today it closed up 5%. >> leslie, thank you leslie picker back at headquarters >>> insiders would note selling to the lock-up period which expires in the first half of this year. >> if you're investingin cannabis on a market cap weighted basis, tilray will move the market around. if you look at the cannabis sector overall, it's actually up 35% year to date off of these depressed levels or christmas eve lows which takes you right back to maybe 5% above where this market was before the constellation deal in mid-august so i'm not going to argue for fantastic valuations all i'll say is very simple n an industry like this, whether it's a new asset class with smaller companies, newer companies or bigger companies, corporate governance is essential. i think you have to do a lot of extra work here. the capital structures even at tilray, which i'm not suggesting there's anything bad going on, i'm saying the capital structure is a big reason the stock has moved the way it has so please do your work because it's a very complicated sector and that's what moves these stocks. >> were you worried ab

leslie picker, thank you very much great stuff.uawk box." >> thanks, brian. >> come to new jersey. >>> still ahead, the oil pull back prices falling a little bit on some geopolitical worries. don't worry, it has been a big year for oil if you were smart enough to buy a couple of oil etfs, you have banked some coin we'll show you how much when we return >>> oil prices taking a little bit of a step back 52 bucks been a torrid start to the year. if you were smart enough or lucky enough to buy some of the energy-related etfs on new year's day, said, hey, let's take a flyer because they have collapsed, you're feeling pretty good look at the returns on some of these big etfs oil and gas up 18% since january first. the xop, exploration and production, up 15% invesco, psce, 17 in the oil fund xle, xoi up 14, 8, 8%. returns bigger for individual names. these are year to date returns, and it's only january, what, 9th? hess up 24%. concho up 20% and a patc apache. >>> paul, you were in opec we were together in that room in the basement we wat

leslie picker is at headquarters with more. >> among those changes is the price point.ard says dollar tree should offer items as high as $2 it all boils down to time value of money and dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow the hedge fund says due to inflation and rising input costs, dollar tree is offering smaller and lower-quality products today than in the past. starboard is seeking a sale of family dollar which dollar tree acquired for $9 billion four years ago but investors and analysts believe it has been a drag on the business lacking positive comp growth in 2018 starboard says if dollar tree implements the firm's plan, the shares would be worth 53% more than where they're trading the hedge fund has taken a 1.7% stake and nominated seven directors whom they have not yet disclosed. that would represent a majority in its current board size of 12. now, dollar tree issued a statement in response saying that, quote, look forward to the opportunity to engage with star board regarding the suggestions they may have. they added they will make a recommendation i

i'm leslie picker. >> we mentioned earlier that oil stocks were the worst performers in the market this year. that's because oil prices had their worst year since 2015, whics not something many had expe01ed. remember started with some forecasters calling f $100 crude. the economy did a sudden about-face in thetisumm, losing more of a third of its value in the fourth quarter alone as demand forecasts softened and geopoliticsal red the markets. they posted a decline of about 25%. >> global markets also had a tough time. london, germany and japan were all down double digits while china's shanghai slid about 24%, its worstearly performance since 2008. just today the world's second thatst economy reported the second largest manufacturer contracted for the first time more than two years this month. ongoing comes amid the trade dispute with the u.s. >>> so-called fang stocks got a lot of attention in 2018. not all of it positive. facebook, apple, google led the market early in the year but also led tow charge during the recent sell-off. according to theonst selling trader at the new york stock

willem marx has the latest on brexit and leslie picker has more on black rock's earnings. steve, we'll start with you and what we got out of the fed this afternoon. >> as you said, sara, eight of the 12 districts saw increased growth at a moderate amount but four districts, including kansas city, new york, st. louis and cleveland saw somewhat less robust growth. it was flat in kansas city, it leveled off in new york. outlook was pretty positive, but many districts said their business contacts were less optimistic because of four reasons. financial market volatility, rising interest rates, falling energy prices and elevated trade and political uncertainty. shutdown mentioned only once this report goes through january 7th, so didn't pick up a lot of it mentioned only by chicago related to farmers not receiving government payments. tariffs, 20 mentions, down from 39 in the last report but it was linked to rising uncertainty and higher prices. now, one piece of good news, several districts reported higher christmas sales, though, auto sales were flat if you get this idea that

here now for rapid fire is phil and leslie picker.l keep saying that through the super bowl >> a good ring to it >> it does have ruby slippers. >> i do you just can't see them. >> telling time magazine consumers should be able to see what companies know about them and be able to delete that it is requiring all data brokers. >> one, it is a little little. two, why is it tim cook that has to say this? he says apple is is not in the business of collecting data. >> i think that's why he says this >> it should be mark zuckerberg or somebody like that saying that >> remember when they went out to vegas and there was a big apple apple ad references amazon and facebook and google. >> when you look at the supply chain of where it goes you have the data it is selling to a middleman someone that can package it together they are selling them to professional investors it is a high price for data. these are money managers they are people that want to deliver by getting an edge on information. >> which everybody should know about. >> let's say this

leslie picker joins us. >> that's right.endary stock picker jeff vinnik getting back into the game he returned $6 billion to investors. this morning he announced that he's relaunching vinik asset management the key question, why now? investors have been moving it. the average long/short equity lost nearly 7% last year under performing the s&p 500 and the broader hedge fund industry. but vinik says he sees those trends as, quote, opportunities even as they've caused other industry titans to go out of business in a statement this morning vinik says, quote, after six years of running my own money, the fire in my belly still burns. his plan is to use the same -- >> looked into >> the belly >> yeah. yeah yeah yeah that could be something serious. tums right in -- anyways, go ahead. >> he plans to use the same style of investing he has for three decades. his style is fundamental, bottom up company analysis layered with his views of the economy and markets. >> interesting i was around for the entire peter lynch era. he had a tough

. >> let's get straight to what's driving the sell-off this hour and that remains apple leslie picker a deeper dive into the company's biggest shareholders morgan brennan looking at the other companies blaming china for the weak outlook we begin with seema mody with more >> today's action illustrates how expansive apple's reach is asian markets overnight underperformed, tech giants, samsung, electronics, traded to the downside europe closed lower. major european suppliers coming under pressure on the apple news today's market story goes beyond apple, the china growth concerns and activity in the u.s. manufacturing sector expanding at a much slower pace than expected last month. now we await tomorrow's jobs report, will that confirm a slowdown in the economy and if so, how will that be read by the market, bad new, good news earnings estimates for the fourth quarter have come down, analysts still expecting profit growth, a 15.8% year over year leading the dow right now is apple, intel, and some names with exposure like boeing and united technologies, down 3% to 4% even copper is trading

leslie picker has that >> hey, carl that was delayed a day by the monday holiday oil inventory shows of 8 million barrels compared with estimates of 750,000 barrel drop gasoline inventory up 4.1 billion barrels con sense us called for a build of 3.1 million barrels. gas spiking up 3% on that news, natural gas. >> thank you for that. >>> moving to the big story, wilbur ross telling cnbc that the u.s. is miles and miles from any trade deal with china. take a listen. >> there's been a lot of an ' s anticipation, but we're miles and miles from getting a resolution, and frankly that shouldn't be too surprising. trade is very complicated. there are lots of issues, and structural reforms that we really think are needed. >> and this as goldman, sachs ceo david solomon sends a warning that chances of recession in the u.s. next year are about 50/50. joining us, u.s. investment strategist at and shawn matthews, capital investment founder. thank you for being here on one hand, the trade issue is hanging over us. on the other hand, jobless claims numbers how is an investor to play it? >> i think

einhorn's green light capital had a 2018 also to forget the firm posted a 34% loss over the year leslie pickeras the one to obtain those figures she looked at how the sector struggled over the past 12 months >> reporter: fewer funs, less leverage and responsible investi investing, these are three key themes in the hedge fund industry that will carry into 2019 first, fewer funds 2018 was a brutal fund for hedge funds, with some high profile meltdowns, more hedge fund also shut their doors in 2019 in recent years when one hedge fund lost assets, another one often gained them. but many expect the industry overall to struggle with redemptions in the new year after a difficult fourth quarter. seco second, in 2019 as rates rise and more volatility takes over, certainty may be more difficult to find. therefore funs are expected to be more cautious and de-lever in the new year. >>> and lastly, responsible investing. in an attempt to sure up burnished reputations, hedge funds have turned to responsible investing. this means they're putting their capital into strategies that benefit society as a whole a

here are leslie picker, robert frank and kate rogers.about proctor & gamble shares up nearly 6% after the company reported an earnings beat and raised its outlook for 2019 looking at the details, a boost in beauty and detergeent weak sales for the shaving business but investors like what they hear. >> some of that organic sales growth was due to higher prices which consumers aren't too bothered by, but p&g has higher end and lower end beauty products they also have olay. >> what skg? >> it's more expensive pricier products >> $290 for an 11-ounce thing. facial cream >> but you can mix higher and lower. >> sk2 is $200 okay >> then olay on the lower. i'm someone who mixes and matches. i wonder how harry and shave club have impacted gillette. >> the premium facial care products the gillette stuff, the shavers that guys buy, that was down like 3%. >> what does this is a about p&g shares that they raised their guidance for 2019 and the stock is up 6% was the sentiment that negative on p&g that any kind of growth, we'll take it as investors >>

cnbc's leslie picker joins us. good to have you with us. markets still working their way through some of the issues that closed out 2018 with december being the worst month since the great depression. what explains it? >> well, a lot of it has to do with the concerns of the china slowdown related to the trade war. those concerns aren't going away any time soon, despite some optimism during trump's comments earlier today that helped drive the market higher, as well as the fed's interest rate increasing regime that it's going through right now which is concerning people who are trading equities about what that could mean, about kind of an asset revaluation as a result. >> i'm curious to get your thoughts on the president's comments today. he told reporters during a cabinet meeting that last month's losses in december were, quote, a glitch. he's expecting a little more positivity with possible trade deal with china if that ever gets worked out. do you think that wall street will share that view that the president articulated today? >> so a gli

leslie picker looking that that back at headquarters >> that's right. the tri willing looking at the moves at the open. it's a critical stock for the entirety of the industry some of the stock's largest holders include vanguard, blackrock, state street and fidelity which owned more than $130 billion worth of apple's stock at the end of the third quarter when the latest disclosures took place if the stock opens down 8% tomorrow, rounding up that amounts to losses of about $10 billion for those four firms alone. those firms, of course, manage pass ifshgs instrumefunds. those may slip because apple makes up such a large weighting in the s&p, nasdaq, dow, warren buffett's berkshire hathway owned $50 billion and shrunk over the summer. if the stock opens lower by 8% tomorrow, berkshire hathaway is looking at losses of about $3 billion in one day alone at the end of the third quarter goldman sachs said that apple appeared as a top ten holding in 27 hedge funds, among the largest holders include millennium management code two and tiger citadel. that's based on

. >>> we have a market flash leslie picker, watching that for us leslie >> these are shares of u.s.ducers that are jumping today in light of the recent thawing in u.s./china trade tensions and china sees some of the biggest demand for products like chicken feet and shut out u.s. producers over concerns of avian flu and trade tensions there's a note, quote, the long awaited reopening of the china market would be unquestionably good news for u.s. producers as china's by far the largest and virtually only market for chicken biproducts like paws, wing tips, chicken feet like mentioned before among the individual names moving today is tyson, pilgrim's pride and sanderson farms. back over to you guys. >> this is a really big deal american producers ship a lot of chicken to china i think this was, though, it had nothing to do with the tariffs and not shipping was health concerns. >> avian bird flu, exactly but those discarded products, u.s. consumers don't really use them and so that was a key market to sell those items that they really couldn't sell anywhere else and just discarding as a

all at the top of the hour on fast money >>> we've got a news alert on don lobe's third point leslie pickerails. >> person with knowledge of the matter telling me the hedge fund posted the year down in 2018 down 11% for the year. the bulk of the losses coming from their december returns. some of the biggest positions include holdings in industrials like utx and dow dupont. i know you covered this closely. they ran a campaign at campbells and have been a shareholder in that stock down about 16% through the month of december. now it's important to note that the returns in 2017 amounted to about 18%. so this is more a revision to the mean for them. back to you. >> another underperforming hedge fund, last year. >> but one of the better performers over certainly in recent years and over a longer period of time has dan lobe's third point. certainly relative to some of the other names we talked about. >> for sure a lot of hedge fund managers say we have a global portfolio so don't compare to the s&p. seen 11% is underperforming. >> the ism manufacturing index showed slower than expected growth hit

. >> black rock set to report tomorrow leslie picker with a preview hey, leslie. >> black rock, of courseprice disappear and that was actually half as bad as many of the other managers. as went the market, so, too, did the share prices of the firms that trade in and out of them. declines in stocks, bonds, commodities shrank the firm's assets under management and caused investors especially retail investors to yank their money out. analysts don't expect the tough backdrop to turn around any time soon deutsche banc wrote in a note that the first quarter managers may be the worst in recent memory set to report tomorrow morning across the industry, a bright spot is etf in flows where they're focused on blackrock said it would be laying off 500 of the employees to reinvest and investors are focused tomorrow on how blackrock will plan to reduce the expenses wall street estimating a very slight increase in eps and revenue compared with last year and may take a bigger catalyst to propel the stock higher, guys >> all right tough times for blackrock. leslie, thank you very much. of course, comes af

leslie picker has some of those details. >> some of those hedge fund managers are giving us results forit was a comeback, for others it was a year of dashed hopes. and odey is in the comeback camp as they closed the year of one of the worst performers in 2017, and a top performer in 2018 with returns of 52% he benefited from brexit and a long in sky which surged in a bidding war that lasted nearly two years. somewhere in between comeback and defeat is bill ackman. his firm, pershing square, ended the year effectively flat thanks to gains in chipotle and adp after three years of losses it wasn't quite the numbers he liked but it surpassed the s&p 500. >> i'm sure akmckman -- i thinki could match those. >> you could do down 0.7% and -- >> did you see the last four years? >> sure. >> the flesh hold is threshold s year dan loeb closed the year down 11%. a person knowledgeable with the matter said the bulk of those losses came in december thanks to dow dupont and campbell's a notable underperformer is david einhorn's green light capital. he lost more than 34% in the year thanks to longs in a

today's top story, apple, cutting its quarterly sales forecast leslie picker joins us now to identifyestors hit hardest as a result. >> obviously, apple, a clear stock for the entirety of the management industry. some of the stock's largest holders include vanguard, blackrock, state street and fidelity if that stock opens down, more than 8% today, that amounts to losses of about $10 billion for those four firms alone these firms also manage passive instruments like index funds and etfs included in that amount, which may also slip because apple makes up such a large waiting in the s&p. berkshire hathaway owned about $40 billion in shares, a position that shrunk $11 billion over the summer. if the stock opens we're by 8% today, berkshire handling awtha looking at losses of $8 billion a alone. >>> and apple with the largest holders of hedge funds including millennium management, tiger, citadel. these positions are as of the end of september based on recent disclosures and they have likely changed since then it's also worth noting apple's timing here, releasing these numbers on the first