Squawk Pod

Day 2 of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention featured the formal nomination of Joe Biden for president. CNBC’s Washington Correspondent, Eamon Javers, reports the highlights, saying “it’s basically a 2 hour advertisement for the presidential candidate of the Democratic party.” Target reports a monster second quarter with profit up 80% and set a record for same store sales. Target CEO Br...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former first lady Michelle Obama headlined the first night of the 2020 all-virtual Democratic National Convention. James Pethokoukis, Economic Policy Analyst and CNBC Contributor, and Julie Margetta Morgan, Vice President of Research at the Roosevelt Institute, discuss the big takeaways from the first night and look ahead to what voters and viewers can expect in this...

The U.S. Postal Service is suddenly at the center of debates in Washington, and CNBC’s Ylan Mui explains why snail mail is making headlines ahead of the 2020 election. The Democratic National Convention begins Monday night, and for the first time in its near 200-year history, speakers and the nominee will be speaking virtually. Harvard Professor, AEI President Emeritus, and contributing writer for...

Epic Games is suing Apple after the tech giant removed Fortnite’s “Battle Royale” game from the App Store. Fortnite is attempting to bypass Apple’s standard 30% App Store fee, and CNBC contributor Alex Kantrowitz says the gamer’s move is a smart one. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy lays out his steps for the Garden State’s economic comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, mail-in COVID-19 testin...

Movie and television producer behind “Apollo 13,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Empire,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Parenthood,” and “Arrested Development” Brian Grazer reflects on the legacy of friend and media titan Sumner Redstone. Grazer considers which media giants will be able to set themselves apart from the rest in a crowded content landscape. President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Wei...

Joe Biden has announced Kamala Harris as his pick for Vice President in the 2020 election. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Democratic Whip, discusses implications of Biden’s choice for the party and for the country. Political strategist and pollster Frank Luntz digs into the Biden-Harris relationship and treats Joe Kernen and Andrew Ross Sorkin to a tour of his very own Oval Office. Plus, college athl...

Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has approved the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine, and that it has already been administered to one of his daughters. Without data on safety or efficacy, the rest of the world is speculating on the veracity and implications of the announcement. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb explains why human vaccine trials are time consuming but necessary. The newly min...

President Trump took unorthodox action over the weekend in an attempt to fast track pandemic relief for Americans. CNBC’s Eamon Javers breaks down each of the four orders, from delayed payroll taxes to unemployment aid. The newly reinvented Kodak is facing SEC investigations into the company’s disclosure of its deal with the US government. Summer is drawing to a close, and Johns Hopkins School of...

Two months of record-setting payroll growth slowed in July, but the Labor Department's monthly report still showed encouraging signs. Jason Furman, Former Chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, Kate Moore, Head of Thematic Strategy at Blackrock and Steve Liesman, CNBC’s Senior Economics Reporter break down the jobs report. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) discusses the latest stimulu...

The markets may be nearing all-time highs, but the real economy continues to struggle amid the pandemic. Senator Bernie Sanders is calling on billionaires to help support their country in need. Stimulus negotiations press on in Washington, and Operation Hope Chairman & CEO John Hope Bryant debates “Shark Tank” co-host Kevin O’Leary on what’s fair, what’s needed, and what’s at stake in the next rou...

Businesses still recovering from Covid-19 shutdowns are now saddled with Tropical Storm Isaias damages. CNBC’s Contessa Brewer shares the storm’s impact on insurers amid the pandemic. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, says the worst relief plan for struggling businesses is no stimulus plan. The Senator weighs in on the stimulus stalemate...

Over three million small businesses in the U.S. have closed amid the pandemic, and former Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz says that without any "significant stimulus" plans available, millions more will follow. As the coronavirus crisis wears on, schools across the country are strategizing safe education. Julie Kashen, Director at Women's Economic Justice and Senior Fellow at The Century...

Microsoft is in talks to buy some of the TikTok business from Chinese parent company ByteDance as U.S. government officials raise concerns about the platform’s risks to national security. Microsoft’s largest shareholder, former Microsoft CEO, founder of USAFacts, and Chairman of the NBA LA Clippers Steve Ballmer talks TikTok, big tech, and Covid cases. Plus, Cameron Mitchell operates dozens of suc...

The biggest tech companies and market leaders, Amazon, Apple and Facebook, reported stellar quarterly results. Legendary tech investor, Alan Patricof, says “everybody’s got to face up to the fact they are basically utilities.” Emergency unemployment benefits are set to expire today and Congress and the White House still seem far apart on an agreement. O’Shares ETFs Chairman and ”Shark Tank” Co-Hos...

Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai, leaders of the four tech titans, testified remotely on Capitol Hill for 6 hours this week. Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin, and Wilfred Frost recap the highlights of the hearings, from antitrust defenses to privacy concerns and technical glitches. Former White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra breaks down the evidence presented b...

Kodak is back. The once-giant corporation responsible for most twentieth century American memories is now reinventing itself as a drug company. Executive Chairman James Continenza explains Kodak’s comeback amid the coronavirus pandemic. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton discusses corporate hygiene as company boards cash in on their own holdings. He issues a word of advice for investors looking to get invol...

In an interview exclusive to CNBC, billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates discusses the efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine and therapeutic, how those technologies may change our new normal, and when. Gates weighs in on big tech ahead of the Silicon Valley giants’ antitrust hearings this week, as well as the other tech giant: Elon Musk. Plus, when would Bill Gates send hi...

As coronavirus cases spike in hot spots across the country, biopharmaceutical companies race to find a vaccine. Moderna Therapeutics has secured an additional $472 million in government funding to develop its own vaccine candidate, which begins phase 3 human trials today. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel discusses the vaccine development and addresses concerns about his executive team’s lucrative and u...

Texas Governor Greg Abbott discusses the new $1B Tesla factory moving into Austin. After issuing a statewide mask mandate, Governor Abbott explains his strategy for keeping Texan businesses open amid rising coronavirus cases. The U.S. and China are in a diplomatic spat that’s escalating quickly, and the highly anticipated big tech hearing on the Hill has been postponed. Plus, two Wall Street scand...

Scott Kirby, United Airlines CEO, explains why despite safe and clean air circulation on planes, his industry won’t fully recover until a Covid-19 vaccine is widely available. Tech investor, co-owner of the NBA Golden State Warriors and Virgin Galactic Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya breaks down Tesla’s track for the S&P 500. Palihapitiya, a former Facebook insider, says big tech has “had a good run...

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management sponsored the largest SPAC IPO in history, raising $4B in capital. In an exclusive CNBC interview, the hedge fund billionaire makes his pitch for the insider baseball market vehicle: the special-purpose acquisition company. “Much better for the issuer, much better for the shareholder, because they get to make a thoughtful decision that’s not rushed...

Epidemiologist and Dean of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Michelle Williams suggests corporations may be the key to stemming Covid’s spread and ensuring a safe fall semester for students and teachers. Bruce Feiler, author of “Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age,” offers insight on navigating the personal and professional changes prompted by the coronavirus pande...

While Covid-19 cases climb in 40 states, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb considers the American infrastructure that led the country to this point, as well as what’s needed to support its physical and financial recovery. Mavericks owner, entrepreneur, and investor Mark Cuban offers his investing tips to day traders, even the ones on TikTok. With the 1990s tech bubble in mind, Cuban encou...

The U.S. reported another record one-day spike in new Coronavirus cases on Thursday as outbreaks continue to worsen across the country, particularly in Texas, Florida and California. A growing number of politicians, health and business experts, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, are advocating mask-wearing amid concerns about the possibility of having to shut down the U.S. economy again to contai...

Hackers gained access to more than a dozen high-profile Twitter accounts yesterday, including those of Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, Elon Musk and the corporate account of Apple. Facebook’s former head of security, Alex Stamos, warns about the possible future consequences and the controls that need to be in place before the 2020 elections. Disney heiress, Abigai...