. >> what did blackstone do to make it a leaner company?> they cut costs in the front office as well as around the globe. they expanded their footprint by about 80%. they have 100,000 hotel rooms in the pipeline today. they are making moves in china. >> your report is fabulous. you talk about an $18 share to enter this transaction. are institutions under pressure to acquire the shares of the ipo? is it like twitter or facebook or is it a more traditional deal where the guy is going to call up and say buy hilton and they will say no? >> we say fair value is $20 a share where a buyer, anything around $18 or $19 a share, would not be surprised if it trades really well. the question becomes -- where is there more value? >> bob knows what it is like to turn companies around. he works for cerberus. here is his take. >> this is probably the second largest ipo coming out. i think the value is there. they have done a fabulous job. if you look at the remodelings going on, customer satisfaction, they have done a great job. >> it is 100 something per r

. >> reporter: while she's taking over a general motors, leaner more profitable than ever before and no longer owned by the u.s. government, it's still an auto company with a fair number of challenges, including the fact the market share in the u.s. drop to a low 17.9% and needs to finish the restructuring operation in europe and make money on that continent, just two challenges facing mary barra as she takes over general motors. >>> joining us to talk more about g m's ceo is bill george, the former ceo and professor of management at harvard business school where mary barra took part. good to see you. what is mary barra like and what kind of leader is she likely to be? >> she's a genuine authentic leader. she's going to be a team builder. i spent time with her last sum near a course and her colleague dan was there. they will make a great team, tyler, very enthusiasmed and give dan ackerson and the board credit for bidding the team. dan came in and turned the company around, but now you have the inside team coming in like sam and jenny did in following lu gersner. i think you'll see g

it is pretty much in agreement ers -- leaners should be included. establishment republicans were self identified or those republican leaders but they were neutral or opposed to the tea party. for purposes of comparison we democratic categories. very similar to the republicans, self identified or independents who leaned democrat create moderate democrats, the same thing. we used the ideology question to break them apart. if you are liberal to extremely liberal than you were in that category. if you were slightly liberal or moderate you are in that category. we had the pure independents. let's get to the results. at the first look question, there are the standard seven point scale questions that nes has looked at for quite a while. we looked at all of them. i will not show you every single one but we did look at every single once i picked the most interesting for time reasons. you can see that it is the tea party republicans who answer in the most extreme categories. 31% in the one category and if you add the one and two, you are looking at 68%. the m

we need to be leaner, more productive. we need to decide areas in our country that we don't need the government to undertake and let the private sector handle that, wherever possible. and then we can manage a smaller, more efficient government, and we need to extract then less money from the american people. but we've got commitments. we've got people -- we've committed to social security, we've committed to medicare, and we're committed to other issues of funding that we need to make sure we're honoring. but you can't -- at one time you can't -- you can't take money from medicare, our seniors' health care program, and then spend it and say you've strengthened medicare mandate it better -- and made it better because you've reduced its cost. that money needs to be used to strengthen the long-term viability of medicare, which is in great doubt. it is not on a sound path. and i just know that we can do better. we're going to have to face up to this. it's not going to be easy. it has challenges for us all, but reductions in fe

reducing long-term investment the 4 companies are investing in the sorts of things that make them leaner, get by with fewer people but expansion we are not seeing, do you feel debt and deficits are on these long-term decisionsmaking an does it argue for more drastic action on the short-term? >> do you own the charlotte observer? >> most of my family is in north carolina and i have a number of family members in charlotte, also -- my wife and i will spend christmas vacation in north carolina. i have my uncle in dillon, he is 85, very chipper. okay, good. for the immediate future, my wife and i will stay in washington for a bit of time. about investment there are a lot of reasons why investment is weaker. liz: believe it or not, everybody, all networks loot this feed. something happened with ben bernanke's camera. if we get it reestablished we will immediately get it back to you but we have enough to talk about right here. i am liz claman, welcome to come down to the closing bell and we have the camera back. >> uncertainties out there, fiscal, regulatory and so on that no doubt affects some

other small companies out of the game yet jeff bezos at amazon tells smaller publishers either get leanerr get out of the way, but he's held up as a hero. online. this is all about the unions. walmart pushes back at the unions, no one else does, so walmart gets beat up by the left. >> the national restaurant association reports that really a small percentage of fast food jobs that pay the wage. they're not meant to be your lifelong job. do you think that this is smart or is it an seiu push to get more members? >> first of all, i don't think you can live on what they make at mcdonald's. everyone can agree that the university of chicago is the leading economic business school in the country. it's very conservative. after doing an analysis their bottom line was that there is no, zero, impact on the increase in minimum wage on job growth. same with bloomberg, same with the economists. people reaching the argument that eric raises, you increase these jobs and these -- >> but would you submit that it actually -- >> it doesn't cost jobs. >> so it saves jobs? >> it actually turns out in the econo

we really do need to become leaner and meaner. i laughed when president obama during the debate was talking about how we did not need bazookas anymore. it is true. host: who is the biggest employer in your district? guest: the milwaukee public schools is a big employer. some healthcare services, assurance health care is the big employer. we still have manufacturing as a big base. we have international companies. we have got -- we have got ryan'sllar in paul district, right on the border. we still rely heavily on manufacturing in my district. pottawattamie nation is a huge presence in the walkie proper. they provide a lot of jobs to minorities and they provide -- in the walkie -- in the walkie proper.lwaukee they provide a lot of jobs to minorities. host: larry, west virginia. onler: it is good to vote the new budget deal. as far as unemployment, i believe in letting people have an extension, but every time there is an extension, it should be reduced by 20%. as far as the budget, i would like to see doing away with the baseline bud

eight of the 11 participants were independents or independent leaners voted for the president in 2012one described themselves as proud or satisfied with him. instead they used words like mixed or disappointing. >> i was really exciting in the first term. >> he said he turned out to be another politician and another president. >> i think like all politicians worky talk the talk, but it's hard to walk the walk. >> he's a big disappointment. >> explain to me? >> he's not focused on creating more jobs. just fixing the economy and getting things going again and making people more prosperous. it's like the economy is sitting still. >> there is no sense of strength that came out of this. it was a sense of somebody being around in the wind and facing all of those difficulties. the times were controlling him. >> realize this criticism is coming from supporters of the president. this was not a piling on from adversaries. when asked to describe the participants, they used inexperienced, cautious, timit and overwhelmed. congress saint patrick's day more anger and called it selfish and pleaded for

. >> but the glamorous girlfriend, like vogue readers, is facing leaner times. >> i do want to make theoint that september really has to be about value, but we don't want to give up completely the dream and the fantasy. but i also feel like we need to have a sense of being more grounded. >> wintour is involved in every detail of the magazine: the clothes... >> i like the stripe. >> editing the pictures and articles. >> can i see meredith, please? >> she's decisive, impatient, and there's a look that says, "i'm the boss, and you're boring." >> i just thought that was a bit banal. >> should i do the faces of the moment because that's what we have on the cover or just still keep thinking? >> keep thinking. >> an editor is, in the final analysis, a kind of dictator. a magazine is not a democracy. >> it's a group of people coming together and presenting ideas from which i pick what i think is the best mix for each particular issue. but in the end, the final decision has to be mine. >> meet miranda priestly, the beastly editor in the devil wears prada. meryl streep is anna incarnate. >> is th

be seeing a slow economy is because companies are investing in the sorts of things that make them leaner and get by with fewer people, but not seeing expansion. does it argue for more drastic action on the short-term? >> do you own the charlotte observer? [laughter] most of my family is in north carolina. i have a number of members in charlotte and also in durham. my wife and i will spend christmas vacation in north carolina. my uncle still lives in dylan. he is 85 and very chipper. [laughter] ok, good. for the immediate future, my wife and i will stay in washington for a bit of time. and that investment, there are a lot of reasons why investment is weaker than we would like. the first most important reason is that the recovery is slow. investment is driven by sales and the need for capacity. with a slow-growing gdp and economy, most firms do not feel pressure on their capacity to do major projects. there's is also a variety of uncertainties out there. we have fiscal regulatory acts and so on that no doubt affect some of these calculations. we hear that from our participants around the t

claiming they are leaner and moving to become healthier.ysler and general motors are telling the government they need billions more to turn around their businesses. >> just think about that. in tough economic times, the guys that show up in washington say we need a whole bunch of money. kind of a gutsy call, wasn't it, to give them a loan when they had some problems. when it was all said and done, the federal government provided $80 billion to general motors and chrysler, and their suppliers. to do what? well, save them. so they could have future turkey dinners at home and happiness over the holidays. and our economy as a whole has profited from it. $49.5 billion of that money went right to general motors. the federal government announced that it has sold off all of its remaining shares in government motors. or excuse me, in general motors. obama motors. obama used car sales. obama-bama, obama, everything is wrong with obama. guess what, it rebounded big time. overall, taxpayers lost $10 billion on the deal. this is debatable. i think it's

changing from one of the most powerful trading hedge funds in the world into a emily office that will be leanertop executives is going to leave. he was responsible for recruiting. he will not need him anymore. the fact is that they still have which hasth the sec, accused him of failing to supervise his employees. they would like to be in him for life from the investment for cash advisory business. this will not get resolved until much tear. >> think about this. inc. about the edge that you have. this is about inside information. >> i have a huge edge. >> he is talking about getting access. why would banks give that to him? they used to get paid a lot and they are going to anymore. go fish. >> what is fascinating about this and may be you can think about it as well, we reported the government investigation. the questions kept coming up as to whether or not the government intended to bring down sac capital. bring capital charges against it. regardless of how this ends up, the scrutiny seems as though they may actually succeed in doing that. if you eversk any of the prosecutors, they would say no.

be seeing a slow economy is because companies are investing in the sorts of things that make them leaner and get by with fewer people, but not seeing expansion. does it argue for more drastic action on the short-term? >> do you own the charlotte observer? [laughter] most of my family is in north carolina. i have a number of members in charlotte and also in durham. my wife and i will spend christmas vacation in north carolina. my uncle still lives in dylan. he is 85 and very chipper. [laughter] ok, good. for the immediate future, my wife and i will stay in washington for a bit of time. and that investment, there are a lot of reasons why investment is weaker than we would like. the first most important reason is that the recovery is slow. investment is driven by sales and the need for capacity. with a slow-growing gdp and economy, most firms do not feel pressure on their capacity to do major projects. there's is also a variety of uncertainties out there. we have fiscal regulatory acts and so on that no doubt affect some of these calculations. we hear that from our participants around the t

. >> what exactly did blackstone do to make the operator a leaner and more financially viable companycost in the front office as well as around the globe. they expanded their footprint by about 80%. 100,000 hotel rooms in the pipeline. they are making aggressive moves in china. your research report is fabulous. you talk about an $18 share a fair place to enter the transaction. our institutions under pressure to acquire these shares at the ipo? is it like twitter or facebook or a more traditional deal where the guy is going to call up and say by hilton, and they will say, no. hype arounda lot of lodging to the question is, do you buy this stock or other names -- marriott. we say fair value is $20 a share. we are a buyer anywhere around 18 or $19. we will not be surprised if it trades really well out-of-the- box because of the interest. but the question is, where is there more value? we say at the higher end, more value at starwood. >> are others overvalued compared to starwood? multiple value 13 of 14 times, pretty high. >> where the want to be positioned? starwood is more levered to g

companies are investing in the sorts of things that make them leaner and get by with fewer people, butexpansion, we are not seeing. do you feel deficits are weighing down this sort of long- term decision-making, and doesn't argue for more drastic action in the short term -- and doesn't argue for more drastic action in the short-term? ask, do you own "the charlotte observer?" [laughter] my family now is in north carolina. my uncle still lives in dylan. he is 85 and very, very chipper. [indiscernible] ok, good. i think, for the immediate iture, my wife and i, believe, will stay in washington for a bit of time. about investment, i think there are a lot of reasons why investment is weaker than we would like. i think the first and most important reason is recovery is slow. investment is driven by sales, the need for capacity. a slow growing, slow-growing economy, most firms do not yet feel that much pressure on their capacity to do projects. products -- there are a variety of uncertainties -- fiscal, regulatory, taxes, and so on, that no doubt affect some of these calculations. we hear that

i think he wants it leaner. he wants it simpler. he's saying let's not stress the superficiality. let's not get caught up in the purple churchiness about bishops and honors and all this fancy stuff. let's get back to that gospel and the baby in the crib. let get back to the message of jesus. that's what the church saul about. >> there are people in the church who like it. >> and i'm one of them. he's serving as an examination of conscience for me. dolan, all this is fine if it helps you serve the poor better. >> it was revealed a couple weeks ago that he was a bouncer. did that surprise you? did you crack up? >> he almost threw me out of his office. so i knew -- it's interesting though, gayle, if you talk to priests like you often do, bishops, you'll find most of us come from colorful backgrounds. >> what's your colorful background? >> none of your business. >> smacked down by cardinal dolan, and merry christmas to you, too, sir. >> cardinal dolan, thank you. thank you. a blessed christmas, everyone. good to be with you. >> i'm taking back my gift. >> good to see you. >>> for 125

their policies to blow up government, not that you want to have a leaner and meaner government that that all government is distracted that is using the threat of default and saying as ted yoho for example who is a pretty good representative here at the movement, that will be good. markets will love it if we do fall. it's shutting down the government and the consequences of which were very destructive. it's eagerly supporting across-the-board cuts that almost everybody else would view as mindless and distract this, the food safety, homeland security, port security, border security and defense. it's those kinds of moves but i think it's too easy to characterize this as a tea party as if it were an organized effort. >> host: . >> host: juon twitters his baby boomers are incapable of governing. it's the boom generation that has caused this mess without providing any solutions to our troubles. >> guest: oh come on. you are going to demonize a whole generation? a little too easy an explanation. our problems are tough. every other country around the world, most democracies are facing a tough ti

we're seeing them become leaner. they're having to make cuts. we've seen a number of big pharma making employee cuts, r&d restructuring as they try and stream line their big portfol s portfolios. and the big debate at the moment is whether they specialize in one area or whether or not they remain quite diverse. but what we're seeing is definitely a cutback in how many -- >> do you think concentrating is the way to go? >> the two i mentioned, they are set on those being their key therapy markets. roche we see is the leader in oncology drugs and we look at their life cycle management with those drugs and they're very successful at that. >> we mentioned glaxo, as well. what are they doing in melanoma? how important is that going to be? so these two drugs were approved last year as mono therapies. they've go the gone head to head against roche's drugs within the market. now we're seeing a lot of development. and the big approval we're expecting next year is the combination of gsk's drug. it's expected to have a higher efficacy. we're seeing patients

companies in the financial services industry have been focused on shedding head count and getting leanerlooks pretty good to me from the financials as well. boy, if those really lead this market has a long way to go to the upside. >> thanks, dan. palisades capital management. we'll come back with the closing countdown for this monday. after the bell sneak attack. nike's air jordans hit the shelves over the weekend and fights broke out again across the country in stores for those $170 sneakers. we're going to be asking you, come on, fess up how much you have spent on a pair of sneakers. we'll reveal your best tweets after the bell coming up. you're watching cnbc. first in business worldwide. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. mine was earned orbit

companies have become leaner in that stage, so people should understand when a company becomes more efficient's something that's much more longer lasting than just a one quarter, two quarter deal. we're looking for a little multiple, we're seeing stronger revenue growth. that's key. i think in 2014 investors should expect a bifurcation of returns. . it's not going to be a broad market rally where a tide lifts all ships. >> let's making meaningful to investors. >> small cap pharmaceutical, cyclical stop stocks. >> for january we like technolo technology. it's a good period for technology but we like industrials. they have not done as well as the insta small cap but big cap industrial, as long as global movers up, they should have a nice move as well with dividends. >> start to play catch-up at that point. good to see you. >> happy new year. >>> we'll come back with the closing countdown where it looks like we'll have an all-time high for the dow. >>> after the bell, national football league, more than just a game. just ask the five head coaches who were fired today. but we want to tell -- we w

deficits are reducing long-term investment, companies are investing in the things that make them leaner, get by with fewer people but the expansion we are not seeing. do you feel but and deficits are weighing down these long-term decisionsmaking and does it argue for more drastic action on the short term? >> do you own the charlotte observer? most of my family is in north carolina and i have a number of family members in charlotte and in durham. my wife and i will spend christmas vacation in north carolina. i have my uncle -- 85, very chipper. i think for the immediate future, my wife and i will stay in washington for a bit of time. about investment, investment is weaker than we would like. the first and most important reason is the recovery is slow. investment is driven by sales, the need for capacity, and with a slow growing gdp, slow-growing economy, most firms do not yet feel that much pressure on their capacity to do major new projects. there is a variety of uncertainty out there, fiscal, regulatory, tax and so on that affect calculations. we hear that from fomc participants as the

afraid, deficits are you reducing, companies are inve investing in the sorts of things that make them leaner, get by with fewer people but the expansion we're not seeing. do you think debt and deficits are weighing down these long-term decision making and does it call for more drastic action on the short term. >> do you own "the charlotte observer"? >> yes. >> most of my family is now in north carolina. i have a number of family members in charlotte and also in durham, so my wife and i are going to spend christmas vacation in north carolina. i still have my -- my uncle still lives in dillon. he's 85 and very, very chipper. [ inaudible ] >> okay, good. i think for the immediate future my wife and i, i believe, i will stay in washington for a bit of time. about investment, i think there are a lot of reasons why investment is weaker than we would like. i think the first and most important reason is the recovery is slow. i mean, investment is driven by sales, by the need for capacity. and, you know, with a slow growing gdp, slow growing economy, most firms do not yet feel that much pressure on t

walmart, target, seers and coles are expecting leaner sales as consumers hold tightly to their money. retailers are offering free shipping as a lure. a lot of strength comes from the online channels. especially with consumers walking around stores aring figuring out the best deal online and in stores. >> half of consumers are expected to do some shopping online. analysts say a challenge for retailers now. keeping consumers happy, making sure their orders ship in time for the big day. >> last week amazon shares reached a record high. investors are banking on a strong showing on cyber monday. >> at the end of the first hour, here is what we are following. >> unrest in thailand. in a few hours, a progress report on the nation's website. >> in sport, if you made a trip to auburn, don't worry, the sites and sounds of the best ian bowl game we have seen. >> i'm tracking a storm system in the west bringing rain and snow to the maunt i knows. i'll have the details coming up. >> thank you for joining us. al jazeera continues in 2.5 minutes. i'm back with you. >> forced to flee. protesters stor

tactical once -- policy extremes -- the notion that you blow up government, not that you just won a leanermeaner government, but that all government is destructive, using the threat of default, and a pretty good representative of the movement said, that would be good -- markets would love it if we default. shutting down the government, the consequences of which were destructive, or eagerly supporting cos everyone else would view as mindless and destructive to food safety, border security, and defense -- it is those kinds of moves. it is too easy to characterize this as a tea party, as if it were an organized effort. twitter says baby boomers are incapable of governing. it is the boom generation that has caused this mess without providing any solutions to our troubles. on.t:, you are going to demonize a whole generation? a little too easy in explanation. our problems are tough. every other country around the world, most democracies are facing a tough time coming out of this extraordinary financial it is tough. the governing is tough. the problems are difficult. we are struggling here. we ca

budget's overall problems, but it would be very symbolic in terms of making the force of will bit leaner. host: a couple of great questions coming in from e-mail. from paula -- guest: interesting question. their basic compensation is the same basically with the exception of the fact that when you deploy overseas into a combat zone, the pentagon has definitions. calledget some things combat pay, hostile environment pay, danger pay. it amounts to a few hundred dollars a month. when you are in a war zone, presumably getting shot at, you are getting paid more. but in terms of just being an infantryman, that that is your career field, that you are a sniper or mortar man or something -- you do not get paid anymore for being in that career field than someone who is basically a secretary or a medic or a lawyer or something. there is some small compensation, but a lot of people would point out the fact that it is not very dramatic, considering the different types of jobs that we are talking about in terms of combat and noncombat. host: another question from e- mail -- someonehat sounds like who h

tactical once -- policy extremes -- the notion that you blow up government, not that you just won a leaner and meaner government, but that all government is destructive, using the threat of default, and a pretty good representative of the movement said, that would be good -- markets would love it if we default. shutting down the government, the consequences of which were destructive, or eagerly supporting cos everyone else would view as mindless and destructive to food safety, border security, and defense -- it is those kinds of moves. it is too easy to characterize this as a tea party, as if it were an organized effort. twitter says baby boomers are incapable of governing. it is the boom generation that has caused this mess without providing any solutions to our troubles. on.t:, you are going to demonize a whole generation? a little too easy in explanation. our problems are tough. every other country around the world, most democracies are facing a tough time coming out of this extraordinary financial it is tough. the governing is tough. the problems are difficult. we are struggling here.