opposing shari redstone and all of that.e would need a strong executive to do that so in some ways it has been a question of whether les moonves wants this to happen or not. my reporting is she's been approached by people who want that job who want the opportunity to run viacom and cbs together. and she, you know, would be, i would think, in her interests to check those out. check out those other candidates what i was also told is that les moonves was looking for a -- his deal was very expensive and shari was having trouble making that deal, but -- that he was looking for an ownership stake in the combined company. but my sources close to les moon moonves are saying that's not true, he's not looking for an ownership stake. that says to me that he's -- something may have switched in his mind feels viacom is on a better track, feels better about taking on that responsibility it may be that he's seeing the shifting landscape, you know, essentially the end of the major studio system with disney, it was fox, eventually going away

that's the holding company that sumner and redstone and shari redstone now, since the father is incapacitatedapacitated, those are the two units, the viacom unit is not the healthier unit. cbs is doing well. one thing les moonves has tried to do. he doesn't want to be saddled with. this you just know that the properties at viacom, mtv and all that other stuff, these are not cutting edge properties and getting crushed by cord cutting. he doesn't want to saddle his shareholders with that. she sees it differently. maybe this is a way to survive. obviously this is a play by shari redstone to turn the screws on mr. moonves to get him to agree. you could say why doesn't she order him to do it? if les moonves leaves tomorrow, a huge chunk of cash, he's made his money and can say, sayonara. >> closing bell 38 minutes away. you know boeing was the leader on the dow, it's leading again this year and today, jumping $12.50. the biggest mover on the dow after wolf research raised it to outperform. delivering a disappointing outlook at an investor conference late last night. stock is getting crushed down 7

redstone and her father, fender redstone to medium local control cbs and viacom with roughly 80% votingstake in each. cheryl: you cannot get paid for exercising. a new app called [inaudible] using smartphone. health and fitness stated gps location. the app tracks how many steps you take in a day and rewards you a monetary value according to your movement. for every 1000 steps recorded the apple pay you 95 cents in sweat coins. you can trade the zen for fitness gear, workout classes, gift cards and other offerings. you could only earn this coins by walking outside. they really won't count unless you're doing -- if you're walking on the treadmill at the gym. got to get cheryl: thank you, tracee. lauren: also talking about bitcoin's wild ride as the crackdown on digital currency. bitcoin plunging below $10,000 for the first time since the first of december. right now it is trading at 11,195. bitcoin sold off after south korean policymakers said they may shut the dow domestic virtual changes to combat crime and speculation. also weighing on bitcoin to crack down on trading in crypto currenc

shari redstone can say what she wants but it's not like there's necessarily a story there.sold down too cheap the content wasn't deemed to be worth the value. they seemed to be losing their mojo with the kids, comedy central. but it makes sense and i think these two entities, this is not the first time this has come up in the last couple of months. >> david is doing the professional thing but stocks trade around that before you have any substantive news >> what do you do, do you fade that >> i still think you're able to buy viacom even up this much, you're able to buy viacom. where there's smoke, there's fire >> i agree, i think viacom continues to be the play, mel, 100% >>> that does it for us here on ast. 'll be off on monday see you tuesday. "options action" is right after this >>> hey there, we're live at the nasdaq market site on a very foggy friday the guys are behind me getting ready for the show >>> talk about a face slap shares of facebook are experiencing a rare down day but something suggests now is the time to buy. >>> and one tech stock had a massive run in 201

. >>> shari redstone will add new directors to cbs's board redstone had preliminary talks with leslieoonves about recombining the companies. shari and sumner redstone failed in a merger attempt in 2016. >>> still ahead on "worldwide exchange," bitcoin balancing the digital currency, showing some signs of support after the biggest two-day drop in years. the latest action in the cryptocurrency market straight ahead. >>> countdown to shutdown. the big budget battle on capitol hill has a major deadline, it's just one day, 18 hours, 47 minutes and some 20 seconds away from us. we'll go live to washingn toto discuss when we come back. >>> welcome back to "worldwide exchange." let's get you up to speed on the market action. we're seeing red, just slight declines the nasdaq down 9.5 points the z the s&p fractionally lower we got some gains yesterday and putting tuesday's intraday selloff into perspective with solid gains yesterday. >>> oil prices for you, which gained about 0.4% yesterday, but are still down half a percent for the week as a whole coming into today are flat. $64 is the price o

shari and sumner redstone failed in a merger attempt in 2016.here are questions about why we need to reconstitute that. >> got to put them back together >> but the idea of reconstituting the board -- >> you're not even questioning putting them back together after splitting them apart. >> you know what we all learned in family-run companies? the family wins. if you're the family, this is what you want, this is ultimately what will happen. >> the world has changed that much they needed scale back then -- >> back then it was to get rid of slower growth business, like billboards, cbs -- >> you're saying it wasn't a good idea? it's complicated becky is right ed lee is coming on. i'm curious on what he thinks about this >> i'm sure we can figure out a wash nall th rational that makes sense. >> les moonves was key in restructuring that >> i would nwhy not just put hi charge of both >> let's get to kayla tausche. republicans in the house, it was with europe we all said kick the can, kick the can. now we're starting to bring it back, using it a lot again

well, the talks are preliminary, and no official decision has been made, but redstone would like to seees who's been skeptical of deal could be more open to it now. as long as he gets to control it, i'm sure. >> yep. liz: charlie gasparino, did you just finish. >> i never lie! i never lie about being in the cia. i mean, kgb. [laughter] liz: total opposite. was he sort of blinking when -- do you blink when you're lying or not lying? >> what do you expect the guy to say? if he tells the truth, yes, i'm kgb -- i'm not saying he is, but if he blurted out something that vladimir putin wouldn't like, there's be a cell in the gulag ready for him in siberia. [laughter] liz: if he's lucky. >> get to my story. liz: okay, let's go. >> well, intro it. liz: oh. trump and davos is actually meeting with a ceo or has been wining and dining with business communities after his administration passed this massive corporate tax cut. now suddenly companies aren't so worried about meeting with him. i guess in secret, charlie? >> some in secret, some not. this is interesting breaking news. i'm trying to figure

the "wall street journa says redstone wants to bring on new director as she renews discussiont a potential merger between the two companies. the added that cbs has reservatio a tie up. viacom's shares were up, shares of cbs were up almost 1%. k corp. reported earnings that rose and beat expectationse nation's largest bank said the majority of the savings from the new tax law will be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buy backs. the rest will be put into investments in technolog and higher entry lev wages. shares closed down more than 1%. >>> sharls schwab posted profits in line with expectations saying earnings took an immediate hit from the new tax changes. revenue topped forecasts. schwab shares, up 1%. the drug maker sell gene reportedly in talks to buy the bio tech juneau therapeuticics. it could help strengthen sell gene's portfolio of blood cancer drugs. juneau therapeuticics up 51%. sounds like bitcoin, to $69.25. not today. and after the bell, alcoa posted a larger than expected quarterly loss. revenue improved but also came up short. shares were pressured

. >>> several reports says cbs vice chairwoman shari redstone is seeking to combine viacom and cbs, more than a decade after the two companies split. but subsequent reports said viacom is not in any active talks with cbs regarding a potential merger. viacom shares ended the day up 9% to $33.76. cbs shares rose 2%. >>> time for our weekly market monitor segment. this week's monitor has three small cap picks, capitalizing on growing demand among consumers for experiences and services. the russell 2000 hit a new high today, up 80% over a five-year period. we welcome tighe sanders from tighe, welcome, good to have you with us. we're a little pressed for time. beginning with monarch cart casino and resort, not a name i know, which doesn't say much at all, but where do they do business and why do you like them? >> so monarch casino resorts is a regional dominant player. we like this because of the mana team and the way they've been able to utilize data analytics to better segregate the market and get a better overall customer experience for the user base. we like that they're doing an intellig

alix: it is hard for them to find a leg sheri redstone can stand on.is the new sheriff in town, and you have to worry about staying too late at the party. is it fully valued? having said that, les moonves has done a superb job. alix: i love when we get the nitty-gritty from david westin. he gets so excited when i talk about oil. morgan stanley as well as the broader equity market, morgan stanley up 1.6% in premarket. equity trading coming in at $1.92 billion. the biggest gap was goldman sachs. the wealth management business up 10%, margins a bit lower, but not a lot of drama. tomng up in the next hour, , friend of president trump, will join us. ♪ alix: knocked off its pedestal. morgan stanley climbs above goldman sachs for the first time since 2006. the wealth management fees hit a record. one step forward, two steps back. apple is repatriating millions of dollars in a win for president trump, but a government shutdown still looms. 2.6% forields above the first time since march. david: welcome to "bloomberg daybreak." i'm david westin mumbling alongsid

this on news, forgive me to put on my glasses viacom ceo chairwoman shari redstone pursuing more mergersanies split after decade ago. this is report from the wrap. we're following this closely, breaking news. >>> t. boone pickens, once america's big oil man, stepping down for good from his energy focused hedge fund bp capital. 89-year-old says his health is not been good. but he says his fund is not performing well. does his bet on natural gas still worth it? he likes one name in oil. first, natural gas world, look at markets right now. we're seeing record once again. >> it is exciting. liz: a lot of compelling factors. cold winters matter. that drives prices higher. look at oil market, we're at new high levels. almost $65 a barrel on oil, haven't seen that in a long, long time. liz: 70 for brent. >> new highs for oil and new highs for gnat gas. we're rapidly becoming a energy producer exporter, the idea of liquified national gas coming online is massive. liz: what name do you like. >> i think the stock is a great parent company. pays a 7% dividend. don't find many big dividend, folly co

now, there were other issues that did happen that i write about, but it's not as though sumner redstone or ted turner came into the newsroom and influence ared our coverage. in fact, i think ted turner worked really hard at cnn to make us stay factual at the time. likewise, sinclair at the top, the conservative who does head sinclair has not interfered with my program. i've had no interference compared to cnn's -- i'm sorry, cbs toward the end had a great deal of interference. it's been a freshness that i can't describe to be able to go into another independent program that doesn't try to shape the news and put out narratives. these are legitimate questions to be asked. i certainly don't blame people for saying, gosh, sinclair is own by a conservative guy, what does that do for your news, but i would say in fairness, liberal networks send out one-sided information that are seen by more people than the sinclair station. you have to dig in and wonder why only one station owner is getting all this press on comedy talk shows and on capitol hill when the others have existed in that same bail

sumner redstone split viacom and cbs in decade ago. failed attempt to recombine them. sherry road ten, controlling shareholder over at cbs has been in, there is viacom. we'll continue to watch this developing story in the media world. back to you. david: i said phil flynn will be here on commodities. he is not. let me told you gold took a major hit. a big hit for the gold bugs. thank you very much. melissa? melissa: it is the economy stupid. president trump taking a victory lap on tabs reform touting the effect of tax cuts on millions of americans. fox business's jeff flock is in pennsylvania where the president made remarks just a few minutes ago. jeff? reporter: he is on his way home now but i'll tell you the president did today, melissa what a lot of people like the president to do a lot more of, that is to say talk about the economy. even said it, it is about the economy stupid. not the first guy to say that but it was today and that's great. touring this plant, h&k equipment. heavy equipment, they sell it, they service it, it is a great barometer for the economy.

if you're redstone you might think, i'm not giving up control any time soon.ventional wisdom is that scale matters. by the way, i think it's possible you can succeed without scale, but let's just go with the assumption that everyone believes you need scale, therefore, you pursue it and so, yeah, i think it's contributed to the current environment. >> and, michael, what are your -- what's your take on this do you think this will be a good thing, before we go? >> well, hon list, i don't know if it would be a good thing. i know these companies are desperate to figure out, how do they compete against a netflix juggernaut how do they compete against this new landscape? they're desperately looking for new ways to do that. disney is taking proactive action, whether cbs/viacom together will make a difference. it's hard for me to see how, but what else are they going to do otherwise they'll sit around and get killed by their competitors. >> brian, thanks for joining us with the latest on cbs and viacom there meantime, let's circle back to the earnings we have big mover

shari redstone wants to put the deal together. trading eight times, yield of 3 1/2%. ford has gotten clobbered because of soft guidance. revenue number was strong. ford yields at 6%. you have to look at opportunities, trish, not necessarily what the dow is doing. trish: overall fundamentals are looking pretty good. when time dime thinks 4% in the card with gdp growth, when we know wages are going up as a result of bonuses, wage increases from hundreds of companies and earnings going up as as a result of the tax plan. >> wall street. you mentioned one jamie dimon. of course lloyd blankfein. they are fighting over who is more bullish over the economy. two he noted democrats. one at four. one at three. i think we can take. >> thanks so much. major topic in tonights state of the union address will be immigration reform. it must be a bypartisan deal and we must secure our borders in finding a solution to daca. my next guest is important how border security is. she represents arizona's second district right on the border. congresswoman martha mcsally running for senate. >>

two of them, i think that may ultimately happen for no other reason other than you have got shari redstonethe roadstone family that controls both. it could be a combination. it could be a two or three way deal. >> we have been sort of going through this to get your take on each one for the one that you said would make sense for comcast, have you talked to brian roberts, have you talked to our bosses about any of that, about a potential tie up or something deeper than a partnership. >> i could never say specifically who we are talking about. but we talk to everybody all the time we are now a $7 billion market cap company. we are a pint-sized bite for some of the giant market cap companies. again, our job is to create enhanced shareholder value we would talk to anybody at any time and see if a deal makes sense. >> it sounds like you were most open to a deal based on your answers to amazon or comcast >> i wouldn't pick a favorite potential partner. again a lot of these companies, technically in the tech space, they have to ask themselves do they want to build it or buy it? and then the questi

david: we do have breaking news, new reports that stricom and cbs vice-chair shari redstone looking toerge the two companies that broke apart more than 10 years ago, viacom surged into the close ending the day up more than 9%. its pulling back. we should tell you a little bit after hours, trading down about 2%. cbs up slightly after-hours. melissa: president trump issuing a tough warning to iran, what he is now saying about the future of the controversial nuclear deal. that is next. david: rescue missions continue in southern california where many still remain missing after deadly mudslides plowed through homes. there is a desperate search going on. we have update for you coming right up. >> i wasn't aware what kind of danger was coming down that hill. you know, the water got worse as the minutes went by. >> you could feel the car lift up when the wall of water from behind hit the car. sir, now we have live pictures of joint base andrews where you see the president's helicopter. i believe it is the lead helicopter. they always have two and do that for obvious reasons. it is up in the 5

shari redstone of both companies is pursuing a merger of the two media names that split up more thanoining us from princeton is paul sweeney. i feel it we talk about this every couple of months. it has been in the water. people question if they will merge in some thing happens in a separate and go their own ways. what is different this time? why would they want to combine once again? paul: what is different is we have the walt disney company announced it was acquiring the majority of 21st century fox couple of weeks ago and that was a seismic shift within the media space and general -- in general. it underscored with the big media companies are thinking today. they need to get bigger and scale. it is not just scale to compete against other media companies. tos is about having scale compete against -- getting scale to compete against the amazons and googles and apples of the world as text companies continue to encroach on traditional media businesses. joe: if they were to tie up, what would -- how would it be a stronger company? i guess that is what i am trying to get at here. in syri

any sort of significant premiums for viacom what is likely at this point that you may see shari redstoneushing this as a result of what we have seen in terms of disney and fox and the fa ct that scal is something people need no banks have been hired or special committee have been formed or adviser any kind or offer have been made and that continues to be problematic, perhaps you could not get the resistance of cbs in terms of its chairman and ceo wanting to push for certain right in a deal but, that does not mean that it is not without its impediments, you will still need a special committee to say hey, this is viacom shareholders. quite a few things it may hold it back. studio being one of them though it does contributes to325 million bucks and none tthelesst is significant go through the list that's out there, they have to. if murdoch's willing to do it, everybody got to be thinking about it >> i am so glad you mentioned murdoch's name now fox is going to be hired and at&t, these are not a family you uniquely reported on the idea that there are, this is an industry almost like real est

. >>> time for the "takeaway," we talk about media mergers "wall street journal" saying shari redstonethe move amazon or verizon could be potential bidders for lionsgate. maybe there's an m&a boom but the media business is in a boom of its own. >> obviously, you have the secular pressures, you have redefining what scale is with the fox/disney deal pending right now and at&t/time warner i think it's a hedge as well, especially with cbs/viacom you simplify the structure, have aid controlling owner and i think you want to be able to funnel resources to those kind of survivor networks and studios that will be able to live in this new world. >> do you think we're closer to the beginning than the end of this consolidation process >> i wouldn't say we're close to the beginning just because there aren't that many players you know, it's not as if there's two dozen players that have to be rolled up but i think we're right in the thick of it. i think it could be one of these compound type deals. discove discovery/scripps getting together. >>> wholesale shelves empty. workers say the problems bega