rodney mcmullen is crushing it today.e doesn't need no stinking deal with albertson's >> well, he's not going to get it, is he? >> no, he's a dreamer on that. i love the guy, it's like, please it's how i feel about solar. it's really horrible, but i love it >> the government's case against, of course, the purchase of albertson's is going to conclude early next week >> rodney is a winner either way. >> we'll get a decision not long after that, probably in october. i'm not -- you know, i haven't read the transcripts lately, so -- >> it's just -- you know, it all has to do with how they screwed up in a previous case. it reminds me of when they let all the airlines merge and then they felt bad and now they block off the mergers. these guys have a heart. they're like the tin man but they really have something >> i don't know what this had to do with "the wizard of oz," but the point is they allowed the deal where safeway was purchased and then the divested stores, it didn't work out at all >> because of haggen >> which went ba

kroger ceo rodney mcmullen took the stand yesterday in a hearing that could determine the fate of a proposedger with his company's rival, albertsons. the federal trade commission is trying to temporarily block the $24 billion merger, claiming it would eliminate competition and lead to higher food prices. but mcmullen told the court the merger would allow the combined company to lower prices to better compete with walmart and costco. when asked why food prices are up 25% since 2019, mcmullen blamed rising supplier costs, fuel prices and credit card fees. but mcmullen is making a promise he is pledging to cut grocery prices by $1 billion on day one. if the merger is approved. that court hearing on the proposed merger is expected to last through next week. >> the number of job openings in the u.s. just hit the lowest level since january of 2021. the labor department's number fell below expectations, increasing the likelihood that the federal reserve will cut interest rates this month. and turning now to the weather. evacuations have been ordered near a fast moving wildfire in central oregon. it

kroger ceo rodney mcmullen that we merge is the day that we will begin lowering prices," vowing that combined company would invest $1 billion to lower prices if the merger goes through. the federal trade commission has sued to halt this merger, alleging it would raise prices by reducing competition in some areas of the country. is that an accurate argument? >> i'm not convinced of that argument. so if they are somehow able to combine their stores, some of those cost savings through their wholesale prices could be passed onto consumers. >> reporter: the two chains combined operate about 5,000 stores. currently, walmart dominates the grocery market by dollars spent. as shoppers have faced stubborn inflation since the pandemic. since 2019, according to the cbs "money watch" price tracker, a dozen eggs more than doubled. bread jumped 54%, and chicken 33%. but wages have also risen 23%, keeping pace with overall prices. >> but that is not how a lot of consumers think. they just see that grocery bill at the end, and they are like, oh, my gosh, this is so expensive. and they are right. >> r

. >> reporter: kroger ceo rodney mcmullen said in court wednesday the day that we merge is the day thatgoes through. since 2019, grocery prices have skyrocketed. the cost of eggs rose from $1.20 to $2.72. orange juice has jumped from $2.49 to $4.26. and a loaf of bread to just under $2. and even with larger grocery stores struggling to compete, local food markets could be barely hanging on. what could a merger like this do to smaller chains? the mom and pop shops out there? >> they will confront a bitter reality because not only are they having less competitive power, but they also have less buying power. and that means higher prices for consumers and frankly perhaps fewer customers. >> reporter: it is such a competitive marketplace out there right now. the ceo of albertsons also testified that if this deal falls through, the chain may have to consider layoffs and store closures. now we want to point out that albertsons prices are about 10 to 12% more than kroger's. so the promise that prices will indeed go down is an ambitious one. but with eight other states and washington, d.c. joini

there are signs also that the fed can go i mean if you listen to rodney mcmullen, ceo of kroger, talking the consumer, he pointed to some changes and not just at the low income listen >> the customer on a budget is under a lot of strain and we're even seeing that customer even making more pronounced changes in terms of when first of the month and when they have money they would be stocking up, getting bigger packages of product of stuff as you get to the later part of the month they would be doing things to stretch their budget in smaller sizes moving more to our brand products, those types of things. the thing we are starting to see that's a little bit of change is really the middle customer is starting to make some of those changes as well. >> the middle income customer making some of those changes remember, guys, what fed chair powell said a few weeks ago at jackson hole, the last big public comment he said i pulled out the quote for you "we do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions. he says it seems unlikely the labor market will be a source of elevated inflat

in court yesterday ceo rodney mcmullen said the day we merge is the day that we begin lowering pricesace the federal court because the ftc is looking for preliminary injunction to block the deal so they don't merge before their suit against the deal is heard in court. there's a lot at stake because kroger has said if the judge rules against them, they will not continue to pursue the deal. we don't know that for sure. here's the case, kroger and albertsons are both saying prices will come down for consumers. why? kroger ceo rodney mcmullen says albertsons prices are 10% to 12% higher than kroger prices so when they merge there's room and opportunity for them to save costs and bring those prices down. the ftc is alleging that the history of grocery store mergers does not show that at all. it shows higher prices, shows store closures. and then the whole debate about the plan that kroger came up with to divest a bunch of stores that overlap albertsons into cns, another grocery store operator. and there are questions if kroger investors were involved, whether it was just a bunch of lawyers

kind words >>> listen to me, in this market i think it is worth giving ceos like andy jassy and rodney mcmullen the doubt every day is a holiday we had calls asking if cava could be the next chipotle and i'm going to the ceo to see where cava stands in growth. >>> callaway has been a big mess unfortunately i got wrong. got to own that. some stocks do right, some do wrong. >>> signatures shine bright like a diamond and i'm getting the latest on the company's top brass. statement with cramer. >> announcer: don't miss a second of "mad money." follow @jimcramer on "x. have a question? tweet kramer, #madmentions send jim a mti tenono madmoney@cnbc.com. or give us a call at 1-800-374-cnbc live ambitiously is it me... or is work not working? at least, not the way it could work. your people are buried in busy work. and you might be thinking... can ai make it all work? it can. on the servicenow platform, ai transforms your entire business. because when your people work better, everything works better. so, let's get to work. idris elba works here? mm-hmm. ya, he's super nice. let's say you're deep in a s

kroger ceo rodney mcmullen testified in a hearing that could determine the fate of a proposed mergerh his company's rival, albertsons. kroger owns multiple brands, including food for less, which has stores right here in the bay area. albertsons owns pleasanton based safeway and the ftc is trying to temporarily block the $24 billion merger, claiming it would get rid of competition and also lead to higher food prices. mcmullen told the court that the merger would allow the combined company to lower prices and to compete better with walmart and costco. when asked why food prices are up 25% since 2019, he blamed rising supplier costs, fuel prices and credit card fees. but mcmullen is making a promise. he is pledging to cut grocery prices by $1 billion. on day one, if that merger is approved during the last hearing, that was last week. another kroger executive admitted to gouging prices on select items above inflation levels. he said the company raised the cost of milk and eggs beyond what inflation would require for the chain to turn a profit. kumasi. >> thanks, gloria. discount stores a

. >> he is amanda kroger ceo rodney mcmullen testified in a hearing that could determine the fate of a proposed merger with his company's rival, albertsons. kroger owns multiple brands, including food for less, which has stores right here in the bay area. albertsons owns pleasanton based safeway. the ftc is trying to temporarily block the $24 billion merger, claiming that it would get rid of competition and also lead to higher food prices. mcmullen told the court that the merger would allow the combined company to lower prices, and also to compete better with walmart and costco. when asked why food prices are up 25% since 2019, he blamed rising supplier costs, fuel prices and credit card fees. but mcmullen is making a promise. he is pledging to cut grocery prices by $1 billion. on day one, if the merger is approved during the same hearing last week, another kroger executive admitted to gouging prices on select items above inflation levels. he said the company raised the cost of milk and eggs beyond what inflation would require for the chain to turn a profit. kumasi. >> all right. tha

rodney mcmullen testified and the ceo of albertsons and rodney said we're going to lower prices as soonh, albertsons prices are higher, a lot of room for us to do that, skepticism around that given some of the past mergers that we've seen in the grocery market space and so we're expecting a decision by the judge, a federal judge in portland, by october 1st. she's a biden appointee and hasn't given any indication of how she's going to rule. this is a preliminary injunction. >> they could. once you get a p.i. it is the end of it. >> wraps it up. >> on tapestry-capri it will be interesting because it seems easy to argue that there are a lot of competitors in fashion. >> it does. >> the ftc is arguing accessible handbag market is two companies. >> they created the market based in part on some of the quotes from the executives themselves that wasn't clear ever existed. accessible luxury. >> lena khan and the ftc point to this case, that is one that is going to be -- >> that is where i draw the distinction. we were talking about albertsons and kroger when the deal announced having antitrust i

. >> rodney mcmullen has the most compelling story in the world, which is that, look, right now, if youcers, then block this deal. but nobody's going to listen, because the ftc felt so bad about the safeway-albertson's deal and they said they would never let these deals happen again, even if you weren't able to give the overlap. they gave all the overlap names to haggen and hagen went bankrupt within a year, a supermarket chain that should never have gotten the approval. here, you've got a much more viable company that wants to buy the overlap. but the ftc just feels like, oh, man, we screwed up so badly, we're not going back to that. that's the real analysis, i think. >> the last thing i'll mention is apple. below the 50-day. goldman today does argue, jim, that the next week's event, glow time, should be immaterial to the stock price. >> well, i think there are a lot of people who are trying to figure out why they still own it and the reason you own it is because unlike the cembalest spend for all the datacenters, they get the chatgpt for nothing. why are they going down just like they

rodney mcmullen, the ceo of kroger, says under oath that prices will come down for consumers at the grocery? because there's a price gap. albertson's charges more, higher margins, there's work to do to lower those, and they can do that if they combine. that is at the heart of whether this deal gets approved. kroger says people shop everywhere for groceries, at costco, on amazon, at whole foods, it's very different. so, lina khan clearly disagrees. >>> let's get the opening bell. at the big board, it is the president of argentina here in new york for the u.n. general assembly. at the nasdaq, it's climate change makers from around the world, including loreen kyle jobs and tom stier. an interesting piece in the "times" over the weekend about jobs and sam altman of openai and johnny ive working on a.i. devices. i noticed you've been toying with your new iphone. >> i got the new iphone, the 16, but there's no a.i. on it yet, i guess? >> no. steve kovach will tell you it's a couple of months away until you get the full software upgrade you're going to need. but you have sara intelligence, so you'