MARIA-00
Climate Change Talks in Paris; US Embassy in Kabul Issues Warning to
Americans; Severe Weather Hits Central US; FBI Notifies University of
Chicago of Online Threats - Part 1>
Cheryl Casone, Karen Harbert, Larry Fishelson, Dagen McDowell>
Seng; Kospi; Futures; FTSE; DAX; NFL; NBA; Donald Trump; Ben Carson; Chris
Christie; Marco Rubio; Hillary Clinton; Ted Cruz; Fox News; Fox Business
Network; Afghanistan; ISIS; S&P Futures; CAC; dollar; euro; yen; British
pound; China's government; CJ Anderson is going to go all the way; and the
Denver Broncos; New England Patriots; overtime thriller; NBA; LA Lakers;
Kobe Bryant; President Obama; Paris; climate change; GOPAC Chairman; David
Avella; Kabul, Afghanistan; credible evidence; harm America; Jordan; wild
weather; black ice; treacherous roads; Minnesota; Kansas; Texas; massive
flooding; Black Friday; Wal-Mart; Neimann Marcus; International Monetary
Fund; Yuan; University of Chicago; FBI; Counterterrorism Officials;
Chicago; dash-cam; Laquan McDonald; Arkansas; Footlocker; Toys "R" Us;
Black Friday; shopping online; Christmas; UPS; FedEx; "Star Wars"; amazon;
Cyber Monday; drone; Target; FAA; Amazon PrimeAir; Robinsville, New Jersey;
Jeff Bezos; Fox Business; Dave Clark; Senior Vice President of Global
Operations and Customer Service; regulatory hurdles; Fire Tablets; Fire TV
sticks; Google shopping; brick-and-mortar; Prime Now; John Cusack; Billy
Bob Thornton; Thanksgiving weekend; U.S. Embassy; Afghanistan; Kabul;
emergency message; U.S. citizens; imminent attack; S&P 500; OPEC meeting;
ECB meeting; jobs number; Mario Draghi>
MARIA BARTIROMO, FBN ANCHOR: We are likely going to hear talk of more stimulus; right now we have the CAC about a 1/3-percent and DAX Index, in Germany, up 3/4 of one percent. FTSE 100 down a quarter percent.
Overnight in Asia, mostly lower, but the Shanghai Composite posted a slight gain, as you can see, China rebounding after a string of losses, although the Nikkei, the Hang Seng, and the Kospi Index all under selling pressure.
The International Monetary Fund expected to name the Yuan as a reserve currency, putting it in the same group as the dollar, euro, yen and the British pound. This will raise the pressure on China's government to change how it manages its currency.
amazon unveiling a new video of its delivery drone; check it out. It is the first prototype we've seen since the retail giant announced plans for the drone service two years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: He's going to toss. Anderson will get it. CJ Anderson is going to go all the way; and the Denver Broncos win the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Yes, the cheers. The New England Patriots no longer undefeated. The Denver Broncos handing the Patriots their first loss of the season, in an overtime thriller. The final score, 30-24.
It's the end of an era for the NBA, LA Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, announcing he will retire at the end of this season. Bryant has played for the Lakers for 20 years, writing in his announcement that, "This season is all I have left to give."
Turning back to our top story this morning: President Obama joining scores of world leaders in Paris to talk climate change, this amid the ongoing threat across the country from ISIS. Let's bring in GOPAC Chairman David Avella. David thanks very much for joining us. Your thoughts on the President's trip this morning, in Paris?
DAVID AVELLA, CHAIRMAN, GOPAC: Well, the President is going to do what he's doing, which is be more for not keeping America safe, not putting in the tough policies that we need and continuing to say to world leaders, really the U.S. wants to continue to take a step back and not be the strong force that America has always been; and as Marco Rubio points out, the world is always a more dangerous place when America is not strong.
BARTIROMO: Yes, it's interesting because we are getting this imminent threat out of Kabul, Afghanistan this morning and apparently U.S. officials are saying that they've got credible evidence that there could be an attack in Kabul, imminently, in the next 48 hours. We are guessing that this is ISIS.
AVELLA: Sure, as intelligence continues to come in we will know more, but you have to think that's where it's coming from right now. They've made no secret they want to do harm for America; and Maria, it really does point to the fact that foreign policy continues to play more and more of a role in this presidential election. It's why you see Marco Rubio, again, talking about Senator Rubio who does have momentum right now, why he's already come out. His first ad talks about the threat that the terrorists have against America. So as we are now over a month from ballots sent out to military members across the world, foreign policy continues to play more and more of a role in election. It's that why you just saw Ben Carson take his trip overseas -
BARTIROMO: Right, to Jordan.
AVELLA: -- to talk about the Syrian refugee problem. It's becoming more of an issue than we would have thought a year ago it would have in the election.
BARTIROMO: Yes, Sandra Smith and Michael Block, not just foreign policy but national security? People are worried.
SANDRA SMITH, FBN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, people are really worried right now and that's showing up in the polls, you know. I mean, the economy, for so long, all the way through the debate there, Maria, it was economy, economy, economy. It was jobs was number one concern for the American voter. Now we have seen that shift to foreign policy and the tolerance of the American voter is rising for how aggressive we are in this fight against terrorism and this global fight against ISIS in particular. So it's amazing to me that the huge story today is this climate change conference --
BARTIROMO: I know.
SMITH: -- when we are looking at an imminent threat to our homeland and to other areas in the world. We are totally --
BARTIROMO: I totally agree. It's actually extraordinary that this conference continues, that they went forward with it and that all of the world leaders are there, discussing this.
MICHAEL BLOCK, CHIEF STRATEGIST, RHINO TRADING: Well, so be it. It was on the schedule far before anything happened. David, let me ask you this, you know, we have the democratic candidates, like, Bernie Sanders really talking about how climate change is the most important issue. Where is this in the pecking order? How do you think the GOP is addressing that?
AVELLA: Voters mention it as a potential concern, but it's no where near, anywhere near the top of anybody's list, minus maybe a few radicals on the left, as being the number one issue facing our country. It just shows how out of touch not only Bernie Sanders' agenda is for America, but also Hillary Clinton's agenda is for America, that we have imminent threats at our border, we have an economy that sputters along and wages that are abysmal, and have been for some time, and the President of the United States and the democratic leaders running for president to succeed him, talking about issues that are barely on anyone's radar as being important.
SMITH: I think part of the problem is, sort of, Michael, what you just alluded to, so be it, it was on the schedule. I'm sorry, but you're saying it was on the schedule before anything -
BARTIROMO: Change the schedule.
[Laughter]
SMITH: -- change the schedule. Change the strategy. We're sticking with the conference just because it's on the calendar?
AVELLA: Part of the problem, Sandra, is that the President and the Secretary only see the world through their own eyes, --
BARTIROMO: That's right.
AVELLA: -- not the reality that is what is happening in this country and around the world, and it puts America at a very steep disadvantage, and precarious for many men and women across the world who are trying to serve our country and facing daily attacks now.
BARTIROMO: Yes, by the way, this issue is the reason that Governor Christie got a big endorsement, right? Governor Chris Christie receiving a big endorsement in New Hampshire over the weekend. Is that going to happ -- you know this is a reason, because he's looking tough on terrorism, right?
SMITH: Yes, this is a hug -- sorry, going back to the debate, Maria, we haven't chatted much since then; but I believe that was a big turning point for Chris Christie
BARTIROMO: Yes, your debate for sure.
SMITH: He was in that first debate
BARTIROMO: He came across strong.
SMITH: -- and he rose above, and he stayed above the fray, I guess I could put it that way.
BARTIROMO: What did you think of his performance?
SMITH: Well it was very strong and here he's carrying it through now, to this win, if you want to call it that, in New Hampshire, where he is becoming, as I think, David, you have put it, he's becoming a big part of the conversation after falling so far in the polls and really sort of looking like he's out of the game here. He's putting himself back in it. David, do you agree?
AVELLA: 100-percent. There are two things you want right now as a candidate. Again, we are about a month from ballots start being sent to military members overseas. So you want, one, you want to be part of the conversation. This endorsement helps bolster and put Governor Christie in the conversation, if not just for a couple days, it will be up to his campaign to build on being put on the conversation with this endorsement; and then, two, who has the infrastructure to be able to capitalize on being part of the conversation and turn their voters out to vote. As we start looks towards Iowa, which is in early February, and New Hampshire, which is February 9th, the 1st and the 9th, today I would offer to you that Ted Cruz is the best chance to take out Donald Trump, in Iowa, and Marco Rubio is the best chance to take him out in New Hampshire. That's today. And Donald Trump can't stand to go 0-2 and hope to get the nomination. Now, if he wins either one of those, he's in till the end and it's going to be a long battle; but that's why this is interesting to watch.
BARTIROMO: It sure is. All right, David, good to have your insights. We appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
AVELLA: Thank you.
BARTIROMO: David Avella there. Cyber Monday, meanwhile, kicking off today, and (inaudible) major haul from retailers from Black Friday shopping. Adobe reporting nearly $3 billion was spent online on Friday, a 14-percent increase compared to a year earlier. Mobile a big driver, customers spending nearly $700 million, using their Iphones and their Ipads. It was not all good news though; overall brick and mortar sales were down, better than a billion dollars, year over year, on Friday, to just over $10 billion, this is according to Retail Analytics from Shopper Tracks. So, once again, Cyber Monday is increasingly important because people are going online to do their stopping and, of course, we know it's been the tough retail season.
Coming up, shoppers trying to avoid long lines by grabbing online deals were thrown a wrench when visiting a few retailers on Friday; we'll tell you which ones. Take a look at some of the other headlines this morning in "The Wall Street Journal." Streaming era is setting up a battle over TV rights. Forget IPO's, US companies want to get bought. A lot of them are staying private; and emerging market defaults have hit a six-year high. All that coming up; stay with us.
(Playing "Living La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. The University of Chicago cancels classes over a possible gun threat. Cheryl Casone with the details and the other headlines right now. Cheryl, good morning to you.
CHERYL CASONE, FBN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Maria; and good morning. Well the University of Chicago also canceling other events on its main campus after online threats of gun violence. FBI Counterterrorism Officials alerted the school of online threats from an unknown individual that specifically mentioned the campus quad.
Now also in Chicago this morning the city expecting more protests, calling for police officials to step down after dash-cam footage was released showing the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald back in October 2014.
In other headlines, many parts of the country hit with wild weather this weekend as black ice and treacherous road conditions have reeked havoc on travelers across the country; Minnesota getting hit with the worst of it with a foot of snow, as Kansas also saw bitter temperatures and snow fall. Meanwhile, in Texas that state continues to battle massive flooding, engulfing cars and causing multiple accidents and interstate highways. So, a lot of weather we're watching for you right now.
And Black Friday not running as smooth as many companies had hoped it would this year. Wal-Mart and Neiman Marcus both suffering website problems during the shopping spree, as thousands planned to avoid the long lines at their stores. Here's what happened. Wal-Mart, their checkout system, guys, was overloaded. That was one of the big issues. And then Neiman Marcus' website, Friday afternoon, completely unavailable. This is the worst nightmare for a retailer on Black Friday, especially this year of all year.
BARTIROMO: Exactly, that's what I was just going to say. Especially this year because it comes on the heels of what has been an underwhelming sales period, the entire year.
BLOCK: Yes, advanced retail sales just keep missing consensus over and over again. So here's everyone's big chance and it's, like, okay, Neiman Marcus, Walmart, you have one job, and you blew it.
CASONE: Get the website going.
SMITH: At least it happened on Black Friday and not Cyber Monday. I mean, come on.
[Laughter]
BLOCK: Okay, we'll see what happens today. Did they magically fix (inaudible) they're down there in Arkansas going, okay, everything is better?
SMITH: But it happened with Footlocker as well, and Wal-Mart's never been winning any prizes for their online platform. I mean, it has not been any sort of challenge to amazon or - I mean --
BLOCK: I mean, yes, this is a secular change that took place. Now, if you listen to all these retail companies for the past five years, they go to these big conferences, they all say we're about the omni-channel. You can buy things anywhere. Well, apparently you can't; not at Neimann Marcus and Wal-Mart. They've blown it. Amazon is eating everyone's breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snack here. That's it.
BARTIROMO: You know the Toys "R" Us CEO was on last week and I said to him, look, what if you have a weak weekend? What if you have an underwhelming sales period? He said, well then next week we're going to cut prices. I'm thinking to myself, duh. Why would I go shopping now if I know that you're probably going to cut prices next week? My point is there's no urgency anymore.
SMITH: No, I laughed when I saw people leaking the Cyber Monday or the Black Friday sales because it's kind of like, really? But listen, online shopping is here it's at. Everybody I know shops online. Everybody I know is shopping online today, and all the way through Christmas. I mean, you walk down your street and you look at people's front porches and its boxes after boxes getting delivered right now. UPS, FedEx drop-offs. Everybody is shopping online. So if these companies can't get it right, that's going to be a huge hit for them come reporting time.
CASONE: Maria, we've got to go; but real quick for the Toys "R" Us CEO, two words, "Star Wars".
BARTIROMO: Yes.
CASONE: Done and done.
BARTIROMO: You're right.
CASONE: Huge hit.
BARTIROMO: That's going to be the hit this season for sure. Alright, Cheryl thanks. Coming up next, amazon's big plan to change your Cyber Monday shopping about to take flight. Yes, we're checking out the new drone next. Back in a moment.
(Playing "Staying Alive" by Bee Gees)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Well forget Black Friday; Cyber Monday is here and in the next 24 hours retailers are expected to rake in $3 billion from online sales alone. The leader of the pack, of course, amazon, doing something special this year. Jo Ling Kent is at an amazon fulfillment center. She's in Robinsville, New Jersey with more. Jo, good morning to you.
JO LING KENT, FBN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Maria. What we want to show you is that new drone video. Amazon PrimeAir making one more leap forward, in terms of how they'll be able to deliver the packages. We're here, meanwhile, in Robinsville, New Jersey, at a fulfillment center with 20 million items. So the idea here is, Jeff Bezos, the CEO of amazon, wants to take those drones and deploy and bring products to you in 30 minutes or less when that regulatory hurdles, when those are approved. So we are expecting to see, we know so far, actually, $4.5 billion have been sent, Black Friday, Thanksgiving, across all online retailers. Mobile up 60-percent, 1.5 billion spent on mobile devices. To discuss all of this, in a first on Fox Business interview, we have Dave Clark; you're the Senior Vice President of Global Operations and Customer Service. Thank you for being here with us.
DAVE CLARK, SVP GLOBAL OPERATIONS & CUSTOMER SERVICE, AMAZON: Thanks for being here with us.
KENT: So far we are a few hours in, Cyber Monday; how are sales going?
CLARK: Things are great. It's another record day. We're off to another great start in all off the buildings. We have about 200,000 people around the U.S. fired up this morning to serve customers.
KENT: And how do you think the new drone prototype will actually impact how you're able to deliver? When will it happen? When will we see these drones in the air?
CLARK: Well, as you saw in the video, I think we are ready to go as soon as we get the regulatory hurdles cleared. We've already set up the infrastructure to do one-hour deliveries in our Prime Now service, which we offer to customers in 20 metropolitan areas today. In fact, many of the Cyber Monday deals are actually available in one hour or less on our Prime Now service. So as soon as the regulatory services are cleared we think we are going to be able to enable those FCU with drones right out of the gate.
KENT: Well there are the thousands of people here working. It was a traffic jamb to get in to work this morning. What are the top selling items so far for the Christmas season?
CLARK: Well, as you said, we've got over 5,000 people in the site and we're off to a great start for the season. The best selling items, so far this season, are our Fire Tablets and our Fire TV sticks. Customers are loving it.
KENT: And how do you compete now with Google shopping. I've seen some statistics that Google shopping up 40-percent year over year. You have new brick-and-mortar strategies. Wal-Mart really investing billions of dollars in the game. How do you make sure that amazon stays ahead and doesn't fall behind?
CLARK: Well I think retail has always been a competitive market. When you look around here the type of infrastructure you see here that support over 20 million items in a single site, this is hard to replicate. It's 20 plus years in logistics infrastructure that's delivering more for customers every day. We have more selection than ever before; we have more deals than ever before, with deals every five minutes; we have now free same day in 16 cities and Prime Now one-hour delivery. We think we are offering great services for customers. As long as we focus on that we're going to be in good shape.
KENT: So you think the infrastructure has everyone else beat?
CLARK: I think it's very hard to compete against our logistics backbone.
KENT: Well I know a lot of CEOs at other retailers, Maria, would agree with that, amazon very much leading the pack in that respect. Dave Clark, Senior Vice President at amazon, thank you so much.
CLARK: Thank you for being here.
KENT: All right, Maria, very big day here at amazon. 20 million products. We will see how they are able to compete with some of those other retailers, like Target and Wal-Mart; back to you.
BARTIROMO: Looks good, Jo. Jo, thanks so much; Jo Ling Kent, at amazon. Michael, what's your take here? I mean, what sectors -- is there a trade to know about going into this holiday shopping craze?
BLOCK: What you need to know is we just heard about Wal-Mart and Neimann Marcus having these issues. Amazon clear winner, and look at this infrastructure they have. You're also looking at a stock that's up 117- percent year to date.
BARTIROMO: Amazon is. Wow.
BLOCK: It's driven a momentum. A lot of money is pouring into stocks like this, you know, I say this is a great company. Is this a stock you want to get involved with here? They're going to have a lot of good press coming out of this season, but ultimately, when everything is crowding in to five or ten stocks, how does that end?
BARTIROMO: That's a lot of expectation there, Sandra.
SMITH: Yes. About these drones, I'm totally blown away that this is becoming a reality. I don't put too much weight into it because the FAA has not really put in place the regulation (crosstalk). you still have to fly it within site of the person manning the drone.
BARTIROMO: Correct. It can only carry 5 pounds.
SMITH: And can only carry up to five pounds, so it's a very limited service at this point. And, if the FAA decides that it's a threat or dangerous or not working out, it could go away all together.
BARTIROMO: What happens when we have tons of drones in the sky delivering things -
SMITH: I don't know.
BARTIROMO: -- I mean, then what?
SMITH: I don't know, and I still don't know that I want a drone showing up on my doorstep. So, I think the jury is still out on whether or not people are going to be receptive on this.
BLOCK: Sounds like a John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton there directing traffic.
BARTIROMO: I guess so.
BLOCK: Sounds like a movie. Wait a minute, it is. Coming up, self driving cars, another phenomenon. They're lulling their human operators to sleep, apparently. Researchers have found some very entertaining ways to fix the trend; that's next. We'll check it out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Happy Monday; welcome back, everybody. Good morning, I'm Maria Bartiromo; it is Monday, November 30th. With me this morning Fox Business Network, Sandra Smith; Rhino Trading Partners, Michael Block; First, though, your top stories at 6:30 a.m. on the East Coast:
The holiday shopping season now in full swing. Most Americans, though, are choosing clicks over bricks. More people shopping online than battling the lines at stories over the Thanksgiving weekend. A closer look at all of the numbers coming up.
It's a big week for the economy. We've got the jobs number out on Friday. President Obama, meanwhile, arriving in Paris for the Climate Summit. The talks now underway. Many are questioning whether this is what leads around the world should be focusing on amid the global terrorist threat in front of us; in fact, now a new threat morning.
The U.S. embassy in Afghanistan warning of an eminent attack within next 48 hours in Kabul. The Embassy issuing an emergency message for U.S. citizens there saying it has received "credible reports of imminent attack within the next 48 hours." No other details known at this time but we're watching this closely, obviously, and watching any developments.
Turning to market this is morning: no reaction from Markets. Futures showing a higher opening this morning, in fact, just in the last 30 minutes we've got some movements there. The Dow Jones Industrial Average now off about 30 points, earlier it was flat. S&P 500 and NASDAQ also looking at positive openings this morning.
we have with an OPEC meeting, an ECB meeting and the jobs number out all this week.
In Europe, the major averages mixed as investors waits that ECB meeting later on this week, likely to hear more talk of stimulus from Mario Draghi. Overnight in Asia, markets mostly lower, although we have a rebound in China. The Shanghai Composite pushes a slight gain. The International Monetary Fund is expected to name the Yuan Currency as a reserve currency, putting it in the same group as the Dollar, the Euro, the Yen, and the British Pound. This will raise the pressure on China's government to change how it manages that currency.
Amazon, unveiling a new video of its delivery drone, check it out. It is a first prototype we've seen since the retail giant announced plans for the drone service two years ago. And then there's this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(PEOPLE CHEERING)
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Going all the way and the Denver Broncos win the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Yes, the Denver Broncos are the winner, and the New England Patriots no longer undefeated. The Broncos handing the Patriots their first loss of the season in an overtime thriller, final score 30-24.
U.S. Futures now higher in the first full trading week of the trading session of the week. Investors gearing up for busy week of economic data, including manufacturing PMI, that's out tomorrow, that's typical a market mover. We got the ADP private employment numbers coming out on Wednesday, initial jobless claims, of course, on Thursday, and then the big ticket item for the week in November jobs report out on Friday. We have seen big improvements here. We want to bring in Holland and Company Chair, Mike Holland, this morning. Mike good to see you. Good morning.
MICHAEL HOLLAND, HOLLAND AND COMPANY CHAIRMAN: Great to be here. Happy Monday.
BARTIROMO: You're expecting another 200,000 number for the drops.
HOLLAND: That's a good number.
BARTIROMO: Yeah.
HOLLAND: I would expect that. I think things are OK. I think this week the huge amount of data coming out a lot of different things that that could move markets. But I think, Most of them will probably provide tailwind, I think number on Friday will as well. The ECB thing is a big deal.
BARTIROMO: The ECB thing is a big deal, but also remember, the October numbers, guys (ph). The October jobs numbers are very strong, I wonder if we'll get any revision there.
SANDRA SMITH, MORNINGS WITH MARIA HOST: Yeah, I know. I think that's going to be a big one to watch as well. I don't know how much the data is being -- how closely the data is being watched for the Feds next move versus foreign policy, and the threat that we continue to see. I don't know what is the biggest driver behind markets right now? Because it seems that while we continue to see these threats, the eminent threat that ISIS poses here, as well as other places in the world, it seems like the markets are so resilient.
HOLLAND: When you look at the Paris reaction and then people were reminded of everything going on, we're back to 9/11. The markets reaction to each of those, we actually are very resilient, that's exactly the right word, Sandra.
BARTIROMO: Resilient until we're not, right, I mean, if there ever -- do you think that these eminent threats that we're hearing, now we have an eminent threat coming out of Kabul.
HOLLAND: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: What does it take, do you think, that actually impact fundamental back drop for the stock market?
HOLLAND: We had 9/11. We -- you and I both lived through that, and we know what the worst can be. And I have a meeting later this week in London, and people talked about, maybe we should -- this is right after Paris, they will say, maybe we should think about canceling and do a call, and everyone will say, no that's ridiculous, and that's just the opposite. And the markets have done the same thing. I think that we're at a point where London was with the IRA years ago, we learned to live with the eminent threat as you said. We are resilient.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, go ahead Michael.
MICHAEL BLOCK, RHINO TRADING PARTNER CHIEF STRATEGIST: The question -- the issue here is we have this -- a few days of disruption say in France, and Belgium, and Europe, there were some travel disruption and business disruption, but then we bounce right back from it. We talk about the ECB which you say is going to be very big, and I agree with you, I've say it is being priced in. The one thing that people are not talking about yet which could become big -- Europe, is fiscal spending given the need for homeland security. Europe, given the need for dealing with the refugee crisis, one way or the other, there could be some fiscal spending where the Germans loosen the purse string a little bit, and that could be big.