MARIA-03
Trump Administration Takes Shape; White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force
Feels Breakthrough Is Imminent - Part 2>
Stuart Varney >
Simon, Mack McLarty, Josh Bolten >
Cancer; Health & Medicine; Donald Trump; Business; Mergers & Acquisitions;
White House; Stock Markets >
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: I would -- I will hold him accountable, you know. Mr. Trump claimed that he was a champion of the working class of this country, and as you know there are millions of people working longer hours for low wages, they don't have health care, they can't afford to send their kids to college. They can't afford child care.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: There's also a lot of regulations that need to be rolled back, and there is a lot of executive orders that President Trump has got to have to deal with in the first few days that he is in office, but you know with that the Republicans having now the senate and the presidency, I think we're more optimistic than ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: What you need to know this morning, as the transition of power continues. And activist investor targets Kate Spade, why they're calling on company to pursue a sale, we will tell you about it. And market this morning, big move in interest rates, 10-year yield, now at a 2016 high of 2.24 percent, up 8 basis points, been up for the last five days. Stocks, meanwhile, are also up. Although they are off of the earlier highs of the morning. Take a look, Dow Industrials expected to be up about 40 points, NASDAQ is under pressure, the technology sector has been underperforming, in otherwise, very strong reaction to Mr. Trump. Plus, seen by 180 countries all by the age of 27? The millennial globetrotters, that truly is making the world her oyster, we're going to talk to her.
President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, starting to shape his administration with some key positions announced yesterday. Peter Barnes is live from Trump Tower right now, this morning, with more. Peter, good morning to you.
PETER BARNES, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: Hey, good morning, Maria. That's right, the president-elect appointing Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee to be his chief-of-staff, he is a Washington insider, and a very close friend of House Speaker Paul. They're both from Wisconsin. The president-elect also named Breitbart chairman, Steve Bannon, as his chief strategist and senior counsel. Priebus just appeared on Fox & Friends a few minutes ago, and said he and Bannon will make a good team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: The relationship built in congress, are absolutely essentially in order to get anything done. You're not going to get tax reform done, you're not going to get Obamacare replaced done in the capital unless you have the relationships to get it done. And you have to keep the base and everyone happy at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNES: Also, should point out that this appointment of Priebus is possibly good for getting things done in congress because Bannon had called for removing Ryan as speaker, Maria.
BARTIROMO: All right. Thank you so much, Peter Barnes, with the latest there. Joining me right now with their take on the first glimpse into president-elect Trump administration, former White House chief-of-staff under President Clinton, Mack McLarty, along with White House chief-of- staff under President George W. Bush, Josh Bolten. Gentlemen, good to see you both. Thank so much for joining us.
MACK MCLARTY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF-OF STAFF: Good morning.
JOSH BOLTEN, FORMER WHOTE HOUSE CHIEF-OF-STAFF: Thank you, Maria.
BARTIROMO: So, Mack Mclarty, what about that? First off, what's your sense of having these two positions they're equal, not a hierarchy here, Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus, very different, one is establishment Republican Reince Priebus is, Steve Bannon much more conservative, they're calling him alt-right. What's your take on these two men working together?
MCLARTY: It's somewhat unusual structure, President Reagan had a similar structure with James A. Baker and with Edward Meese, who has been his counselor, Reagan counselor in California. So, is somewhat unusual but not unprecedented. It is fairly common for a political operative to come in to the White House with the elected president, we saw that with Karl Rove, we saw that with Paul Begala with President Clinton. We saw with David Axelrod with President Obama. I think the difference is Reince Priebus has been chairman of the Republican Party, so how well he can work with Democrats is a question mark, although he has some relationship there. I think he is a solid choice, I think he's a fine person. He's demonstrated a real capability as chairman of the Republican Party. And an ability to work with Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, that's key. Mr. Bannon, I do not know -- hasn't to judge someone I don't know, had a naval career service to our country, a successful investor, but Breitbart does gives me a real pause about sometimes they're going well beyond accepted norms. And frankly, expressing view point are just not consistent with my values, and I think many Americans as well.
BARTIROMO: Josh Bolten, what about that? And on the one hand, you look at it and you say, OK, well, that means its two groups will be served, right? The extreme, all the way to the right, as well as the establishment. On the other hand, we know what happens in business and co-CEO's never work.
BOLTEN: Yeah, Maria, I agree with that, co-CEO's is a problem. There's nothing wrong with a diversity of opinions in the White House and perspectives. And Donald Trump got elected with a pretty broad coalition of perspectives and views around the country, so all of that needs to be reflected in the White House. But I think the White House runs well only if there is one chief-of-staff clearly in charge. So my advice to any incoming president would be make sure there is a diversity of views, that you hear all the all the different opinions, especially the views that brought you there in the first place, but in power, only one chief-of- staff.
BARTIROMO: So, both of you served as White House chiefs-of-staff under President Bush and Clinton, what is the relationship and the importance? Tell us about the chief-of-staff, and what the next, you know, 200 days looks like, going into '17? What would be the priorities from your standpoint, Josh.
BOLTEN: Well, first of all, the chief-of-staff job is one of the best jobs in America, but you got a lot to do. The overarching goal is to make the president the best president he can possibly be. Underneath that, you have to do a lot of things, and this is why I say that really only you can only have one chief-of-staff. But you have to make sure that the presidential decisions make their way to the president in a way that the president can make a good decision and everything else is kept away from him. You've got to control the president's calendar so that people who need to see the president get to see him, but the thousands more who want to see him don't.
BARTIROMO: Right.
BOLTEN: You've got run the staff effectively. And most important, you've got to keep the strategic direction of the White House and the administration focused on the priorities that got him elected.
BARTIROMO: What about that? Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
MCLARTY: I think Chief Bolten gave a splendid tutorial on chief-of-staff position and his or her responsibilities. I would only add a couple things, number one, it's been called the chief javelin catcher job, so it was a privilege and it is a privilege to serve as chief-of-staff. It's a demanding job, make no mistake about that. Secondly, Maria, I would add to what Josh said, you've got to have compatibility and trust with the president. And I do think the fact that Reince Priebus has worked with, candidate Donald Trump, as well as Steve Bannon and others, is a real plus for him going in. Thirdly, the first 100 days are always important there, particularly important I think in a President Trump administration, he's got to move forward to try to reassure the country and to unite the country. His chief-of-staff will play an absolutely key role in his achieving that or not.
BARTIROMO: Yeah. It would be nice if the leadership, like for example, Harry Reid, would try to get onboard and not say things that fire people up, like the protesters, like he's doing right now.
MCLARTY: That maybe a step too far, we'll see.
BARTIROMO: Mack McLarty, Josh Bolten, good to see you both, gentlemen, thank you so much.
BOLTEN: Thanks for having us.
BARTIROMO: We'll be right back.
MCLARTY: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Markets looking higher this morning, couples of names that we're watching this morning, Kate Spade, the New York based -- a New York based hedge fund sent a letter to the luxury handbag maker, saying it is concerned about the declining -- the stock price suggesting the best way to enhance shareholder value is to sell company. Kate Spade shares have declined 63 percent, just since August 2014. Stock is now 16.62, so I guess that means the stock is in play. We'll watch that one. We're watching shares of Mentor Graphics, one of two major deals today. Siemens agreeing to acquire the U.S. based company in a $4.5 billion deal. Mentor shares are surging in the premarket, as are Harman International which is being acquired as well this morning by Samsung. Protesters are continuing across the country this weekend, over the election of Donald Trump. Joining me now the host of Varney & Co., Stuart Varney, to weigh in. I don't know what these people are thinking, Stuart.
STUART VARNEY, VARNEY & CO. HOST: Well, it's not just the protesters, OK. I know for a fact that there are offices, office places in New York City and California where the sons and daughters of the elite, they are all employed gainfully, nice jobs, there is a mass crying in some of these offices. There is hysterical crying and tears from people in their 30's, for heaven's sake. That's what it has come to in this country. Frankly, I find it absolutely pathetic. The protesters are a disgraced. The media is in disgrace for what it did, join the election season and not apologizing for it afterwards. And now, we've got individuals only on the elitist left and right coasts, that's all we've got here, but they're in tears. Frankly, Maria, I find that absolutely pathetic. What's our dear country is coming to.
KEVIN KELLY, RECON CAPITAL CIO: Stuart, I think you're hitting.
BARTIROMO: You're totally right.
KELLY: . a good base on this. I didn't notice this at first when it came to these protests, is that these are people that want redistribution of wealth. Because when I actually saw a protesters come out, he had a hat on backward that says pay me exclamation point, he was wearing nice jeans, and his sign was really nice. So it is not necessarily even about her losing it's -- they're worried about their benefits, they're worried about free stuff that they expect to be given to them.
VARNEY: Don't forget, they want to get Keith Ellison as the new chair of the DNC. The man is a flat-out socialist. He wants massive tax increases, huge redistribution that I think is the way the democrats are going to go. They're going to go even further to the left. I hope they do, because they'll put a man of power for generations.
BARTIROMO: But, Stuart, I mean, one thing that can actually help is the leadership on the side of leading Democrats. I mean, what I have to open the Journal today and read this with Harry Reid is saying, basically, that the Trump victory has emboldened the forces of hate and bigotry in America. This is what Harry Reid is saying. Even, Manchin, Senator Manchin, basically said, look, I want to be very clear, he does not speak for me and that is wrong to say that after this election.
VARNEY: Well, the Democrats want and need a fresh start. Good-bye Harry Reid, you totally failed. But if they say hello, Keith Ellison, they'll fail again. And it really does seem like they're off on this leftward hike. There's nothing to restrain them, nothing to pull them back. You're right, Maria, this is a time for responsible Democrat leadership to say, look what happens, here's what we're going to do.
BARTIROMO: Where is it? It's not going to come from Elizabeth Warren. It's not going to come from Barack Obama -- well, wait, Barack Obama was better. It's not going to come from Bernie Sanders, I mean, this is just pulling them, right?
VARNEY: So much for Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. And, amazingly, Senator Schumer is supporting Keith Ellison to run for and be chair of the DNC. Schumer, that's incredible.
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: Hey, Stuart, a liberal friend of mine said though, I almost stopped crying because I know I'll get a tax cut in the next four years.
(LAUGHTER)
VARNEY: Yes. That's one thing to cheer about. But I shall ask all Democrats who appear on the program, I shall ask, you know don't want this tax cut, so will you give it back? Will you pay high rates -- why not? If it's such a big deal of moral principle, surely, give them the money.
BARTIROMO: Dave Chappelle had a great joke about that on SNL, they said all my friends are moving on, they've said to me you want to come on the plane, we're going to leave America. He goes, no, I think I'm going to see how this tax cut works out.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTIROMO: Stu, we'll see you in about 10 minutes.
VARNEY: You will.
BARTIROMO: Thanks so much. Varney & Co., begins 9:00 AM, right after Mornings With Maria. And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Big week in business, we've got some megadeals kicking off today, Samsung making a splash, agreeing to acquire U.S. auto part supplier Harman International for $8 billion. You have the other deal which Siemen's is acquiring Mentor Graphics, Kevin Kelly. The two major deals -- and you know, Rich Peterson pointed out, interesting right after the election this is -- the two deals are with foreign partners.
KELLY: Yeah. That.
BARTIROMO: Siemen's and Samsung.
KELLY: Yeah. That's a big deal. Especially, look at under tone what's going to be driving the market next month, right, a potential Fed rate hike. So we're starting to see interest rates pick up. We were talking about the 10 year treasury up to a high level, about 2.2.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, we're seeing that in Siemen's -- German company, so they can use their prowess. And companies need to do this, they need to put their capital to work. So whether it's implementing dividends -- especially the tech sector, the tech sector is increasing their dividends because they have so much cash.
BARTIROMO: So the Feds meets December 14, Dagen, you think.
MCDOWELL: Well, the long term -- they're definitely going to raise interest rates, and the longer term bond markets has already kind of done the work for the Federal Reserve because you've seen those -- the yields go up. And one thing to watch, though, and I don't want to be, you know, the sky is falling, because let's enjoy this market rally.
(CROSSTALK)
MCDOWELL: The money coming out of -- and watch the longer term interest rates because if they keep going up at some point that's a drag on the market. At some point that's a drag on the economy. Maybe, right now, it's just a sign and that people see better days ahead, and they're not so risk averse.
BARTIROMO: Yeah.
KELLY: Yeah. That's treasury and formation protected security tips are what really moving the market. People are selling their bonds, and going into tips. So their inflation protected securities because of it. But you want it to happen solely not fast.
BARTIROMO: We'll see what happens in terms of the economy. We're getting Cisco, Target, Home Depot -- OK, Walmart a big one.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: And wages are going up.
MCDOWELL: The numbers from last week though, the kind of forecast that we got from Macy's and from Kohl's, they were really good for the holiday season, so let's hope for more of that.
KELLY: And people have more money to spend. And remember, wages went up from our last report.
BARTIROMO: We're finally talking about growth.
KELLY: Yes.
BARTIROMO: We haven't talked about growth.
HARLAN HILL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: And policy.
BARTIROMO: Yeah.
HILL: This is such a refreshing change.
MCDOWELL: And -- instead of monetary policy.
HILL: Exactly.
BARTIROMO: Exactly. That's a different conversation, final thoughts from all-star panel when we come right back, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Let's get our final thoughts from our all-star panel, Harlan Hill.
HILL: After this election, I realize that I am part of the most coddled generation, millennials, probably in history. You know, instead of voting they're crying in the streets. Instead of voting, they're saying woe is me on Facebook. Instead of going out and actually taking tests in school, they're going to safe spaces. Its such frustrating. This is.
BARTIROMO: Can I get you anything else?
HILL: Yeah, I know, I know.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTIROMO: Got to work.
HILL: Yeah.
KELLY: Go to work. Take your test.
BARTIROMO: Take your tests.
KELLY: I like the technology sector right here. I mean, we're seeing money out of bond and you're seeing deals happens, so tech space.
MCDOWELL: And Godspeed Leon Russell, among all the greats lost this year, including -- we were just listening to Merle Haggard.
BARTIROMO: All right. We will see you tomorrow. Great show, everybody. Thank you so much, Dagen, Kevin, Harlan, that will do it for us. We'll see you tomorrow.
END
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