Squawk Pod

As Vladimir Putin presses on with Russia’s assaults in Ukraine, the rest of the world has reevaluated the globe’s balance of energy power. The New York Times columnist Tom Friedman discusses the new oil world order and this moment’s legacy in energy markets for years to come. Elon Musk closed out an eventful week with a “cyber rodeo” to celebrate the opening of  Tesla’s new gigafactory in Austin,...

Elon Musk’s 9.2% stake in Twitter cost him $2.6B–chump change for the wealthiest man in the world, according to  fellow billionaire and supporter Ron Baron . But Musk’s ownership and board seat are a big deal for Twitter and for social media on the whole; Reddit co-founder turned VC Alexis Ohanian considers Musk’s intentions and his potential impact on social media as we know it. Plus, President B...

Filmmaker Ken Burns’ new two-part documentary on PBS documents the life and complicated legacy of Benjamin Franklin. The documentarian joins Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson to discuss how the founding father shaped not only our country, but America’s everyday life, language, education system, and economy. Contemporary innovator Elon Musk is also shaping our daily lives, albeit differently: the...

In an extended interview, Matt Damon and Gary White discuss founding their nonprofit Water.org, following over a decade funding global access to safe water and sanitation. The actor and engineer share their inspiration and motivation. Plus, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been  appointed to Twitter’s board of directors after taking a 9.2% stake in the social media giant. In reaction, Twitter saw its best...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased  a giant stake in Twitter making him the largest outside shareholder in the social media stock, not long after criticizing the company for what he said was its failure to uphold the tenets of free speech. Rich Greenfield, partner and co-founder of LightShed Partners, reacts to Elon Musk’s passive stake in Twitter and explains why he thinks Twitter could be an acquisit...

The bond market briefly flashed a warning that  recession could be imminent ; Joe Kernen, Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin, and CNBC’s senior economics reporter Steve Liesman explain Wall Street’s hype about the inverted yield curve. The other talk on Wall Street: a social breakfast between Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and trader Alexander von Furstenberg that’s now in the center of officia...

Wall Street and Washington are still hung up on the Biden administration’s  proposed billionaire income tax , but pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz says the majority of Americans are more concerned about gas independence and inflation than they are about wealth.  Newly declassified U.S. intelligence indicates Russian President Vladimir Putin feels he was misled by military leaders who...

Meme stock mania has returned to the markets. Wild  swings in GameStop and AMC stock have drummed up more interest in retail trading trends; Tastytrade founder and Co-CEO Tom Sosnoff considers meme trader philosophy and its impact on market health. Plus, Joe Kernen and Andrew Ross Sorkin’s obsession with the Biden Administration’s budget proposal restricting CEO  stock buybacks continues another d...

President Joe  Biden’s $5.8 trillion 2023 federal budget proposes tax hikes on the ultra-wealthy and new rules on corporate buybacks. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) makes the case for reforms to executive pay and for a minimum income tax for billionaires. Meanwhile, CNBC’s Ylan Mui says Republicans on Capitol Hill are pronouncing Biden’s budget dead on arrival. Plus, Dairy Queen is expanding its...

President Joe Biden’s 2023 federal budget proposes  tax hikes on the ultra-wealthy and on corporations while providing billions of dollars in new spending at the Defense and Justice Departments. Joe, Becky, and Andrew digest the proposal, its potential to bolster domestic investment, and plans to reduce the federal deficit. In light of increasing Covid infections,  Shanghai began a two-stage lockd...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen responds to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s warning that the end of globalization is nigh. In a wide ranging interview, she weighs the concerns and the benefits of crypto assets,  whether we need sanctions on China , and America’s slow journey toward renewable energy. CNBC’s Kayla Tausche reports on NATO’s deal to cut European reliance on Russian oil in Belgium. Plus, Ma...

Larry Fink, CEO and chairman of the world’s biggest asset manager BlackRock, wrote in his annual letter that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is  reversing the long-running trend of globalization . Blackrock, which oversees more than $10 trillion, has suspended the purchase of any Russian securities in its active or index portfolios. CNBC’s Kayla Tausche reports from Brussels, Belgium, where President...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for more pressure on Russia as the war appears to be entering a stalemate, and CNBC’s Eamon Javers reports on the Biden administration’s efforts to  safeguard the U.S. against a potential Russian cyberattack . JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has suggested the White House form a modern-day ‘Marshall Plan’ to wean the US and Europe off of Russian oil, acco...

Federal Reserve Chairman  Jay Powell is taking a tough stance on inflation --a lot tougher than the markets had expected. In an effort to combat rising prices, the central bank head suggested that the next interest rate hike might be higher than the quarter percentage point announced last week. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan explains how the  state’s gas-tax pause is helping residents save at the pump....

Disney’s old guard and new guard are butting heads in the company’s boardroom, and the tensions between  Bob Iger and Bob Chapek are getting awkward. As Russian troops continue their assaults in Ukraine, world leaders prepare for a NATO meeting with a singular objective: to stop Vladimir Putin. Former US Ambassador to Nato Ivo Daalder considers the biggest risks to European stability and the best...

The markets are on track for their best week since November 2020, despite geopolitical risks continuing to brew abroad. CNBC’s Meg Tirrell reports on the rising Covid-19 cases across Europe, and what experts think that means for the U.S.’s pandemic response. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and CNBC contributor, also breaks down the latest surge, but says the U.S. will not see a major w...

The markets react to the Fed’s strategy to combat inflation with  the first rate hike in over three years . Former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Roger Ferguson considers whether six more hikes in 2022 would increase the probability of a U.S. recession, and whether investors are haunted by the last time the Fed tried to fix inflation with big hikes. Plus, President Biden has some sharp words fo...

Starbucks is shaking up its leadership. In an exclusive interview, Starbucks board chair Mellody Hobson discusses  Kevin Johnson’s surprise departure from his role as CEO , and she explains the board’s decision to call on founder Howard Schultz to step in. Billionaire investing legend Leon Cooperman weighs his 55 years on Wall Street when managing his portfolio in today’s market. Plus, Ukraine’s P...

Chinese tech stocks are under serious pressure as domestic and international regulators heighten scrutiny on Chinese firms and Covid cases prompt lockdowns in Chinese manufacturing facilities and port cities. Meanwhile, Russia denies that the Kremlin asked Beijing for military support and for aid in avoiding Western sanctions as it wages war in Ukraine, and Chinese officials deny that they signale...

China’s Covid cases are now the highest they’ve been since the beginning of the pandemic. Domestically, the country is addressing health concerns by halting business and production while simultaneously  cracking down on its biggest tech stocks . Internationally, Chinese leaders are meeting with U.S. officials to discuss China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine. CNBC’s Kayla Tausche reports on the l...

Two years after the WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, CNBC’s Meg Tirrell reflects on how far we’ve come, in a conversation exclusive to Squawk Pod. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla traces our progress from manufacturing the first vaccine to battling various strains as they evolve. Bourla maps out the annual vaccinations on our road still ahead. In Eastern Europe Vladimir Putin has referred to “posi...

Efforts at  diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine have so far been unproductive, and foreign leaders including Vice President Kamala Harris and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are now in Poland to facilitate talks and support Ukraine. The conflict has affected American gas prices, and Operation Hope CEO John Hope Bryant discusses impacts on consumer wallets and on corporate strategies. In th...

Following over 300 other western companies,  McDonald’s has temporarily closed its restaurants in Russia while Vladimir Putin continues his war in Ukraine. CNBC’s Steve Liesman, a founding business editor of The Moscow Times and a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Russia, recalls the first Russian McDonald’s and what it symbolized for a nation once cut off from the western world. In c...

In the latest international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the  U.S. will ban imports of Russian oil . As the conflict escalates, global oil prices are skyrocketing, and Again Capital’s John Kilduff points out that oil price spikes have historically preceded recessions. Global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets Helima Croft traces the ripple effects of the invasion throug...

The U.S. and its allies are considering banning Russian oil and natural gas imports in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Daniel Yergin, S&P Global vice chairman, discusses oil and surging gas prices ahead of the 40th annual CERAWeek energy conference. NBC’s Molly Hunter reports that Russian and Ukrainian officials are working on a humanitarian corridor for evacuations, but no deal has...