Squawk Pod

Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter is back on track–but questions remain. Can he afford it, and does he have the time to run it? CNBC’s wealth reporter Robert Frank maps out Musk’s financial ability to complete the deal, highlighting the $6 billion he’s still short. If he scrounges together the cash to succeed, Musk biographer Walter Isaacson considers whether Musk has the time to run the platform, a...

After a bright start to the fourth quarter, Joe, Becky, and Andrew consider  what’s driving the rally , whether it will last, and what the Fed might do in response. In KPMG’s new CEO survey, almost all 400 leaders included, the vast majority of them (91%) are expecting a recession in the next year, but even more of them (93%) are confident in the growth prospects for the U.S. economy. KPMG Chair a...

Kim Kardashian’s Instagram ad post about the EthereumMax token has cost her $1.26 million. SEC Chair Gary Gensler discusses the celebrity’s settlement with the regulator and explains why her post–and others from DJ Khalid and Steven Seagal–raised a flag that other celebrity ads do not. Concerns about whether  Credit Suisse is on the brink of a “Lehman moment” have rocked the global banking industr...

Joe, Becky, and Andrew recap a long, turbulent month and quarter for the markets as we head into the fourth quarter. Investor, founder of Evercore, and former U.S. Treasury official Roger Altman discusses whether the Fed’s policies will have a hard or a soft landing, and Altman considers whether in two years, we’ll be in an economic recession or recovery. A text thread between  Elon Musk and Jack...

Legendary investor  Stanley Druckenmiller warned Wall Street of a gloomy market future at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Investors Summit. Joe breaks down his Druckenmiller interview with Becky, and they weigh the pros and cons of Federal Reserve policy. Despite a gloomy start, the rest of this episode is uplifting, literally. AOL founder Steve Case discusses his new book, “The Rise of the Rest,” and how...

Joe Kernen and Becky Quick are on site at CNBC’s 2022  Delivering Alpha Investors Summit , where they interview Muddy Waters CIO Carson Block about his firm’s short-selling thesis, his mission to call out fraudulent businesses, and the difference between “fake” and “real” ESG companies. CNBC’s Jim Cramer and David Faber join to discuss the Fed’s fight against inflation, and global threats to the m...

Ark Invest CEO and Chief Investment Officer Cathie Wood discusses her newest launch: a venture firm for private investments, open to non-accredited investors. As international currencies like the British pound, South Korean won, Japanese yen, and euro all  fall weaker against the dollar , Wood shares her firm’s perspective on recession and inflation. A famed tech investor, Wood explains her bullis...

Are we on the wrong path in the fight against inflation?  Wharton Business School professor Jeremy Siegel  criticizes the Federal Reserve  and its chairman, Jerome Powell, saying the U.S. central bank is moving too aggressively to fight inflation and will hurt American workers in the process.  The British pound falls to historic lows against the U.S. dollar, sparking currency concerns around the g...

A rough week ends on Wall Street as markets take a dive and bond years are surging. Why? Becky Quick and Melissa Lee take a closer look at the investor worries and the wonky numbers driving the market downturn. This comes after the Federal Reserve announced it will be raising interest rates 75 basis points. CNBC’s Steve Liesman explores the market reaction to the Fed’s decision and its global impa...

“Software plus heroism can really slay the giant,” Palantir CEO Alex Karp tells Andrew Ross Sorkin and Becky Quick in his analysis of how big data and technology have changed modern warfare. Karp is carefully watching Russia’s  first military mobilization  since World War II and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine; he thinks that countries around the world are taking notice of the new global order. The...

Patagonia’s founding family is redirecting their billions to fight climate change and preserve our Earth; the move has sparked conversation about ‘woke capitalism’ and a company’s impact on the world, versus its return to shareholders. Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert discusses his predecessor’s choice to  “make Earth its only shareholder,” and whether the drastic move will really make a difference. Axi...

Investors are bracing for the  Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting this week, ready for another policy announcement to curb inflation. Workers are returning to the office, but surveys show that in-person attendance is down, compared to pre-pandemic levels. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy discusses the impact of New York’s return-to-office push on the Garden State commuters and taxpayers....

In an interview over the weekend, President Biden discussed his plans for battling inflation and the American strategic  response to Chinese aggression in Taiwan . Today, former SEC chair Jay Clayton responds to the President’s comments on the economy; instead of talking about rates of inflation and statistics, Clayton urges economists and lawmakers to start speaking in terms of the prices that Am...

The Biden Administration, railroad companies and labor unions are sharing credit for averting a potentially expensive strike. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discusses the close call, as well as the shadow persistent inflation cast on the negotiations and on the White House’s efforts to celebrate recent legislative wins.  The stock markets were headed toward another down week as corporate...

In an extended interview, Starwood Capital Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht warns that the economy is slowing, and considers what August’s hot inflation data could mean for the Federal Reserve’s next rate hike decision. The real estate mogul and investor discusses the current labor market, including wage pressures on the economy and the corporate push to return to in-person offices. Plus, in an e...

Markets have their  worst day since June 2020 following worse than expected inflation data.  Squawk Box anchors Joe Kernen, Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin hit the impact of inflation on investors, the housing  market, and the outlook for the Fed’s next interest rate decision.  Members of Congress can buy and sell stocks with few restrictions, The New York Times’ Kate Kelly reports on the paper...

Inflation in August rose  more than economists were expecting, and the markets are reacting poorly. CNBC’s Steve Liesman, former Acting CEA Chair Tyler Goodspeed, and JPMorgan’s Meera Pandit discuss the repercussions of this data for the Fed’s next rate hikes and the labor market, in September and beyond. Millions of Americans are headed back to in-office work this week, and Walter Isaacson says,...

77% mass shootings in America were committed with guns bought legally, the majority with credit cards. Four years ago in  columns for The New York Times , Andrew Ross Sorkin suggested that credit card companies have the power to help spot dangerous patterns in U.S. firearms sales by categorizing gun purchases the same way retailers categorize transactions at hair salons, and movie theaters. Earlie...

In Ohio, Intel is breaking ground at the sites of its two new semiconductor factories, marking  a major shift in American manufacturing . Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger discusses the pivotal moment for the US chip industry, and why the factories in America’s heartland will boost national security. As the markets await Fed Chair Jay Powell’s next announcement later this month, Becky Quick, Joe Kernen, And...

Apple has announced its  new suite of products , from earbuds to phones and watches. It may look like the company hasn’t hiked prices in the US, but CNBC’s Jon Fortt explains, it’s all in the marketing. As employees across the country head back to the office, former SEC Chair Jay Clayton and investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary discuss the WFH options now expected from existing talent and new w...

Starbucks founder and longtime on-and-off CEO Howard Schultz is finally, officially, handing over the chain’s reins to a new CEO: Laxman Narasimhan . Andrew Ross Sorkin sits down with both in Seattle and discusses Starbucks leadership and culture, inflation, China, and labor unions over a “not cheap” cup of coffee. Plus, Meta is gearing up to release some next gen technology, Russia is tightening...

OPEC+ has announced a cut to production, surprising an already shocked global energy system.  Russia has shut down oil flows to Europe through Nord Stream Pipeline 1, indefinitely. State Department official, Special Presidential Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein, discusses energy geopolitics amid Europe’s deepening crisis.  The United Kingdom has a  new Prime Minister in...

The Labor Department released the number of  American jobs added in August: 315,000. Only slightly below expectations, CNBC’s Steve Liesman and former CEA member Tyler Goodspeed consider what the report means for the Federal Reserve’s next rate hike. According to a new study by a group of professors, commission-free trades might not be free. UCLA Irvine Professor Christopher Schwartz explains the...

In an extended interview, Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein discusses his new book, "How to Invest: Masters on the Craft,” featuring his own interviews with the world’s best investors, including Larry Fink, Ron Baron, Sam Zell, Mary Callahan Erdoes, Ray Dalio, Stan Drunkenmiller, and John Rogers. As markets digest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve,  a new lockdown in China , and Eur...

Majority state-owned  Russian Gazprom has shut down gas flows through Nord Stream 1 pipeline, an energy lifeline for much of Europe. CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche reports on the evolving crisis abroad. Stateside, Vivek Ramaswamy, founder of Strive Asset Management, and Christy Goldfuss, a former Obama energy official now at the Center for American Progress discuss energy politics and ESG investments a...