another republican gubernatorial candidate for california. doug owes will be with us. >> that sucks. >> but first, can you guess which cities are the happiest in america? we do have an answer for you and we will tell you next. >> interesting ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the me take you through this. they just returned from serving overseas and gave his wife a big surprise that check for late in north carolina. he was having dinner with friends and stopped to take a picture. he took the costume had off and revealed that it was her husband. welcome home. before the break, which city was the happiest, a survey said it's boulder colorado. i won't tell you why. it's followed by santa cruz california and charlottesville virginia. the survey looked at factors such as civic engagement, walk ability, whether and healthy food options. >> that makes all the difference. >> and marijuana. las veg

ge is cooperating. meanwhile they reporting a $9.3 billion loss.s lost half its value over the past half decade. >>> "fire & fury" is on its way to being one of the top n nonfiction sellers in year. the controversial picture of mr. trump and his administration. the president tried and failed to stop publication after experts were released. >>> and starbucks employees will soon be able to earn paid sick time based on the hours they work. previously only employees that worked in a state that had paid sick leave laws got the perk. the benefit boost also includes pay raises starting in april and parental leave benefits for nonbirth parents. that affects 50,000 full-time, part-time, and salaried employees. anne-marie. >> diane king hall at the new york stock exchange. thank you so much, diane. >> thank you. >>> still to come, new concerns about the flu. how the flu can be an added danger to your heart. ou've trie. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease.

basil -- bad news keeps coming for ge.flannery and the 20 billion-dollar cost-cutting mission could be about to get a whole lot bigger than he had anticipated or thought. charlie is breaking it next. building a website in under an hour is easy with gocentral... ...from godaddy! in fact, 68% of people who have built their... ...website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. build a better website - in under an hour. with gocentral from godaddy. yes 2018 is just a few days but ge had been the top performing component in the first week of 2018 but now not so much. they are making news. charlie guess brain is breaking. so they are talking about selling $20 billion of assets over the next two years. but we are getting some bankers inside the company they are actually talking bigger numbers they are talking something about $25 billion over the next couple of years of assets. that will be three years of asset sales. i don't and there really come to terms with what they're doing there. over the next three years

i mean, holy cow that's been, i don't know. >> you made the argument on ge, right.s coming off its -- its best week since 2016. >> yeah. >> 6%, yeah. >> we were together almost a week ago on "squawk on the street" where you said not yet it's too early. >> this is a report and you have to wait to see what john flannery says. he has got the tailwind because it's become a bit of an oil company, oil company with a healthcare kicker. >> for now, until they sell baker hughes. >> okay. >> and then you have power gen and unless you see 4%, 5% gdp growth next year, if you see, that power gen will come back. if you do not see that kind of growth in gdp power gen will not come back and at 75% of their ebitda big >> right now here ge, is it a buy yet or no? jim, you made the argument no. >> i want to see what he says. i just want to see what he says because tuce is saying the cash flow is far worse. really, i wrote it down because i believed what jim immelt said. we all know as portfolio managers, if the ceo says it's great that means nothing if you think it's great it's on you

. >> ge engines, yes >> ge, 6% gain for the year. a quick record high. let's get to bob pisani. >> happy monday. we're modestly in the red. let's look at the sectors today. retail is a little bit kohl's is helping them overall we see the industrials doing say little better but not greatly show banks and semiconductors which were market leaders, they are in the red right now as you can see here i'm going to remind everyone despite the slow start, we're at historic highs and everything is working and that was my theme last week and it's my theme again this week. you look at small cap, mid cap, big cap, s&p 500 working equal weights working, not just market cap weight. the ftse, biggest etf you can buy, that's at a historic high sick lickals like industrial materials and low volatility is lagging a little bit but not by much guys listening were mentioning ge, but we're seeing energy which was the big sector lagger last year also do well this year, some of the oil services and exploration production and refiners had a pretty good year bu

how much of this is a ge specific problem?ot too big than the recession hit and they have not been able to recover? >> a lot of this is a ge specific issue. this is a trend we have seen across the industrial sector. maybe we do not need to be in , all aviation, health care of these different things. that was the mo of industrial companies. more and more are saying maybe we just say what do we want our identity to be, maybe we should refocus and do this one thing. we have seen a ton of asset sales. that is only going to increase given the tax legislation. more now going to be feasible. you have less of a tax on the gains. alix: exxon resisted and it turned out good for them. thank you. coming up, we will speak with , the bank's biggest holding. we will discuss. this is bloomberg. ♪ erg. ♪ alix: this is bloomberg daybreak. yesterday, a little bit more optimism in the market. dow jones up by 100 points in the futures market. that fell into the close. let's see what happens with any reversal today. , 1:22,o dollar weaker taking a