Squawk Pod

The Federal Reserve announced  a rate hike of 25 basis points , its ninth consecutive hike in the last year. Chair Jerome Powell softened his tone on the central bank’s aggressive hiking policy, and the markets interpreted his comments as a hint that the end of the hikes may be approaching. Though temporarily sated by Powell’s comments,  markets bristled at those of Treasury Secretary Yellen to a...

In an extended interview, former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein discusses  the fine line for Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell , who prepares to speak to markets and investors today. Blankfein discusses the Fed’s inflation fight vs. market stability balancing act, and he shares the lessons on regulation and transparency that he learned from his own experience with a banking crisis in 2008. Pl...

JPMorgan is advising First Republic  on strategic alternatives, after  JPM and 10 other banks announced a $30B deposit  into the embattled bank.  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lauded the move , but told lawmakers that the government would not refund all uninsured deposits for every bank that fails. The Federal Reserve begins a critical two-day policy meeting; former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh disc...

The Swiss government has helped broker a deal for  UBS to acquire its embattled rival Credit Suisse in an “emergency rescue” to curb global contagion in the financial sector. Joe Kernen, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin unpack the details of the deal and whether it will work in stabilizing banks and investors. Steve Liesman explains, the Federal Reserve is coordinating with other central banks...

Joe Kernen and Andrew Ross Sorkin digest the chaotic week that was: banks in crisis, markets in tumult, and the Fed under pressure. Lazard’s Peter Orszag unpacks the instability in our financial ecosystem and the action it may prompt from the Federal Reserve in  next week’s FOMC meeting . ProPublica’s Robert Faturechi discusses his  latest investigation revealing never-before-seen IRS records that...

Credit Suisse gets a lifeline! CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore reports on  the Swiss Central Bank’s backstop for banking contagion, and CNBC’s Steve Liesman explores how this week of financial instability affects  the chances of another immediate rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Today’s podcast further investigates the shockwaves from the Silicon Valley and Signature bank collapses, first with the congres...

After the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks and the subsequent regional bank crisis in the US,  European banks are now rattling the global markets . Credit Suisse stock has hit an all time low, and global investors fear that banking contagion is spreading. Stateside, CNBC’s Eamon Javers reports, the Department of Justice and the SEC are investigating the SVB failure. Allianz and Grame...

The Federal Reserve’s next rate hike is around the corner–or is it? The  latest inflation report , last month’s Consumer Price Index, came in hot but not worse than expected. CNBC’s Steve Liesman considers whether it’s a stable enough report to merit a pause on the Fed’s rate hiking spree. Another concern for the Fed: instability in the financial system. Markets and regulators are digesting the  s...

Did we dodge the bullet? Federal agencies on Sunday  approved plans to safeguard  depositors affected by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, and the Federal Reserve is creating a Bank Term Funding Program to secure financial institutions from instability amid the SVB failure. Squawk Box’s Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Steve Liesman discuss the near-miss, how government action prev...

Job creation  decelerated in February but was still stronger than expected despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy and bring down inflation. Jason Furman, professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and former CEA chair, discussed the latest job report and what we should expect from the Fed regarding rake hikes, and more. SVB Financial, parent of Silicon Valley Bank, wa...

Salesforce is the latest tech powerhouse to join the  ChatGPT mania , now offering Einstein GPT. The offering draws on OpenAI’s technology that’s taken the tech industry  by storm . Salesforce Service Cloud CEO Clara Shih discusses the future of generative A.I., details behind the company’s contract with ChatGPT, and how much data goes back to ChatGPT. Credit and debit spending per household decel...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and warned that  interest rates may rise higher than expected as inflation continues to show signs of increasing. The remarks led to a drop in stocks and an increase in Treasury yields. President Biden is set to  propose a tax increase on those earning more than $400,000 to extend Medicare's...

The move to ban foreign technology – including TikTok – gains traction in Congress. Sen. Mark Warner (D) Virginia describes his  new bill , to take a more holistic approach at technology developed in China.  Three years this month since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, Semafor business and finance editor Liz Hoffman shares her inside account of how the CEOs of the world’s biggest companies respon...

President Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal will be released later this week, intensifying the debt limit fight between the President and Capitol Hill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy discusses America’s debt crisis, his focus on bipartisanship, the legislative work the House has done, and more. Plus a glimpse into the 2024 race for the White House and potential nominees. And the FAA is holdin...

The Senate voted to overturn a Labor Department rule that permits fiduciary retirement fund managers to consider ESG factors in their investment decisions. The House version of the bill passed with the support of every Republican and one Democrat. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) discusses the critiques around the bill and how it would play out in real-time. Apple quietly included a new feature on your iP...

Tesla investors were unimpressed by the company’s presentation at this week’s investor day. CNBC’s Phil Lebeau recaps the stock reaction and investor disappointment, while former Ford CEO Mark Fields offers a big picture perspective on electric vehicles and the competition between software companies making cars and automakers making software. Biometric security company CLEAR is ramping up its pres...

In the first meeting of  a new House committee on U.S. competition with China , lawmakers displayed a rare show of bipartisanship. CNBC’s Eamon Javers shares the agenda of the group, from Washington, DC. In New York, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin discusses threats from China, including TikTok and foreign buyers of American farmland. Plus, as a Republican leader in a purple state, Youngkin weigh...

Two important interviews: First, Target CEO Brian Cornell discusses his company’s  fourth quarter results  and what they indicate about consumers, the global supply chain, and the American economy. Then, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks candidly ahead of his bank’s Investor Day, acknowledging  business “stumbles”  and weighing in on inflation, capital for fossil fuels and for the energy tran...

After digesting a  hotter-than-expected personal consumption expenditures price index, the markets closed out their worst week so far in 2023. The PCE price index is the Fed’s preferred inflation metric; Aperture CEO Peter Kraus discusses the likelihood of a Fed’s soft landing in winding down interest rates and battling inflation.  Warren Buffett published his annual letter  to shareholders over t...

In a special Squawk Pod “Reporter’s Notebook,” CNBC’s Frank Holland discusses  the AltFinance Fellowship , a talent acquisition program that bridges HBCU students and finance’s biggest players–and hirers.  Ozy Media’s Carlos Watson has been arrested , in the latest chapter of the media company’s implosion. Ben Smith, the journalist who broke the first story exposing the company, explains how Watso...

In two big tech cases this week, the Supreme Court considers reinterpretations of Section 230, the heart of a “free” internet. Tech investor and Plexo Capital founding managing partner Lo Toney discusses  the implications of Gonzalez v. Google and  Twitter v. Taamneh , as well as the next big tech revolution: AI. After over two years of pandemic-related shipping disruptions, the supply chain is st...

In an extended interview, former United States Vice President Mike Pence discusses the 2024 Presidential race, U.S. competition with China, and the current  debt ceiling negotiations in Congress. He considers the best ways to avert a national debt crisis, including implementing changes to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. Plus,  Amazon’s return to office mandate is prompting...

Nearly a year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,  President Biden is in Kyiv and Poland. Yale School of Management’s Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies Jeffrey Sonnenfeld discusses the business retreat from Russia, highlighting companies that have exited the country. Sonnenfeld suggests that the war and the resulting corporate protest has exposed Russia’s economic irrelevance. Manhattan...

Two weeks after a  train derailment in Ohio  resulted in a hazardous chemical spill, the responsible railway Norfolk Southern, the EPA, and the Biden administration are working to help the affected community. Oscar Munoz, former United Airlines CEO and former CEO of CSX rail  shares lessons from his career, and offers some advice to the leaders involved. In the wake of  wins for betting giants lik...

Charlie Munger, a shareholder and board member for The Daily Journal, spoke at the newspaper’s virtual annual meeting on Wednesday. The meeting featured a Q&A moderated by Becky Quick that featured a wide range of topics, from market volatility, his favorite stocks of all time, the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes, to cryptocurrencies and investing in China. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. S...