MARIA-00
Business GOP Debate; Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders Clash in Democratic
Debate; Iraqi Government Says Three Americans were Abducted while Visiting
their Interpreters Home in Baghdad; Russian Inventor Reportedly Proposing
an Innovative New Way to Save Airplane Passengers Lives in the Event of an
Emergency; Oil Prices Hit a New Multi-Year Lows, Breaking Below $29 a
Barrel; Flint, MI, Citizens Get Federal Aid to Clean Up Water; Campaign
Trail Happenings - Part 5>
Grover Norquist>
Market; SNL; Hillary Clinton; Bernie Sanders; Iraq; Russian Inventor; Oil >
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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad confirming that several Americans have disappeared in Iraq. Jo Ling Kent now with the details of that story and the other headlines right now. Jo, good morning.
JO LING KENT: A very big weekend of news, indeed, Maria. (HEADLINES)
BARTIROMO: Your wallet might feel heavier after you head to gas station today; prices reaching record lows at the gas pump. We're going to tell you all about it and where it is you can get the cheapest gas to fill up your tank. Back in a minute.
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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. The low cost of oil prices sending prices at the pump to shocking new lows. Take a look at this: in Houghton Lake, Michigan, prices dropping as low as 47 cents a gallon. Yeah. Nationally the average price is a $1.89; that is the lowest price at the pump since 2008. I know we've been talking about this being a real positive forever, Mike Murphy, but we are not seeing the kind of consumer spending one would expect, given these savings at the pump.
MURPHY: Yes, I think people are a little scared still but it is absolutely going to affect the economy. It can't not get into the system. I mean, people are going in to fill up their car, they are ending up with an extra $40 or $50. That's real money. It's being noticed.
Wal-Mart stock has held up better than a lot of other retailers. They say that lower-income people will be the first ones to really benefit from this but I don't think it ends there. There's no way to debate when someone goes to fill up their car and they are saving $50 on filling up their tank, that will give them more discretionary income. They will spend that money in the economy.
BARTIROMO: Having said that, we know that there's knock-on effects to cheap oil, and we've been talking about this, I feel like for a year already, and we probably saw the beginning of this manifestation in these markets year to date.
BROWN: On the one hand, Murph and I were talking earlier, you have the lower prices and you said you save about $60 every time you fill up. I'm about the same.
You have Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, basically flooding the market, trying to crush U.S. oil industry. They continue going and going. You see a lot of our industry leaders are, in the oil industry are laying off tremendous amount of people. They've cut, cut, cut down to the bones. So, some of the companies may not be around if it keeps up. I think that's their goal.
BARTIROMO: I was reading a report the other day that bankruptcies, corporate bankruptcies, are up more than 20-percent, year over year, and it's being led by the energy space, --
BROWN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: -- as you say.
MURPHY: Absolutely, and that's not going to end if oil stays down here, but remember the oil market is very volatile. When we are up at $40 everyone calls for $200. Now we are down under $30 and we are getting calls for $10 or $15. That dynamic will change. We are not going down forever. There will be a support in the market. I don't know where the actual bottom is, but when it does come in you're going to see a snap back higher.
BARTIROMO: What are you going to look for, in terms of what the metrics are to determine where the bottom is? I'm not just talking about oil, I'm talking about these markets, equities. What are the metrics? Is it earnings? I mean, we're right here in the middle, you know, we're just beginning the fourth quarter earnings season. You had the banks last week. That's going to be big this week as well.
MURPHY: Absolutely. You know, we have an old saying of picking bottoms but, you know, trying to step in and find the absolute bottom in the market it tough. So if you have a plan, stick with it. Scott said he stopped looking at the markets. It's kind of - having a plan, sticking with it. Markets are going to be volatile. This happens to be the first two weeks of the year. It's been very volatile, but don't try to find the absolute bottom. Don't sit out and say, well, I am going to wait for this sign and get back in. Stick with your plan; stay invested and look for quality companies that are paying good dividends.
BARTIROMO: All right.
BROWN: Quality companies putting a good number and say, hey, if that goes down another $5-$10, I'm still happy because I still got it at a good price, paying a good dividend.
BARTIROMO: I'm just saying, this may go on for a couple of months. We need to see some strength in earnings. We need to see growth.
MURPHY: Absolutely, and I think you will see some growth.
BARTIROMO: You do?
MURPHY: When you look at the bank numbers we got, I won't go --
BARTIROMO: The banks aren't so bad.
MURPHY: -- but legal bills were way down. That's going to help them. Remember, fines and legal costs -
BARTIROMO: That's the cost cutting though.
MURPHY: It is, but that hits the bottom line. So I think when you talk about pricing, companies are pricing stocks based on earnings, these companies were paying a lot in fines and legal fees. So I think that's done.
BARTIROMO: Maybe we're sort of at the end of that then.
MURPHY: I hope so.
BROWN: Not if Bernie or Hillary get elected. Sorry.
BARTIROMO: That's true. They said they're going to reign in Wall Street. We're going to talk more about hat, the Democratic Debate last night.
Coming up, Texas Senator Ted Cruz still fighting criticism in the wake of Thursday's Fox Business Debate after he publicly denounced so-called "New York values". I took issue with that. The latest on the 2016 race to the White House when we come right back.
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BARTIROMO: Good morning, everybody; happy Monday. I'm Maria Bartiromo; it is Monday, January 18th. With me this morning, Rosecliff Capital's Mike Murphy and former Massachusetts Senator, Scott Brown with me. First, though, your top stories at 6:30 a.m. on the East Coast: (HEADLINES)
Checking the global market action, of course, the U.S. closed today for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. We saw mixed moves overnight in Asia, the Shanghai composite edging higher after the Central Banks there raised reserve ratio. Tomorrow will be a key day for economic data coming out of China. We got a big preview coming up, a lot of data coming overnight, tonight into tomorrow's trading session. The GDP retail sales and industrial production all command in China.
In Europe this morning, mostly declines across the board. Take a look at what we are seeing as we gain. The FTSE 100 up 25, the CAC in Paris is up 15, and the DAX index in Germany also higher by a fraction, better than a half percent moves on the upside throughout the European exchanges this morning.
Back in the U.S., stock market closed for Martin Luther, King Jr. Holiday. Futures open until 1 PM Eastern. Right now, the Futures are indicating gains, but, of course, the entire day closed today and a long weekend going into tomorrow, and that big data dump coming out of China. The NFL playoffs now down to four teams, yesterday's games, Cam Newton, led the Carolina Panthers through victory over the Seattle Seahawks, 31 to 24. And the Denver Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23 to 16. All those highlights coming up in the program, and then there's this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next question is for our front runner Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you Maria, Tony Romo.
(LAUGHTER)
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BARTIROMO:: Saturday Night Live writers tuning in to last week Fox Business Republican debate, have some fun with some of the events most memorable moments. We got to bring you those throughout the program this morning, just stay with us. We begin this morning on the campaign trail. Hillary Clinton hoping to slow down Senator Bernie Sanders momentum last night in the last Democratic debate before the first votes are cast in Iowa, Blake Berman in Washington with all the highlights this morning, Blake, good morning to you.
BLAKE BERMAN, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: Hi there, Maria. Good morning to you as well. Hillary Clinton positioned herself as a steward of the Obama administration, while Bernie Sanders continued to call for a political revolution in the final democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses. Those two clashed throughout the night on issues of gun reform, single-payer healthcare, and the role of Wall Street. But, it just took minutes for Sanders to highlight how he has made this a real race.
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BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Secretary Clinton, well knows, when this campaign began she was 50 points ahead of me. We were all of 3 percentage points. Guess what, in Iowa, New Hampshire, the race is very, very close. Maybe we are ahead.
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BERMAN: Clinton was later asked, why she can't gather as much democratic enthusiasm as Sanders among younger voters.
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HILLARY CLINTON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have the greatest respect for Senator Sanders and for his supporters, and I'm going to keep working as hard as I can to reach as many people of all ages. I hope to have their support when I'm the democratic nominee.
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BERMAN: And NBC news, Wall Street Journal poll released over the weekend, Maria, just Clinton with a 25-point lead nationally over Sanders. However, the polling averages from rearclearpolitics.com show a different battle in the early state. Clinton's lead is mere points in Iowa, and Sanders as you heard him say there, has the edge in New Hampshire. Martin O'Malley continues to run well behind vote polling in the single digits, back to you.
BARTIROMO:: Alright Blake, thanks so much, Blake Berman. Joining us now is the Wall Street Journal, deputy editor-in-chief, Matt Murray. Also with us, Republican strategist, Lisa Boothe, good to see you both, thanks so much for joining us. Did everybody watch the debate last night?
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BARTIROMO:: First to you Matt, what's your take away?
MATT MURRAY, WALL STREET JOURNAL DEPUTY EDITOR IN CHIEF: Well, it was the Bernie Sanders debate, it was all about Bernie. And Hillary trying to stop Bernie and halt Bernie, she took a lot of whack to them. I don't think it was very effective for her in the end. I don't think it really fundamentally changed a lot about whom each of them is, what they talk about, they didn't really change the calculus a lot for their supporters.
BARTIROMO:: Maybe not. But Lisa, I feel like the discussion about the bank and who is going to rein in the banks more, just seemed they were both all the way to the left.
LISA BOOTHE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, they obviously were. And I think that's going to be a problem for Hillary Clinton if she wins the Democratic primary, which right now is a big question mark. And if you look at resent polling, Bernie Sanders is up in Iowa, he's up in New Hampshire, and if you look at the trend lines of polls, its eerie similar to 2008, when she started taking a nose dive against president then, you know, Senator Barack Obama. So, I think she should be concern. But you're right, I mean, it was a fight for who could make the government bigger, who could address these policies and address issues with more government. I think that was the stark difference between, if you watch the Republican, well obviously, you're there asking them questions, but that was the stark difference was the direction that both parties would take the country. Is it bigger government, or is it free-market reform and letting the private sector do its work.
MURRAY: On the banks, Maria, I thought it was a very, very strange debate. They were talking about the banks like it was 2006-2007. Right now, even when we're seeing markets and turmoil's, and sliding of all kinds of stocks, the banks are actually not very involved. They were the center in action in '08. This time the banks are -- quiet pretty good earnings. Their leverage is already way, way down. Their capital ratios are way, way down. There not in the center.
BARTIROMO:: Not to mention the regulatory environments completely different for those banks. Sounds like a different time, senator.
SCOTT BROWN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: The contrast between the two debates was amazing. First of all, congratulations to you and Neil, did another great debate
BARTIROMO:: Thank you.
BROWN: You have seen the real Bernie Sanders, the angry, feisty, mean spirited Bernie Sanders, which I got to know in the U.S. senate. That's how he was every single day. Oh, absolutely. That being said, also you have seen the radical part of the Democratic Party, hijacking the party and pushing them more and more to the left. When you attacking names, I'm sorry, Wall Street and the big banks, which quite frankly Hillary Clinton is so close and intertwine with, that's what you're seeing right now. Bernie is going, I think, right for the jugular. In that, you know, people don't like her, they don't trust her. They know she's part of the big banks, the big Wall Street thing movement, so you actually have Bernie, I think, going for the jugular. And -- but they are going so far left, this is not JFK's party anymore.
BARTIROMO:: You know, it's really interesting that you say that. I totally agree. Because, I think the real worry where the risk for Hillary Clinton, it's not necessarily that she's only losing votes to Bernie Sanders, but because of his pressure, it's pushing her all the way to the left, forcing her, to perhaps, do things and say things.
BROWN: You know, it's interesting. Then you see -- she's going to lose New Hampshire. I think Iowa was a toss-up. And she's really banking on South Carolina, where they have a higher minority population where Bernie isn't doing as well. And you said it in your openings everybody, she's trying to basically carry on with the Obama legacy. Well, with all due respect, please do that. Because when she, I believe she will be the nominee, a damaged one, there will be contrast between the amazing candidates that the republicans have, each and every one of them I believe will make a better president than Hillary Clinton.
MIKE MURPHY, ROSECLIFF CAPITAL CEO: And I think Matt makes a great point about the banks, you know, although, it's nothing like '06 or '07. But I think Hillary knows that she needs to go up against Bernie Sanders on that point, because he's so far left and he's talking like it is. And that's really resonating with the Democratic voters. I think that's part of the reason why, you know, the socialist kind of spread the wealth out. So I think Hillary needs to go step into that side of things and really go after the banks, when I don't know that she really believes that.
BARTIROMO:: Yeah. You know, and a lot of people are saying that privately she's telling the banker she's not going to do any of this.
MURPHY: Wink, wink, wink, wink.
BARTIROMO:: Yeah. Privately, she basically saying, no, no, no, I'm going to be totally, you know, not necessarily, so, you know, looking at the banks to add more regulation. Although she said, she's going to add more to Obamacare. She said she's going to add more to Dodd-Frank, she said it last night.
BOOTHE: And she's such a hypocrite too. Because she wants to attack Wall Street, but she has no problems making millions of dollars after speaking to Goldman Sachs, after speaking -- going around and making millions of dollars from these speeches. So, she's such a hypocrite on the issue. But, what I find ironic is here we have Bernie Sanders, who's a self-devout socialist, Hillary Clinton who can't separate the Democratic Party from socialist. And you know, and all of the solution that they're putting forward, they keep saying they want to equal the playing field, but what they want to do is propose the government getting in the way between the individual and interjecting itself in their everyday lives, and that's not going to equal the playing field. The only way to equal the playing field is through capitalism, allowing the people to have the opportunity to get ahead of the society. Now, putting the government in the way and putting regulations in the way.
BARTIROMO:: You know, it's interesting, because the Fox Business Network reran our debate last night at the same time that the Democratic debate was on, so it was such a stark contrast what the priorities were. Because on the Republican debate it was all about growth, which tax plan will lead you to growth, which change in regulation will lead you to economic growth, and on the Democratic debate it was, you know, Bernie Sanders saying, free college, free this, free that. And I mean, you know, spend more money.
MURRAY: Healthcare, healthcare. I think it couldn't be a better contrast on those two debates. The parties are almost in different countries.
BARTIROMO:: Yes.
MURRAY: I want to pick up something that Scott said too, which is, you know, for better or worse Hillary is running as the Obama continuance candidate. Last night it was particularly notable how aggressively she moved, sort off as saying, I'm going to carry on those legacies, and we are going to maybe fix those programs, fix that program, will keep it going.
BARTIROMO:: Yeah.
MURRAY: She's very popular with the democratic base, so that might be a good strategy for her in the nomination. And she was very aggressive about it.
BARTIROMO:: Clear strategy. She wanted to align herself with President Obama.
MURRAY: But, it will definitely be a firm, firm line in the general election. It'll be really interesting.
BOOTHE: But I find that risky for her. Because, 70 percent of Americans wants to -- believe the country is heading on the wrong track.
BARTIROMO:: Very risky.
BOOTHE: So, yeah. And she's setting herself up in a damaging way there.
BARTIROMO:: You're right. Well, because the people are talking about it being a third Obama term.
BROWN: We hear Bernie Sanders say, we just going to raise taxes just a little, little, little bit more, really? How much more?
BARTIROMO:: And then Romney said 90 percent is not too high, 90 percent.
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BARTIROMO:: Mike Murphy, thank you so much. To the markets we go. We are going to look at the markets because oil is continuing this massive down trade, of course, U.S. trading closed today for the national holiday, MLK day. Futures though opened for business until 1:00 PM Eastern. And you can see that the Futures are indicating some strength here. But the big story of course, is the price of oil and we got a huge amount of data dump tomorrow coming out of China. Take a look at the Asia markets. Red arrows for the most part, except for the Shanghai composite, which is up half the percentage, you can see there.
Here is the image investors are facing this morning, another 390-plus point decline on Friday for the DOW industrials. We have had the worst beginning to the year of any year ever for global markets, similar losses on the S&P and NASDAQ. NASDAQ already in correction mode which is, of course, is 10 percent decline from the highs of where we are right now. Oil briefly breaking below $29 a barrel earlier for the first time in more than 12 years, which tomorrow we got data on Chinese GDP. Mike Murphy, you got industrial production and retail sales. I think this going to be really what moves market tomorrow. Because China has been such a factor
MURPHY: Absolutely. And you have to believe with this almost 10 percent drop in the first two weeks of the year, that people are really discounting China. And I don't think there's too many people expecting any sort of positive sign out of China -- the China data tonight. So, I think the risk is kind of to the upside when we see this data, if it's making not as bad as people were looking for that could give you a relief rally, where things will panic.
BARTIROMO: And once again, this negative story points to economic growth concerns for this year, perhaps the possibility of a recession.
MURPHY: I mean, it's real, it's out there. In China, we know that's going to move over through Europe and here to the United States. I don't see it here in the United States, as of yet. But if China continues to worsen, I think that's why you've seen this terrible start to the year. If China gets actually worse than it is right now, that could come over here and could really put a lot of pressure on us.
BARTIROMO: For sure. And of course, there's the Fed, which we are going to get into the program. Take a short break and up next, Sean Penn claims his interview with the fugitive drug lord, El Chapo, was a complete failure, his explanation why, next. Back in a minute.
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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad confirming that several Americans have disappeared in Iraq, Jo Ling Kent now with the details of that story and the other headlines right now, Jo, good morning.
JO LING KENT, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: A very big weekend of news indeed, Maria, the state department says, the U.S. is working with the full cooperation of the Iraqi government to locate and recover the missing Americans. Al-Arabia first reported the news that three Americans were kidnapped, but the U.S. government did not immediately confirm a kidnapping or number of people involved. And actor Sean Penn, appearing on CBS 60 minutes last night, discussing his controversial interview for Rolling Stone, pushing back on the claim that his meeting with Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, was a factor in the drug lord's capture.
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SEAN PENN, ACTOR: There is this myth about the visit that we made, my colleagues and I with El Chapo, that it led -- that it was, as the attorney general in Mexico that's quoted, essential to his capture. We have met with him many weeks earlier.
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KENT: And Elon Musk SpaceX said its falcon 9 booster had a, quote, hard landing, indeed. It broke a landing leg on the drone ship. It landed in the Pacific Ocean, minutes after heading -- locking a satellite into orbit yesterday. In this video that you're watching right here, they must have post in Instagram, you can see the falcon tipping over and exploding into pieces. And Maria, Elon Mush joked on Twitter, that this landing was at least the pieces were bigger this time around, and this is the third time the SpaceX has failed to land this clean landing at sea. Plus, Jeff Bezos over to Elon Musk, saying, it's progress, it's a step forward and congratulated him on the launch.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, I mean, the picture are really amazing, to see that rocket falling. It's funny to have the cameras there to actually record that.
KENT: And the fact that Elon Musk posted that at all is actually pretty remarkable.
MURPHY: Yeah. I mean, if you look at both Bezos and Musk, what they're doing here, I mean, there's real opportunity here. They're both trying to break into an area that we have never seen. And I think, what Musk is know for, he doesn't mind showing his failures, you know. He posted them several times. He's had a lot of them. But, I mean, there -- this is a new frontier, you know, where it goes with the rockets and space. And I think these guys are thinking in a whole another realm that a lot of us don't even understand.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, Eli wants to send us to mars soon.
KENT: I'll go.
MURPHY: Not me.
BARTIROMO: Alright Jo. I don't know, I mean, I'm not ready to go right now actually. I'll think about it.
MURPHY: A little bit more research.
BARTIROMO: I'm too busy. Thanks so much. Your wallet might feel a little heavier as you head to the gas station today. Prices reaching record low at the gas pump. We'll tell you all about it and where it is you can get your cheapest gas to fill up your tank, back in a minute.
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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. The low cost of oil prices sending prices at the pump to shocking new lows. Take a look at this, in Houghton Lake, Michigan, prices dropping as low as 47 cents a gallon, yeah. National average price is a $1.89. That is the lowest price at the pump since 2008. I know we've been talking about this being a real positive forever, Mike Murphy, but we're still not seeing the kind of consumer spending one would expect given the savings at the pump.
MURPHY: Yeah. I think people are a little scared still, but it is absolutely going to affect the economy. It can't not get into the system, I mean, people going in to fill up there car, they're ending up with an extra $40-$50. That's real money. You see -- notice Wal-Mart stock has held up better than a lot of other retailers. You know, they say that lower income people will be the first ones to really benefit from this. But I don't think it ends there. I mean, there's no way to debate when someone goes to fill up their car and they are saving $50 on filling up their tank. That will give them more discretionary income. They will spend that money in the economy.
BARTIROMO: They said, that we know that there's a knock-on effect to cheap oil and we've been talking about this, I feel like for a year already. And we probably saw the beginning of this manifestation in these markets year to date.
BROWN: Murphy and I, we're talking earlier, you know, the lower prices you said, you save like $60 every time you fill up and we are about the same. You have Saudi Arabia, and Iran, Iraq, basically flooding the markets, trying to crash the U.S. oil industry, they continuing going, going, going. You see a lot of our industry leaders in the oil industry are laying off tremendous amount of people, they've cut, cut, cut, cut down to the bones. So, some of these companies may not be around if it keeps up.
BARTIROMO: I was reading the report yesterday that bankruptcies, corporate bankruptcies are up more than 20 percent, year over year. And it's being led by the energy space, as you say.
MURPHY: Absolutely. And that's not going to end if oil stays down here. But remember, you know, the oil market is very volatile, you know, when we're up 140 on calls for 200. Now we're down under 30 and we are getting calls for 10 or 15. That dynamic will change. We're not going down forever, there will be a support in the markets. I don't know where the actual bottom is. But when it does come in, you will see it snap back higher.
BARTIROMO: What are you going to look for, in terms of what the metrics are to determine where the bottom is? And I'm not just talking about oil and these market equities. What are the metrics? Is it earnings? I mean, we're right here in the middle, you know, we're just beginning to fourth quarter earnings seasons, alright, you have the banks last week, that's going to be big this week as well.
MURPHY: Absolutely. You know, we have an old saying about picking bottoms, but you know, trying to step in and find the absolute bottom in the market is tough. So, if you have a plan, stick with it. You know, Scott said he stopped looking at the markets. You know, it's kind of having a plan, sticking with it, markets are going to be volatile. This happens to be the first two weeks of the year, it's been very volatile. But, don't try to find the absolute bottom. Don't sit out and say, well, I'm going to wait for this side and get back in. Stick with your plan, Stay invested and look for quality companies that are paying good.
