FTX bankruptcy shows the company had 134 affiliates spread across the globe and may have liabilities of up to $50 billion.
Enron had liabilities of $23 billion.
FTX may be worse than Enron.
Ford laying off 'at least' 1,000 salaried and contract workers.
It will lose $3 billion making EVs this year.
Ford is now likely losing more than $30,000 on every electric it sells.
Last week the federal government (i.e. you) loaned Ford and a South Korean company $9.2…
Per
@business
..
Venezuela getting safer as criminals, single men and gangs flee to other countries.
.
@CBP
reports over 500,000 encounters w/Venezuelan nationals since 2021. Nearly all single male travelers.
Saw a teenager get snapped at walking through Newark Airport tonight for having his mask under his nose.
Literally 10 feet away 40 unmasked adults were crammed at a bar laughing it up over drinks.
We do realize the kids know what's going on, right?
People went ballistic about 7% inflation last year … and now we’re happy about 8.5% inflation because someone thought it might come in higher.
Ah, Wall Street.
Goldman Sachs report: the Inflation Reduction Act’s green subsidies could cost $1.2 trillion—more than 3X govt projections.
WSJ says the IRA may go down as one of the greatest cons ever on the American taxpayer.
bonkers story. Popular decongestant is challenged by scientists in 2007 as being ineffective
FDA apparently says “hey, let’s keep it on the market”
Tens of millions take it.
16 years later FDA votes 16-0 that it really, truly doesn’t work
Breaking: Sources tell me at least 7 oil and gas CEOs to attend meeting at White House on Friday. IN PERSON.
CEOs include from Exxon, Chevron, Occidental, Devon, Enterprise Transfer, Phillips66 and former Continental CEO Harold Hamm.
60 Minutes: normal cable costs $320. Defense Department paid $10,000.
It’s gouging for sure, but we keep paying. No one either paying attention - or cares - or both.
These deals are negotiated.
I think I I have a pretty unique view on the pandemic and inflation.
Why?
Because I never stopped traveling.
I got Covid in June 2020. Was awful. 104 temp for two days. Hit me while driving to Wisconsin. Slept in the car at one point. Didn’t announce it on air…
My gosh .. Americans are loading up on credit card debt like never before.
Consumer credit outstanding - most on cards - more than doubling.
Oh, and interest rates are rising.
Remember no loans are “cancelled”. The costs are just passed through to others via tougher credit or higher rates to others down the line.
But if we’re going down this road, let’s wipe off truckers debt. The money they borrowed to buy the trucks that build America. Blue…
When a family of 4 has to:
> Both work to afford to live
> Spend 40% of income on rent
> $50,000 on minivan
> $50 at a fast food place
we've got a problem.
I don't blame these folks for wanting a bigger piece of the pie.
Inflation is real and has a real impact on real…
Last year, after Elon Musk acquired Twitter, President Biden gave federal agencies the green light to go after him.
And they have.
Today, the FCC adds itself to the growing list of federal agencies engaging in the regulatory harassment of Elon Musk.
I dissent.
Every economist should go hang out outside a grocery store and talk to people walking out. Or ask about their household bills.
That’s how to learn about inflation. Not random government data.
My mom dropped out of high school in St Louis at 16 to help put food on the table with an alcoholic single mom. Moved on her own to California and got a job as an AT&T telephone operator. (RBI: her first manager was Rep. Maxine Waters).
Got her GED at 23.
She often…
Buddy in NJ put his house up for sale a few days ago. Wanted to list at $1.35 million. Realtor told him $1.5m. Reluctantly agreed. House sold in 36 hours for $1.86 million.
Hearing other such stories elsewhere.
What the heck is going on? Panic buying?
There are now over 20 colleges and universities that cost more than $80,000 per year to attend w/room & board.
A few will likely cost over $90,000 given off-campus housing costs.
Most of these schools were probably $20-30k in today's dollars not that long ago.
Fix that.
My take on economy:
If you're older and own stuff (house, stocks, etc) .. the economy is pretty good because the price of that stuff keeps going up.
If you're younger or trying to own stuff, the economy is nearly impossible because the price of the stuff you want to own keeps…
I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!
@LindaYacc
will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.
Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.
National debt rising by $1 trillion every 100 days.
But at least for the insane spending we’re getting all that low-cost, high-quality healthcare ..free college .. amazing infrastructure and our veterans are well taken care of.
Oh.
You make $100,000. You spend $150,000
Next year you make $100,000. You spend $140,000
Congrats! You just “reduced the deficit”
DC economics*
*printing press not included, subject to approval, higher taxes may apply.
Government suddenly decides to clean up San Francisco (& forcefully remove homeless) because elites from DC & China are rolling in.
Guess the families & working class who are there day to day don’t matter enough for action.
“Cue the dolphins”
Unreal
Buddy in Palo Alto spotted a Cybertruck in the wild. Manufacturer tags
Tesla clearly messing with (hiding?) some final trim details with wheel wells and rear end.
He said truck was huge (and he usually drives a Dodge Ram).
Thoughts?
$TSLA
Then billionaire Bankman-Fried took PPP loan money designed to help struggling American businesses.
And they weren't even based in the U.S.
You can't make this stuff up.
So just to get this straight: we shot down what we’re being told are private sector balloons … with fighter jets and $450k missiles?
What am I missing?
The run on west coast banks is scary ... but what's probably a lot more scary is how thousands of SVB employees feel right now who are probably going to lose their jobs.
48 hours ago it was just another day at the office.
Now, there may be no office.
People matter.
Sad to report that Guggenheims Scott minerd passed away last night.
Giant of a man and even bigger heart. Did so much for charity.
Absolutely gutted for his family and friends.
Pfizer is now below Covid panic lows.
It's wiped out a decade of value and lost over half from the vaccine peak.
Almost no one getting the booster and Pfizer sees about a 90% drop in Paxlovid sales from just last year.
Not sure I've seen anything like this from a company…
Anyone who tries to tell you most costs are coming down has not been to the grocery store or paid their heating or electric bills lately.
The pace of price hikes may be slowing .. but prices sure aren’t.
Should the DNC permit at least one primary debate between President Biden & RFK Jr (or any other Democrat candidate meeting certain thresholds .. certainly one or more could jump in)
Now even the NY Times is catching on.
People don't want EVs. They want Teslas. They are different things.
Teslas are built for utility and fun, and as light as possible. Plastic, single tablet to do everything, etc. Light = more range.
Legacy automaker customers value…
Sen. Warren just told
@FaceTheNation
she has "no confidence" in San Fran Fed Pres Mary Daly & Fed Chair Jay Powell is the "wrong man for the job"
They will need a scapegoat soon.
Unlikely to be Yellen bc she's a cabinet position and that would point finger at White House
Brutal bank run accelerating. Two more west coast banks being hammered.
Also note Charles Schwab down 20% THIS WEEK.
As I noted yesterday, there's never just one cockroach.
Q now is: what do Feds do?
2 American Navy SEALs were declared dead today after being lost at sea while trying to help secure the Red Sea from terror attacks.
God bless them and their families. I hope they see this and know their sons are cherished and appreciated.
Hopefully will get more national…
Low. Terrible on east coast. Some suppliers literally out of gas and diesel in northeast right now.
Because of the 100 year old Jones Act, we can’t ship fuel to northeast from Texas .. have to import from Europe. Hard to believe but true.
Good news you may have missed:
Lake Mead water levels up 24 feet in just one year .. Lake Powell up 42 feet.
Mead now above 2021 and 2022 levels.
Not completely out of woods from devastating drought a couple of years ago, but Powell now full enough to ease any near term…
Shoutout to our
@amazon
driver
Family member having leg surgery tomorrow (bad leg break, why I’m off).
Bought a mobility scooter so they can get around for a few weeks.
Driver dropped off late tonight. Said he was technically done with shift but saw it was a mobility…
Insurance may be *the* under-reported inflation story of all.
What we've heard:
Cars: more wrecks, more expensive repairs (all that fancy technology is costly .. small fender benders can cost thousands. EVs are being written off after mid level wrecks)
Home: larger claims…
Home and auto insurance is going to turn into a mini-crisis at some point
Auto insurance is up 22% in the past year
I've yet to get a good explanation for this insane rise
A dirty secret is that the 2017 “tax cuts for the rich” were likely the biggest single tax HIKE ever for millions of people living in high state & local tax (SALT) areas.
Slight drop on top end tax rate easily wiped out by $10k SALT deduction limit.
Why I called it the “blue…
Then-Senator Biden voted NO to raise the debt ceiling in 2006 and also indicated he would vote 'no' in 2003 and 2004 .. citing .. too much debt.
That was $20 trillion in debt ago.
Missed this from last week.
The federal government just revised down much of the last 3 years worth of economic growth.
I.E. economy wasn't as strong as initial data suggested.
Revisions happen all the time, but not sure I've seen essentially 3 years get whacked at the same…
Sec of Energy admits she was not truthful in Senate testimony saying she owned no individual stocks.
She owned shares of 6 companies. The names will be revealed mid-June.
Curious to see if energy or energy policy related.
Don't see many mainstream headlines on it but ...
National debt just hit $100,000 per person & budget deficit has basically *doubled* in a year. It's now a stunning $2 trillion dollars.
Because interest rates are also rising, we could soon be paying one TRILLION per year in…
Maybe the most important lesson my folks taught me is to give everyone you meet a handshake while looking them in the eye.
Sign of respect.
Crosby gets it. Good for him.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been using players to hand deliver season tickets since 2007, which has to be one of the coolest traditions in sports.
Imagine Sidney Crosby walking up to your house!
AstraZeneca vaccine 100% effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization.
That's pretty much all the percent.
Huge news, huge day. Especially because its cheap and easy to make & store.
Happy Spring.
Hit the point where I finally accept the reality that the $20 small lunch that costs $8 three years ago is never going back down in price.
And yet .. the place is packed.
I think my next car will be a 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser.
I’ll pay cash, sand blast any rust and throw in $2k on new stereo, Bluetooth, backup camera and then drive it for the next 8 years.
Then sell it for $5k less than I paid even with another 100k miles on it.
Back to bombing the Middle East ..
Dealing with the largest border and human smuggling crisis in modern history ..
And $10 trillion (with a “T”) in US debt matures and needs to find a buyer this year.
Buckle up.
Wow .. Biden speaking in PA just now: "that little outfit that sets interest rates .. it's going to come down. They're going to come down"
Lower interest rates ahead??
#fed
WSJ: Total border collapse bringing new national security concerns as now even some on terror watch list are encountered. Many more slipping through as border agents simply overwhelmed.
A reminder: 100,000 Americans will likely die of fentanyl over the next 12 months. These…
News about to break that's big for US & Germany: first ever full cargo of US LNG arriving into Germany today.
Gas from Venture Global in Louisiana.
Enough to power 50,000 German homes for a year.
Hope DC recognizes this moment. Marshall Plan for Energy
Tough day family wise but had some high level chats re Middle East risk and energy and markets.
Here’s where we stand heading into weekend with Iran and possible energy complex / market reaction.
Lots of back channel talks being attempted to cool the situation. Three…
State Farm to jack home insurance rates 20% in California.
Insurance - home and car - is the hidden inflation story not reflected in the data. This increase will wipe out any year over year savings in the price of gasoline.
Electricity costs also on the rise and likely going…
Breaking: Sam Bankman-Fried's bail revoked. He's headed to jail. Like, now.
He's been confined in his parents comfortable home in California.
Now, Bankman-Fried could end up in a NY area jail tonight.
Quite the change.
If I told you 3 years ago that in Jan 2024 the U.S. would be ..
#1
oil producer in the history of the world
#1
gas exporter in the world
you'd probably ask me what I was drinking. But here we are.
As I've said, this White House is a lot more pragmatic around energy than…
First lines of the ruling are powerful:
"If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States history."
Ruling also notes social media companies were terrified of political retaliation if…
Breaking News: A judge limited Biden administration officials from contacting social media sites, a ruling that could curtail efforts to fight disinformation.
Honored to have hosted the first live hour on CNBC in 2023 at 5am ET.
Now honored to host the last live hour on CNBC in 2023 at 7pm ET.
Thanks for taking this new show journey with us. Been terrific.
@LastCallCNBC
Give me one more hour tonight in 10 mins .. my top 2024…
Heard from a friend of mine today. 45 year old Army reservist. Just got called up to Iraq and Syria. 1 year tour beginning in February.
Never ending war. When does it end?
Identify the driver and set up a GoFundMe. I’ll kick it off for this strong & fearless working mom. No one should go through this.
Then identify the skinny dude with the $15k motorcycle & send him packing, work to buy her a new car and make him clean her home every week for…
2/2 He had a gun that fell out of his waistband as he jumped down off her car. He then headbutted her with the visor of his helmet,as she fights back despite him being armed & she being way outnumbered. “She is
@UberEats
driver with 2 kids in car because babysitter to costly.”
Inflation coming in red hot. But you already knew that if you:
Eat
Drive
Use electricity
Pay rent
Travel
Have medical bills or
Pay for college
Congrats. You’re all now economists!
Dealing both with the IRS and trying to renew TSA precheck makes me think there are big parts of the federal government that simply aren't working.
Totally broken.
So in the course of 24 hours the Biden administration:
1. Approved a $200b+ bank rescue
And
2. Approved a giant oil project on federal lands in Alaska
Politics are an amazing thing.
Pioneer Natural CEO tells us oil likely $100-$150/barrel for most of next coming years on China demand, lack of spare OPEC production and declining growth rates in Permian.
#oil
#OOTT
$PXD
There will be no "bailout" for SVB.
There may be a federal guarantee for depositors above FDIC limits, but it's not a "bailout"
Other banks too ..
But no "bailout"
I wouldn't bet on any major college football games today.
Half of teams' starters are sitting or may sit.
Why Ohio State looked like a D2 team last night in one of the worst football games Ive ever seen.
Embarrassing for college football and bowl sponsors should be enraged.
DC strategist email note this morning lays it out well.
The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.
Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.
That's why you will hear the "deficit is being…
We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018
Germany - a country with major economic woes - added ‘just’ 32%.
Maybe it will never matter. Maybe MMT is real. Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out.
Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the…
I propose a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires.
Just 25%.
That would raise $500 billion over the next 10 years.
Imagine what that could do for America.
Still some politcians and PACs who have not given the FTX donations back.
That needs to change.
Trying to buy elections with stolen money is a threat to Democracy
Each political team trying to sell you their version of debt ceiling fight.
Only question any voter of either party should be asking is "where is all our money going?" (because it is your money)
Record tax collections and yet, we're broke.
Farwell, Brian!
@SullyCNBC
signs off Worldwide Exchange for the last time as
@FrankCNBC
takes over as anchor.
Brian's new program, "Last Call", will debut on March 8 at 7 PM ET on CNBC.