MARIA-03
Tower; Trump's First 100 Days; South Korea Impeachment Vote; Judge Reinhold
Arrested; Chiefs Squash The Raiders; Remembering John Glenn; Microsoft and
LinkedIn Come Together - Part 2>
Karl Rove, Stuart Varney >
DiBartolo >
Warner; Merger; Rally; China; Ambassador; Terry Branstad; Scott Pruitt;
EPA; NASA; John Glenn; Astronautics and Space; Politics; Trade; Business;
Stock Markets; Holidays >
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: John was also in the weightless silence of his Mercury spacecraft, and later on the halls of the U.S. capital. Our nation mourns the passing of one of our great heroes. He was the giant among men and a true American legend, who inspired generations of explorers and dreamers and we will honor his legacy.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: John Glenn was not only a pioneering astronaut, a great senator. He has a first class gentleman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: The legacy of the first man to orbit the earth, coming up. Microsoft and LinkedIn coming together, what the now official $26 billion deal means to these two companies and you. Trying to regain trust. American Airlines searching for answer as employees complained about the new uniforms were causing health problems.
And markets continuing on a roll, an hour before the markets opened, we're expecting a fractionally better performance for the market. That's a victory given the fact that we had record after record the last month. Dow Industrial are off of the highs today, but still up about 8 points. Stocks in Europe are moving higher as well, take a look, you've got the CAC quarante, the best performer there. That index is up almost half of one percent. And in Asia, overnight, stocks are mixed, investors are reacting to South Korea decision to impeach the president there. By the way, we did had a lot of economic data out of China, including inflation numbers that were very strong, the Shanghai Composite up half a percent. German trade data exports were weaker-than-expected as well. The Nikkei average in Japan, by the way, up one and quarter percent.
Giving kids a license to drive, we are taking these top-sized replicas of luxury cars for a spin around the plaza, and we've got some little people to do it for us. You want to join us for that. This morning, America is remembering one of the country's gravest heroes, NASA legend, John Glenn, died yesterday at the age of 95. He was the last of the living Mercury seven Astronaut. The seven men with the right stuff to become Americas first Astronauts. Then on February 20th, 1962, a milestone in the space race, as Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN GLENN, ASTRONAUT: Roger, 0-D, and I feel fine. We're turning around -- oh, that view is tremendous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Just incredible. After leaving NASA in 1964, Glenn never strayed far from the public eye. He then served 24 years as a Democratic senator for the great state of Ohio. But Glenn never left behind his dream of returning to orbit. Then in 1998, he did just that again, becoming the oldest person to go to space at age 77. Joining us this morning is former NASA astronaut, Tom Jones, with us. Good to see you, Tom. Thanks so much for joining us. Wow.
TOM JONES, FORMER ASTRONAUT: Good morning, Maria.
BARTIROMO: What an inspiration.
JONES: He was for me, and so many other astronauts. If we wanted to be good astronauts, you emulate John Glenn.
BARTIROMO: Can you characterize his legacy.
JONES: Well, he came to -- represented so many Americans, America's struggle to catch up the Soviet Union, and by his flight 1962, we were back in to the space race after years of being behind, since Sputnik five years earlier. And he really put the underling under President Kennedy's pledge to put an American on the moon by 1969, 1970. With his flight, his single five-hour flight, America was back in that race. And, of course, we eventually overtook the Soviet Union.
His legacy lasted through decades, because future astronauts, and scientists, and explorers looked at his career and want so much to be like him. I remember as a young kid, 10 years old, I wanted to be like John Glenn and the other Mercury seven astronauts. I bought books about them. And later got it signed by John Glenn himself. So when I showed up in the Astronaut core, I think the pinnacle, one of the pinnacles of my career was actually meeting John Glenn, when he came back to fly on the space shuttle.
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: Tom, it's Dagen McDowell, are you dismayed in a way about the current state of our space program, and where it is? Because, again, it's not just what NASA discovers about the world and the universe, but it's also creating people who inspire generations of youngsters in terms of just achievement and goals.
JONES: Well, that's the, I think one of the main benefits of the space exploration program that the U.S. and NASA run is to inspire young people to go into tough fields of science, and engineering, and technology, so that they can solve problems for all of us, not just in space but back here on earth. And, you know, you contrast the time of Glenn's flight in 1962, when U.S. was throwing out all the stops to try to catch up with and pass the Soviet Union, in space for military and prestige purposes around the globe. Up to today, when we really basically marking time, we've had 8 years of lost opportunity in space. And I think we can be on the verge of getting Americans back on the frontiers of space, out to the moon, the asteroids, and Mars, but that takes leadership from the White House to take a budget that commensurate with the goals that we set for NASA.
MIKE MURPHY, ROSECLIFF CAPITAL FOUNDER: Tom, it's Mike Murphy, people like yourself and John Glenn, paved the way for the -- what we have today, as the modern space mission. And now, you're seeing people like Elon Musk and the private sector trying to make it more, you know, talking about people being able to move back-and-forth to the moon, and going up on -- being funded by private dollars. Is that something you see really taking off, and possibly even replacing NASA?
JONES: Yeah. There's no turning back, Mike, from the commercial sector, aiding NASA in space exploration. They will be providing rides to astronauts to the International Space Station, both Boeing and SpaceX in the next couple years. And beyond that, when NASA wants to be out at the moon, or going to an asteroid, or eventually to Mars, those commercial companies will provide the supplies, the logistics, the launch capability to get NASA in a position to do pioneering flights. So it's going to be a private public partnership that's going to succeed at this, along with our international partners.
BRIAN BRENBERG, THE KINGS COLLEGE: Hey, it's Brian Brenberg here. You know, when you look back at the life of John Glenn, one of the things you notice is the extraordinary risks he took. I don't think we appreciate sometimes how much we didn't know about the things he was getting into. Can that sort of thing still happen today, are we to risk averse today to send a John Glenn type person into these kinds of roles as we did in 1962?
JONES: Well, back in '62, our opponent was the Soviet Union. And our challenge was to build technology that could get a human to space and back. And today, we have a lot of that technology in hand, but I think our challenge today is to overcome our adversity to risk. To take risk that puts a human being three days or more at the moon from the earth in safety, and we have gotten used in the last 30 or 40 years just being circling the earth every 90 minutes, you're only a couple hours from home. When we go into deep space again, starting at about 2020, and I hope it's faster than that, that with White House direction. We will be putting people where they can't get back to earth in an emergency, we've got to understand those risks and take them before to leave.
BARTIROMO: So what about SpaceX? Let me get back to that for a second. The company had a major setback couple of months ago, when one of the Falcon9 rockets burst into flames. Elon Musk the CEO says SpaceX is ready to fly again. What role do you think the company plays in the future of space travel?
JONES: Well, they're one of the pillars of NASA of access to space. To support our work at the International Space Station, where they're two Americans living right now. We need American transport to get out from under the Russian monopoly. And so, in about two years, Spacex, Boeing, will providing these Astronaut transport flights, first some test flights in 2018, and then routine biannual trips to the space station. And then, I think beyond that, Musk company and others, Sierra Nevada aerospace, blue origin, they'll be providing logistic services to a NASA outpost in lunar orbit, and they'll be providing a rocket propellant to get us to the asteroids and Mars. Maybe that -- will be mining on the moon or the asteroids, that's all going to commercial sector activity.
BARTIROMO: Incredible, fascinating stuff. Tom, thanks so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
JONES: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: Tom Jones there. Coming up, Democrats disappearing act as president-elect Donald Trump tours the country. President Obama falls from the public eye, Stuart Varney weighs in on that. And then, finding the perfect gift for kid can drive a parent nuts, but no more, the little luxury cars that are sure to make a big impression this holiday season. I like that license plate.
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BARTIROMO: So where are the Democrats? President-elect Trump continues his, Thank You Tour, today, but our current president seems to have disappeared. Joining us right now, host of Varney & Co., Stuart Varney, weighing in on that, Stu.
STUART VARNEY, VARNEY & CO. HOST: My point is that Donald Trump, what, 31 days as president-elect, he absolutely dominates the country, he certainly dominates the news. Think about what he's just done, I mean, on what he's about to do. Yesterday -- where was he? Ohio, and then Iowa. Today, he goes to Louisiana, to support a Republican candidate in the runoff senate election, then he goes to -- where is he tonight, Justin?
BARTIROMO: Michigan.
VARNEY: Grand Rapids, Michigan, thank you very much indeed, Justin, good stuff. And tomorrow he goes to the army navy game, for heaven sake. I mean, the man is everywhere. He's tweeting constantly over the heads of the media. He dominates the news, he dominates the country, and President Obama, he's nowhere to be seen. I haven't seen him publicly for a long time. And the only time I see Democrats was at the retirement party, saying good-bye to Senator Harry Reid yesterday. I mean, they're just not in the picture.
BARTIROMO: No. And Trump has incredible energy. And he's just crisscrossing the country, and making all these big moves. Stuart, that is an incredible look, and you articulated it so well. I also want to tell you that there's this breaking story right now, Muhtar Kent, the CEO of Coca-Cola is going to be stepping down going, and he's going to remain as chairman, Stuart, of Coca-Cola, it's going to be announcing this right now that Muhtar Kent steps down.
VARNEY: That's your way of getting breaking news into this.
(CROSSTALK)
BARTIROMO: Because I like to beat the competition, Stu.
VARNEY: You don't really want my reaction to Muhtar Kent.
(CROSSTALK)
BARTIROMO: To get it out there. But, you're right, you make the right point in terms of the Dems are nowhere to be found. But we did see them yesterday, celebrating Harry Reid.
VARNEY: Yes, we did. You really want me to go on about that?
BARTIROMO: Yeah.
VARNEY: No, you don't want me to go on about that. Look, I'm sorry, I cannot get over Senator Reid lying on the floor of the United States senate, when he lied about Mitt Romney paying taxes. I just think that was a dreadful thing to do. I mean, the office of leader of the Democrats in the senate, you should not be engaging in that kind of -- of lying, quite frankly, and he did, so good-bye Senator Reid.
BARTIROMO: The other thing is, Stuart, he got in front of all legislation that could have passed, Dagen. I mean, he didn't allow anything to move forward.
MCDOWELL: Remember he mocked Asian-Americans at that one event. He gets a free pass on that.
VARNEY: Sure. And yesterday, in his farewell, he said I got where I got because I worked hard. It was heavenly self-congratulatory I thought. That's just me.
BARTIROMO: Yeah. Well, I think -- we'll be watching what happens next because it's not much of a bench right, Stu?.
VARNEY: No, it doesn't look like it. The center of the Democrat Party is nowhere to be found, and I know they are.
BARTIROMO: That's true. Stuart, thank you. We'll see you in about 10 minutes, and I'm sorry I broke in with some breaking news there. And, as you heard here, first, the CEO of Coca-Cola, Muhtar Kent, is stepping down. He remains chairman of the board. James Quincy takes over, and this begins on May 1st. The company named that new CEO, it came out with that news just two minutes ago. Let's get to Dagen, she's on stocks on the move this morning. Over to you, Dagen.
MCDOWELL: Thank you, Maria. Take a look at some of the stocks that we are watching for you, this morning. Microsoft, $26.2-billion to acquire LinkedIn now official, the deal is for $196 per share, the acquisition is still subject to approval by LinkedIn shareholders and regulators.
Also watching American Airlines, the company announcing it is searching for answers after several employees complained about its new uniforms, there were several workers claims that the outfit caused things like rashes and headaches. American Airlines shares are up over 13 percent, so far, year- to-date.
Coming up, why not park a little luxury under the tree this year. The hot new toy cars for kids, so they can just be like mom and dad this holiday season, or how about better than mom and dad, your kids got a better ride than you do. We'll be right back.
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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Ooh, it's cold out here, like parent, like child, we've got the hottest toy cars for the kids in your life. Joining us -- actually, Mike is here, because he brought three of his six kids this morning to do a test drive.
MURPHY: Yes, December driving.
BARTIROMO: Joining us right now is the Toy Insider, senior editor, Marissa DiBartolo. Good to see you, Marissa.
MARISSA DIBARTOLI, TOY INSIDER SENIOR EDITOR: Good to see you.
BARTIROMO: So we've got Dylan and Mason already taking control of two of our cars, tell us about these cars.
DIBARTOLO: So best part about them, you don't even need license, how about that. So we've got Mason in our Tesla Model S, and Dylan is riding the BMW I8 concept car. And we've also have the Ford F-150, and the Porsche,
BARTIROMO: Oh, wow.
DIBARTOLO: So, yeah, so these are amazing cars, They look just like the real thing, but for pint-size people.
MURPHY: So, I've to ask sticker price on these cars?
BARTIROMO: That would be the fathers. --
MURPHY: I'm getting them free, I'm sure. So what's the cost?
DIBARTOLO: So, this is definitely that heroes gets, and it's not quite for every family there, a bit of a higher budget. The BMW it's just 199, and the Tesla starts at about $500 dollars, but it's completely customized.
BARTIROMO: By the way, Dylan is off and running. I mean, he's like, come back Dylan. Let's check it out, see how kids like them.
MURPHY: They love them, sure.
BARTIROMO: Mason, how do you like it?
DYLAN: Good.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, it's good. What's good about it?
Dyan: I don't know.
MURPHY: Is it fast?
Dyan: Yeah, kind of.
BARTIROMO: It's fast, huh. OK. Should we take Dylan?
MURPHY: That's Dylan's car.
BARTIROMO: Yeah. Hey Dylan, how it's going? You like your beamer?
DYLAN: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: Why?
DYLAN: Because -- I don't know, because it's kind of fast, and you don't need to be a racing to drive it.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, I mean.
MURPHY: Did you tell Santa to bring you one of those? DYLAN: Yes.
MURPHY: Cool.
BARTIROMO: Tell me more about the customization, that's what I'm going to ask you.
DIBARTOLO: Tesla is completely customized. So you choice -- paint jobs, two different rim colors, and extended life batteries. You can get a car cover, license plate, even a reserve parking sign, you can never -- you know, you always have a spot
BARTIROMO: We saw that license plate earlier, they had it in Fox Biz. What does demand look like?
DIBARTOLO: So demand is pretty high for this. Last year, this toy category brought in $430 million, according to the EPD group, and it's on the rise. We're expecting around 7 percent increase year.
BARTIROMO: Hey, let's talk about this Tesla here, what's the scoop on Tesla.
DIBARTOLO: Tesla is great. It's the Model S, it's really luxurious -- car, just like the real thing that kids can love, and parents can get design just like their own.
BARTIROMO: How about the Ford F-150? That's a cool one.
DIBARTOLO: Yeah. The Ford is awesome because it's in a real all-terrain vehicle. So kids can used that and drive through mud, and wet grass, and all kinds of things. It can fit two kids at a time cool, which is pretty cool. That was going about $369.
MURPHY: Do you have a minivan, that 6 children could go in at once?
DIBARTOLO: Not yet.
MURPHY: OK.
BARTIROMO: So the companies are actually producing these, and that is interesting, that they are doing the kiddie cars.
DIBARTOLO: Yeah, absolutely. So the Porsche -- and that F-150 are from Fisher-Price, which is a division of Mattel, the Tesla is from Radio Flyers, they've been making wagons and things like that forever. And Dynacraft makes the BMW, and they're very well-know from all their.
BARTIROMO: Does that Red Porsche have some of the same features than the real thing?
DIBARTOLO: It does. So that has a lights and sounds that are really awesome, and it has sort of this like antilock brake system that's really safe for kids, and an adjustable seat.
MURPHY: You need that, of course.
BARTIROMO: You want to see your kids driving around the neighborhood with these cars?
MURPHY: Yeah. I mean they love these, it's cool.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, it does, but is that good?
MURPHY: They're happy and they're safe, they're not going that fast. I think its great gift for the higher end purchase. I think it's great.
BARTIROMO: What about that, the safety feature.
DIBARTOLO: Top out around 5 or 6 miles an hour, there's also a slower speed. So this is great because they grow with kids, meaning, you can start them off 21/2 to 3 mile, and then increase up from there, which is really great. They all have seat belts and things like that as well.
BARTIROMO: And in terms of the electricity, I mean, how they run, what do we need to know in terms of powering them up.
DIBARTOLO: It's just a battery, usually take about 5 to 8 hours to get a full charge, and you've get about 45 minutes of run time.
BARTIROMO: Dylan and Mason are going to be tired.
MURPHY: They're not cold, I am. But they're warm out there driving the cars.
BARTIROMO: You know, I want to go check out the F-150 because this is the most -- oh, Mason is changing his mind on car that he wants. -- oh, you're a truck guy, huh, you like it?
MASON: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: Is that a lot different than the Tesla?
MASON: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: And he's off. And he's off.
DIBARTOLO: This one even has a real working FM radio and an MP3 player, so you can plug your iPhone right in and listen to your own music as well.
BARTIROMO: There you go.
MURPHY: Don't give them ideas they don't have iPhones yet.
BARTIROMO: Are they car enthusiasts yet?
MURPHY: They are. They love these, you know, they drive them right off the lot if they were allowed to.
BARTIROMO: What's the reception, do people like them?
DIBARTOLO: Yeah. I mean this is like a hero gift on Christmas morning, right? You'll be the luckiest kid ever -- it's a little bit of a higher budget item, right, they're not right for every family but it's right for a lot of family.
BARTIROMO: I love it. It's really great. Thanks for bringing the car.
DIBARTOLO: No problem.
BARTIROMO: Appreciate it, thanks so much, Marissa DiBartolo there. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. We're on the plaza. The kids are still driving the cars. Mike Murphy, final thoughts.
MURPHY: I think you have to watch this market. The momentums behind you, so keep riding that for now, and hopefully Trump will be able to come through in January. And I love the cars.
BARTIROMO: The cars are awesome. So you think this Trump rally continues?
MURPHY: I really do. I'm watching the banks because I think no regulation is really going to help the banks.
BARTIROMO: Hey, you've got some fans out here today. Thanks for coming out, you guys. Whoo. All right, have a great weekend, everybody. Great to see you, Mike.
MURPHY: Thanks, Maria.
BARTIROMO: Thank you bringing Dylan and Mason.
MURPHY: Anytime.
BARTIROMO: I'm going to be broke. And of course, superwoman Tracy, here as well. Dagen McDowell, Brian Brenberg, thank you. "VARNEY & CO." begins right now, Stuart, over to you.
END
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