The Producer Price Index , which measures prices paid by wholesalers, rose 11.2% from a year ago, hitting a record high. Inflation around the world continues to rise as Vladimir Putin presses on in his war in Ukraine. Hermitage Capital CEO and author of “Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath” Bill Browder, shares details of his life under Putin’s eye and concerns about the war’s ripple effects across the globe. Plus, Elon Musk is back in t...
Apr 13, 2022•23 min
The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation by tracking the prices of everyday items, rose 8.5% in the last year–the fastest annual gain since 1981. CNBC’s senior economics reporter Steve Liesman and on-air editor Rick Santelli explain the hot inflation data, pains for consumers, and whether the Fed’s aggressive policies to combat it will result in a broader economic slowdown. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd covers another factor that could hit inflation rates here in the U.S....
Apr 12, 2022•29 min
China’s strict “no-Covid” policy is prompting lockdowns across the country, and residents are sharing reports of food shortages and hoarding as they weather the latest wave of the pandemic. CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports from China on the quarantines and the inflation sweeping the nation . Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb details the low vaccination rates in China that might be contributing to such a dire situation over 2 years into the pandemic. White House economist Heather Boushey, a me...
Apr 11, 2022•33 min
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, Texas . CNBC’s Phil Lebeau and WSJ’s Tim Higgins discuss the whirlwind week for Tesla, Twitter, and M...
Apr 08, 2022•36 min
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 Biden has expressed his support for unionizing Amazon workers , and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathawa...
Apr 07, 2022•28 min
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 anchors discuss his ambitions for Twitter and his multifaceted legacy–flamethrowers, rockets, and a...
Apr 06, 2022•29 min
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 day of trading since its IPO in 2013. Shanghai has extended restrictions on transportation as cases r...
Apr 05, 2022•33 min
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 acquisition target—and a buying opportunity for investors. Amazon workers on New York’s Staten Island made hi...
Apr 04, 2022•34 min
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 official probes into insider trading concerns. Also caught up in the probes are billionaire magnates Barry D...
Apr 01, 2022•26 min
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 did not tell him key details about the botched invasion of Ukraine because they feared angering him, a...
Mar 31, 2022•29 min
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 day – this time, due to athleisure company - and maker of the world’s greatest pants - Lululemon ’s ann...
Mar 30, 2022•26 min
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 burger offerings with the new Stackburger line - the biggest menu expansion in two decades. In this e...
Mar 29, 2022•32 min
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 lockdown today . CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports the lockdown of China’s largest city includes orders to work fr...
Mar 28, 2022•32 min
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, March Madness upsets continue, bitcoin is prompting action in the S&P , and Bed Bath & Beyond h...
Mar 25, 2022•34 min
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 Biden’s and other NATO leaders are meeting to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. As Covid cases tick up...
Mar 24, 2022•27 min
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, according to an Axios report. CNBC’s Leslie Picker details Dimon’s perspective and his hopes for a long t...
Mar 23, 2022•26 min
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. He admits it’s only a temporary solution; a long term fix would be to “increase production here at ho...
Mar 22, 2022•34 min
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 tools to prompt an end to the conflict. In China, Boeing is helping to investigate a 737 plane crash ...
Mar 21, 2022•30 min
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 wave of infections as we head into the spring and summer. President Joe Biden signed an executive ord...
Mar 18, 2022•33 min
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 for President Putin, and Netflix might be cracking down on shared accounts. In this episode: Steve Lies...
Mar 17, 2022•30 min
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 President Volodimir Zelensky appeals directly to the US government, and it might be time to put Daylig...
Mar 16, 2022•38 min
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 signaled being open to Russia’s request. After a 7-hour, “intense” talk between U.S. and Chinese officials ...
Mar 16, 2022•35 min
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 latest attacks in Ukraine and the week’s negotiation agenda for global powers. Two years after the WHO...
Mar 14, 2022•30 min
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 “positive shifts” in Russia’s talks with Ukraine, giving the global markets hope for an imminent end to t...
Mar 11, 2022•31 min
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 the wake of Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision Blizzard, the SEC is investigating concerns of insider t...
Mar 10, 2022•27 min
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 conversations exclusive to Squawk Pod, he and fellow reporter Diana Olick, a former student in the Sov...
Mar 09, 2022•25 min
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 through the global oil markets to gas pumps and the White House. CNBC’s Ylan Mui reports on congressional s...
Mar 08, 2022•27 min
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 been reached yet. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy discusses the state’s decision to end its Covid-1...
Mar 07, 2022•34 min
After the Russian military fired on and seized control of Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Ukraine, retired U.S. army colonel and a Medal of Honor recipient Jack Jacobs discusses Vladimir Putin’s military strategy, as well as the war’s most likely outcome. CNBC’s Robert Frank details the sanctions levied on dozens of Russian oligarchs, and author Ben Mezrich reflects on his experience yachting and clubbing with the Russian oligarchs who put Putin in power. Mezrich has written about Russian and ...
Mar 04, 2022•30 min
The Biden administration has unveiled a new plan for the ongoing pandemic, continuing production of vaccines and tests to minimize disruptions in the face of any new waves of infection. Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb discusses U.S. preparedness and the likelihood of new strains emerging in the fall. A week into Russia’s war in Ukraine, CNBC’s Kayla Tausche reports that over 2,000 civilians, and over 6,000 Russian troops have died. Plus, Peloton co-founder and ex-CEO John Foley has so...
Mar 03, 2022•23 min
